Coded

by Kayla Bainbridge

  Taylor could do nothing but wait until Dustin or Kennedy woke up. The men who brought Dustin in forgot to gag him. If Taylor could wake up Dustin, maybe he could warn Kennedy and she could escape.

  Another hour passed before Dustin began to stir. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes before realizing what was going on. He saw Taylor first.

  “Taylor are you okay?” Dustin asked

  Taylor tried to get him to notice Kennedy laying on the bed by shifting his eyes over to the bed.

  “What?” Dustin said before he looked over and saw Kennedy lying on the bed. “Kennedy! Wake up, wake up!”

  Dustin and Taylor both watched as Kennedy continued to lie there motionless.

  “Boys,” Jordan said, walking back in. “Let the lady sleep.”

  Jordan then walked to the back wall of computers.

  Dustin whispered to Taylor, “Taylor I think she was drugged; we’ll have to wait for her to wake her up. How long have you been here?”

  Taylor glared at Dustin; couldn’t he see the gag around his mouth?

  “Oh right,” Dustin realized. “I think I can get out of these,” Dustin said as he lifted himself up and tried to pick the lock.

  Dustin attempted for a couple minutes, but soon gave up when he couldn’t get the right angle. Now his wrists were bleeding too.

  Over an hour passed and Kennedy continued to sleep. Dustin hung helplessly like Taylor. Jordan’s team had only been inside for half an hour before stepping outside again. What were they doing out there?

  Another hour passed before Kennedy started to stir.

  ∆∆∆

  “Kennedy,” Kennedy heard as she slowly stretched and continued to lie down. Maybe a few more minutes would be ok.

  “Huh,” she said wearily. She felt so rested, it was nice.

  “Get up.”

  It was Dustin who was talking to her.

  “Why, what is wrong,” she said through a yawn, sensing the panic in his voice.

  “Look!”

  Kennedy rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her eyes widened when she saw Taylor and Dustin hanging from the ceiling all tied up.

  “Taylor, Dustin?” she asked, unable to form a complete sentence. She climbed out of the bed and stood helplessly below the two of them.

  “Kennedy don’t worry about us, get out of here,” Dustin exclaimed.

  “I can get you down,” Kennedy insisted as she grabbed a chair and pulled it beneath Taylor. Standing on the chair she ripped off the tape from Taylor’s mouth.

  “Kennedy get out of here, it’s Jordan,” Taylor yelled.

  “I am not leaving you guys,” she said, determined to try and pull them both down.

  Dustin added his own opinion, “Kennedy, it is our job, you need to get out of here.”

  “Yes, Kennedy, run,” Jordan said walking inside the building. Three men had followed him.

  Kennedy turned around and faced him, “Jordan.”

  This time she wasn’t terrified of him. She was going to be strong.

  “Good to see you too Kennedy. Step down from there,” he commanded her.

  Kennedy held her position. She didn’t want to do anything he asked.

  Jordan nodded his head towards Taylor. One of the men behind him came to Taylor’s side and punched him in the stomach. Taylor grunted as his body was propelled a few feet into the air.

  Kennedy cringed as she watched him helplessly fly through the air. How was she going to do this alone?

  “Stop!” Kennedy said.

  “Please step-down Kennedy,” Jordan said, holding his hand out to assist her.

  This time Kennedy complied.

  Jordan held her arm as he led her to the far line of computer monitors. Looking behind her, she tried to check on Taylor and Dustin, but Jordan’s men blocked her view.

  “Thank you for joining me,” Jordan said. He motioned for her to sit in one of the swivel chairs.

  “The pleasure is all yours,” Kennedy replied as one of Jordan’s men took the position behind her chair.

  Jordan chuckled, “Very good.”

  “Why did you bring me here?” Kennedy asked.

  Jordan turned towards Kennedy and put his hands on her knees. “Your deciphering for the NSA has been very infuriating. We are now able to communicate freely. When this is all over, you will then decipher the codes we intercept from government agencies and our competition.”

  “Stay away from her!” Taylor yelled from across the warehouse.

