31 Days of Autumn (27 page)

I dropped my hands when I realised it was
silent and looked down to see Oliver was out of it as well, collapsed over
Ellie’s body as Delta put the cap back on a syringe in his hands. ‘What the
fuck just happened?’ I asked, still not sure this was really happening. ‘It was
supposed to be the kid, not everyone else. That wasn’t the plan.’

‘It was a shit plan,’ Alfa laughed, ripping off
his balaclava, the others following suit. ‘What if Davenport called our bluff
and refused to pay? This way we have some hostages to kill, to show we’re
serious.’

‘Kill?’ I screeched, the level of my voice
reaching almost womanly soprano heights. ‘No killing.’

‘You’re not in fucking charge, you were never
in charge,’ Alfa hissed menacingly as he leaned forward and poked me in the
chest with his index finger. ‘We only need you for the money transfer. How this
goes down in between now and then is up to me, got it?’

‘Got it,’ I whimpered. He looked psychotic and
what the hell could I do? I was outmatched, and outgunned, four to one. Delta
laughed as he pulled his balaclava off and ran a hand through his messed-up
hair.

‘What’s the matter, Damien? This shit all get a
bit real for you? This is what we do, and we’re fucking great at it. Sit back,
shut up, and let us do our jobs. Forty-eight hours max, we all get to walk away
from this a whole lot richer than we were this morning.’

‘Where are we going, or has that all changed as
well?’ I asked. I wasn’t sure where to look. The pile of unconscious bodies at
my feet was making me feel sick with guilt, but I didn’t want to look Alfa in
the eye either. The guy fucking terrified me. I was that close to bricking it
at the moment. What kind of crazy-arsed psychos had I got mixed up with?

‘We’ll swap vehicles on the outskirts of the
city and head to the location we’ve already set up in Wales. As soon as we’re
settled, we’ll make the call.’

‘Can’t we make the call now? Speed things up?’
I asked, focussing on the letter “A” on Alfa’s chest instead of his terrifying face.

‘When you’ve successfully pulled off kidnaps
for cash, you can give bloody advice. I want Davenport to suffer. News will get
back to him fast and if he doesn’t hear from us for a few hours, it will give
him time to stew and panic. By the time we make the call with our demands,
he’ll be ready to pay to put himself out of his agony.’ He sat back and folded
his arms across his chest. I nodded. I might not like it, but it made sense.

‘Will you show him all four still alive first?’
I asked hesitantly. Kidnap was bad enough, I didn’t want blood on my conscience
as well.

‘For fuck’s sake. Delta, shut him the fuck up,’
Alfa groaned. I tensed up as Delta pulled another syringe out of the pocket on
the leg of his combats.

‘Don’t, don’t, I’ll keep quiet, I promise I’ll
keep quiet.’ I held my hands up in surrender as I shrank back into the corner,
pressed up against the back of Charlie’s driver’s seat.

‘What’s my number one rule, Delta?’ Alfa
chuckled.

‘Never trust the fucking client,’ all three of
his team chanted in unison. They all burst out laughing and I screamed as the
syringe jabbed me in the leg, straight through my combats. I grasped the edge
of the bench and the headrest as a weird sensation spread through my body,
making my limbs feel heavy and my head loll.

‘Fuck,’ I slurred. This was way faster than any hit
of blow I’d ever taken. I felt myself sliding off the seat, my hands too weak
to hold onto anything, and I wondered if I was ever going to wake up again.

