Mitch declined the alcohol being offered by the flight attendant and opted for a juice.
Need to keep a clear head, he thought. God knows what’s waiting for us in Nevada, or where the hell J.J. is.
After takeoff, Ellen leaned towards him.
“Mitch, I’ve got these profiles on Johan and Maria. Nick you already have. Do you want them now?”
“Thanks Ellie, may as well.” He took Ellen’s notes and scanned the page.
“Ah,” he circled a company called Linenet. “I imagine that’s where Johan met Maria – when he was working for this company in Venezuela in 2004.”
“I’d say so,” Ellen agreed. “They entered the U.S. together, so the romance has been on for a while.”
Mitch flipped the page to Maria’s profile and looked over the entries.
“Strong distribution networks throughout South America and Europe. That’s handy.”
Mitch stopped to read a line out loud.
“Her sister Ana was engaged to an American pilot. Ana was killed in a car accident late last year. What are the odds we know the pilot?”
“Nicholas Everett?” Ellen guessed.
“Precisely.”
Mitch went through the files John had sent electronically. He gave the map to Ellen to find the best possible entrance and exit to the Broad Arrow mining site.
“We’re lucky some of the tunnels still exist from the days when the area was a thriving gold mine,” he said. “Odd. Usually after production ceases they secure them.”
“Very lucky,” she agreed. “See here,” Ellen pointed to the map, “this is probably the best entry point. These underground tunnels will give us direct access to the main building if we can find the entrance to the tunnels and if they haven’t been sealed. They should be external, against the south wing of the building.”
“Plan B if they are sealed?” Mitch asked.
“There’s always the ceiling.”
“Thank God,” Ellen said, making her way off the plane.
Mitch went straight to the hire car desk and within fifteen minutes they were on the road. He concentrated on the monotonous highway ahead of him.
“Get some sleep Ellie; you’re going to need it.” He opened the window, using the cold air to stay alert and resigned himself to the drive. His mind wandered …
One hour …
… crap music, nothing to see …
… Ellie sleeping.
He yawned and flicked between radio stations.
Two hours …
… need to stop for gas … something to look forward to …
… Ellie’s still sleeping … truly amazing how she does that with the radio and wind noise.
Three hours …
… one coffee and a Coke gone …
… aching, need to take a piss; can wait until next gas stop … more coffee …
… if you’re not dead J.J., I’m going to kill you.
Mitch’s phone rang making him jump. Ellie woke up beside him.
“Parker,” he answered.
“Mitch, where are you now?”
“John! Still driving; about an hour away from the destination. You scared the shit out of me, again,” he said feeling his heart thumping.
“I was counting on that to wake you up.” John hung up.
Mitch looked over at Ellen. “I swear sometimes he’s in my head.”
“Funny, that’s what we say about you,” she smiled at him.
Mitch dialed Samantha’s number and followed her directions. He saw her waiting in her hire car, discretely parked on the outskirts of the town’s limits. She jumped into their car.
“I have never been so pleased to see anyone in my whole life as I am to see you two,” she exclaimed.
“No news from J.J.?” Mitch asked.
“Nothing.”
“OK, Sam, tell the story from the top. Don’t leave anything out.”
As he listened, Mitch accelerated to get to the former mine site. Getting closer, he looked around for somewhere to hide the car.
“What’s the landscape like during the day?” he pushed Samantha.
“Flat, lots of scrub.”
He found a hilly area where the car could be hidden.
“Hope it holds up in daylight,” he parked the rental car, killed the lights and jumped out. Opening the boot, the three agents geared up. He checked their weapons – a handgun, a ranger knife, stun guns, flares and a quantity of bullets and devices for immobilizing the enemy.
“Test your wires and trackers,” he ordered. They each did so in turn.
Satisfied and with a quick glance to his watch, Mitch gave directions.
“It’s just on four. We’ve got to be out by first light. We’re going to jog down to the boundaries of the main building. If there is security—and according to surveillance there is only one officer on duty—he should be around the main building. We have to assume that the building is alarmed, so we need to get in underground somehow. If the map is accurate, those tunnels are near the fuel storage tanks. Once in, we’ll break up. I’ll indicate where you are to go. Cover the area, keep your trackers on and stay alert.”
Hugging the back roads they jogged the half-mile distance to the site. Mitch strained to see the girls, camouflaged in black in the pitch-black surrounds. The only sounds he could hear were of their footsteps as their hiking boots hit the road surface. Mitch slowed his pace to ensure they didn’t fall too far behind.
He arrived at the first of the buildings and waited for Ellen and Samantha to fall in behind him.
“Sam,” he whispered, “head to the front of the building. Look out for the van, any signs of a struggle, any signs of J.J. Come back here when you’re done. We’ll let you know where the tunnel entrance is.”
She nodded and peeled off.
“Fuel storage,” he whispered to Ellen. They searched the area where it was suppose to be according to the map.
Nothing.
