Chapter Two
Rebecca smiled as she passed her coworkers, greeting them as she headed to her office.
Putting her briefcase at the edge of her desk, she closed the door and took out the burner phone Julio gave her the night before.
Slipping it into her boot, she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer.
Clicking on the history, she bit her lip as she noticed several attempts to retrieve Avie Rahimi’s location.
Agent Harrison tapped on the glass and opened the door. “Director Jackson wants to see us. He’s in a bad mood,” he warned.
“Great. I haven’t even drunk my coffee yet,” she grumbled as she closed her computer and walked down the hall with Agent Harrison. “What’s got him riled up?” she asked as she sipped from her mug.
“Some new intel came in last night concerning Rahimi. He’s pissed the bastard made it in the country,” Agent Warren Harrison said in a low voice.
“We’ve only gotten snippets of chatter. No one pinned him to one place. Where did he enter?” she asked, feigning innocence.
“Rahimi entered through Canada,” he informed as they entered her director’s office.
“It’s about damn time,” her boss grumbled. “Why am I hearing third hand about Rahimi’s whereabouts?”
“We didn’t pinpoint him close to any borders. The information we received showed he remained in Afghanistan,” she said calmly. “Do you know where he’s headed?” she asked, hoping her expression didn’t give anything away.
Director Jackson rose and paced the floor. “Word has it, he’s searching for his wife and child after escaping US custody. We need to get a team there, pronto. Avie Rahimi and her son may be in danger as we speak.”
“She’s safe,” Rebecca assured him. “I have her stashed in a remote location. He won’t even think to search for her there.”
“Where?” he demanded.
She shook her head. “The fewer people who know, the better.”
“Damn it, Rebecca,” he pounded on his desk. “Do you want to take the heat when he snatches her up? She’s a credible witness and gave us multiple weapons stashes. We owe it to her to keep her safe.”
“She’s good,” she said firmly, already planning her escape route.
“Fine. I want you on the investigation. According to the last report, he entered using the name Hamid Karimi,” the director informed them. “I have two agents already working on facial recognition. Hopefully, they have some leads for you.”
Agent Harrison stood up and opened the door to leave when the director called out, “Rhodes, I’d like a word.”
Rebecca nodded and waited until Harrison left. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Move Avie Rahimi. Take Harrison with you tonight and get her settled,” he ordered.
“No. She’s secure. I have measures in place to ensure no one finds her,” she said firmly.
She relocated Avie to Greenville, Maine, under an assumed name, a fake wig and turned Deni into a girl, which he didn’t appreciate.
Rebecca used two agents from Arkansas whom she worked with some months ago.
Avie and she communicated through email with a cheap laptop she kept in the women’s bathroom vent at her local coffee shop.
Leaving the messages in the drafts folder, she waited until Avie repeated the same technique.
In her last check-in, she reported everything seemed fine until a few weeks ago.
Two men entered the town asking questions, and she took Deni for a weeklong trip.
When Avie returned, the men were gone. After several moves, she chalked it up to her overactive imagination.
Rebecca, armed with the knowledge of Rahimi’s escape and current re-entry, didn’t plan to leave it to chance.
Her director stared at her for a few moments, trying to intimidate her into doing his bidding, but she remained firm. She refused to upheave Avie and Deni again when they held no connection to the place.
“If you don’t need anything else, I’ll join Harrison and track Rahimi down,” she said, hoping he dropped the idea.
“Fine. Keep me informed,” he said, glancing at his computer.
Rebecca walked toward the tech offices and found Harrison talking to another agent she didn’t recognize. When she approached, the man walked away and Harrison turned toward her.
“Do they know anything yet?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken with them,” he said, walking beside her. Rebecca glanced behind them to see the man Harrison spoke with take out his phone, say a few words, and place it back into his jacket pocket.
“Who’s your friend? I haven’t seen him around here before,” she asked, nonchalantly.
