Page 46 of Dark Medicine

“It’s okay, Mr. Bellum,” said Ben, grabbing the man’s arm. “Let’s go see your family.”

Uri, Ben, and Adam entered the house, but not before Adam looked over his shoulder to see Fiona talking to Juan. The man looked so uncomfortable he almost thought he should go rescue him. Fiona had a way of sneaking beneath people’s defenses, and Juan needed a little of that right now.

In the large living space, Uri was hugging his wife and daughter, Kane and Aislinn watching from the open kitchen space. Spook sat at a makeshift desk, his electronic gear surrounding him. He held up a hand to quiet the noise.

“Flip’s at the location. Two men on the outside, one on the inside.” Kane stood over Spook waiting for the news when suddenly, on the computer screen was a shaky Dan Henry. “I have feed from both computers. Flip is waiting until they’re done with the call. Then he’ll take out the three men. That will give us a week before anyone knows what’s happened.”

“I love that big guy,” said Aislinn, smiling.

The call lasted exactly ten minutes, the man standing behind Henry’s wife shutting the laptop. What the man didn’t realize was that the Skype call was still connected, and both he and Henry could hear what was happening.

Spook heard the distinct sound of grunting and then the dragging of feet. He heard Flip hush someone and then a female voice shakily saying, ‘okay.’ Three minutes later, the screen was live again.

“It’s done,” said Flip.

“What’s done? Who are you? Oh my God! Where is Karen?” Henry’s panic was palpable, and Spook felt for the man.

“I’m here, honey. This man… this man is helping us.” The weary face of Karen Henry filled the screen.

“Helping? I don’t understand.” Uri Bellum sat next to Spook.

“Dan? Dan, it’s Uri,” he said.

“Uri? You’re supposed to be dead. What’s happening?”

“I need you to listen, Dan. I’m with the girl and the others. They’re helping us. My family and now yours are safe. They’re going to bring them to me here. You need to be our man inside, Dan. We need your help.”

“Help? What help? You know what it’s like here, Uri. I can’t do anything. We’re always being watched. How… Oh God, they’re watching this!”

“No,” said Spook. “I’ve scrambled all signals for the next four minutes. I need you to shut up and listen. Can you do that?” Dan Henry tentatively shook his head and listened to Uri. At the end of the call, he nodded and agreed to help.

“Take care of my family, Uri,” he said with a tear in his eye. “I would very much like to see them again.”

“They’ll be safe no matter what, Dan. Just know that.” The call ended, and Spook closed all the Skype connections, releasing the interference.

“What now?” asked Uri.

“Now, we wait for Flip to return with Dan Henry’s family,” said Kane. “That will give us time to figure out our next move and time for you to explain some things to your wife.”

Uri started to protest, but the look on Kane Jackson’s face told him this was not optional. He nodded, taking his wife’s hand, leading her down the long hallway to their bedroom.

The front door opened, and Fiona and Juan walked in, one of them with a big smile, the other completely and utterly perplexed by the crazy red-haired woman dragging him behind her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The door behind Dan Henry crashed open, two bodyguards pointing their weapons in his direction. He sucked in a deep breath and, with all the calm he could muster, turned with hands up.

“Problem? I’m just ending my Skype call as usual,” he said calmly.

The two men eyed one another and then looked around the room. It was clear that something was wrong from their perspective, and Dan could only smile on the inside, realizing Uri had told him the truth. The signals were indeed scrambled, and these two idiots couldn’t figure it out.

“Your call is done. Go back to your quarters,” said one of the men.

“No problem,” said Dan, standing to leave the room. “I’d like to see K privately when she has a moment.”

“K doesn’t have time today,” said the other man. “She’s not on-site today.”

Dan nodded and left the room, heading back toward his small bunk space. The enormous property had ten outer buildings, all no larger than a storage shed. Each one had its own heating and air system, a small toilet and shower, and a narrow bunk. The buildings had one window stretching the length of the building, but short so that even the smallest man could not escape through it.

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