Broken Protocols 3.5 Read online

  And then there was this weird location. Like inside a really badly designed cabin where the builder had run out of materials. It kind of matched the kidnapper.

  Milo asked in a mild voice, “What do you want?

  “Money, of course.”

  Milo raised an eyebrow. “And how is this going to help you get it?”

  Dani wanted to laugh. He’d tried to kill Charmin, and that talking cat was worth a fortune. This guy wasn’t too bright. “Who are you?”

  “Buck’s the name. And make a buck is what I do.”

  She stared at him. Surely he didn’t mean making little bucks, because that was just gross. The man was a mountain of bits and pieces and from the looks of it, android bit and pieces. There was nothing attractive about him with his huge bald head and grimy beard that fell to the middle of his oversized paunch. Maybe something of what she was feeling showed on her face, because he snarled. “What’s the matter? Never seen anyone make an honest living before?”

  She reared back. “An honest living. Is that what you call kidnapping?”

  “Sure. Hell, if you rich folk weren’t so busy ordering stuff all the time, we wouldn’t be able to track you, would we? Huh? Think I don’t know you’re stockpiling for some event? Well, I don’t need much, but I can resell anything that you do have. Takes me nothing to turn a buck on the black market.”

  She had no idea what he was talking about. “So why are we here if you wanted stuff from inside the house?”

  “Ha. Because I figured that with you two out of the way, I could go back and see what else you might have back there that I could use. I saw some mighty fine electronics.”

  Milo bristled.

  “Yours, huh?” Buck grinned. “And if you’ve got that kind of equipment, then you’ve got money, and if you’ve got money, then I want some.”

  “Then take us back,” Dani said, “and we’ll give you the little bit we have.”

  She was desperate to rescue Charmin. And she had little money – not that she was into paying for blackmail or kidnappings. Besides, shouldn’t Milo have protection from guys like this? She eyed Buck suspiciously. “Who do you work for?”

  He snorted. “Why would I work for anyone? I’d have to share the profits then, wouldn’t I?”

  Good point. And she didn’t think from the looks of him he was doing too well in this business. She watched Milo as he studied him. Evidently, the man didn’t pass muster because Milo turned away in disgust. They were both chained by something odd. He’d thrown this loop around them in the kitchen and that had been it. He’d yanked and they’d been transported here.

  Wherever here was.

  She managed to press the buttons that she could feel ever so subtly under her skin. One should be an alarm for Levi to find her. She was actually surprised he hadn’t already. Then again, he didn’t know where they were. Maybe this was a different planet for all she knew. He also might not know yet they were missing.

  “So let us go, we’ll all go back home, and you can take anything you can carry.”

  He glared at her. “That’s likely to be a trap.”

  “What?” She shook her head. “How can it be a trap? We’re both here.”

  He pondered the issue. “Nah, I’ll go back alone. Scope out your stuff, figure out how to move it all, and then come back here for you.”

  “Wait, where are we?” she asked, hearing the urgency in her voice. Now that he was ready to disappear, she was afraid of being left alone forever. They’d die like this.

  “Ha.” He smirked. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

  Then he lifted his wrist unit, fiddled with the dials, and appeared to vaporize in front of them.

  She turned to face Milo. “Any great ideas of how to get out of this mess?”

  He nodded. “Maybe. But we need to get free first.”

  “Great. And how do we do that?”

  He shrugged. “No freakin’ clue.”

  *

  Levi watched Dani’s trail end in the middle of what was supposed to be a large open field at the edge of the beach. He stood there, tracker in hand, and studied the empty spot. He shook his tracker just to make sure it hadn’t somehow been damaged. But it still read that Dani and Milo were both in front of him. He frowned and considered the options. If they were there as the instrument in his hands said, then they were under some kind of camouflage. He knew that a lot of thieves used a similar device. He’d had no need for one so hadn’t looked into it any further. Now he realized he should have. Knowing the enemy’s equipment was standard advice for anyone. Given that he was in the security business, it was even more important. He sighed. There’d never been enough time.

  And how about now?

  He could almost hear Milo’s mocking voice. He had to presume that they were there in front of him but he couldn’t see them. Was their kidnapper with them and was it one man, like Charmin had said, or were more here helping him? Neither were great options.

  The thought of Charmin alone in the house worried away at the back of his mind.

  If the kidnapper returned to the house, he just might kill him this time. Charmin had already ended up in the recycler, so round one had gone to the bad guy.

  Charmin wanted a rematch, but was he in a position to beat someone like this? Plus, if the kidnapper figured out that Charmin could talk, then he’d become one of the stolen goods.

  Levi lifted his communicator and whispered to Charmin. “You there?”

  “I’m here. Weird sounds coming from the other part of the house though.”

  Ah shit. The kidnapper had come back, probably to clean out the place. He didn’t give a damn about the equipment. Milo had everything set so the equipment would self-destruct if it left the property without a special password.

  Still, Levi didn’t dare let anything happen to Charmin – Dani would kill him if that happened, but neither could he leave his wife and brother in the kidnapper’s clutches.

  “Stay hidden,” he ordered Charmin. “I’m going to see if I can find Dani.”

