by Matt Lincoln
“There it is,” Junior pointed as the mine came into view. It was little more than a small hole carved into the edge of a rocky hill, and if we hadn’t been looking out for it, we might have missed it altogether. I slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a sudden halt at the entrance of the mine.
“Should we wait for the police backup?” Junior asked uncertainly as we approached the entrance of the mine. I could understand his apprehension. The inside was pitch black, and if there were multiple enemies inside, we’d be unable to see them until they were right on top of us.
“No,” I replied. “I can’t wait that long.”
“I figured you’d say that,” Junior sighed as he reached into the bag slung over his shoulder. He pulled out a small flashlight and pointed it toward the mine. Even the flashlight barely managed to illuminate a few feet ahead. I hadn’t come prepared with anything like that, so I used the light on my phone.
We made our way into the mine slowly. Part of me ached to rush inside to find Amber, but I knew that running full speed into the enemy’s domain with basically zero visibility was a fool’s errand. We moved our lights around, illuminating as much as we could as we went further and further underground. Unlike the scorching desert air outside, the inside of the mine was bitingly cold.
Every once in a while, we’d spot a small tunnel branching off along one of the walls of the mine.
“We should keep heading straight forward,” Junior whispered as I shined my light into one of the passages. “We can double back once we get to the end, but if we start wandering now, we might actually get lost.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. I glanced down at my phone. “I’ve lost signal. We’re too deep underground.” If Wallace tried to contact us, he wouldn’t be able to. Likewise, we wouldn’t be able to call for help from down here either.
Just as that thought was sinking in, I heard the sound of a gunshot. The mine was narrow, and my ears were ringing from the loud noise. I heard a grunt and a thump somewhere behind me.
“I’m hit,” Junior groaned, and I swung my phone around wildly as I attempted to find the shooter. At last, I caught a flash of movement to my right. I swung around just as the suspect fired off another shot and felt a rush of heat pass just inches from my shoulder. I charged toward the man and shoved his arm up just as he fired again. The bullet struck the roof of the mine, and both of us were showered in bits of dirt and rock.
I used my free hand to punch the man across the face with as much force as I could. He stumbled, dazed by the blow. I didn’t relent and punched him twice more. He fell to the ground, and I dropped to a crouch beside him.
“Where’s Amber?” I yelled as I shook him roughly by the collar. The man coughed up a bit of blood and attempted to shove me away. I punched him again and repeated my question.
“Charlie, stop,” Junior tried to pull me off of the suspect. “He’s down.”
The man was indeed cowering on the floor. His eyes were unfocused, and he seemed a bit dazed.
“Damn,” I muttered angrily to myself. I’d lost my temper again.
“Get him in cuffs,” Junior instructed. “We need to ask him if there are any more hostiles in here.”
Junior was clutching his left arm with his right hand. There was blood seeping through the sleeve of his shirt, and his left arm hung limply by his side.
I made quick work of restraining the suspect. By now, he’d gotten his wits about him again and was glaring venomously at me.
“Are there any other group members down here?” I asked.
He turned away and refused to answer.
“We sure are pretty deep underground,” Junior mused. “No one would think twice if we told them a suspect just happened to be killed during a struggle, especially once they saw the state my arm was in.”
“They might not even be able to recover the body,” I joined in. “There are a lot of winding passages down here, after all.”
The suspect was staring daggers at us but eventually sighed in defeat.
“There’s no one else,” he snarled.
“Where are the kids?” I asked.
“Down that way,” he nodded toward the end of the mine. “There’s an open room at the very end. The door’s blocked by an old mine cart.”
“She’d better be there,” I growled as I gripped him by the arm. “Lead the way.”
The man led us down the dark tunnel, and I kept an iron-clad grip on his arm the entire time. Eventually, we made it to a door blocked by a rusty mine cart, just as the suspect said there would be. Junior shoved the mine cart out of the way as best he could with just one arm.
“You first,” I commanded. If he was lying, and there were other men waiting on the other side of that door, he’d be the first across the threshold. I reached past him to push the door open with my hand.
There was a mishmash of lamps placed around the room, and in the dim light, I could see the faces of several children turn to look at me as the door creaked open. A few of them had been chasing each other while holding flashlights, but they came to a dead stop to look up at me as I shoved the suspect roughly into the room.
I scanned the faces of the children desperately until I found hers.
“Uncle Charlie!” Amber cried out joyfully as she got up from the ground where she’d been drawing in the dirt with a stick.
“I’ve got him,” Junior grunted as he took hold of the suspect with his good hand. I didn’t hesitate a moment longer and rushed forward to scoop Amber into my arms.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I choked out, relief flooding through me as I held her close. I allowed myself just a few seconds before I held her at arm’s length to check her over for injuries. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No,” Amber shook her head. “I’m just hungry. Can we go home now? I’m tired of being here.”
“Yeah,” I smiled at her. “We’re going home now. I just have to take care of some things first, okay?” I was glad to see that she seemed relatively unharmed and, honestly, unafraid of what was going on around her.
