“Come on. You adore these guys as much as I do. They could be alive. If they are alive, we have to save them.”
“I get it. But, what about Siron? She’s positive they are gone.”
“Come on.”
“Alright.” She motioned for me to sit at the oval table. She plugged in an extra pair of headphones and handed them to me. She stood and shut the door. From where we were sitting, we could see out the glass wall of the conference room, but no one could see what we were looking at. A small screen popped out of the table, showing a map highlighting their location while we listened to the audio feed from Jeremy’s phone. I heard my team’s running report of me getting kidnapped ending with Jeremy’s words, “They’ve got her. Follow them. Do not let them get away.”
“Tell Siron to send backup to go for Kamal. We are going after Agent Hadden.” Halluis’s voice.
“Don’t you lose them.”
“No chance of that.” I heard Halluis gun the engine. The dot on the screen followed them as they drove. No one spoke for several minutes until Jeremy said, “We’ve got a tail. They’re coming up on us pretty fast.”
“Can you do something about them?”
Jeremy called for backup and then it sounded like he put his phone in his pocket and opened a window. Gunshots filled the mic. He must’ve been hanging out the window.
Jeremy called out, “Crap! Bulletproof glass and reinforced metals. I can’t stop them.”
There was a crunch and then some louder crunches.
Rosabella sat stiffly in her chair. “That’s when the accident happened.”
I nodded. “They had to be injured.”
“Most likely, some of them.”
Unfamiliar Frenchmen spoke. The voices were muffled and it was impossible to hear what they were saying.
“Do our guys ever speak?”
She shook her head.
“Then how are we supposed to know if they’re alive?” I slapped my hands on the table.
“By the mere fact that Jeremy has his phone transmitting.”
I nodded. Rosabella pointed to the screen.
“This is the last location the phone transmitted from.”
“That’s definitely not the same place they took Summer and me.”
I could hear rustling and low, muffled voices speaking in French. My head felt like it was about to explode, and a ball that was too big for my throat seemed to lodge itself there. I listened more intently.
It sounded like the phone was still in Jeremy’s pocket. Fabric seemed to be brushing and rubbing up against the phone making it all the more difficult to understand the voices outside of the pocket.
I took a deep breath, saying a little prayer that they were all right.
The foreign voices accused them of being spies. It was obvious Jeremy and Halluis were being hit, whether by a fist or some other object, I didn’t know. Then there was a scuffle and everything got louder. The captors’ voices came through loud and clear now, but only for a moment before a gunshot rang out and the feed went dead.
“Listen to the gunshot. It’s like in our trainings when you had to listen to the gunshots and be able to discern from which direction they came.”
“Oh, yeah. I totally remember that.” She rolled her eyes.
I gave her a look.
“I mean I remember it, but I don’t remember what we learned exactly.” Rosabella back-pedaled.
“Look. Right after the shot, the phone goes dead. They shot the phone. Yes, everything was muffled. They discovered the phone, removed it from his pocket, and shot it.”
“Could be. The voices did suddenly become clear for a few moments before the shot.”
“Yes!” We listened to the recording again. Rosabella was nodding.
“You could totally be right.”
“I’m going to convince Siron of that.” I ran to Siron’s office. “They aren’t dead. We need to go rescue them.”
“Agent Hadden, what are you talking about?”
I told her my conclusions.
“That’s not what I heard.”
“Come listen again with a new context.”
“No. They are not alive, and I won’t risk sending any other agents out there to collect their bodies. Not with the drive still out in the open. The drive must be our top priority, and we are running out of time to retrieve it. We are bringing in Kamal’s girlfriend and interrogating him. It’s the only way. We can talk about retrieval after we have the drive.”
“We haven’t lost anyone, though. They are alive. Most likely being tortured as we speak. We are going to lose them if we don’t go after them. Think about it. Why would they kill them without getting the information they needed first? They are alive.”
“I’m sorry. I know this is hard. But there will be no rescue mission. Not now.”
My insides burned and my hands curled into fists as Siron dismissed me, her hand going to the headset over her ears. I went back to Rosabella more determined than ever.
“Siron won’t help. We have to rescue them on our own. I can’t imagine what is happening to them, but I’ll bet my life they are still alive and will remain so until they uncover who our guys are.”
“I will go with you, Christy. You need backup.” Rosabella looked terrified beyond belief, and I loved her for the courage it took her to volunteer despite her fear.
“No, someone needs to be here in case our guys somehow manage to check in. If any new intel comes in, I’ll need you to tell me where they are so I can get to them faster. I’ll bring Ace and Summer.” Asking for Summer’s help would not be easy.
“Summer’s at Medical. She’s not going to be able to help and Ace is out with the team getting the drive.”
I nodded. I hated that I would be on my own, but I could do this. I had to. “I only need one more thing from you then. I’ve got to get out of here. I need you to make sure Siron doesn’t know.”
“I think I can do that.”
My team—my friends—were in danger because of me. I would never abandon
