Chapter 22 #2
She rounded a bend and stopped short. The tunnel ended in a sheer wall of rock. A dead end. She definitely didn’t remember this. “No,” she whispered, spinning around. “No, no, no.” She’d have to go back, try another route.
But as she turned, her light caught something—a glint of metal embedded in the wall. A rung. Then another above it.
The ladder.
Oh, thank you, God.
Elena directed her failing light upward. The ladder disappeared into darkness, leading to what looked like a shaft in the ceiling.
The exit.
She tucked the stun gun between her teeth and grabbed the first rung. It held her weight. The second one too. Elena climbed steadily, ignoring the pain in her injured wrist. After what seemed like forever, she reached a door of some kind.
She pushed against it with her good hand. It didn’t budge. Rusted shut, maybe, or blocked by something above. Voices echoed from the tunnel behind her. They were closer. How did they know which way to go? Which paths she’d chosen? They’d probably split up into multiple groups.
Elena braced herself against the ladder and shoved with all her strength. The door groaned, then gave way with a screech of protesting metal. Freezing night air rushed in, carrying the scent of pine and the taste of snow.
Thankful she’d taken the time to grab her heavy coat, boots, and gloves, she hauled herself through the opening, emerging onto what appeared to be an old logging road. The moon provided just enough light to see by. She cut the stun gun’s light off and tucked it into her back pocket.
She shut the door, as there was still a chance they might not find it. She thought about trying to put something on top of it, but that would take time.
Elena looked around, trying to orient herself. The road stretched away in both directions, disappearing into the forest. Which way would lead her back to the store? To Sully?
A noise from below made her decision for her. They’d found the ladder.
Elena took off running down the road, away from the mine entrance. If she couldn’t find the market, she’d just need to put enough distance between herself and her pursuers to find a place to hide until daylight.
The road curved, then began to descend. Elena slowed, conserving her energy. Running blindly in the dark was a good way to break an ankle.
She came to a fork in the road. Which way had they gone? Which way, Mom?
Left. It had always been left.
Elena stood weighing her options, praying her decision was right. Behind her, the door crashed open. Flashlight beams swept the road.
She ran.
Sully pushed through the underbrush, branches slapping against his face. When he exited the tree line, the mine entrance loomed ahead, a dark mouth in the hillside guarded by three armed men. They hadn’t been in time to catch Elena before she went in. He rubbed his chin. So where did it come out?
His earpiece crackled. Oh, thank you, Lord. The team looking for the jammers must have found more and disabled them. “Sullivan, we’re in position. Tactical teams ready.”
“Copy that.” Sully crouched behind a fallen log.
“She’s not here. She’s already inside. I’m assuming others went in after her and the three guards on the outside are there to grab her if she comes back out the entrance.
” He paused a moment. “Team Bravo, move on the compound. Rescue the minor in the jail cell. Alpha team with me at the mine. If the signal goes out, do what you’re trained to do. ”
Federal and local officers fanned out toward the mine, dropping before they broke cover. Sheriff Donovan in tactical gear converged on Sully’s position.
“You think she’s in there?” Donovan asked, nodding toward the mine.
“Last intel we had from Lindy Grace was that Elena escaped into the mine.” Sully checked his weapon.
“Elena told me about escaping through the mine with her mother when she was a teen. So there’s another exit—assuming it hasn’t been closed off or caved in or .
. . whatever. Problem is, I don’t know where it comes out. ”
Agent Martinez crawled up beside them. “If there’s another exit, your girl could be anywhere in these mountains by now.”
His girl. Yeah, he liked the sound of that, but would it ever happen? The thought of Elena alone in these woods, pursued by armed fanatics, twisted his gut into knots.
“Elena mentioned something about a convenience store when we were driving back from town.” He searched his memory.
“She said her mother used to stop there sometimes when they lived with the preppers. And that she called for help from one when Elena was sick and they’d gone through the mine when they were trying to get to the hospital in Whitestone. ”
“You think that’s where she’d head?” Donovan asked.
“I do. If she got out of the mine, she’d need to find help, transportation.” Sully pulled out his phone. “The cell signals are still down.” He hoped Lindy Grace was working on turning off the jammers.
Martinez handed him a satellite phone. “See if this will work.”
