They forged ahead, checking room after room. Nobody appeared to be in the building. This area was dark. Yet they weren’t seeing any security cameras on the floor at all. But, then again, it was one of the lower levels, and often no security was down here anyway. Separating, they quickly searched the entire downstairs and found nothing. Both of them frowned, as they joined up again, and took the stairs up to the next floor. This was slightly below ground level, with half the windows at ground height. They went through this floor and again found nothing, no sign of anybody or even that the building had been occupied in a long time.
With his heart sinking, afraid that their intel had been bad, Shane and Diesel made their way up to the next floor. Here were at least signs of humans. This was the first floor aboveground, and they approached cautiously. Nobody was at the reception area, nobody in the hallway or around the elevators. Shane tilted his head, putting up a fist to stop Diesel from rushing forward.
With the two of them listening, they moved forward quietly. As they came up to an open doorway, they saw two apparent guardsmen, sitting, drinking coffee, with a TV show playing on the desk in front of them.
As one of the men got up to refill his coffee, the other one twisted around in his chair, his back to them. Shane and Diesel took advantage of that opportunity and dashed by the doorway and headed down the hallway to see just what these guards were supposedly guarding.
As Shane and Diesel came to the first room, they found a bunch of supplies—including bags, boxes, and some duffel bags with weapons, but no sign of the woman.
They headed to the next room, and this one was locked. Shane quickly unlocked it, and, with a quick dash, the two entered with guns ready. This looked like a small apartment and was more like what Shane expected. Especially considering the woman had been here for six months. As they went inside, they locked the door and quickly scanned through what appeared to be a living room and kitchen. When they came to another room, he saw a woman sleeping. He motioned to Diesel, and, keeping the lights off, he walked in and checked that she wasn’t under guard. Slipping to the side of the bed, he immediately clasped a hand over her mouth. She woke with a jerk, and she stared at him in horror. As she tried to fight, he eased down and whispered, “We’re here to rescue you.”
She stared at him, sagging back in the bed, and then he discovered one more complication they didn’t need. From the size of her belly, she was at least seven months’ pregnant, maybe even full-term. He looked to Diesel to see him staring at this new development himself. The last thing they needed was a woman who couldn’t move, at least not quickly, and she certainly couldn’t climb, like they needed her to, for the hole they’d blown through. He sighed, helping her sit up, and asked, “How far along are you?”
“Eight-plus months,” she said. “Who are you?”
“We’re both Americans,” he said. “Your father sent us.”
She stared at him in shock. “Are you sure?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes. Why?”
She shook her head. “Because it’s been so long, I didn’t think he cared.”
“Well, he’s been trying to get somebody to do the job.”
“And that’s you, I suppose.”
Her voice was calm, as if she’d already thought through the worst that could happen and had made her peace with it. “How long have you been here?”
“Here in this place? A couple months,” she said. “I was moved from another location. Actually it was a ship. I was kept for a long time in a small room. Then they brought me here. I think it was just too hard for them to look after me.”
“And who is your father?”
She named the same guy they’d been dealing with. He nodded. “Yes, that’s who arranged this.”
“You don’t appear to be very happy about it.”
“I’m not. He kidnapped a close friend of mine and wiped out her entire department as a test to see if I could rescue her well enough that he would trust me to rescue you,” he said in a hard voice. “Now he currently has my sister, her husband, and her children, all held hostage while I rescue you.”
She gasped in horror, and then she shuddered, her eyes closed. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “That’s him. Dear old Dad.”
“Do you have much of a relationship with him?” he asked, as he helped her up, checking to see how mobile she was.
“I did at one time,” she said, “but I planned to marry somebody he didn’t approve of, and that set us back.”
“And since then?”
“They killed my friend, when I was kidnapped,” she said softly. “It doesn’t matter what I feel about my father right now,” she said. “If I can get out of this, save my child, avenge my friend, and get back to my fiancé,” she said, “I’ll be more than thankful for dear old Dad’s assistance.”
“Anybody else in your family?”
“No,” she said, “just the two of us.”
“Is he as bad as he appears?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “He’s a drug runner. A job I don’t agree with. A career I tried to get him to stop, which was the end of our conversations for the longest time,” she said. “But, at the moment, he has apparently come to my rescue, so I feel wrong saying anything negative about him.”
“Families are complicated that way, aren’t they?” he said.
She gave a brittle laugh. “What about the guards out there?” she asked. “Did you kill them?”
“No,” he said, “I was hoping not to.”
“You’ll have to,” she said. “The boss here will kill them anyway.”
“Have you met him? Do you know what’s going on?”
“He’s trying to force my father to do something. I don’t know what. But my father doesn’t take kindly to people forcing him to do things,” she said. “I’m just a pawn caught in the middle.”
“Well, you’re in England, in case you didn’t know,” he said, “and, with any luck, we can get you out of here.”
“I hope it’s not down to luck,” she said. “I don’t feel like my life has had any of that lately.”
“Did these guys here kill your friend?”
“No. They are just hired guns. The man who kidnapped me is someone I know very well. He came to talk to me.” She stopped speaking to collect herself.
“What happened?” Shane asked, as he went around the room and pulled out clothing for her. She just added the streetwear over her gown, dressing as quickly as she could in the darkness, given her condition.
“He came to talk to me. He wanted me to go with him. I refused. My friend stood up for me, and, before I knew it, they were in an argument. Just like that, my kidnapper pulled out a handgun and shot my friend in the head. The kidnapper didn’t know I was pregnant,” she murmured. “The bottom line is that he needed me to get my father to do something.”
“Yeah,” he said, “same as the friend of mine and the same as my sister. We’re all just pawns, apparently.” At that, he asked, “Do you have shoes?”
“Yes,” she said, “but I can’t put them on.”