by Jacobs, Kyle
Gideon had offered a bonus to whomever tagged the billionaire. Everyone were also very much aware that he was needed alive. So, special precautions had been taken.
They would hunt, but not kill. But if anyone got in their way, then that would be a problem easily solved.
With a thump, the ship hit the dock, and men leapt off with a shout, or cheer. Gideon could not blame them. This was an easy job, and stealth was no longer a necessity once they had made landfall.
"Secure the moorings," Gideon shouted. "Check their boat." It was all unnecessary, but he wanted to remind everyone who was in charge.
As men hurried about, most heading toward the resort, Gideon scanned the buildings. Grant was here, somewhere. Perhaps hidden like an egg in an easter egg hunt.
A billion dollar egg.
His eyes settled on the massive resort building that dominated the hillside above the bay. He had study its layout, along with the entire complex the night before. There was little in the way of hiding places, if that was how Cole Grant wanted to play it.
As Gideon descended from the bridge to the deck, one of his men approached.
"Their boat is clear. Nothing there."
"No phones, or devices?"
"No, sir."
"Okay. Check the fuel, and prepare the boat. We'll be taking it with us."
"Yes, sir," the man said, and hurried off to do as ordered.
Originally they were going to just leave the rental, but since they were pirates and kidnappers he figured why not. Even though soon enough he would be able to buy hundreds just like it, he enjoyed the idea of just taking it, because he could.
Gideon stepped of the deck and onto the dock, Sannik following behind. He could sense the shorter man's tension.
"How long do you think?" Sannik asked. It was his subtle way of needling at Gideon. Keep the boss on his toes.
Gideon made a show of thinking about the question, then said, "Twenty minutes, and Grant will be secured, and we'll be pulling out to sea."
Sannik chortled. "Twenty minutes? Then twenty dollars says longer. Maybe much longer."
Gideon frowned, but agreed. "Fine. You're on."
Sannik grinned, then hurried off to supervise the men. He was always a glass half empty type of personality, but if Gideon was honest with himself, that was exactly why he liked having him around on jobs such as these. To keep Gideon on his toes. To try and expect the unexpected.
And in twenty minutes he would know if Sannik was right.
Chapter 7
Owen
Both Owen and Cole gaped down at the armed men now swarming up the dock, and vanishing into the small warren of the resort buildings.
One heartbeat. Then two.
Cole was the first to break out of his shock and said, "This would be a great time to tell me that those are security guards who work for the insurance company."
It took a moment longer for Owen to respond. "Nope," he said, still staring at the scene below. "Not at all."
In the distance, he could see a pair of men now standing on the dock beside the new ship. Could it be the ones in charge? Who the hell were they?
There have only been a few instances in Owen's life where he encountered mind numbing fear. Nearly all were the result of a near accident of some sort, like when he lost control of his car in a snow storm and skidded off the highway into a snow bank. Fortunately, he and Naomi, who was with him at the time, were not hurt. But the whole thing terrified him right down to his very core.
This was a different type of fear, a more sinister cousin. This time, it was other people that were creating the sensation. he'd never felt anything like it. It looked like these men might be here to kill them.
He stood frozen on the spot. His mind locked up. Oh, my God. I'm going to die! His mind screamed at him.
It was Cole who managed to snap him out of it. "We should go. Now." He had firmly, but gently, put a hand on Owen's shoulder and was now guiding him toward the balcony doors. Owen moved, but almost as if he were in a trance, pushed along by the will of someone else. His own will locked away in a tiny room in the back of his mind, safe.
"I... I don't..." he stammered for no reason. What was he trying to say?
"It's okay," Cole said, and his tone seemed to convey that he meant it. "Let's head out the back. Quickly." And with that, he kept pushing him along toward the huge stairs.
He found himself turning his head to stare at Cole. Why couldn't he think?
Guns. Men with guns.
As they crested the stairs and began their descent, Cole slipped his hand off his shoulder to take a grip of his arm at the elbow. His focus was entirely on the stairwell, but he looked incredibly serene.
For his benefit? He was being cool so as to keep him calm?
What a nice guy, Owen thought, then frowned. Given the circumstances he needed to think of other, more urgent matters.
Cole stopped them almost immediately upon descending the stairs. He crouched down, so as to look through the banister, and down into the foyer below.
"We should hurry - ," Owen began to say, then stopped as he heard them. Voices. Right outside.
From Cole's vantage point he was peering directly at the open doorway below. He was making a huge effort not to be seen, as Owen could see only a sliver of sunlight from the door on one side of his face.