  “I thought you already did that,” Charmin snapped. “You’ve been gone for at least twenty minutes and the locator led you right to her. What have you been doing all this time?”

  In the small window of the communicator, Charmin gasped, turned to face the doorway, and went quiet for a long moment, long enough to worry Levi. Finally, he turned back to face the communicator. Anger rippled through his orange fur. “I think the kidnapper is in the kitchen.”

  “Charmin, stay away.” Levi said in alarm. “Hide somewhere safe. He dumped you in the recycler once, remember? Next time he’s likely to kill you outright.” Damn. Levi hated being torn like this. With one more warning for Charmin, he said, “And for God’s sake, don’t let him know you can talk.”

  Charmin’s angry face peered into the communicator. “I won’t. You get Dani and get back here.”

  And he disappeared from view.

  Chapter 12

  Dani knew it would be only a matter of time before Levi found them. But that didn’t mean Levi had found Charmin. This asshole was also going to return soon. Potentially with everything he wanted from the house. Just as scary was the fact that he’d be able to surprise an unknowing Levi. And that wouldn’t be good, either. If they were all captured, there’d be no one but Charmin left behind.

  Stuck in the recycler.

  She tried to think of a way to get out of this damn lasso. “Milo, surely you have something to disrupt the electrical wave on this stupid tie-down strap.”

  Milo turned to stare at her. “What would that do? We’d still be tied up.”

  “Would we? Without the current, wouldn’t this thing drop to the floor?”

  He snorted. “It’s not the current. This is memory cord, and even when disconnected from the source, it will hold its position.”

  Damn. Was nothing ever easy here? “Then hack it.”

  He groaned and dropped his head backwards. “And how do you expect me to
do that?”

  “How the hell should I know? I don’t want to just sit here.”

  “Why not.” He closed his eyes and added, “Levi will be here soon.”

  “And what if this asshole surprises Levi and catches him, too?”

  Milo froze then relaxed. “Nah, Levi is too smart for that.”

  She hoped so, but this was damn irritating. “Are you really saying that with your bag of tricks, you can’t get us out of here?” When Milo stayed silent, she couldn’t help but needle him. “Bet Charmin would find a way.”

  She watched Milo’s placid look fire up into outrage. “Hey, that’s not fair.”

  She shrugged and waited. When she glanced over again, it was to see him assessing the loops around his chest and shoulders then the big square block in the center of the shack. She wasn’t even sure they were inside a building. “Any idea where we are?” she asked out loud.

  “How can I figure this out if you keep talking?” he said.

  “Oops,” she murmured, but smiled and sat back. Her wrist started to flash. “My communicator is going off,” she said. With a sigh, he turned to look at her, saw the same lights as she did, and raised an eyebrow. Then a crafty look came into his gaze. “Told you that Levi would find us.”

  “Maybe and maybe not.” She couldn’t help worrying. “What if it’s Charmin?”

  “And what’s wrong with that?”

  “Maybe Levi is still in trouble.” She sighed and wished he’d move that incredible brain of his in the direction of getting them out of here.

  She opened her eyes and idly studied the room. It almost looked like a tent, but with some kind of support at the lower portion of the wall. Except…she leaned forward. “Is that trees and water I see?”

  Milo turned to look the same direction and whistled. “This is a camouflage unit.”

  “Yeah, like I know what that means,” she muttered.

  “It means Levi won’t be able to see us even if he is looking for us.”

  “What?” she cried out. “How do we tell him then?”

  Milo, as if finally considering this to be serious enough to warrant his full attention, nodded to the weird box in the middle. “That’s keeping the camouflage in place.”

  “So…” She really wondered if boy genius here was that smart sometimes. “How do we put it out of commission?”

  She struggled to free herself, but no matter what she did, the ties kept her arms bound at her side and her feet in place. She tried to hop forward and managed to move slightly, then the ties seemed to understand what she was trying to do and stopped her.

  “Is this stuff like intelligent or something?”

  “Yeah. That’s what makes it so special. You can do something once, but then it learns.”

  “Great.” Giving it some thought, she relaxed completely, as much as anyone tied up in the middle of some kidnapping mess. She felt the ties relax. Counting slowly to three, she swung her arms in front and held them straight out. The ties immediately pulled them back to her body, but…just the upper half of her arm. She now had the use of her lower arm and her wrist. And that meant her communicator.

  She quickly turned it on. Sensing Milo’s interest, she focused on calling Levi.

  “Dani?”

  “Yes! Milo and I are in some kind of special camouflage unit and tied with a strange cord that won’t let us go.” She took a deep breath and tried to control the excitement threatening to raise her voice. “I have no idea where we are, but you have to help Charmin. The asshole that kidnapped us stuffed him in the recycler.”

  “He’s out and he’s fine.” Levi’s voice deepened. “The kidnapper is in the house now, so I don’t know who to feel sorry for – Charmin or the kidnapper.”

  Dani gasped. “Oh no. I have to go save him.”

  “Hang on,” he said, “I think I’m seeing something here.”

  Dani turned to see Milo doing something weird with his locator unit on his wrist. She knew hers was a plain Jane type of locator, but she’d never seen Milo’s in action. There was a weird glow around his whole arm.

