“Yeah, that’s her place.”
“Well, give us a minute to do a quick search,” he said. “The house is dark, so we can’t be sure if they’re inside or not.”
“If the kidnappers are smart, they took them far away,” he said, his voice raw. “But, if not,” he said, “we’ll make sure we get them out of there.”
Just then another call rang on his phone. As soon as he disconnected with Gavin, the new call rang and rang. He stared down at the number, wrote it down, and then answered. Instinct had him saying, “What the fuck do you want?”
“You,” said the harsh voice on the other side.
“After you killed all those people, hurt my friend, and took my family captive?”
A short pause came from the other end. “You are fast,” he said. “Good, that’s what I need.”
“That may be what you need,” he said, “but your methodology leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Maybe,” he said, “but, if I’d asked you, would you have helped?”
“No,” he said.
“I’ve asked lots of people in the last few months,” he said, “and nobody’s willing to help.”
“So what’s the pressure now?”
“They’ve given me ten days, or they’ll kill her.”
“You just killed eleven people for nothing,” he said. “Why would I want to help you, after you took all those innocent lives?”
“I had to know if you could do the job,” he said. “Everybody else has failed.”
“Well, that’s bullshit,” he said. “I’m really not into death missions either.”
“And that’s possible,” he said, “but I’m desperate.”
“And your daughter? Do you know that she’s even still alive?”
“She is but not for long,” he said, his voice raw. “She’s the only child I have,” he said. “She told me four years ago to get out of the business, and I didn’t do it, and now somebody went after her. That’s inexcusable.”
“Oh, trust me. I know how you feel,” he snapped. “Because you’ve just gone after my family,” he said, “and there will be a reckoning at the end of this.”
“I don’t give a damn,” he said. “Shoot me if you can, but I want to make sure my daughter lives.”
“Yet you’re hurting so many others without a care.”
“If it was your daughter, wouldn’t you?” And, with that, he hung up.
Shane quickly put the number into the chat for Gavin and quickly wrote about the call.
Jesus Christ, Gavin said. The house is empty.
Shane buried his face in his hands for a moment, as he thought about what this meant. Immediately he felt soft hands rest on his shoulders. He reached up a hand and covered Shelly’s with his.
“I’m sorry you got pulled into all this,” she said.
He shook his head. “Hey, this is just part and parcel of the industry I work in,” he said. “I’m just sorry for all the people who have been dragged into it.”
“But it’s not your fault,” she said.
“Try telling that to my sister.”
“You’ll get them back,” she said.
He snorted. “I don’t even know where the guy’s daughter is being held.”
Almost immediately he received a text message on his phone from the same number. It contained an address and a simple message. My daughter’s in the basement.
He stared at it and said, “Jesus Christ, she’s in London.”
At that, Diesel hopped to his feet and came around to have a look. He wrote down the address and said, “Okay, let me get onto that.” He sat back down and soon accessed old blueprints and schematics on the building. “It was an old government building that was sold privately at some point,” he said, “but, as such, it’s got security all through it.”
“Do we know who owns it?” Shane asked.
“Looks like an Iranian corporation,” Diesel said, “Imports and exports.”
Shane rolled his eyes at that. “Great.”
“What’s wrong with imports and exports?” Shelly asked.
“Let’s just say, it can cover a multitude of sins,” Diesel said.
She nodded. “So, what can I do?”
“Well, now that we know it’s not about you—”
“Oh, come on,” she said. “If there’s something I can do to help you, let me help.”
“There’s really nothing you can do,” Shane said. “But, at the same time, I can’t let you go back home again either. That won’t be safe.”
“Why not?” she asked, and he looked up to see genuine curiosity.
“In case I screw up, or if I want to back out, they have my family, but I’ve already proven that I would come after you,” he said. “So they’ll pick you up, if they get another chance too.”
She sat down, thinking about it. “So, what size operation does a guy like this have?”
“Huge,” he said and stared at her. “Why?”
“Is it really possible then that nobody knows about him?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “Anybody like him, who deals in black market arms or in any kind of illegal front, will have all kinds of privacy that he’s bought and paid for.”
“Right,” she said. “I feel useless without my laptop.” Walking to her bag, she pulled it out and hooked it up. “I’ll do some research on my own.”
“Fine,” he said, “just share what you find.”
“Will do.” She hooked it up, sat down, and started thinking about the little bits and pieces she had learned. Then she looked into kidnappings reported in the media from six months ago. “Why six months ago, and why now? There’s got to be a reason for now.”
“They want something from him,” Shane said, and Diesel nodded in agreement. “That’s the only reason for the time frame to move up. He’s been arguing with the kidnapper. As long as they kept his daughter safe, he was going along with it. Now they’ve asked for something bigger, and he won’t budge. So he’s got to get her out of there, before he’s pushed to the limit.”
“Yes, that makes a lot of sense.” Mulling that over, she continued her search. A few minutes later she found something. “That company was sold several months ago,” she said.
“Sold by who? And who bought it?” Shane asked.
“From the Iranian import-export company, like Diesel said, to a British one. It was sold six months ago. The original company still owns the building.”
“Which would be around the time that she was picked up,” he said. “The kidnappers may have bought it just to hold her there.”
“Or the new buyer is just a shell corporation for the Iranian import-export company,” Shane suggested.
“Regardless of who owns it now, can you guys get any schematics on it?” Shelly asked.
“Yeah, I already have them up,” Diesel said. “It’s a pretty straightforward three-story building, with underground docks.”