Nick Stephenson - Panic

“Senator, I need to ask you some questions,” said Leopold, waiting for Logan to fill his glass. “Do you know of anyone who would have a motive to harm to you or your family?”

“No doubt the same person who killed Carrera, Wilson, and Hague,” said Logan, taking a short sip of scotch.

“Why kidnapping? The other victims were murdered. It’s unusual to see a killer change their approach like this.”

“That’s why Stark and his men are here,” said the politician, gesturing at Dolph. “With a team of eighteen highly trained security personnel on standby, nobody would be stupid enough to try coming after me direct. Instead, they come at me through my daughter. Like the cowards they are.”

“Do you have any idea why someone would want to get to you?” said Leopold.

“Could be anything. A man in my position makes a lot of enemies. Clearly money is a motive here.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The kidnapper asked for money. I would have thought his motivation would be obvious,” said Logan, the pitch of his voice raised in irritation.

“Not all kidnappings are financially motivated,” said Leopold. “And we know that the call came in a full two hours before Christina was seen leaving the nightclub early this morning. How do you explain that?”

“I can’t speak to the mind of a lunatic,” said the politician, drinking deeply from his glass of scotch. “Maybe he thought he wouldn’t have any issues grabbing her and wanted to catch me before I fell asleep for the night. Set the wheels in motion. Thirty-five million dollars is a lot of money to get hold of; it takes time.”

“Tell me about the arrangements for the exchange. Were the police notified?”

“Of course. In order to arrange for that much cash to be delivered, I had to inform my insurance company. I have a specific policy in place for situations like this, and they’ll cover any ransom money paid over to the kidnapper, on the condition that the authorities are informed,” said Logan, draining the last of his scotch. “Fortunately I have enough pull at the mayor’s office to get the NYPD to back off; otherwise, they’d insist on leading the investigation themselves. I’ve allowed Ms. Jordan to be present, on the condition that she bring you too. I made it clear I wanted a specialist to look into this, which is why you’re here.”

“What happened next?” asked the consultant, arching his fingers and leaning forward.

“I told the kidnapper that I could deliver the cash anywhere he wanted, but that I needed to speak to my daughter first, to prove she was alive. He agreed and we arranged to speak again by telephone to organize the exchange. The call was supposed to be at five this morning, but it never came. And now they’ve both disappeared off the face of the Earth.”

“Did you recognize the kidnapper’s voice?”

“No, his voice was electronically altered.”

“Christina is in college. Columbia, I assume?” said Leopold, looking into Logan’s eyes.

“Yes, she’s a senior there. How did you know?” said the senator, his eyes flicking away back to the bottle of liquor on the nearby table.

“We know she lives in New York, and Columbia is the best the state has to offer, so naturally I took a shot. Can you tell me the names of any of her close friends at college? We’ll need to speak with them immediately.”

“Of course. Stark and his team have been kind enough to brief me fully on my daughter’s friends. I have to make sure she’s moving in the right circles, you understand.”

The senator rose from his chair, scribbled a few names on a piece of note paper, and handed it to the consultant, who folded it and placed it inside his jacket pocket.

“Thank you,” said Leopold. “We’ll get in touch when we know more.”

“That’s it?” said Logan. “You don’t need anything else?”

“I’ve seen plenty already, thank you,” replied Leopold, turning to leave. “We’d better get going.”

“Wait a minute. I insist you take Stark with you. If there’s some madman out there, you’ll need some protection. I’ll be traveling into Manhattan later this afternoon, so we can arrange to meet again later. I’ll be at my townhouse in Park Slopes,” said Logan.

“No need, I have my own security.” Leopold gestured toward Jerome. “We’ll call you when we have an update.”

He noticed the senator’s jaw clench. They each rose from their seats said goodbye to the senator, who insisted that Dolph escort them back outside. The blond security guard shut the heavy door behind them as they stepped out onto the gravel driveway and up to the ruined SUV that sat waiting for them.

“Nice ride,” said Mary. “Any chance you want to tell me what happened?”

“I’ll tell you on the way. Jump in,” said Leopold.

Mary got into the back seat. Leopold and Jerome sat in the front and shut the doors. The bodyguard started the engine and they rolled back in the direction of the main road.

“Did you get everything you needed?” asked Mary.

Leopold turned and nodded. “Enough to know he was lying through his teeth.”

Colonel Jack Stark watched Dolph shut the heavy front door and brushed away the pang of anger that came over him. It wasn’t like the senator to have visitors without clearing it with him first. This was a definite security breach. He would have to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“Can you confirm our guests have left the perimeter?” said Stark, holding a finger up to the tiny speaker in his ear.

“Affirmative.” The voice over the earpiece was clear, as though the person speaking were standing close by.

Good. Stark was always uneasy when the senator had visitors; there was too much at stake to allow people into the house who hadn’t been through a full security sweep. That applied double to cops and trained bodyguards.

“Stark, Viktor. I need you to keep tabs on Blake and the others,” the senator’s voice echoed down the hallway as he approached.

“Yes, sir,” said Stark, turning to Viktor. “Get the comms team to keep the tracer running at all times. Report back every thirty minutes.”

Viktor nodded once and marched away upstairs and out of sight. Stark turned back to face the senator.

“We planted a tracker on their vehicle after they arrived,” explained Stark. “We can trace them wherever they go to within a couple of meters. If they get out of the car, we can follow them on foot. I’ll send a small team.”

“Very impressive,” said Logan.

“It’s standard protocol, sir,” replied Stark.

“Make sure you keep Blake in your sights at all time. I want regular updates, and inform me immediately if he sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“Yes, sir. Just like we discussed.”

“Good. And don’t forget we have one more set of guests arriving before we head back to the city. I want you to make sure they don’t try anything stupid while they’re in my house. Understand?”

Stark nodded and watched the senator return upstairs. He called Dolph over from his position by the door.

“Take four men and keep a tail on Blake and the others. Take two cars in case they split up. Report in every thirty minutes, and once you get into the city, keep them in sight at all times. And get Vinnie down here. I need to brief him on our next set of visitors.”

Dolph confirmed his orders and stalked off, his huge stride taking him across the width of the atrium in just a few steps. Stark could already guess whom Dolph would pick to take with him. Dolph was a fierce soldier, but he was predictable and a little slow on the uptake. No matter; a blunt tool was more than sufficient for the job at hand.