by Noel Nash
“He thinks he might know where the kidnappers are headed with him.”
“Where’s that?” Ben asked.
“Somewhere in Idaho.”
“That narrows it down,” Mike said with a sharp eye roll.
“Look, this isn’t going to happen overnight. He just can’t go storming in there with his team either. The primary concern is Luke’s safety.”
“Have you spoken with Luke?” Ben asked.
Daniels nodded as the waiter slid the pints of beer in front of each them. “I talked to him the other day.”
Anger flashed across their faces and Daniels sensed their anger. “Settle down, you two. I’m sure they’re watching us now.”
Mike and Ben both forced smiles and retreated to take a sip of their drinks while they cooled down.
“I wanna rip their heads off,” Mike said through his teeth.
“Don’t worry. They’ll get what’s coming to them,” Daniels reassured him.
“How can you be so sure?” Ben asked.
“Your uncle is on the case and he’s honed in on their location.”
“I thought you said he only knew they were in Idaho,” Mike said. “It’s easy to disappear there. Largest wilderness area in the lower forty-eight —hello?”
“They’re not just going to some random spot in the wilderness, son. They’ve got a place there —or so I’ve been told.”
“And then what? Storm the castle?” Mike asked.
“Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, but we can’t jeopardize Luke’s safety with all this nonsense talk. I get it. You’re frustrated — though I can’t imagine you being any more frustrated than I am right now. Just know that your uncle is doing everything in his power to find them. Just go about your life like it’s a normal day. Because while everything may not be okay right now, it will be.”
“You can’t guarantee that,” Ben said.
“Nothing in this life is guaranteed, son. But we do our best with what we’ve got. And right now, all we’ve got is your uncle.”
Mike slumped in his seat and rotated his mug in quarter turns while shaking his head. “There’s gotta be something we can do.”
Daniels shook his head. “Not right now, son. We just have to keep acting as if nothing’s wrong.”
“Then you’ve gotta change your vote, Dad,” Ben snapped.
“It’s not that easy,” Mike said. “Dad just can’t change his vote. People are depending on him. He’s given his word. If he reneges now, it might as well be political suicide for him — and who knows if the kidnappers will even keep their word?”
“Why should you even care?”Ben huffed.“You never even had time for Luke — always climbing the political ladder, doing whatever it took to get you on top.”
Mike’s eyes narrowed as he drew back his right shoulder.
“Enough!” Daniels barked as he leaned forward, drawing the attention of several nearby patrons. He resorted to a more hushed voice. “We’re all frustrated here and the last thing we need is a family feud. Let’s stay calm. And if you believe in God, now would be a good time to start praying for your uncle. We’ll cross that political bridge if we come to it.”
Daniels sat back and forced a smile as their waiter brought out their meals. No one said a word as their meals were placed in front of them. He choked back a tear as he stared at his two sons. He was already missing one and didn’t want to lose the other two.
They finished their meal over inane discussion about the Blue Jackets’playoff chances and the potential of Ohio State’s fresh crop of football recruits. He concluded by telling them he’d be in touch when he could and not to do anything rash.
They walked outside and Daniels hugged his two sons before bidding them farewell.
He turned and started walking toward his car when his phone buzzed. He didn’t recognize the number but answered it.
“This is Senator Daniels.”
“Senator, this is Alicia Stone withThe Columbus Dispatchand I’ve got some documentation that you’ve received campaign donations from an overseas petroleum company by the name of Northwest Oil. Do you care to comment about this?”
“Uh, Miss Stone, did you say?” Daniels answered.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry but I know nothing about that. You’ll need to refer that question to my campaign manager. I can assure you that we do not solicit or receive any funds from any entities based outside the United States. It is against our policy.”
“I’m aware of what your policy is, sir. But I find the duplicitousness in this case interesting — and something our readers and consequently your constituency might find of interest as well.”
