by Laura Acton
When he roused from his stupor, Al had started to cut his bindings. Al mockingly said ‘sorry’ when he sliced into his forearm. The pain from the slash was nothing compared to the pins and needles burning racing up and down his aching arms and across his shoulders as sensation returned to them.
Then Charley yanked his hands in front of him, rebound them with another zip-tie, and threaded a rope between them. Robert stood on the folding, metal chair to toss the nylon rope over an exposed beam. Dan almost laughed when it became apparent Robert was too short to reach, and his attempts were useless. Brogan grabbed the line from him and climbed on the same chair muttering something about doing it himself.
Dan couldn’t help but snicker when the poor chair collapsed under the stress of Brogan’s immense weight. Witnessing the fat bastard splayed out on the ground had been damned funny. Though he strove to hold in his mirth, a chuckle slipped out.
He paid for his indiscretion with a few hard strikes to his midsection once Brogan picked his fat ass off the cement. As he gasped for air, Al secured the rope and hoisted him up. Hanging by his wrists sucked. At first, he managed to reduce some pressure on his arms by going on the tips of his boots. They used him as a pinata for quite some time, each man taking a turn with fists and feet. The strain on his shoulders became so severe his mind wandered in an out as he tried to deal with their torture.
When Snow picked up a piece of the broken, metal chair, Dan prepared as best he could for the onslaught of agonizing pain. Brogan started with hitting his thighs before moving up to his abdomen. After a particularly vicious blow to his right flank, oblivion took him for the second time.
Attempting to alleviate the stress on his aching shoulders, Dan found his dangling feet now bare, and unable to find purchase with the floor. He vaguely wondered where his socks and boots went. They must’ve removed them before they left after I went unconscious again.
Dan took this moment of clarity to inventory himself and concluded … not okay, definitely need help soon rather than later. Constant pain intruded on his thoughts, making it difficult to concentrate. I need a respite from this pain. Physical escape would be impossible, but he could escape mentally.
Drawing on his training, Dan tried to focus on a happy memory to put himself anywhere but here and now. Regardless of all the harassing words about not being wanted from earlier and the fact Lexa broke his heart, Dan focused on happy times he spent with Lexa, settling on the night they painted Lexa’s living room and the impromptu dance lesson which led to a second round of passion.
Useful Leads and Dastardly Deeds
18
May 8
Birchwood Avenue – 9:45 a.m.
Unable to pinpoint an exact position with Dan’s SIM card non-responsive, Loki combined his data with the 911 call origination to establish parameters for a search grid. Three SUVs, an unmarked police car, and a command truck came to a halt in front of the twelve-story apartment complex where the man who called in the shots fired complaint lived. The team plus Arbor and Fulco spread out to investigate different avenues.
Nick headed into the building to interview Joe Fargusson on the third floor. Arbor, Fulco, and Kinsey followed him to canvas other tenants in the complex who had a view of the road. Bram, Loki, Ray, and Jon started north and south to work their way up and down the avenue on opposite sides searching for Dan’s phone, hoping to establish the place of his abduction.
Fargusson’s Apartment
Knocking on the door, Nick schooled his features to calmness, though his worry ran bone deep. An elderly man answered the door.
“Morning, officer.” Joe noted the TRF uniform.
“Good morning, are you Mr. Fargusson?” Receiving a nod, Nick continued, “I’m Sergeant Nick Pastore with TRF. I have a couple of questions regarding the gunshot you reported yesterday.”
Joe waved the officer into his home. “Please come in, can’t be standing much these days with this old trick hip. I’m not sure what more I can offer than what I told the constable yesterday.” Joe closed his door.
“I appreciate your willingness to take a moment of your time to talk with me, sir.” Nick assessed the man to be in his mid-eighties, perhaps older, though he possessed a youthful air about him.