I reluctantly let go of her so I could examine the rest of the kids. I counted ten, including Amber. Most of them appeared to be around her age.
I turned to tear into the suspect for what he’d done, but before I could open my mouth, I heard the thundering sound of several sets of footfalls coming toward us. I locked eyes with Junior, who shoved the suspect down against the wall before drawing his gun. I ushered all the children to the far end of the room before drawing my own weapon.
I stood just out of sight by the door and waited until the footsteps were just outside the entrance.
“Freeze!” I shouted. “Who’s there?”
A beat of silence passed before a voice called out in response.
“This is Officer Brian Williams with the Las Vegas PD,” a man shouted. “We’re here to assist.”
I chanced a glance around the entrance of the room and nearly collapsed with relief when I saw the group of police officers standing there, flashlights in hand.
“I’m pulling my credentials out of my pocket,” I warned so they wouldn’t be alarmed at me suddenly reaching behind my back. I presented my MBLIS identification, and the officers relaxed. “We’ve apprehended the suspect. He’s the only hostile we found in the mine. The children are just through here.”
I stepped aside to let the police enter. Once they’d relieved Junior of his guard duties and I felt confident that the suspect was fully restrained, I picked Amber back up.
“Are you okay?” I asked Junior. He was clutching his arm again and looked pale.
“Hey, Amber,” he smiled at her. “It’s just a little blood loss, I think. It doesn’t actually hurt that much.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I frowned.
Junior shrugged, then hissed when the movement caused him to jostle his injured arm.
“Did you get shot by a gun?” Amber asked sadly. “That man from before was nice, but he always had a gun. I didn’t li
ke it.”
“Yeah, he did get shot,” I nodded. “But we’re going to take him to see a doctor. Then we’ll go see mom, okay?”
“Okay,” Amber grinned.
Junior and I trudged our way back up to the entrance of the mine slowly. Junior seemed to be losing strength, and I felt shaky now that I’d finally recovered Amber. A couple of paramedics rushed toward us just as we were getting to the entrance again.
“We need a stretcher!” the woman hollered over her shoulder as the two rushed straight to Junior. Now that we were in the light, I could see that his entire arm was covered in blood, and his skin was turning a sickly shade of white.
“I don’t need a stretcher,” Junior protested weakly.
“Just go,” I admonished. “You look like hell. I think you could use it.”
He glared at me, but he didn’t resist when the paramedics helped him climb onto a rolling stretcher. I watched as they loaded him into an ambulance.
“Are you going to go to the hospital, too?” Amber asked.
“Yeah,” I replied as I watched the ambulance pull away. “I’ll go check up on him later. Right now, though, we’re going to go see your mom.”
I walked back to the car and noticed for the first time just how extensive the damage I’d done to it was. The front bumper was dinged and dented, and the entire bottom half of the car was scratched and gored all the way around.
“I hope MBLIS has good insurance,” I mumbled as I placed Amber into the backseat. I closed the door and took a look around at the scene. Technically, I was supposed to stick around and help deal with the aftermath here, but I didn’t have it in me to make Eliza wait any longer.
The police seemed to have everything under control, so I climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. Once I was inside, I fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed Wallace’s number.
“Hello?” he answered immediately.
“We found him,” I responded. “I got her back.”
38
Charlie
I glanced up into the rearview mirror at Amber as I pulled into the office’s parking lot. She’d been quietly looking out the window the entire car ride. I wanted to ask her a hundred questions about what had happened to her in the short time she’d been kidnapped, but I didn’t want to upset her. She seemed fine right now, and I didn’t want to prod her with too many questions.
I held her hand as we walked together into the building and toward the elevator. I glanced down at her more than once, as if to make sure she was really there. It felt a little surreal, and part of me was worried I might suddenly wake up and realize this was all just a dream.
I led Amber down the long hall on the top floor that led to our office. I punched my code in and pushed the door open as soon as the light turned green.
“Mommy!” Amber cried as she raced into the room. Eliza had been waiting just a few feet in front of the door. Wallace had likely told her that we’d found Amber and that I was bringing her back.
“Hi, baby,” Eliza fell to her knees in front of Amber and stroked her daughter’s face lovingly. “Are you okay? Did that man do anything to you?”
“He gave me some candy,” Amber replied after thinking about it for a moment.
“He did?” Eliza smiled, but her eyes were filled with horror.
“Yep,” Amber nodded. “He gave all of us candy. I didn’t really like it. It was really hard, like a lollipop, but round like a ball. I didn’t eat it, but now I’m hungry.”
“It’s alright, sweetheart,” Eliza croaked as she ran her hand through Amber’s hair. “I’ll make you whatever you want as soon as we get home, okay?”
“Really?” Amber asked, her eyes shining with excitement. “Even hamburger pizza?
“Whatever you want,” Eliza smiled.
“How about chocolate pizza?” Amber giggled. “Or chocolate hamburgers? Or…”
I turned toward Wallace as Amber began to list off increasingly bizarre food combinations.
“Have you heard anything about Junior?” I asked quietly.
