by Dale Mayer
“Just the two of us,” he said. “I figured I might as well get something to eat too.”
“Makes sense to me.” She laughed. Axel took out several individually wrapped sandwiches from the deli. “I’ve never eaten there,” she said, looking at the sandwich bag logo with interest.
“I’ve had their sandwiches a couple times. They’re really good.” He held out two different kinds and said, “I didn’t know if you wanted brown or white bread.”
“Always brown, rye, or multigrain for me,” she said, reaching for the darker bread.
“I ordered them filled, so they both have the works. I figured it was easy enough to take off something you didn’t like.”
“And again, very logical,” she said with a smile. She was delighted. “I love veggies in my sandwiches,” she said. She unwrapped one corner and took a bite. She sat back, chewing slowly, loving the mixture of flavors. “This is really, really good.”
“It is,” he said, “and they don’t skimp on amounts. They were pretty reasonable too.”
She nodded and watched as he grabbed a sandwich and plowed through it in no time. “I hope you bought yourself a second one?”
“I did,” he said, lifting the bag that obviously wasn’t empty. “And I bought you a second one.” He put them both out on the small table.
“I’m not sure I can eat two,” she confessed, “but I really want to. It’s excellent.”
“Sometimes it’s just nice to know that you won’t starve,” he said. “I’ll leave it for you, and you can eat it later tonight.”
“Considering it’s four o’clock already,” she said, smiling, “I probably will.”
With his sandwiches gone, he stood, grabbed the garbage, left the sandwich with her, and said, “I’ll head out. Baylor will take over, sitting in the hallway if you need anything. I’ll check in with Mason, and hopefully we can get an update. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Can you walk downstairs and see if there’s any change in the kidnapper’s condition?”
Axel nodded, his gaze intent. “What are you really thinking? Are you worried he’ll get out of that bed and come up here and get you?”
She gave him a wan smile. “It’s a little hard to forget that he already did that once.”
At that, Axel winced and nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “I’ll go check. I’ll send you a text, okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.” She watched as he left, feeling something inside her die down. It was hard to see him leave. There was a light in her life when he was around her, and it seemed to dim as he left. She waited for his text to confirm that the kidnapper was still thoroughly out and under guard. But, when it didn’t come, she started to get antsy. She quickly sent him another text.
Did you check?
But there was no answer. She stared down at her phone with growing unease. The last thing she wanted was to think of anything happening to him. But it was hard not to, as there had been so much bad news already. It was impossible to not think of something ugly happening. Finally she phoned him, but the call went to voicemail. She called out for Baylor, several times. He should have been in the hallway. He never answered either. Then she didn’t know what to do or who to call.
Finally she called Tesla, and, when Tesla answered the phone, she asked, “Is Mason there?”
“Sure,” Tesla said in surprise. “I’m putting you on Speaker. Go ahead.”
“Mason, have you heard from Axel?”
Mason, his voice strong and comforting, came through the phone. “Not in the last hour or two. Why?”
“He left here at about four-tweny. Axel was going to check on the kidnapper downstairs on the way out, then text me to confirm that Webber was still under guard and unconscious, so there was no danger of the kidnapper coming after me again,” she said, the words pouring out of her in a rush. “But Axel didn’t text me. And I texted him several times and then even tried to call, and it’s going to voicemail. Baylor didn’t answer either.”
“I’m trying Axel right now,” Mason said, “but I haven’t heard from him since he left your hospital bed.”
“I have to admit I’m worried,” she said.
“Last word we had,” Tesla said, “was that your kidnapper wasn’t capable of coming after you.”
“Well, supposedly, yes,” she said, “but I don’t know about that.”
“I’m checking with the hospital.”
“I’m just—I just can’t stop thinking about it,” she said. “If anything happened to Axel, when he’s done so much for me, I’ll feel so terrible,” she said in a low whisper.
“Take a deep breath,” Mason said. “I’ll track him down and get back to you.”
And, with that, she had to be satisfied.
“Stay calm,” Tesla whispered. “These guys really know how to take care of themselves.”
“I know,” Ally said, her voice breaking. “It just feels so wrong.”
“You’ve really hit it off with him, haven’t you?” Tesla said sympathetically.
“You could say that,” she said. “I’d really hate to find something so special, only to lose it.”
“No talk about losing it is allowed,” Tesla said, her voice firm. “Just stop that right now.”
“I know. I know. I know,” she said. “I’m just—I’m trying to calm down, and it’s so damn hard.”
“Do you know exactly when he left?”
“Roughly,” she said, “I’d say about four-twenty.”
“Okay, I can log into the hospital video cameras and see where he went,” Tesla said. “We’ll get back to you as soon as we have something.” And, with that, she hung up.
Ally knew how lucky she was to have people who could do this kind of stuff. If it was left to her, she wouldn’t really know what to do. But if they could check the hospital video cameras, then maybe they could track where he went. It wasn’t long, maybe fifteen minutes, before Tesla called her back.
“He went in to check on the kidnapper, went downstairs, and headed out to the parking lot. I lost track of him at that point in time.”
