by T. J. Quinn
Selene Texted: He is maybe worried that because she’s human, she will get tired of feeding him or something like that…
Lona really liked having Garan cuddled at her side on her old homestead. He was as adorable as ever with his fierce fangs and messy cute hair. For some reason, she had to practically force him to feed tonight. She worried that it was because he thought her father would object.
Lona could tell her father was actually warming up to Garan a little more than she anticipated. It was because he was nice, down to earth and helpful. Her father typically had very little use for lazy people, and Garan could never be accused of falling into that category. She also noticed her father looking at her neck. He would be smart enough to realize Garan probably fixed that for her.
Chapter 14
Abducted or Willing Hostage
Suddenly Jared stood up and said, “Something is wrong at the institute. I was texting with Selene, and she said there was commotion downstairs. She went to check and didn’t come back.”
Garan immediately pulled out his com device and threw up a 3D holographic interface. He called Josh, and as soon as the man’s face came up, Garan knew. Josh was ashen, and Garan said, “Tell me but while you are talking link me into the security system.”
Suddenly there were a dozen screens with video footage spanning the last few hours. Garan scrolled through each by touching the image and manipulating the images manually as Josh spoke. Some he made larger, others he threw away and others he zoomed in on some detail. His men gathered around, and Kalen pointed to something on one of the panels.
Josh was speaking, “We can’t find Dakota. She was here for dinner and was supposed to meet Alek out the front, but when he arrived from meeting with the judge about renewing Jared’s restraining order, she was nowhere to be found. Alek is beside himself, and we’re mounting an all-out hunt. He wants you back to lead the search right away. We need to figure out who took her and mount a search and rescue right away…Garan are you listening to me…we need you.”
Jared had watched his father methodically work his way through the data streams from the security footage, and slowly he zeroed in on an image of Dakota entering what appeared to be Alek’s shuttle when it landed out front. Then there was a distortion in the video footage, and then everyone was looking for her.
Garan said “I figured it out already. Someone had a mock up made of Alek’s shuttle, and Dakota entered when it landed. Then there was some sort of pulse device used to scramble the security video. My guess is Jared’s step-father.”
“I can’t believe he would be quite stupid enough to abduct Dakota.”
“This would only make sense if the shady corporate executives funding his operation withdrew their support entirely. I had an understanding with them that this gentleman did not agree with.”
“That doesn’t explain why he abducted Dakota instead of Jared.”
“I have some thoughts on that.”
“First we need some concrete evidence that he’s the one we’re looking for. It wouldn’t make sense to waste a bunch of time on a hunch.”
“When I walked him to his shuttle craft on his first visit to the institute, he had a distinctive metal bar that ran across the floor right at the door to the craft and this mocked up craft has a similar bar. Look, I can be back there in thirty minutes but tell Alek to do nothing until I arrive.”
Suddenly Alek’s face appeared on the screen, and he looked scared but determined.
Garan soothed his anxiety by saying, “Do not underestimate Dakota. She is strong and capable. We will work together, and you will have her back before the sun sets on another day my vampire brother.”
Alek just said, “Hurry, please just hurry.”
They were up and moving toward the shuttle craft without even communicating with each other.
Garan said, “Miss Lona, could I impose upon your good nature to assist? I need your help.”
“Anything for Dakota, you know that.”
Garan clarified, “I want to take Josh and Faran with me, and I need someone to stay at the institute and coordinate our efforts. You track like we do and therefore you would be the best possible person to rely upon to manage our home base.
She sighed. “You want me at the institute where I will be safe and out of harm’s way.”
Jared interjected, “Please and thank you, Miss. Lona. You are the woman my father loves. If you are not safe, my father will be distracted, and I cannot have him distracted right now. Little Selene will be good company for you, she has been through this before. You can keep each other calm.”
She nodded her agreement.
Kalen said, “Don’t worry, I will put a couple of men on them.”
Garan nodded his approval of that plan.
Harlan looked at him and offered, “I can track anything that moves through different types of environments, and I can shoot. Do you need me?”
Garan jerked his chin, and the man jumped on the shuttle as well. Jared took the navigation, and Garan put one hand on his shoulder and said, “Do not worry. She will be fine. We will get to her before harm comes to her.”
“I know we will because he only took her to get to me. He will not do serious damage until he has me then if I know him he will try to hang onto her as long as possible to force my compliance.”
Garan kneeled down beside his son and asked, “Jared, why is he so keen to have you back? Besides assisting him with the development of designer drugs, did you do anything else unique for him?” If it is true the pharmaceutical companies supporting his work have abandoned him, he will need me now more than ever before. I grew up in an environment where designer drugs were made and picked up a lot of information from his scientist. That coupled with my instincts for formulation would be enough to jumpstart his business and get his corporate backers interested again.”
