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IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS SINCE Imara got kidnapped, and Abe was ready to personally rip out the throat of anyone who got in his way. He could imagine plenty of things Takara might have done to Imara in that time, and only a few of them seemed better than death.
He balled his hands into fists and paced the room. They’d taken a day and a half to locate the taggers’ base. Five hours to sleep. Two to gather supplies. None to make a plan. All this time, and they still only had four people and a half-baked idea.
Four people to break into Takara’s mansion. Four people to rescue Imara.
Him, Husani, Keiko, and Siluk. Edrice would do remote work as usual. Keiko wasn’t even supposed to help since she was under the global working age. But she said she wasn’t going to leave so Abe might as well stop arguing about it.
Husani walked in and raised an eyebrow. “You’re pacing again.”
“Really?” Abe said. “I had no idea.”
Husani leaned his shoulder up against a wall. “What are you so nervous about? We go on rescue missions all the time. This is literally our job.”
Abe flashed his teeth with a sneer.
Husani moved from the wall and gave him a comforting pound on the back. “Imara can take care of herself. She’ll be all right.”
A glare was the only response he could muster. They had absolutely no guarantee Imara would be all right. They didn’t even know if she was still alive. The sooner they got to work, the better.
Just then, Siluk came in through the door. “Finally,” Abe said. “Let’s go.” They followed him to the main room where Keiko and Edrice argued over whether or not they should risk contacting the Egyptian police.
At this point, if the decision hadn’t been made, it wasn’t going to be made. He plucked his bag from the ground and said, “We’re leaving. Forget the police.”
Keiko nodded with a look of triumph. She grabbed her own bag, and soon all four of them were out the door. Once in the bubble car, Abe went over the plan again.
“This is a classic distract and grab. Avoid physical contact at all costs. All of you will cause a distraction that’s hopefully big enough to draw out Takara and anyone else in the mansion. While you’re busy, I’ll slip in and find Imara.”
Husani rubbed his knuckles. As usual before a mission, his eyes were shifting from playful to serious.
Siluk pulled a handful of glass balls from his pocket, each one a little bigger than a marble. “Here are the fire bombs,” he said. He handed half of them to Abe. “Just smash them on the ground, and once the scent spreads out, it will smell like there’s a fire nearby. Hopefully that’s enough to get some taggers to go and investigate.”
“Won’t the smell get on our clothes?” Keiko asked as she leaned in to look at the glass balls.
Siluk nodded. “Yes, if you’re too close. Make sure to smash them at least five feet away from your body, and then get to another room as quick as you can.”
Husani rubbed his knuckles one last time before giving Abe a little punch on the shoulder. “Why are you so quiet? Where’s our rousing speech?”
Abe jerked his body away with a frown. “I’ll feel better when I know Imara’s safe.”
Luckily, Husani got distracted by a call from Edrice. He pushed his hologram back and increased the size so all of them could see her clearly.
“The mansion is only two levels,” Edrice said. “It looks like most of the bedrooms are upstairs. The main floor is mostly the kitchen and living area. There’s also a bathroom and conservatory, but it’s doubtful you’ll find Imara there. There’s also a large utility room that might be worth checking out after you go through the bedrooms.”
Siluk sat up and leaned toward the screen. “Do you have the blueprints? Can we see them?”
“No,” Abe said. “Anyone can look at the blueprints through the city database, but you can’t download them.”
Siluk’s expression soured. “So, we’re relying solely on Edrice’s memory?”
“She has photographic memory,” Husani said.
“Oh.” Siluk sat back in his chair, relaxing his shoulders. “Never mind then.”
“Do you need directions on the safe house again?” Edrice asked.
“We know,” Husani said. “It’s the usual safe house with food, water, and medical supplies. We’ll take Imara there to hide out from the taggers and to assess if she needs to go to the hospital.”
They spent the rest of the car ride discussing strategies, but Abe only contributed small grunts and nods. He’d spent so much time getting ready, this was the first time he had a chance to really think. Of course his mind went to a conversation he wanted to forget.
Just before Imara had been kidnapped, she called him healer. Ugh, again. Why couldn’t she let it go? And she said he feared responsibility. That was ridiculous. He wasn’t the perfect boyfriend, but at least he tried. What would she say if she found out about...
