Part 11 (2/2)
Her phone rang. But of course she'd left it on the computer table. She walked back inside. She checked the number but didn't recognize it. She knew better than to respond to any unusual calls. Although her phone was being monitored while here, and security was constantly on the prowl. At night time they were outside her house. In the day time they were around, she just never knew who they were.
And that meant there was no point in looking but of course she couldn't stop herself. She'd wondered if the gardener that seemed to do daily rounds was one of them. He'd done her yard and her neighbors then a day later she'd seen him on the side of the road.
It did make her feel better knowing someone was out there.
She returned to her work. The presentation needed a little tweaking then she should be good there too. Her staff were more keyed up over this than she was. Of course she'd promised them a bonus if she managed to pull it off.
The government had a lot of money for her type of software. She'd love to be financially stable, to be able to give it to them free, but no such luck so she was looking for a fair price. Lower than market value as the value had gone up. Her manager had been contacted any number of times in the last few days about her program. All calls had been forwarded to the government.
There was no way in h.e.l.l she'd sell out her government. It wasn't possible for her to do that to her brother. Mason. The others.
Too bad she was so d.a.m.n tired. Another cup of coffee then she'd be done.
After pouring the coffee into the cup, she walked back to the computer. There were several chat messages from one of her staff. She started answering.
By the time she was done, her coffee was almost cold. She stood up and walked back to the kitchen. The pot was empty. d.a.m.n.
She rinsed out her cup and took a sip of water instead. As she stared out the window, she caught sight of the freshly mowed lawn. Good. She loved sitting out there in the evenings.
Turning around she gasped. Shrieked. And dropped her cup.
Two men dressed in black jumped her. She fought like a wildcat until the sting of a needle filled her veins with an icy liquid.
She collapsed unconscious into their arms.
”HEY, MASON, HOW'D the mission go?”
The black look on Mason's face should have given the young man the answer. In fact, it should have sent the man running in the opposite direction. Instead the man stood, ready to ask more questions.
He muttered to Swede, ”I must be losing my edge.”
”You're in love, it's allowed.”
Without missing a stride he reached out and punched Swede in his rock hard gut.
Swede gave a snort. ”d.a.m.n mosquitos.”
A soldier raced toward them. ”Mason.”
Mason groaned. ”d.a.m.n it. I wanted a shower, was that too much to ask?”
The soldier reached them. ”The commander is looking for you.” He lowered his voice. ”Now, I'm not supposed to say anything, but it's to do with that lady you rescued.”
Mason froze. Then he was sprinting to the commander's office. He burst through the door completely ignoring protocol. ”Tell me Tesla's okay.”
The commander glared at him. ”She's missing. Gear up.”
Swede stood behind him. ”We're ready.”
”How the h.e.l.l...” Mason was at a loss for words. How could they lose this woman again?
”We think two men posing as her company employees walked into the house and left about an hour later.”
”With her?”
The commander rubbed the back of his head. ”She was under surveillance. Both men were knocked out cold, and as we can't find her, we're a.s.suming yes.”
”The cameras?”
”At the garage, yes,” he nodded.
”A large SUV. Yes, we've checked the plates. They are ours.” He stood up and glared at them. ”She was due at a reception tonight and her presentation was the main event. Then she was going to be doing a demonstration tomorrow morning.”
”Her house?” Mason barked.
”Searched and clean.”
”No one knows anything?” Mason was beside himself. They had to know what direction she'd gone. They needed information. And they needed it now.
”There is one thing,” the commander said. ”When they were searching her house her laptop was gone, but her coworkers had an instant messaging system on her tablet. She answered the chat the last time just over an hour ago.”
”Were they talking to her since?”
”Yes, but she didn't respond.” He looked down at the papers on his desk. ”We're presuming she couldn't.”
”We need to know what direction they've taken.”
”We're tracking the SUV now. It's heading south out of the city. We're on it.”
”Any cameras confirm she's inside as it could be a decoy.”
”We can't confirm that at this time.”
Mason nodded, his fists clenching and releasing. ”I need to see her place.”
The commander said, ”They are waiting for you. You know how much we need this software. And given the type of software, we can't let it get into enemy hands.”
Mason glared at him. ”Tesla is not expendable.”
He turned on his heel and raced out. Swede behind him. The others were waiting outside. While Swede filled them in, Mason found a truck. They had to find Tesla. And fast.
<script>