Wrong Place (The Wrong Series) Page 17

  “No, that’s not what I meant. Nothing will ever erase my sins. I can’t bring that man back to life, and nothing I ever do will make up for taking his life, but I do take some level of comfort in knowing that at least some good did come of my decision to pull the trigger that day.”

  “Well, it’s great that you have the luxury of knowing that your sins caused some good, but not all of us do,” Michael said with tears in his eyes.

  “You killed enemy soldiers that were trying to kill your fellow soldiers, Michael. I’ll never be able to absolve you of those sins or fix the damage it did to you personally. If you’re looking to be absolved, then you should talk to God. My point is that all I, or anyone else in this world, can tell you is that you did your job, and I promise that every time you pulled the trigger you either saved the life of a soldier on your side or prevented some kid from having to experience the horror of pulling the trigger themselves. In some cases, you did both. Are you a hero? No. Do you deserve a big grand parade or everyone’s admiration because you had to kill those people? No, you don’t. One thing that you do deserve, though, is the respect of others. You killed, but you also saved many lives, and probably most importantly, you did a job that would have broken a lesser man, and you’re still here,” Nathan said while looking straight into his friends eyes.

  “But I am broken!”

  “No, you’re down right now, but you’re not out. You’re stronger than all of us Michael, and one day when you are able bear the guilt of all your sins and come to embrace all your accomplishments and failures, you’ll prove exactly that. I promise.”

  Michael thought hard about what Nathan said. Everyone else who had talked to him always acted as if he should feel no guilt. They said that no one could hold him responsible for his actions. A minister even told him that murder is not a sin in war, and that God somehow excuses any actions in war, but he had always known the truth. He had felt the weight of those sins for so long without the acknowledgment that they even existed from anyone else, so Nathan’s words really resonated with him.

  “Thanks for acknowledging that I did do some things wrong over there,” Michael said.

  “No problem, but do me a favor and try to concentrate on the things you did right, too. You aren’t innocent, but you’re also very accomplished, and it’s about time that you remembered that.”

  “All right, thanks for the pep talk. How about we get out of this bathroom?”

  “Okay. We need to get that hand cleaned up anyway.”

  Nathan and Lee helped get his hand cleaned up and then Nathan went back to bed. As he got in the bed, Sam turned to him.

  “What was that about?” Sam asked

  “Oh, nothing. Someone just needed to remember who they were,” Nathan said and wrapped his arms back around her.

  * * * * *

  Early the next morning in New York, Markus Boyd made a phone call to one of his offices that was located in Tampa, Florida.

  “Hello,” someone said on the other end of the phone.

  “Yes, this is Mr. Boyd. I need to speak to Mr. Sandusky.”

  “Right away, sir.”

  Jeffery Sandusky was an interesting person, or at least he was interesting to someone like Markus. He found Jeffery right out of college. Jeffery was as brilliant as he was devious. Jeffery was one of Markus’s most trusted associates because he always got the job done at all cost. He had never once failed him.

  “Hello,” Jeffery said.

  “Jeffery, it’s good to speak to you. I have a job for you.”

  “It’s good to speak to you too, sir. Well, don’t keep me waiting. This must be some job if you’re calling to tell me about it yourself.”

  Markus explained the whole situation with the data that had been stolen from their office in Mississippi and told him that he needed it recovered.

  “The people who have it are presently in Orlando. I’ll fax you the exact location and instructions on how to enter their safe house shortly,” Markus said.

  “I’ll get it done, but what should I do with the people?” Jeffery asked.

  “Capture them and then get any useful information you can possibly get out of them. Make sure that they haven’t made copies of the data or passed our information off to anyone else. After that, I don’t care. Do with them what you wish.”

  “Great. We’ll move tonight, sir,” Jeffery said.

  Chapter 20

  The next morning everyone but Lee was at the table eating breakfast. He was finally asleep on the couch.

  “So I never did ask before, but how did you know about this place?” Nathan asked Sam.

  “Well, I actually stayed here for a little while before I came to Memphis.”

  “I bet you were really shocked when you got to Memphis. There isn’t very much there at all,” Michael said.

  “No. I mean, you guys have that Elvis guy and stuff. All this place has is some weird obsession with a mouse.”

  The toast dropped straight out of Michael’s mouth and fell back down onto his plate.

  “You’re not serious, are you?” Michael asked.

  “What? Did I say something funny?”

  “Yeah, we’ll talk about the mouse stuff later. I think that mouse might be a bit more relevant than you realize,” Nathan said.

  “Okay, so how long should we let Lee sleep?”

  “He said to wake him up in an hour, but I think he’s running himself ragged,” Jess said.

  “I think we should just let him sleep until he wakes up. He told me he was almost done earlier, but I don’t think we should be in any hurry. I mean, he’ll probably have it done by tomorrow either way,” Nathan said.

  Sam couldn’t help but wonder what was on the flash drive. She had sacrificed so much and had endangered so many others to get the data that was on the device. She just hoped it would all be worth it in the end. As she sat there thinking, a voice brought her back to reality.

  “Hey! Hey!” Nathan’s voice called to her.

