Jonas Saul - The Hostage

Rod stepped backwards a few more steps to get a better look. Then his face lit up like he remembered something. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed.

“Who are you calling?” Spencer asked.

They were far enough away from Elmore’s front door that he had to struggle to listen.

Rod held up a finger for Spencer to wait. Then he closed his cell phone and looked between Elmore and Spencer.

“No signal out here.”

“That’s odd,” Spencer said. “We called in just as we hit the driveway.”

“I know,” Rod said and then whispered something private to Spencer. He turned back to Elmore. “I will return. See you again soon.”

Could the American have figured out that I have a cell phone jammer? How?

Something was going on behind the scenes. Something Elmore couldn’t put his finger on. But he knew, whatever it was, he had to figure it out or it would finish him. This American cop was smart.

All the men got into their two vehicles and drove down his driveway, disappearing behind the line of trees at the end of his property.

Elmore slammed his front door and started pulling on his scab. Time was running out. They could get a search warrant and legally walk through his house. He had to do something and fast. Everything was over if he fell on police radar.

But what brought them here?

He ran into his office and grabbed one of the toenails from his container. After slipping it in between his front teeth to flick back and forth, he picked up his TagFinder and slipped it in his back pocket. It was a similar model to the ones used on bar codes at any Wal-Mart, but this one was better. It would locate radio frequencies and signals that many others couldn’t. Somehow the cops were on his doorstep this morning because something led them there. Something like a tracking device. It was the only plausible answer. Nothing else computed. Especially after what Rod had said when Elmore asked why they came to his door. Sarah Roberts brought us here. How could she? There was only one way and because of his signal jammer, whatever led them to his house wasn’t working properly. The only proof they had was that no signal worked near the house.

What did that asshole whisper to the other guy?

He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and grabbed the pistol, stuck it in the back of his jeans again and left his office, Jackie’s nail digging into his gums. In the kitchen, he mixed mayonnaise with a can of tuna and pulled out his baggy of dried Special K, or as it was better known, ketamine. After mixing enough in to knock Sarah out for a few hours, he spread it on brown bread, cut it in half, added corn chips and started for the basement.

It was almost seven in the morning. It would take at least thirty minutes to knock her unconscious when ketamine was distributed through food, but he had the time. Rod wouldn’t be back until tonight or tomorrow morning. A man like that was too determined. Elmore knew he’d be back, with or without a warrant.

Before opening the basement door, he set the food on the hallway cabinet and looked out the living room window. The front drive was empty.

He turned back to the food and the cabinet it sat on. The third drawer down held an empty syringe. He stuck the tip in and took care to fill it with liquid ketamine. If either of his prisoners caused trouble, he would forgo the food and simply inject them. It would work faster, knocking out a full-grown adult in less than five minutes.

He set the syringe on the tray, picked it up and opened the basement door.

“Okay, Sarah, time to eat. Then I can have my way with you. We’ll find out how these men got here today. I’m sure the answer is inside you somewhere and I’m coming to find it.”

Sarah sat up when she heard the basement door open. Elmore came down the stairs, a tray in his hands.

“Who was at the door?” she asked. “Morning guests coming for tea or Rod Howley?”

Elmore’s eyes twitched in response to what she asked. “Rod and Spencer didn’t want to stay too long. They were asking about you though, which I don’t quite understand, but I will in time. Everything in time.”

Rod and Spencer? That’s great, but impossible. No one has those kinds of tracking skills.

But now that Spencer was working with Rod, and they were already at Elmore’s door, that instilled a surge of hope. With Rod on Elmore’s tail, things could change fast. For a brief moment, she was happy Rod was as tenacious as a shark out for blood.

But how did he do it? Was he psychic like Dolan or Esmerelda? Maybe that’s why he’s the head of the Sophia Project, because he’s got a sixth sense. That put a lot of things together for her. How he knew she was in that coffee shop and how he just showed up at the CN Tower.

She thought about Parkman. He had to be going crazy wondering where she was. Why wouldn’t he be working with Spencer too? Parkman and his fucking toothpicks. Sarah smiled at the thought.

“What’s so funny?” Elmore asked.

She stepped up to the bars and gripped one on either side of her face. “You can’t beat guys like Rod Howley. He’s too good. That man chased me all over Europe and back here, right to your house. There’s no way you’re smarter than he is.”

Elmore’s face twitched and he looked away. He picked up something from the tray and slid it into his wide front pocket before she could catch a glimpse of it. When he looked back at her, his lips had tightened. Without averting his eyes, he picked up the food tray and bent in front of her cell door. He placed one sandwich on the floor and slid the paper plate under the bars.

He walked over to Drake’s cell and did the same.

“You are looking better this morning, Drake. How’s the breathing going?”

Drake took in a large breath, smiled and on the exhale said, “Fuck you.”

“How sweet. Good morning to you too.”

“Drake,” Sarah said. “Don’t eat anything he gives you.”

Elmore stood and walked back towards Sarah’s cell door. “So it’s like that, is it?” he asked.

He produced a key of some sort and pressed down on it. Sarah’s cell door unlocked. She couldn’t believe it. All she had to do was get past him and she could leave.

This’ll be so easy.

She braced herself to lunge.

From behind his back he pulled out a gun.

Shit. That’ll confuse things a little.

He aimed it a little left of her head. She saw movement at the trigger.

He’s going to shoot that thing!

The gun fired, a bullet zinged by her head barely a foot away.

Drake screamed, but she could hardly hear it. Sarah dropped to her butt at the thought that he was about to fire his weapon again. She lost her balance and rolled onto her back, bumping the back of her head on the concrete floor. All she could think to do was drop and roll. Be evasive.

She turned around to see what Elmore had fired at. A small hole in the back wall showed where the bullet had entered. Small pieces of concrete had trickled down to the floor where the hole had formed.

She brushed her hair aside and looked up at Elmore. Would he shoot again? Did he try to hit her?

He knelt down close to her. She tried to back away, but her head hurt from kissing the concrete. She couldn’t get away fast enough. He jammed his hand into her thigh. She saw the tip of a needle near his thumb.

What the fuck is that?

She screamed and tried to scramble away from him. She hit the back wall, used it to get to her feet and then pushed off the wall to jump on Elmore. He repelled her easily and stepped back to the cell door, a foolish grin on his face. Then her cell door shut and clicked to lock.

Why am I so weak suddenly? What the hell was in that needle?