Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Khloe Anderson

The rattling of a doorknob is what awakened me for the second time since I've been here- in this awful room. I panicked. Someone was unlocking the door to enter the room. Maybe it's just food. But that didn't stop my mind from thinking about all possibly reasons why someone could be entering the room.

Are they going to kill me? Are they about to let me go? However, why would they kidnap me just to let me go in the end?

Is this how I go out? When I thought about my death, I'd always dreamt about what my last meal would be like. Would I be gone without even a last meal? I hated thinking about this.

When a man enters the room wearing the mask and gloves, and with a tray in his hands, I sigh in relief. Just breakfast. Like the guy from the previous day, he places it on the table, and turns his gaze to me.

"Your breakfast," he nods towards the tray, and leaves.

I didn't trust them, but the food from yesterday hadn't kill me. So maybe I would have good luck like the day before.

Standing and walking towards the three-legged table, I notice that the breakfast is different from the last time. It is pancakes with maple syrup and a glass of orange juice. My mouth salivated at the sight before me. At least I could look forward to one good aspect of being here.

As I ate, I thought about my shop. I knew my staff would do an amazing job while I'm absent, and I knew they would be worried that I haven't shown up to work. They could handle themselves, I knew for certain. However, I wasn't sure if I was ever going back. I wanted to think that my dad would move heaven and earth to find me, but when? And how much time did he need? It was starting to feel like I've been here for a week. And not being able to tell the time only made matters worse.

I hadn't taken a shower since Thursday morning before I left my apartment. At this moment, a bath sounded like the most amazing thing in the world. I couldn't wait to be in the confines of my apartment, soaking in my tub, and savoring every moment in the warm bubbly water.

Did my neighbour Brad Hayes notice that I'd gone missing? We left the building at the same time every morning to go to work. He would notice it strange that I didn't show up the following morning and the one after that. It had been somewhat of a routine and we'd become close friends as a result. He would know. He had to notice my absence.

~**~

A few hours after I'd had my breakfast, I heard the door being unlocked, and I panicked. Again.

Three masked men entered the room this time, looking like men on a mission. The first one was buff and had several tattoos on his forearm, and he seemed to be the leader. The one behind him looked like the guy who had brought me breakfast the both days, and he held a video camera in his hand. The last one was tall and slim and held a few sheets of Manila paper in his hands.

I gulped. What were they up to? I hated having to fear for my life constantly. I hated not knowing when I was about to die. I hated the saying 'expect the unexpected' even more at the moment. In the next minute I could be dead, and no one would find my body. What will they do to me? It's not like I can defend myself from three men. They have the physical features to outrun me any day.

"Hello, Khloe," the one in front said, and I recognized his voice as one of the men in my apartment the night I was captured.

I would never forget that voice. He'd walked out of the darkness in my living room as the other man held unto me. He'd said they wouldn't hurt me. And they had kept their promise so far. None of them had thrown nasty comments my way, or even touched me. Well I wasn't sure, anyhow. The last thing I'd remembered from that night, was him removing the cloth from his pocket. The worst part of all this was having no idea where they'd taken me. What if I was in another country? Were there any other people around this area? What if we're surrounded by forest? Endless, dark and scary forest?

I didn't want to think about this. My chances of escaping were pretty slim. There was no need adding others to that list. 'Positive thoughts could lead to a positive outcome,' I reminded myself.

I stared at him, my hatred for the men who'd kidnapped me overpowering any other emotion. I didn't want my fear to show. You should never let them know how scared you are. If you do, they'll use it to their advantage.

They'd taken me from my home- my comfort, and brought me to a room that could possibly be infested by all sorts of creatures. I should have no respect for any of them. And I didn't. Criminals didn't have any mercy when it came to getting what they want- or need. They're equally vicious when it comes to having power. Power over their victims.

"We didn't mean to get you involved," he continued, and I would've snorted if this wasn't reality. "Your father is a very powerful man as you know. And he's done some terrible things in the past."

I frowned. I knew this had something to do with my dad. "You couldn't get my dad, so you took me instead," I stated rather than ask. Of course, it all comes down to my dad. That's the reason why I never wanted his job to get involved with my personal life.

He chuckled. "Feisty one, huh? Your dad must be proud."

"He is," I started proudly. "However, it seems like your parents wouldn't be proud of you at the moment. That's why you're too coward to show your face." He didn't seem to appreciate what I'd just said. However, through his mask, I couldn't see his reaction. The truth hurts.

