Page 30 of Inevitable Dream

Maya tries to contain a laugh and fails. Kailyn doesn’t hold back and laughs out loud. “I guess I’m officially a Storm girl,” I say.

“Absolutely,” Maya replies.

“Sadie gets to pick the movie,” Kailyn says as we gather around, getting cozy with our wine and food.

I was dreading the evening, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get Rebel out of my mind. Maya and Kailyn make it easier, and because they understand what I feel, I don’t feel quite so scared.

Rebel

When trying to get into a home, the best play is to have a power outage randomly occur. Wire and Falcon have been messing with the power in the area for a couple of hours, causing the power company to send out men to the affected areas. It’s easy to slip into someone’s home when they expect a repairman at their door.

Our ID is so authentic that we waltz right into Mary’s home. She got the call that we’d be coming, as did her neighbor, Emmanuela. Emmanuela tried to put us off and told us it wasn’t convenient; thankfully, she caved when we said then she’d be our next available time slot in three days. That changed her tune pretty damn fast.

Phoenix and Bull knock on her door first to make sure she stays inside while Falcon and I go into Mary’s house. Wire is tapping into Emmanuela’s phone to create static on the line in case she gets any ideas. Bull’s going to try to plant a bug somewhere near the phone, because I very highly doubt he’ll be able to get more than one installed.

Wire keeps watch from the van while Falcon and I walk up to Mary’s door. Falcon insisted on each of us having earpieces; that way, if any one of us needs to alert the others, we’re able to in an instant. I can hear Bull talking to Emmanuela. “We think it’s a problem with the power grid, but for the safety of all concerned, we need to do a routine check. Jason here will check your box in the basement, and I’ll check all the plugs and wires at the outlets.” I hear a woman’s muffled voice talking a mile a minute, then Bull replies, “It’ll go faster if Jason and I divide and conquer, but if that’s what you want, we’ll all do it together.” Jason is the name on the shirt Phoenix is wearing. Bull got saddled with Bo on his shirt. Paranoid much? Sounds like Emmanuela doesn’t want the guys out of her sight and needs to keep them together. Works in our favor to gain more time with Mary, but it also sucks for Bull since he’s trying to find time to plant the bug.

Mary answers the door skittishly. Her face is pale as a ghost, her hair tied back in a tight bun, and I can see that she’s shaking. Her blue eyes look lost and lifeless. Her hair is the same color as her daughter’s, and I’ll bet she’s as pretty as her daughter when she’s not terrified.

“We’re here to check the power in your home. Your area has been losing power all day, and the power company has trucks in the area checking out homes, as well as a bigger team working on the grid. Can we come in, ma’am, and do our jobs?” Falcon asks. “With the new installation we need to check that your electrical panel is coded to date,” he adds.

Mary looks like she wants to say no, but nods. And opens the door a little more. Before we can even speak, we need to make sure there isn’t a listening device. Mary moves farther into the room and points to the door leading to the basement but stops when she sees Falcon putting a finger to his lips telling her to keep quiet. Her eyes grow wide and her breathing becomes erratic. She holds her hands in front of her mouth.

“If you’ll just show us the way to your electrical panel, we’ll get started,” Falcon says, giving Mary an encouraging smile and nod.

“It’s…it’s right this way.” Mary leads us to the stairs going down to the basement. Falcon waves his hand along the kitchen, pointing out the spots to avoid for our conversation. He leads the way down the stairs. Thankfully, whoever is behind this didn’t think to bug this area, but to make sure, I took out our scanner.

It’s still prudent to keep our voices low. Falcon begins, “Mary, we’re trying to get your husband back. We need your help.”

Mary looks like she’s about to fall over. I grab her by the shoulder to brace her. “They’ll kill him. My Mitchell. They warned me not to talk to anyone. She’s going to be here any minute. She’ll know, and they’ll kill him,” she whispers, her lips quivering.

“Emmanuela is in on this. We already know. We need to put a trace on your phone so that when they call, we can narrow down where they’re holding Mitchell. Can you let us do that?” I ask.

“And Remmi. They have my baby girl,” Mary croaks with a sob.

I want to console this woman, but time is of the essence, and Bull and Phoenix can only keep Emmanuela busy for so long before she gets suspicious. “Hey, I get what you’re going through, but you need to get a hold of yourself and give us the information we need, then forget we were ever here,” I tell her.

Mary nods. “What if they find out?”

“To be perfectly honest, we’re the best shot at getting Remmi and Mitchell home safe. Once Mitchell has finished whatever they want him for, these people won’t think twice about killing them both,” Falcon tells her bluntly.

She swallows deeply, searching for courage. “What do you want me to do?”

“We’re going back upstairs. There are bugs everywhere to make sure you’re not talking to anyone. We’re going to ask about the plugs and sockets but will plant our own transmitter on the phone. If Mitchell has any paperwork or files, disk drives, or anything in this house, you need to hand them over. The cops are treating this as if Mitchell ran off. We want to find his car. Any ideas?” Falcon asks.

Meanwhile, in my ear, I can hear that Bull and Pheonix are being urged along.

“We’re running out of time,” I tell Falcon.

“All I remember is that Mitchell told me when they allowed him to speak to me that he loved our first date when we sat under the oak tree and went for our first picnic. Best day of his life, he said. That wasn’t our first date. It was our second. Then he mentioned to stay off the streets. Which is strange because he usually says, ‘Stay off the phone, honey, so when I call, I can be sure to get you and hear your voice,’” she says with a lump in her throat.

With Wire attached to my ear, I hear him say, “On it.”

“Going back upstairs now, Mary. All we talked about was where to find the panel, and then we checked your outlets. Okay?” Falcon says quietly.

“Please bring them home,” she pleads.

“We’re going to do our best,” he assures her.

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