Saturday 12
^th
September

Dan

I ran my hands over my eyes as I woke up with a
start. I checked my watch to find it was quarter to two in the morning UK time.
I still felt exhausted. Whoever had created that virus was a bloody genius, it
was almost as if they’d seen my countermoves twenty steps ahead. It had taken
Marv and I over twenty-four hours to totally eradicate it and rebuild our
firewall, with additional safety measures in the event of another attack. What
I couldn’t understand was that we’d traced it back to London, to Jessica’s
computer as the point of origin. She was a great receptionist, but genius
hacker? I seriously doubted it. The virus was like a fast-growing cancer,
neatly compressed to lay dormant for twenty-four hours before expanding
rapidly, exponentially, then surging through the systems to specifically attack
my main frame here in Silicon Valley. There were only a few people in the world
that I knew of that were capable of pulling that off, and they wouldn’t have
come cheap. I got up and made my way to my en-suite on slightly shaky legs. I
splashed some cold water on my face and brushed my teeth. I looked like hell. I
hadn’t showered or shaved since Thursday morning, and I’d barely eaten, but I'd
overdosed on caffeine to keep myself going.

I stripped off and jumped in the shower, leaving
it as cold as possible to keep me awake. I hadn’t spoken to Ellie since I ran
out on her on Thursday night. I hadn’t even had time to see the children,
everything had happened so fast. Ringing her was my number one priority once I
was dressed. Investigations as to how the virus got onto Jess’s computer could
be carried out by the team from anywhere, I could assist on the jet on the way
home if needed. I just wanted to get back to my family. I shook my head as I
soaped up my body. I still couldn’t understand why the virus had been designed,
other than to give me and my team a shitload of work and panic. Its sole purpose
seemed to have been to destroy the firewall and all data on the mainframe, not
to capture or feedback any files. A competitor would be mining for information,
trying to keep abreast of what projects I was working on. If someone just
wanted to put me out of business, then a simultaneous attack on my offsite
backup server would have been required, but that hadn’t happened. It just
didn’t make any sense at all. I washed my hair and turned off the shower,
stepping out to grab a towel.

‘Fuck, Andy,’ I yelled, startled out of my wits
to find him standing in my bathroom, holding out one of the slate bath towels.
I snatched it out of his hands and quickly wrapped it around myself. I frowned
as I looked at his face and he shifted uneasily on his feet. ‘What is it? Don’t
tell me we’re under attack again?’

‘Not the computers, no, Sir,’ he replied with a
shake of his head. He reached up and ran his hand over his mouth. ‘I'm sorry to
barge in like this, but I heard you in the shower and knew that you’d want to
know immediately.’

‘Know what?’ I demanded, swiping my wet hair
back from my face. He looked to his right, towards the door, and I followed his
gaze, my jaw dropping to see my best friend, Lucas. ‘Lucas, what the hell are
you doing here?’

‘There’s no easy way to say this, Dan,’ he
replied, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. I frowned as I
studied his face. His grey eyes looked full of sorrow and pity as he stood
there. I felt a ball of acid forming in my throat. What the fuck had happened
now? ‘No one could contact you, your phone’s obviously been turned off, so your
mother rang Andy to fill him in, and he rang me as he wasn’t sure what to do. I
told him to let you sleep, that there was nothing you could do, and I’d come
over to break the news to you. So, if you’re going to take it out on anyone,
you take it out on me, not him, ok?’

‘What fucking news?’ I yelled, fisting my hands
in my hair, my mind racing with possibilities. Christ, I hoped my dad hadn’t
had a heart attack. It happened a lot to guys who’d worked hard all of their
lives, then suddenly retired. It was like their bodies couldn’t handle the
sudden change of pace.

‘I’m so sorry, mate, but it looks like Ellie
and Oliver have been abducted,’ he advised, shaking his head. I stared at him
blankly for a moment, not sure that I’d heard him right. ‘Dan? Talk to me, did
you hear me?’ He crossed the room and clasped my bicep.

‘What did you say?’ I asked. I was so tired, I was
hearing things. Jenny and James were looking after Ellie and the children,
nothing would have happened to them.

‘It happened as they left the doctors. From
what police could gather, James, and Jenny had no chance. Three masked guys
took all four of them from the scene into an unmarked black van. I’m so sorry,’
he added, squeezing my arm. I blinked a few times, trying to process it.

‘Who was taken?’

