Chapter Twenty-Six
Cai attempted to claw the arm choking him but couldn’t lift his hands. His scream was stifled by cloth tightened in his mouth. He tried to sit up. His feet smacked against something hard, and his head banged into something equally solid. Whispers deafened him and the world was black.
Calm down. Listen. Think.
It took a few seconds to tamp down his breathing and heartbeat so he could listen. His predicament slowly came into focus.
Blindfolded. Hands and feet bound. He felt a small knot on the back of his skull scrape against a carpet. An engine vibrated beneath him and the sound of tires on a road mingled with muffled whispers. Pressing his ankles together, he confirmed the necklace was still there. He pulled at his wrists, felt the light jab of plastic zip ties against his palm.
How long had he been out?
He rubbed his head against the carpet until he freed one eye from the blindfold. Sunlight filtered in through the slats of a trunk lid, but it was frigid outside which indicated it was early morning. He hadn’t been out long. With difficulty, he rubbed his jaw against the carpet to draw the gag down like he had with the blindfold. A grunt sounded behind him.
Looking over his shoulder, he waited for his eyes to adjust before he could make out the figure stuffed against the back of the trunk.
A well of grief and relief filled Cai.
Julian seemed unharmed, though duct tape covered his entire face except a small rectangle for his nostrils. He must have really pissed off their captors. Cai scooted closer, their bodies touching. Julian flopped about, turning his back to Cai while screaming under his gag.
Well, that’s unproductive.
Cai needed questions answered before they got where they were going. He rolled again, so their backs touched and felt Julian’s hands brush up against him. It took a few seconds before the next round of flailing landed on Cai’s scars and implants. The flopping stopped and tentative fingers traced over the skin. Relief poured out into a muffled sob as Julian wriggled back around. The sobs didn’t stop. Julian’s nose would congest soon, and he’d struggle to breathe. Getting that tape off his mouth took priority.
He patted Julian’s hand. We’re gonna be okay.
Cai tugged at Julian’s shirt, indicating he should scoot down. The limited space made the going rough and slow, but Cai wiggled his way up until he could stretch his fingers and reach the bottom edge of the duct tape. His legs and back cramped as he wormed his fingers inside, feeling skin and blood under his nails. Little by little, the tape loosened.
“Cai?” Julian’s voice came out thick and muffled.
Shhh! Cai didn’t bother making any noise back, since the tape covered Julian’s ears. He simply continued prodding, poking and tugging until he heard Julian whisper, “That’s got it. Can you reach the other bits?”
Cai smacked him in the chin hoping to shut him up. It didn’t work.
“Use ya thingy. The razor thingy. That’s what it’s—” The car slowed and came to a stop. They both froze.
Red light? Traffic stop?
“What’s happening?” Julian’s whisper was entirely too loud.
Cai smacked him again, missing his lips and hitting his chin. It had the desired effect, however misaimed.
A car door opened and footsteps rounded toward them and then passed by.
“You waste time, Arush. Finish.”
“What are they doing?” Cai whispered.
“They switch cars now maybe?”
“Go look.” Sheesh. Footsteps came back toward the trunk.
Cai pressed his fingers against Julian’s lips.
Muffled voices. Doors opened. Something placed in the back seat. Doors closed again, with a dip toward the front seat signaling they were going back on the road.
* * *
Riley held his phone, but didn't move from his seat on the floor against the back of the sofa. While agents cleared his house, he called Kelly. She picked up before the first ring finished.
“I’m fifteen minutes out, Cordova.”
“All clear,” Agent Becker said as he holstered his gun.
Agent Brody Kitts poked his head in from the yard, his face grim. “Clear to the alley,” he said.
“I won’t be here in fifteen minutes,” Riley told Kelly as he stood up and went to retrieve his old phone.
“What do you mean you won’t be there? Do you know where they are?”
“Give me the phone,” McCleary barked. “Stay put, Cordova or I’ll have your badge.”
Because he was tempted with a biting reply, Riley hung up. To himself he muttered, “Take it.” He walked off while everyone’s phone rang simultaneously. The other agents answered. He didn’t.
“No, sir,” he heard Agent Kitts say before he shut the bedroom door.
He pulled his gun safe off the top shelf of the closet and then took out the old cellphone that connected to the necklace. The charging cord was wrapped around the screen and plugged in on one end. He deposited all of it in his pocket. After buckling his holster to his belt, Riley chambered a round, flipped the safety on, and then holstered his gun. It was a routine he’d gone through every day and he could do it without thinking, until he reached for his badge. His hand hovered over it.
The plastic bag with the hat was lying atop his recliner, hiding under Cai’s coat.
Can I be an agent after what I’ve done?
Not likely after today, but Cai needs me as one. Riley picked up the badge and then attached it to his belt. Endgame.
On his way to the garage, he passed by Becker and Kitts, their ashen faces staring out the patio door. They eyed him warily.
