she won’t be difficult to grab. But, hey…what do I know? She works late every evening and doesn’t leave for the lab before noon. It seems to me that if you contact her at home, before she leaves for work, it can be easily done; there’ll be too many witnesses if we pick her up at school. But it’s your call.”
“Seems pretty straight forward,” Sully ventured.
“Oh yeah, I’m supposed to handle the transport-but I don’t know where we’re going or which mode of transportation to set up.” Marlon shook his head, still annoyed that he’d let Kilmer talk him into this gig.
“Not to worry, your transport’s to Hilton Head. Holloway’s estate. She’ll be stashed there and the transfer from the airport will be quick. With her high-profile father, we can’t have this woman out in public longer than necessary. I assume you brought the King Air with you,” Sully replied, rapidly losing patience with Marlon’s bellyaching about the mission.
Marlon nodded, and Sully continued. “So, here’s the plan as I see it: We’ll make the grab at the lady’s home, fly her to Hilton Head, get her secured at Holloway’s, and you’ll be on your way back to California later today. Got a problem with that?”
It wasn’t intended to be a question open to debate. Travis Marlon had never been a favorite of Sully’s precisely because he wasn’t a team player and thought himself better than some of the other guys. He was a good enough pilot, but his attitude was always a source of irritation.
“Not at all,” Marlon replied. “I’m glad we finally have a destination. I’ll file a flight plan. So, assuming we grab Coscarelli before 8:00…wheels up at 09:00?” he asked, looking at his watch.
“That’ll be the plan,” Sully replied with a sigh, closing his eyes and resting his head against the headrest, trying to decompress for the remainder of the trip into Maryland. It’s another interesting day in the employment of Alastair Holloway-no rest for the wicked, he thought.
For the job ahead Sully was dressed in a nondescript black suit, white shirt, and plain gray tie. He wore his army-issue mirrored sunglasses that partially obscured his high forehead and prominent cheekbones, but also accentuated his flattop crew-cut. The bulge from his shoulder holster was just barely detectable, but even without this telltale sign, no one would mistake him for anything but an undercover law enforcement officer.
His plan was to introduce himself as an undercover Secret Service agent, and request Dr Coscarelli accompany him for questioning about a highly sensitive matter. He determined that this ploy should throw her off long enough for him to gain entrance to her home. Once inside, he figured it would be a simple matter to subdue the woman and convince her that one way or another, she would accompany him to South Carolina.
There was considerable tension between the two men as they hastily drove the short distance to the subject’s house-the closer they got Marlon became even more edgy about his role in abducting the daughter of a United States senator; and Sully, suffering from jetlag, was also uncharacteristically dour.
When they arrived at the house, Sully promptly left the vehicle and Marlon watched as he approached the woman’s front door, realizing it was now too late to beg out of the proceedings. Buckle up, he thought, the air ahead is going to be bumpy.
Sully walked up the pathway leading to Dr. Coscarelli’s front door, noting that the verdant lawn surrounding the home was recently mowed, the rose bushes trimmed, and the sprinklers had freshly irrigated the entire yard. He stopped to pick up the newspaper that was encased in plastic, figuring it might come in handy to encourage the woman to open her door. He approached the house, stopping briefly to straighten his tie, and rang the doorbell, pausing for a response. It was only a moment before Dr. Coscarelli answered.
“May I help you?” Sela Coscarelli asked, opening the door with a pleasant look on her face. She was wearing a bathrobe and slippers but her face and hair were all made up. She didn’t appear unnerved in the least by an early morning call from a complete stranger.
Sully noticed immediately that the woman before him was very attractive, even in her bathrobe. Her dark brown hair was cut short, and her aqua-blue eyes radiated warmth and intelligence. From her manner, he could tell immediately that she was a feisty woman.
“Good morning, ma’am. I’m sorry to interrupt you at this early hour. I’m Agent Russell Pearce from the Secret Service. May I come in?” he asked politely, reaching into his pocket to remove his false ID. “There’s an urgent matter of a confidential nature we should discuss, ma’am. It involves the senator.”