“That’s not the case, Miss Stone, rest assured. If you have any documentation stating as much, I’m sure it’s been fabricated by one of my rivals, which you’ll discover once you do your due diligence as a reporter. Good day.”
He hung up and growled. Then his phone rang again. He pulled it out of his pocket and it was another number he didn’t recognize. He answered it.
“This is Senator Daniels.”
“I’m gonna make this simple for you: Keep your big mouth shut or else I’m going to make your life hell in more ways than one. If you think it’s hard enough having your son whisked away to an unknown location, wait until you see your political career go up in smoke while you’re dealing with it.”
The line went dead.
CHAPTER 23
LUKE HUSTLED FROM UNDERNEATH the swirling helicopter blades toward a cabin perched on a ridge several hundred yards away. He squinted as he tried to adjust to his new surroundings. Fifteen hours and three stops later, he wassomewhere, though he wasn’t entirely sure where. He assumed it was Colorado, otherwise Dave would’ve never forced him to leave an erroneous clue. But he couldn’t be certain.
The snow-capped mountains and patchy snow affirmed his suspicion that he was indeed in Colorado. Two years ago, his father brought him here on a ski trip for spring break. They tore up a few black diamonds together at Vail Ski Resort before he left his father in his powder to chase after a cute girl about his age. He smiled as he remembered his father’s stern lecture when he returned to their condo that evening. Whenever his father and Senator Daniels collided in a parenting moment, it always made him laugh. He couldn’t vote his father out of the office of parenthood, though he sometimes acted as if it were a possibility.
Luke felt a strong grip around his left bicep. He turned and saw Dave grinning at him. Dave jerked him in another direction.
“We’re going this way, kid,” Dave said as he steered him toward a black Yukon a few hundred feet away.
Once they reached the vehicle, Dave opened the door of the back seat on the driver’s side and thrust Luke inside. “Buckle up,” he said as he climbed in after him.
Luke did as he was told and glanced around at the quaking Aspens and the evergreens dusted with snow that reached skyward. He closed his eyes and said a prayer that his uncle would find him soon despite the fact that he’d left a message that was sure to throw him off.
“Keep prayin’, kid,” David said. “Only God can save you now.”
Luke opened his eyes, widening them as he stared in Dave’s direction. Bill and Sam took the two front seats with Bill driving.
Dave smirked as he looked at Luke’s fear-filled face. “Don’t worry, kid. It’ll all be over with soon enough.”
“Where are we going?” Luke asked.
“Just keep your mouth shut and your head down,”Dave said.“You’ll see soon enough.”
“I know, I know. Don’t say anything or else you’ll kill me. I got it,”Luke snapped.
Dave slapped Luke across the back of the head. “Don’t get smart with me!”
Sam chuckled while Bill glanced toward the back and shot Dave a look.
“What?”Dave said.“I’m just trying to make polite conversation.”
“That was anything but polite,” Bill said as his eyes narrowed. “Give it a res
t, will ya?”
Dave shook his head and relaxed in his seat as he eyed Luke.
Luke ignored him, staring out the window at his surroundings. He was sure it was Colorado.
“We’re going to pick up a few supplies and some things to eat,” Dave said as the SUV pulled into a grocery store parking lot. “Don’t get any bright ideas.”
Luke climbed out with the men as they walked through the store. No one gave them a second look. Just another bunch of tourists raiding the grocery store.
Luke walked lockstep with the men down one of the aisles before he batted a few boxes off the shelves right in front of a stocker.
Dave glared at Luke. “Don’t even think about getting cute.”
Luke rolled his eyes and kept walking, praying that the stocker suspected something suspicious going on. He looked back over his shoulder and sighed. The stocker didn’t even notice him.
He walked up to Dave and tapped him on the shoulder. “I have to pee.”
“Fine,”Dave said.“Let’s go.”
Luke headed toward the restroom with Dave in tow. He knew he couldn’t shake him, though he hoped he might be able to leave a note for someone. He’d snatched a pen off an email signup sheet as they entered the store and hoped that Dave didn’t see him.