Sully dialed the command center they’d established at the ranch and got through. Thank you, God. The satellite jammers must truly be down. “This is Sullivan. I need all convenience stores within a ten-mile radius of the mine entrance mapped immediately.”
“Copy that,” came the response. “Stand by.” Less than a minute later, the voice came back. “Five possibilities, Agent Sullivan. There are two that are closed but three that are 24/7. Sending coordinates now.”
Sully studied the map that appeared on the screen. “Sheriff, I need your men to check the first location. It’s closest to the compound.”
“On it.” Donovan gestured to two deputies. “Johnson, Miller, with me.”
Sully pointed to the map and nodded to another team of agents.
“Take down the guards and secure the entrance. If you go in, be careful. These old mines are death traps.” And Elena had gone in there.
He shuddered. Sully stood, motioning to Cooper and Ramirez to join him.
“You’re with me.” He turned to Martinez.
“Can you take two men to the second store?”
Martinez nodded, then pointed to an agent nearby. “Brooks, take over Alpha and secure the mine entrance.”
“Let’s move,” Sully said.
They split up, each team carrying out their orders.
Sully led his two agents through the forest. The convenience store he’d chosen was the farthest from the compound but closest to the main road.
If Elena had escaped and was thinking clearly, she’d head for the most public location. He could only pray it was open.
God, please let her be okay. Please let us find her in time.
The moon cast silver light through the trees. Add that to their high-beam flashlights and they had a good view of the terrain. Sully checked his watch. Almost midnight. Elena had been missing for over six hours now. More if her father and Iris had been early to the meeting.
“Sullivan.” Cooper pointed ahead. “I think I see lights.”
Through the trees, Sully spotted the glow of what looked like a small store. “That’s it. Approach with caution. We don’t know if the preppers are already here.”
They moved forward in standard formation, weapons ready. The convenience store sat alone at a crossroads, its neon Open 24 Hrs sign buzzing in the night. A single pickup truck sat in the parking lot.
“Cooper, circle around back. Ramirez, with me.” Sully approached the front entrance, scanning for any sign of Elena or her pursuers.
Nothing.
They entered and the bell above the door jingled. An elderly man looked up from behind the counter, his eyes widening. “Whoa. What’s going on?”
“FBI.” Sully held up his badge. “Have you seen a woman come in tonight? Late twenties, dark hair, possibly injured? She would have asked to use the phone.”
The man shook his head. “Just Old Pete getting his usual cigarettes about an hour ago. Nobody else.”
“What about unusual vehicles? Anyone driving too fast, looking like they’re searching for someone?”
He took his glasses off and cleaned them on his shirt.
“Well, now that you mention it, couple of trucks came through about twenty minutes ago. Driving like the devil himself was after them. Headed thataway.” He jerked a thumb in the opposite direction of the compound.
That could be the preppers searching for Elena.
Sully’s satellite phone buzzed. “Sullivan.”
“Sheriff Donovan here. No sign of your girl at the first location. Place is closed up tight.”
His girl. If only. He snapped that thought off again. “Copy that.” Sully ended the call and turned to Ramirez. “Let’s see if Cooper found anything.”
They stepped outside, where Cooper rejoined them. “Nothing around back, sir. Just dumpsters.”
Sully stared down the road. If the preppers had gone that way, did it mean Elena had too? Or were they searching blindly?
His phone buzzed. He had service? Lindy Grace must have been able to do what he asked. “Sullivan.”
“Martinez. Second location is clear. No sign of her.”
Sully’s heart sank. “Copy that. Regroup at my location.”
He ended the call and turned to his agents. “We need to—”
The radio on his belt crackled. “Agent Sullivan, this is Agent Brooks at the mine entrance. We’ve got movement inside. Someone’s coming out.”
“Is it Thompson?”
“Negative. Looks like three armed males. They’re talking about ‘the woman’ escaping through some kind of trapdoor that leads to an old logging road. We will neutralize them on your command.”
A logging road. All righty then. “Detain them and get the exact location of that door.” Sully turned to Cooper and Ramirez. “Back to the vehicle. Now.”
They sprinted back to their SUV. If Elena had escaped onto a logging road, she could be miles from any of the convenience stores they’d identified.
His phone buzzed as they reached the vehicle. “Sullivan.”
“Brooks again. We’ve got the location. There’s an old logging road that connects to Forest Service Road 25, about three miles from the mine entrance.”