Chapter 415 - Find the girl (1) (1/2)
~ Los Angeles ~
When Sarah and Aiden reached their penthouse, Jeff was there in the living room, waiting for them with a stack of documents in front of him on the coffee table. JoAnna was in the kitchen, making coffee.
”Hello!” JoAnna greeted them cheerfully. ”We hope you don't mind that we let ourselves in… Pilot called that you landed, so we came. Jeff said it's important and it can't wait.” She looked at Sarah. ”I'm so sorry that your vacation got cut short.”
Sarah smiled. ”Don't worry about it. It was the best vacation ever. If it lasted any longer, I would implode from happiness.”
”Oh? Now I want to know the details!” JoAnna was curious.
Sarah suppressed her giggles. ”Some things are not for sharing. But they will live forever in my memory.”
JoAnna winked at Sarah confidently. ”You will tell me… later. Coffee is done. Go to the study room, so you three can talk. I will be here watching TV.”
Sarah was surprised to see that JoAnna is staying on the side like that, without intention to join them. JoAnna was always the first one to ask what is going on. 'She either already knows what this is about, or seriously is willing to stay in the dark… how unusual.' Sarah looked at Jeff, wondering if he made JoAnna change like this.
When the door of the study closed, Jeff didn't delay. He summarized why he called them while pulling photos from one folder. ”Genechi is a businessman from a small country in Central Africa he is our client. Their country is on a verge of a political change. Genechi, is refusing to pay fees to a corrupt politician. The politician kidnapped Genechi's teenage daughter, earlier today.” Jeff pointed at a photo of a young girl, probably not a teenager yet. ”Our client has a task force ready to extract his daughter, but he does not know in which location corrupt politician is holding her. He fears that if he takes a gamble and attacks the wrong location, he will alert the politician, and his daughter will be in more danger than she is now. Paying the ransom is the same as a death verdict to his whole family. Aiden, Sarah, you two have task to find location of the girl.”
Aiden noticed that something is missing in the story. ”Why did we need to come back? We could have done that from Europe.”
Jeff frowned and said in a quiet voice. ”The three locations are closed circuits.”
”Oh…” Sarah realized. If the networks are closed, then they can't hack them if they are not inside themselves. ”We need to go to the location?”
”NO!” Aiden leaped from his chair. The situation is obviously dangerous. He is not letting Sarah go there.
”Hey… calm down.” Sarah tugged his arm. ”We can't leave the girl…” She picked up photo that Jeff gave them and looked at young girl. ”… not now when we know that she is in danger and that we can help.”
Aiden looked at Sarah, and it was obvious that he is fighting an internal battle. After some time, he decided. ”No! You are not going!” He turned to Jeff. ”I will go by myself.”
Sarah jumped out of her chair. ”Like hell I'm letting you go without me!”
Aiden pulled her in his embrace and put his best coaxing expression on. ”Baby, it's dangerous… you can't go.”
Sarah lifted her arms and caressed his cheek. ”Exactly because it's dangerous I must go. Who will take care of you if I don't go? You know that I'm capable.”
Aiden liked her touch, but still frowned. ”You are reckless.”
She kissed him on the lips. ”Let's do this together. Come on… nothing can go wrong when we are together.”
Aiden hesitated for a long time. On few occasions it seemed that he wants to say something, but he stopped himself. After a while he looked at Jeff and frowned. ”You better prepare proper compensation! And if anything happens to her, no compensation will be enough!”
”Don't worry about that. The guide is waiting for you, and you just need to get close enough to get the wireless connection. There is no need to go inside. The risk is minimal. The plane is waiting for you.” Jeff pushed stack of papers toward them. ”You can review the details on flight.
~Somewhere in Central Africa~
Aiden and Sarah are observing a large villa from a nearby hiding place. They had a local man, employed by the businessman who is their client, to guide them there.
Aiden was watching the villa. 'Armed guards, barb wire… Are those dogs?!! What kind of a politician is that? And what on Earth am I doing here with Sarah?' He wanted to carry her back to the plane. 'We should just go home. This is way too dangerous.' He faced Sarah and tugged her arm. Aiden frowned when he saw that Sarah's face was glowing from excitement.