Using his cane to hobble to a chair Joe sat down with care. “Call me Joe, please. Sir and Mr. Fargusson make me feel like my father. He’ll be one hundred three this year.” Joe chuckled. “Anything for the constabulary. My son Marc is a sergeant and my grandson James is a patrol officer. Both of them are stationed at the Fifty-first. Used to work at the Five-One myself many moons ago. Please take a seat. So, what do you think I can help with, Sergeant?”
Nick grinned, liking the chipper senior. Sitting on the couch as Joe indicated, he started the interview. “You reported the shot at seven a.m. How long after it occurred did you call 911?”
“A few minutes. Would’ve been sooner but the handset was on my kitchen counter. I was standing at that window watering and talking to Casandra.” Joe motioned towards a window containing a plant.
Nick thought it quite weird to name the plant but to each his own.
“The sound startled me, and I dropped my watering can. I peered out my window, and after picking up the can, I went to retrieve my phone. A bit slower these days.” Joe waggled the cane.
“Did the noise seem close?”
“Yes indeed. Hip might not work so well anymore, but my ears are still in perfect working order. Sounded high, perhaps on the roof. Most might think the bang was a car backfiring, but me, I’m well aware of what a gunshot sounds like, and this was no backfire.”
“May I?” Nick indicated he wanted to go to the window. When Joe nodded assent, he rose and stepped to the opening. He glanced at the purple, flowering plant before scanning the area outside.
Joe noted the officer’s initial gaze and said proudly, “Casandra’s my prized Pyramidal Orchid. She won first prize in the Banmere Annual Competition.”
Nick turned and offered a smile and compliment. “Beautiful plant.” He returned to Fargusson, pulled out his phone, brought up a picture of Dan, and held it out for the senior to view. “You have an excellent view of the entire street below. Did you happen to see this man either before or after the gunshot?”
“Aye. That youngster runs by here often. Oh, to be so young and fit again. Being old is such a pain in the ass, the hip, ah hell everything. It ain’t for sissies I can tell you that. He passed by heading south right before.”
“Do you remember which side of the road he was on?” Nick asked, pleased to discover a potential fix on Dan’s location yesterday morning.
“The opposite side. After I picked up the water can, I did glance back before going to make the call. He was no longer visible. Must’ve high-tailed it outta here at the sound. He sure can run like the wind.”
“Thank you. You were quite helpful.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, who is he and why are you looking for him?”
“His name is Dan Broderick. He is one of my team, and he was abducted yesterday, though we didn’t find out until this morning,” Nick shared. “Did you happen to notice anyone else out of the ordinary in the area, before or after the gunfire?”
Joe shook his head. He hated learning a fellow officer was in trouble. “No. This is a quiet area, little traffic. I didn’t observe anything which appeared out of place. I certainly hope you find him.”
“Thanks again. No need to rise. I’ll let myself out.” Nick strode for the door and unmuted his headset. Once in the hall, he said, “Jon, he was on your side. He passed by here right before the shot. I spotted an alleyway just beyond Fargusson’s apartment. Would be a perfect spot for Dan to take shelter from a shooter and for an abduction to prevent anyone witnessing.”
Jon replied, “Copy.”
“Loki, with probable location and time why don’t you check if there are any security cameras in the vicinity which will provide us with useful information,” Nick requested.
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“On it, Boss.” Loki sprinted towards the command truck.
“Kinsey, I need you to go to the roof and check for any evidence the sniper was positioned there. It might assist us in locating Dan.”
“Copy.” Kinsey started up the six flights of stairs. Part of her wondered what possible lead they could derive from the sniper’s location, but she trudged up the steps.
Jon directed, “Kinsey, search for spent casings. If you find one, bag it. Loki might be able to run down information on where it was purchased which might help.”
Increasing her pace, Kinsey acknowledged, “Copy.”
Kidnapping Crime Scene – 10:00 a.m.
Bram and Jon converged on the alley at the same time. They noticed the crates and Bram spotted a phone peeking out from under one of them. He bent and retrieved it with a gloved hand. “Boss, found Dan’s phone. This must be where they seized him.”
