by David Archer
Live Bait
Copyright © 2018 by David Archer.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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Published by: David Archer
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PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
WHAT'D YOU THINK?
READY FOR THE NEXT MYSTERY?
ALSO BY DAVID ARCHER
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PROLOGUE
The old airplane touched down lightly, as if the pilot had made this particular landing so many times that he could do it in his sleep. The dust from the dirt runway made a cloud behind the plane as it taxied toward the edge of the little field, where several cars were waiting.
The thin, gray-haired man who climbed out of the plane looked absolutely harmless, but the people who got out of the cars and waited for him to approach knew better than to be deceived. One of them, a tall, black man named Madison, glanced at the three bodyguards he had brought along. Each of them was heavily armed, but the rumors surrounding the man who was walking toward them made him wonder if they would be enough.
“Minister Madison,” the man said, his German accent strong and clear. “It is good of you to meet with me.”
“The pleasure is mine, Herr Wegner,” Madison said. “I trust you have made some progress toward our mutual goals?”
“I’m afraid I have found it necessary to resort to more demonstrative tactics,” Wegner said. “Mr. McCabe has proven quite resistant to our offers. Of course, he is concerned about what his government will think if he were to cooperate. It is not an illegitimate concern, from his point of view, but I have found a way to coerce him into giving us what we want.”
Madison nodded. “And our friends in Ethiopia? They will cooperate, as well?”
“Certainly,” Wegner said, seeming surprised. “They stand to gain substantial benefits for themselves, as well as for our movement. With the technology this merger will bring to our region, they will be able to sell computers, cellular phones and many other high-tech devices at prices far below those we have been getting from Europe and the West. As simple as it sounds, this merger will add nearly a billion dollars to the annual revenues of our participating nations. Why, simply eliminating the import tariffs alone will provide half of that increase. The rest will come from sales of the new products, along with spending by hundreds, perhaps even thousands of those who will shortly be able to secure employment because of what we do today.”
“You have projected more than fifty thousand new jobs over the next two years,” Madison said. “That is not an insignificant contribution to our economy. My only true concern is whether you can actually deliver on this promise.”
“Have I failed you yet? My negotiations have brought peace to several of the countries who are working with us, have they not?”
Madison nodded again. “This is true,” he said. “Of course, we are still dealing with the Islamic terrorism situations. Those were supposed to be ended within our nations by now, were they not?”
Wegner scowled. “And would have been, had the Americans not increased their presence in Afghanistan. The jihadists in that entire region have been forced to move further south, and are now occupying our own lands.”
“But you still do not want to reach out to the Americans for help? They could send troops, help to eradicate them from our lands…”
“And then they would never leave! The Americans make many promises, but their policy is to leave the earth scorched behind themselves. Do our allies seek to become subjects of a nation, or to form a true world power of their own? Turning to the Americans for help would only delay our destiny. It would be a mistake, and one that we can ill afford to permit at this time.”
Madison heard the vehemence in his voice and decided to change the subject. “What, then, are these new tactics that you are employing?”
“Those are not your concern. Simply accept my word that McCabe will agree to the merger, and our local company will reap the benefits. I deliver results, Minister, but the methods I use are those that I believe are most necessary. Just as I do not tell you how to perform your own duties, I do not allow anyone to tell me how to perform mine.”
Madison bowed his head in acquiescence. “Very well,” he said. “But this will all be finished before our next meeting? I’m certain many of the other ministers will have questions, and it would certainly help to convince them of our mutual destinies if we can show them such a victory.”
Wegner smiled. “It will be done,” he said. “And then, with the new technology, we can show ourselves to be powerful enough that the rest of the world will want us as an ally, rather than a potential enemy.”
“That would certainly help us to achieve our goal.” Madison looked around, taking in the breathtaking view of the African savanna around them. “To bring about the creation of a new world power—very few men would have the courage to even attempt such a thing in this modern age, and yet I believe it is time for the Central African nations to take their place in the global stage. We have much to offer, but there are so many limitations upon us at this time. With the alliance you have brought together, we have the chance to overcome those limitations, to demonstrate just how worthy we are to be the new leaders of the free world.”
Wegner laid a hand on his shoulder. “This has been our mutual dream, and that of many of our brethren, for quite some time, now. We are close, Minister. We are very close to reaching the fruition of our long labors. Let us avoid any possibility of failure, and do whatever must be done to overcome the Americans and the Zionists. They are the two forces that stand most in our way, but soon they will cower when they see what we have wrought.”
