Chapter 3
(Ethan)
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As far as hostage situations go, however, this one hasn’t been too bad.
Sure we’re underfed, and we haven’t seen the sun in days.
We’re uncomfortable, but at least we haven’t been tortured.
Not yet, anyway. Which leads me to believe that my theory is correct.
They must think we’re normal Mexican civilians or fairly uninteresting tourists.
It’s also why I’ve kept my mouth shut on the few times we’ve had company.
They can’t know I don’t speak Spanish. Audra has been speaking to them.
It seems they’re planning to get a ransom for us.
They don’t consider us overly important, which is why we’ve mostly been left alone.
But Capa had bad news for us when he snuck into the cell this morning.
We’d asked him to keep an ear out for us as he’s able to walk around the camp more freely.
They don’t consider him a threat. Apparently, the terrorists have finally decided what to do with us.
According to Capa, they’ve confirmed we’re Americans.
They used digital facial recognition, which is annoying.
These guys have really good technology. We really can’t afford to underestimate them.
Now that they know we don’t live in Mexico, they’re thinking of getting us to reveal who we are.
Luckily my cover will have held because my backstory is solid.
But I’m concerned they’ve discovered Audra is law enforcement.
Hopefully, they’ll decide that we’re from somewhere important enough and are simply planning to get a ransom for us.
Considering we’re from America and the U.S.
is their biggest enemy, I’m willing to bet our nationality would benefit them. Or be highly detrimental to us.
Capa and Audra have developed something akin to friendship. He has been really helpful.
Audra...…. I don’t know what to feel about her. On the one hand, she has to be the most eccentric, possibly crazy woman I’ve ever met. But she’s also kind and thoughtful, and genuinely caring. I can tell she has a good heart.
It also doesn’t help that she’s hot as hell. Even in the dimly lit bunker or basement or wherever we are, I can tell she has a sexy figure and the prettiest green eyes. She’s really beautiful, and she seems almost unaware of it.
Any hetero-man would be attracted to her.
“Today?” she asks, referring to our escape plan.
I nod.
“I really hope Capa’s on board,” I state.
Without him, we’re literally going to be murdered.
“He’s on board. He knows the risks, and yet he’s ready to help us. It’s really brave of him.”
I just hope nothing goes wrong.
About two hours later, it was time for Capa to deliver our meal. Audra takes a deep breath as we watch the doors to the bunker unlock.
“Hey,” I say to her. She looks at me, her expression worried. “I’ve got your back, okay? We’re going to be fine. Don’t look back. Just run like hell. Leave everything to me.”
She smiles. “I’m not a damsel in distress, Ethan. I’ll be fine.”
I shake my head.
Stubborn, brave, beautiful woman.
“I’m still going to keep you safe, I promise.”
“Whatever,” she says as Capa walks into the bunker.
He looks just like the first day we met. Threadbare shirt and shorts, with a thin appearance but a warm smile on his face. Despite all that he has gone through, there’s still an unwavering light in his blue eyes.
“Hola, Capa,” I greet.
He nods in reply. We haven’t really spoken because we can’t communicate. He turns to his new best friend instead, and they have a brief, rapid conversation in Spanish.
“He said we’re lucky. Most of the guards and men outside went out. Only a few are out there, so escaping should be fairly easy.”
“All right. Let’s do this,” I say.
Capa moves forward to loosen the bonds at our wrists and feet.
“Say behind us, okay? We’ll keep you safe.”
I’m not sure if the kid understands her, but he nods nonetheless. He hands me the gun he managed to steal. I take a deep breath before leading them out of the bunker. We climb slowly, and once I’m outside, I catch sight of two men dozing off in their seats.
They’re our guards, I guess. I notice that the bunker leads out to a long hallway of some sort. There are several brown doors, and I’m hoping the one at the far end is our exit. We just have to get there first. I don’t want to shoot the two men in case it alerts anyone else.
