Chapter Five
When they had all been hustled onto the plane, Eli heard the men speaking angrily in Spanish and wished he’d spent more time learning it. The voices rose and fell, then someone stomped through the plane. Eli felt the prick of a needle as he was injected with something. At once he felt dizzy and thick-tongued.
“What did you give me?” he demanded. “What’s going on?”
“A minor delay,” his captor said. “Our travel arrangements have been changed slightly. We want to make sure you all get a good night’s sleep while we’re waiting.”
“Where are my pilots? Did you kill them, too?”
He chuckled, a sound Eli heard as pure evil. “No, Señor Wright. They are sleeping soundly in a motel room, and by the time they wake up in twenty-four hours, they will be fully rested.”
Although the engines didn’t fire up, the plane began to move, and Eli assumed they were being towed. But before the rolling motion stopped, he passed out, the drug taking its effect.
Eli was the first to awake, having no idea what time of day or night it was. Shortly they were all roused, blindfolded, and led off the plane one by one to use the lavatory. As dark as the hangar was, he still had no time orientation, and he didn’t think their captors were into answering questions. Immediately after, they were marched back to the plane, the stairs were rolled up, the door locked, and the hangar door rolled up. As the plane was towed out, sunlight flooded in through the small windows. So. They’d been drugged sufficiently to sleep through the night.
The engines ground to life, the plane roared down the runway, and then lifted off into the morning sky. The ride was fairly short, about an hour, Eli calculated, since he couldn’t see his watch. Immediately after takeoff the curtains were pulled down over the windows so he couldn’t get any kind of geographic fix. Thankfully the women had fallen asleep again, although he hoped whoever administered the drug hadn’t gotten carried away with the dosage. He guessed his tolerance level was a lot higher than Sydney’s or Mari’s. Maybe muscle mass had something to do with it.
He was pretty sure they were leaving the United States. It would be too much to hope for that they weren’t being taken to a foreign country, where police accessibility and protection would be pretty much nonexistent. He knew the governments operated on the payoff system. And Mexico had to be the worst.
He still had no idea who had kidnapped them, or even who would have ordered it. The snatch had been so well planned he had a hard time believing it had been random. Like everyone else who watched the news and did business outside the United States, he was well aware of the rapid increase of kidnappings where the victims were taken across the border. But in each case the person had been identified ahead of time, to be sure the money was available for a big payoff.
So who had wanted him taken? Of all the people he knew, who was going to benefit from this?
While he was still turning possibilities over in his mind, the plane reduced its speed and finally landed, the few bumps jarring his body. One of the men came back to the cabin, carrying something in his hands.
“Time to move,” he said.
He slipped a black hood over Eli’s face, tying it loosely at the neck to allow for air since there were no cutouts for breathing.
“I’m going to wake the women,” he went on in his accented voice. “If they put up a fuss, I hope you will convince them it is in their best interest to keep quiet. If I have to, I’ll put them to sleep again.”
No! He didn’t want any more drugs in their veins.
“I’ll tell them.” His voice was muffled now, and he hoped his words would come through.
He heard the man talking to his wife and daughter and to Mari, waking them and telling them they were leaving the plane.
“You would do well to behave,” Eli heard him say. “It would be a shame if I had to hurt you in any way.”
Eli heard the pleasure of anticipation in his voice, as if daring one of them to provoke him.
“What’s going on?” This was Sydney. “Where are we? Who are you?”
“Mom?” That was Lissa, the alarm evident in her tone. “Dad? What’s going on? Hey! Don’t you touch me!”
There was a slight sound of scuffling, as if Lissa was trying to move away from the man.
“It’s okay, Lissa,” Eli said, hoping he conveyed more assurance than he felt. And hoping they heard him through the fabric of the hood. “All of you, please just do what he says.”
“Eli, what’s this all about?” He heard the controlled panic in Sydney’s words. “I heard an explosion when they grabbed us. What was it? What happened?”
“Just do what you’re told,” he repeated. “People will be looking for us when we don’t arrive in Hawaii.”
The man with the malevolent laugh chuckled again. “They may look, señor, but I doubt if anyone will find you.”
That was all anyone said to them until the door was opened and the stairway lowered. Then rough hands hustled them off the plane and into another vehicle—one that Eli thought was another van—and they began moving over a very bumpy road.
“Just do what they tell us,” he told the women again. “Don’t antagonize anyone. We’ll figure out what to do.”
