Eric and Chris spent the rest of the morning working in the hotel room, Chris’ knee bouncing in excitement every time he found a new lead to follow.
“I’ve gotten into Robert’s bank information and, like I said, for someone with no employment record at this time, he’s getting money.”
Eric stared at him and waited. Lifting his eyebrows, he prodded, “And…?”
“Oh yeah. It’s definitely from an Asian bank… South Korea. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Up until recently, South Korea and North Korea did not share any financial institutions. But there was a recent summit in Singapore that involved the U.S. and North Korea. To get ready for that, the South Korean banks established inter-Korean financial business.”
“So, what you’re saying is that the money that went to Robert from a South Korean bank, could actually be from someone from North Korea.”
Grinning, Chris flipped his pen up into the air and snatched it back, shouting, “Bingo! Give that man a prize!”
Rolling his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time since he had met Chris, he once again prodded, “And…?”
“The money came from an account in North Korea. The name on the account is Hyun-Gi Kwun.”
“So, Hyun-Gi Kwun is sending Robert Edger money from North Korea, ostensibly to fund the FLA.” Flipping open his phone, Eric called Paul. “We’re still here in town, doing some more digging until we leave for Kansas City and my flight. Got more information I wanted to pass on. Robert Edger has been getting money from a North Korean source. Name is Hyun-Gi Kwun.”
“Thanks, Eric. By the way, I was just going to call you. I know this might be a little presumptuous, but since you recently spent time in Dr. Hughes’ lab, I wanted to let you know that her assistant just got hold of me. It seems she was running a little late but has not shown up for work yet. She called to let him know she would be here shortly, but that was over an hour ago.”
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, his spidey senses on alert, and he lept from his seat. He had learned over his many years as a SEAL to trust that instinct, and he was not about to second guess it now. “I’m on my way over to her house,” he said, his voice tight with fear.
“I wasn’t suggesting you do that, I just thought I’d let you—”
“Had no reason to say anything because it was no one’s business, but I became involved with her since I got here. She means something to me, and your words are sending a sense of fear straight through me. I know where she lives, I’m on my way. I’ll call you as soon as I find out something.”
Turning, he found Chris had already slammed his laptop shut and was shoving it into his backpack. “I can handle this alone,” Eric said.
Shaking his head, Chris replied, “No need. I’m here, so let’s go do this.”
With no reason to argue, he gave a terse nod of his head, and they rushed out to his car. “Drive separately in case we need to split up later. You can follow me.”
He hoped Chris’ driving skills were good because he was going to need them since Eric was driving like a bat out of hell to get to Lydia’s house. Turning into her driveway, he was barely aware of Chris pulling in behind him as he spied Lydia’s car still in the driveway, but her front door standing open.
Jumping from his vehicle, his feet pounded up her front walk, and he rushed through the door. At a quick glance, the table by the front door was tipped over, and her purse was several feet away with its contents scattered, including her cell phone. As his eyes dropped, his heart squeezed tightly. Two small drops of blood lay on the floor immediately in front of him.
He began to kneel, but Chris grabbed his shoulder. “Gloves,” Chris said, handing rubber gloves to him.
Snapping them on, he said, “Get Paul. Tell them what we’ve got. Tell him to get a team here.”
He carefully looked through the items on the floor, but they all appeared to be from Lydia and not her assailant. Standing, he placed his hands on his hips and forced his mind to visualize what may have happened. Her slim briefcase was still near the front door, so she must have been almost ready to leave, but had not stepped out with everything yet. Since her purse was toward the living room, it may have been in her hand or on the table and was knocked to the side, therefore scattering the contents. Her phone was in it, therefore she had no way to call for help now and they could not track her with the GPS.
And the blood? Fuck!
Chris stepped over. “Paul’s on his way. He’ll have a crew with him. I’m gonna run and see if any of her neighbors saw someone here.”
Jerking his gaze up to Chris, he said, “Thanks, man. Good idea.” As Chris left the house, his eyes dropped back to the blood. It’s not a lot, so she wasn’t stabbed. It’s not splattered, so it’s not as though she was hit. Something scratched or pierced her skin enough to have it bleed just a little.