  Jordan sneered and swiveled his chair closer to Kennedy, putting his arm around her shoulders. Kennedy resisted, but Jordan’s strong arms made Kennedy’s struggle look useless.

  “Is this better?” Jordan asked, setting his head on the top of hers.

  Jordan disgusted Kennedy. He was doing this just to get to Taylor. Looking at Taylor, it was clearly working.

  “When I get my hands on you!” Taylor threatened.

  “I look forward to it!” Jordan accepted, as he released Kennedy and returned to the computer.

  She jerked away at his release. This was not going well. Maybe she could increase their odds?

  “Jordan,” Kennedy tried to say calmly. “Let them go. I’ll still be here with you.”

  “Kennedy, no!” Dustin yelled.

  Kennedy was shocked at Dustin’s reaction. Couldn’t these men hold their tongue? They were just making things worse.

  “Put some duct tape on them,” Jordan directed to the man who wasn’t standing behind Kennedy.

  Kennedy watched in horror as the man approached Taylor and Dustin. Then she felt her chair turning so that she was facing Jordan. He was staring right at her. She could hear Taylor and Dustin getting beaten behind her.

  “I need them. You’ll do anything to protect them,” Jordan expressed calmly.

  Kennedy opened her mouth, shocked. Would Jordan use them against her? Their grunting and moaning behind her made her cringe. He was right. If she had the power to stop their pain, she would do it.

  “Good, now let me get back to work.”

  “Jordan let them down. I will do whatever you want, just put them down,” Kennedy begged as Jordan turned back to the computer.

  “Whatever I want?” Jordan questioned, turning his focus back to her.

  Kennedy regretted her request, but shamefully nodded her head.

  “I will make you a deal. Kiss me, and I’ll move them.”

  “You’re disgusting,” Kennedy said, regaining some composure.

  “So, you aren’t going to take my deal?” Jordan questioned, eagerly awaiting her response.

  Kennedy broke away from Jordan’s glare to stare at Taylor who was shaking his head.

  “I’ll do it.”

  Standing up, Kennedy walked over to Jordan. He stood to meet her. Closing her eyes Kennedy tried to imagine Taylor’s face as she gently touched Jordan’s lips. As she started to pull away Jordan wrapped his arms around her shoulders and her head forcing it to last several seconds before he released her, and she backed away.

  “There,” Kennedy said. She was still rattled from his abuse.

  “Thank you, my dear,” he said, embracing her once more. “My men will take them down,” he said.

  The man who had just taped their mouths, and the man standing near Jordan both walked over to Taylor and Dustin. First, they took Taylor off the chain and laid him down on the ground. They cut the tape on his feet and dragged him to the standing position. Once Taylor was standing, he kicked one of the men out of the way and headed towards the next man, despite his hands still being cuffed.

  Kennedy watched in awe, but then felt Jordan's presence behind her. He easily pinned her against his body so that she was still facing Taylor.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jordan announced.

  Taylor turned and saw the current situation.

  Jordan pulled a knife out with his other hand. Kennedy watched the knife. What was he going to do with that? Her eyes then darted back to Taylor.

 
; “You wouldn’t hurt her,” Taylor said, taking a step closer.

  “Take one more step,” Jordan challenged.

  Taylor challenged him by taking another step.

  Jordan held Kennedy tighter. She moaned as Jordan’s knife slid across her arm. He held her tightly so she couldn’t worsen his intended harm. It wasn’t deep, but the cut was long.

  Despite the blood falling from her arm, she knew that Jordan needed her. He could hurt her, but she would live.

  “Taylor go, he won’t kill me.”

  Taylor stopped his forward momentum and let the next man knock him to the ground.

  “Taylor,” Kennedy called, feeling helpless behind Jordan’s grip.

  Jordan lifted the blade from her skin but continued to hold Kennedy tightly against his body.

  The two men dragged Taylor over to a large pipe and cuffed his hand behind the pipe. They did the same thing with another pipe to Dustin, but Dustin didn’t resist their touch.