“Yes, and without resorting to war and revolution. Yes, yes, I’m fully aware that you have had to use violence at times, but this will be a new nation founded in peace. By the time we are ready to make our announcement, even our opposition within will have been forced to accept the wisdom of our plans.”
“Indeed
,” Wegner said. “So go, and prepare your country for the historic changes that will come upon it. I have other stops to make today, other allies to meet and assure. I will see you again in just a few months, and we will be even closer to seeing our dreams come true at that time.”
“I shall look forward to it,” Madison said. “May your future be filled with prosperity.”
The two men bowed to each other, and Wegner turned to walk back toward the airplane. The pilot had left the engine idling, the propeller turning over just fast enough to be invisible. Wegner climbed inside and glanced at the two men in the seats behind him.
“All is well with Madison,” he said. “Where do we go next?”
“Somalia,” came the reply. “Their president is beginning to worry that we are too ambitious. He is hoping you can reassure him that he is not a traitor to his country.”
Wegner chuckled. “He is preparing to surrender his nation’s sovereignty in a bid to gain greater power for himself,” he said. “How can a man be more of a traitor than that?”
* * * * *
The day had been long, but Wegner had accomplished most of what he had set out to do. The only thing that remained was to complete the merger of the American electronics company with the one favored by the Ethiopian council. He walked into his hotel room and sat on the bed, then took out his phone and dialed the number in America.
“Yes?” The voice on the other end of the line brought a smile to Wegner’s face.
“Hello, Mitchell,” he said. “Is everything in position?”
“Yeah, we’re ready,” said the American voice. “I’m not too sure I like this job, though. If it was anybody but you, uncle Heinie, I’d probably say we needed to just call the whole thing off.”
“It’s too important, Mitchell,” Wegner said. “I understand that this is distasteful to you, but sometimes drastic measures are required in order to accomplish the things that must be done. In this case, there is no one I trust more than you to do what is necessary.”
“And I appreciate it,” the American said, “but I still want the money you promised. My guys will do whatever I ask of them, but this could bring some pretty serious heat down on top of us. We don’t usually mess with civilians, especially kids. I like it a lot better when we just go up against other soldiers, at least that turns into a fair fight.”
Wegner chuckled. “Fairness, nephew, is overrated. Winning, that is what is important. To the victor go the spoils, is that not the truth? In this case, the rewards are much greater than any you might find as a mercenary. No one else would pay the kind of money I have offered you.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Mitchell said. “That doesn’t keep it from feeling like something slimy, though. I know, I know, it’s all for the cause and the greater good, all that kind of stuff, but it still doesn’t feel right to use a man’s kid against him.”
“I don’t disagree with you,” Wegner said. “I simply know that sometimes, a man must do things that are distasteful in order to achieve an important goal. This is one of those times.”
“Yeah, I get it. I just don’t want to end up with my face on a wanted poster at the post office. That would not be a great thing to have on my resume, uncle Heinie.”
“Well, then perhaps I should arrange a buffer,” Wegner said. “All you need to do is take the girl and keep her safe. I will arrange for someone else to handle the negotiations with her father. When I have it set up, I will send you his telephone number. Can you be ready for all of this by tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow night? Yeah, I guess that can work. Send me the number, and I’ll call the guy in soon as we have the girl in hand. The quicker I get out of here with her, the happier I’m going to be.”
“I shall have it arranged within the hour.” The two men ended the call and Wegner looked through his contacts for another number. He started to dial one, but then another name came to mind and he chose that one, instead.
The phone on the other end rang three times and then it was answered. “Evan?” Wegner asked. “This is Heinrich. How soon can you be in Atlanta?”
ONE
“Okay, here’s what we’ve got,” Ron Thomas said. As CEO of Windlass Security, it was his job to choose the cases the investigations arm of the company would accept, and this often included delivering the briefings to his investigators and security personnel himself. “Roland McCabe, CEO of McCabe Electronics Technologies, has a sixteen-year-old daughter who has been kidnapped. Her name is Amber, and she has been missing since the early hours of this morning. That’s a photo of her on the screen behind me.”
Sam and the rest of his team, sitting around the conference table, looked up at the screen. A girl who looked younger than sixteen smiled back at them, her long, blonde hair carefully styled.
“Apparently, someone has been trying to force McCabe into a partnership with a company in Ethiopia, one that he has been resisting for a long time. He’s just been informed that if he does not agree to the partnership within the next five days, his daughter will be killed, which is why he’s reached out to us. Apparently, the kidnappers have convinced him that going to the police would be a mistake, so we are on our own with this one. Sam, your job is to find the girl and bring her back safely. Sounds fairly easy and straightforward, right? The problem is that we have absolutely no idea who took the girl or where she might be held. Without being able to call on the police or FBI for help, you and your team are going to have to find her on your own.”
