Marv’s first thought when he heard of the heroics that Xander and his team had pulled in Syria was of Akram. It had been told to him that Sanharib had been like a father to Akram. Marv had been meaning to have a talk with Xander about him, and the danger that could come in the form of retaliation. But with the madness of the past few weeks, he hadn’t had a moment to bend Xander’s ear. And he never would have dreamed that the retaliation would come so quickly.
After reading Kyle’s message, he immediately pulled the file he had been building on Akram Khatib and sent it to him. He knew in his gut that this was who was behind all of the terror in Paris. And he had a sinking suspicion that there was something bigger in the works, and Natalie Rockwell and Xander might be nothing more than the icing on top of the terror-filled cake.
Kyle looked up from his iPad. “What do you think, Sam?”
“I think Marvin is right.”
“This is really bad, isn’t it?”
Sam made a “maybe not” face. “It is, but it is a huge help to know who is behind this. Even though we have no other information, at least Marvin is familiar with this man and his business. That may help us pick up on some details that otherwise would have been missed.”
Kyle didn’t respond. Sam could still see questions in his eyes. “But yes, as far as who this is? It’s bad. Not only has he no regard for human life; according to Marv’s file, he really has it out for the USA.”
Zhanna leaned forward in her seat. “How this makes it worse? His hating your USA.”
Sarah answered for Sam. “Because it means this could be more than just revenge on Xander for killing his brother. Sam, you think he will use this as an excuse to attack the United States as well, don’t you?”
“Possibly. I’m afraid we might be walking into a plan that goes beyond Xander. In fact, I’m afraid this could all just be a distraction.”
Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “This stuff must be over my head. I don’t get it.”
Sam said, “I think what Marv is worried about, and what I am now worrying about as well, is that if Akram Khatib is indeed behind this, we may be walking into something much worse than the kidnapping of a beloved movie star.”
Kyle was catching on. “But what better distraction than to kidnap one of the most popular actresses in the world. He knew the media would go into a frenzy over this.”
“Exactly,” said Sarah. “And I think the very moment he found out Xander was involved in what happened to Akram’s brother in Syria, and he found out he was tied to Natalie Rockwell, a light bulb went on for a way to kill two birds with one stone.”
“Avenge his brother by killing Xander, and killing a beloved American in Natalie?” said Kyle.
Sam answered this time. “No Kyle, avenging his brother by killing Xander, while the spectacle of kidnapping Natalie merely serves as a distraction for a much larger attack.”
Kyle was still confused. “But what would make you think that? Nothing in Marv’s file says anything about planning something against the US.”
Zhanna fielded this one. “But Kyle, it is in there. It is just, how you say . . . between the lines.”
“That’s right, Zhanna,” Sam agreed. “Kyle, men like Akram Khatib are always planning something against their enemies. And the United States is a terrorist’s perpetual enemy. From the looks of our situation, it seems as though the perfect storm has gathered here in Paris.”
Kyle was frustrated. “Well, I’ll let the CIA and the US government worry about all that shit. The only thing I care about is helping Xander get Natalie out of here alive.”
“That’s what we all want, Kyle,” said Sam. “What we are trying to say is that to find her, we might have to figure out what else Akram is planning. I know it seems that we are jumping the gun, and maybe we are, but all of us have been dealing with people like Akram for a long time. We understand the way they think. Right, girls?”
Zhanna and Sarah nodded.
Kyle shook his head. “I don’t like this, Sam. This is way over our heads.”
“Kyle,” Sam said, resting her hand on Kyle’s arm, “you couldn’t be more wrong. This is precisely what we have all been trained to do.” Sam glanced at Sarah and Zhanna. “And now so have you. Xander has been preparing you for this for years now. Against my many protests, I assure you. But you were there with me in Syria. You are ready for this too.”
Kyle shuddered. “You think this will be like that?”
“I’m not going to lie, this could be worse. This will require us to use much more than just our combat skills. This will require brains as well.”
Kyle’s head dropped and he stared at the floor for a moment.
“Well, Sam, then how the hell are you going to be any help?” A smile slowly grew across his face.
“You and Xander, always trying to be the comedians.”
The four of them broke the tension with a much-needed laugh. It would be the last laugh any of them would share for a while.
13
Strap In
Darkness had officially settled over Paris. As Viktor weaved in and out of traffic on the A1, on their way to the destination that Melanie had insisted Xander travel to, Xander’s head was buried in his phone. He read headline after headline of all the major news stations, and all of the headlines were about the same topic: the kidnapping of Natalie Rockwell. Reality of just how bad the situation had become washed over Xander as he continued to read. There were still no leads, no new updates from the police, and what was far worse than that, Xander was flying blind. For all he knew he was leading Viktor and Jack to join him in death. That was more likely than not. From the very beginning of this, he should have pulled Sam in with him. He would be much further along than he is now. Natalie would have a much better chance at surviving, and he would have a much better idea what he was driving into. As the anger toward himself began to boil over, Viktor brought him back to the task at hand.
