The Captive Girl

by David Nees

  Chapter 44

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  W hile the cleanup crew descended on the Zürich mansion, Jane and Dan grilled Aebischer for nine hours. After some resistance, he capitulated and gave Jane all the information he had. There were terrorist cells located in Frankfort, Paris, and London. He had address information on the Frankfort cell only. It was the main one that directed the others. The existence of the cells was not news, but Aebischer gave them the bank accounts they accessed, one’s he had set up. These three cells were going to coordinate all the attacks but Aebischer didn’t know the date.

  Fred and Warren went to work immediately to find the other addresses. Jane communicated all her information back to Henry who passed it to his boss, Roger Abrams, head of SAD who discussed it with his boss, Garrett Easton, the Deputy Director of Operations. Easton contacted his counterparts in Frankfort, Paris, and London. Now with more detailed information those agencies agreed to put together an intervention plan including U.S. operatives.

  Henry called Jane back after arrangements had been agreed to.

  “Jane, I want you to send Dan to Frankfort to make sure this cell is taken down. From what Aebischer said, this is the key cell. The ranking ISIS operative works from that location.”

  Jane took Dan outside to be alone. “Henry’s worried that the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the BND, won’t act in time. He wants you to go to Frankfort and see what you can do.”

  “You going to let the them know about me?”

  “The BND?”

  Dan nodded.

  “Not directly. Henry’s going to let them know we’ll be monitoring the situation and will inform them of any new information we develop.”

  “What about the money? It won’t be passed through. That should shut the cells down.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Some of them may have the resources to put part of the plan into action. Take Roland with you. He’s itching to get into action, sort of a payback for babysitting Pietro.”

  “You know I work alone.”

  “Yes, but a backup will help this time. You don’t know how many operatives there are in the Frankfurt cell and you won’t be able to cover everyone. Roland’s solid. He’ll be an asset.”

  Dan gave her a sour look but agreed. They walked through the backyard. It was a mix of badly kept grass and overgrown planting beds.

  “Are you going to tell Evangeline about her inheritance?”

  “I don’t know. It’s earth-shaking news, even if she doesn’t realize it at first. Maybe you should sit down and have a woman-to-woman talk with her.”

  “Chicken.” Jane said as she smiled at him.

  “I admit it. She might convince me to live a life of leisure with her millions while she makes it her mission to keep me satisfied.” He smiled back.

  “You’re still sure you don’t want to get off the train?”

  Dan looked thoughtful. “I’ve been given a gift and I’ve begun to see it in action. I can read people now in a way I couldn’t before, see into them, so to speak. I don’t know how, but I feel what they’re feeling and can sense the truth or falseness of what they’re saying.”

  They walked in silence. Jane waited for Dan to elaborate. “That sensitivity tells me I’m supposed to use this gift for the missions you give me.” He shook his head. “So, no, it’s not time to get off the train. Not yet.”

  “You’re on a different path than Evangeline.”

  “I don’t know what her path is. She certainly doesn’t know…yet. But I do think our paths will cross now and again. That’s probably all it will be, crossing paths.”

  “Does your gift enable you to see the future?”

  “No, definitely not. But I can sense things.” He kicked a stone in the drive. “Hell, I don’t know much about this and don’t know where it will end. But I’ll continue to do my job, especially if some good comes out of it beyond killing the bad guys.”

  Jane put her hand on Dan’s arm. She looked into his eyes. “Thank you for that. I want to run this mission with you, not without you. I’ll talk to her.”

  They turned to go back into the house. Evangeline watched them from an upstairs window.

  After dinner that night, Dan took Roland aside while Jane sat down to talk with Evangeline.

  “I want to commend you again on how you handled yourself in the mansion.”

  “Thank you.” Evangeline gave Jane a curious look. Like seeing an odd stranger for the first time. “How do you do it? I mean how do you kill so easily? I just reacted by instinct almost, and to try to protect Dan. But you…you killed three guards. Doesn’t it bother you?”

  Jane smiled and looked into her eyes. “You have been through a lot for your age. You are a brave woman. From what you’ve told me about your mother, I think you must have inherited her courage. But you’re not a warrior. I can see that.”

  “And you are? What’s the difference?”

  “A warrior first chooses to go into battle. A warrior is one who sees their calling to help in terms of fighting the enemy, directly, and on the front lines. I was a fighter all through my life growing up, defending my little brother and sister. What I do is my choice. I gave up a normal life to do this, similar in some ways to Dan. He gave up a normal life when he chose to make the men who killed his wife and child pay for their actions. We just linked our paths together on this shared pursuit.

  “You are a fighter,” Jane continued, “But you fought for survival. You have courage, but you didn’t choose a life of being a warrior, a fighter. You’re not one to run to the sound of gunfire. There’s another role in life for you. And believe me you have been given an incredible opportunity to do some good with it.”

  “Instead of being a drugged-out porn star?”

  “Instead of that, yes.”

  “How do you know I have an opportunity?”

