Chapter Seven
The Snyder Office Building on the east side of Hampton contained offices for accounting firms, doctor offices, dentists, and law firms. For a Saturday it looked very deserted and empty as Brian parked in front of the building. He hoped that Ronald would be there as he walked up to the glass doors. He tapped on the glass and waiting for someone to answer. Suddenly, a shadow appeared out of nowhere startling him. A large dark skinned man, wearing headphones waved his hand, indicating that the building was closed. Brian took out his badge and placed it up against the glass. Immediately, the door was unlocked and opened for him.
“Which elevator is still running?,” Brian quickly asked. “The last one.” Brian ran down towards the elevators and stepped into the last one and pushed for the fifth floor.
The hall was quiet and empty as Brian stepped off the elevator. He knew that Ronald should have heard about the shooting and if he was there, he would be cleaning out his files. As Brian quickly walked down the hall, he thought of how to deal with the situation. If he played his cards right, he would have all the information he needed. He saw a light coming from the last office at the end of the hall and Brian peeked in watching Ronald shredding documents and figured it was a good time to surprise him.
“Working late?,” Brian asked as he stood in the doorway.
Ronald dropped the papers he held in his hands. “Don't you people knock?” Picking up the papers, he placed them on his desk. “Is there something wrong with working on Saturday?”
“Yeah, if you just committed murder.”
“Murder? What are you talking about detective? I didn't kill anyone.” Brian could almost feel his fear. “Antonio Rodriguez has been murdered and everything points to you.”
“To me? You must be joking. I don't even know what this Antonio looked like,” Ronald said laughing.
“Well, the letter that Michael left behind says different,” Brian said bluffing. “It tells exactly how and why you murdered him.”
“I don't believe it!,” Ronald said sternly.
“Well, you can tell it to the judge. I have officers on their way, so please let's not do this the hard way,” Brian told him.
Ronald placed his hand on his forehead. His mind was racing with thoughts of what to do. He couldn't believe that Michael would discard him like that. “This is all bullshit, detective, and you know it.”
Pulling out his cuffs, Brian hoped that Ronald would cave in before he had to give in. “Okay, if you're gonna let him get away and leave this mess in your lap.”
“Okay, okay,” Ronald said flopping down in his chair. “That son of a bitch killed, or had someone kill Antonio. He's going to take the witness back to Columbia. I think somewhere outside of Bogota.”
“You know, Ronald. You're a worthless waste of life,” Brian said leaving.”
“Wait! Aren't you going to arrest me?”
“I would, if I actually had that note,” Brian said walking out of the office. Ronald began crying. He was sorry for ever getting involved with Michael.
#
Chris woke up and opened his eyes looking around the hospital room. He felt relaxed, but could still feel the pain from his wound. “Dawn! She's in danger.” He tried to sit up quickly, but the pain wouldn't allow him to. Tears rolled down from the corner of his eyes. He just couldn't lay there doing nothing. He heard the door to the room open and looked over to see Brian, who had walked in.
“Do you now what happened to Dawn?,” Chris asked.
“You know I had you all wrong. I thought that you weren't as good as they said you were.” Chris closed his eyes feeling almost horrified that he would be told that she was dead. “I'm sorry, Agent Westbrook, but Michael got away. He left in his private jet, taking Mrs.
Hawkins with him. They're going somewhere outside of Bogota.”
“Damn! I've got to get her. She's still in danger.”
“You're people are here,” Brian said. “They're planning to take you back after they finish talking to my captain,” Brian told him.
“They can't!,” Chris said slowly sitting up, ignoring the pain.
“What about Dawn?”
Brian stared at the floor. “They're not pursing Michael. They believe that she's already dead.”
“Look. I know she's still alive and in danger. I need to get her, Brian. Right now I'm all she's got,” Chris told him.
Brian felt awful. He didn't understand why she was taken and not killed. “They won't let you leave. There's no way that anyone would turn Michael over. He has too much power,” Brian said.
“I don't care! I've got to get her!”
“I know what you mean. She's a nice woman, who doesn't deserve this happening to her,” Brian told him.
“You don't understand, Brian. I'm in love with her. I shouldn't have let her walk out of my life eight years ago,” Chris said, staring at the door. He shook the thought from his mind and looked back at Brian. “She needs me and I need her. I will get her and nobody will stop me!”
Brian walked over the window and looked out. He had wondered why she had acted to strangely when she first saw him. Now he understood. “Could you really get her and bring her back?”
“Yes!”
Brian quickly turned around facing Chris. “There's only one way to do it, if you know to fly a plane,” Brian said.
“I've been well trained. Just tell me how to get to the plane,” Chris said.
“Say if you were to knock me out, take my clothes and gear, and my keys to my silver car that's parked in front the ER. Drive it out to the police section of the air field, you could take our plane. It's always fueled,” Brian suggested.
“You owe me one and I will call you on it,” Brian said turning away from Chris and faced the door. “Thank you,” was the last words Brian heard before falling to the floor unconscious.
#
Dawn sat quietly in her seat as the car drove down the road. Her wrists ached with pain from being bound together, and her head hurt from her hair being pulled. Her captors sat quietly themselves, but she didn't know why she was still alive. Dawn knew that Chris was dead and no one would ever find her. The thought of constant torture and constant rape terrified her. The tears began to fill her eyes as fear filled her. She was never a strong person and fell apart at the slightest hardship. One thing Dawn realized was that with Chris, she was so much more. He gave her strength and hope Dawn had no idea of what they wanted of her, but she knew that they would never let her go. Looking out the window at the unfamiliar surroundings, she didn't even know where she was at. She desperately wanted to ask why she was being held and where they were taking her again, but being hit or having her hair pulled again wasn't appealing. She squeezed her eyes shut making her tears run down her cheeks. She wished that she could be in Chris' arms at that moment. For him to tell her how beautiful she looked and told how much he loved her. Dawn never thought about committing suicide, but if they wanted more than to use her as a sex slave, she wouldn't hesitate given the chance. It was all a terrible nightmare and she hoped that she would wake up and find herself in Chris' arms.
#
Chris slowly made his way through the grass of the air field after climbing the fence. No matter how many officers would be there, he couldn't let anyone stop him. He made his way to the hanger and even though it seemed empty, Chris knew better. Hiding behind a few lockers, he heard voices coming from the office. He peeked in through the window and watched a few men engaged in playing poker. Chris looked over at the plane and covered the distance in his mind.
The hanger doors were open and if Brian was right, the plane was already fully fueled.
Chris knew that the alert was already out. The F.B.I. Would do all they could to stop him. It had been over and hour and still nothing. Suddenly, the alarms sounded and the men stopped their game to listen to the announcement coming over the speakers. Chris ran for the plane and quickly removed the tire blocks. He got inside and shut the hatch and locked it. He strapped himself in the pilots seat and started the engine. The twin props began to turn slowly, then started building up speed.
The hanger doors began to close and Chris throttled up the engines. As the officers hurried to lock him in, the plane lurched forward and moved towards the closing doors. Chris felt the pressure building as the plane approached the doors. He know if the opening wasn't wide enough, his trip would end before it started and Dawn would be lost. Looking out through both sides of the windows, he nervously watched as the wings cleared the doors with little room to spare. With a sigh of relief, Chris took the plane out onto the runway. Shots rang out just before the rumble of the engines. Giving the plane full power, it sped down the runway and lifted off the ground. “Thank you, Brian. Thank you!,” Chris shouted in glee.