“Boss, Viktor is no expert, but same car has been following us since we left police station.”
Xander turned and looked past Jack through the rear window. There were several cars, and without watching for a while, he couldn’t determine if Viktor was right.
“Doesn’t matter. They already know where we are going. I suspect there will be more waiting when we get there.”
Jack spoke up from the backseat. “What’s the plan, son? We’re flyin’ blind here.”
“You two stay in the car while I go and check out the situation. No sense in all of us getting ambushed.”
“No sense in one of us either. You go, I go,” said Jack.
“Viktor not wait in car. Have to take piss anyway.”
Jack shook his head in the backseat. “You see what I’ve been dealin’ with, Xander?”
Xander turned and gave a quick smile. Then he gave Viktor a pat on the shoulder.
Viktor gave a goofy smile, then pointed for Xander to look ahead. “This is it, boss.”
“You gotta be shittin’ me,” Jack said as he followed Viktor’s finger.
In front of them was a massive stadium. The Stade de France. The premier soccer stadium in Paris. As they pulled into the large empty parking lot, the stadium towered above them. What looked like a ring from Saturn sat atop the concrete structure. There were no lights on from the outside, but something was glowing from within. As Viktor pulled the Mercedes sedan as close as he could get, Xander noticed there was a spot in the gate that had been left ajar.
“Looks like we’re in the right place.”
“I don’t like this, Xander,” Jack said, staring at the opened gate.
“I don’t like any of this, Jack. But what did you expect? A welcoming committee with catered food and an open bar?”
Jack didn’t answer. Viktor put the car in park but left the car running and the lights on after Xander suggested to do so. The three of them got out of the car and walked around to the front. Jack handed Xander a spare pistol.
“I never leave home without a backup.
”
Xander thanked him, but his mind was on the stadium. They walked through the open gate and stared for a moment at the Coca-Cola billboards that surrounded the entrance to a tunnel that undoubtedly led out to the playing field. All the smiling faces in the ads made Xander long for all of this to be over. But he quickly shrugged off the thought and moved on.
“You just gonna walk right in?” Jack asked. “Shouldn’t we at least split up, take a different route? That way we aren’t just sittin’ ducks?”
There was a set of stairs that led up over the tunnel that Xander was eyeing. He pointed there. “Jack, you and Viktor go up that way and then split off to the right and left. If you see anything, just give a shout. We won’t have any problems hearing each other.”
“What if it’s trap, boss?” asked Viktor.
“Then the two of you get the hell out of there and do whatever it takes to find Natalie.” Xander turned to Jack. “If something happens to her, you know it will be far worse for me than if I don’t make it.”
“I know, son, but ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to you. I figure this is just another distraction. Otherwise they woulda just tried to kill ya at that warehouse. There is somethin’ they want you to see. I’m betting that’s what that glow is inside there. I just hope it ain’t the worst.”
Jack didn’t need to elaborate. Xander knew exactly what he meant. If whoever was behind all of this really wanted to hurt Xander, showing something happening to Natalie would be the way to do it. Xander’s heart sank. He could feel it in his bones that something terrible was about to happen.
* * *
The van rolled to a stop and Natalie’s heart pounded in her chest. They had finally made it to wherever they were going, but it was all the same to her: black. She heard two doors open and close, and then the door beside her opened. She didn’t know if the smell was that strong or if it was because her senses were heightened, but the scent of water hit her immediately. She felt hands grab both of her arms, and they pulled her from the vehicle. The smell lingered and soon was accompanied but a musty and muddy scent. It only took a couple of steps before she also heard the lapping of water against something solid. Fear jumped through Natalie’s nervous system. Water? Did they mean they were about to drown her? Torture her? She didn’t really know what waterboarding was, but she knew it included water. Is that what they were going to do to her?
Natalie stiffened her legs and dug in her heels. Her screams were muffled by the gag in her mouth, but that didn’t stop her from trying. It was more instinct really. She had no other choice but to fight this. If they were going to kill her, they weren’t going to have an easy time of it. It was then that she began to thrash violently with all that she had. Digging her heels, wiggling her arms, bucking with her lower back. But the hands wrapped around her arms only tightened their grip, and before she knew it, her feet were swept off the ground and she was being carried to what she was sure was her demise. That didn’t stop her from writhing around, but it did release another level of panic. There was absolutely nothing she could do. The helplessness she was feeling was all-encompassing. Who were these people? What were they going to do to her?
“This will only be more painful than it needs to be if you do not cooperate.”
It was the man in front of her. His accent was French and his tone was even. She fought against the men holding her as they set her back down on her feet. She kicked out in front of her and she connected with something. She got one of them! She kicked again and missed, then felt something hit her head. She was dazed for a moment. Purple bursts of light exploded in front of her eyes. She almost passed out. She longed for the escape. Instead, the sack was jerked off of her head and after a few blinks to clarify, lamplights overhead shined down over a long dinner cruise boat sitting in what she immediately figured was the river Seine. A tall man stepped in front of her view and pulled the gag from her mouth. His head was bald, and he was wearing a dark T-shirt and dark pants. His body was thick; he looked like a soldier.