The six people sitting there listening to him all glanced at one another, but it was Sam Prichard who spoke. “That’s kind of a tall order,” he said. “With no leads to go on, this is going to be kind of a difficult case. What’s even more unusual is this weird kind of ransom demand. I know who McCabe is, he’s a billionaire. You would think they’d be more interested in money than trying to force them into a business relationship he doesn’t want.”
Jeff Donaldson, Ron’s partner and best friend, leaned forward. “That’s why we’re sending you, because you’re the best we’ve got. Sam, this case is so important that it has to be handled by someone who can accomplish the impossible. That’s you, as you’ve proven repeatedly. And while it may seem like a pretty rough job, your team functions like a well-oiled machine. I’m quite confident that if anyone can find this girl in time to save her life and save the day, it will be you.”
Sam Prichard nodded and stayed silent. After a moment, Ron began again.
“You will all be flying out tonight for Atlanta, where McCabe Electronics has its headquarters. As soon as you arrive, Sam, you’ll meet with Mr. McCabe and let him fill you in on the situation. You will need to ask him to dig deep in his memory of the phone call that told him about his daughter and what he has to do to get her back. There might be something there that will help you figure out where to start.” He turned to look at Steve Beck, sitting to Sam’s right. “Meanwhile, Steve and Walter can check out the girl’s room, which is where she disappeared from. Let Walter do his thing, and he’s likely to pick up clues nobody else would even notice.”
“Oh, goody, something to keep us busy,” Steve said. “Trust me, if anybody can figure out how they got the girl, it’ll be Walter.”
“What about me?” asked a powerful-looking man with a British accent. “Got something for me to be doing while Sam is talking with the bereaved father?”
“Relax, Denny,” Thomas said. “You’ll undoubtedly have plenty to do on this case. Summer and Jade, you girls will be looking into Ethio Electronics, the company that wants a partnership. While it’s possible this is an outside party acting to try to force McCabe’s hand, we naturally have to suspect that the company is somehow involved in the abduction. You will be looking for any possible leads in that direction, so you can dust off your computer skills to dig into that sort of thing.”
Jade Miller, who was Sam’s cybercrime expert, simply nodded and shrugged. “Works for me,” she said. “If we get in a bind, we can always call Indie.”
Thomas managed to suppress a smile, and then went on, “Okay, any questions? McCabe is expecting you first thing in the morning, Sam.”
“Okay, wait a minute,” Steve said. “You said the girl was abducted out of her own room. McCabe is a billionaire, right? Did he not have any kind of security on the place?”
“He did,” Ron said, “and that’s part of the problem. The security system didn’t log any entries or exits at the time the abduction had to take place, which was between midnight and four a.m. Someone was able to disable it completely during that time, but without leaving any traces. There were no blank spots, no stretch of time with video scrambled, nothing like that.”
“Okay,” Steve said, nodding. “Definitely sounds like a job for Walter.”
“Enjoy it, Steve,” Denny growled, but the elbow nudge he gave the older man was gentle and friendly. “All you have to do is sit back and let Walter do all the work.”
“Hey,” Steve said, “I’m a pretty fair investigator, myself. Just because I’m a little older than the rest of you, don’t get the idea that I can’t keep up with you young punks. You can ask Sam, back when I was on the force…”
“All right, settle down,” Ron said. “Trust me, Steve, we all know how good you are. Denny just likes to rattle your chain.” He turned to Sam. “Sam, any idea how you plan to approach the situation?”
“As you suggested, I want to talk to McCabe first off. Is there anyone else who knows any details about the girl’s disappearance?”
“Carla, the housekeeper,” Ron said. “She was there when it happened, and was probably the last one to see Amber that night. As for anyone else, I sincerely doubt it. McCabe wants the tightest possible security on this, so he’s made no announcement of any kind. He’s doing his best to act perfectly normal, even at work.”
“I can imagine,” Sam said. “It’s got to be hard, but I can understand why he feels he needs to pretend everything is okay. What about the girl’s mother?”
“She died several years ago, some kind of cancer. The housekeeper has been there ever since, and according to McCabe, she and the girl were very close. From everything we know about her, Amber is the epitome of the good kid. Never gets in any trouble, always obedient, perfect grades in school. She almost sounds too good to be true, if you want my opinion.”