by A. L Long
The driver took hold of my handcuffed arms and pulled me from the car. The awkwardness caused my arms to be pulled in the wrong direction. “Ouch, could you pull me any harder?”
“Charles, please be careful with her,” he demanded.
The driver’s grip eased and I was able to get out with no problem. The only thing I wished was to have the cuffs removed. “Can you please take these off me?”
“Only if you promise to behave,” he advised.
“There is no where for me to go.”
“Very well,” he replied, handing the small key over to the driver.
Once the cuffs were off, my hands began to get feeling into them again. As much as I wanted to escape this man, I knew it was useless. My only prayer was that Hawk was looking for me and would be able to find me. The driver took my arm and escorted me onto the jet plane. I wasn’t sure what my so-called father did for a living. The driver showed me where to sit, while I waited for my so-called father to take a seat.
As soon as we were settled, I began quizzing him about who he really was. “So are you going to tell me why you are holding me against my will?”
“I wouldn’t think of it that way, sweetheart. Think of it as a father protecting his child,” he said.
“You don’t even know me and I certainly don’t know you,” I began, shifting my position so I sat a little taller.
“I know more about you than you think. I also know about your mother and the kind of life she dragged you into. No child should have to go through what you did, but I have taken care of that as well. No one will ever hurt you again, Sabrina,” he advised.
“Okay, since you are claiming to be my father, I think it is only fair that I know who you really are,” I questioned.
“All you need to know about me is that I am not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I don’t even know what to call you,” I voiced in annoyance.
“Well, I would love for you to call me Father or Dad, but I know that would be uncomfortable for you, so you may call me Lee,” he said.
~****~
The flight to who knew where was taking way too long. I knew we were no longer in the States as I watched the body of water, what I assumed was the Atlantic Ocean, come into view below us. Seeing the body of water made me wonder where we were headed. The only thing Lee said was ‘a piece of paradise.’ It had to be some remote island somewhere where he could keep hidden. As I sat back and looked out the small window, a woman entered the area where we seated. She must have been some sort of flight attendant, because she was carrying a tray of drinks. When she walked over to me she asked in a fake voice, “Hi, my name is Beth. Would you like something to drink?”
Looking up, I said, “Water would be fine.”
Handing me a bottle of water, she sauntered off to some other room. Sipping on my water, I continued to look out the window. It almost seemed like we weren’t moving the way the ocean stilled. It wasn’t until I saw a few islands below that I knew we were getting close to some sort of civilization. The voice of the plane’s pilot came on over the intercom, announcing that he was getting ready to make his decent and to make sure we were seated with our seat belts on.
There was a small airport on the island that we landed on. It didn’t look like much twenty thousand feet in the air, but the closer we got, the better I could see that it was actually a private airstrip. The view was spectacular, with the beautiful flowered trees and shrubs. I had no idea where we were, but it was indeed a piece of paradise.
When the plane landed and we had all gotten off, there was a black SUV waiting for us on the runway. The light breeze blew my hair, but it was warm and the hint of something sweet filled the air. My guess was the flowered plants that bordered the airstrip, making a clear landing path for the pilot. The driver of the SUV stepped over to where Lee was standing and said something in a language I didn’t understand. It almost sounded French, but my guess was that it was Creole. When their conversation was over, the young driver walked over to the back passenger door and held it open and waited for us to get inside. Once we were settled, he rounded the vehicle and got in himself.
As we drove away from the airstrip, I noticed that we never got on an a main road. The road we had taken was dirt and led us through a heavily wooded area of palm trees. As I took in the scenery, Lee placed his hand on my knee. When I flinched at his touch, he said “We are almost there.”
“Where is there?” I asked, knowing I wouldn’t be getting a straight answer.
“Your new home,” he offered. “I think you will be very happy here.”
I had no idea how I felt. All I wanted was to go back to New York. All I wanted was to be back in the arms of Cop. God, I hoped he was looking for me.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cop
My head was swimming with thoughts of Sabrina. I hated the feeling of not knowing what we would find once we got to the missile silo. I had to believe that we would find her and she would be okay. We decided to take Hawk’s SUV only because we weren’t sure what kind of terrain we would be dealing with. Turned out that most of the roads leading to the silo were very well maintained. Leave it to the government to make sure their roads were accessible. As Hawk turned up the main road leading to the silo, I got this strange feeling in my gut that something was wrong. Approaching the fence, we could see that it was secured by a chain and padlock. Hawk didn’t waste any time putting his SUV into park and walking the rear, where he pulled out a pair of bolt cutters.
In a matter of minutes the lock was off and we had full access to the entrance. Pulling through the gate, Hawk scanned the area to find a place to park his vehicle. It was only after he spotted a break in the trees that he maneuvered the SUV around them and put the truck in park. Gathering our thoughts, we decided to come up with a plan.