‘Shit, mate, I think you’re in shock or
something. Ellie, Oliver, James and Jenny. They’re all missing, the police
think they were kidnapped, but there are no clues for them at the scene to
follow up on. It looks like it was a team of professionals. Are you
understanding me?’ He tilted his head to look me directly in the eyes.

‘Ellie and Oliver?’ I whispered, my heart
starting to race as panic set in. He was telling me Ellie and my son had been
taken?

‘Yes,’ he nodded.

‘Jonas and Eva?’

‘Safely at home with Brooke and Molly. Chris
and the backup team are watching them.’

‘No,’ I snapped, shaking my head, bile rising
in my throat. ‘No, this can’t be happening.’ I shook off Lucas’s grip and
started pacing the bathroom, my fists clenched at my sides. ‘When? How long
ago?’

‘They were taken a few hours ago, Sir,’ Andy
confirmed solemnly.

‘Why the fuck didn’t anyone wake me up?’ I
roared as I turned to face Andy. I was seething. Fury surged through my veins
at the thought of what they’d gone through, what they were going through, while
I was lying here like Sleeping
fucking
Beauty.

‘There was nothing you could have done,’ Lucas
called, forcing me to whip my head around to scowl at him. ‘There’s nothing you
can do until either the police find a clue or we get a ransom call. It was my
call, I made the decision.’

‘It was a seriously bad fucking decision,’ I
snapped, using every ounce of my self-control not to punch him. ‘What if it was
Summer missing? Or little Logan? I’m so bloody angry I could ….’ I broke off and
clenched my fists even tighter as my blood started to boil.

‘Hit me? Come on then, punch me. Let out some
of your anger, because I need you to get over it and get your head in the game
for when we get a call,’ he yelled. ‘Someone’s going to call wanting money and
you need to focus on how we’re going to handle this and get them all back
safely. Come on, Dan, hit me,’ Lucas taunted. I roared with anger, grabbed him
by the throat, and slammed him back against the tiled wall, raising my bunched-up
fist. All I could think of was my wife and child probably huddled up somewhere,
terrified, two of my best friends as well, if they were even still alive. I
swung my shoulder back and powered it forward again with another roar. My fist
connected with the tiled wall to the side of Lucas’s head. I didn’t feel any
pain even though I could see blood smeared on the broken tiles. I hit the wall
again and again, feeling nothing externally, but inside I was being ripped
apart. Why did this keep happening to me? Why was I continuously punished? My
shoulders shook as my body jerked with a sob at the same time. All the money in
the world, a highly trained security team, and I couldn’t even protect my own
family. ‘I’ve got you mate, we’ll get through this together, ok?’ Lucas said
quietly, pulling me into a hug and patting my back.

I grabbed him in a bear hug, burying my face in
his shoulder as I tried to catch my breath. He was right, I wanted to rip the
bathroom to pieces, I wanted to break things, I wanted to kill someone, but
none of that was going to bring them back. This was no different from that
virus attack, I needed to be focussed and in control. I was no use to anyone
like this. Ellie needed me, I had to get my head in the game.

‘The jet’s on standby, we can head back to
London immediately, Sir. I’ll go and lay some clothes out for you and let them
know we’re on our way,’ Andy stated. I slapped Lucas’s back, letting him know I
was sorry and I appreciated what he’d done. He slapped mine before we let each
other go, an unspoken bond passing between us as our eyes locked.

‘Do you think they’re still alive?’ I asked
quietly, looking over my shoulder at Andy.

‘Yes, Sir. Without a doubt,’ he said
confidently. ‘Someone taking them wants something in return. Money, technology,
an exchange for you maybe. Until they contact you with demands, it’s not in
their best interests to harm anyone.’

‘If it was you, if you were in charge of the
people who took them, what would you do?’

‘I’d make my demands and if you didn’t meet
them, I’d threaten to kill one of the hostages, Sir.’

‘And would you? Kill one of them?’ I asked,
barely able to form the words as I imagined the worst-case scenario.

