“Look,” Valerie said, and this time her voice was devoid of any semblance of patience, “I appreciate your concerns, but I was doing this stuff before you were out of diapers. I’ve planned and executed missions on five continents. I’ve killed people in more ways than you can imagine. If I thought I needed your help I would ask for it, but I don’t. I want those four bastards. I want them in that old basement jail for two reasons. First, I want to minimize the risk to the local police force. I don’t want Lester or any of his officers involved in this.”
“And the other?”
“Once down in that basement, there is nowhere to hide.”
I was already walking toward the driver’s side door of the Honda Civic, closing the trunk as I walked past, not waiting for a reply from Ryan. I didn’t want to talk anymore; I wanted to act. I sat down behind the wheel of the Honda, only to hear Valerie ask, “Do you mind if I drive?”
I was about to answer her when I saw her finger pressed to her lips. I walked around the car in silence, meeting her gaze over the roof. I opened the passenger side door. She touched her ear with her right index finger and I followed suit, turning off my earpiece.
“You want to keep secrets?” I said, sitting down inside the car.
“I like playing my cards close to my chest, if you know what I mean.”
“I do. That’s one reason I never beat you at cards.”
“I understand Ryan’s concern about being cautious, but I think it’s time to take some calculated risks,” she said, smiling.
“Risks?” I asked, and then added, “I’m starting to think you’re having fun.”
“No, nothing like that. But if I told you I’d figured out a way to rescue our kid, bring the bad guy out in the open, and trick him into telling us everything, what would you say?”
“I would say great, but what about the Smiths? You assume they walked back to the PCPD?”
“I may not know exactly where they are, but I know they aren’t waiting for us down in that old jail. No, Moore and company think we’ll play it safe because of Leecy. That’s why we’re going to do the exact opposite.”
“I like it,” I said, gesturing toward the trunk. “And Julia?”
“We need her to play a part. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t involve her. She’s manic.”
“Abused?”
“If not physically, definitely mentally. We’ll use her, but treat her with kid gloves.”
“I can do that,” I said.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“Just waiting to hear the plan.”
“I’ll fill you in on the details in a minute. First, let’s make sure Ryan and Hodges do what I need them to do. Earpieces back on.”
“Earpieces back on,” I replied, kissing her cheek in the process.
The Honda rolled forward, and Valerie turned left onto State Highway 64, heading south toward town. “Listen up people,” she announced. “This is the road that will take us to the center of town. In about five minutes, we’ll arrive at our first stop sign. Ryan, you and Hodges make a right at the stop sign, drive west one block, and make another right. That’s the alley. Park there, and walk the one block south to the rear of the hardware store. Ron and I will continue driving south on what will become First Street. We will make a left on Second Avenue and another left at Second Street. Do you copy?”
“Copy,” Ryan responded immediately.
“Copy,” was then heard from the rest of the team.
“I think we should consider keeping Hodges on the ground to offer additional support,” Ryan suggested.
“Considered and denied,” Valerie answered. “I need you both covering the roof. The Smiths could be hiding somewhere on the grounds of City Hall. I need a bird’s eye view of that location. I also need eyes on the doors of PCPD. I need you both on the roof. Confirmed?”
“Ten-four,” came as reply.
The drive didn’t take long. Val turned left after stopping at the stop sign at the intersection of First Street and Second Avenue. I resisted the urge to look to my right at the PCPD located on the Southwest corner of Second Avenue. I followed the headlights of the Honda instead, and saw the third stop sign come into view. Val stopped, then turned left and slowly drove north on Second Avenue. I eased open my door and stepped out of the moving car. Valerie popped the trunk, and I removed the tightly-wrapped package. I hoisted it over my shoulder and closed the trunk.Valerie continued north for another block, then turned right between the vacant movie house and the row of vacant storefronts and parked the car.
I was running now. I reached the northeast corner of City Hall, and stopped. I turned around in time to see the tail lights of the Honda disappear down the alley. I waited. I watched the grounds of the mostly dark town square, and tried not to think about the girl thrown over my shoulder. I felt for Julia. Any women suffering any kind of abuse needed help and protection, but in this situation, we needed her; I only hoped she would rise to the occasion.
