The two upgraded Land Rovers sped down the highway, Rank at the wheel of one, with Bart riding shotgun, and Logan driving the other, with Eric and Chris. The tires handled the wet pavement with no problem, and the Xenon headlights cut through the darkness with ease. The storm had not ceased, but Eric had complete confidence that Rank and Logan would be able to handle the vehicles.
With that thought in mind, he looked over at Logan and said, “I have no idea how you were able to get these vehicles on such short notice, but you always were a logistics genius.”
A man of few words, Logan’s lips curved slightly at the praise, and he gave a quick nod.
From the backseat, Chris called out, “Boss, it’s just as we thought might happen. Robert’s vehicle signal is no longer with his cell phone signal. The vehicle signal is just up ahead.”
“And the cell?” he asked, as he twisted around to look into the backseat at Chris.
“About two miles up the road.”
Logan communicated with Rank and both SUVs slowed. Even in the storm, it was not difficult for this trained group of soldiers to see that a vehicle had gone over the side of the road.
“Fuck,” he yelled, as he threw open his door.
Rank drove his vehicle to the edge, his headlights beaming through the heavy rain, illuminating the area but not down the ravine. Bart and Logan followed Eric over the side, both with their military-grade flashlights revealing the car at the bottom.
Rushing to the car, Eric shined his light inside, but found it empty. As Bart came up behind him, he said, “There’s no blood on the inside. They must’ve slid off and started walking on foot.”
“Where the hell are they going?” Bart asked.
Logan jerked his hat off and swiped at the water streaming down his face, before replacing his hat on his head. “We’re only about two miles away from the next intersection, where there’s a larger road that meets up with this one. If they were heading in that direction, they might be hoping to get to a phone or to shelter.”
Chris called out, “There’s a small hotel there, with cabins for rooms.”
“That would be perfect,” Bart said. “Less chance of someone noticing them.”
He stood silently for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. “This makes me wonder if they still don’t realize they have the wrong person. If the kidnapper knew that, I would think he would have just left Lydia here, if he would’ve even brought her this far. As long as he doesn’t know that, that gives us more time to get to her and for her to be safe.”
“I agree,” Logan said. “If they’re on foot in this weather, they’re not going very fast.”
Bart looked at his watch, and said, “If we’re estimating the time based on when they got to Portland, we should be coming upon them very soon.”
“We need to rely on Chris to keep track of where we are and the cell phone signal,” Eric said. “We want to get close, but we don’t want them to see our headlights or hear us. If Robert gets desperate enough, who knows what he’ll do.”
The three agreed and began the ascent back up to the road. Quickly reporting to the others, Chris immediately began tapping in the coordinates on his computer.
Looking up, Chris grinned, and said, “Got ‘em. Looks like they’re very close to the intersection. When we get closer, I’ll be able to see where they are.”
Eric shook his head and tried to keep his heartbeat steady as he said, “Robert would never let her get near anyone. My guess is that he’s gonna leave her outside while he checks in.” He looked around at the others. “Ready?”
Once more, ‘Hell, yeahs’ rang out in the storm.
Lydia could not remember ever being so cold. Her clothes were soaked, the scrubs clinging to her skin and making it difficult to walk. Even though her scrubs were of a thick, cotton material, they provided no protection or warmth in the storm. She had thought earlier, on one of the many plane trips, that she was glad she had worn a long sleeve T-shirt underneath her short-sleeved scrub but, at this point in her nightmare, it was only one more article of clothing to be soaked in cold rain.
Occasionally, she would lift a hand to swipe at the rain pounding her face. The first couple of times she did it, she spied her kidnapper watching her carefully. He probably thinks I’m ready to attack him. She choked back a snort, wishing she could attack him. But, right now, she was incapable of defending herself in any way.
As they continued trudging down the road, she observed his footsteps were becoming less sure. He began to stagger more than walk. The black that surrounded them, which had been so frightening earlier, began to feel strangely comforting. Almost like the night was blanketing her. I must be losing my mind…or dying of hypothermia. Slowly. No other thought could enter her mind, other than moving one foot in front of the other.