Sela’s eyebrows lowered as she peered through the glass of the outer door to get a closer look at his identification. She didn’t open the door or offer to let him in, but thumbed the lock to make sure it was closed. As she was looking at his badge, she noticed a man sitting in a car on the opposite side of the street who appeared to be watching them with keen interest. She knew for certain this was no Secret Service vehicle. A disquieting sensation stirred caution within her; something was grossly wrong with the situation. She suspected this imposing and neatly dressed man standing on her porch was anything but a Secret Service agent.
“So, tell me, Agent Pearce,” she began, composing herself, “is that your partner sitting in the car across the street?”
“Why, yes, it is, ma’am,” Sully replied, sensing a guarded cautiousness from his quarry and suspecting she would not be long fooled by his ruse. He needed to quickly move their conversation off the porch and behind closed doors. “Is there a problem?”
“Well, yes, Agent Pearce, or whatever your name is…there is a very big problem,” Sela answered, taking control of the situation, relying on her customary directness and intolerance of people wasting her time. She knew that in any situation there is a tipping point where a more dominant person can seize the power of the moment and control the outcome. She meant to use this knowledge to bully this large man standing in her doorway.
“First of all, I know a thing or two about the Secret Service and I know for certain both agents would be making contact with me if you were for real. Second, that’s not a vehicle belonging to the Secret Service,” she said, pointing across the street to the car Marlon sat in. “And last, please tell me you don’t really expect me to fall for that fake ID. It’s very good, by the way, but it’s missing the iridescent watermark that makes government badges impossible to counterfeit. Why don’t you stop this ridiculous charade and tell me why you’re really here?”
Sully was nonplussed. He couldn’t believe how quickly she saw through his gambit. It was clearly evident he had grossly underestimated the gullible nature of the good doctor. He could easily overpower her, but intrinsically reluctant to hurt a woman unless absolutely necessary, he decided to come at her from a different direction.
“Ma’am, I must apologize again…you’ve seen right through me…you’re quite right. I’m neither a Secret Service agent, nor am I employed by the government,” he replied, placing his hands together in front of his chest as if praying. “I’ve been sent here by Ben Dare, the senator’s chief of staff, to solicit your cooperation in answering a few questions,” he continued, grabbing a name he gleaned from the dossier of information compiled on the woman. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the particulars, but trust you’ll believe that it could be very embarrassing for your father. Now if you’ll kindly invite me inside, I’ll wait for you to finish getting ready.”
“So, Ben Dare sent you, huh? Your story gets more interesting by the minute. I just spoke to Ben yesterday, as a matter of fact…and he said nothing whatsoever about any urgent matter. I’ll just call Ben’s cell phone and we’ll get straight to the bottom of this. You stay right there, mister,” Sela said forcefully, slamming her door shut.
But she was too late. Sully deftly elbowed the outer glass door, shattering the glass, and reached inside to release the lock. Once opened, he rammed his shoulder forcefully against the main door and burst inside. Sela was forced backward sharply as the door swung open, barely catching herself from falling as she hit the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. Sully quickly closed the door behind him.
“Dr. Coscarelli, I don’t want to hurt you but I’m prepared to do that if you don’t cooperate. Please, ma’am, let’s keep this civil.”
“How dare you talk to me about being civil! ” Sela yelled, holding her arms across her body, terrified to move another step. She had no idea what this imposing man was capable of, but chose to stand her ground as best she could. “You falsely present yourself as a federal agent, pretend to be sent here by Ben Dare, and then force your way into my home under pretext that my father needs help…and you want my civility? I don’t know who raised you, mister, but your behavior is anything but civil,” she scolded, giving her best impression of a woman undeterred by her grave circumstances.
“Ma’am, you have every right to be upset. I’m amazed you’re taking this so calmly; most people would be hysterical. But please understand me-I’ve been sent here to take you to an undisclosed location for an indefinite amount of time, and will do so…forcibly, if necessary. You have no choice in the matter,” he said calmly, holding his suit jacket open so she could see the gun he was carrying. “The man outside is a pilot. You will accompany us,
