Beyond Duty

by Stanalei Fletcher

Instead, he was helpless to do anything but pray the exchange went without a hitch. He straightened and reminded himself that the mission was to rescue Mrs. Burnsworth. If anything happened to Chip—to either one of these women—he didn’t know what he would do. He didn’t understand this attraction to Chip, hadn’t been prepared for the feelings the petite lieutenant brought out in him, but once this assignment was over, he promised himself he would take the time to sort through those feelings. He would charm her into wanting to be his girl.

  Chip walked slowly toward Fiona and the man holding her. As she drew closer, Fiona began to sob, her voice muffled by the tape. Her head shook even more violently.

  The man behind Fiona turned and that’s when Riley saw the gun he held at Fiona’s side.

  “Chip, there’s a gun,” he whispered into his commlink.

  She hesitated. “I see it. Be ready,” she whispered back and continued walking.

  The man jabbered something in Spanish and another masked man appeared with a laptop. It was already booted up, the screen glowing a ghostly blue hue that melded into the spotlight.

  Riley swore. The kidnapper wasn’t alone. He wondered how many others that he couldn’t see were hidden behind that spotlight.

  The man pointed his gun at the case in Chip’s hand. “Open it.”

  She unzipped it and held it open so he could see the contents. “This has what you want.”

  The man with the laptop took the drive and plugged it into a port. Several tense minutes passed before he nodded. “Sí. It’s good.”

  Chip had her hands in the air. “We kept our end of the deal. Now you keep yours.”

  Above the sound of Mrs. Burnsworth’s sobs, a shot rang out.

  Chip froze.

  Riley reacted on instinct, drawing his weapon and dropping to a crouch.

  “I do not think so.” The man holding Fiona took a step backward, dragging her with him. “You.” He pointed his gun at Chip. “You come with us.”

  “No!” Riley aimed his weapon on the spotlight ready to take it out.

  Chip stood her ground. “You have what you want. Let the senator’s wife go.”

  “Zoewolski,” Riley said under his breath. “Are you close?”

  “No joy. This went down too fast. We’re not in position yet.” The reply came back to Riley as painful as if he’d been struck in the chest with a bullet. He knew Chip also heard the sergeant’s response by the barely perceptible droop in her shoulders.

  The man holding Fiona gestured again with his gun, his voice more agitated. “Come here now! Or the senator’s wife dies. And then you will be next.”

  “Okay.” Chip’s voice was resigned. “I’m coming.”

  “No, Chip,” Riley shouted. “Don’t.”

  “I have to.” She started walking toward the men. “I can’t let them hurt Fiona.”

  Another man came running out of the darkness. Blinded by the light, Chip dodged, but was too late when he brought his gun up, butt first, and swung it across her temple. She slumped into the man’s arms. He backed toward the shadows dragging her with him before Riley could react.

  “Chip!” Riley stood with his gun extended, ready to fire.

  The leader pointed his gun at Riley and fired first. The shot zinged by his ear, and shattered a tree limb behind him. He dove to the muddy track as another shot rang out, slicing the air where he’d stood.

  The leader shouted, “Do not follow us! Or you’ll find both women’s bodies in the woods.”

  The men disappeared behind the spotlight. A moment later, Riley heard the distinctive rumble of ATVs starting up. His heart sank even lower. Roadblocks weren’t going to stop the kidnappers. By the time the sergeant and his team arrived, these men will have disappeared into the woods, taking Chip and Fiona with them.

  The men had left the spotlight on to blind Riley as they made their escape. He raised his gun and took careful aim, shattering the light and plunging the entire scene into darkness. He got to his feet and ran forward, hoping the sudden loss of light would prohibit the shooters from seeing him. Through the trees, he caught a glimpse of a roll bar before it disappeared into the blackness of the juniper forest.

  At least one of the ATVs appeared to be a side-by-side. The kidnappers would be able to strap the women into a seat without them falling off the back of a four-wheeler. But, like a four-wheeler, they’d be impossible to track through the thick brush and rough terrain at night, even if his rented car could keep up.