  “Milo’s doing something, but I have no idea what. His arm is glowing blue.”

  “Oh, perfect.”

  “Perfect?” As much as she loved these two guys, they really needed to work a little more on their damn explanations.

  “He’s required his unit to go to maximum power and when that happens, his unit will go to the closest power source and drain it.”

  “Oh.” Even the explanation didn’t help much. She watched as the walls wavered, then sparks flew and suddenly their ties dropped and the tent mirage disappeared. She spun around.

  And there was Levi. They were standing in the field by the beach only ten minutes from the house.

  She laughed and ran into Levi’s open arms.

  *

  Charmin waited around the corner. He had the computer up with the video on to make sure he had something to show for his efforts. He wasn’t going to let this guy take anything of his. Maybe something from the others – they had lots. He on the other hand didn’t, and he needed everything he had. And more.

  He crouched low out of sight and watched the intruder search the premises. He was eyeing the electronics. That couldn’t be good. How could Charmin order more food if this guy interrupted the supply chain?

  A strange rumble filled the small house.

  The hair on his spine stood up straight and he hunkered lower.

  Then a huge crate appeared in the kitchen.

  “Woot! Now this is more like it,” the intruder crowed as he walked around the crate. “This is the order I was alerted to. Now…what is it?”

  Charmin’s gaze went to the symbol he finally noticed at the bottom corner.

  Shock and horror filled him. Then came the anger.

  He searched the area around him. And spied the automatic tape thingy they’d used to wrap Dani’s gifts for the brothers.

  He grinned. That was his order. And no one – especially this intruder – was going to steal from him.

  *

  “Thank you so much.” Dani smiled up at him. “I hated being tied up.”

  “Thank Milo,” Levi said. “He figured out how to destroy the mirage.”

  He was right. She’d been frustrated with Milo’s acceptance of the situation but once he’d focused on the problem, wow.

  “Then again, it was Dani who prodded me into it. She wasn’t into waiting for you to show up and save her.” Milo ran past them. “She’s a pain in the ass most of the time.”

  “Love you too,” she yelled. But he was either too far away to hear or couldn’t be bothered to answer.

  “Not as much as I love you.” Levi grabbed her hand. “Now let’s go stop this asshole.”

  They raced up behind Milo who had stopped just outside the house, his head turned to hear better. Levi kept Dani slightly behind him as they approached.

  “Milo, what do you hear?”

  He snorted. “Listen for yourself.”

  Levi turned his head to hear better but didn’t need to. Damn if a male wasn’t screaming and hollering for help.

  “What the hell?”

  Dani gasped. “Charmin!” She ran past the other two.

  “Dani, wait!”

  Levi raced after her. Damn that girl. She always raced in where angels feared to tread, and the minute anything was wrong with Charmin, she was there for him.

  Then again, that was one of the things he loved about her. She’d do the same for him and Milo, too. They were a family – as she’d often pointed out – and family took care of their own.

  With Milo alongside him, he closed the distance between them, just managing to catch Dani before she rushed inside.

  “Wait. Let’s do this the smart way.”

  Frantic, she tried to pull her arm free. “I have to help him.”

  Milo grabbed her head and forcibly turned her so she could see into the kitchen.

  She gasped and immediately froze as she tried
to understand what she was seeing.

  Hell. Levi studied the nightmare in front of him, and even he didn’t get it.

  Then it hit him. He’d forgotten to cancel Charmin’s order. That had likely been what triggered this guy to their house as a potential target in the first place. Large orders were often trouble. As they’d found out.

  But he doubted this asshole would try this stunt again.

  He shook his head, took another look, and started laughing.

  Chapter 13

  Dani stared around the kitchen, her mind still trying to grasp the reality of what she was seeing.

  The kidnapper was on the floor wrapped up in some kind of packing tape. He was so crazily bound that he was in a half-sitting, half-lying position with one knee up to his chest and his arms crossed over his massive chest.

  “What the…”

  The kitchen was overwhelmed with cans. It was as if the large container had burst and the cans had sprung free and spread far and wide.

  “Serves you right. I hope they put you away for ten years,” snapped Charmin, who was sitting on top of some huge crate with one side blown open. “You’re a thief, and no one steals from me.”

  “Charmin, did you do that?”

  He sniffed, his nose going high up into the air. “Of course. Someone had to protect the house. After all, you took off.”

  “What? That’s not fair.” She ran and scooped him up and scolded him. “You be nice, he kidnapped me.”

  She scratched him under the chin and grinned when his eyes crossed with pleasure. “If you keep doing that,” Charmin said with a purr in his voice, “I’ll believe you.”

  “Something attacked me. Help. Help!” cried Buck.

  She rounded on him. “Why should I? You kidnapped me, stuck poor Charmin here in the recycler, and was prepared to clean out the house. You’re nothing but a low-down nasty thief.”

  “Yeah,” Charmin said. And damn if he didn’t hawk up a hairball onto the thief’s head. She quickly put him down. “That’s just gross.”

  “He deserved it.” He hopped back up on top of the case and proceeded to clean his butt.