Chapter 19 #2
“Here.” Mila thrust the cable ties at Ethan and he tied Darren’s hands behind his back as he scanned again to make certain he hadn’t missed her. “Can you see Chelsea?”
“No.”
He dumped Darren to his knees and tied another cable tie around his ankles before grabbing Mila’s hand. “This way.” No way he’d leave Mila alone. If anything happened to her, Dobby would kill him.
He dragged her towards the bathroom, his heart pounding as he scanned the area, hoping Chelsea was crouching down to examine another plant. As he cleared the office, he spotted the back gate wide open.
There was the unmistakable engine roar of a sports car.
Fuck.
Ethan dropped Mila’s hand and sprinted to the gate in time to see the black Porsche turn the corner, heading for the highway.
Johann.
He spun around. “Car!” he yelled to Mila, who jolted and sped back the way they came. He dug his phone out of his pocket and dialled Dobby.
“You need—”
“Johann has Chelsea,” Ethan interrupted.
“Mila?”
“Safe.” He scanned the highway and spotted the Porsche drive by. “Black Porsche heading south on the highway. En route to car.”
“We’ll head north now.”
Good. He caught up with Mila, who tossed him his car keys. Darren was back on his feet, but Ethan didn’t care. The police could deal with him.
Behind him Mila yelled, “We’ll be back for the plants.”
Ethan leapt into his car and waited only long enough for Mila to jump in before tearing out of the car park.
In the distance, the Porsche rounded a corner and drove out of view. “He’s left town, still heading south.”
“Roger,” Dobby replied through the car speaker. “We’ve cleared Honeybrook.”
Ethan pressed the accelerator to the floor as he shifted through the gears. Next to him, Mila was calling the police.
There wasn’t anything they could do. He had to catch up before Johann hurt Chelsea.
Maybe he already had.
He should have let Darren run. It was a rookie mistake. Protect the target always.
Why hadn’t Chelsea stayed inside?
Ethan clenched the steering wheel and went around the bend. Up ahead in the distance was the Porsche.
Twenty-five kilometres between here and Honeybrook, and only a few roads where Johann could turn, but he was pulling away. His Porsche had a lot more horsepower than Ethan’s four-wheel drive.
The car disappeared around another bend. “Lost eyes,” he reported.
“The operator contacted Josh,” Mila said. “He’s on his way.”
Ethan nodded but kept his eyes on the road. Up ahead, a car towed a caravan slowly. He switched lanes to pass it, only to face a truck. He swore, slamming on the brakes, and moved back into his lane.
“Don’t you have an accident with Mila in the car,” Dobby said.
Ethan didn’t answer, his heart pounding.
The truck roared past with a loud honk of its horn and Ethan shifted again, but there were several more cars coming towards him.
“Fucking caravans.” There had to be an overtaking lane soon.
“Just heading past Coolup,” Dobby reported as Ethan finally got past the caravan.
That was the halfway point. “You haven’t seen him?”
“No.”
Shit. Maybe he’d turned off. “Mila, where are we? Check what roads are between us and Coolup.” They’d only been past one road and a couple of farm entrances since he’d lost sight of the Porsche.
“There’s one,” Heath chimed in over the phone.
So two possible options.
He passed a sign telling him he was five kilometres from Coolup and then spotted the road Heath had mentioned.
He pulled over. “Stopping at the road.” He pulled out his phone to see where it went.
“Any chance Johann reached the town before you did?” He might have turned there and be hiding in the streets until they passed.
“Unlikely. He would have had to pass the same vehicles you struggled to pass,” Noah said.
Their black four-wheel drive pulled in behind him and Dobby jumped out, running to the passenger side to check on Mila.
“I know where they are!” Rhys yelled, getting out of the car.
Ethan strode over to him. “Where?”
“Johann’s company has a development near here. The road you drove past will take you straight there.”
It was their best option.
“Heath, there’s a drone in the back,” Noah called from behind the wheel. “Get it out.”
Dobby and Mila joined them. “Rhys, Heath, go in Ethan’s car. Mila will come with us.”
Ethan nodded as a plan formed. If they had a drone, they could survey the development and ascertain if Johann was there.
If he wasn’t… it wasn’t an option Ethan wanted to think about. “Connor, search for alternatives. Anyone got a sat phone?”
They all shook their heads, but Dobby passed him an ear comm they’d used last night. “Let’s go.”
In moments they were driving at speed towards the turn off. Ethan called Josh, while Heath set up the drone in the back.
“What the hell happened?” Josh demanded.
“Johann took Chelsea at the nursery. We think he’s taken her to the development on…” He glanced at Rhys.
“Timbertop Road.”
He repeated the information. “Did you get Darren?”
“Yeah, the Pinjarra police picked up an irate Darren from the nursery,” Josh said. “We’re on our way. Does Johann have any weapons?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t go in until we get there. I’ve contacted our hostage negotiator.”
Ethan wasn’t waiting. Not with Chelsea in danger. “Can’t guarantee that.” He turned onto the road and accelerated again.
When Josh didn’t reply, he glanced at his phone. No signal. “We’ve lost mobiles.”
“Ear comms are still good,” Connor reported.
Good.
“We’re two kilometres out,” Rhys reported.
“Show me,” Heath said as the drone beeped.
Rhys held up the map on his phone.
“Let me launch the drone,” Heath ordered.
Though it pained Ethan, he slowed so Heath could set the drone going. “Won’t it be faster if we get closer?”
“Noah doesn’t scrimp on his toys,” Heath said, staring at the control screen. “This thing can cut across the bush and go ninety ks an hour.”
Ethan reached an intersection. One way was bitumen and the other gravel. “Which way?”
“Left,” Rhys said.
Gravel. The dust could warn Johann they were coming before he heard them.
“I’ve got eyes,” Heath announced. “The black Porsche is at the development. I can’t see either Johann or Chelsea though.”
Ethan exhaled. It was a start.
“Find somewhere to pull over,” Dobby said. “We’ll go on foot. Connor and Mila will stay with the cars in case we need them.”
And to keep Mila out of harm’s way.
Ethan found a spot off the road and pulled in. He strode to his boot and pulled out several camping knives he used for cooking and held them up. “Anyone need a weapon?”
Rhys and Heath shook their head, taking out a multi-tool similar to the one Ethan had in his pocket. He sorted through his things, grabbing more cable ties, a mirror and a few other useful items.
Dobby and Noah joined them and Heath held out the drone display so they all could see. “The units don’t have roofs yet and I’ve scanned them all. The only place Johann and Chelsea can be is in one of the two demountables on site.”
“Can you look through the windows?” Ethan asked.
“I can’t get the right angle. If I go too low, there’s a chance they’ll hear the drone.”
“Most likely it’s the one closest to the car,” Noah said.
Ethan nodded. It was also the closest to the gate and the short side facing the entrance had no window. That would benefit them.
“Show me the entrance and exit points,” Dobby said.
Heath panned the drone around the demountable. A door and two windows on the side that faced the road, no windows on the opposite short side, and two windows facing the front fence of the compound.
Ethan nodded. “Here’s the plan.”