The good news was, it was very dark around the town square because there weren’t any working streetlights in downtown Park City. The town council had ordered the power to lights be disconnected a decade ago. They reasoned there weren’t any stores open after dark or people walking around, so there was no need for lights. There were a few up-lights to illuminate the building, like the one shining on the historical marker.The series of low-wattage up-lights were located in the planted foundation flowerbeds at various intervals around City Hall. I was pressed up against the red brick building in the shadows between two up-lights waiting for my wife to come and join me. I heard Ryan speaking in my ear.
“In position. I have eyes on PCPD. No activity. Thirty minutes till kickoff.”
Hodges followed with one word. “Ready.”
I was wondering if Ryan was going to be a problem, or if that was just his way of defying Valerie’s authority, when I heard movement to my left.
I dropped to a crouch, shifting the bag to the right shoulder from the left, and readied myself, but it was Valerie. She eased up next to me. She turned off her earpiece, and I followed suit.
“Time for radio silence,” she said, and then turning her earpiece on again, announced, “We are in position and holding. Hold your positions. Wait for the call to converge. Radio silence unless status changes.” She turned her earpiece off again, not waiting for a reply.
Val passed in front of me, kissing my cheek as she did so. She was taking point. I followed her lead, staying close to the building. The pine straw beds made little noise under foot, and the small shrubs didn’t slow us down. She stopped as we reached the middle of the building where the rear entrance staircase was located. The up-lights gave way to two small wall sconces mounted on either side of the entrance. The lights made a cave-like shadow of the recessed doorway.
We could see the northwest corner of City Hall now. It was directly in front of us about fifty feet away. The iron railing marking the entrance to the old jail shimmered in the moonlight a few feet before the end of the building.
“Do you think this is too big a risk?” Val asked.
“For both of us? Yes. You stay put and keep watch,” I said kissing her cheek before I left her side.
Dodging in and out of the shadows of the building, I reached the metal railing and paused. I peeked over the railing into the abyss. I clutched the bag and the body inside tightly, and then vaulted quickly over the rail. I held on to the metal pipe to effect a soft landing on the steps below. I was immersed in complete darkness. I blinked my eyes rapidly, and my night vision slowly improved. I could see the steps and the door at their end. I took the remaining steps two at a time, eased the door open, and stepped inside the old jail, closing the door behind me. The glow of the infrared camera’s light caught my attention, and I ran toward it. Finding the metal door, I pushed back the slide and whispered, “It’s me, kiddo.”
Leecy rushed into my one empty arm and said, “I knew it. I knew you two were up to something.”
I deposited my bag in exchange for my daughter. I ripped the plastic away from Julia’s still unconscious body and threw the debris into the corner of the room. It was then that I saw the clothes Julia was wearing, and realized I needed to improvise.
“Leecy, strip off your clothes, and let’s put them on Julia. You wear her stuff. You guys are almost the same size, right?”
Leecy answered while she undressed, “she’s a little taller, but everything else is close enough. My pants might be a little short, but no one will notice in the dark.”
“Get dressed and get out of here. Keep to the right on the stairs and stay in the shadows. Crawl between the railings on your right. Hug the wall of the building. Mom is waiting by the rear entrance of City Hall. Now hurry.”
I undressed Julia and swapped her clothes and shoes for Leecy’s. Leecy was dressing in Julia’s suit.
“What? You’re not coming with me? Why?” Leecy asked.
“Like you said, we’re up to something. Mom will fill you in on what you need to do once you two are safely away from here. Now go. We don’t have a lot of time.”
She kissed me and was gone.
I finished dressing Julia in the dark, and retrieved the black plastic bags. I peeled a strip of duct tape away from the plastic and used it to cover Julia’s mouth. I spent another moment searching the floor of the room before finding the hood Leecy had been wearing, and I placed it on Julia’s head. I tied a knot in the drawstring that would be difficult to undo, and most likely need to be cut. I left the room, closing the steel door behind me, and walked down the short corridor to the main body of the old jail.
I turned on my earpiece and said, “Granger, here. Status update: all clear.”
