Ellen indicated to Nick and Samantha to evacuate the house. Outside she waited for Nick to finish his call and then updated them on her discussion with John.
“No luck with the local agents either. The only permanent rentals taken in the last six months have been two families and one aged couple,” Nick said.
“We’re getting nowhere fast trying to find that room,” Ellen said. “We’ve covered a thirty mile radius from where we left him.”
Samantha ran her hands over her face. “This is all my fault … where is that room, why can’t he put his tracer on? Did he have a watch on, could you see?”
“He didn’t have it on,” Ellen said. “They probably took everything from him. Let’s just focus, he’s alive, so let’s focus.”
“We could get a chopper and do thermal imaging. It can come out of John’s budget,” Nick added as an afterthought.
“Sure, we’ll pick up everyone alive in Cape Hatteras,” Ellen said.
“Oh, yeah.” Nick smirked. “Small oversight.”
Ellen’s phone rang and she grabbed for it, reading John’s name on the screen.
“John?”
“Ellie, he’s pressed the tracer, we’ve got him,” John said.
“Thank Christ.” Ellen put her hand to her chest, she closed her eyes. “Where is he?”
“I’m sending the coordinates to your phone now,” John said. “He’s there where you are, at the house. He’s at the VIP house,” John said.
“What? How?” Ellen opened her eyes.
“I don’t know, but he’s there.”
“On it.” Ellen hung up. “His GPS trace has come through, he’s here.”
Samantha doubled over in relief.
Nick spun around. “Christ, where?”
Ellen grabbed the area scan on her phone and showing it to Nick, turned in the direction of the marker indicating where Mitch’s watch was signaling—on the adjoining property sat a concrete water tank.
“Sam, go back to the communications room and watch the monitors; see if you can see me,” Ellen ordered.
With Nick, she raced to the tank, climbed the iron ladder and looked in. Nick followed her up the ladder and dropped down on the concrete top.
“Bingo,” he whispered. In the center was a large timber door. Nick lifted it, finding a stairwell. Silently they crept down the iron stairs. Ellen could see that underground it spanned out to a number of square rooms and a hallway; one appeared to be a cell, while the other two were tiled rooms.
They climbed out again, down the iron ladder and raced to the VIP house, returning to Samantha.
“I saw you!” Samantha exclaimed. “I saw you on the stairwell.”
“We’ve found our interrogation room,” Ellen said. She looked to the screen and saw the two men enter a room in the corner of the monitor screen. “We’re all going in, but I want them alive,” she said.
“Looks like there’s only two,” Samantha said.
“That we can see,” Ellen answered. “We know three returned to school, so hopefully that’s it.”
Ellen called John. “We’ve found the room and are moving in,” she said. She listened to him and hung up. “Right.” Ellen closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts calmly. She opened her eyes, which burned green.
“There are two of them that we know of, but they have the advantage with Mitch as hostage. We need to create a large explosion, something large enough for them to feel down there. Nick, find whatever you can … a cylinder, fuel, paper, get it happening. When we’re ready and we’re talking minutes,” Ellen continued, “I’ll watch the monitors and give the signal. We’ll smoke them out, so to speak.”
Nick butted in, “I’ll set it off near the trap door so we have some chance of them running out like ants in a nest.”
“Yes, ideal,” Ellen said. “Sam, wait behind the tank. Nick, you light the explosions and Sam you pick off anyone who runs out. If you need to, shoot to maim and remove their weapon. Nick, tie them up. I expect one of them might remain down with Mitch. I’ll be out of sight to the side of the tank and move down the stairs while you two secure above, then come back me up as soon as possible. We’ll have to put our watch microphones on since we don’t have earpieces. We can hear each other but they can overhear, be mindful of that.”
They both nodded and reached for their watches. “Understand?”
“Done,” Nick said pressing his watch mic on.
“Go,” Ellen said.
Nick raced to the carport where he had seen lighter fluid and a barrel of diesel earlier.
“Hurry!” Samantha exclaimed, watching the monitor. “Mitch is being dragged into that interrogation room.”
“Sam, go now, help Nick. I’ll be right there, stick to the plan,” Ellen ordered, turning her own watch microphone on.
As she moved away from the monitor, she saw Mitch being dragged by two men into a room with one chair in the centre. Her blood boiled as she saw them manhandle him into the next room and pushed him into the chair. The side of his face was covered in blood and he was clearly unable to walk unaided.
Mitch gave them his full body weight, making it harder for them as they dragged him into the room and shoved into a chair. This time they undid his blindfold. Mitch squinted, his eyes adjusting to the bright light of the room. He could make out the two figures in front of him, but his head felt concussed and heavy. He began to feel a sense of panic, the anxiety and adrenaline coursing through him. As his vision cleared, he recognized the leader immediately. He was tall for an Asian male, with almost delicate features that could be either cruel or attractive.
Danny Huang with William Ying, Mitch identified them.
“We’ve checked out your name, Mr. Owen,” Danny said. “We might have believed you worked for a local communications company, except for your skills. You single-handedly fought off three of our men before I stepped in. That’s pretty good for a telco wouldn’t you say? Now where would you learn those skills?”
“School karate club,” Mitch suggested.
He received a swift hit in the side of the head from Danny Huang. He momentarily saw black, blinking to stay conscious.
“I’ve never had a sense of humor, Mr. Owen,” Danny said. “I think you might be with security services … the FBI or SOCA?”
Mitch waited, remembering his training.
Danny moved behind Mitch. “You heard your country was training and sharing their skills with a nation that will inevitably be the world leader and that worries you, doesn’t it, Mr. Owen?”