She staggered, falling to her hands and knees on the pavement. Exhausted, frozen, and emotionally spent, she pleaded, “I can’t. I can’t do this.” All she wanted to do was curl up and not move, preferably in front of a warm fire, but she would take the wet pavement if that was all she had.
“It’s there. It’s fuckin’ over there,” he said through chattering teeth.
Too tired to lift her head, she winced as he grabbed her arm and jerked her upward. Blinking as the rain continued to hit her face, she saw the faint glow of a light up ahead.
“Let’s go. We’re getting closer.”
She heard the renewed fervor in his voice and assumed he was buoyed by the almost completed journey. She wondered if the man they were going to meet was already there and, if so, what would become of her.
They approached the light but before getting too close, he pulled her over to the side of the road. “We’re going to swing around toward the back. I gotta go check things out. I gotta make sure it’s the right place.”
He clamped his hand around her arm and began to drag her through the woods, circling closer toward the building. Staggering even more, she tripped over roots and pushed through small branches. The rain was less punishing underneath the trees, but the terrain was more treacherous than the road.
Looking to the side, she could see the small building, the lights from inside pouring through the windows. A neon light flickered to the side of the door, advertising Black Lake Cabin Hotel. Light. Dry. Warm. As much as she hated going with him, her feet continued forward, wanting to get to that place where she could find comfort.
As they rounded the back, he pulled her to a stop, and she watched in horror as he pulled the tape from his pocket. “No,” she cried, her chest heaving, her struggles going unheeded as he easily jerked her toward a tree.
“I can’t take you with me. I can’t risk it.” He jerked her closer to the tree, pulling her hands on either side of the trunk so that she hugged it. She tried to dig her feet in, to pull away, but the wet, slippery leaves underneath did not allow her much resistance. He held her hands on either side of the small trunk, clutching them in one of his much larger ones as he pulled on the tape with his teeth, loosening the end. With some difficulty, he managed to wrap it around her wrists a couple of times.
When he let go, she struggled roughly, but to no avail, tears streaming down her face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, and she sagged, defeated. His hands shook as he tied the gag into her mouth, and it brought her a small measure of comfort, to know that he was as cold and miserable as she was.
Without another word, he walked away and disappeared around the side of the building. Leaning her face against the rough bark of the tree, the canopy doing little to shield her from the rain, unable to stop herself, she cried.
She had no idea how much time had passed when she felt the tape roughly ripped off her wrists. Stumbling back, she caught herself before she fell completely, wrapping her arms tightly around her middle.
“Come on,” he ordered, his hand around her arm once more.
He half-dragged and half-carried her down a lighted path to the farthest cabin. After knocking three times, he entered and pulled her forward. A blast of warm heat hit her, and her legs gave out from under her. She slumped to the floor, relishing the feel of a warm, dry room.
He bent, and untied the handkerchief from around her mouth, before threatening, “I’m only doing this because we’re not close to any other cabin. But you make a peep, and I’ll hogtie you up.”
Too exhausted to consider any other recourse, she simply nodded, grateful to not be bound. She pushed her dripping hair from her face and tried to focus on the room, looking for the source of the heat. There was a register in the ceiling near the chair by the bed, and she thought about trying to crawl over to sit under it. Looking in the other direction, she spied the door to the bathroom and that called to her more urgently.
“Can I…use…the…bathroom?” she asked, her chattering teeth making it difficult to speak. “Pl…please.”
He stared for a moment, then checked it out and came back, relenting. “The window is painted shut, so don’t get any funny ideas.”
She nodded and stood on shaky legs, grabbing the door frame as she entered and then shutting the door. It was hard to peel her sopping pants down her legs, and even harder to get them back on, but she managed. Finishing her business, she ran the water in the sink until it was warm and held her hands under the stream. Finding a washcloth, she wet it and luxuriated in the feel of the warmth on her face.
Hearing voices from inside the room, she froze, panicked. Who else is here? Someone from the hotel? Please, God. Opening the door a crack and peeking through, her hopes were dashed as her gaze landed on a man dressed in an expensive black raincoat and fedora.