I heard ‘all clear’s from the team and smiled. I felt my way around the main room of the old jail. It was smaller than I remembered, about the size of a large master bedroom. I looked at the glowing face of my watch and saw that it was 11:37. We were eight minutes ahead of schedule. I took a seat on the floor against the wall, about four feet to the left of the entrance. Valerie was up next. I thought she would begin her part in the next thirty seconds. I figured it would take her that long to get to safety with the kid.
I was wrong; Valerie was early when she said, “Ryan, any movement?”
“No, nothing.”
“Hodges?” Valerie asked.
“All clear.”
“Zach, cut the feed to the metal door.”
“Cutting feed now.”
“I have four armed men exiting the PCPD,” Ryan announced. “Four men are now on the move from PCPD. Two men are on foot. Two men are in a black Suburban. I’m bugging out to support position on the ground.”
“Do not, I repeat, do not move. Hold your position. I repeat, all hold. This is a test. I want to see how Moore and his crew respond. Hold your positions,” Valerie ordered.
Hodges came over the earpieces next. “Two armed men heading across First Street on foot, and moving fast. The two males are descending the stairs and entering the old jail. I’ve got the Suburban backing up over the curb onto the lawn of City Hall. Looks like two men in the front seat. The SUV is backing up to the entrance of the old jail. The vehicle has stopped. The two coming up from the old jail are meeting the two men exiting the vehicle. They are gathered at the rear of the vehicle. I think I can get a directional microphone on these guys. Hold on. If it works, you’ll hear them in your ear…now.”
There was a burst of static and then another voice came in loud and clear.
“Girl is in the room asleep on the floor,” Briggs Smith could be heard saying. “She never even bothered taking the bag off her head.”
“Okay, then it was just a loss of video, probably because of the crap Internet,” Moore offered. “Besides, we were here too fast for anyone to get in and out of the jail. But to be on the safe side, Smiths, you stay put here at the top of the stairs and keep an eye on everything. At five minutes to midnight, head on down and get ready. Porter and I will head back over to the police station in the SUV. I need to get back to my computer. You two keep your heads on a swivel. We’ve come too far to blow it now.”
“Hodges here, Moore and Porter are walking toward the SUV now. No, check that.”
Moore’s voice replaced Hodges’ voice in my ear. I heard, “Remember boys, I want the kid stripped down, but unharmed.”
“Hodges here, Moore is removing something from the rear of the SUV. It appears to be a bag.”
“Travis,” Moore said, “there’s an air-powered nail gun loaded with masonry nails and some rope in the bag. Shoot some nails in the floor and tie the girl down spread-eagle, but no funny business unless Valerie refuses to cooperate. You read me?”
I heard, “Ten-four, boss.”
“You boys lay it all out for Mrs. Granger like I told you. You make sure she understands I want a copy of everything her company sells to or makes for the government. The sight of her kid bound naked on the floor should be all the persuasion she needs. If mommy refuses the offer and won’t work for us like I want her to, one of you boys come and find me at the PCPD. Porter and I will want to take part in the persuasion party. Everything I’ve read and seen on using this method to break someone indicates the more vicious the process, the sooner the results. I want to scare the woman to death. Even if that means we have to beat and rape her and her daughter. Do you understand?”
“Normally, I wouldn’t go in for that kind of approach, boss,” Briggs said, “but I can make an exception with two women that look like they do.”
“Yeah, me too, boss. I don’t think we’ll have any performance anxiety,” Travis added.
“Good to know, boys,” Moore said.
“What about the husband?” Porter asked.
“If the husband shows, which I highly doubt after the boot to the face Briggs gave him, shoot him on sight,” Moore said.
“That will be my pleasure,” Briggs said, “I only wish I had done that earlier.”
There was a moment of silence. I think that silence would have stretched into tomorrow had Hodges not reported in.
“Hodges here. SUV is driving away.”
“Ryan here. SUV is pulling into the PCPD parking lot.”
The normally quiet town square of Park City was buzzing with activity. Hodges and Ryan were calling the action as they saw it happen, and the earpiece in my ear meant I didn’t miss anything going on in the streets above.