Making his way to join them, Ray halted a short distance from the alley’s entrance when a hole about shoulder height caught his eyes. After closer examination, he reported, “There’s a slug embedded in a wooden window frame right outside the passageway. Perhaps Dan meant shot at, not shot.” Ray dug out the mangled bullet and bagged it for evidence.
Jon noted a ruddy imprint on the brick. Scrapping a portion of the material on his glove, he rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. Dried blood. The pain of finding Dan’s lifeblood smeared on the wall hit him in the gut.
He took a deep breath to steady his emotions and continued searching for clues as he responded, “No, Dan was hit. I found a bloody handprint, though I’m not finding more blood. Assuming the bullet in the frame is the one fired at Dan, the wound he suffered is either a graze or a through and through. Hopefully, he is only grazed.”
Ray, Arbor, and Fulco joined them in the alley as Bram said, “I found what appear to be drag marks. Like someone deliberately tried to leave a trail.”
Jon smiled. “That would be something Dan would do. Give us a direction to follow.” Jon, Bram, and Ray followed the path which ended at the other entrance. “Loki, check if you can find any traffic cameras on Maywood. They had to put him in a vehicle at this point because the marks stop here.”
“Already doing so.” Loki’s started making the necessary connections.
After searching the roof, Kinsey said, “Got a casing. Bagging it now.”
Nick approached the command truck. He stopped a moment, took off his hat, and rubbed his face. Glad they located where Dan had been abducted, but aware the real work was only beginning. Now they needed to uncover where he had been taken. He put his cap back on and entered the truck. “Loki, what do you have for us? Any luck with cameras?”
He stood behind Loki, watching him work. His techie was the best and lightning fast too. If there was anything to uncover, Loki would find it. He patted his shoulder before sitting in the second chair.
Loki glanced at Boss, spotting the encouraging grin. “We’re gonna find him, Boss. Pulling up the traffic camera archive footage now.” Loki rolled back to the timestamp ten minutes before the shot was reported. He and Nick viewed mostly empty streets until they hit the jackpot.
A black van pulled up, and three men tossed Dan in. Loki’s eyes widened as he viewed a bound Dan struggle against three assailants. “Holy smokes, he fought hard. One of them will be limping.” Loki gasped as the gun butt smashed into Dan’s head and his friend lay stunned on the floor of the van.
Loki provided the others with details. “His left arm is bleeding, and they gagged him with duct tape. They whacked him hard in the head with the butt of a pistol, and bound his wrists and legs with zip-ties before putting a hood over his head. Two men got in the back with Dan. The third jumped into the passenger front seat, so there are four abductors including the driver. They all wore masks so I can’t confirm identities.”
Jon’s heart dropped at Loki’s description of the hood. Surely, Dan would experience memories of being taken by the terrorists because he had been hooded then too.
“Can you zoom in on the license plate, and follow the van, Loki?” Nick asked softly as his eyes misted a little.
Loki simply nodded and set to work.
Somewhere on the Outskirts of Toronto
Dan drifted from one happy memory to another, and he came back to thoughts of his time living at Bella’s as a teenager. Although he now understood the truth of events after he ran away, that his parents mounted a full-scale search for him, Bella is the one who saved him. Without her penny, he would’ve likely perished in the streets because he would have run if Constable Fargusson handed him over to child welfare.
He had been so desperately alone, empty, and unwanted. Emotionally bankrupt, believing no one cared, he might’ve chosen to lie down in the snow and end his misery. But his treasured penny stopped him as Bella’s caring words swirled in his brain. Her arms enfolding him at her doorstep unleashed all his agony. He cried like a baby, and she only held him … never judged.
How Bella managed to get his mother and father to agree, he never knew … never asked. But when she presented him with four options the next day, he answered without a moment’s hesitation. He chose option four … to live with Bella. A decision he would never regret, even now as he drew strength from the comprehension his mom and dad loved him all along.