He clenched his jaw to shut the door on that thought. He’d worry about that if, and only if, it ever came up. It wasn’t that big of a deal anyway.
Thinking back on the conversation, he clenched his jaw tighter. Imara also said he only saved people who didn’t expect to be saved. That was even more ridiculous. He was on his way to save her, wasn’t he? Didn’t she expect him to do that?
But no, of course she didn’t. Twice in the catacombs Imara saved herself. If he knew anything, it was how Imara was sitting in that mansion trying to figure out how to free herself. She never expected anyone to save her.
He loved that about her, but did that mean she had been right? That he only saved the people who didn’t expect it?
His fingers curled tighter into a fist until his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand. Whether she expected it or not, he wouldn’t rest until he held her safe in his arms. He’d worry about his nonexistent hila later.
They arrived around the corner from Takara’s mansion only a minute later. Seeing it looming in front of them sent a rush through every limb in his body. They kept the bubble car out of sight and then crept toward it on their tiptoes.
Keiko glared at the mansion for a solid thirty seconds before she finally spoke. “I can see a lot of sounds coming from inside, but they’re all on the main floor. I’m a sound seer,” Keiko said, pointing at Siluk before he could ask.
He nodded in return.
Keiko narrowed her eyes again and licked her lips. Finally, her expression softened. “I think there are only three people in the front room. We won’t know for sure until they open the door. The good news is, there’s a security camera on the porch just like I hoped. I should be able to draw my mom out if I scream loud enough.”
“What about the upper level?” Abe asked.
“I can’t see any sounds coming from up there,” Keiko said. “But sometimes it’s hard to tell through windows. And there could be people up there who aren’t making any noise.”
He nodded and dug through his backpack for his rope ladder. It had a mechanism on the end that would automatically attach to any surface. “I’m going in on the second level then. Keiko, don’t start yelling until I’m at the window.”
She nodded in reply, and they all waited as he threw the ladder with the mechanism hitting on the window ledge. As usual, it landed exactly where he wanted it.
Just as he started climbing, Keiko held out her hand and glared at the security camera. “It’s beeping,” she said. “I think you set off an alarm.”
Just then, his phone started buzzing, and he accepted a call from Edrice. “That team of taggers by the warehouse just started moving. You have about seven minutes before Takara’s backup arrives.”
Abe nodded and ended the call. “A backup team of taggers is coming,” he said to the others. “They’ll get here in about seven minutes. Husani, I need you to keep me on track with time, so you’re coming with me. Keiko and Siluk, distract the brains out of these guys. And remember: distract and run; don’t engage.”
Husani was right on his heels as he started up the ladder. A moment later, Keiko started screaming. “HEY! I know you’re in there, Mother. I want my money!” She banged on the door and raised her voice several notches. “HELLLLOOOOOO? I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE! If you don’t come out here, I’m going to call a news reporter and get her to broadcast all the nasty things you’ve done to Dad and me. Do you think the stupid taggers will listen to you after they’ve heard all that?”
Abe had climbed to the window now. He used a metal rod to smash it open. “How long?” he asked.
“Six minutes, thirteen seconds,” Husani replied.
Abe climbed into the dark room. Empty. Not just empty of people, but empty. No furniture. No wall hangings. Nothing. Nothing except a long rope and an awful stench. He clutched his stomach to keep from gagging.
“Time?”
“Five minutes, fifty-eight seconds.”
He nodded and pressed the door opener. When the door whooshed open, they walked into a long hallway with at least five more doors. A staircase led to the downstairs, and someone at the bottom must have heard them because she started heading up.
Abe pulled a fire bomb from his pocket. He shifted his body closer to the staircase until he could toss the fire bomb over the banister and down the stairs. The tagger was halfway up the stairs before she paused and started back down again.
He let out a breath of relief and looked at Husani.
“Five minutes, twenty-three seconds,” Husani whispered.
They tried the next door, but this room looked the same as the last. Empty hardwood floors, empty walls. Nothing but a rope and a stench that induced nausea. Before leaving the room, Abe looked closer at the rope. This one had been cut with a knife. He bent down to examine it and found a few black hairs on the ground next to it. Short, but curly. He’d recognize them anywhere. Imara’s.
She had been here, but where was she now? Why had only her hairs been left behind?
“Four minutes, forty-five seconds, Abe. We need to move.”