  Riley slowly holstered his weapon and tried to find a trail left by the machines. He wanted to race after the ATVs, but without any kind of light, he’d never see which way they went. He spoke into the commlink, uncertain if Chip still had her earpiece. “Chip, if you can hear me, I’m coming for you. And Fiona.” He swallowed at the sudden thickness in his throat. “Don’t let them hurt you. I will find you.”

  His stomach knotted. Now the kidnappers had the senator’s wife and the general’s daughter. He wondered if they knew what kind of trouble they were asking for. Once General Anderson learned of Chip’s abduction, all hell would break lose.

  He raced back to the SUV and punched in the number for Northstar. Connecting to his father’s desk took one of the longest minutes of his life. Finally, Byron’s voice came on the line.

  “Is the trade complete?” The director got right to the point.

  “No.” Unable to sit still, he climbed back out of the car and started to pace.

  “Why not? What happened?” The shout made Riley pull the phone away from his ear.

  “Stop yelling at me.” Riley was rarely so abrupt. His father went silent. “Chip, um, Lieutenant Anderson was kidnapped during the exchange.”

  He wasn’t sure how he expected his father to react, but it didn’t surprise him to hear his father swear and then switch to a brusque business tone. “Hold on.”

  He waited while Byron shouted into an office intercom. “Get me General Anderson on the line. NOW.”

  “Okay.” Byron was speaking to Riley again. “Give me the details.”

  Riley climbed back inside the SUV and described how the kidnappers hit them with a spotlight the moment they arrived and blinded them from seeing the area. “They checked out the USB drive and then threatened to kill Fiona unless Chip went with them. Before I could react, they struck the lieutenant on the head with a pistol. She lost consciousness.” Riley took a breath to hold in the horror at seeing her crumple in the kidnapper’s arms. “They took off on ATVs. The brush around here is too dense for me to follow in the rental. And it’s too dark to track them on foot.”

  “Any demands? Any conditions on getting the women back?” Byron sounded almost desperate in his query.

  “None.” Riley’s head dropped back on the seat. “They just took off.”

  “Assessment?”

  “The military team is en route. A helicopter would be great if we had one.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “ATVs run hot.” Riley pictured the machines crawling through the thick underbrush. “If we can get in the air with thermal vision equipment, we may be able to track them, or at least see if they’ve stopped somewhere. I figure we’ll have one or two hours at the most to locate the hot engines after the vehicles stop.” He paused. “If they’re out in the open.”

  “Did you get a sense of the direction they headed?”

  “Northeast. But that doesn’t mean they’ll maintain that course. If it was me, I’d give as many false leads as possible.”

  “That two-hour window is an interesting coincidence.” Byron’s tone sounded worried.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Once they try to use the software on that USB device, malware will infect the computer and cause their system to send out a locator beacon. We have another team standing by for a search and destroy mission.”

  “And you’re just now mentioning this?” Riley’s blood ran cold. “If that happens, then the women are as good as dead. Please tell me you have those satellites
in place to help us start this search.”

  “I’m told we’ll have real-time feed in about twenty minutes.” He heard Byron take a deep breath. “We’ll hold off as long as we can on the search and destroy, but you need to find those women.”

  “I’ll do everything I can.” Riley stared into the growing darkness, hoping the troops arrived fast. “In the meantime, what have you found on Weston and Pomeroy?”

  “Pomeroy’s clean,” Byron said. “We’ve checked him out as thoroughly as we can. He doesn’t like the program to sell the drones to Mexico, but it’s a political objection. Not personal. Pomeroy is blaming Weston. He gave Weston access to his place about a month ago, claiming Weston wanted a quiet getaway.”

  “So what about Weston?”

  “We’re still digging, but we did learn that he was cited for possession of cocaine about six months back. The charges were dropped and the whole incident swept under the rug.”