“I know that does not make any sense, but that is why he wants me. For a long time, I did not realize what the drugs we were making were used for. I thought it was for a pharmaceutical company or something, but once I realized we were making illegal drugs, he could do nothing to induce me to continue. He immediately dropped me off at an orphanage…because I was no longer useful. Now it seems he is desperate for my unique skill set and is determined to get me back.”
Garan sat for a long time looking at his son and then said rather matter-of-factly, “To bad, he is not getting you back, and he will pay with his life for touching your mother.”
Jared looked at his father, smiled and replied, “Your world is rather black, and white isn’t it father?”
Garan waved his hand and responded, “I am a simple person. I don’t like complications. However, in this particular situation I have determined several things:
I am not willing to allow anyone else to take the lead on his hunt because I am the best at what I do and you are my son. What happens to your mother matters to me.
Priority number one is to get your mother back unharmed as soon as possible. That will not be hard for me because I have done it hundreds of times over the years.
I do not like that this man uses innocent children to make illegal drugs.
I am offended that he held you all in a large warehouse, didn’t ensure you received a proper education and branded you like you were property. When I say I am offended by this, I mean to say I am furious about it.
Your foster father is harming large numbers of people who create and take the drugs he makes so I will be dismantling his entire drug operation over the next few days. That is non-negotiable to me.
Your foster father is evil, and he is not going to stop as long as he draws breath. I will have to see to him because I will risk no more harm to you or your mother.
Jared thought his father was not quite as simple as he appeared to be most days. He looked at his father and said, “I have known Dakota for a long time and you for a short period of time. If you kill my foster father, then you will be arrested, and I won’t get to see you, so I say we sac
rifice Dakota.”
Garan looked thoroughly confused, and Jared challenged him, “Why is it ok in your opinion to sacrifice yourself but not Dakota? Surely one parent has as much value as the other in my world. I say we do not kill the evil man. Instead, let us work together and leverage our brains into pulling his drug operation from underneath him in a way that puts him in prison for the rest of his life.”
A soft smile slipped onto Garan’s face as he realized his son was teaching him a lesson about how much he valued him as a father in a way that was non-confrontational and kind of amusing. Jared was smart as a whip and could hold his own in a fight, but he had a gentle way about that was really impressive and set him apart from others.
Garan sighed and pointed out, “You are very clever, much like your beautiful mother.”
Jared replied, “You are very brave and would rush in where angels fear to tread.”
Garan noticed Miss. Lona looking at him and he glanced up at her. Her eyes were soft and loving and melted his heart.
He capitulated, “Fine we will not kill the man if we can help it. We will gather information and put him behind bars. We do need to stop and purchase weapons and extra battery packs.”
Jared explained, “My mother relocated her weapons room to the institute and trust me she has more weapons and battery packs than most gun stores. I have all her security codes, and we will arm ourselves when we arrive.”
Garan said, “Between her stock and my own we can outfit a small army. Also just so you know, there will be no we. If your foster father is using your mother for bait, then we need to understand that and not bite. If you go into his sphere of control, then you are just playing into his hands.”
Jared replied, “You do not know him like I do. If I do not come, he will begin to torture her to get my attention. Trust me; it is better that I go.”
Garan replied, “I do not think he will be torturing her…maybe the other way around.”
“Of all the people to kidnap…well, I didn’t think he would be quite stupid enough to take my mother. I feared that he would take Selene or even Arianna but to take my mother or Alek? That demonstrates a level of incompetence I would not have anticipated.”
Garan immediately replied, “He probably thought she was the only one you cared enough about to elicit a reaction.”
Jared shook his head in disbelief, and everyone knew his real soft spot was little Selene. Jared sighed and responded, “My mother is going to tear that place apart before we even join the party.”
Garan’s face broke into a wide smiled, and he replied, “Are we taking bets as to whether he is already regretting his choice in targets? I put my money on yes. In any event, I am not certain she was even kidnaped.”
Jared’s smile faded, and he responded, “That thought had occurred to me as well. My mother is not easy prey. It would take more than a mockup of Alek’s shuttle to fool her. I wonder if she went willingly just to get more information about what he wants with me.”
Garan mused, “That sounds like the Dakota I know. She does pretty much as she pleases. It’s actually not a bad plan because she is totally in her element. I taught your mother when she was very young that one does not need weapons to survive in a hostage situation. I processed her own kidnaping with her and pointed out to her all the ways she could have used items in the room to kill or maim her abductors. I also processed the psychological dynamics between the typical abductor and abductee. Trust me she wouldn’t need a laser pistol to get free.”
Jared smiled his understanding and thought his father pretty conscientious to have thought of doing that and kind to take the time to use such an experience as a teachable moment for his mother.
Chapter 15
Trouble at the Institute
They landed at the institute and as soon as Jared exited the shuttle Selene flew into his arms. He held her and quietly soothed her.
