Wrong Place (The Wrong Series) Read online

  “I’m Zane. I wasn’t told that Sam had already received help from another agent besides me.”

  The truth was that Nathan didn’t really look like another agent to Zane, but what do I know, Zane thought. If a woman as young as Samantha could be an agent, so could this guy standing in front of him.

  “I’m not exactly another agent. It’s a little more complicated than that.”

  “Okay, so tell me what’s going on then?”

  “You’re here to help Sam?”

  “Yes, I am,” Zane answered.

  “In that case, I guess it would be okay to fill you in on what’s going on, but I’ll warn you that I just learned all this yesterday, so I don’t know if my mind has even been able to process everything that’s happened. This will be a very rough version of what’s going on.”

  “Just do your best,” Zane said in an understanding tone.

  Nathan then, in the best way he could, recapped the last twenty-four hours and repeated all the little details that Sam had explained to him the night before.

  Upon entering the shower, Sam couldn’t help but begin recapping the events of the last few days and contemplating all of her decisions over that time. The shower had always been a relaxing place for her, but it was also an excellent place for her to reflect on things and get her head back in the right place after a hard day. She needed that reflection and healing right about now. As her thoughts slowly turned to less serious subjects, she couldn’t help but to visually smile. Weird guy, she thought, and smiled. It wasn’t that she actually thought he was weird, but for some reason, she found herself really enjoying poking fun at him. No one had ever looked at her the way he did. It was a confusing, disturbing, and wonderful feeling to Sam. In fact, she didn’t know how she felt about it at all. Why am I even thinking about this kind of stuff right now? I have more important things to be concentrating on. Like life or death things, she thought to herself. Still, in spite of the scolding she had just given herself, the same thoughts that seemed so odd to her continued to run through her mind. Her train of thought was suddenly broken when she heard a voice. Is Nathan talking to himself? Maybe this guy really is strange, she thought. Then she heard another voice. Who else would be in here, she wondered. No back up would be coming. She was a rogue agent at this point. The only explanation is that this is an intruder. I’ve got to protect Nathan, she thought in a panic. She quickly turned the shower off, jumped out of it, and grabbed the hotel shower robe that was hanging on the bathroom door. She put it on and grabbed the pistol she had placed on the bathroom counter the night before. Sam was a little paranoid, but her training had taught her to be that way. There were guns in just about every drawer and in every room of her hotel room. The idea behind this extreme paranoia was that no matter where you found yourself, when you were in a pinch, there would still be plenty of options. She quickly slung open the door and rounded the corner that lead to the area where the voices were coming from. There she saw Zane and a horrified Nathan. Why does he look so scared, she wondered. Oh yeah, I’m pointing a gun at them, she realized. She lowered the gun, and the color began to return to Nathan’s face. The truth was that Sam was a little relieved that it was only Zane, but she was also a little ticked off that she was standing in front of the two of them with nothing on but a bathrobe.

  “Well, that’s no way to greet a friend, is it?” Zane asked while smiling.

  Sam only scowled and made her way back into the bathroom. She couldn’t understand why she had freaked out so badly. Why would it be so bad if something happened to Nathan anyway? She already knew who his friend was. She could easily go and get the flash drive without him. Why did she feel the need to protect someone who was a complete stranger? Maybe this guy is making me soft, she thought in disgust.

  When Sam walked out of the bathroom, she was completely ready to go get Dan Driver. All that was left was to see what Zane was here for and to let Nathan get ready. Nathan passed her and went into the bathroom. He was very glad to finally get to wash the grime from the day before from his skin, but he was still pretty anxious to see what this Zane character was going to do to help them out. He showered as quickly as he possible could in the cold water. After he finished showering, he began putting his clothes on. Sam had bought him some clothes the night before. The pants fit him perfectly, but he had issues with the shirt. It had a duck on it for some reason. She had looked at him expectantly when he saw it, as if he were supposed to be fond of such an ugly thing. Nathan lied to her.

  “Yeah, it’s great. I really like it. Thank you,” he had said to her.

  Why would any grown man want to wear a shirt with ducks on it, he thought as he stared at the shirt in front of him. Then again, he did wear underwear with a dog on them, so it’s not like he could question her choice in clothing very much. As he exited the bathroom, his eyes met with Zane’s. Zane had to stifle a laugh at the sight of the lime green duck shirt that Nathan was wearing.

  “Nice shirt,” Zane said while trying to sound serious, but failing at it miserably.

  At this point, Nathan couldn’t hold his curiosity back any longer.

  “So what’s the deal with the ducks? Do you like ducks or something?”

  “Well, no. I thought that people around here liked ducks and some guy named Elvis.”

  She thought that he would like things that were associated with ducks and Elvis because the people sure liked the mouse in Orlando. If ducks and some musician were their thing here, then he should like the shirt, or so she thought. Well, that explained the shirt and the large white gaudy jacket she had given him.

  “Oh, why did you think that?” Nathan asked.

  “My handler said there was something special about ducks where I was staying, and I’ve seen at least a half dozen people here with that jacket on.”

