Future Discovered: Host Saga Book 1

by Michael Farlow

  “So you turned around and left. You thought that was best or even polite?”

  “Actually, I didn’t think. Call it a self-defense reaction.” That’s the truth, he thought.

  “I guess I can see that. So how will that affect our working together now? I think there’s too much stress on both our parts at the moment.”

  “I’ll agree to the stress part. I thought I had everything placed in its right box until you showed up. However, this talk seems to be smoothing things out. I think I can deal with it. How about you?”

  “Actually, I’ve never had a problem with working with you. It’s just that there were too many untidy threads from the past that could interfere with our work. But as you say, I think this chat has put many of them to rest.”

  “Many… but not all?” What more can she have in that head of hers?

  “I think we have clarified things enough for the moment. Let’s just finish the meal and enjoy the ambiance before I have to leave.”

  “That works for me,” Van said with a sigh but not with conviction. “Excuse me a moment, I need to visit the men’s room.”

  “Don’t be gone too long or my duty will be to go in and look for you,” she said with a faint smile.

  Van left the table feeling better than he had when he entered the restaurant. He wondered if there was still something smoldering between the two of them. That thought came to a quick end as he entered the men’s room and felt a sharp sting on the back of his neck—and everything went black.

  Barbara was looking at her watch and tapping her foot nervously. It felt like a long time had passed since Van had left the table. He should be back. Growing concerned that the client she was charged with protecting may be in danger, she got up from the table and went to the men’s room and knocked. No reply. She tried again. Still no reply. Looking both ways, she pushed open the door and looked in, her hand reaching for the small 9mm Glock tucked away in her purse. The room was empty.

  Quickly she checked all the stalls and realized that Van was gone. Concern and guilt flashed through her. Her charge had disappeared under her nose. Alarmed, she called Ross on her phone and alerted him to the situation. Dropping a hundred-dollar bill on the table, she jetted to the front door, where Ross met her.

  “Did Mr. Childs come out?” she asked.

  Ross was shaking his head, saying, “Not out this way.”

  Both Barbara and Ross’s team searched the place to no avail. There had been a linen company truck in the rear, but it was gone now. It was likely that whoever snatched Van had taken him away in a pile of tablecloths and napkins. Dick would be royally pissed when they told him, and so would Brice.

  Van woke up in a pile of cloth material. Periodic bumps and turns told him he was moving, and he could hear road noise. Trying to move around a little, he soon realized that both his hands and feet were tied. He couldn’t do much but listen and feel.

  After hours had passed, he heard the sound of brakes, and all movement stopped. He also heard the whine of aircraft engines—jet aircraft, based on his Navy experience. Suddenly the material above him disappeared and a bald man looked in. In the man’s right hand was a syringe with a long needle. Van hated needles. In anticipation, he closed his eyes and again everything went black.

  “To say I’m pissed is just not enough. How did this happen!” Dick yelled, pacing back and forth in the San Diego office where he had been conducting other Carson Group business.

  Sheepishly Barbara said, “We have an idea how it happened, but we aren’t sure why or where he’s been taken.” She was also embarrassed and, to her surprise, a little worried.

  Having no more idea where Van had gone, Dick gave Harry a private but unsecured cell call.

  “Harry, Van has apparently been kidnapped, and we have no idea where he is or who has him. What can you tell us?”

  “I am out of direct contact with him as well, Mr. Carson. I do know roughly where he is right now, however.” So as not to divulge too much information, per Van’s instructions, he continued, “Mr. Childs has an imbedded location device. Presently he is apparently airborne at thirty thousand feet headed east from California. I hope to have more data soon.”

  What he did not tell the group was that he had been continuously trying to contact Van via his implanted communications device—with no luck.

  CHAPTER 16

  Slowly Van became aware of his surroundings again. This time he was sitting down in a comfortable chair. But he still could not move his hands or feet. He opened one eye just enough to glimpse where he was and then closed it again. He wanted whoever had kidnapped him to think he was still out. Kidnapped? Yes, that’s what had happened. Just when he was starting to think that there might be another opportunity with Barbara.

  Clearly he was in the cabin of a private jet of some sort, much like the G4 he used. Since he was seated and had no blindfold, he reasoned that his captors didn’t care at this point that he saw anything, so he opened his eyes.

  “Good evening, Herr Childs,” said a German-accented voice to his left.

  Van turned in the direction of the voice and saw a man seated across the aisle from him, watching his every move. The man had close-cut blond hair, almost white. His eyes were bright blue, and it was clear even from his seated position and with his small Harry Potter–like glasses that he was fit and alert.

  “My apologies for the uncomfortable ride so far, as well as for the inconvenience. My name is Eric, and it is my responsibility to see to your security and comfort. With me are a few of my colleagues to further ensure your safe travel.”

  Through his implant, Van immediately opened a channel to Harry, alerting him that he was alive and airborne but that his destination was not yet known. Harry agreed to listen in and track Van’s progress.

  Van said, “My comfort would be increased if I knew where I was going and why.”

  “My employer just wants to have a few words with you face-to-face and asked me to ensure your safe travel to his location. I cannot tell you where to, just yet.”