“Give me the pen,” Dave said before Luke entered the stall.
Luke forked it over before he retreated into the stall. His mission now was pointless, other than to relieve himself.
Once he finished and flushed, he headed toward the exit. Dave ushered him out of the store and toward the car as he noticed Bill and Sam checking out.
“No funny business,”Dave said.
Luke stopped as they reached the SUV. He bent over and threw up.
Dave growled as some of the puke splattered onto his shoe. “You’re going to clean that up when we get back to the cabin,” he said.
Luke nodded. He wanted to throw up again. His chances of being rescued seemed to dwindle by the moment.
CHAPTER 24
MATTHEWS LEANED OVER Shepherd’s shoulder and peered at the map displaying on his laptop screen. “What are we looking at here?” Matthews asked.
“This is a topographical map of Idaho,”Shepherd answered.
“Looks like a gun to me,” Zellers said.
“Fitting,” Matthews said. “We’re likely to find plenty up in this part of the state, especially where we’re going.”
“And where is that exactly?” Zellers asked.
Matthews shrugged. “Wanna tell them, Shepherd?”
“Sure. We’re going to a private hunting lodge held by one of the Ophion board members nears Grouse Mountain Point just off Lake Pend Oreille. The lodge was built seven years ago and contains ten bedrooms, a commercial kitchen, lounge area, great room with fireplace, gun room, and game room with a bar. It’s two stories with all the bedrooms on the upper level and everything else off the ground floor. There’s also a wine cellar. The lodge sits on four and a half acres of private property, surrounded by more than two hundred acres of land managed by the forest service.”
Zellers chided him. “Is there anything you don’t know about this place, Shepherd?”
“I’m not sure what the structure is comprised of, but based off the surveillance photos I was able to glean, it appears to be a log cabin design.”
Zellers chuckled.
“Knock it off, wise guy,” Matthews said as he slugged Zellers in the bicep. “We’d probably be on some wild goose chase right now if it wasn’t for Shepherd.”
Jones sighed.“Are we sure this is where they have Luke?”
“It makes sense,” Matthews said. “This is the only property we could find with any ties to Ophion — and it’s where I’d go to hideout. It won’t be easy getting in and out of there.”
“In other words, it’s a kill box,”Jones said.
“It could be if we’re not careful. But that’s why Shepherd is studying the topo maps for us.”
Jones slumped in his seat. “I’ve just got an uneasy feeling about all this.”
“Don’t worry, Jones. This will all be over soon enough,” Matthews reassured him. “Our biggest challenge is getting this plane down at Dave Wall Field. So, you better all buckle up as we’re about to make our final approach.”
The rest of the team fastened their seatbelts and waited in silence as the plane descended through the clouds. Matthews noted the snow still coating the ground. Its mere presence was a catch-22: good for tracking, bad for being tracked. He hoped to be the only one doing the tracking.
Several minutes later, the plane touched down, delivering them safely to the city of Sandpoint. It was a thirty-minute drive from where they really wanted to be, but Matthews wasn’t in a hurry to get there. With as particular as these kidnappers were, he feared their eyes and ears. The best place to spend the night was at the Schweitzer Mountain ski resort with all the other visitors. At least they wouldn’t stand out there.
***
“I WANT SUSHI,” Shepherd proclaimed after Matthews finished paying for their three-room chalet.
Hammond rolled his eyes. “Really, Shepherd? You want raw fish? There are several mountain streams nearby. Perhaps you can wrestle a grizzly for a fresh catch of salmon.”
“Knock it off, Hammond,” Matthews said as he paused before entering their home for at least one night. “If it hadn’t been for Shepherd, we wouldn’t have been able to track these thugs down.”
“Don’t we all deserve a nice steak?” Zellers said.
Matthews shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Have any of you ever heard of the word ‘compromise’? It’s a pretty cool concept.”
“What isn’t a pretty cool concept is raw fish,” Jones chimed in.