This time more than one person laughed, then one man snapped an order at them. “Shut up. No talking. Just shut up.”
“Why did you keep us in the plane overnight?” Eli asked, knowing he was probably irritating his captors but trying to extract every bit of information he could.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but the controller we work with at the airfield had an emergency and switched shifts. An inconvenience that cockroach will pay for.”
So. They had to wait until friendly eyes cleared them for takeoff. Eli filed that away for the future. He tried to concentrate on feeling the nuances of the ride—the bumpy road, the feeling of going up, the blazing heat coming in through the windows that the feeble air conditioning couldn’t do much to abate.
At last the vehicle stopped, doors were slammed open, and they were all pulled roughly outside.
“Walk,” the man gripping his arms said.
Eli managed the best he could with his ankles hobbled. He heard a door open, more low conversations in Spanish, then he felt himself thrown on the ground, his face pressing against what felt like dirt through the hood.
“Mr. Wright?” The familiar voice addressed him.
“Yes?”
“I am going to untie your hands. Count to ten, then remove your hood. And you may free the others. Do not move before the count of ten.”
He heard noises he couldn’t identify, then a door slammed, hard. He carefully counted to ten, then yanked off his hood.
“Hold on, everyone,” he told the others. “I’ll have you free in one minute.”
He noticed they had left one end of the duct tape on his ankles flapping so he could grab it and pull it. As soon as he’d freed his ankles, he pulled the hoods off the women and undid their bindings. He freed Sydney first, who helped him with the others before throwing herself into his arms.
She took three deep, steadying breaths before speaking. “Eli, what the hell is going on here?”
Her face was pale, but he could tell she was doing her best to keep calm for the others.
“Daddy?” Lissa’s voice was quavery. “Where are we? Why did these men take us?”
“And where are the security guards I arranged for?” Mari wanted to know.
When Eli didn’t answer, Sydney pressed her fist to her mouth. “Oh no. Please, tell me no.”
Eli pulled her into his arms. “Don’t think about it, sweetheart. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“Are these men going to kill us, too, Daddy?” Lissa asked in a choked voice.
“Not if I can help it. Now. Some bad stuff has happened, and when we get out of here, we’ll all have plenty of time to fall apart. And mourn two good men. Meanwhile, let’s take stock of where we are and try to find out what’s going on. Whatever you do,” he told the women, “do not antagonize these people.
He flexed his arms and legs, getting the numbness out of them before taking visual inventory of everyone, noting they all seemed relatively unharmed. He hoped the drugs they’d been given wouldn’t do any permanent damage. Despite being dirty and frightened, they all seemed to be keeping it together with superhuman efforts. They might be in an impossible situation, but at that moment he was extremely proud of all of them, including Mari.
“What about the pilots?” Sydney asked. “Did they kill them, too?”
Eli shook his head. “They said no, and I’m trying to believe them.”
He looked around at their surroundings. They were in a square room with a dirt floor and adobe walls. There was only one window, but it was near the ceiling and very narrow, so no escape route there Besides, where could they go? A rectangle about the size of a closet jutted out of one corner. Eli opened the door and peered inside.
“At least there’s a bathroom here,” he reported. “It won’t get high marks for cleanliness, but it has the necessary items.”
At that moment a heavy knock sounded on the door from the outside and a voice shouted, “Everyone stand back.”
“Do as he says,” Eli told the women, motioning them to join him in a corner.
They heard noises like wood being moved, then the door opened and a very large, almost fat man wearing dirty fatigues and with a rifle slung over one shoulder walked inside. With deceptive ease he swung the rifle into the ready position, then called out, “Bring it in.”
Another man, similarly dressed, walked in carrying a large tray. It held stacks of tortillas and bottles of water.
“Not a five-star hotel,” he said with casual indifference, “but we can’t have you starving. “He grinned, showing a missing tooth. “Not yet.”
Then the two men are gone.
“Daddy,” Lissa began.
“We’ll be fine,” Mari broke in, reinforcing what her boss had said. “They aren’t starving us. That’s something.” She looked at Eli. “You think the food is okay to eat?”
He nodded. “Like he said, they can’t afford to starve us. Yet.” He looked around at everyone. “And I have to believe we’ll be found long before that time gets here.”
Mike had insisted that Kat wait at the condo with Faith while he and Mark went to Pelley’s office.
“I promise to call you the minute we’re out of there,” he assured her. “But you can’t add anything, and this is something we do all the time. Okay?”
He knew it took a supreme effort of will for her not to insist on going, but she also agreed that what Mike said made sense.