  “Possession’s nothing. There are probably not many on Capitol Hill who would pass a lie-detector test when asked if they inhaled.” Riley couldn’t help the sarcasm. He had no time for the party scene where so many aspiring movers and shakers burned out before they could let their potential shine. “Sounds like Weston pulled some strings.”

  “Weston’s mother was married to a state supreme court justice. I’m sure she had a hand in her son’s release.”

  “Was married?”

  “A second marriage, after her first husband died. Judge Weston, her second husband, passed away last year.”

  “Don’t tell me. His mother has the apron strings?”

  Byron gave a dry chuckle. “More like the poor little rich kid trying to cut those apron strings, except Mom holds the key to the trust fund.”

  “Do you honestly think he’s the brains behind all this?” Riley couldn’t believe some prep boy with too much time on his hands had the balls to hold a senator’s wife for ransom. Why would he put himself in the crosshairs between the U.S. and Mexico?

  “Not directly,” Byron replied. “My money is still on someone higher up the food chain. We need to find the connection between Weston and whoever that is.”

  “I suggest you dig deeper into the cartel angle. At least two of the kidnappers had Spanish accents.” As Riley spoke, headlights knifed the darkness and a vehicle headed directly to where he’d parked. “Get back to me on what you find. And get me a helicopter. The troops have arrived and I want to get the search started.”

  “I have a better idea. We’ll get the necessary equipment to you in another thirty minutes,” Byron said. “By then we should have real-time satellite online, too.”

  “I’ll be waiting. Dad…Hurry.” Riley hung up and stepped out of the vehicle to meet the sergeant.

  The big soldier walked over with a scowl on his face. “Well, that was one royal FUBAR. We never should have let the two of you work this op on your own.”

  “I won’t argue with you.” Riley felt the failure burn a hole in his gut. “But our hands were tied. If we’d arrived with backup, they could have easily killed the senator’s wife.”

  “Sometimes, ya just gotta take a chance.” The sergeant waved at a team member and gestured down the muddy track toward the blown-out spotlight. “Check it out and report back.”

  “On it.” The soldier jogged off.

  “I’ve got some surveillance equipment on the way,” Riley told the sergeant. “They’re providing some gear for thermal imaging.”

  “Because?”

  “The group drove out of here on ATVs. I caught a glimpse of one that looked like one of those side-by-sides.”

  The sergeant gave a low whistle. “Those run hot.”

  “Exactly.” Riley pointed to the tangle of brush that covered the low hills in front of him. “They took off that way. I’d like to get in the air and see what’s out there.”

  Sergeant Zoewolski nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We have night vision that will come in handy too.”

  “Guess I’m still a bit rattled with this situation. I should have thought of that. Glad you’re prepared.” Riley glanced at his watch. “We’ve also got a deadline.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s not.” Riley swallowed the ugly worry that he’d be too late. “They have the USB drive and there’s a virus on it that will render their computer useless two hours after they access the data.”

  “That’ll piss ’em off.” The sergeant scowled. “Are you trying to get these women killed on purpose?”

  “Not my call.” Riley wasn’t happy about the circumstances either. “We need to make things happen before either one of them is hurt.”

  “Roger, that.” The sergeant turned toward his men. “Listen up, guys. Here’s what we’re dealing with.” He huddled his group together and gave them an update.

  Riley gathered a deep breath and stared into the darkness where Chip had disappeared. “Please let her be safe,” he whispered into the night.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dean Weston crossed to the window when he heard the ATVs rumbling outside the remote cabin. The machines drove up without headlights, and in the darkness, he couldn’t see the group. He wasn’t about to flip on the outside light and draw attention to the location, either. He was already in enough hot water without pissing off the men El Rey del Sur had sent in to run this show.

  The kitchen door opened and Fiona Burnsworth, blindfolded, bound, and gagged, was ushered inside. At seeing her, Dean knew the trade hadn’t gone as expected. “What went wrong?” He glared at Luis, the man who led Fiona into the room.

  “Nada. Nothing.” Luis shrugged as if everything was fine. “All went according to the plan.”

