Shane Read online

  “What’s the price?” he asked, his stomach churning.

  “They are holding your sister and her family.”

  “What are you talking about?” he cried out, bolting to his feet.

  “It says, they will hold your family, until you get the tycoon’s daughter back.”

  “So what’s all this about Shelly then?”

  “A test run.”

  “What the hell? A test run where they killed eleven people,” he said in the harsh voice. “Why me?”

  “The story for the Mavericks is that he was somehow associated with one of your black ops years ago,” Gavin said. “He had a contact, supposedly in a unit that handled the communications for one of your SEAL teams,” he said. “So, when his family ran into trouble, he decided he needed you guys. That last part may be true, but the guy is probably the international oil tycoon. Everybody else has refused to help him, and he’s tried several others but with no luck. He wondered if you had the skills.”

  “How long has the daughter been missing?”

  “Five months.”

  “Jesus. How many has he tested?”

  “Unfortunately he’s not responding to that question,” he said, “but I’m looking it up.”

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this. So he’s up against somebody, and he’s looking for people capable of getting her back. So he’s already tested and tried several, and what? I’m the next one on the list?”

  “Possibly,” Gavin said. “You were also out of the loop for a long time and may have been harder to get a hold of.”

  “Maybe so but this is all bullshit.”

  “Not to mention the fact that a lot of people have already died from whatever game he’s playing,” she said.

  “I hear you there,” Shane said. He looked at Diesel, who just stared at him in shock.

  “Are you serious?” Diesel asked. “They killed eleven innocent people in a communications office trying to get some help?”

  “Looks like it,” Gavin said.

  “Well, that’s complete bullshit, and I’m not doing it,” Shane said.

  “Well, you may want to take a look at this.” Gavin sent through a link on the chat.

  Shane turned back to his laptop and clicked the link. Sure enough, there was his sister, her two kids, and her husband, all sitting at the dining room table, with frozen smiles on their faces, a gunman on either side of the room. “Jesus Christ,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “Sorry, Shane,” Gavin said.

  “You know what? You don’t really think about jobs that you work on. We don’t even know when we crossed paths with an oil sheikh or if he was a second-tier casualty in some way,” he said. “For all I know, he learned of me from a job years ago.”

  “It may well have been,” Gavin said. “I’m still trying to get information.”

  “And obviously this isn’t somebody we’d want to work for, if he has to use this kind of leverage.”

  “I’m assuming that’s exactly why he’s using this kind of leverage. It’s the only thing he can do to get help.”

  “Which means, he has friends in high places, plus money and other connections, to get what he needs from people like him. Just not from people like us.”

  “That’s my take too,” Diesel said. “Hell, I don’t want to deal with him either.”

  “No,” Shane said, “not the way he’s operated.” He said to Gavin, “I won’t deal while he’s got my family,” he said. “I was tested and apparently passed, but no way I’ll be held accountable for what’ll happen when I get a hold of him if he hurts my sister.”

  “I hear you,” Gavin said, “and you know we don’t cooperate with blackmailers,” he said, “which means that now it becomes an operation to rescue your sister.”

  “That is the only thing I’m prepared to do,” he said. “Then I’ll take this asshole out in an alleyway and make sure he never pulls a stunt like this with my family again.”

  She couldn’t believe what she heard, as she stared at the link on the laptop and shuddered. “They look so scared.”

  It hurt to look at his sister and see the terror in her eyes. Shane had to save them. He couldn’t live with anything else. “Gavin, have you got anybody close to San Diego, who can go over there to check out my sister’s house?”

  “Yeah, they’ve been on the move, while we’ve been talking,” he said. “They’ve set up a perimeter on the house. Can you confirm the location, just to be safe?” He then read off the address.

  “Yeah, that’s her place.”

  “Well, give us a minute to do a quick search,” he said. “The house is dark, so we can’t be sure if they’re inside or not.”

  “If the kidnappers are smart, they took them far away,” he said, his voice raw. “But, if not,” he said, “we’ll make sure we get them out of there.”

  Just then another call rang on his phone. As soon as he disconnected with Gavin, the new call rang and rang. He stared down at the number, wrote it down, and then answered. Instinct had him saying, “What the fuck do you want?”

  “You,” said the harsh voice on the other side.

  “After you killed all those people, hurt my friend, and took my family captive?”

  A short pause came from the other end. “You are fast,” he said. “Good, that’s what I need.”

  “That may be what you need,” he said, “but your methodology leaves a lot to be desired.”

  “Maybe,” he said, “but, if I’d asked you, would you have helped?”

  “No,” he said.

  “I’ve asked lots of people in the last few months,” he said, “and nobody’s willing to help.”

  “So what’s the pressure now?”

  “They’ve given me ten days, or they’ll kill her.”

  “You just killed eleven people for nothing,” he said. “Why would I want to help you, after you took all those innocent lives?”

  “I had to know if you could do the job,” he said. “Everybody else has failed.”

  “Well, that’s bullshit,” he said. “I’m really not into death missions either.”