“You asked me to help you,” he reminded her. “That’s what I’m doing, so please trust me to do it right.”
They were standing in the living room, away from the Hallorans, carrying on their conversation in low tones. Mike’s hands rested on her shoulders, and he could feel the tremors running through her body.
She leaned her forehead against his chest. “I do. I’m just so scared for Mari and for the Wrights.”
“I know. Let’s just get to Pelley and see what we can find out.”
But Pelley had little information to give them. Tall and lean, with a thick shock of reddish brown hair, a neatly trimmed moustache, and wearing an Armani suit, he looked every inch the high-profile executive. Even the worry lines creasing his forehead seemed to be etched in a symmetrical fashion.
They had decided to play this low-key, not rattle anyone’s cage yet. They needed to find out for sure whether Pelley was somehow involved—not as farfetched a possibility as people might think—and a full-court press wasn’t liable to get them much information. Maybe just the opposite.
“I’m very familiar with your agency,” Pelley told them, “although I must say I didn’t expect to meet you quite this way.
“Have you tried your boss’s cell phone and the place he’s supposed to be staying?” Mike asked.
“Yes. I tried his cell just before you got here. Nothing. But let me try again.”
He picked up the cell phone lying on his desk and speed-dialed a number, holding the phone to his ear while the connection went through. After a minute he frowned again, disconnected, and put the phone down. “No answer. I have to admit, that’s weird. Eli always has the phone on, even when it’s charging.”
He rubbed the edges of his moustache between his thumb and forefinger, eyebrows drawn together. Despite those signs of worry, Mike felt the man was far too cool under the circumstances. His boss was out of touch for no known reason, and he was far too calm.
“What about the home where they’re staying?” Mike asked. “You said it belongs to a business associate? Rand Prescott? Did you call and see if they were there? Maybe the help there knows something. Maybe Eli Wright called from San Diego to change their arrival time.”
Neither he nor Mark believed that was the case, but again, it was the line they’d decided on.
“Let me find out.” Pelley woke up a tablet sitting on his desk and scrolled through a list of names and numbers until he found what he wanted. Mark and Mike waited while he dialed the number, then listened to Pelley’s side of the conversation as he questioned whoever answered. When he disconnected the call, he gave a good impression of someone suddenly very worried.
“Nothing,” he told them. “They’re a little concerned themselves. They thought they’d get a phone call if the flight was delayed for any reason.”
“Where’s Prescott now?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to call his office and find out.”
“Is it usual for your boss to be off the radar like this?” Mark asked, his voice tinged with curiosity. “A man who runs this kind of operation can’t just simply drop out of sight.”
Pelley shook his head, frowning. “Not really,” he answered in an even voice, “although it’s happened a couple of times before. What worries me, though, is we can’t get in touch with the two private security guards who were with him. I haven’t heard from them, and I can’t reach them, either.”
“Do they work for Wright International, or did you hire them from a firm?” Mark asked.
“They’re on our staff. I called the man who runs the San Diego office, and he’s headed into the city to see what he can find out.”
He met the eyes of both men with a direct look, but Mike had the feeling that it was a look he practiced every day. He was sure the man did an excellent job, whatever that job was, or he wouldn’t be Wright’s executive VP. But he wasn’t a man Mike would have put much trust in. He shrugged mentally. Maybe Eli Wright saw something different in him.
All they had told Pelley when Mike called him was that Katherine was worried about her sister and could he, Pelley, get in touch with his boss and find out what was going on. It was time to feed him another nugget of information and see what his reaction was. “Are you aware the plane never left San Diego?”
Pelley’s eyes narrowed. “I am now. I called the airfield. They told me they’d already spoken to you and to some woman.”
“Mari Culhane’s sister,” Mike told him. “Someone—not necessarily the pilot—called and said they wouldn’t be needing it and to tie it down.”
“That’s certainly not a good sign. I wonder why neither of the real pilots has called in.”
“How big an office do you have in San Diego?” Mike asked.
“A small one,” Pelley told him. “We don’t have a major facility there in any of our divisions, so it’s mostly just a place to process paperwork and take care of clients in the area.” He looked at his watch. “I’m trying to reach Harry Lombard, who runs the place. His wife said he’s already left home, he’s not at his office yet, and for some reason he’s not answering his cell.”
“Would Wright have contacted him?”
“You bet. He provided a young man to drive the vehicle and two security guards to trail them.”
