“Open your eyes, Fed. You wanted to see your sister? Well, here she is.” Anthony kicked J.T.’s leg with enough force to break his kneecaps.
“Please, leave him alone. You’ve already beaten him to a pulp. He’s unconscious, for God’s sake!”
Anthony laughed. “Religious are you? I’d leave God out of this because there isn’t a damn thing he or you can do. We’re getting information out of your brother come hell or high water.” His laughter echoed off the walls. “Get it, hell? If you think God is going to save his sorry ass, think again. The only thing that’s going to save your brother is him giving us the information our boss wants.” Anthony kicked J.T. in the shoulder. “Wake up, pussy!”
J.T. writhed in pain as he began to regain consciousness. Even lifting his head off his chest took every ounce of strength he had. His body had endured a severe beating over the course of the last few hours.
“Who do you think you are, anyway—MacGyver?” Antonio shouldered Anthony and jerked his head toward the mangled enclosure. “Nice work getting out of there. Let’s see how you do being chained to these support posts. Have fun trying to eat when your arms are stretched so far apart they’re nearly ready to snap. I bet that’s pretty uncomfortable. Right, Fed?”
A voice at the back of the building spoke up. “Nice to see you survived the night, Agent Harper. Your sister may not be so lucky if you don’t wake up and answer my questions coherently. I want your log-in and password to the archived case files you and Agent Belmont worked on in 2014, and I want it right now. You have one minute to provide that information correctly or the beating will begin.”
“Beat me all you want. I don’t care. I think your goons already started that hours ago.”
“That’s apparent, Agent Harper, but I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about Julie.”
J.T. wrenched against the chains. “Leave her out of this. She works at a hospital, for God’s sake.”
“Here we go again bringing God into the mix,” the voice from the back said. “Anyway, your minute begins now.”
J.T. lifted his head and squinted. Julie sat on a chair twenty feet in front of him. Anthony and Antonio stood to either side of her like matching bookends. Dried blood coated her face and matted her hair. She had already been beaten.
“Sis, are you—”
“I’m okay. I’m sure I look worse than it really is. Head wounds bleed easily.”
“Stop the chitchat. You have twenty-seven seconds before she gets a severe blow to the face, and believe me, it will be more than a simple flesh wound.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you what you want to know. Just leave her alone.”
“Wise decision, Agent Harper. Anthony, go get the laptop.”
Anthony crossed the open expanse to the other side of the warehouse. J.T. watched as he entered the fourth room on that side. That was the final room, the one where J.T. remembered touching the doorknob before everything went black.
That must have been the room they were waiting in. They ambushed me the second I turned the knob.
Anthony returned minutes later with a laptop tucked under his arm.
“Go ahead, Agent Harper. Tell Anthony your FBI log-in information, and do it now!”
J.T. told them his login information and said his password was “untouchable.” He smirked at their expressions. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s funny to all of you thugs.”
“Actually, it’s quite amusing. Thank you for that bit of humor in an otherwise gloomy day. Anthony, make sure the log-in is working properly.”
Anthony jerked his head at Antonio, and Julie was swiftly pushed off the chair.
“Hey!”
“It’s okay, J.T. Don’t piss them off.” Julie brushed off her scraped knees and remained on the floor.
Anthony took a seat and tapped at the keyboard. “I’m logged in to the FBI’s site, Mr. Vetcher.”
The low chuckle increased in volume until the sound filled the room. “That’s wonderful. Now how do we access the cases from 2014?”
J.T. panned the room from left to right without a visual on the voice. The man didn’t want to be seen, and there had to be a good reason.
“Who are you hiding from, mystery man? Do I know you? Is there something that will stir a memory for me if I catch sight of you? Why don’t you show yourself?”
“In due time, Agent Harper, in due time. Antonio, lock up his sister for now. She may come in handy later if he decides to stop cooperating.”
Without warning, Antonio grabbed Julie by the hair and violently jerked her across the room. She screamed, her hands clinging to her head as he dragged her away.
“You son of a bitch, leave her alone!” J.T. stomped the floor with his heels.
“Let’s continue, Agent Harper. We can certainly take care of your sister if she becomes too much of a distraction for you. Do we understand each other?”
J.T. hung his head. “Yes.”
“I didn’t hear you. Please repeat that.”
“I said YES!”
“Good, now continue on. How do we access the case files that you and Agent Belmont worked on together in 2014?”
“What’s so special about 2014?”
“Not your concern. Now go ahead and don’t make me ask you again.”
“On the left sidebar is a tab that says archived case files. Click on that, and the drop-down menu will show each year. Click on 2014, and the page will open with a list of cases Agent Belmont and I worked on.”
“Are the full reports, including every detail, contained in each case file?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. Anthony, follow his instructions and bring me the laptop.”
“I’m pulling up 2014 right now.” Anthony nodded. “It’s all there, sir.”
“Exactly what I wanted to hear. Let’s take a look.”
Anthony walked to the back of the room and disappeared around a stack of crates.
“Why are you afraid to show yourself? You’re nothing but a coward.”
“Antonio, make Agent Harper shut up.”
J.T. received a melon-sized fist to the face and slumped over into unconsciousness.