She whispered, “Having your parent taken is an awful experience. I hoped you would never know that kind of pain.”
He pulled back, looked her in the eye and said, “I’m not sure she was taken. I kind of think she went willingly to get more information on my foster father. She must have known that because she has a tracking chip, we would easily find her. Trust me she is moving in a different world from the rest of us right now. She is in her element and poses much more danger to the men who think they took her than they do to her.”
Selene was wide eyed, and Alek relaxed ever so slightly.
Jared took them to his mother’s weapons room and made his way through the double layered security protocols.
Selene said, “This is weird. It looks exactly like it did when she had the room set up at her house. It even has the drawer of shame.”
Alek walked up to Jared, Josh, and Faran and said, “Thanks to you and Dakota, I’m not in it.”
Jared responded, “You are possibly the toughest of males I ever met to have survived what you did after they took you from Josh and Faran.”
Garan did a double take and asked, “What do you mean after they took you from…”
Alek held up a hand and said, “I was originally abducted by Josh and Faran. They used a large animal trank to bring me down, and although I was chained to a metal plate for close to a month, they took excellent care of me. I came to realized they weren’t very dedicated to their life of crime. When they got the kill order…well instead of killing me they went to argue for my life with their boss. While they were gone, I was electrocuted by the gangster’s right-hand man. He spent the next month torturing me in some extremely efficient ways. Josh and Faran joined Dakota and Jared on their hunt for me and thank God they finally found me. I don’t think I would have lasted much longer. In any event, Jared’s foster father doesn’t strike me as quite that clever. He is bold, arrogant and brash. He will just think he can hold a gun on her.” Several of the men chuckled.
This conversation was taking place as they were putting on body armor and hunting leathers. Each person loaded themselves with laser weapons and extra battery packs. Miss. Lona walked over and gave Garan her personal Laser rifle, and he immediately knew why. It had a mounted night vision scope, and a holographic infer red interface that made targeting extremely accurate. He leaned down and kissed her murmuring, “Thank you, my love.”
Her hand immediately fisted in his shirt, and she whispered, “Remember what I said about there being someone who loves you waiting.”
He pulled her briefly into his arms and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll remember your words. I won’t take unnecessary chances, and I will be coming home to you. I will even try not to get myself shot again.” The last sentence was light and playful but did little to lighten her mood.
Alek noticed Arianna and Marko were also weaponing up and he said, “Arianna, no. Don’t make me argue with you about this. I need you safe.”
Arianna didn’t even glance up as she replied, “I love Dakota like a mother. I am a fully trained hunter, and you will not keep me on the sidelines. Besides, I have Marko covering my six. Get out of my way father…I’m not even joking…now move.”
Alek smiled slightly and stepped aside.
Garan didn’t like involving such an inexperienced person, but he was not getting between Alek and his child on this one.
Garan glanced up at her and said, “Back of the line and don’t argue, it goes by experience.” She nodded and followed his directions. Marko followed her. He could see the gratitude on Alek’s face because he was protective of her.
Chapter 16
Human Trafficking
Garan filled two shuttles with volunteers. Alek noticed that Durk was there and once the shuttle was in the air he went to Durk and said quietly, “Dakota and I have the blood bond. When I walked in her mind, I became intimately acquainted with all that you have done for her over the years, and I want you to know that her bond with you is equal to the one she shares with Jared and even myself. She loves you more than you can know and I find my animosity with you g
iving way to a strong sense of brotherhood. I hope you will consider spending more time at the institute. I know Dakota misses you more than my pitiful words can ever communicate to you.”
Durk suddenly realized that he had absolutely no hard feelings towards Alek. His honest and heart felt love for Dakota won him over. He extended his hand and replied, “Thank you for coming to me. If you are sure you are fine with it, I just might begin visiting some on the weekends.”
Alek seemed relieved and responded, “I would love you to spend time with Dakota, and I would love to get to know you better as well.”
All together there were about thirty Vampire warriors. Alek pulled up the tracking program once they were loaded onto the shuttle. They were about two hours from the location shown on the screen at top speed. Jared looked at the screen and said, “That is my foster father’s compound. He pulled up a drawing program on the large screen and drew out a map of the area and labeled what all the buildings were used for.
He reminded them, “I have not been here for seven years so a lot might have changed. He has a basement in the main house where he keeps people who are not cooperative. This is a high value target because it is most likely where he has my mother…that is if she has elected to remain his hostage.” There were murmurs of amusement from the assembled warriors.
Sure enough, when there were within com range, they got a message from her. Her voice crackled over the com channel with no visual and she not only sounded fine, but she seemed very happy and excited, “Alek who all did you bring with you?” Alek responded, “I brought about thirty, mostly vampire warriors. In addition to myself, there is Garan, Jared, Arianna, Marko, Durk, Garan’s men, Josh, Faran, and men from your old crew and several that I hired myself.”