“I’m going after the men who did that,” Riley said, pointing at the SUV where Johanson and Williams lay dead. “Tell McCleary and Marks to track my phone. I’ll call when I have a positive location.”
“You have a lead?” Kitts asked.
“Yes.”
“Let’s go,” Kitts answered, a resolute grimness set to his square jaw.
Riley would be a moron to reject a seasoned agent’s help. He hesitated and his voice lowered automatically, even though both men could hear him clearly. “I won’t be following the rules, Kitts.”
“As long as you follow the law, I can bend the rules.” He motioned for Riley to lead the way.
Riley said nothing and headed toward the garage. As he opened the door, Becker murmured, “Remember they’re armed and dangerous.”
“Oh, I plan on it,” Riley said under his breath. He pressed the button to open the garage door.
* * *
Cai felt something wet and slippery drip down his finger as he dug into the tape around Julian’s ears. He hoped it was sweat, but the hisses coming from Julian said it was blood.
“We need to get out of car.”
“Yes, I know, Papa. What we need and what will happen are two different things.” Cai pried upwards on the tape.
“ Work faster. And find weapon.”
“Where am I supposed to find a weapons?”
“You speaking in Russian?” Julian asked. Apparently, his ear was finally free of duct tape.
“Albanian.”
“Why are you speakin' to me in Albanian?”
“I’m not talking to you.”
The pause and silence after that sentence was palpable. Cai scooted around so that he could lay next to Julian’s ear and whisper in it. “I need questions answered.”
“Is there someone else in here?” Julian asked, moving his feet around as if in search.
“Just listen.” A ton of voices spoke at once. “Shut up! Shut up!”
“I haven’t said anything!” Julian hissed. The car slowed. Both of them went silent. Then Julian kicked him. “Yo, mental bugger, you’re going to make them come back here.”
If they hadn’t come back from Julian’s panicked thrashing, a chat was safe. “I have some questions.”
“Yeah, I’ve some questions too.”
“Julian, we don’t have time. Just trust me. How many men are there?”
“Here in the car or back at the office?”
“They had you in an office?”
“Hang on. Hang on. By “we don’t have time”, you do mean just you and me, yeah?”
“Focus on the questions! Were you in an office?”
“Well, it had a desk and a conference room.”
“How many men were with you on the way to get me?”
“Dunno. Two? They’ve had me bloody blindfolded.” He emphasized the last word in a way that implied ‘duh’ at the end.
Cai resisted the urge to growl his frustration. “You saw a desk. You haven’t been blindfolded the whole time. I need a count of what we’re up against.”
“Why? They’ve got us bound up in the back of a car. You’re mental. I’m useless. We’re dead or as good as.”
“How many total men? Did you get a name of anyone?” Cai’s exasperation, at both the non-answers and his papa’s constant talking over Julian, made it difficult not to yell.
“Xander Rocha isn’t dead,” Julian said. “He’s in charge. It’s him and another man with a ponytail. And one they call Colonel Rivers. That’s three. And then the two goons here in the car. Oh and Walter Cole is there, and they said they had T—”
Hesitation.
“Had what?”
“Actually.” Julian pronounced all four syllables in the word as he drew it out. “Never mind. Unimportant. That’s five badduns and Cole.”
“Describe the room.”
“It’s huge. Bigger than the loft by double. Giant windows.”
“How long a drive was it?”
“Half hour?” Julian said
In the city, A-GPS would track him easily as it bounced off towers. “Did you hear a lot of cars? Stop at a lot of lights?”
“Nope. We rode the motorway most of the time.”
“Okay, that gives us a few minutes,” Cai said to Papa.
“Who are you talking to?” Julian squeaked. “Are you speaking Albanian again?”
“Yes.” Cai said. He felt his papa’s breath against his ear.
“Tell him.”
“I can’t tell him. He’ll think it’s crazy.”
“Who’re you talking to?” Julian demanded, nearly screaming. “Who are you bloody talking to?”
“I’ll tell you everything after I have information. Do you want to get out of this?”
“Why can’t you just use the knife thingy in your back? That’s what it’s there for!”
“Just tell him! He’ll need to know sooner or later.”
“Be quiet, Papa!”
“Papa? Did you just say ‘be quiet, Papa ’?” Julian asked. His voice rose higher and higher with every syllable.
“Yes, but….” Cai bit his lip. If he didn’t control this, Julian would panic even worse. “Okay, look, it’s going to sound bad, but it’s real. Papa is an angel, and he’s going to help us out of this.”
“Your dad?”
“Yes.”
“The mafia man who killed so many people with a hammer that they actually called him ‘The Hammer’? He’s an angel?”
Cai remained silent because Julian didn’t understand at all. Then he looked at Papa. “Told you.”
“I’m going to die,” Julian whimpered.