  Jane took Evangeline’s hands in hers. “We have worked out a deal with your father. He understands that his old life is over. There’s no chance of him going back to that. Dan convinced him to do one good thing in his life. He has signed over all his assets, all his wealth to you. You are his only surviving relative.” She smiled at Evangeline. “You are now a wealthy woman.”

  Evangeline looked at Jane. Her face was blank. It was as if she didn’t understand Jane’s words.

  “He’s giving everything to me? Why?”

  “Maybe there’s a small spark of contrition in his evil heart. Or maybe he’s trying to make us think better of him.”

  “What did you promise him?” Evangeline’s voice was full of suspicion.

  “Nothing direct. He’s hoping this act will save him in the end.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” Jane asked.

  “Don’t save him. He killed my mother.” Tears began to form in her eyes. She leaned forward, her voice harsh and choked. “No amount of money pays for that.” She pulled her hands back. “If he can buy his life with his money, I don’t want it.”

  “It’s yours. The documents establish that. You can do with it what you want.”

  “I’ll give it all away. It would be like taking blood money.”

  Evangeline stood up.

  Jane looked up at her. “Think about it what it means. It is a fortune of three to five hundred million dollars. You don’t have to decide or do anything for a while. Take as long as you need to think about what you want to do.” She paused, and then added, “Talk to Dan if that will help.”

  Later that night Evangeline pulled Dan aside. “You promised Aebischer his life for turning his money over to me? ”

  Dan looked surprised. “I didn’t promise him anything. I told him it was not in my hands. And if it was, I would be inclined to execute him.”

  “That’s what you should do. I don’t want his money, his blood money.” Her voice was sharp. There was a fierce look in her eyes. “He killed my mother. He can’t get away with that.”

  Dan sighed. “Evangeline, I agree with you, but
the world is more complicated. If the higher levels of authorities agree he has value to them, he’ll be kept alive. Their interests are not the same as yours…or mine, in this matter.”

  She shook her head, her hair flying. “That’s not right.”

  “Agreed.”

  They were sitting in the kitchen. The others had retired for the night. Dan touched her arm to get her to look at him.

  “You should not renounce this inheritance, even though it comes from Aebischer. It’s not blood money as you called it. Whether Aebischer lives or dies has nothing to do with him turning over his fortune to you. It’s not in our hands.” She looked at Dan with a mixture of anger and affection. “There are good things you can do with the wealth, things that may take time for you to figure out. I’ll be around to help and Jane will be available. We won’t leave you without support. A fortune of this size requires careful consideration and handling.” He smiled at her. “But don’t reject it. Consider it a gift your mother fought for.”

  Evangeline looked into Dan’s eyes. “I’d welcome it if you would stay with me. If I’m going to be such a wealthy woman, you could join me. We can do things with the money together, good things, fun things. I can’t do this alone,” she reached up to touch Dan’s cheek, “And you’re the only one I want to be with.”

  She paused as if gathering her courage. “Don’t you see, I love you? You saved me and opened me up to a new life. And now with all that money we can live it together. You don’t need to keep doing what you’re doing.”

  Dan grabbed her hands and put them into his. He leaned close to her. “I don’t do this for the money. I have been given a gift, from the shaman. I don’t know how, but I’m to use it on these missions.”

  “Is it Jane? Are you in love with her? Is that why you reject me?” Evangeline’s lips trembled.

  “No. If anything it’s Rita. I’m still not over her death. We were a perfect fit, hand-in-glove. I still have a hole in my heart from her death.” Dan knew his face betrayed his grief. “It’s a wound not yet healed. It will someday, just as this mission will end someday. But that day is not now.”

  “So, I won’t see you anymore? This is it?”

  Dan’s smile returned. “No. You’ll see me. I have a clear sense our paths will cross, maybe many times.” He turned serious. “But I also see that we have different paths, different stories for our lives.”

  Evangeline looked sad, she lowered her eyes. Dan cupped his hand under her chin. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t see each other. You have many here, not just me, who want you to succeed. I think you’ve won the hearts of all of us. You have that gift.”

  “I only want your heart…and you won’t let it go.”

  “It still belongs to Rita. But you have found a place there now, a place forever.”

  She reached forward and hugged the man who had rescued her and saved her from her captivity.

  Chapter 45

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  R oland and Dan went to visit Marcus in the hospital where he was recovering from surgery. The bullet had hit one of his kidneys which had to be removed. He would heal just fine but there would be some convalescent time involved.

  “Hey slacker,” Roland said when they entered the room.

  “Fuck you,” Marcus replied.

  “That’s original,” Roland said.

  “You’re just jealous because you had to stay behind and babysit while Dan and I did men’s work.”

  “If I had gone, I might not have gotten shot. I hear you missed the shooter and he was only twenty feet away.”

  “He ducked.”

  Roland smiled and said, “How you doing, buddy?”

  “I’m gonna be fine. Just be light one kidney.”

  “That mean you’re gonna piss a lot more?”

  “No stupid. That’s the bladder. I still got a good one. The doctor says I should watch my intake of salt and not drink too much.”