He moved back to the front door and looked around. The pots of flowers that sat on her front steps were undisturbed. That gave evidence to there not being a struggle outside of her house.
Turning to look back inside, he analyzed what he had observed and drew one conclusion—She was drugged. She struggled, fought back, and then was drugged. If somebody was fighting while having an injection jabbed into them, they would easily bleed a little. Whatever she was given must have taken the fight out of her, making it easier to get her out of here.
Paul and his team arrived, immediately swarming the area. He quickly brought them up to speed on his observations and consusion.
“Why the fuck her?” Paul growled. “This makes no sense. She has a low-level security clearance. She’s in animal care, not research. If this is the work of one of the protesting groups, it doesn’t make any sense. Kidnapping her does not disrupt the function of the NBAF.”
Shaking his head, he fought the gut churning feeling coursing through him. Chris came running back inside, and said, “Only one neighbor saw a car this morning. Said it was a dark SUV, and he saw a man in a brown suit get out. His dog was barking, and his wife yelled at him to deal with it, so he walked away from the window and didn’t see anything else. The next time he looked out, the SUV was gone.”
Paul turned to one of his agents and barked for him to get over to interview the neighbor. Chris looked at Eric, and said, “Whatever you need, man. Just name it.”
Standing with his heart in his throat, he replied, “Thanks, but right now, I don’t have a fuckin’ clue.”
A rocking motion bounced her slightly, but Lydia could not figure out where she was, even as her eyes blinked open. As she slowly regained consciousness, she found herself lying in the back seat of an automobile, her hands taped together in front of her. Reality slowly crept in, as the memory of the man at her front door and the sting of the injection came to mind.
As she continued to blink, her focus slowly cleared, and she could see the back of the man driving the vehicle. Shifting her gaze, she saw no one in the passenger seat. The rocking stopped, but she was too afraid to move, not wanting him to realize she was awake.
That plan was quickly irrelevant, as he jerked around in the seat and saw her staring at him. “Fuck, you’re awake.”
He climbed out of the driver’s seat and walked around to the rear passenger door, throwing it open. He was obviously trying to avoid the possibility of her feet kicking out at him, since he came to where her head was resting on the seat. “Sorry, Doc. I gotta keep you out for a while.”
She wanted to scream, but a gag had been tied around her mouth. She tried to look upward again, but before she could wiggle away, another piercing pain hit her arm. The heavy, weighted blanket of darkness descended once again and, this time, she wondered if she would ever awake.
The man glanced around him for a moment and then pulled out his phone. “I’m here, at the airport. I thought you said someone would meet me.” He listened for a moment, and then said, “Where? Oh, yeah, I see it. When should we get to Denver?” Another pause. “Yeah, it fuckin’ matters, I just had to knock her out again, and I want to know how long this one might last.” Receiving an answer, he disconnected, shoving his phone back into his pocket.
He climbed back into the driver’s seat and drove to the destination in his instructions. Seeing a small private hangar, he drove around to the side. Checking in with the pilot, he said, “You just do what you were paid to do and get us there. I’m going to get the passenger on board.”
Going back to his SUV, he opened the back door once again. Hauling her out, he threw her over his shoulder, hefted her in place, and walked to the small plane. Climbing inside, he dumped her unceremoniously into the seat.
The pilot got into the cockpit and looked over his shoulder. “You gotta buckle her in.”
Grumbling, Robert leaned over and snap the belts around her waist, including the shoulder straps. Her head dangled forward, and he pushed her forhead back and to the side, so that it was resting against the headrest. Settling into his seat, he buckled in and told the pilot, “Now get going. I have no idea how much of a head start I might have, and I want to get us to Denver as soon as possible.”
Eric went back to Paul’s office where the DHS was currently running their investigation, and paced, waiting for Chris to get there.
Paul had given permission for Chris to bring his computer into the facility. Eric looked up as his partner entered the room and walked his way. “You have everything?”
Chris answered, “Yep. We’re all checked out from the hotel, and I’ve got everything we need right here. Have you heard anything yet?”