“Does it show that he went to his vehicle?”
“No, not necessarily. It shows that he went toward it, but that’s where the camera panned out, and he steps out of the viewing range.”
“And what about his vehicle?”
“No sign of it leaving the base,” Tesla said, her voice thoughtful. “I’m following street cams through town here. I’ll get back to you.” She hung up again.
But that wasn’t good enough for Ally. She knew for a fact now that something had happened. She didn’t know what. And that scared her even more. She quickly sent Axel yet another text, asking him to contact her. But, of course, there was no answer. She looked around the room, wishing she had clothes, but she didn’t have anything to leave in. She sent Tesla a message, asking if she could get her some clothes.
“Sure, as long as you’re not fussy.”
“Hell no,” she said, “but I’m leaving, and I’m going now, so it’s either with a hospital gown and a spare or without.”
“In that case,” Tesla said, “I’m on it, and I’ll be there out front in a few minutes.”
Ally sat up on the bed, grabbed the crutches, made her way to the bathroom, and, by the time she’d used the facilities and washed her face and was coming out, she could hear Tesla’s firm stride coming down the hallway. When she walked into the hospital room, Tesla had a worried look on her face. “Are you sure you should be leaving?”
“They were going to release me tomorrow,” she said. “This is more important.”
“And just what good will it do?” Tesla asked, her hands on her hips, her fingers playing over her hip bones in a rhythm as she pondered the problem. “It just means we’ll have to worry about you at home too.”
“But I was kidnapped from the hospital,” she said, in a dry tone, “so it’s hardly the safest place to be, particularly with the kidnapper right here too. Axel was the one standing gua
rd over me. And Baylor’s gone too. So that’s not a help now.”
“True, but I checked with the front desk when I came in,” Tesla said, “and your kidnapper’s still unconscious.”
“But where are the two guys with the Russian connections? Axel showed me another image, and I told him how that one guy looked very similar to one of the men on the sub with me, a Rodney Grant,” she said. “I guess I can’t get past the feeling that something’s going on, and I’m in danger here. Now I’m worried that Axel’s already been hurt.”
“Interesting,” she murmured. “Well, let’s get you dressed,” she said, and she held up a loose flowing skirt. “I wasn’t exactly sure what you could wear over that cast.”
“That’s fine,” she said, and there was also a top and a sweater—obviously clothes from Tesla’s closet. “Perfect.” And within seconds Ally was dressed. Just as she was ready to grab her crutches, the power went out. She stared at Tesla. “You’re in danger,” she said urgently. “You need to leave.”
Tesla stared at her and then gave a hard laugh. “You’re the one who’s in danger,” she said, “and we’re not leaving except together.”
“I can get behind that,” Ally replied with a deep breath. “The last time the power went out was when they came after me.”
“I’ll go to the doorway and keep it open,” she said. Tesla walked over to the door, pulled it open, and stepped out. Seeing nobody bursting inside, Ally grabbed her crutches and slowly made her way, wishing she’d thought to ask for something for her feet, only to realize that Tesla was there, holding flip-flops. Grabbing up her laptop bag, she put one on her good foot.
“Thank you. I never even thought of that.”
“I’ve been in a cast or two in my time,” Tesla said. “This will make life a lot easier.”
With the two women slowly making their way down the hallway, Ally stopped in front of the elevator and said, “Of course there’s no elevator, is there?”
“Not without power,” she said, “and you’re on the third floor.”
Ally swore lightly. “How hard can it be to go downstairs?”
“Really hard,” Tesla said, “but let’s give it a go.” They made their way through the first set of stairwells, and she tried it with the crutches, but she felt like she would fall over every time. Instead, Tesla grabbed one of the crutches and said, “Trying using one and the railing.” That worked better, so slowly they hopped their way down the stairs to the second floor. They still had to get down one more floor to the lobby.
“I need to tell the front desk that I’ve left,” Ally said. “Otherwise, they’ll put out an alarm, thinking I’ve been kidnapped again.”
“True enough, and I’ve already told Mason,” Tesla said. “I also want to get you off your feet before we injure your other leg even worse.”
“It’s better than being killed in bed. Hopefully Mason’s on his way here.”
“Yeah, as soon as I called him, he left,” she said. “He should be waiting out front.”
“Perfect,” Ally said. “I’m definitely feeling a little insecure.” Back down on the main floor, they slowly made the way to the reception area in front, and that’s where Mason pulled up out front. When he saw them, he raced over to Tesla’s side. “Did you guys see anyone?”
She shook her head. “Nope, and still nothing from Axel,” she said.
Ally made it to the front desk and told the woman there that she was checking out. The woman shook her head and said, “You haven’t been released.”
“No,” she said, “I understand. But this is the second power outage. I’ve already been kidnapped out of this place once after the other power outage,” she said. “I don’t feel safe anymore. The doctor told me that I could leave tomorrow anyway, so I’m checking out now. I’ll sign the forms, or I’m leaving without them.” It took ten minutes to get all the forms straightened out, and, by the time she had them signed, she felt pretty weak and woozy.