  Dean pointed at Fiona. “Then why is she still here?”

  Luis gave the woman a shove toward the room where Dean had kept her locked up. “Insurance.”

  Dean started to object when another man walked in carrying a woman over his shoulder. Her arms drooped to the side, and a braid dangled like a rope from her head. She was obviously unconscious. Or was she dead? “Who is that?”

  “More insurance.” Luis opened the door and held it open for the man to carry the woman into the other room. He grabbed Fiona’s arm and together they followed the first man.

  Dean caught a glimpse of the unconscious woman’s face. “You kidnapped General Anderson’s daughter?” He swore under his breath. This couldn’t be happening. Instead of seeing the conclusion of the plan, he felt like he was never going to wake up from this horrible nightmare.

  “You are surprised?” Luis raised a dark eyebrow. “You were the one who told us she was here.”

  “I gave you that information to warn you—not so you would abduct her.”

  “The decisions are not yours, gringo. Besides, she walked right into our hands.”

  Dean joined Luis as he tied the unconscious woman’s hands behind her back, before laying her on the dirty floorboards. Luis removed the shoes of both women, then took the blindfold off Fiona and leaned into her face with an ugly leer. “I will take off this gag if you promise not to scream.” He nodded toward the other woman. “If you make even one peep, I will hurt your friend.”

  Fiona’s face was taut with fear, the dark circles under her eyes showed her exhaustion. Her gaze flickered to the other woman and she nodded.

  “Bien.” Without warning, Luis ripped the duct tape off with a painful tear.

  Dean was impressed that the senator’s wife didn’t so much as whimper, but that didn’t stop him from wincing for her. “Is all this really necessary?” He wanted out of this mess in the worst way.

  “You need to go before I tie you up with the women.” Luis waved his arms and shooed the men from the room.

  Dean had little doubt Luis would take immense pleasure in tying him up, too. He hurried into the main room, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the others. “This is wrong.” He paced from one corner of the living area to the other.

  “Wrong
, amigo?” Luis sneered at him as he rammed the deadbolt on the door. “You wish to lecture me about right and wrong?” He strode over to Dean and stood nose-to-nose.

  Dean took a step back, as much to get away from the rancid tobacco breath, as for his own safety.

  “Did you get the codes?” He needed to regain control of the situation.

  “Sí. We got the codes.”

  “Then why do we need hostages?” They had everything they needed. What game was Luis playing?

  “I told you, gringo. Insurance.”

  “What kind of insurance?” Dean couldn’t contain the panic in his voice.

  “You are not so loco to believe that the codes cannot be changed?”

  Dean wasn’t sure what to believe. Of course, the codes could be changed, but what did they plan to do? Keep the women as hostages indefinitely? Kill them? Bile rose in his throat. He hadn’t signed on for this. He might have considered killing Fiona earlier, but that thought was artificial bravado in the midst of these primitive thugs. Right now, he wanted to be anywhere but here. “I need some air.”

  Luis nodded toward the front of the room. “There’s the door.” He stared hard at Dean.

  Unable to hold his own with this man, Dean broke eye contact and headed outside. Luis’s laughter followed him into the cool night.

  ****

  Little men with army boots marched through Chip’s head. They were good little soldiers, marching in unison with very heavy feet. Each step resounded against her temples. Left. Right. Left.

  Taking very slow breaths, she willed the pounding to stop. As oxygen filled her bloodstream, the pain subsided some. It didn’t stop completely, but the little soldiers grew quieter. In the quiet, she heard her name whispered. The sound came from a long way away, but the insistent tone wouldn’t let her rest.

  “Chip!”

  The voice was closer this time, right next to her ear.

  “Chip, can you hear me? Wake up.”

  She felt weak and nauseous as though her life-blood had been drained. Her hands refused to obey when she tried to press her palms against her temples to ease the pounding. She groaned and tried to push to a sitting position, but couldn’t move her arms. She shifted her position and felt a twinge of pain down her leg. The horse. She had fallen off the horse. Had she injured herself?