“So what’s our move?” Hawk questioned as he looked over to Peter who was sitting In the passenger seat.
“I don’t see any cameras or surveillance at the entrance. It’s not to say there isn’t though. I think our best bet is to wait about half an hour. When it gets dark, it’s going to be our best chance to get inside, hopefully without being noticed.”
I knew that Peter was right, but that half hour could make a lot of difference in what Sean had planned for her. Just as I was getting ready to argue about waiting, I saw some movement at the entrance. Crouching low in my seat, I looked over my shoulder and said, “Hey guys, door.”
Peter and Hawk both looked over to where I was pointing and could see there was a guy coming out of the metal door. He was walking slower than normal, like he had been hurt or something. Needing to get a better look, I picked up my binoculars from the floor and aimed my gaze at the silo’s entrance door. Focusing the lens, I recognized the body. It was Sean and he had a gouge on the side of his head that was bleeding pretty good. “God damn, motherfucker,”I said with gritted teeth. “It’s Sean Bishop.”
“It’s your call, Cop. What do you want to do?” Peter asked.
All I could see was red, I swung open the door and was out in a flash. “God dammit Cop,” Peter whispered with gritted teeth.
There was no way I was going to let this guy out of my sight. Closing in on him, I could see that Sean was worse off than I thought. When he fell to the ground, I knew it was my chance to close in on him. Sean didn’t so much as move as I hovered over him. Kicking him in the side, I demanded. “Where is she? What did you do with Sabrina?”
Sean barely had a chance to roll over before I planted my boot in his side. “Jesus fucking Christ, I don’t know,” Sean cursed, holding one arm to his side and the other on his head wound. “She hit me with a vase and took off.”
I lifted his body from the ground looking at him square in the eye. “If anything has happened to her, I will personally make sure you never see daylight again.”
Grabbing the collar of his shirt, I began dragging him over to the SUV. Peter jumped out and assisted me. Once Sean was tied and we were certain there was no
way for him to escape. Peter and I headed inside the silo to make sure that Sabrina was gone as Sean had said, while Hawk watched Sean. Pulling the door open, we were greeted by a round of fire. We had no idea where the gunfire was coming from. It had to be from the bottom of the stairs. There wasn’t much cover that we could take. It was only when the shooter peeked his fat ass head around the corner to take another shot that Peter was able to get a shot, which landed right between his beady little eyes.
Making our way down the steps, Peter rolled the pile of shit over, only to find that his face meant nothing to him. The only other exit was a freight elevator. Getting inside, we begin pushing floors, hoping to find any sign of Sabrina. The first couple of stops ended up being only storage areas. Our guess was that was where supplies and rations were kept in the event of a disaster.
It was only after we hit the our fifth stop that things began to change. It was like stepping into a different world. “What is this place?” Peter asked confused.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” I replied as I began scanning the living area that looked like it came out of a magazine.
With my gun drawn, I began searching every inch of this area. Who ever designed this space, must have been afraid that the world was going to end. Every room was equipped with high-end furniture and state-of-the-art electronics. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this to be the home of James Bond, Mr 007 himself.
Moving down a hallway. I could see light coming from another room. Staying close to the wall, I raised my gun in case there was someone lurking inside. Pushing the door open, the room appeared to be empty. There was broken glass surrounded by roses on the floor. I could only assume this was the vase that Sabrina hit Sean with. My chest began to feel tight knowing she wasn’t here, just like Sean had stated. “Where are you, Brie?” I said to myself as I exited the room.
~****~
It was a long drive back into the city. Sean needed medical attention and there was still the question as to what we were going to do with him. After he told us his reason for taking Brie in the first place, we decided to hold on to him a little longer before turning him over to the police. As much as I hated the idea, I knew that he would be a great asset in finding Brie. All I could think about was where she could be. Once we left the missile silo, we looked for any signs as to where she might have gone. The only evidence we had that she escaped was the small piece of material Hawk found hanging from the fence.
Sean seemed to think that the men that were after him may have picked her up. After hearing his story, he was a bigger scumbag than I thought. If he hadn’t already been beaten, I would have knocked the shit out of him for taking Brie and putting her in danger. I didn’t care what his reasoning was. He had no right to inflict his money problems on her.
When Ash showed up at the cabin, he stitched Sean’s head and bandaged it up. Ash had the best medical training out of all of us. He also was a great artist and was able to draw a pretty good composite of the men that were after Sean. Once he was finished with the drawings, he took them back to the shop where he could scan them into the system and hopefully get a hit on the facial recognition software we used to catch criminals.
