Horror overtook J.T.’s face as the men got closer.
The hidden man’s voice called out again. “What’s wrong, Agent Harper? I’d think in your line of work, you’d be numb to blood and acts of violence. Anyway, what’s a little blood between friends?”
“Friends? That man is beyond recognition.”
The men reached the cage and tossed the limp, nearly dead man into the second room. Anthony snapped the lock and gave it a shake, as if making sure it was secure.
“You do have a point, Agent Harper. I guess my guys went a bit overboard with your old pal, Agent Belmont. I can see how you wouldn’t recognize his bloody swollen face.” Laughter rang out and bounced off the walls of that empty, hollow room. “Oh, by the way, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce you to Antonio. Obviously, he and Anthony are brothers, but I’m sure you can see the resemblance.”
J.T. knelt at the edge of his confinement. “Curt, is that you? Can you hear me? It’s J.T. I’ll get you out of here, man, I promise. Everything is going to be okay. Just hang on.”
A low-pitched moan sounded for a second, then silence.
J.T. yelled out in the direction he thought the man’s voice came from. “Okay, you have my attention now, so what do you want, and where is my sister?”
“You’ll be reunited with your sister in due time, Agent Harper, in due time. I want all of your security clearance information for the FBI. What that means is, I want your log-in and password, and then you’re going to give me the name of every sensitive file in the system and how to access it. I want top-notch information—Secret Service, Pentagon type stuff.”
“I’m not Secret Service, CIA, or anything closely related to the highest security clearances. I’m FBI, and there are at least thirty levels of security above me. Your request is impossible, and I don’t have access to classified information like that.”
“Get me what I want or suffer the consequences.”
“I don’t know what you want, and being vague isn’t helping. You’ll get nothing from me until I see that my sister is unharmed. Release Julie and Agent Belmont, and then I might work with you.”
“You see, Agent Harper, Agent Belmont refused to get me what I asked for too, and look how that turned out. He’s a bloody mess and barely breathing. The problem you agents have, and what will eventually be your downfall, is your damn arrogance. Even with your hands cuffed behind your back, even from the confines of a locked cage, you still think you’re calling the shots.” His laughter rang out again.
“The question is how badly do you want the information? Without my help, you get nothing.”
“Then it looks like we’re at a standstill, Agent Harper, but listen carefully to my words. You have two days to fulfill my requests. Meanwhile, I want you to envision what Anthony and Antonio are capable of. Those two men are in charge of keeping your sister entertained. My requests are simple. Give me your log-in information, and I want access to every case file you worked on with Agent Belmont in 2014.”
“Why? What is so important about 2014? We aren’t even in the same division anymore.”
“Turn your focus to Anthony, Agent Harper.”
J.T. turned toward the giant who stood on the opposite side of the cage, barely ten feet away. Anthony grasped J.T.’s Glock 22 and pulled it from his pocket, then he aimed it at Curt’s head.
“Stop! I’ll give you the information.”
“Not yet. You need to stew on this a little longer. I want you to be sleepless for forty-eight hours, thinking of your sister and your old colleague lying there near death. The likelihood of Agent Belmont dying during that time will be considerably high.”
“What?”
Anthony pulled the trigger, and a shot rang out. Curt’s body jerked from the impact, and blood began pooling under his shoulder.
“No! You son of a bitch!”
Anthony and Antonio turned their backs and walked away. Moments later, the lights went out, and a door slammed in the distance. J.T. sat on the floor five feet from his bleeding friend and stared through the links. He was at that madman’s mercy, and there was nothing he could do to help Curt or Julie.
J.T. couldn’t even help himself.