Eric shook his head in a jerky motion and was grateful when Chris just sat down, not saying anything else, and began working on his computer.
Paul got off the phone, and said, “Immigrations and Customs Enforcement are on the lookout for Ji-Ho, based purely on our wanting to question him. I’ve also got TSA on the lookout for Robert Edger.”
For a man used to controlling his destiny, Eric found pacing Paul’s office to be maddening. Over the next thirty minutes, several others came and went out of the room, either giving information to Paul or taking his orders.
Suddenly, a young woman popped her head in, and said, “A rental car registered to Robert Edger was just found at the Topeka airport.”
Eric shared a look with Paul and read in his eyes that they were on the same page. Robert is trying to get her out of Kansas.
He wanted to rush from the building and get to the airport as soon as he could but knew that would be folly. If Robert was already in Topeka, then he probably had already taken a plane out of there. But how the hell would he have gotten an unconscious Lydia on a plane?
“Have someone look at all the private planes that have left within the last hour,” Eric barked out. The young woman appeared startled, and her gaze shot between him and Paul.
“Just do it!” Paul ordered.
From the side of the room, Chris said, “I’m already on it, boss.”
He shot him a grateful look and moved over to stand behind him. He was amazed at how fast Chris’ fingers flew over his keyboard, moving from one site to another.
“Topeka must not be all that busy,” Chris said. “Only six private planes have taken off so far today and only two of those within the last hour.”
Paul, on the phone again, said to the person on the line, “Where did the last two private planes go and who were the passengers? And I want that information fuckin’ yesterday!” He did not hang up and after less than a minute, finished with, “Check the cameras and send the shot to me.”
In a moment, Paul was sitting back at his desk, staring at his computer. Eric had moved from behind Chris to standing next to Paul as they stared at the screen together. A man pulled up to a small aircraft and talked with the pilot for a minute before returning to his car and pulling an unconscious woman from the back. Slamming his hand on the desk, he cried out, “That’s him. And, fuck, that’s Lydia!”
Chris called out, “That plane is going to Denver.”
Eric stood for a moment, his fists on his hips, his mind racing in a chaotic manner, so unlike him. He tried to think rationally but all he could see was Lydia’s face. She must be so scared. Anger and panic warred with his instinct to analyze the situation.
He lifted his head and pinned Chris with his stare. “We gotta go.”
Chris was already jumping up, gathering his computer, no questions asked, when Paul argued, “You can’t go running all over the country. Stay and work the problem from here. I can get people at the various destinations to check on what’s going on.”
“Not going to happen, Paul. I may be one step behind them at each destination, but by God I’m going to be a lot closer than I am sitting right here. You keep running the show from here. I’m heading to Denver. Chris is going with me, and I’ve got some other people I can call in. Every bit of information I get, we’ll give to you. I’d appreciate it if you do the same for me.”
Paul held his gaze for a moment, then said, “Fine. I’ll have someone drive you to the Manhattan Municipal Airport. It’s small, but we keep an airplane there. I’ll call ahead and have a pilot ready to get you to Denver.”
He shook Paul’s hand and was just turning to head out of the room, when Paul’s assistant called out, “Sir, Silas Branson is on your secure line.”
He halted in his steps and looked at Paul, who picked up his phone and hit speaker.
“Si? You’re on speaker. I’ve got Eric Lopez here with me.”
“Eric, Paul’s been keeping me briefed, and that includes this morning. I just needed to let both of you know that we’ve intercepted some Asian chatter coming from North Korea. We are uncertain of the exact location it’s coming from, but they indicated that Dr. Linda Hughley, the head of research at NBAF, was abducted.”
The feeling of being punched in the gut hit him hard, but he stood rooted to the floor. His gaze shot from Paul to Chris and then back down to the speakerphone.
“Silas, Dr. Linda Hughley is fine,” Paul explained. “I saw her when I first came in. Who they’ve taken is Dr. Lydia Hughes.”
Eric looked up, wide-eyed, and they locked gazes. “Fuckin’ hell! They’ve taken the wrong person.”