“I trained with him at the farm. He’s here on another case and we bumped into each other,” he explained.
“Let’s see what Rich and Dan came up with,” she said, entering their office.
“Pay up, Dan. I told you they planned to sic Rhodes and Harrison on Rahimi’s tail,” Rich said as he swung in his desk chair over to another set of computers. A screen popped up, and a map pinpointed Rahimi’s sightings.
“We lost him after he entered Vermont,” Rich informed her. “We’re going back to the cameras and searching areas where he might’ve changed clothes. Then we’ll start with street cams.”
“Did anyone accompany him?” she asked as she leaned on the desk.
“Three men walked out with him, and then they split up. They didn’t speak or give any indication they joined him here, but I’m guessing they’re related.”
“Follow them as far as you can,” she said, concentrating on the image of the four men. “Run them through facial recognition. I believe the man on the left might be his cousin, Hassan. Harrison, we need to fly to Vermont and have feet on the ground.”
“He won’t stay there,” Harrison shook his head. “Unless you stashed Avie close.”
“Then, I guess he’ll be disappointed. Avie’s good. Get us a flight while I inform Jackson we’re leaving,” she told him before returning to her boss’s office. When she didn’t find him there, she scribbled a message to him.
Her heart pounded, and she raced to her office, determined to contact Julio. She sat down and pulled the phone from her boot when Director Jackson walked in. She dropped the device into her drawer.
“They located Rahimi entering through Vermont. We’re flying out as soon as Harrison gets us on a flight. Three men might have accompanied him. They’re running facial recognition now,” Rebecca informed him.
“What do you think you’ll find there?” he asked.
“He can’t have gotten far. Hopefully, we can track down where he stayed. Maybe someone saw him at a local restaurant, or we caught him on camera,” she said, adding files to her bag.
“We’ll talk soon,” he said before leaving.
Rebecca grabbed the phone and stuffed it back in her boot, deciding to wait until she knew more. The last couple of years, she moved Avie around and they seemed happy in Greenville. Uprooting her two days before Christmas, when she didn’t know where Rahimi planned to go, seemed pointless.
“Hey, we can leave in an hour. Director Jackson informed me he’s going with us. The brass must’ve reamed him out a good one,” Harrison told her as he stuck his head inside her office. “Do you want me to contact the local officials?”
“No. We’ll go in under the radar. I don’t want Rahimi to know we’re on his tail.
Have a car waiting for us, preferably a Four-Wheel Drive.
With the winter storms, it’ll be icy and cold,” she ordered him, picking up her phone to check her messages as Harrison returned to his office.
She jotted a few things down to work on while on the flight.
Grabbing her go bag, Rebecca locked her office and headed toward Harrison’s.
She rapped on his window, and he held up his finger for her to wait a minute.
They boarded the plane and she buckled up, placing her workload in front of her. A few minutes later, Director Jackon joined them sitting across from her and next to Harrison.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked as she made her way to the galley.
“I’ll take a water,” Harrison replied, texting a message on his phone.
“I’m fine,” Jackson replied as he opened his briefcase and pulled out his laptop.
Rebecca sat down and studied the map. How did Rahimi enter without the CIA getting a heads-up sooner?
Julio mentioned he found a mole in his office.
Did she have one in hers? She continued marking places on her map, engrossed in the case.
Something seemed to form in the back of her mind as she continued to plot everything out.
In no time, the plane descended and the wheels touched the ground.
She picked up her notes with the map, sticking them in her bag.
Director Jackson unbuckled his seatbelt as soon as the plane stopped, prompting them to do the same.
He seemed eager to find the man who escaped their custody from a federal prison six months ago.
She knew the higher ups must not be pleased to have Rahimi reenter the country without their knowledge.
She deboarded the plane with her cohorts and Harrison held the door open for her as they slid into the back seat. Gunshots pierced the air. The car sped off jerking them backward.
One of the men in the front seat turned around, holding a gun in his hand and aiming it at her. “Hand me your weapons,” he growled.