I look at Audra and signal for her to wait while I take care of them. And I have to admit it’s hot seeing her easily understand what I meant. She gives me a thumbs-up as I step out.
Creeping towards the man is fairly easy. I knock out the first man hurriedly, and I’m able to land a punch at the second men before he’s able to raise the alarm. I signal Audra and Capa to come out. They do, and we start heading to the exit.
“I hope they are the only ones we have to deal with,” Audra whispers.
Of course, her words jinx us almost immediately. One of the guards chooses that moment to walk out of a room. His eyes widen when he sees us. I try to take a shot at him, but he dodges and heads back, probably to rouse the others.
“Run,” I immediately say.
We do, we run for our lives, but it’s not enough. A door opens at the end of the hallway, and three burly men step out holding knives.
“Audra, stay behind me,” I tell her.
She grabs Capa’s hand and pulls him away.
The first guy lunges, and it takes all my reflexes to knock the knife out of his hand.
He lands a punch to my gut, knocking the air out of me.
I counter it with one to his face. The scuffle lasts longer than I’d like.
But he’s so much bigger than me so knocking him out isn’t easy.
The other men seem content just to watch. I count four of them all up standing around us with knives in their hands. They don’t seem ready to attack, probably because they don’t view us as a threat—only one man with a woman and a gangly kid.
As soon as I knock out the man I’m fighting, Audra screams.
“Ethan!”
She’s being dragged toward the bunker, and Capa is being repeatedly punched on the ground. I don’t even hesitate. I take two shots, one at the forehead of the man dragging Audra, the other in the leg of the man punching Capa. Both men fall down dead.
There’s a cry of outrage from the other men. They advance, but two quick shots and they’re on the ground. Before I can wonder why they’re not shooting at us, Audra grabs Capa, and we begin running for the exit together.
We’re almost at the door when a shot rings out. My heart skips at least five beats, and I watch in horror as Capa goes down. Audra goes down with him. She lets out a heartbroken cry.
“Capa,” she says, crying. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll help you.”
He probably can’t understand a word she’s saying. Blood is pooling onto the floor from his back, and he’s taking gasping breaths. I look away to see who shot at us and see three other men advancing toward us. The one in the middle has a gun in his hand.
He takes a shot at Audra or me; I’m not sure. But I’m faster and a better marksman. The bullet hits him right in the chest. The other men are calling for backup. They don’t seem to have guns, but they begin running straight at us.
“Audra, we need to go now,” I tell her.
It’s like she doesn’t even hear me. She’s sobbing softly.
“Audra,” Capa breathes before his eyes close, and he becomes still.
My heart breaks at the sight, but I can’t think about that now. We have to get out of here alive.
“Capa, Capa, wake up, please,” Audra cries.
I shake her shoulders.
“Listen to me! He’s gone. He gave his life to save us. You owe it to him to stand the fuck up and get out of here alive, you hear me?!” I ask her.
That seems to rouse her. She gets to her feet but almost immediately is sliced by a knife one of the men throws. It hits her in the arm. My eyes widen as I grab her with the other arm, open the door, and lead us out of there.
Thankfully we’d aimed for the right door, and it was the exit.
I can’t imagine opening the door and entering a room filled with more guards.
With Audra’s hand still in mine, I run towards one of the cars parked outside.
I break a window and unlock the car. Then I get a shell-shocked Audra in.
I manage to hotwire the car. As soon as it starts, I drive like hell.
They chase us for a few miles, but I lose them in the end. Their hideout is far away from civilization, and Audra and I drive in silence for at least thirty minutes before seeing another human being. When I’m sure we’re close enough to the city, I stop the car and then turn to Audra.
She’d tied a piece of cloth around her wound a few miles back to stop the bleeding. Thankfully it’s not a big cut, but we still need to take care of it. She’s still so out of it.
“Audra,” I call.
She turns to me, her eyes shining with tears.
“Hey, hey, it’s going to be fine,” I tell her pulling her into my arms.
“I didn’t know that was going to happen. He was only trying to help us,” she says quietly, her voice low and sad.