Danny moved back into vision and picked up an object from the corner of the room. Mitch saw it and blood rushed to his head, clearing his mind instantly. Danny was holding a blow torch.
Danny kept talking. “You’ve stumbled into something bigger than you can imagine and one of your very own is about to join us.”
“Who?” Mitch asked, the job overstepping his fear.
“Let’s do an exchange of information. I’ll tell you what you want to know, if you tell me who you work for? But finding out the truth will kill you.” Danny ensured he had Mitch’s attention as he squeezed the handle and flicked a lighter to ignite the flame. “I’ve always loved fire,” he said. Danny pulled up his shirt sleeve to show an extensive burn scar. “This was the only time I ever broke,” he said looking at the scar. He pulled his sleeve back down over it.
Absolute, sheer terror ran through Mitch. He thought he might pass out before they even started.
At least let me black out quickly, he silently prayed. Where are you guys? John?
He watched the naked flame grasped in the hands of the Asian man with the cruel features. He knew what happened in these cases. It was a no-win situation. You told them the truth and they killed you; you didn’t tell them the truth, and they killed you. Mitch’s eyes roamed around the room, there was no way … he couldn’t think of a way out … he couldn’t even take his own life.
“Now,” the voice drifted towards him, “shall we start again.” Danny came closer, placing the flame within inches of Mitch’s chest. He could feel the heat radiating off it, dangerously close to igniting his clothes.
“Who do you work for and how many of your party are here?” Danny asked in perfect English.
Mitch’s mind was racing through scenarios, the heat of the flame overriding his thoughts.
“Too long,” Danny said with obvious pleasure and applied the naked flame to the exposed flesh on Mitch’s arm.
Mitch yelled, trying to release the pain. He began to retch from the smell of burnt flesh. The pain was excruciatingly raw. Danny stepped away.
“Again, Mr. Owen, who are you working for?” Danny continued.
The room shook as Nick’s explosion went off on the outskirts of the building. Heat was felt in the hallway as several pieces of burning timber from the hatch hurtled in. Danny threw down the burner and followed William out of the room and up the cylindrical stairwell.
Samantha yelled at the first man to surface, William Ying, ordering him to hit the ground. William drew a gun and she picked him off with a shot to the leg. He fell to the ground screaming in agony, while Nick felled Danny Huang with a single blow to the head as he surfaced at the top of the ladder.
“Two down,” Nick called to Ellen through his watch mic. On cue, she surfaced from the side of the tank and moved, weapon in hand, down the stairs of the tank reserve. She quickly cleared the stairwell and ran into the room where Mitch lay. He looked conscious, the burner was off and she moved out quickly to clear the other rooms.
“All clear,” she said into her watch microphone as Nick appeared, running down the stairs.
“Both secured,” he reported.
Nick entered the interrogation room and raced to Mitch’s side, squatting in front of his chair. Mitch reeled away from him.
“It’s me,” Nick said. “You’re right buddy, you’re safe now.”
Mitch was breathing too quickly, relief coursing through him, his body involuntarily shaking from the pain.
Samantha appeared behind him. “They’re not going anywhere,” she assured Ellen while not taking her eyes off Mitch.
Nick moved behind Mitch, reached for a pocket knife in his vest and cut off the binds on Mitch’s wrists, peeling them off the skin where the dry blood had sealed them. Mitch winced at the pain from the change in circulation.
“Sam, get some water,” Nick ordered her.
Ellen put in a call to John. “John, two alive and secured, Mitch needs medical help. How do you want to handle this?” She waited for instructions. “Thanks John.” She hung up. “John’s sending back-up by chopper.” She moved back to Mitch’s side.
Samantha grabbed the water bottle and offered it to him but Mitch could barely raise his arms, the pain of having them tied and immobile made worse by the new movement. Samantha held the water to his lips and he drank thirstily.
Pulling away from her, he leaned forward. “The others? Are there others?” he said, prepared to move if needed.
“Two outside and they’re down, three back in D.C. It’s OK, take a minute, Mitch,” Nick said.
“What’s the damage?” Ellen studied Mitch as he seemed to move in slow motion.
“Not sure,” Mitch said with a slight tremor in his voice. He breathed quickly, his body reacting to the burn, his skin pale and cold, “but if you had been five minutes later…”
Ellen knelt in front of Mitch and moved his head to the side to check out his wound.
“Sam, run back to the car and get the medical kit from it, hurry please.” Ellen poured water over Mitch’s burn. “Nick, get more cold water and check the prisoners, please.”
Ellen ran to the kitchen, grabbed a towel, wet it and returned to dab the side of Mitch’s head. “Bleeding’s stopped,” she said.
Nick entered with four bottles of water and poured the contents over the burn. Ellen heard the car pull up and Samantha ran in with the medical kit.
“Thanks.” Ellen took it from her and removed two sterile bandages.
“I’m OK.” Mitch tried to move away.
“Mitch sit still and sshh!” Ellen ordered.
“You’re shaking, Mitch,” Samantha said.
“Sam, will you just keep patrol with the captives?” Ellen looked up at her, thinking it best to keep her away from Mitch for now.
Samantha nodded and took to the stairs.
Ellen rolled a sterile gauze bandage around Mitch’s burnt arm. Nick felt Mitch’s pulse, a look of concern sweeping his face. Ellen looked to him and Nick shook his head.
“You’re not going to go into shock on us are you, Mitch?” Nick tried to keep Mitch focused. He took off his windcheater and placed it around Mitch.
“For shock, we shouldn’t have given him that water,” Ellen muttered. “We need to lay you down Mitch, just for a bit, alright? Can you move?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He pushed himself up off the chair and as his legs collapsed and the floor rose to meet him, the last thing he saw was Nick diving to reach him before everything went to black.