“He’s in surgery now,” Wallace responded. “The bullet was still in his arm, so they’re going to have to remove it surgically. They’re worried there might be some nerve damage, but it’s too soon to tell yet.”
“That scumbag,” I muttered darkly. “He shot us when we were completely blind in the dark. How soon can I get an interrogation started?”
“No,” Wallace shook his head. “You’re off this case, Charlie.”
“What?” I responded, a little too loudly. “Why?”
“You shouldn’t have been there to begin with,” Wallace sighed. “This was too personal. It still is too personal. And I’m already doing damage control over what happened with Davis in Bermuda. I understand why it happened, but I need to smooth things over with the top brass. Listen, Charlie. Right now, I need you to go home and be with your family.”
“Alright,” I nodded slowly. “You’re right. That’s where I need to be right now.”
“Take as much time as you need,” Wallace clapped me on the shoulder.
“Charlie!” Miranda’s voice called from the door as it swung open. “You’re back. How did everything go?”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Fiona sighed as she stepped into the room. She was looking past me toward the bullpen where Amber was sitting at one of the desks drawing something with Eliza.
“You found her,” Miranda smiled. “I’m so glad.”
She pulled me into a hug, and I could feel some tension in my shoulders slipping away as she did.
“We were just about to go,” I said as she pulled away. “Wallace is booting me off the case.”
“Good,” Miranda smirked. “Go take a break.”
“We’ll handle everything from here,” Fiona smiled warmly.
“Glad to hear it,” I replied.
“Oh, one more thing,” Miranda called as I turned to walk away. “We’re going out partying. Junior and I talked about it earlier. Once everything is wrapped up, we’re hitting Vegas for a night out. I’ll call you when we sort out the details.”
“Okay,” I answered blankly as she flounced away.
“Get some rest, Charlie,” Fiona called as she followed after Miranda.
I smiled as I walked up to Eliza and Amber.
“Hey, are you two ready to head home?” I asked as I looked down at what Amber was drawing. I looked a little like a dog.
“Not yet,” Eliza replied softly. “I think we should head to the hospital to see Harry.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. I would have thought that Eliza would want to rush straight home and never let Amber out of her sight again after what had just happened.
“Yes,” she nodded. “I overheard Junior talking. Dad’s apparently beating himself up with guilt over what happened. I want him to see that Amber’s okay.”
“Alright,” I nodded. Honestly, I felt a little nervous. I still wasn’t sure if Harry blamed me for what had happened to Amber, but I couldn’t avoid facing him forever.
Amber chattered happily all the way to the hospital. It wasn’t until we were standing outside the door to Harry’s room that she suddenly fell quiet and stopped moving.
“Honey?” Eliza looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to see grandpa?”
Amber clutched the front of her shirt with her hands and slowly shook her head.
I knelt down to look her in the eye.
“Why don’t you want to see him?” I asked.
“Grandpa got hurt by that man,” she sniffled. It suddenly clicked into place. All this time, I’d been in awe at how well Amber seemed to be handling everything. It had never occurred to me that she was just trying to avoid thinking about what had happened.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “Grandpa’s right inside, and he’s doing a lot better.”
“Okay,” she nodded confidently.
I smiled at her before pushing the door open. Harry, who’d been watching a foo
tball game on the hospital television mounted in the corner of the room, turned at the sound of the door opening.
“Amber!” he gasped.
“Hey, Grandpa,” Amber smiled as she raced toward Harry.
“Oh, be careful, honey,” Eliza scolded gently as Amber attempted to climb onto the bed to give Harry a hug.
“It’s okay,” Harry responded gruffly as he pulled Amber up to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Dad!” Eliza admonished. “You just had surgery. Don’t lift her like that.”
“Oh, stop fussing,” Harry grumbled. “Everyone’s acting as if this is the first time I’ve ever been shot. I was on the force for over thirty years, remember? I’ve had worse injuries than this.”
I was about to comment something about Harry being old, but the quip died on my tongue. I still couldn’t brush away the fear that Harry might be angry with me. He turned to look at me as though he’d sensed I was about to say something.
“What?” he smirked. “No snarky remark about how I look like I’ve been on the force for way longer than that or how my memory is starting to go cause I’m so old? What’s gotten into you?”
“Um, nothing,” I responded dumbly. He’d never scolded me for not being rude to him, so this was entirely new territory for me.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” he sighed. “Will the two of you stop treating me with kid gloves? I’m a grown man. I don’t need my own kids acting like I’m some kind of invalid.”
“Grandpa’s funny when he’s mad,” Amber giggled, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room. “Your nostrils get all wide, and your mouth goes like this.” Amber scrunched up her face in an imitation of Harry’s expression.
“Careful, rugrat,” Harry chided. “Your face is gonna get stuck that way.”
Amber just grinned.
“How are you feeling, Dad?” Eliza prompted.
“Fit as a fiddle,” Harry replied. “I’m ready to get the heck out of here, I’ll tell you that much. What about you?” He eyed Eliza warily, and I wondered how much about her breakdown Junior and Miranda had told him.