  “Damn, that’s going to cramp your lifestyle,” Roland said.

  Marcus looked over at Dan. “How did things shake out?”

  Dan told him what had transpired since they had gotten back.

  “Roland and I are going to go to Frankfort to make sure the cell leader, Jabbar Khalid, gets killed. He has a lot of influence over the other cells in Europe.”

  “What’s up?” Marcus asked.

  “Aebischer confirmed that the intel we have about an attack coming is correct. An Arab financier named Rashid al-Din Said recently moved millions into Aebischer’s accounts to fund a coordinated attack on airports in Europe.”

  “Are you going to go after Said?”

  Dan shook his head. “Don’t know where he is. Fred hasn’t found anything on him yet, but Aebischer may be able to help us. We’re just trying to intercept the pending operation.”

  “Killing Khalid and interrupting the money, should disrupt the attacks,” Roland added.

  “Damn. I’d like to go with you, but I’m going to be stuck here for a few more days and then have about six weeks of rehab.”

  “We’ll send pictures,” Roland said with a grin on his face.

  Marcus gave him the finger. “Go kick some ass.”

  “You got it, buddy,” Roland said.

  “We gotta go,” Dan said. “Lots of planning to do.”

  Marcus and Roland were cut from the same cloth. They had become friends in Delta Force. Dan had reluctantly come around to accept Roland coming with him. He, like Marcus, had the warrior spirit and looked forward to engaging the enemy with no quarter asked or given.

  Back at the safe house Jane gave Dan the address of an apartment that Fred had rented under Dan’s alias. It was located on the intersection of Glauburgstrasse and Lenaustrasse. The rooms had a view of the intersection and the apartment building across the street where the terror cell was located. They could surveil the terrorists from the apartment. Jane gave them the best pictures Warren could find of Jabbar Khalid. They were to track him while Jane kept them updated on the progress of the BND. If the intelligence unit failed to take down the terrorists, or if Khalid escaped, Dan and Roland were to provide the backup to insure he did not survive.

  Roland loaded their gear while Dan said goodbye to Evangeline.

  “Please stay safe,” she said as she hugged him.

  “I will. Don’t make any decisions until I come back, promise?”

  She nodded.

  Jane walked out to the car with Dan.

  “Keep checking in and I’ll update you on the BND.”

  “What are you going to do about Pietro?” Dan asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m about to punt him to Henry. He’s going to want to bring Aebischer back, along with the ledger. What he’ll do with Pietro remains to be seen.”

  “I warned Evangeline that people above us were going to make the decision on Aebischer. I think I’ve prepped her for the fact that he may not be executed.”

  “Is she okay with that?”

  Dan shook his head. “Of course not. But maybe you can assure her that Aebischer, should he live, will never be a free man.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  “Now about Pietro. Remember he tried to have me killed twice. I don’t want him running loose and messing with Evangeline.”

  “He was ordered to do what he did. He’s also terrified of you and what you might do to him if he’s out from under my protection.”

  “Good. Keep him worried about that. It’ll make him more pliant.” Dan paused for a moment. “I don’t want him loose. He could be trouble for Evangeline.”

  “We’ll deal with that later. Right now, I’ll have an embassy staff person drive you to Marseille. From there each of you purchase an older car and drive separately. If you need to split up, you’ll both have transportation. And you can leave them anywhere.”

  “Buy a beater, right? No luxury sedan.”

  “Right.” Jane reached up and gave Dan a hug. Take care of yourself. You and Roland get this done and g
et back here so we can wrap this mess up and close the operation.”

  Dan gave her a mock salute. “Yes ma’am.”

  He got into the car with Roland and they headed for Marseille.

  They arrived at their apartment in Frankfurt late that evening at different times and checked in. It had two bedrooms with a living room, bath, and eat-in kitchen. The first thing Dan did was to unpack their surveillance gear and set it up.

  They had a camera with a telephoto lens aimed at the windows of the target apartment. Hopefully they would see evidence of Khalid there. They could easily monitor the comings and goings of the apartment residents.

  “What’s the plan?” Roland asked.

  “We play it as it develops.”

  “Do you always do things like this? No planning and hope for the best?”

  Dan nodded. “That’s how it generally works. You have to improvise.”

  “Precise planning prevents piss-poor performance.”

  “In a perfect world. I work in a very imperfect world…lots of grey.”

  Roland shook his head. “Do we follow anyone if they leave the apartment?”

  “Yes and no. If they’re leaving to carry out a mission, they’ll probably leave together, unless they have more than one vehicle. We’ll try to determine that right away. If Khalid leaves, I’ll tail him. You stand out too much.”

  “I doubt he’s a professional in uncovering tails.”

  “I agree but you’d make it easier for him.”

  “So I just sit around?”

  “We take turns monitoring. We’ll do it 24/7 so there’s no gaps. If we have to do a takedown, we’ll do it together.”

  After discussing their tactics, however thin, Dan left to purchase some groceries to hold them for a few days.

  Chapter 46

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