  Things were not going well. For the first time, Kennedy worried about who would live, and who would die. Jordan was easily provoked. How much mercy would he show to Taylor and Dustin? She needed another plan. If she could get one of them out the door, they could bring help for the rest. Of everyone, she knew that her odds were the least likely. They needed her.

  Jordan released her, and Kennedy sat back in her chair. She put her hand up to the wound and stopped most of the blood. He also sat down and stared at the computers.

  In front of her were six computer screens. Inside all those pixels were the answers Kennedy needed. She could use this to her advantage if she just focused. Her eyes scanned each screen, looking for clues. Jordan didn’t care or was too focused to notice her intentions.

  After half an hour Kennedy’s head ached. She had read weather reports, NSA personnel lists, hotel locations, flight numbers, landing times, and a variety of other things you could look up on the internet. There was nothing helpful. She needed to have Jordan reveal the plan himself.

  “Jordan,” Kennedy said, announcing herself.

  “Yes darling?” Jordan replied, turning to face her.

  The endearment made Kennedy twinge, but she tried to remain focused.

  Jordan looked down at her hand covered in blood, “Forgive me, I was distracted.”

  He got up from his seat and pulled her up out of her chair. Carefully he escorted her to the bathroom. Turning on the water, he gently helped her scrub the blood off of her hand. Retrieving a first aid kid, he applied some ointment and then he wrapped her arm up.

  “Thank you,” Kennedy said looking at the bandage.

  “Of course, we couldn’t have you bleeding out.”

  Jordan took her hand and kissed it lightly. “Anything else? Are you hungry?”

  Kennedy shook her head. She couldn’t think about eating at a time like this.

  Jordan took her hand and led her back. She wanted him in a good mood when she questioned him, so she followed him willingly.

  When they sat back down, Kennedy focused on her plan.

  “Why did you pick the NSA building?”

  Jordan once again turned to face her.

  “I underestimated you. Were you able to decipher all of it?” Jordan said, extremely interested.

  Kennedy didn’t want to reveal her hand. But, if she did, maybe he would be more willing to reveal his.

  Kennedy shook her head. She could’ve never gone through all of it.

  “Interesting, did you figure out the picture one?”

  “Yes, and the letter search one. Did you create all of those?”

  Jordan smiled, “Most of them. Did you struggle, or did they come easily to you?”

  “It took me twice as long.”

  Jordan was pleased, “But you handled it? Your endurance must be strengthening. So, tell me what you know?”

  Kennedy took a moment, “You plan to extract something or someone from the building, and then detonate a bomb to cover the whole thing up. You picked early afternoon to ensure the most people are there. Part of your shipment is coming through the airport.”

  “I’m impressed,” Jordan said.

  “Do you think you’ll get through NSA security?”

  Jordan obviously was enjoying this discussion, “We’ve had someone on the inside.”

  “All these double agents are confusing,” Kennedy said.

  “You can’t trust anyone. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone at the company works for the NSA either,” he said turning back to the computer.

  “What is it you are trying to extract?” Kennedy asked curiously.

  Jordan turned to face her again, “Ahhh, now that is the question you should have been asking yourself the whole time. You thought you were so smart decoding those messages. Well you know what? We anticipated that, the bomb, it is just a decoy.”

  “A decoy?”

  “Yup, the bomb, and all of that information was just a distraction to keep the NSA busy. They let things slip as they focused on finding information about this 'bomb'.”

  Is there a bomb?”

  “Oh yes, there is a bomb, but not what you would expect.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Take a seat, you have front row tickets to the show.”

  “How about a sneak peek?”

  Jordan laughed again, “Not even for you darling. Now I really need to focus,”

  ∆∆∆

  Taylor had listened to the exchange that had just occurred between Kennedy and Jordan. It was clear to Taylor that there was indeed some other part of the plan that they didn't know about. They needed to find out more, but how.

  Annoyed, Taylor looked to Dustin for help. Apparently, Dustin had been waiting for Taylor to look in his direction. He nodded his head. Dustin had gotten free of his cuffs and was motioning to the tool he had used. Then he threw over a lock pick. It landed a few feet from Taylor. Reaching, Taylor’s foot pulled the lock pick back, he scooted down to pick it up, and he started working on his own cuffs. Within a few minutes Taylor was free too. Now they just had to wait for their moment. Kennedy was too far away to involve her.