Mark frowned. “If he hasn’t heard from them, why isn’t anyone more upset?”
Pelley shrugged. “It seems no one but the secretary was in the office all day, Len—the kid driving them—had another errand to run after he delivered the Wrights back to the airfield, and the security guards would have gone on to their next assignment.”
The two Phoenix agents exchanged a look.
“Kind of a loose way to run an office, isn’t it?” Mike asked.
“It’s just a satellite operation,” Pelley protested. “Besides, things like this don’t usually happen, so no one would be expecting any trouble. If there has been any,” he added quickly.
“Why don’t you give us this Harry’s numbers,” Mark said. “We’re heading out to San Diego ourselves, and we’ll want to talk to him.”
“All right, but I’ll keep trying from here and call you as soon as he and I connect.”
Pelley scribbled some numbers on a business card and held it out. Mark took it and tucked it into his shirt pocket.
“That’s the office, the house where they’re supposed to be, and Eli’s personal cell phone. I’m going to keep trying from here.” Pelley rose and extended his hand. “Please keep in touch, gentlemen. I’m hoping Eli just decided to play a little hooky in San Diego and didn’t want anyone to bother him.”
Mark frowned at him. “A man with his responsibilities?”
“Everyone needs a break now and then,” Pelley pointed out. “And he’s very comfortable leaving things in my hands. I’ve been with the company for fifteen years, and I think I know it as well as he does.”
“I hope you’re right,” Mike told him. He handed him a Phoenix card. “Our cell numbers are on the back. Call us the minute you hear from anyone.”
He and Mark were silent while they took the elevator down to the underground parking lot. Neither of them spoke until they were in their SUV and out on the interstate.
“Am I being prejudiced here,” Mike said, “or is there something off-key about Ron Pelley?”
“You’re not prejudiced,” Mark told him. “He’s hiding something. I just wish I knew if it had to do with the disappearance or was totally unrelated. A man like him is in position to do some major financial shenanigans where the company is concerned.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that he may not be involved in this. But he’s not off the hook with me.” Mike pressed a number on his cell. “I’m calling the airport to tell them to get the plane ready. We’ll head out there as soon as we check out Ryan Post. Do you need to pick anything up?”
“My wife,” his friend laughed. “She’ll kill me if I go off and leave her. And Kat will put out a hit on you if you do the same.”
“Crap. I wish there was somewhere to stash her while we do this. I don’t know exactly what we’ll find.”
“Kat may be your best weapon,” Mark reminded him. “She can ‘see’ things for us that no one else can.”
“You aren’t worried about taking Faith along?”
“Are you kidding? Without her, you guys never would have found me. And don’t forget she shot one of the terrorists without batting an eyelash. No, I like having her in my corner. And fortunately, she’s between books right now, and her next tour doesn’t start for three weeks.”
Mike sighed heavily. “I’ve seen the way you guys interact with your wives and the missions they’ve helped with. I just—”
“You just don’t want to admit you’re in love with this woman and your protective instincts have kicked in.”
“Love?” Mike snapped a glance at him. “Me?”
“Yes. And this time, don’t be such a jerk about it.”
They had all used the very crude and primitive facilities that passed for a bathroom and cleaned themselves up as best they could with the trickle of water from the one faucet in the sink. But dust and dirt still clung to them, and the oppressive heat created little rivulets of perspiration on everyone’s body. Eli had talked quietly with the others, doing his best to keep them calm while he tried to figure out what to do.
Maybe I can talk them into just keeping me and letting the women go.
But his gut told them that suggestion wouldn’t fly. If they wanted money, the more bargaining chips these men had the better.
After debating whether the food was drugged and should be left alone, they decided to go ahead and eat.
“We especially need the water,” Mari pointed out. “Otherwise we’ll get too dehydrated, and it will sap our strength.”
“You’re right,” Eli agreed. “We’re going to need that strength, and I can’t see any reason why they’d put drugs in our food. They needed to do it before to get us here without any problems. But now we’re here, where can we go?”
“Do you think people are looking for us yet?” Sydney asked, panic curling around the edge of her words.
“Absolutely. When we don’t arrive at Waikiki or check in with anyone, they’ll be all over this.” He made himself sound as confident as possible.
Eli knew his wife was trying to maintain a calm front for Lissa and Mari, and he could do no less. He smiled at her, this woman he loved so much, and silently cursed that somehow he’d been the one to put her and the others in such jeopardy. He was sure he was the target. These days anyone with the kind of financial resources he had was fair game, and he should have provided better protection for all of them.