‘No, Sir. I’d fake it, to make you think I had.
It’s not in my nature to kill an unarmed, innocent person. I’ll go and get your
things together,’ he nodded, turning and leaving the room. I swallowed and ran
my hands over my eyes. I could read between the lines. Andy might be
honourable, but that didn’t mean whoever had taken Ellie was.

‘She’s my world,’ I whispered, fighting the
urge to cry. I was sick of feeling useless when it came to protecting the women
in my life. There were only so many times I could fail before I lost all hope
and sense of self.

‘I know, mate, I know exactly how you feel. If
it was Summer, I’d be beside myself. Come on, let’s get you home to be with Jonas
and Eva while we wait for news,’ he urged. I slowly lowered my hands and looked
at my best friend, suddenly grateful he was with me right now.

‘You’re coming?’

‘You think I’d leave you now, when you need me
the most? Summer’s coming too, she’s on her way to the jet with the baby.’

‘Thank you,’ I uttered, grabbing him into a hug
again. ‘
Thank you.
’

‘It’s what you’d do for me, though I did think
you were going to wreck this pretty face when you swung your fist. Were you
aiming for the wall or for me?’

‘I thought I’d look more handsome next to you
if you had a broken nose, good job I’m a shit judge of distance and got the
tiles instead.’ Both of us laughed for a moment, then parted and a serious look
passed between us. He nodded his acceptance of my version of an apology and I
headed out to quickly dress in the jeans and shirt Andy had left out for me,
swiping up the jumper that I’d need when we touched down again in London.

‘Ready?’ asked Andy as we left my suite.

‘I need to see Marv, then we can go,’ I confirmed,
quickening my stride past the offices to the stairwell. I didn’t have time to
wait for the lift down to the research and lab floor, stairs were faster. I
keyed in the code and used my fingerprint and retina scan to access the room.
Marv pretty much lived up to his name. He was a marvel. He was my right hand
guy, having been with me from the start. His knowledge of my systems was almost
comparable to my own. Where he excelled was managing on about three hours of
sleep a night. How the guy did it was anyone’s guess, but he was already at his
workstation, looking a hell of a lot brighter than I was.

‘Oliver,’ he nodded, jumping up. He scanned
Andy and Lucas, then looked at me for permission to speak freely. I nodded my
consent. ‘Andy’s filled me in. I’ve already checked the data for him.’

‘And?’ I asked hopefully.

‘Nothing,’ he replied, pulling a face.

‘What do you mean nothing?’ I asked, trying not
to panic. ‘We spent years on this, it’s not failed once. There can’t be no
data.’

‘You’re showing, he’s not. It’s not necessarily
bad news, there could be a number of scenarios that would lead to it being
offline, don’t assume the worst.’

‘I am fucking assuming the worst, Marv,’ I
replied, starting to pace the floor again. ‘It’s my family, not a fucking
project anymore.’

‘I’ll be monitoring it until it comes back
online or you give me an update.’

‘I need to know the second it does, no matter
what. No trying to shield me, Marv. Understood?’ I warned with a pointed
finger. I didn’t have time to panic or think the worst, I needed to get home.

‘Understood, you can trust me. Go.’

‘Thank you,’ I grabbed his hand and shook it
firmly, squeezing his shoulder.

‘Let me know the second you get them back
safely. I’ll be praying for you all,’ he nodded. I gave him a tight-lipped
smile and turned, indicating the exit for Lucas and Andy to follow. We hit the
corridor at a fast pace as I turned on my phone and saw all of the missed
calls. I listened to the messages as we headed to the lobby and out to the
waiting limo. Most were my mother and Lucas, urging me to ring them back. A
couple were from the police, asking me to do the same. There were no calls from
Ellie. I didn’t even have a voice message from her saved so I could hear her.
God, I wanted to hear her voice so badly right now. I settled into the limo, Lucas
and Andy following, and Jordan my driver put his foot down as he sped towards
the airport. Lucas was the first to break the silence.