She gasped, recognizing him instantly. “Ji-Ho?”
“You?” he asked, his eyes boring into her, appearing equally stunned.
Stepping out slowly, she watched in fascination as his expression morphed from shocked to enraged. He swung his head slowly from her to her kidnapper.
“Robert,” he spoke with surprising calm. “Can you explain why you have her here?”
Robert. It dawned on her that she had never asked his name, mostly out of fear. She shifted her attention to him, seeing his brow knit in confusion.
“Her? What the hell are you talking about? You wanted Dr. Linda Hughley, so I brought you Dr. Linda Hughley!”
“That’s not Linda Hughley,” Ji-Ho bit out, his face red as his arm swung out to indicate her. ‘That’s Dr. Lydia Hughes.”
Robert’s gaze shifted to her, and dawning slid over her at the same time it obviously did him. He didn’t want me…he took the wrong person! Thoughts raced through her mind like cars on a racetrack, all moving quickly and passing each other.
I’m not who they wanted. Why did they want Linda? Why is Ji-Ho involved? What will they do with me now?
It was the last thought that caused her blood to freeze in her veins, knowing they would never let her live to tell what had happened. Her lungs felt incapable of drawing in enough air, but she could not take her eyes from the scene playing out in front of her.
“You have been nothing but a problem since I met you.”
“No, Hyun-Gi…no, she’s the right one,” Robert sputtered, staring at her. “She never said…”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, uncertain of her voice. “Why…” Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she pressed her fingers to her lips in horror as the reality of the situation hit.
“This waste of a man is the head of the Foundation for Liberating Animals.”
Looking up at Robert, she assessed him with new eyes. She recognized the organization and the terrorist tactics they used. He was the one behind it all? She didn’t trust herself to speak, but she did not have to worry about that, because Ji-Ho continued.
“He was paid well to serve us and, as you can now surmise, he was supposed to take the head of the NBAF, not a low-level veterinarian.”
“I don’t…I don’t understand. Why do you need Linda?” She shook her head slowly, “I don’t…”
He held her gaze, before replying. “Dr. Hughley has specific knowledge…knowledge my country wants.”
Her brow scrunched, her head shaking back and forth repeatedly. “South Korea?”
“No,” he bit out, his tone indicating his frustration. “I’m North Korean. My name is not Ji-Ho, it is Hyun-Gi, as Robert has mentioned. I’m a scientist from North Korea…not a journalist. We need the research she has perfected, and my country paid well for us to have access to it. She gave very little away during the seminar, so I was given instructions to just take her.”
“Take her where? None of this makes sense,” she cried, no longer caring if her questions made her captors angry.
“Back,” he said. “Back with me. If she did not cooperate, well, my organization can be very persuasive.”
At this, her mouth hung open, the impact of his words hitting her.
“This is pointless,” Robert said, drawing an immediate glare from Hyun-Gi. “We need to figure out what to do with her.”
“You’ve made a mess of things, and now I have to clean it up,” Hyun-Gi said, his voice soft, but just as frightening.
Without pre-amble, he pulled out a small gun from his pocket and lifted it, shooting Robert point-blank in the chest.
She screamed, jumping back as Robert fell to the floor with a thud, a look of surprise etched on his face as blood ran from his body.
Her body shook, more than when she was cold, and she stared up at Hyun-Gi and began to shake her head back and forth. “No, please no.” His jaw ticked, and it seemed an eternity before he lowered his weapon but kept it in his hand.
“I can still use you,” he said, bending over to pick up his coat. “You’re my ticket out of here.”
Waving his gun, he ordered, “Move. My car is out front.”
Her legs barely holding her up, she avoided looking at Robert’s body on the floor as she made her way to the door. She stumbled but righted herself at the sight of the gun near her. “Where are we going?”
His lips curved but he did not answer. Jerking his head to the side, he indicated for her to go back outside. Opening the door, she was immediately hit with the rain blowing in. Shivering as they ran to his car, she wondered when her nightmare would end…and what would be at the end.