"It's a pity you might be stuck with us for some time. Doesn't seem like daddy even realizes that you're missing." I frown at his words. However, I knew he was right. I hated the possibility of me having to stay here any longer. I didn't know these people, and I didn't want to be in their presence. He continued, "You know, the world doesn't even know you're missing. I guess your dad is too coward to let the country know that you were kidnapped. No news. It's like you don't even exist."

I froze. People didn't know I was missing? How long have I been here that no one would realize I'm gone? However, I knew it's most probably because dad didn't want the media knowing about this. I couldn't deny that my dad made enemies in his line of work. He'd put away terrible people before; terrorists and criminals on the most-wanted list. I also knew that he has no idea where I am, because if he did, he would've already came to rescue me.

"He will come for me, and he'll kill you."

I heard his hurried footsteps, but before I could react, an intense pain radiated from my cheek. I froze as realization dawned upon me. My mouth widened and I gasped at the throbbing pain emanating from my cheek. No one had ever raised their hands on me, so up to that moment, I had no idea how it felt to be slapped. Now I knew. Now I felt it. My eyes filled with tears, and I didn't for one second stop them from rushing down my cheeks. He'd slapped me. He raised his hands on me. A mere stranger. My kidnapper.

"So now that we've cleared that minor detail, we should get to business," that voice continued.

I didn't look up. If I hadn't been totally disgusted of that man before, I would've been at the moment he dared raise his filthy hands on me.

"It's time we remembered the reason we kidnapped you."

~**~

Logan Novak

For what seems to be the hundredth time, officers check the traffic cameras of New York City. Nothing new from an hour ago- if you asked me. No strange activity coming from the area that her apartment's located in. Being such a busy city, the streets are crowded, and vehicles pass by each second.

Whoever kidnapped her had planned this for some time. This was the work of a professional. The person must have trailed her for weeks, knowing the specific time she arrived at her apartment and if anyone would witness if she was being kidnapped. In their case, I guess it was perfect at her apartment because her neighbour worked late into the night. Being at her shop would result in too many witnesses and unnecessary exposure to the public. They'd left no prints and made sure not to drive through the areas we'd most definitely look at. And how would we know what vehicle they'd used? They could be driving any vehicle and we would have no idea, not knowing what to expect.

This mission was taking its precious little time. I'd hoped to be back in New York before Monday, but I'd long realized that I would need to stay here longer. Levi would be filling in for me, and dad would assist if necessary. All that's needed to do here is rescue the general's daughter and capture her kidnappers. However, I didn't see any of the two options occurring any time soon.

What seemed to be a commotion at the front of the control room caught my attention. The general seemed nervous, and an officer was running to take a sit back at his computer, with what no doubt was the general's phone. I frowned, walking further into the room to assess the situation. What had Anderson in such a frenzy? It was like he was scared and angry, but at the same time, happy.

A moment later, a video came up on the monitor, and looking closely at the setting, and the girl on the screen, I gasped. No doubt that this was Khloe Anderson. Her brown hair that had been glossy in her photos looked like it had seen better days, and by her face, I could tell she was scared. But I would recognize her anywhere. If anything, the photos I'd seen in her file did her no justice.

Beautiful!

I chastised myself. I didn't need to be thinking about these stuff while I'm on a rescue mission. Maybe I just needed to get laid. A roll in the sheets with one of the many women dying to sleep with me sounded amazing. Two days with no action could surely drive a man to insanity.

'Don't go there,' I tried reassuring myself.

Turning my gaze back to the huge monitor, I looked at the video. There was not much on the background except the terrible paint on the wall that seemed to begging to be taken down and redone. This meant she was facing her kidnappers. They would never allow her to do the tape by herself.

The lighting was poor, possibly the only source of actual light in the room, and the fact that the camera seemed to be doing most of the illumination. That meant she's most probably in a room where she can't see the daylight.

"Hey, dad," she said, her voice sweet, and reassuring, however in panic. "I'm okay." She looked away from the camera's lens, probably at someone behind the camera, before continuing. "They've agreed to keep me alive once you provide them with what they wish." I can tell that it's taking up a lot of courage for her to speak. Her face is swollen and I frown at the thought that any of them had dared raise their hands on her.

I look at one of the soldiers, and walking up to her, I ask, "Is that video live?"

She shakes her head. "No. It was sent to the General's phone."

I sigh. "So can you track down where it came from?"

"Maybe. It's according to whether or not they're connected to some form of Wi-Fi. It would have had to be sent from a computer, and from what I can tell by the lighting, they probably used a camcorder to record this. If I find the IP address of that computer, I'll be able to track them down."

I nod. "Do it."

She types away.

