“Cala’s funny in how she’s embraced her ‘Cleaner’ nickname.”
“I’m hoping it stays just a nickname for a while. We all need some time off from the War on Terror and politics. The last week with events winding down after Princess Di’s resignation have been a lot of fun. I finished ‘Dark Interlude’ and shipped it off to Cassie. I postponed helping Tim and Grace for the time being. They’ll have to step up their own efforts for a change. It’s funny how Grace embraced the out of the box corrections I make. Paul claims chatter on the terrorist front has been reduced to nearly nothing at all for the time being. He thinks we really hit them hard these past weeks.”
“Not to mention the Kader firestorm when those two assassins were traced to immigration manipulation by the East Coast Kaders and they were identified by Interpol as hired mercenaries.”
“All I know is they were off our plate. Dimah’s with Bill on the base. The ‘Cleaner Cala’ is with John and all is well with our very strange world.”
“Bite your tongue, Jinx.”
“My tongue is too valuable to be abused in such a manner.”
*
Sonny began to whisper but was waved to silence by Jean. They dressed in all black outfits including full face masks. Motioning him away from their position so as not to be overheard, Jean stopped in a crouch behind a cluster of trees.
“They’ve been talking for an hour. We have them on audio plotting to take Emily Waterson. This is huge, Sonny,” Jean whispered fiercely. “No way did I ever suspect anything like this when we saw them walking on the perimeter of the ranch. I thought they were just a couple of pedophiles who were checking out kids.”
“Let’s call your Dad. He’ll know what to do. Let’s turn on the com units.”
“No. Don’t you dare! This is our big chance, Cracker. We’ll tail them, practice our skills, and keep track of what they have planned. We’ll go on network if they make a move for Emily.”
“This is not a game, Viper. We need your Dad, John, and Gus.”
“Am I leader or not?”
Sonny shrugged. “You are, but you’re wrong this time.”
“We’ll see. Get your head in the game. C’mon. We’ll back track toward them. I hope they’re still meeting in the same spot. It’s a good thing there’s nearly a three quarter moon.”
Practicing the stealth in the woods after dark they had been working on for the past three days since arriving at camp, Jean and Sonny carefully approached the spot they had been watching the kidnappers from. They heard the snap of a twig too late.
*
Miles away, Nick threw the headset on the table. John and Gus had stopped laughing at the kids when it became clear what they were doing and who they were after. The ninja kid ploy ended quickly for everyone involved. Nick figured wrongly Jean would contact him the moment the two got clear of the situation. Instead she did exactly what he had not expected.
“Drop me as near to our GPS location for them as we can get, John,” Nick ordered as they ran out to the cars. In moments he tuned his iPad into the signal while putting on his own com unit. He listened to the commotion on the other end of their connected network with grim featured patience. “You two find their vehicle and stake it out in case they get past me.”
“We’ll find it,” Gus promised.
*
The kidnappers, both over six feet tall, lean and muscular, had ambushed the returning Jean and Sonny, overwhelming them before they could react. The one with short cropped black beard and long dark hair tied at the back of his neck held Sonny by the throat on the ground with knee in Sonny’s sternum. The other man with shaved head and small goatee held Jean smashed into the ground on her face.
“Damn Les, what they hell are these two supposed to be?” The bald man asked.
“They look like they’re pretending to be Ninja’s. Tie and gag them, Burt. We can’t do the grab tonight anyway. We’ll dispose of these two somewhere else.” Les took the small pack off his shoulder and threw it to Burt. “There’s duct tape in there. Bind the girl first. Then I’ll do the boy.”
“This is going to screw our time frame,” Burt replied while duct taping Jean. “When they discover these two missing, there’ll be a massive hunt for them.”
“What better time to grab the Waterson girl. It won’t matter. We can only do this one thing at a time.” Les caught the duct tape. He flipped Sonny over and began taping his hands. “Damn, you kids are quiet. I thought I’d have to smash your heads to keep you quiet.”
“Sir,” Sonny said. “Before you gag me, I need to warn you of something. The man who watches out for us is a killer. If you let us go, you and your friend can leave. Maybe he won’t find you.”