  Something special about ducks. What’s so special about ducks, Nathan wondered. Then it came to him.

  “Oh! The duck walk that they do here at the hotel.”

  Sam looked puzzled. She had no idea what a duck walk was or why Nathan was making such a big deal about this duck thing.

  “Did I do something wrong?” she asked.

  “No, the shirt is great, but I don’t quite think I have the sideburns to pull off the jacket.”

  “Oh, okay,” Sam said, while feeling like she had missed something important.

  “Well anyway, how are we going to get to Georgia? Fill me in,” Nathan said.

  “Zane and I have something to do first. You need to stay here.”

  “Now, wait a minute. I’m involved in this now. For better or worse, I’m part of this, so tell me what it is that you two have to do. Maybe I can help you guys out.”

  “You would only be in the way. You don’t have our type of training, and I don’t want to have to worry about you,” Sam said without thinking of his feelings.

  The words stung Nathan’s pride, but he couldn’t deny that if whatever they were doing involved a confrontation with anyone like he had encountered the night before, he would be little to no help.

  “Fine, but at least tell me what it is that you’re doing.”

  Sam and Zane told him all about Dan Driver and the predicament they believed he was in.

  “So what’s your plan?” Nathan asked.

  “Well, it isn’t much of a plan, but I have a huge supply of weapons and some small explosives. Hopefully, we can infiltrate the place stealthily, but if we can’t, then that’s when my toys will come into play. Then we just hope for the best, I guess,” Zane said.

  “That isn’t a plan at all,” Nathan said.

  He was extremely irritated by what he had just heard. Not only was their plan likely to get them killed, but it would also leave him alone with no one to protect him from the people who were trying to find him. It was unacceptable on every level, and Nathan couldn’t help but wonder how well the people in the CIA were really trained if this was the best plan they could come up with.

  “Okay then, please tell us
what you would do in our situation, Mr. Expert,” Sam said sarcastically.

  “When I was a kid I had this bully,” Nathan said before being cut off by Sam.

  “What does your childhood bully have to do with us infiltrating a place that looks to have very little security?”

  “Just hear him out. Three heads are better than two,” Zane said.

  “Thanks, Zane. First of all, looks can be deceiving. It stands to reason that wherever Driver is being held is a much higher security area than anything you or I would have seen at our interview. Second of all, just hear the story out. I think it will be helpful.”

  Sam nodded. She knew that she was a little harsh before, but she was only in a rush to make all this right. Agent Driver had been captured as a result of her actions, after all.

  “In the second grade, I had this bully who stole my lunch money for a little over a month. From listening to the things he said to others, I learned about all the things that were important to him. A small chow puppy that he had just received was the most important thing in the world to him. The kid only lived about a mile from me, so one day I made the walk to his house. I stole the dog and acted as if the dog was some new stray that I absolutely adored to my parents. At school, I threatened the safety of the dog to my now very agreeable bully. I really wouldn’t have ever hurt the dog, but he didn’t have to know that. I made the kid give me his lunch money for two months, and then I returned his dog. He never bothered me again. The moral of the story is that you should find out what’s the most important thing to this company, and to Mr. Fields specifically, and then make an exchange for your guy on your own terms without ever having to step foot on the grounds.”

  “The most important thing to Fields would be the flash drive,” Zane said.

  “It stands to reason that Fields would also be very important to this particular branch of the company, considering that he’s the leader of that particular place,” Nathan thought out loud.

  “I’ve got it!” Nathan said with excitement.

  “What?” Sam asked.

  “We’ll need a flash drive. Pretty much any flash drive will do. Zane, can you make something that looks like explosives and also make a fake trigger for it?” Nathan asked.

  “Well, of course I can. I can do just about anything when it comes to these things,” Zane said confidently.

  “Great, so Sam and I will go get a basic flash drive. You’ll go get our fake explosives, and then we’ll meet back here. Afterward, we’ll give this supposed solar plant a call and ask to speak to Mr. Fields. We’ll arrange a meeting, but we have to make it clear that we will only meet with him, and we’re willing to trade him the flash drive for Driver. He will likely have many guards with him, or at least I would. That won’t matter, though, because once he sees that one of us has the explosives taped to us and is within blasting distance of him, he’ll comply with anything we want him to do. We then take him and demand Driver. Once we get Driver, we’ll get in the car and leave with Fields. A few miles down the road we can just toss him out with his regular old flash drive.”

  “It might work, but we would need to change vehicles,” Sam said.

  “Leave that to me. There’s a rest area just north of Silver Springs. We’ll ditch the van and change cars there,” Zane said.

  It was actually a really good plan. Sam was shocked that Nathan, a person with no prior training, could come up with a solid plan so quickly. She was staring at him with respect in her eyes for a change.

  “I may not be very tough in a fight, but don’t underestimate this,” Nathan said pointing to his head.

  “The only question is which one of you is going to wear the fake explosives?” Nathan asked.