  “You were in some real deep thought there. Would you care to tell us what had you so distracted?” Nathan asked.

  “I just really hope that I find what I need on that device. I would hate to have endangered all of you for nothing.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I’m here,” Nathan said.

  “You really don’t need to worry so much. I can tell you now that you’re going to find some pretty incriminating things on that flash drive, or Jacob and I wouldn’t have been chasing you both all around,” Trish said.

  With that, Sam pushed the doubt from her mind. It was apparent by the look on everyone’s faces that they were with her, no matter what. There’s no need to worry about what’s already done, she thought.

  That night, after everyone else was asleep, Lee was hard at work on recovering the data. He had fallen a bit behind thanks to Jess’s failure to wake him up, but he was nearly done at this point. The clock read two in the morning when Lee exclaimed, “It’s done!” He had finally finished unlocking all the files, and he was beyond curious to see what was in them, but no one was awake. I could just take a quick peek, he thought to himself before refuting the idea. All of them had made this journey together, and they were going to see it through together, he ultimately decided. At this point, Lee hadn’t breathed fresh air in quite a while. I guess now would be a good time to take a walk, he thought to himself and then grabbed his coat. Before leaving, he turned back toward the flash drive.

  “If I can’t look at you, then no one else can either,” Lee said aloud while going back to retrieve the flash drive.

  He slipped it into his pocket and made his way out of the safe house. The night air felt wonderful on his face. As he walked, he thought, finally, this is all going to come to an end. Unfortunately, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Things were only beginning, and they were about to get even more complicated.

  * * * * *

  The clock read 2:26. Nathan awoke to the sound of their safe house door opening and then he
ard a light whistling sound. Jeffery’s men had made their entrance into the safe house and had fired a tranquilizer into Michael while he was sleeping on the couch.

  “Sam, wake up,” Nathan whispered as he stood up and closed the bedroom door.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but I think I heard someone come in,” he said while taking a chair that had been located at a small desk by the bed and jamming the door with it.

  The intruders moved on to the first bedroom where Trish and Jess were sleeping and fired two darts into them as well. Finally, they moved on to Nathan and Sam’s bedroom. After hearing their footsteps, Sam quickly jumped up and retrieved her gun from the nightstand. She then passed Nathan his own gun and motioned for him to come close to her. The two of them got down behind the bed and waited for their intruders to enter. The doorknob turned, but the men on the outside of the door failed to open it, thanks to the chair. A loud bang was heard against the door, but it still didn’t move.

  “This is it, Nathan. Be ready,” Sam said.

  Another blow struck the door and it flew open, sending the chair out of the way. Men in masks and body armor began trying to make their way into the room. Nathan and Sam fired their guns at them, but it was no use. There were too many men, and with the amount of body armor the men were wearing, their guns stood little chance of making a big difference. Then Nathan saw it. A dart flew through the air and landed in Sam’s shoulder. She turned and looked at Nathan and then collapsed to the floor. Nathan felt a prick. It was like a bee sting, and then he too felt light headed and crashed to the floor with Sam. As he was slowly losing consciousness, he looked at Sam lying on the floor and felt scared, but most of all desperate. He was desperate to protect her but his body had apparently betrayed him, and then he slipped away.

  Lee was just returning from his walk when he noticed a large military style truck parked out in front of the storage facility. It was the type of vehicle that you could transport a good number of prisoners in. I don’t remember you being there before, he thought. At that moment, a dozen men who were sporting what looked like swat uniforms burst from the back of the large transport vehicle and started storming into the building. Lee quickly hid in an alleyway. What am I supposed to do, he wondered. He waited there for some time just trying to work up the courage to take a peek around the corner. When he finally summoned the courage to have a look, what he saw was disturbing. The men were carrying his friends’ lifeless bodies. Oh my God! What am I supposed to do now? Jason . . . I have to get in touch with Jason, he thought to himself. He turned and quickly walked down the alley. He had to flee the scene. He was the only one who could possibly get help, after all. After he walked several blocks, he finally found a pay phone. Luckily, he had some change in his pockets, and he made the call to Jason.

  “Hello,” Jason sleepily said.

  “Jason?” Lee said in an unsure voice.

  “Yeah, this is Jason. What is it?”

  “My name in Lee Higgins, and I was told to call you if Sam was ever in trouble.”

  “What’s wrong with Sam?” Jason asked in a now panicked tone.

  Lee told him about everything that had transpired.

  “I have the flash drive, so I’m pretty sure that they’re going to be looking for me. Can you help me?”

  “Yes. I’ll be on the first flight to Orlando. I’m not only going to come get you. We’re going to get Sam back, too,” Jason said with determination.

  “About that . . . I think that they might have all been dead. They were all motionless and the soldiers were dragging them away from the scene,” Lee said and then sighed.

  The news that Sam was most likely dead stunned Jason. He had no words for some time.

  “Jason, are you there?” Lee said, snapping him back to reality.

  “Yes, I am. I don’t think they would have killed them. They would need to question them before killing them.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I’ll be on the first flight from Washington to Orlando. Where can I meet you?”