The Phoenix Agency had contacted him three or four times about training their security people, and he’d kept putting them off. There hadn’t seemed to be any sense of urgency to get it done, and before today he’d been satisfied with what his own people could do. But Phoenix had the best reputation in the business. Others who used them said they trained men as if they were going into combat, prepared for absolutely anything.
If they got out of this alive—and he couldn’t allow himself to believe anything else—that would be the first call he made.
“We’ll be fine,” Mari chimed in. “And I can guarantee you, when my sister doesn’t hear from me, she’ll call out everyone but the National Guard.” Her smile, too, was forced. “Maybe them, too.”
“I’m good, Daddy,” Lissa told him. “We’ll get out of this. You can handle anything.”
“Thanks, kiddo.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But somehow I have the feeling all of this is my fault.”
“Oh no, Eli,” Sydney said quickly.
“Mr. Wright, that’s ridiculous,” Mari added. “You even had security guards with us.”
“Yeah. Fat lot of good they did. I should have—”
Before he could finish they heard the shifting of the wood outside, and the door slammed open. Two of the men who had brought them stood there, now in filthy fatigues with what Eli was sure were AK47s pointing at them. The women scrambled back into a corner, and Eli placed himself in front of them.
Here goes nothing.
“Whatever you want,” he said, “take me and let the women go. I can be very valuable to you by myself.”
The man on the left spat on the dirt floor. “You are all valuable.” His eyes moved to each person in turn, then back to Eli, gesturing threateningly with the gun. “I am Pedro. I am in charge of you.” He swept the gun from side to side. “All of you. You will do exactly as I tell you.” He jerked his head at the man with him. “This is Enrique. He will also be your . . . friend.”
Eli tried to ignore the cold knot that had settled in his stomach. “And if we don’t? What will you do, shoot us? We’re no good to you dead.”
Pedro lifted his lips in what was a caricature of a smile. “I don’t need to kill you, señor, to make my point. I can hurt you very, very badly. Starting with the women. Is that what you want me to do?”
Sydney stepped forward to stand beside Eli. “What is it you want us to do? Why are we here?”
“You’re going to be television stars,” he told them. “We’re going to make a little video here to send to some people. We want to make sure your friends know we’re taking good care of you. No one pays for damaged goods.” Raising his voice he yelled, “Come on, asshole. We haven’t got all day.”
After a moment a man in jeans and T-shirt, carrying a video camera and a newspaper, hurried into the hut. Enrique took the paper from him and gave it to Eli.
“Hold this so the front page shows,” he commanded. Roughly, he yanked each woman to stand in a line with Eli and Sydney. “No talking,” he warned.
Eli wanted to punch the man in the nose, but he had the women to think of.
So. This was definitely a kidnapping, and they were arranging to send a proof of life. Eli had read stories about enough other high-profile, wealthy people who had been taken, held until the money was received, and in many cases set free. In some, not. At the moment he had no choice but to go along with whatever was happening. As long as whoever was paying the ransom demanded proof of life, the kidnappers had to keep them alive and in relatively good condition.
Lissa flinched as Pedro tugged at her arm with his less than clean hand, pulling her into place with Sydney and Mari.
“Smile for the camera,” he taunted.
Eli could see how pale all the women were, as well as exhausted, but he was proud of each of them for holding their heads up high and refusing to let their dignity be taken from them.
The man with the camera took shots of them as a group, zoomed in on each person individually, and then finally on the newspaper with the banner showing the date. When he was finished, he nodded at Pedro and walked out.
“There are guards outside,” Pedro informed them. “Your best bet at the moment is to do everything we tell you to. We’ll see how much people think you’re worth.”
He backed out, the other man with him, and slammed the door into place.
“Daddy?” Lissa’s voice was unsteady. “They really aren’t going to kill us, are they?”
Eli pulled her against him, hugging her. “Not if I have anything to do about it.”
“But what can you do?” his wife asked, her own voice slightly shaky.
“My sister will start shaking some trees if she already hasn’t,” Mari told her. “Believe me. These guys won’t know what hit them.”
But first they have to find us, Eli thought to himself but refrained from saying out loud.
Everyone was doing their best to hold it together, and he didn’t need to shatter their fragile composure by pointing out the obvious. He was a resourceful man, with personal strength that had allowed him to grow Wright International to its present size. He’d have to figure out whether any of those skills could get them out of what was a steadily deteriorating situation.