  Jordan had six men with him, it was risky. Taylor could probably handle two, and Dustin as well. Would two stay with Jordan and Kennedy? Jordan had already demonstrated his willingness to hurt Kennedy. Taylor didn’t want to push his luck. Looking back to Dustin, he was waiting for his signal.

  The two of them waited and waited, but no one moved. How long had Jordan planned on staying?

  Finally, two hours later, Jordan typed a few more keys and pushed back away from the computer.

  “Time to go,” Jordan said, grabbing Kennedy out of her chair.

  He looked back toward Taylor and Dustin. “I think we only need one of them to accompany us. How about Dustin?”

  Kennedy resisted Jordan’s touch, “No!”

  Taylor looked to Dustin and nodded. As the six men approached, they made their move. They both advanced to meet the men. Taylor took the three on the left and Dustin took the three to the right.

  At first things were going well. Taylor easily avoided their punches and made a few good contacts. Glancing at Dustin, he wasn’t doing as well. He was already on the floor. Focusing back on his own three threats, Taylor got knocked in the chin. Then it was downhill from there. He then was being hit from everywhere. Where was he supposed to defend first?

  ∆∆∆

  Kennedy could only watch in horror as Jordan forcibly dragged her to the door. Taylor started punching the men and easily evading their advancements, but then something changed, and Taylor lost his advantage. She turned and saw that Dustin wasn’t faring well either. After a few minutes, Dustin was already cuffed and was being pushed towards the exit where Jordan and Kennedy were standing. Looking back to Taylor, he was now on the floor.

  “Please,” Kennedy said standing helplessly. Jordan was holding her tightly. “Please, don't”

  “Don't worry, you’ll have me,” Jordan said, as he opened the doo
r and pushed her through.

  Kennedy cried as she continued to fight Jordan’s grip. She grabbed a glance back through the closing door. The men were kicking Taylor, again, again, and again. Finally, Taylor stopped moving. The door to the warehouse closed and Kennedy couldn’t see anything else.

  “No!” she cried again as Jordan dragged her kicking and screaming towards the waiting hummer.

  Kennedy turned to Dustin, but he was already in one of the other hummers.

  “Don’t make me hurt you,” Jordan threatened as Kennedy managed to pull one arm free of his grasp.

  “Go to hell!” Kennedy yelled.

  Jordan pulled Kennedy's head back by her hair. She suppressed a cry. Then Jordan released her and pushed Kennedy backwards. She almost lost her balance, but she caught herself, just in time to slam her back and head into the hummer. The force knocked the air out of her.

  Jordan came up inches from her face, pinning her against the car. “You listen to me,” Jordan said in a whisper. “I'll drug you, beat you, and do whatever it takes to get you to behave, do you understand.”

  Kennedy let a moment pass.

  “Do you understand!” Jordan yelled.

  Kennedy nodded, and he released her. She stumbled at the sudden release of his pressure against her. Before regaining her balance, he grabbed her again. He opened the door and she got in without complaint. Jordan pulled out some handcuffs and cuffed her hands to the handle above the window.

  Kennedy hated giving in to Jordan, but what options did she have? Her head started to ache from hitting the car. She thought of Taylor being beaten. Was he still alive? She wanted to resist Jordan, but at this rate, she didn't know how long her resistance was going to hold up.

  The hummer started, and Kennedy refused to look in Jordan’s direction. Already, the cuffs started to cut into her wrists, it was going to be an uncomfortable ride. Sitting next to Jordan made it worse. Instead, she stared out the window, remembering each turn of the car, anything to distract her.

  “Kennedy?” Jordan asked.

  Kennedy didn’t respond, furious.

  Jordan grabbed Kennedy’s chin and twisted her face from the window to him, “What are you concentrating on?”

  Kennedy jerked her chin away.

  “I missed you,” Jordan said, stroking her cheek.