“I know, baby. I know,” I say, rubbing her back soothingly.
“I didn’t know that was going to happen,” she says again.
She’s probably feeling guilty as hell right now. She and the kid had bonded. I feel horrible, so I can’t imagine how she feels. But right now, my priority is getting us both to safety.
“Audra, we have to ditch the car. There could be trackers in it. We’ve got to find somewhere to lay low for a while,” I tell her.
She nods, moving her hand a bit before wincing in pain.
“I want to take you to a hospital, but that’s not a good idea right now.
Those men are angry. I just killed a few of them.
If they didn’t view us as a threat before, they certainly do now.
They’ll be on the lookout for us at every hospital and checkpoint…
. you understand right? They’re powerful, and we have to be careful. ”
Despite the gravity of my words, all Audra can do is nod in reply.
“Come on, I’ll help you out.”
I open the door and walk out of the car before heading to her side. She’s pale from the blood loss and grief. I really wish she was her strong, bubbly self right now.
“Audra, why did you come to Mexico? Why Mexico?” I ask as we walk, looking for a motel or a shelter that doesn’t seem conspicuous. I’m trying to distract her.
She starts replying slowly and quietly.
“Because I’ve always wanted to come to Mexico. I haven’t had a break from work in 10 years. I’m using all my accumulated vacation days right now. Mexico just seemed like the best option. Great food, beaches; I thought I could have enough fun alone.”
“Why alone, though? No boyfriend or husband that could come with you?”
“Nope,” she says, shaking her head. “I haven’t dated anyone in a few years. You?” she questions.
“Same,” I reply. “Too busy with work.”
She nods like she understands, which she probably does.
“How old are you?” I ask her.
She smiles sadly.
“I know you’re just trying to distract me…but I’m not telling you my age.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you mine.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“I’m 40,” I say regardless.
She looks me up and down with a smile.
“You don’t look 40,” she states.
“I get that a lot.”
“Jerk,” she says almost fondly before looking away. Her smile immediately returns to a frown.
So much for distracting her.
At least I can see a motel up ahead. It looks low-key and quaint, which is exactly what we need.
We walk in, and fortunately for us, the man at the front desk speaks English. He also doesn’t even blink at the blood leaking from the cloth wrapped around Audra’s arm. I try and explain the situation to him without really giving anything away. I’m also trying to gauge if he can be trusted.
I tell him we’re tourists who were kidnapped. Audra’s my wife. She got sliced by a knife while we escaped, but it’s not a big cut, and she’ll be okay. We just need a place to lie low for a few days.
He appears sympathetic, but when it comes to our lack of money, the man protests.
I tell him that I’ll make sure to pay him double as soon as we can get in contact with our friends.
Only when I mention paying double are we given a room key.
I thank him before helping Audra up the stairs to our room.
The motel isn’t great, but the man seems trustworthy, and it’s the perfect place for us to regroup and recover.
“I’ll go get you some medicine, and we’ll get you cleaned up,” I say softly to Audra.
I’m not sure if going out right now is a good idea, but she really needs medicine.
I’ll probably ask the man at the counter for a cap and some glasses, so I’m not easily recognizable.
Considering the fact that the terrorists had the means to run facial recognition on us, I’m guessing finding us will be that much easier.
Audra’s already burrowed into the blankets, ready to drift off to sleep. She grabs my hand to stop me in place before I leave.
“I know someone who can help us,” she mumbles.
She’s really tired. “It’s fine, Audra. You can tell me after you’ve had some rest.”
“It’s my friend. He moved to Mexico a few years ago, but I can’t remember where he lives. Why can’t I remember?” she says with a groan.
“Just rest, okay,” I say soothingly.
She doesn’t reply, and I realize she has drifted off to sleep. I lean down and kiss her forehead before walking out.
I only consider the implications of kissing her forehead when I'm outside. I realize I’ve come to care more about Audra than I probably should.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does worry me.