Harrison glanced at her as they calculated the possibilities of overtaking the man.
The driver didn’t appear surprised, leading Rebecca to the conclusion he worked for the bad guys.
With his high rate of speed on the icy roads, the chances of them overtaking the two seemed slim.
Moving her hand to her handgun, she shook her head, silently telling Harrison to wait.
Director Jackson removed his sidearm, handing it to the assailant.
Harrison followed suit. They’d wait for an opportune time.
Rebecca’s heart raced as the car took them to a remote wooded area. Noticing the log cabin up ahead, she surveyed the area around it, memorizing the denser trees. The driver stopped and turned off the engine.
“My friend will pat you down as you get out of the car. I’ll keep my weapon trained on the pretty blonde woman. If you think to run away, be prepared,” he warned ominously as a red dot appeared on Director Jackson’s coat. The man stiffened as he braced for the shot.
The driver got out and opened the door. Director Jackson went first, the red dot still showing on his coat.
The man jerked his head to the side, indicating for her to slide out.
The man patted her down, giving her breasts a tight squeeze.
She didn’t say a word as she sent up a silent prayer he didn’t find Julio’s phone.
A minute later, Harrison joined them and the man took a knife from her partner’s coat pocket.
The driver grabbed her arm roughly, dragging her up the stairs.
Rebecca wanted to fight back but she didn’t want to get her coworkers killed.
The man led them up the steps as the driver shoved her inside and into a bedroom.
She scanned it, searching for anything to use as a weapon and noticed the bars on the window.
She listened as the men shoved one of her team into the room beside hers. Director Jackson beat on the door, angrily shouting for them to leave Harrison alone.
Rebecca’s heart leapt into her throat as she heard them roughing her partner up. “Tell us where to find Avie Rahimi,” the assailant ordered.
“I don’t know,” Harrison replied.
A minute later, she heard him scream bloody murder. “I don’t know,” he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Rebecca slid down the wall as his screams grew louder, then weaker.
How long until their kidnappers discovered she was the only one with the information?
Recalling her training, she prepared herself to face whatever torture they planned for her.
From the sounds of things, they planned to beat it out of Harrison.
If he broke down, would they go to more extreme torture, such as waterboarding or even worse, rape?
Pulling out the phone, she pulled up the messaging app to see Julio’s last text to her.
Hey Beautiful. I’m heading to Serenity Mountain. Say the word, and I’ll hop on the next plane, and we can sip eggnog by the fire. Most of all, I can wake up with you in my arms on Christmas morning.
She swallowed and tapped down her feelings as she concentrated on her task at hand.
Rebecca didn’t know how much time she had before they came after her.
She needed to prepare herself and find a way to save her coworkers while keeping Avie’s whereabouts secret.
She hurriedly typed out a message only to see she didn’t have any cell service.
Turning the device off, she stuck it between the mattress and sheets as she heard them drag Harrison into the room with Director Jackson.
A scuffle ensued, and she pressed her ear to the wall, trying to hear anything to help them out of the situation.
They noisily made their way back to the sparse front room, taking Director Jackson. From the sounds, he must’ve put up a hellava fight after seeing what they did to Harrison.
She bit her lip, biding her time until they came for her. Julio’s face rose before her and she recalled his sleepy smile as she kissed him goodbye, not knowing it might be the last time she saw him. ‘I love you, Becca,’ he whispered as she leaned down to kiss him. She replied, ‘I love you more.’
If she didn’t survive the torture, she hoped he remembered those words She trembled at the prospect.
These men captured them with little resistance and kept others hidden in the woods if they tried to escape.
Rebecca wondered if she’d get killed by a gunshot wound and lie in the freezing snow before death welcomed her.
She shook herself out of it, knowing Julio wouldn’t give up until he found her.
Resolving to fight until he did, she prepared herself to find an escape route when they came for her.
Somehow, she’d save herself and the two men in the room beside her.