“Are you finished?” he asked her.
Frantic, Natalie answered, “Who are you? What do you want from me? Money? I can get you money!”
“This is not about money, I am afraid. This is much more important.”
The man motioned for his men to follow him toward the boat.
“Where are you taking me? Just tell me what you want!”
The man didn’t answer. She tried a couple more times to get his attention as they forced her over a ramp onto the boat. Her attempts to get some answers were only met with silence. They continued to push her through a doorway, and at first all she could see was an empty dining hall. There was a long hardwood floor in the large rectangular room with darkened windows on both sides. Then her eyes found the back wall. To tell you that fear invaded her would be a devastating understatement. It was something she’d never felt before. A feeling that stole her breath entirely and wobbled her knees as it shook her being. A spotlight shined over that back wall, which held a device that could not be mistaken, even though she’d never seen anything like it. Not in real life and not on any movie set either. In front of her were two large steel pieces that were wide at their left and right beginning, and a few feet later they gradually shrank to a needle-sharp point at their tips. In the three-foot gap between the two needle points were what looked like leather straps. They were in the position where someone’s limbs would be. A strap clearly for a head, two for arms, and two for legs. At the fat ends of the two spear-like steel needles were what looked like the gears to a machine. The closer they forced her toward the contraption, the bigger the needle points became. The tips looked all the more sharp, and they were thick, unbreakable.
“What are you doing?” Natalie began to panic. “Please, let me go! I can pay you!” Once again she began to struggle against their grip.
“Strip her to her underwear, then strap her in.”
The men immediately began to rip away at her pajamas.
“No! Please! I’ve done nothing to you! PLEASE!”
She was down to her white cotton bra and panties now. As she began to further plead, the man stepped in and replaced the gag inside her mouth. She squealed in fear as they strapped down her arms. She squealed in terror as they strapped down her legs. And tears streaked down her horrified face as the men strapped her head against the wall at her forehead. She was now suspended on the wall. Her left and right arms straight out to the sides, her legs spread out below her. She was shaped like a star on the wall. Just the way Akram Khatib had intended.
As Natalie continued a futile struggle against her restraints, the bald soldier pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
“It is done.”
14
Looking for Trouble
“Ugh! I can’t stand being the President’s daughter sometimes!” Adeline Williams began to throw a mini tantrum in the middle of her suite at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris.
Though Adeline had just turned twenty-one, when it came to being locked down by her travel entourage of Secret Service, she reacted more like a twelve-year-old. Her friend Karol sat silently on the bed while the fit continued.
“They can’t make us stay in here. We are in Paris, for God’s sake. They can’t keep us holed up in this room! I don’t care what is going on out there!”
Karol replied, “Don’t you think it’s best, though, Addie? I mean, if they kidnapped Natalie Rockwell, don’t you think the President of the United States of America’s daughter might not be too far off their radar?”
Karol attempted to be the voice of reason during these times when Adeline reverted back to her teenage ways. Karol had always been the more responsible of the two. Adeline had always been the one trying to test the boundaries. It was clear she even enjoyed driving her mother and father crazy. Part of that side of her was fun for Karol. There certainly was never a dull moment. She just didn’t like it when Adeline didn’t know when to quit.
“Oh please, Karol. No one knows I’m
here. Not even the press. And what with all the hoopla surrounding Natalie Rockwell’s kidnapping, no one would find out either. That’s the entire reason we took Uncle Terry’s plane to get here. So no one would know.”
Adeline walked over to the bed and took a seat beside her friend.
“Karol, we are in Paris! Don’t you want to go explore? Go dancing? If I wanted to sit in some tacky, overdone room I would have just stayed at the White House.” There was pleading in Adeline’s deep brown eyes. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and cocked her head to the side waiting for Karol to answer.
Karol let out a sigh. “Of course I want to do all of those things. But I don’t want to get into trouble, Adeline. Not again. The only way I’ll go is if you get Jeremy to escort us.”
Adeline rolled her eyes and once again began to pace the room. “You know he isn’t going to let us. He has to do what Daddy says. He’s an ex-marine or something. They never go against orders.”
Karol grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. “Then let’s just order some room service and a movie.”
Adeline stopped pacing for a moment. A look of deep thought held tight to her face. Then she went over to the closet, pulled out two dresses, and handed one of them to Karol. As soon as Karol took it, Adeline began to undress.
Karol held the dress with a look of confusion. “What the hell are you doing, Addie?”
Adeline just smiled and slipped her tight black dress over her head, then pulled it down as she shimmied it over her hips. “Go on, put yours on.”
Xander King BoxSet Page 55