  “And that’s possible,” he said, “but I’m desperate.”

  “And your daughter? Do you know that she’s even still alive?”

  “She is but not for long,” he said, his voice raw. “She’s the only child I have,” he said. “She told me four years ago to get out of the business, and I didn’t do it, and now somebody went after her. That’s inexcusable.”

  “Oh, trust me. I know how you feel,” he snapped. “Because you’ve just gone after my family,” he said, “and there will be a reckoning at the end of this.”

  “I don’t give a damn,” he said. “Shoot me if you can, but I want to make sure my daughter lives.”

  “Yet you’re hurting so many others without a care.”

  “If it was your daughter, wouldn’t you?” And, with that, he hung up.

  Shane quickly put the number into the chat for Gavin and quickly wrote about the call.

  Jesus Christ, Gavin said. The house is empty.

  Shane buried his face in his hands for a moment, as he thought about what this meant. Immediately he felt soft hands rest on his shoulders. He reached up a hand and covered Shelly’s with his.

  “I’m sorry you got pulled into all this,” she said.

  He shook his head. “Hey, this is just part and parcel of the industry I work in,” he said. “I’m just sorry for all the people who have been dragged into it.”

  “But it’s not your fault,” she said.

  “Try telling that to my sister.”

  “You’ll get them back,” she said.

  He snorted. “I don’t even know where the guy’s daughter is being held.”

  Almost immediately he received a text message on his phone from the same number. It contained an address and a simple message. My daughter’s in the basement.

  He stared at it and said, “Jesus Christ, she’s in London.”

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nbsp; At that, Diesel hopped to his feet and came around to have a look. He wrote down the address and said, “Okay, let me get onto that.” He sat back down and soon accessed old blueprints and schematics on the building. “It was an old government building that was sold privately at some point,” he said, “but, as such, it’s got security all through it.”

  “Do we know who owns it?” Shane asked.

  “Looks like an Iranian corporation,” Diesel said, “Imports and exports.”

  Shane rolled his eyes at that. “Great.”

  “What’s wrong with imports and exports?” Shelly asked.

  “Let’s just say, it can cover a multitude of sins,” Diesel said.

  She nodded. “So, what can I do?”

  “Well, now that we know it’s not about you—”

  “Oh, come on,” she said. “If there’s something I can do to help you, let me help.”

  “There’s really nothing you can do,” Shane said. “But, at the same time, I can’t let you go back home again either. That won’t be safe.”

  “Why not?” she asked, and he looked up to see genuine curiosity.

  “In case I screw up, or if I want to back out, they have my family, but I’ve already proven that I would come after you,” he said. “So they’ll pick you up, if they get another chance too.”

  She sat down, thinking about it. “So, what size operation does a guy like this have?”

  “Huge,” he said and stared at her. “Why?”

  “Is it really possible then that nobody knows about him?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “Anybody like him, who deals in black market arms or in any kind of illegal front, will have all kinds of privacy that he’s bought and paid for.”

  “Right,” she said. “I feel useless without my laptop.” Walking to her bag, she pulled it out and hooked it up. “I’ll do some research on my own.”

  “Fine,” he said, “just share what you find.”

  “Will do.” She hooked it up, sat down, and started thinking about the little bits and pieces she had learned. Then she looked into kidnappings reported in the media from six months ago. “Why six months ago, and why now? There’s got to be a reason for now.”

  “They want something from him,” Shane said, and Diesel nodded in agreement. “That’s the only reason for the time frame to move up. He’s been arguing with the kidnapper. As long as they kept his daughter safe, he was going along with it. Now they’ve asked for something bigger, and he won’t budge. So he’s got to get her out of there, before he’s pushed to the limit.”

  “Yes, that makes a lot of sense.” Mulling that over, she continued her search. A few minutes later she found something. “That company was sold several months ago,” she said.

  “Sold by who? And who bought it?” Shane asked.

  “From the Iranian import-export company, like Diesel said, to a British one. It was sold six months ago. The original company still owns the building.”

  “Which would be around the time that she was picked up,” he said. “The kidnappers may have bought it just to hold her there.”

  “Or the new buyer is just a shell corporation for the Iranian import-export company,” Shane suggested.

  “Regardless of who owns it now, can you guys get any schematics on it?” Shelly asked.

  “Yeah, I already have them up,” Diesel said. “It’s a pretty straightforward three-story building, with underground docks.”

  “Underground?” she asked.

  “One level belowground for trucking,” he said.

  “More than one way in or out?” Shane asked.

  “Several,” he said, tapping the screen. “Heavy security installed.”

  “What’s around it?” Shane asked.

  “Looks like industrial sites,” Diesel replied. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Is there anything butted up against it, with a shared wall, that we could maybe drill through or something like that?”

  Diesel smiled and looked at him with respect. “Yeah, give me a second to take a look here.” He scrolled around, carefully looking at the adjacent buildings. “Okay, looks like a manufacturing plant is beside it on the left. An alley on the back and some kind of metal fabrication shop on the other side.”