  “Well in my book, Eric, this is kidnapping. As proof, here I am tied up and denied my freedom.”

  “We can free you from the bonds while we are in flight, but you must be restrained when we leave the aircraft. You can be pleasant and not resist, or we can resort to the drugs again. Which will it be?”

  Realizing there was little he could learn trussed up and possibly drugged again, Van said, “OK, I agree to be a good boy on this airplane, but once we leave it, all bets are off.”

  “That seems reasonable.”

  And with a nod from Eric, a large man behind Van cut his hands and feet free. He was allowed to stand up and stretch and even use the onboard head.

  “I am afraid that we have no meal service on this portion of the flight, but we will be refueling shortly and we can order anything you might like, within reason.”

  Van just stared at this man Eric and said nothing except, “Water will be fine.”

  In an hour or so the plane landed in what looked like a small metropolitan area. Refueling was quick, a few meals were brought aboard, and they were off again.

  Dick and his team were airborne and headed for the DC area in another private jet leased through Stellar via Harry. After an hour or two, Harry contacted Dick on the aircraft’s phone. “Mr. Carson, I have identified the flight number of Mr. Childs’s aircraft and determined it landed at a small regional airport in New Jersey, where it filed a new flight plan for Bern, Switzerland. The aircraft is a Gulfstream G5 under charter to a company called Red Wolf Security.”

  “Thank you, Harry. I’ll pass this along to Brice.”

  With this information, Brice contacted Carson headquarters and arranged for a stop at Reagan National Airport for fuel and to have a six-man action team with the new suits ready to go when they landed. Dick and Barbara would stay behind to coordinate activities as required.

  “I want to go!” said Barbara.

  As if they’d practiced it, both
Dick and Brice said “No” at the same time. And the argument was over before it started.

  Brice also contacted a partner service in Bern and told them to watch for the arrival of the Red Wolf G5 and then track the occupants to their final destination and report back to him. Brice knew that Van had a tracking device, but just in case it failed, he wanted eyes on the ground.

  During the flight, Barbara sulked, arms folded in her chair, staring blankly out her window. Protecting Van in the restaurant had been her responsibility and she’d failed. She cringed at what Dick and Brice must think of her now. In addition, she was seeing Van in a different light. In the past she’d left him behind because he was just another pilot without a particularly bright future. In her mind, she wanted something more. However, the new Van—as she thought of him—was apparently smarter than she’d thought and now rich and successful. These qualities were what had renewed her interest in him, she realized. I may have misjudged him all of those years ago. I’ve always liked him but didn’t see the point of continuing what we had. I like what I see now, too, and I’m worried I may be missing my new chance. And it’s my fault!

  As if reading her mind, Dick said to her, “It wasn’t your fault, Barbara. We had a team outside as well, and they didn’t see what happened. Shit happens sometimes.”

  “Well it doesn’t happen on my watch. It seems I failed at the simplest task, and right when you two were in the middle of growing an important business partnership. What does this say about my credibility?”

  “Nothing. It just shows that, like the rest of us, you’re human. Do you think either Brice or I don’t have failures? If you do, then you’re in for a big surprise. It’s the failures in life that make us strong. Learn from it. Embrace it. Now let’s just focus on getting him back. OK?”

  “OK. And thanks, Dick.”

  “Not a problem. I like him too.”

  Barbara was alarmed at Dick’s last remark. How much do they know about our past? Have I been too obvious about my increased interest? she asked herself.

  With practiced smoothness, Brice’s team quickly climbed aboard the refueled aircraft with its engines running, stowed their gear, and took their seats. With no loss of motion, the leased G4 taxied to the runway and took off headed for Bern, Switzerland.

  Both planes were now in the air at the same time, but the aircraft carrying Van had at least a two-hour head start. That gap might be closed with extra speed on Brice’s part, but not by much. Unless, of course, Van’s plane could be delayed somehow. Brice contacted Dick to see what he could do, and in turn Dick contacted Harry. At this point, as far as Brice knew, Harry was just another bright human working with Van, and he was unsure if Harry could do much to delay the G5’s arrival.

  Harry, on the other hand, was not just another human. He was not a human at all and could do truly incredible things when he had to. In this case, he hacked into the EUROCONTROL system and began routing planes in subtle but useful directions guaranteed to cause delays for the G5 and its crew and passengers.

  Despite Harry’s help, however, Van’s captors still had about a forty-five-minute lead on Brice after landing in Bern. This time Eric and his troops did not drug Van, but they did restrain him and placed a dark hood over his head. Van could still hear, however, and Harry was tracking and listening. They were apparently in some model of SUV, and it was chilly.

  Brice and his team were met in the late afternoon at the airport by his local team, who had seen Van get off the G5 and be whisked away forty-five minutes earlier in two black Land Rovers by a team of about eight men total.

  “They started northwest and now appear to be near the small town of Murten on the shore of Lake Morat,” said one of Brice’s contacts. “One of our teams followed the Land Rovers immediately and reported their final position after all the cars had stopped. We know just where to go.”