They covered the area again. It dawned on him.
The row of barrels is masking it.
Nudging behind one of the barrels, Mitch tipped it to the side.
Found it!
He gave Ellen the thumbs up. With another glance around, Mitch heaved the barrel out of the way, a foot at a time.
This is when you need J.J., he thought, grunting with the effort.
“OK, Ellie, let’s go,” he pulled up the iron lid, looked down into the tunnel and lowered himself down the steel ladder. He helped Ellen down and maneuvered the lid back in place. Mitch and Ellen stood still, listening for noises, waiting for their eyes to adjust. He could feel her touching his back in the dark.
She’s freaked out.
Mitch pulled out his penlight and turned it on. Rats scuttled and he felt Ellen stiffen behind him. He saw tunnels in every direction – full size, wide tunnels that cleared his head by at least a foot. Ellen’s breathing quickened.
“Are you OK?” he shined the penlight in her face.
She nodded.
“Go up if it freaks you out.”
“I’m OK,” she began to slow her breathing.
Mitch watched her for a few seconds more. “Ellie, go up if you need to … I don’t want to carry you out after we’ve gone half-a-mile underground.”
“I’m OK,” she assured him.
Mitch turned the penlight down to the map and studied it. He flashed the light at the nearest tunnel to their right. They followed it as it went downhill, then sideways, and then leveled out. They walked for about five minutes until Mitch came to a small timber-framed hatch above his head. He pried it open. A shower of dirt and dust fell onto him and he blinked to clear his eyes.
“This hasn’t been opened for years.”
Mitch pushed himself through the hatch, calculating there were two underground levels in the main building. On the other side of the cover was another iron ladder.
“Ellie,” he whispered, “continue along the tunnel, and try any doors you find. Look out for anything suspicious.”
She nodded.
Mitch took her arm. “Are you sure you’re OK?”
“I’m fine,” she pulled away.
OK, he coached himself, the ladder should hopefully land me somewhere near reception of the main building.
Mitch bound up the fifteen rungs and listened.
All quiet. He edged open the next door he found until it was wide enough to see through and get his bearings.
No security cameras; no lighting either.
He pushed the door open and slipped through.
The main building! He thought and exhaled with relief. Mitch went to the edge of the wall and squatted, taking in the area. Spotting the open fire-exit door, he bolted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. He came to a partially opened door and looked in.
This is wrong, he frowned. It looks like another storage area. Reception must be one more floor above. He glanced up to the next landing. The door was barred.
“Damn”, he muttered, “I can’t risk opening it in case it’s alarmed and Sam’s got the tester.” Mitch went back into the storage area and glanced up.
Great, a ten foot high ceiling. He studied the area. Nope, no way around it. He stood on a table and pulled the grate aside, taking a leap towards the ceiling. He gripped the outer edges of the air conditioning shaft and pulled himself through, grunting with the pain in his body. I’m becoming a master of crawling in ceilings.
He scurried along until he came to a vent. Glancing through it, it seemed to come out in a hallway.
He pushed the frame until it fell out, crawled through the hole and put the vent cover back in place. Mitch stood, looked around and moved straight ahead, prying open another door.
Perfect! Just where I want to be: reception. He listened; there was no sound.
Where the hell is the security guard? No cameras, no dogs … security seems pretty light on – odd.
Mitch used his wire.
“Ellie, are you OK?”
There was a slight delay before he heard her voice.
“Alive and kicking.”
“Good, stay that way. I’m at reception. Anything your way?”
“Nothing,”
“OK, carry on.” Mitch let his eyes adjust to the darker environment, then headed to the reception desk. He grabbed a delivery docket sitting on the desk from the courier company.
Two cylinders and a small box delivered here, he noted. Someone’s signed for them.
A sound at the outside window instinctively made him duck for cover. He looked up to see Samantha outside.
“Shit, Sam,” he said into his mic.
“Sorry! I’m just going to case the window for alarms.”
Mitch watched her move the scanner over the aluminum window frame. She gave the all-clear sign and he pushed the window open, helping her in.
“No sign of the van outside,” she said in a hushed voice. “There are several sets of tire tracks leading to a larger garage next to this building. I think that’s where we should be looking; it’s sealed. Can we enter it through this building?”
“We’ll find out.”
Mitch showed her the courier receipt. “It’s signed at twelve-forty. Is that timing right? Would it be J.J.?”
“Yes,” Samantha nodded, “that’s about the time he arrived. They’ve nabbed him after he had made the delivery … I wonder what alerted them.”
“Hopefully J.J. can tell us. Let’s get into the garage; it must be connected to the main building somehow.” He scanned the map for clues. Mitch looked around.
“Come on.” He headed down the hallway of the building, looking left and right as rooms peeled off on either side.
“No sign of J.J. here,” Ellen came through on the wire. “I’m heading up one level.”
“OK. When you finish the next level Ellie, head towards the back of the building, we’re trying to get into the garage and we think that’s where the access will be.”