  “But isn’t that too easy?” Shelly asked.

  “The place will be wired in some way, no doubt,” Diesel said with a nod. “It would be good to get Gavin to check for security on the street and adjacent buildings.”

  “On it,” Shane said, and bringing up the chat, he quickly asked for any available security feeds on the street and around the corner. We’ll need it for the last six months, but I want it in one-month segments, and I need the last twenty-four hours ASAP. I’ll also need passage to England, as fast as possible. Then he started typing again. Flights preferred. London.

  It wasn’t long before Gavin replied. We can have you out in the morning.

  Put us on the first flight out then, Shane replied. He looked to see Shelly curled up and already asleep now. Better make it for three.

  A question mark came back from Gavin, so Shane grabbed the phone and gave him a call. “I don’t dare leave her behind. I don’t want to give these assholes any more leverage than what we already know they have on me.”

  “Got it. I understand.”

  Shane stopped and thought for a moment. “Hey, Gavin, who the hell is paying for this anyway?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Well, it’s my family being held, and I’m the one being extorted to do something, though I seem to be dragging the rest of you along with me.”

  “Look, Shane, let’s just get through it. We can do any settling up later, if we need to, after we have all the facts. We’re trying to get more information on what’s going on and on what group we’re dealing with. MI6 has been contacted. They’re not impressed that you’re coming, by the way.”

  “Of course not,” he said. “I had a few dealings with one of the MI6 agents a few years ago.”

  “Yeah, he’s had some dealings with a lot of us,” Gavin said, and a round of laughter could be heard on the other end.

  Shane just smiled and said, “They’ll deal. They don’t want these guys in their lives either.” When he finally hung up, Diesel sat there, watching Shane.

  “You okay, man?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” Shane said. “Pissed off and worried about my family.”

  “I don’t think they’ll be in London.”

  “No,” he said, “he’ll have them squirreled away somewhere else. That’ll be a whole other operation to deal with.” He exhaled. “After seeing what this guy did with his testing process, I’m sure he’d kill them in a heartbeat if I fail to get his daughter out, and we need to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

  “I’ve got the photos that he originally sent us. I presume it’s her house?” Diesel asked.

  Shane got up and walked around, so he could look at the images over Diesel’s shoulder. “Yes,” he said. “That’s her house.”

  “So, where are they being held is the next question.”

  “And there is just no way to know,” he said, sitting back down with a thump. “So we need to prioritize here. We’ll start with what we’ll do about my sister and also look at the London location where the daughter is and make a plan. Especially how we’ll deal with the explosives.”

  At that, Diesel’s head came up. “Explosives?”

  Shane gave him a crooked smile. “It’s one of the reasons I was picked, I’m guessing,” he said. “I’m an explosives expert.”

  “You must have gotten into that after our last SEALs mission together, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah, maybe so,” he said. “Yeah, I got a lot of detailed training, then did a lot of work in that field. Actually that may be why our paths haven’t crossed for a while. It was one of the things I was happy to let go of when I walked away.”

  “I’m not so sure we ever really walk away,” Diesel said.

  “Obviousl
y,” Shane said, with a motion toward their laptops. “So we need to know everything about the vehicle that came and took my sister’s family away. And we need access to the camera feeds for that.”

  “I requested the feeds earlier, so I’ve had a chance to check them out. I found one likely vehicle, a black delivery-style van. The license plates return to a stolen vehicle taken about four months ago,” he said.

  “Wow,” Shane said. “They’re playing a long game here.”

  “Well, either it was stolen on the off chance they would need it or it’s been something they’ve been using here and there, and, so far, they haven’t been caught with it.”

  “Maybe,” he said, “but I really don’t trust this asshole, and I have no sympathy for him. He just happens to have an even bigger asshole cranking his chain. We have to make sure that, by the end of the day, we’re the ones holding all the damn chains.”

  “I got it,” Diesel said, “and I’m really sorry about your family.”

  “I appreciate that,” he said, “but I have to set aside the grieving and focus on the mission. We’ll share some barbecue when this is over, when we have my sister and her family with us.”

  “You got it, man,” he said, “and you still owe me one steak already, by the way.”

  Shane snorted with laughter at that. “Find out where she is, and figure out how we’ll save them,” he said, “and I’ll upgrade you and get you the biggest damn steak you’ve ever seen.” With that, they each settled in and got to work.

  They both worked silently for a time; then Diesel sat back and stretched. “I caught sight of that van heading toward the airport,” Diesel said, “but it veers off beforehand.”

  “Well, the camera spot-checks all along the line,” Shane said. “So keep tracking, and you should run it down.”

  “Yeah, I was hoping to get lucky and track it quickly, but no such luck.”

  “We can’t make an attack too fast,” Shane said. “But I would love to have them safe before this goes down.”

  “Preferably so you can tell this other guy to take a hike,” Diesel said.

  He nodded; then he thought about it and winced. “I know, right? Yet I keep thinking about this woman, who’s been held captive for six months. How could I walk away knowing what she’s going through?”