Page 42 of Hemmed

“How many did you get planted?” asked Code.

“All of them. Even if this doesn’t work, we’ll have full view of what’s happening here.” The two men walked down the big staircase, acting as if they were checking connections and circuits. When they were met by Richard at the bottom of the steps, they stopped.

“Are you done?” he snapped.

“Yeah. Everything should be up and working fine now,” said Code.

The bodyguard looked down at his phone, realizing that there were a number of messages rolling in. None that were critical, but at least it was working. The power was fully restored, and all of the computers were working as well.

Code stepped to the front of the house, tapping on the keypad that controlled everything.

“Heat and air are working. Security gate is functioning, as well as the security cameras at the gate. Feeds in the house are working. Everything should be good.”

“Let’s go,” he said, pointing toward the back of the property. “Time to leave.”

“Richard! Richard!” came the scream of the woman. The man rolled his eyes, biting his lip.

“Don’t fucking move.”

Grateful that the lights were back on, Yulia kept checking her phone and e-mail to see if there were any messages. As other things started to come back online, she heard the beeps and hums of the familiar machines in the house. Then she received a message she didn’t expect.

“What now?” she said sharply. She opened the e-mail and gasped.

“Yulia, I need you to come to the mansion as soon as possible. I’ve had an issue with our two friends from Louisiana. I need you here to help me with this. I know it’s a lot to ask, but just bring Richard with you. We can figure this out together.”

“Richard! Richard!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Code and Ace took a seat on the back veranda, staring at the big yacht. With any luck, the video is what caused the woman to panic, and she would be joining them on the boat.

Through comms, they could hear the team led by Miller and Trak coming onto the island at the south end. They heard commotion behind them and stood.

“Get your shit to the boat,” said Richard.

“Is something wrong? Is something not working?” asked Ace.

“It’s working. We have to go, and the lady of the house will be with us, but she doesn’t like strangers.”

“Oh. I get that,” said Ace. The two men walked toward the yacht, boarding first as they were directed to the outdoor decks on the back of the boat.

“Stay here and don’t move.”

“Where are we gonna go?” laughed Code. “Does the dude think we’re gonna swim all the way to the shore?”

Ace nodded at him, tapping the icon on his phone as they listened in on Richard speaking to Yulia.

“Come on, Yulia. I’ll be with you the whole time. Jimmy and Ivan are coming with us. That’s three of us to watch over you. I promise everything will be fine.”

“I don’t like leaving the island.”

“I know. But obviously, he needs you to be there. It will be fine.”

They watched as Richard held her arm as if she were a woman of eighty instead of fifty. She looked pale and, in some ways, frail. As she boarded the yacht, she only glanced their way but said nothing as he helped her below deck. When the yacht left the dock, Ace looked at Code.

As soon as the boat was away from the docks, they disrupted the signals on the island once again, ensuring the other team had access to the home in the field. With any luck, no one would notice until they were gone.

The river seemed blacker than the night sky as they pulled up to the marina. With another flip of a switch, the engines were suddenly shut down, smoke billowing from the engine room.

---