The voices again. This time louder. Much louder.
Then, the hard slapping of shoes on the tiled floor below. A huge shadow bounced against the one wall across from him.
Someone was inside.
Cole's eyes widened fractionally as he looked at who was there. Without looking directly at Owen he placed a finger against his lips. Quiet.
As if Owen needed to be reminded. Then again, given his state of mind, maybe he did. His senses were that of a base animal, who wondered into a cave only to have a predator arrive to block the entrance.
More slapping of shoes. Someone else arrived, more shadows. This time voices spoke to each other, loud and echoey in the cavernous foyer.
Men, speaking in a language he didn't understand. But their meaning was clear, and urgent. They were looking for something.
Or someone.
Cole now eased back from the banister, and when satisfied he was not spotted looked at Owen. He nodded his head, indicating they should go back up.
Again, Cole guided him by the arm. But now his mind seemed to be returning to him. Thoughts rushed in that had previously been held at bay by fear. Why was this happening? What did they want? What were they going to do?
They reentered the second floor hallway, but this time, instead of the balcony, Cole moved them down the west wing hallway at a hurried pace. They weren't running, the noise would carry, but the two of them were certainly hustling along.
"Where are we going?" Owen managed to whisper after a few moments. Cole's eyes bounced from hotel room door to door.
"A place to hide," Cole said. His tone was very casual, without tension. As if this sort of conversation was an everyday occurrence. "They will have to search each room. So if he get far enough away, it may buy us some time." He kept passing each closed door, not pausing at any of them.
"Buy us time for what?" Owen asked hopefully.
He spared a moment to glance at him. Arching a brow he said matter of factly, "To run away."
Owen almost laughed. Oh, God. Was he getting hysterical? No, just caught up in the moment, and almost bewildered by his serene presence.
Cole craned his neck, looking further down the hall. "There." He pointed.
At the end of the hall was the fire escape door. Owen thought he had never seen something so welcome.
"Come on," Cole whispered, but as he did, there was a shout from behind them.
Without stopping, they both looked back.
No one was racing after them, guns blazing, thankfully. But from this angle Owen could see shadows playing along the top of the foyer wall. Someone was on the stairs. They would see them any second.
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Owen and Cole came up on the fire escape door, only to see yet another chain wrapped around its push handles, with yet another padlock.
Without slowing, Cole steered them toward the final door on the right. It had a faded sign on it that read 'House Keeping'.
Cole pressed them up against the door and turned the knob. It wasn't locked. Then he pushed it open an inch. It was silent. Then, with another shout behind them, he opened the door a little wider and they both slipped inside.
As Cole quietly closed the door behind them, Owen took in their new surroundings. It was nothing more than a very tiny utility closet. There had been some wooden shelving, but most had been removed, or was piled up in one corner. There was an empty light socket above them in the high ceiling amongst a canopy of spiderwebs.
There was other discarded junk pushed up against the walls. Along the top of one wall was a thin window, just above eye level. One glance told him that neither he or Cole would ever fit through it.
There was nothing here of use. Nothing that could save them.
His eyes completed their circuitous route of the little room, and then settled them on Cole.
Cole was breathing a little heavy, a slight sheen of perspiration on his forehead. But he did not looked panicked in the least.
And he was looking at Owen.
"Are you okay?" Cole whispered.
His concern, despite their terrifying circumstances touched Owen, and for the smallest of moments he felt tears welling up.
"I think so, yeah. Thanks for asking." His hushed tone had a slight hitch in it.
Do not cry, girl. If that brought the men with guns down on them now then that would truly suck.
Cole's expression of concern eased and he stepped closer to him. Not that he had far to go. He gently held his shoulders.
"We are going to be fine. Trust me." Cole said. And for whatever reason, Owen did no doubt it. What was it about this guy, anyway?
He suddenly realized his heart was pounding up in his throat. Was that from fear, or from something else?
"Did you see it?" Cole asked.
"See what?" he said, genuinely dumbfounded by the question.
"The padlock on the door."
"Oh. Yes, I did."
"Think you can find the key that opens it?"
His heart ramped up its assault on his chest cavity. Unlocking that padlock would get them out of here. They wouldn't be trapped. The thought made him almost giddy.
"I think so, if its marked." He realized he still had his day bagged clutched to his side. He hadn't given it a single thought since seeing the men on the pier. Relieved, he reached in and pulled out the large key ring.