The voice from the screen continues, "Dad, I don't want to die. Please don't let me die." She breaks into sobs, and the video instantly cuts off. My heart aches for her, wondering how she feels at the moment. She's probably fearing for her life, wondering what will occur if she isn't rescued or if her kidnappers don't receive what they want. Being held hostage can't be a good experience.

Being caught by the enemy had never been on the priority list. That's why our aim has always been to do our job as effective and quietly as possible. Never get caught.

"Sir," I heard, and turned towards the officer I'd asked to do find their location. "I found them."

At her words, I sighed in relief. This was our first big evidence, and it worked out perfectly. I nodded at her, and turning to the general, I told him the news. "Sir, we've found their location." The look of relief and happiness on his face was all that was needed to know how relieved he was to finally find the location of his daughter.

He went around tossing instructions to the officers in the room. Satellite feed of the location was established and we stood there as the satellite showed a building located a few miles away from the city of Virginia. It seemed to be an abandoned guest house or something of that sort. However, putting up live satellite feed, there are persons in there.

"That's the place," I say, confidently. The General nods. As the officer navigates the satellite feed to look around the building's structure, and stumbles upon a room in the centre of the building, and with one occupant. "That's her. The video was too dark to be close to a window. Therefore, she must be in a room that's in the centre of the building, or she's in a basement."

"Yes, I noticed that too," he responds. "How many other occupants are there?"

"Six, sir," the officer replies, having done a count of the figures walking around the property, and those inside.

He nods, then turning to me, he asks, "Will you be needing the other squad?"

Taking one last look at the satellite feed, and assessing the number of men, I conclude that one squad will be enough and he agrees with me. There are 12 members on the squad and six kidnappers. There's more than enough man-power to take down the building.

I agree that we should leave now. It's a 1-hour flight from the base to Virginia, giving us enough time to get there and be back before dinner. The helicopter is readied and we all suit up, having formed a plan for the rescue mission.

~**~

"Pilot on standby and sniper on the ground. The rest of you are with me. There are six men in total, and no neighbors, so we do whatever we have to get her out safely," I assign instructions on how we should go about rescuing the General's daughter.

The helicopter lands 100 yards away from the building and putting on our headgear, we prepare for rescue. Scouting the perimeter, Lieutenant Mike signals that we're clear, and we make our rather short journey to the building- compared to other walks we'd taken in the past. In the bushes, I turn on the camera attached to my bullet proof vest, knowing the general would like a view at his daughter's rescue mission.

When the first bullet is fired, I know they've spotted us. Three men in masks come outside, guns blazing and shooting around like maniacs. I know they haven't seen the any of us in the bushes, but I don't take any chances. Signaling Johnson, our expert sniper, I see all three men fall to the ground, blood flowing from their chest or forehead.

Bringing my wrist to my mouth, I speak into the microphone. "Are there any others close by?"

The response is instant. "No sir. The others are surrounding the entrance of a room. Possibly where Ms. Anderson's located."

Explains why the gun shots ceased after these three went down. The others are guarding the general's daughter. I signal the other members of my squad and we enter the run-down building looking down hallways and in every room. An officer back at the base directs us to the room's location as we walked down the halls.

Before going around the corner that would cause them to spot us, I paused to look at the distance I'd have to travel to be able to get a shot at one of them. They were only a few feet away, their guns drawn ready for battle.

"I have the other three in sight," I said to the nine other men with me. On three, I stepped out from our hiding spot, shooting at them. I got one, and I saw him crumble to the floor. Chris took out the other and Max took out the last. Stepping closer to them, I crouched down to remove their masks. The first two were unfamiliar. I'd never seen them before. However, when I removed the mask on the last one's face, I gulped. I didn't need his name to recognize the bulky man. I'd seen numerous photos of this man before in every military base. I have a folder stored away with all the most wanted men in America. And there was no denying that the man I'd just shot was on that list. Is on that list.

David Sanchez.

My blood boiled at the thought of what he could have done to the general's daughter. I'd met many monsters in my life, but this one struck a nerve the most. The man was the mastermind behind the California bombing when I'd first joined the Delta forces years ago. I could never forget such a face. He'd killed 45 people and injured over a hundred. When we showed up to the scene of the bombing however, he was nowhere to be found. It's like he'd disappeared from the face of the earth.

We'd searched for him, fearing he'd left the country. He'd been here all along. He'd traveled to New York to kidnap Khloe, and made it out safely. Or he made other people do his dirty work.

Pathetic.

For a man who'd murdered so many people, he surely had balls.

And now, here he was. Dead.