  Sam and Zane’s gazes turned toward him as if to simply say, “how about you?” Nathan had wanted to be a part of this, but now he wasn’t so sure. Maybe he had volunteered to do a little too much at this point. Oh well, today couldn’t possibly be any worse than yesterday was, he thought to himself.

  Chapter 9

  Back at the underground facility, Dan had been kept awake all night long. They placed CD players throughout his cell, and then they put heavy metal music on repeat all night. The music was still on now in what Dan assumed must be the afternoon. It was a classic interrogation technique. If you keep someone awake for long enough, they will grow delusional and break much easier. Dan had only been awake for about thirty-five hours, though. Sure he was tired, but he wasn’t ready to give up any information just yet. As he sat there with his hands and feet tied, the door began to open and in came Jacob with a large black bag. Jacob had been through a lot the night before. First he lost Nathan, then he was thrown from a moving car, and finally, he had to listen to Fields go on and on about how stupid he and Trish were. Today, however, things were looking up for Jacob. Fields had given him the green light to do his worst to Dan.

  “Just don’t kill him,” Fields had told Jacob.

  No promises there, Jacob thought as he laid the bag down at Dan’s feet.

  “It’s about time I made good on my promise to you, huh, Dan?”

  “What happened to your face?” Dan asked while noticing the obvious cuts and scratches that ran down one side of Jacob’s head.

  “Don’t worry about what happened to my face. Worry about what’s about to happen to you,” Jacob barked at him as he reached down and took a scalpel from the bag.

  “Aren’t you even going to ask me a question first?”

  “No. I’m more of an actions first and questions later kind of guy.”

  Just then the door swung open and Fields walked in.

  “Stop what you’re doing right now,” Fields said.

  “What? I haven’t even gotten started yet,” Jacob said.

  “We need to move this man.”

  “Move him? Move him where?”

  “We’re going to participate in an exchange of sorts,” Fields said with a grin.

  Fields wasn’t actually planning on handing Dan over, but he knew he would need him to come along just in case something went wrong and they needed someone as leverage. By the end of the night, Fields expected to not only have Dan, but also to have Samantha Fisher, Nathan Grey, and most importantly, his data back.

  * * * * *

  Nathan and Sam had found their way to a large electronics store and picked out a simple flash drive, but there was one thing they just couldn’t agree on.

  “Why do you want to get a digital camera?” Sam asked.

  “Well, if we’re making a trip to Georgia later, I just thought that it might be fun to take some pictures.”

  “You know that this is coming out of the government’s money, right? I’m not getting you a camera.”

  “Fine, I guess I’ll just have to get it myself.

  “Whatever,” Sam whispered.

  As the two of them walked to the checkout counter and started to pay, an issue arose.

  “I’m sorry ma’am, but your card has been declined,” the woman behind the counter said. Sam knew that she had gone rogue on this one, but it hadn’t fully sunk in until now. What she had done was truly career suicide, and there was no going back now. The CIA had officially cut her off.

  “We’re together. Try mine, if you don’t mind,” Nathan said as he stepped up to the counter and handed the woman his card.

  “Okay, sir, will this be all?” The woman asked.

  “No. I have this, too,” he said as he pushed the camera forward.

  “Thanks,” Sam said after they paid and were walking out the door.

  “No problem.”

  As they made their way back to the van and began the drive back to meet Zane, Nathan started to wonder something.

  “So the government just ran out of money? That doesn’t seem very likely, although in today’s time, I suppose it would be understandable,” Nathan said.

  “Well you see, I’ve been cut off.”

  “Cut off? I thought you were investigating all of this for the CIA?”

 
; “I was, but then the mission got canceled, and I just couldn’t let it go, so I went through with it. I’m actually pretty screwed right now. I have no money and no official job,” Sam said as if she was just realizing these facts as she said them.

  “Since you have no money, I’m guessing that there’s no chance of us getting a better car than this van, huh?” Nathan asked while trying to deflect an obviously bad situation with humor.

  “That’s the least of our worries. I don’t even know how we’re going to get to Atlanta.”

  “Look, I can’t go back home, and you can’t go back to your job until this mess is all cleared up, so I’ll get us to Atlanta. Then we’ll get you what you need to make this right. After that, maybe everything can get back to normal for both of us,” Nathan said.

  Nathan sighed. He had said that maybe things could get back to normal, as if normal was what he wanted. His life was normally full of nothing. There was no danger or excitement. No sadness, but at the same time, no happiness. In a strange way, even though he was a little scared of what may happen to him if he got too wrapped up in everything that was going on, he preferred the odd situation that had fallen into his lap over his normal life.

  “I can’t ask you to do that,” Sam said.

  “You’re not asking me to do anything. I’m just doing it, and besides, I’ve been meaning to go see my friend in Atlanta anyway.”

  “Thanks . . . again,” Sam said as they pulled up to the hotel.

  When they were all together, back in the hotel room, Zane began putting the fake explosives under Nathans shirt.

  “You’ll have to wear a jacket or it will be obvious to everyone and their mother that something is under your shirt,” Zane said.

  As Zane was getting Nathan ready, Sam made the call to speak with Mr. Fields.