“Geez, who put bees up in all your bonnets tonight?” Matthews snapped. “This is ridiculous. Shepherd wants sushi, so we’re going to eat sushi.”
“Well, Zellers wants a steak too. Can’t Zellers get a steak?” Zellers said.
“Enough,” Matthews said. “I don’t want to hear any of it from any of you, especially your third-person talk, Zellers.” He paused and surveyed each of their faces. “Got it?”
Jones shot him a look. Zellers rolled his eyes.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Matthews said.
***
AFTER DINNER, THEY RETURNED to their room and started to settle in for the night. They all shared a suite with Matthews conducting a straw poll to see who got to sleep on the couch. Before he could begin, Jones volunteered.
“I’d rather sleep on the couch than ever sharing a bed with Hammond,”Jones said.“He kicked me three times in the back in the middle of the night on our last mission.”
“Fine. You and I will share a bed,” Matthews said. “Shepherd can sleep on the couch and Hammond and Zellers can share the other bed.”
They all got ready for bed in silence. But that was interrupted when Matthews’phone buzzed with a text message. He stared at the screen, brow furrowed.
“What is it, boss?” Hammond asked.
“A text message.”
“From who?”
“Dave Dumas.”
“Dave Dumas? What does it say?” Zellers asked.
“Bring your A game,” Matthews read.
“What’s he mean by that?” Hammond said.
“They know we’re coming,” Matthews huffed. “Nothing about rescuing Luke is going to be easy. Best get some rest. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 25
SENATOR DANIELS AWOKE on Wednesday morning when his phone buzzed with a text. He groaned and rolled over in bed. His phone flashed the time: 6:15 a.m.
His alarm was set for 6:30 and he detested waking up even a minute before he was supposed to. He let out a deep guttural growl and punched in the code to unlock his phone. It was a message from Sarah.
Hope you have a great day! How’s Luke?
I haven’t been able to reach him
Daniels rolled over an
d turned his phone off. Everything seemed to remind him of Luke. The weather. An article online about school vouchers. An article about the nextStar Warsmovie. Everything made him wish Luke was just a few yards away in a room at the end of the hall. But he wasn’t.
God knows where he is, being subjected to who knows what.
He checked his email again on his burner phone. Nothing from Seth. He wanted to know what was going on, but he didn’t want to pester him, nor did he want to put their mission in jeopardy. Without anything going his way, he knew the odds of rescuing Luke ahead of the vote seemed to diminish with each passing second.
Daniels rolled over and let his feet fall to the floor. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes before he decided to actually get up. Once he did, he stumbled toward the bathroom and washed his face. The cold water seemed like a magic elixir when it came to waking him up.
As he splashed the liquid on his face, he widened his eyes. This was real. Life had transitioned from possibility to reality. And the reality was that Luke was in danger — still. Nothing had changed that fact — yet. Not his brother-in-law. Not anyone. Luke’s life hung in the balance, but the chances of seeing him alive ever again dissipated with each passing minute.
If you get beyond forty-eight hours and you still haven’t seen your child, you’ll likely never see him or her again.
At least, that’s the message that was passed around. Daniels didn’t want to believe it, but what choice did he have? He knew no differently. Luke had never been kidnapped before, though Daniels liked to think that if he had, he would’ve tracked down the kidnapper and killed him — all for his son’s safety and peace of mind.
But life is rarely that simplistic — or easy. Instead, Daniels faced a crazed kidnapping team that gave less regard to his son’s life than it did to his vote. But he felt helpless — and unable to do anything but what was asked of him. If only Seth would text him with an update.
He checked his phone again. Nothing.
Mindlessly, he climbed into the shower and let the water pour over him. At least nobody wanted an answer from him here. No pressures. No worries. But in less than five minutes, he’d be drying off and the world and all its worries would rush back to him. He wasn’t sure if the liquid streaking down his face was water or a teardrop. Either way, it wasn’t doing anything to reassure him that Luke remained in imminent danger.
