8:14 P.M.
Wearing black tactical clothing, custom-made bulletproof vests underneath, Jacob and Stockwell stood at the rear of their Suburban, which was parked where the forest swallowed up the narrow lane that had brought them to this point. They checked the status of their pistols and slid them into thigh holsters. He closed the SUV’s tailgate while she piled her hair into a bun at the back of her head.
Dressed all in black himself, Childress eyeballed the others. “You aren’t like any feds I’ve ever met.” He motioned toward the out-of-sight cases inside the cargo area. “That’s a lot of military gear for two people investigating a kidnapping, if...in fact, that’s what you’re doing here. You still haven’t told me.”
Jacob double-checked a night vision monocle before stashing the optic in a pocket on his tactical vest. “Better to have it and not need it than...” He let Childress fill in the rest of the statement. “Now,” he swung out an arm, “lead on, sir. And remember to stay low and walk quietly. It’ll be dark soon, but not while we’re making our approach.”
*******
8:47 P.M.
The sun had set twenty minutes ago, and the rays from a half moon overhead were having a hard time penetrating the forest’s congested umbrella of leaves and branches. Nocturnal creatures were sounding off and disturbing the tranquility of the surrounding atmosphere.
Fifty feet away from the position where Childress had encountered the sentry and guard dog a week ago, Jacob, Stockwell, and the reporter now knelt, hidden among thick bushes.
“Right up there,” Childress pointed, “is where I was when I came across the guard dog.”
In unison, Jacob and Stockwell lowered their night vision monocles and whipped their heads toward their guide, both whisper-shouting to him, “Guard dog?”
Jacob clenched his sighting device harder. “You never said anything about guard dogs.”
“Didn’t I? I thought for sure I mentioned that. Sorry. There was only one that I could see. A man with a gun was walking it on a leash.”
Jacob went back to scanning the compound. “Well, that changes things. We’re not going to be able to get any closer than this,” he looked up, “unless,” and examined the trees near the fence line.
Stockwell cast a sideways glance in his direction. “Unless what?”
He inserted a communication device into one ear and motioned for her to do the same. “You two stay here.”
She tucked an identical bud into her ear.
He activated a transmitter/receiver attached to his vest.
She followed suit.
“You copy?”
She nodded. “Copy.”
“Stay here and keep an eye out for movement near the fence.” He went to a low crouch.
“Where are you going?”
He pointed to his right, toward the corner of the fenced-in perimeter. “Over there...to get a better view of what this place looks like. Let me know if you spot trouble.” He hurried off and disappeared into the night.
Through her night vision, Stockwell kept tabs on him while surveying the territory ahead of him and watching for movement coming from inside the fence.
*******
TEN MINUTES LATER...
Having climbed a pine tree, ventured out on a limb, and leaped onto a branch from another tree, Jacob went prone, shimmied out to the end of the heavy limb, and glanced down.
Five feet below, a spotlight cast a wide downward beam. Further down, one leg of the barbed-wire-topped fence went off to his two o’clock while a second leg stretched out to his ten o’clock.
Perfect. He hauled out his NV monocle. Even if they’re looking right at me, that light will hide me. He panned the entire compound from left to right and reversed course before zeroing in on specific areas he had been unable to see from the ground.
For the next thirty minutes, he watched men and women move about the grounds. He studied each building, each dark corner, each potential concealment area, burning the entire picture into his brain for future reference.
Movement.
He jerked the NV monocle right and centered it on two girls walking away from him.
They made their way between two buildings. Reaching a corner, they turned left and passed under a lower-intensity light affixed to a short pole.
Jacob drew back, took the monocle away from his eye, and squinted at where the girls had been a second ago. Deep creases emerging on his forehead, he looked away and scowled before bringing up the eyepiece and searching the area to find the females again.
Three minutes later, unsuccessful in locating them, he lowered the NV monocle and slammed shut his eyes. In the following instant, he shook his head and scooted back toward the tree trunk.
*******
9:41 P.M.
“I’m coming up on your three o’clock, Stockwell.”
“Copy that. I’ve got you in sight.”
Jacob took a knee alongside his partner.
Frowning at him, she saw something on his face she had never seen in all their time together. “Is everything okay? You look,” she wavered, “rattled.”
He gave the whole compound another peek through his NV monocle, “I’m fine,” and rose to a low crouch. “Let’s get back to the SUV. I’ve seen enough.” He crept deeper into the woods.
Watching him leave, her mind envisioning the look on his face, she bobbed her eyebrows at his ‘I’m fine’ answer, If you say so, while bringing her own monocle up to her eye. To Childress: “Keep your fingers tucked into my waistband and don’t let go. We’ll lead you out of here.”
*******
9:54 P.M.
“You know,” sitting behind the Suburban’s steering wheel, Jacob made a fist, “for a journalist, you sure do suck at remembering things, Childress.”
“I told you. I’m not a jour—”
“And I,” Jacob whirled around and drove a finger into the backseat area, “don’t really give a damn.”
In the passenger seat, Stockwell noted the over-the-top reaction from her man. “Easy, Jake. He forgot. It happens.”
The driver glared at her for a half second before taking a breath, letting out the air slowly, and showing the man behind them a palm. “I’m sorry.” He faced forward. “Just...tell us what you saw that night.”
“Well...the two big vans were on their way out, and a minivan was on its way in. The minivan stopped. Two men got out and escorted a girl from the side door of the van to the big house at the back of the property. Each man had a hold of one of her arms. They all went inside, and I left.”
“Did you get any pictures of the girl?”
“The memory card on my camera was already full.”
Gritting his teeth, Jacob sighed heavily. “What did she look like?”
“She was thin...kind of tall, especially if she was a teenager.” Childress held a shrug. “She stumbled at one point.” He shook his head. “That’s all I really saw before they took her inside.”
Jacob made another fist.
Stockwell saw him. “What is it, Jake?”
He faced her. “I think I may have seen her when I was up in that tree back there.” He turned away. “But I’m not sure, though.”
“Is that what’s been bothering you the last half hour?”
Coming back to her, Jacob paused, Not exactly, before nodding. “Yes. It would be nice if we had some proof that Chrissy Toberman was actually,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “in there before we contemplated a raid on the place.” He started the Chevy and ran the gearshift to ‘drive.’ “As it stands, all we have are two people who think...that they may have...seen someone...who looks somewhat...like Chrissy Toberman.” He stepped on the gas pedal. “Not a whole hell of a lot to go on.”
∞=∞=∞=∞=∞=∞=∞
.