Page 24 of Cowboy
The man sighs, as if disappointed by my lack of trust. He pulls out a phone, taps a few buttons, then turns it toward me. On the screen is a live video feed of Caoimhe. She's tied to a chair, looking bruised and scared, but alive.
My heart clenches at the sight of her. "Let me talk to her," I demand.
The man considers for a moment, then nods. He taps the screen, and suddenly Caoimhe's voice fills the warehouse.
"Ciarán? Ciarán, is that you?"
"I'm here, Caoimhe," I say, trying to keep my composure, but all I want to do is tear the man in front of me apart. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know,” she cries. “Don’t give them the information. They’re not going to hand me back?—”
The phone goes dead and I grit my teeth. She’s right, the moment we give him the USB drive, we’ll never see Caoimhe again. I need to speak to Travis and Pyro; figure out what the fuck we should do. I don’t care what the fuck we have to do, I just want Caoimhe back.
The man puts the phone away, his eyes cold. "Now, Mr. O'Reilly, let's discuss terms. You have twenty-four hours to bring me the USB drive. If you fail to do so, or if you try anything foolish, the girl dies. It's as simple as that."
My mind races, trying to find a way out of this situation. "And if I bring you the drive? You'll let her go?"
He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Of course. You have my word."
I don't believe him for a second, but I nod anyway. "Fine. Where do I bring it?"
"I'll contact you with the details," he says, already backing away into the shadows. "Remember, twenty-four hours. And come alone, or Caoimhe pays the price."
Before I can say anything else, he disappears into the darkness. I stand there for a moment, my heart pounding, before I hear Travis' voice in my ear.
"Ciarán, report. What happened there?"
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "We've got a problem, Travis. A big one. I’ll meet you back at the apartment. I’ll be calling in Pyro too.”
“Alright, son. I’ll see you back here in an hour.”
As I walk back to my bike, my mind is racing. Twenty-four hours to get the USB drive and somehow rescue Caoimhe without getting her killed in the process. It seems impossible, but I have to find a way.
I speed through the night-time streets of Dublin, the cool air doing little to calm my nerves. By the time I reach the apartment, Travis is already there, pacing the floor.
"What happened?" he demands as soon as I walk in.
I quickly fill him in on the encounter at the warehouse, the video of Caoimhe, and the ultimatum we've been given. Travis listens intently, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"This is bad," he mutters when I finish. "Really bad. We can't give them that USB drive, the information on it could bring down half the government. But we can't let them kill Caoimhe either."
"I know," I say, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "That's why I called Pyro. We need all the help we can get on this one."
As if on cue, there's a knock at the door. Travis checks the peephole before letting Pyro in. My president looks grim as he takes in our expressions.
"Alright, lads," he says, settling into a chair. "Fill me in. What's the situation?"
We spend the next half hour bringing Pyro up to speed on everything that's happened. When we finish, he lets out a low whistle.
"Jesus Christ," he mutters. "You boys don't do anything by halves, do you?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, I can't help but crack a small smile. "You know us, Py. Go big or go home."
Pyro nods, his expression turning serious again. "Alright, so what's the plan? We've got less than twenty-four hours to figure this out."
Travis leans forward, his eyes intense. "We need to approach this from multiple angles. First, we need to try and locate where they're holding Caoimhe. Ciarán, did you notice anything in that video call that might give us a clue?"
I shake my head, frustrated. "Nothing obvious. The room looked pretty nondescript. Could have been anywhere."