  Brice and his team were swept into a large cargo van and started moving. In the van, they changed into their combat suits and checked their weapons. They carried silenced MP5s, each with an attachment to link them to their helmet HUDs. In addition, as always, each man carried a combat knife, a Beretta 9mm, and a small assortment of grenades, including flash-bangs. The latter produced an incredibly bright flash intended to temporarily blind their targets and a sound so loud they disoriented victims immediately. Not something from the future, but good at what they did.

  Meanwhile, Harry was not happy. Or at least that’s how he appeared to Van as they mentally talked back and forth via Van’s implant. Van was aware of Brice’s team and their progress and equipment. What puzzled Harry was why Van didn’t want to use the Enterprise or the Truman with a few robots to rescue him.

  “Harry, I don’t appear to be in great danger at the moment. If they wanted to kill me, they would have done it in California. Instead, they have gone to a great deal of trouble to get me to Bern and set me in front of somebody, likely their boss, and have a chat. We need to find out who this is and possibly figure out what he, or she, is up to. Plus, this gives Brice and his team the opportunity to test their new equipment. Remember, we want to introduce things a little at a time, and going whole hog on this would not sync with what we agreed to do.”

  “That is true, Commander, but if something happens to you, then my efforts and the hopes of the Host will be severely damaged. When might we find another like you?”

  “I appreciate that, Harry. If it makes you feel better, you can send one of the shuttles and include a few of your Yellow security robots. But they must stay out of sight. And only use them if all else fails.”

  “I am glad to hear you say that, Commander. The Truman is about to enter Bern airspace as we speak. And a few of the security robots are aboard.”

  “Good man, Harry. Always thinking ahead. How will you keep the shuttle out of sight?”

  “I plan to have it approach in stealth mode and submerge in the nearby lake. It will be there if you need it.”

  “OK. Have you discovered anything new about my captors or who they work for?”

  “I presume that your lead captor is Mr. Eric Borman, CEO of Red Wolf Security. Preliminarily I have linked his company with the one that was following you in San Diego. It also appears that his company makes deposits to the same bank as do Europa Medical and Avantek.”

  “Well, well, the plot thickens, Harry.”

  CHAPTER 17

  After following the Bern advance team’s directions, Brice and his team exited the van a few hundred yards from the small house that Van had been taken to. As they approached, it was getting dark, and they fanned out to cover all sides. The closest neighbor was nearly a half mile away, and the lake was only a hundred yards or less from the rear. A few trees surrounded the property, but they were not so dense that the team could not move around or through with relative ease.

  One man was assigned to each side of the house and two to the rear, where they took cover. Brice and his two partners watched from the front. There were the two Land Rovers and a black Mercedes S-Class, each with a driver standing next to the driver’s door. Two more guards were stationed at the front door, and communications from the rear of the house noted one guard at the back door and two more on roving patrol walking the circumference. That made nine. But obviously someone was here before Van’s cars arrived, so there might be as many as four or five people inside. Seven against twelve or thirteen. Not bad odds for Brice. Looking at a pop-up on the inside of his visor, Brice confirmed his estimation by seeing IR representations of thirteen individuals. One had to be Van, another was likely the person Van was taken to see, plus two additional guards. So thirteen potential combatants and seven on his side.

  Suspecting that he now had communications with Van’s tech partner, Harry, via his combat suit, Brice said, “Harry, are you up on this channel?”

  “I am, Lt. Col. Johnson.”

  How does he know what my rank was? thought Brice. “Great, but just call me Brice. What can you tell us about what’s going on inside?”

>   “Commander Childs’s tracker also has an audio feed, which I am patching into your and your team’s helmets so you can listen. So far there appear to be four people inside, including Commander Childs. All male by my assessment.”

  “Can I talk with Mr. Childs?”

  “Yes, Brice, you can, but he may not want to talk out loud, as you might imagine.”

  “Mr. Childs, this is Brice Johnson. I have a six-person team outside the house now. We have nine hostiles outside and count three inside with you. If you agree, cough once.”

  Van coughed once.

  “Good. I understand through Mr. Carson and Harry that you actually want to talk with whoever is there. Is that correct?”

  Van coughed once.

  “OK. When you want us to make our approach, say something like ‘It’s about time,’ and we’ll start our ingress.”

  Van again coughed once.

  Van was forced to sit in what turned out to be a comfortable chair. His senses told him that there was water nearby, but not salt water. Probably the lake Harry mentioned. The other smells were woodsy, and the growing night was filled with the sounds of crickets and other insects. He was not in town, which he verified with Harry. He was in a farmhouse on the edge of Lake Morat.

  Van’s hands and legs were tied again but not as tightly. He still had a hood over his head, however.

  “Hello, Mr. Childs, and welcome to Switzerland. Please remove his restraints and the hood, Eric,” said a new voice with a German accent, but not using the typical “Herr” for “mister.”

  Van’s vision was blurred for a moment but quickly zeroed in on the face of the man standing before him. Five foot six, light red hair with a few gray streaks on each side. Dark brown eyes, trim body, long fingers, and a face with sharp angles. Van noted his host’s slightly larger-than-normal head, like his own.