It was getting close to night time, and Peter and Hawk were on the back deck drinking some brews. Our house guest was locked away in the basement in one of the rooms I used to use to store my training equipment. And I was punching my bag, trying to pacify some of the aggression I had. Focusing only on my fists hitting the hard leather, I didn’t hear Ash come down the stairs.
“I think you’ve done enough damage to your punching bag for today,” Ash called. “I’ve got some info on the sketches,” he stated.
I removed my gloves and we headed up the steps to the upper deck, where Hawk and Peter were waiting. As we stepped outside, I knew whatever Ash found out wasn’t good. Taking a seat, I prepared myself for the worst. “So you got some information,” I said.
“Yeah, and it’s not pretty,” Ash advised.
“Just let me have it, Ash.”
“Okay. The guys that Sean is involved with are heavy into drug dealing, among other things. Illegal arms, organ harvesting, money laundering. You name it, they're into it. The biggest is the drugs, but they aren’t the main source. Ever heard of a man named Lee Draper?” Ash asked, switching his eye contact between us.
With no response he continued, “Well, he’s the king with a capital K when it comes to drug dealing. The FBI has been after him for years, but have never been able to get close enough to capture him. Every time they get a tip as to where he is, he is always one step ahead of them and manages to slip through their fingers. That’s not all, Cop. This Lee fellow has a daughter. The feds have been watching her for years, hoping to get a jump on this guy. It’s Sabrina, Cop.”
“What?” I blurted.
“Yeah, I don’t think she knows. When the feds didn’t get anywhere watching her, they gave up. Figured she wasn’t involved with him.”
“This is fucking unbelievable,” I said, having heard enough.
“There’s more, Cop,” Ash admitted as he took a seat beside me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Sabrina was awarded to the state when she was about fifteen. Even though most of her records were sealed because she was a minor, there were some things that weren’t. I'm not sure exactly what happened to her, but it was bad enough to land her in the hospital. Her mom was involved somehow and was charged with felony child endangerment and sent upstate to a woman’s correctional facility. She was sentenced to twelve years, with the possibility of parole after seven, only she never made it. Someone sliced her pretty good while she was doing her time.”
“We need to find out what happened to her ten years ago. It could lead us to where she is.” I didn’t care what it took. I needed to know what happened to her.
“That is going to take some doing, Cop. I might have a little pull, but if it means getting my friend at the bureau in trouble, he’s going to tell me where I can go,” Ash confessed.
“Well then, we will just have to find another way. I will stop at nothing to find her.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sabrina
No matter how beautiful this place was, all I could think about was Cop. Even though I was allowed to go pretty much anywhere on the property, I was still being watched by Lee’s guards. It has been a week since he picked me up on the side of the road. I still didn’t know a thing about him aside from what he told me which wasn’t much. He did seem sincere about wanting to take responsibility for his child and marry my mom. I wonder what my life would have been like if he had.
Finishing my breakfast, which consisted of fresh fruit and sweet croissant, I decided to take a walk along the beach. I had been doing that a lot since I got here. I just loved the way the white sand felt between my toes and how the warm ocean water caressed my skin as the water swept along the shore. I guess if I had a choice of being held a prisoner here or at that missile shelter, here would be where I preferred to be held captive.
As I was walking along the beach, I saw something buried in the sand. Jogging up to it, I pushed away the sand and pulled it from where it was buried. It was a small bucket in the shape of a castle top, the kind you would use to build sand castles. Kneeling down in the sand, I began scooping some of the damp sand into the bucket. It was a silly idea, but since I wasn’t pressed to be anywhere in particular, I took the opportunity to have a little fun. Each bucket full of sand that I filled and carefully dumped over began to take shape. I was no way an expert in the department of castle building, but I had to admit that it was really looking pretty good. The only thing that I needed was something to use to make a bridge. Spotting a flowering bush, I walked over and pulled off some of the branches, being careful not to ruin the pretty flowers.
By the time I had finished building my sand castle, it looked like a place where someone could escape. There were ten steeples in all with a bridge made of twigs leading to the open courtyard. I scooped a
way enough sand and let the salt water seep in so that a small river circled the castle. I wished there would have been a way to create a drawbridge, but that would have required string to hold the twigs together so that they could be lifted high enough to block the entrance into the castle. Lost in my fairy tale thoughts, I heard a male voice coming from where the house was.
Protecting my eyes with my hand, I glance over in the direction of the voice, only to find Lee walking up to me. Before he reached me, he said, “We need to get you to safety, Sabrina.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. I had no choice but to go with him the minute he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. I could tell he was annoyed with my childlike behavior, because before I could protest the grip he had on my arm, he began kicking my hard work, destroying my make-believe haven.
“Do you know how long it took me to build that, asshole?” I cursed, trying to pull free.
“You will watch your mouth, young lady. I don’t have time for your childish games, Sabrina,” he advised.