Mason stood there, glaring at her. “You know that you’re probably safer right here.”
“No,” she said. “I might have been at one time but not now.”
Mason frowned at that but said nothing.
“Did you find Axel?” she asked.
“No,” he said, “I haven’t.”
“What about his vehicle?”
“We’re still looking for it,” he admitted. Just then his phone went off. He looked at it and said, “It’s one of my guys. They found Axel’s Jeep in the parking lot.”
“Which parking lot?” she said.
“This one.”
She stared at him. “He didn’t even get out of the parking lot?”
“It’s been moved is the problem,” he said. “It’s around the back.”
“Let’s go there first,” she urged.
“We are. Plus, the two men who tracked it are on their way too.” He helped her into the back of his Jeep, which was open air, and she could at least look around and see. With the crutches beside her, they drove around to where Axel’s Jeep was. His had a hardtop on, so it looked more like a regular vehicle, not just a joyride. As they drove up, another vehicle came toward it from the far side.
But she already knew.
“He’ll be inside,” she said, “and he’ll be hurt.”
They looked at her hard. Mason hopped out, raced over toward the vehicle, and she knew it. There were shouts and yelling, as she watched a very groggy Axel slowly being helped from the back seat. Thankfully he stood on his own, though blood poured down the side of his head. Mason helped him walk to Mason’s Jeep, where Axel sat down beside her. She reached out and gripped his fingers.
“Axel, what happened?”
He stared at her for a moment, as if trying to collect his thoughts. “You know? I’m not even sure I remember. I left you and was heading to my vehicle, but I don’t know what happened after that.”
“You went downstairs to check on the prisoner, and then you went outside. You never texted me, so I kept trying to reach you and finally contacted Tesla and Mason.”
He looked at her in surprise, then looked at Tesla and Mason and said, “Thank you. I think.”
“You were probably attacked on the way to your vehicle,” Mason said.
Just then Dane and Baylor walked over. They took hard looks at Axel’s head and said, “Looks like you got bashed over the head too, then they stuffed you into the back of your vehicle.”
“Why bother,” he wondered. “They left me alive, so they had to know I’d be coming after them.”
“Chances are they were seen,” he said.
“Or,” Ally said quietly, “they had another mission to accomplish first.”
The men turned to look her.
“Explain?” Mason barked.
“Our prisoner in the hospital,” she said. “I highly suspect, if I wasn’t being attacked, then my kidnapper was the target.” At that, the two men who had joined Mason took off. She looked at Mason and asked, “Do they need somebody to go with them?”
“I’m going,” Axel said, his voice stronger and sounding more pissed than anything, and he hopped out of the Jeep. She reached to stop him. Even Mason reached out to grab him, but Axel was already bolting toward the building door. She looked at Mason and asked, “Are you going after him? Or do I have to?”
“You are staying where you are,” Mason roared. “Axel, get your ass back here.”
But Axel was already around the corner, heading toward the front of the hospital. Mason glared at Tesla. She just shrugged and said, “You’ll have to stay here and look after us, won’t you?”
He rolled his eyes at that and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Ally realized that he didn’t want to leave the two women alone either. She sat back in place. “They’ll already be too late,” she said, staring out across the parking lot. “Too much time has gone by. It was probably pretty easy for them to take out the prisoner.”
“You think that’s what the power outage was all about?” Tesla a
sked, turning around to see her.
She nodded. “They couldn’t afford to keep him alive. You know that.”
“And you?”
“I would have probably been the secondary casualty, but, between Axel and my kidnapper, they may not have had time to get to me. I was supposed to stay there until tomorrow, so, in their minds, they still had some time to take me out.”
“Well,” Tesla said with a bright smile, “looks like they missed their deadline.”
“Because I changed it on them,” Ally said, with a bright smile.
“And this is all supposition,” Mason said, exasperation evident in his voice. But he was glaring in the direction the three men had gone. When his phone rang, he pulled it out, and she listened while he answered a call from Axel.
“What do you mean, he’s dead? What about the guards outside his room? … They’re still standing right there and didn’t know? … Jesus Christ! What in the hell—” He swore up and down, now pacing outside his Jeep, but he had moved farther away so Ally couldn’t hear the conversation. But the two women looked at each other.
“So that’s exactly what it was then,” Ally said.
“Looks like you were spot on,” Tesla said.
Within a few minutes the three men came back around the side of the building, Axel on the phone with Mason. When they could see each other, they put away their phones. She looked over at Axel, when he, a little shaky, sat back down in the Jeep.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?”
He looked at her and nodded.
“So one attack on you, and they killed the prisoner, their primary target today, with the secondary one being me.”
“Yes,” he said. “I think that’s probably accurate.” He looked at Mason. “I suggest you take us back to her place. I’ll stay with her and make sure she lives through the night,” he said. “We need to get an APB out on whoever did this.”
“Which means I need to get to my computer. We need facial recognition,” Tesla said.
“I’ve already made contact, asking for the camera feeds.”