Mitch came to the end of the hallway.
“Two exits. One marked for fire and the other sealed by dead locks. Check them for alarms, Sam.”
He stood back and watched her run the scanner over the fire door. The light remained green as she ran it around the door, looking for an alarm.
Mitch waited, his foot tapping.
“All clear,” she whispered.
“I don’t get it, where’s the security?”
“Perhaps they didn’t think they needed any … yet.”
Mitch pushed open the fire door and found himself out in the open courtyard.
“Wrong door,” he said under his breath. “Try the other one, Sam.”
She tested the door for an alarm.
“Clear.”
“Great, no alarm,” he said angrily, “just a dead lock.”
“And breaking into locks is J.J.’s specialty,” Samantha sighed.
“Don’t remind me.”
“Mitch?” Ellen’s voice cut across his thoughts.
“Go ahead.”
“This level’s clear too,” she said with a mixture of disappointment and relief in her tone. “I’m done.”
“OK make your way to the garage if you can find a way in, head towards the rear, we’re on our way.”
Mitch looked at the door and lock again.
“We need to ram that in,” he said looking around for something to help throw weight against the door.
“Nothing,” he said. “Well here goes.” He ran at the door and hit it will full force. Mitch fell back and tried again. Samantha joined in. The door latch began to crumble and with one final kick from Mitch the lock swung off and the door flew open.
Racing through the stairwell they arrived at the garage.
“Hey, we’re above you,” Mitch whispered into his mic to Ellen as she pushed up a grate from a tunnel below. He helped move the grate and she joined them.
“It’s all clear here,” Samantha said casing the area. “This place is amazing. There are tunnels everywhere.”
Mitch led the way out of the first large concrete garage bay, passing another two bays. And then, he saw it – the Rightway Express Courier Van.
“Split up.”
Mitch went to the back of the van, Samantha cased the room and Ellen took the front. Mitch swung the back van doors open; it was empty.
“Shit”, he swore under his breath. He jumped out of the back of the van and stood looking around the room, his hands on his hips.
We’re running out of time. Think!
His eyes widened at the site of a huge mound of earth, freshly dug in the corner of the garage.
“Oh, no,” he inhaled sharply. He saw Ellen and Samantha turn at the sound of his voice and they noticed the mound. Mitch swallowed the lump in his throat. Samantha ran towards it, but he beat her there, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her behind him.
“No, Sam, get back.”
She moved around him, dropping to her hands and knees and began to dig. Mitch heard a muffled thump and froze. The sound came again. He signaled for quiet; it was coming from a storage unit. Mitch indicated for Samantha to check the unit for alarms. She ran the test; the green light for all-clear came on. He looked at the bolt securing the unit.
“Should we blow it?” Samantha asked.
“No, too noisy.”
He reached for a small pair of bolt cutters from his vest. Mitch worked at the steel, feeling the sweat running down his back.
Come on!
With a snap, the bolt gave way and Mitch pulled open the door to find Jack Jameson alive, bound, blindfolded and gagged. Samantha pulled J.J.’s blindfold from his eyes. Ellen joined in, untying the bonds around his feet. J.J.’s face was bruised; the courier overalls were covered in dirt and blood.
“I thought you’d never get here,” J.J. gasped.
Mitch let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank Christ, you’re OK.” He turned and walked away, feeling the anger build up inside him.
“Boss, I’m sorry …” J.J. started.
Mitch turned. “J.J., save it.”
“I just thought if I could …”
“No, really. Not now,” Mitch paced.
Stay calm, deal with it later. You’re the team leader; just keep it together.
“Mitch, at least let me explain …”
Mitch glared at him through clenched teeth. “We’ll talk about it later, not now. We’re almost out of time and we’ve got to get out of here.”
He saw J.J.’s eyes flare with anger.
“If you weren’t so anal and gave us the chance to think for ourselves occasionally,” J.J. hissed.
Mitch heard Samantha inhale sharply.
“Anal!” Mitch exploded. “Thinking for yourself has really paid off, hasn’t it? You were on surveillance orders, in charge on the ground. You could have blown the mission, not to mention what a waste of time this has been traipsing across the country to save your sorry ass. I should kill you myself.”
“Mitch,” Samantha grabbed Mitch’s arm and moved in front of him, cutting off his vision of J.J. “We both made the decision.”
Mitch shrugged Samantha off.
“We’ve got a job to do, focus on that. Where’s the security?” he asked J.J.
J.J. bent over, wincing. “There is one guy around: a soft, middle aged guy. He’s armed.”
“Then how did you get in this shape?”
“The driver and guard did it, after I was tied up.”
“The courier van’s here. Where’s the driver?” Mitch pushed him.
“I don’t know,” J.J. said. “He might have been too groggy to drive and got a lift.”
“Not groggy enough to give you a thrashing though. Let’s get out of here before the security guard finds us.”