Unbidden, the keys clinked loudly in his hand.
And at that very moment, from directly outside their door, a voice shouted.
Chapter 8
Cole
Someone had found them.
Cole put his hands up and placed them firmly on the door. Maybe he could slow them down? Let Owen escape. He could try and pull the man inside the room when he entered, let Owen get past them. Or he could jump out now, and try and take the man down.
Cole's heart was now pounding hard. His adrenaline had shot up his senses, every detail around him crisp and heightened.
Another shout, from the same position outside the door. But this time they heard someone push at the fire escape handles, which only rattle with movement, the chains and lock keeping it securely closed.
They don't know we are here, Cole thought. Yet.
Glancing around, he found a narrow piece of shelving against the wall next to his leg. He grabbed it, being careful not to make any noise. He motioned Owen to move back, not that there really was anywhere he could go. Holding the shelving up in one hand, he grasped the door handle.
If the person outside intended on coming in here, Cole was going to surprise them. The turning of the door handle would give him barely a second to react, pull open the door and try and brain the other guy.
Good plan, Cole, he thought. Your flimsy piece of wood against a lunatic with a machine gun. This will end well.
Cole pushed aside those negative thoughts. He stayed focused on the door handle, ready for it to move.
He sensed Owen next to him, in the cramped space. Thankfully, despite the initial shock of the situation, he had settled down. Now he seemed almost like he was ready to fight, too.
Then, from somewhere deeper in the building came another voice.
The person outside cursed, or at least it sounded like it could be, all angry. Then he heard the man move back down the hall streaming more angry words.
After a few moments, the man's voice faded away, moving off to another part of the complex.
Cole counted to ten. Then he released the handle and lowered the shelving. Both he and Owen exhaled.
Owen was blinking hard, obviously relieved.
"That was close," Cole said. He glanced up at the window, only to see how disappointingly small it was.
"Did you understand what he was saying?" Owen said.
Cole gave a small shrug. "Not really. I recognize it as Tagalog. He's Filipino. But as to what he was saying I have no idea."
"He sounded mad. Like real mad." Owen said, casting a concerned look at the door, as if it might burst open suddenly with an angry Filipino arriving to prove him right.
"He didn't find what he was looking for. Not yet at least," he said.
"Us?"
"Me," Cole said, and frowned. "They're here for me. The rich guy. Has to be. This can't be just a random encounter. Not here. Not now."
Owen considered this. "Wow. That really, really sucks."
Cole nodded in agreement. But they didn't have time to think on the men's motives, for which Cole was certain of anyways. They needed to figure out what to do.
"So, now what?" Owen said, as if reading his thoughts.
He considered, chewing on his lower lip. "Well, I don't think hiding in here is an option."
"I don't know," Owen said, giving the tiny room a look over. "It has a rustic feel to it. Real homey."
Cole shook his head. "It's only a matter of time before they do a proper search of the complex. Go from room to room. Floor to floor."
"That is a lot of rooms. The main complex has several hundred, including the two basements."
"Which is a good thing, it will buy us some extra time. I think the smart move is to just get as far away from here as possible. Like to the other side of the island, maybe."
"Can't get far on an island."
"Yes, but I prefer my odds out there, than in here," he said, looking meaningfully at the door. "Where ever we hide in here, we'll be boxed in. Not ideal."
As if struck with a thought, Owen pulled out his cell phone and checked it. Cole did the same.
His screen was active, but the signal was dead. Considering the cost of this model that should not happen at all.
"Still no signal," Owen said.
"They are blocking us. This just makes me think that this was planned. They knew I was coming here. I just don't know how."
Owen visibly blanched. "It was not me. I swear on a stack of bibles that I had nothing -"
Cole held up his hand to stop him, and grinned. "I know that. Don't worry. But there had to be another angle, something they managed to exploit." He shrugged. "It could have been anything, really. But this is a line of thought that won't help us now. We need to be moving."
Owen looked down at the keys in his hand. Quickly, he went through them. He held up a group of a half dozen keys. "One of these might be it."
"Might be?"
"Yeah. None are marked fire escape, second level. They are just small padlock keys."
"You have to go through each, one by one?"
"Yup."
"And unwrap the chain?"
"Yup."
"And open the old creaky fire escape door?"
"Yup."
"Without being seen or heard the entire time?"
&nb
sp; "Yup."
Cole grinned. "Sounds like a plan, captain."
Owen stifled a laugh. Which Cole thought was a good sign. At least he was no longer in a state of shock.