  “Well, I don’t have any money except for the change in my pocket, so I guess I’ll be waiting for you at the airport.”

  “How will I identify you?” Jason asked.

  “I’m 6’4”, and I’m African American with short hair and brown eyes. I’ll be waiting at the gate.”

  “All right, I’ll see you as soon as possible,” Jason said and then hung up the phone.

  Jason immediately made another phone call.

  “Hey Dan, I’m sorry to wake you up, but how would you feel about going back to Memphis?” Jason asked.

  “Why would I be going back there?”

  “I need you to get Fields to tell you where people abducted in Orlando would most likely be taken.”

  “So it was a trap?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know what’s gotten into Campbell to make him betray one of his own, but I’ll personally deal with him later.”

  “How am I supposed to even get close to Fields?” Dan asked.

  “I don’t care. Just find a way to get this done.”

  “After I get the information out of him, then what do I do with him? You know he’s going to send word that we’re coming to rescue Sam.”

  “I don’t care what you do with him. If you have to, get rid of him,” Jason said.

  “Get rid of him? You can’t be serious.”

  “I assure you that I’m very serious about this. Do what you have to do. I won’t ask any questions, nor will anyone else.”

  “Okay, I’ll be on the first flight to Memphis.”

  “Call me as soon as you know something.”

  “I will,” Dan said and then hung up the phone.

  “God, I hope I know what I’m doing,” Jason said to himself as he stood up and began to get dressed.

  * * * * *

  Nathan woke up alone and in a cell. On one hand, he was happy that he was still alive, but on the other, he was extremely worried about everyone else, especially Sam. He looked around at his surroundings to find that they were just as you would picture a normal prison cell. It was, of course, equipped with a dirty mattress, a toilet that offered no privacy, and finally, a large door that looked unbreakable. Great, this is just great, he thought to himself. As he lay his head back, the sound of the door opening caught his attention. The door opened, and a mysterious man with two guards entered.

  “You’re the first prisoner we have visited, so how about we get this over with quickly. The quicker you tell us what we want to hear, the less you will have to hurt. Also, consider the fact that if you give us the information we need, then no one else will have to be hurt,” the man said.

  “Who are you?” Nathan asked.

  “Oh, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Jeffery Sandusky, and I can either be your best friend, or your worst enemy. It’s your choice, Nathan,” Jeffery said.

  Nathan didn’t really want to tell this guy anything, but he had to consider it if it would spare the others pain.

  “Tell me what you want to know, and I’ll tell you if I can help.”

  “Did you or anyone else ever make any copies of the files that you and Samantha Fisher stole from the facility in Mississippi?”

  “See, that I can’t help you with. I don’t even know what files you’re talking about.”

  “That’s the wrong answer, but maybe another question would be more to your liking. Where is the flash drive?”

  Nathan was confused. These people had broken into their safe house but failed to find the flash drive that, as far as he knew, was in plain sight. Something didn’t seem right.

  “Look, I don’t know about any flash drive, and to be real honest with you, I don’t fear you, so go ahead and throw anything you have at me,” Nathan said with determination.

  Jeffery laughed at Nathan’s answer.

  “No, that much is true. I don’t see any fear in your eyes. I wonder which person I should hurt after you, thou
gh. Should it be Michael? Jessica? Maybe Samantha?” Jeffery said while trying to read Nathan’s facial expressions.

  At the mention of Sam’s name, Nathan’s eyes betrayed him.

  “Guard, bring him,” Jeffery said while turning to exit the door.

  Nathan was then dragged to the front of another cell. One of the guards opened the door and the other threw him inside. There, on the bed lay Sam. She was still asleep from the tranquilizer. Nathan got to his feet and ran to her side.

  “Wake up,” Nathan said while stroking her hair gently.

  She slowly opened her eyes.

  “Where are we?” Sam asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’ve already been questioned. I didn’t give them anything, but I’m pretty sure that things are about to get really bad.”

  “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

  “No, but I think they’re probably going to hurt all of us if one of us doesn’t tell them what they want to hear soon.”

  Sam sat up in the bed. She looked defeated. Everything she had done was a waste of time, or so she thought.

  “I can’t believe we went through all that trouble to get and decrypt that device, and now they have it,” Sam said sadly.

  “Well, about that, I don’t think that they do.”

  “What do you mean? How could they not have it?”

  “When I was being questioned, a man named Jeffery asked me where the device was. I don’t know how they don’t have it, but apparently they don’t.”

  The door creaked open, and Jeffery, along with four other men, entered. Two of them grabbed Nathan and pulled him into a corner away from Sam. The other two grabbed Sam.

  “It’s a shame that this is the one you’re the most attached to. It looks like she’s already been through quite an ordeal,” Jeffery said while examining the obvious injuries to Sam’s face.

  “Leave her alone, or I’ll kill you!” Nathan screamed.

  “It’s okay, Nathan. I’m going to be fine. Just stay strong,” Sam said.

  “No, Nathan, it’s not going to be okay. If you don’t start talking, Samantha’s going to die. Slowly! And I’m going to enjoy every single moment of it,” Jeffery said with a smile.