Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
H is next stop was Emily.
Izzy's personal assistant opened the door, her face wet with tears. To her credit, she looked awful. Her eye makeup was smudged and running down her cheeks, she still wore her wrinkled party dress from last night, and it was clear she hadn't slept a wink.
"Any news?" She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
"I'm afraid not."
Marching back into the room, she threw herself onto the bed. "Poor Izzy! God only knows what those monsters are doing to her now."
Viper preferred not to think about that, but he did know that if it was the cartel and they planned to ransom her or use her as a bargaining chip, it was in their best interests to keep her alive. This wasn’t piracy in the traditional sense, although he did have some experience of that. One year, while deployed on a warship off the coast of East Africa, he’d had several run-ins with well-funded, organized crime groups operating from motherships with the sole purpose of stealing crude oil from tankers. They used excessive force and didn't bother with kidnapping for ransom. Any hostages or casualties were shot and killed. It was easier that way.
The men who'd taken Izzy were not interested in oil. They had something else in mind, something to do with her father's company.
"I'm sure she's fine," he said with more confidence than he felt. "They won't hurt her. She's too valuable as leverage."
"Do you think so?" she sniffed.
He nodded. "Emily, I need to ask you a question. Did you know about the party on the yacht before Robert arrived?"
She thought for a moment. "Yes, I know Casper from the social scene in D.C. and he texted me an invite days ago, but I hadn't replied. It was up to Izzy."
Everything was up to Izzy, it seemed.
Everybody danced to her tune.
"Did the two of you discuss it?" he asked.
"We might have done," she admitted, sitting up. "Yes, we did. Casper came around to the hotel yesterday morning. We had drinks and he asked us again. Izzy said we'd play it by ear, depending on the shooting schedule."
"Did you discuss it with anyone else?
"I don't think so. Oh, wait a minute, the golfers were there."
"Golfers? You mean those men you were talking to at the pool?" He'd noticed them but deemed them not a threat. Maybe he’d been too hasty.
"Yes." She flushed. "I met up again with them that night you and Izzy left the club."
He narrowed his eyes. "Are they staying here?"
She flushed. "Matt is in room 375."
"Thanks, Emily." It was time to pay them a visit.
Room 375 was situated on the third floor of the hotel, two below theirs. Viper knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer. After knocking a second time, he went back down to reception.
"Could you tell me if the guys in room 375 are still here? One of them left his shirt on the golf course yesterday. I thought I'd return it."
She looked at her computer screen.
"No, sir. I'm afraid they've already checked out."
Interesting.
"Any idea when?"
"Last night." She frowned. "But it says here they're paid up until today."
Now that was very interesting.
Blade Wilson rang him a couple of hours later. It was almost midday, and Viper still hadn't slept. His body wouldn't shut down. Not while Izzy was still out there. It had been fourteen hours since she’d been taken.
The police had been in touch. They'd immediately launched a kidnapping investigation, but with nothing concrete to go on, there wasn't much they could do. They'd put out an alert for the fishing trawler, Pacific Pride, but those guys were professionals—the boat would be long gone by now.
"What have you got?" he asked Blade as soon as he answered the phone.
"Nothing yet. One of our operatives, Phoenix, is on his way to you. He boarded a plane an hour ago. He'll make his way to the hotel. You'll need some help getting her back."
Adrenaline shot through his body. The mission wasn't over.
"I know Phoenix," he said. "We went through SEAL training together."
"Yeah, he's a great guy. I'm sorry we can't spare any more operatives. As you know, we're under-resourced right now. Pat even suggested I come out, but I'm needed here."
"Did you find the fishing trawler?" Viper asked.
"Not yet. It's registered out of El Salvador, but that's not unusual."
His heart sank. Without a bead on the trawler, they had no hope of finding her.
"There is someone who we think can locate it," Blade added.
"Really? Who?"
"Phoenix's wife, Ellie, has a geologist friend at Stanford University who has access to a satellite. He maps the ocean floors along the coastline, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. Something to do with finding oil deposits. There’s a chance he has access to the live data from last night."
"Phoenix is married?" That was news. The Phoenix he'd known back in his SEAL days was the last person Viper would have guessed would settle down.
"Yeah, he met his wife on an oil rig in the Gulf last year. She's smart, like Lily. Don't know what these clever women want with us thugs."
Lily, Blade's wife, was a military software designer who worked for the US government. Anna had told him all about it when he'd been at the office.
"This friend of Ellie's, he'll help us track the Pacific Pride ?"
"He should be able to. I'm sending you his contact details. Ellie has already spoken to him, so he's expecting your call."
"I'll get straight on it. Thanks, man."
"We'll get her back, brother. Don't worry."
He just hoped they’d get there in time.