Startled from his happy place as freezing water doused him, Dan opened his eyes to find Brogan, Al, Charley, and Robert in the room again. His eyes landed on the car battery Robert set on the ground. Oh shit, they’re gonna electrocute me now. Shit, this is gonna hurt.
Fear surged in Dan. His breathing became erratic as he remained fixated on the leads coming off the battery. A buzzing in his ear caused him to blink, breaking the hold, as something Brody told him during their Guardian SERE training came to mind. Fear can have two meanings. Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours, Danny.
Choosing the latter, he redirected his panic, focused his gaze on Brogan and smiled. He would not show weakness. He survived being electrocuted with hundreds of needles in him acting as conduits so he could endure this without giving them the satisfaction of breaking him.
“What are you smiling about?” Brogan sneered at him.
His cockiness came out again. “None of your damned business.” Note to self, wrong thing to say. What is it about these idiots which turns me into one too? I need to shut the hell up, or I’m going to hasten my death. Be smart, keep calm, and stay alive.
Using brass knuckles, Charley punched him on the right side below his ribs. Pure agony rippled through Dan’s torso and his shoulders as he swung suspended by the beam. Recovering his breath, Dan said, “Your act of revenge will be your downfall. My family will rescue me, and you will go back to prison where you belong. I put you away once. I’ll do it again.”
Al snorted. “You have no family. Daddy General hates your guts for killing his precious daughter. You will suffer and die alone, and no one will come to your funeral.” He cut the rope and snickered as Broderick’s body slammed into the concrete flooring.
Clinging to his mental life preserver, Dan fought not to drown as waves of ungodly pain crashed over him. As the storm ebbed, he said, “I have more family who care about me than you will ever imagine. They won’t rest until they locate me. You should’ve escaped while you had the chance. I wouldn’t want to be you after they find me. Some would have no qualms killing you.”
“Always a braggart. Always lying to puff yourself up. Always using cocky bravado to hide your fear.” Robert kicked Broderick in the side, grinning when he caused him to groan.
Dan coughed, and a coppery taste entered his mouth. Internal bleeding, not good. Gathering himself again, Dan responded, “No, always based on truth. But you’re right about the other, at least eleven years ago. Things change.”
Al grabbed the front of Broderick’s shirt and dragged him to the wall within reach of the battery leads. He propped Dan up in a seated position and snickered.
“Time for a little fun, liar!”
Able to breathe a little better sitting with the pressure off his back, Dan took a moment to inhale and exhale. After Charley doused him with another bucket of water, understanding the pain to come once they applied the electrodes to him, he searched for a way to delay the inevitable if only for a little while. “The liars are you four. You took an oath to serve and protect. You did neither. You hurt the ones you were supposed to help. I will never forgive you for what you did to those people, and for what you did to Marbella Ridgewater.”
Brogan laughed. “We could’ve retired in style with the ransom for that old, filthy-rich witch if you had not turned traitor. Never understood why you cared so much about the decrepit biddy.”
“Family is not only blood.” Unsure how much more he could take in his current state, his body wanting a stay of execution, Dan hoped to keep them talking longer.
“What the hell do you mean?” Robert asked.
An uncontrolled shiver ran through Dan, chilled to the bone and likely going into shock, he maintained his façade and did not display fear. “A concept you can’t comprehend, moron.”
Brogan barely stopped Robert from kicking him in the head. Dan recognized he would’ve been a goner had the steel-toed boot connected with his temple where Robert aimed.
Instead, Brogan taunted, “So little Danny boy thinks he has a family. Who is this family supposed to be? Can’t be the woman who chose her career over you. You have no friends. Remember, we watched you for two weeks.
“You only ever went home or to your ex-girlfriend’s place. You never hung out with any of your teammates, but they sure went out without you. They probably never invited you to the Pond. Pitiful you believe they are family.”
