started whistling again.
Carolyn unclicked the lighter. “It’s not burnt all the way through, but I think you can break it now. Jack struggled against the one strand. It didn’t budge.
“You’re going to have to burn more of the strands before that will work,” he said.
Over the next half hour, Carolyn and Jack worked at burning through the various strands of rope around his wrists.
“We had to get the guy who knows how to tie knots,” Jack complained.
After the fourth strand Jack tried again. He tugged and rubbed and eventually the strands came loose.
He was still tied to Carolyn though. Using his free hand he palmed the lighter from her and burnt the other rope. Hands freed, he quickly untied his feet and then Carolyn’s hands and feet.
They sat on the ground and looked at one another. Carolyn was sweating. He helped her up. He could tell she was shaking too. That was her MO. Calm during emergencies, react later.
Jack put his arm around her. “You did great, kid.”
“Thanks,” said Carolyn recovering her composure.
“Now what?” asked Carolyn. “We’re both in this up to our necks.”
Jack thought. “We need to lay low so they don’t know we’re gone yet. As soon as they find out, we’ll be in danger all over again.”
“Unless we’ve caught them first,” declared Carolyn.
Here was the woman he knew. “So we’ll need a trap.”
“Yes, but how about one that doesn’t threaten either of our lives?” suggested Carolyn, with emphasis. The last trap Jack set used himself as bait and if Carolyn hadn’t found the shooter in time, who knows what would have happened.
“Deal.” Jack had no use for martyrdom. Plus he wanted to keep Carolyn safe. It was his fault, after all, that she was even involved.
“Your boyfriend is going to have my neck when he finds out what happened,” said Jack.
“Jack,” said Carolyn seriously, “you and I both have a taste for danger. We thrive on it. That’s a part of me that Evan is going to have to accept.”
“Okay,” said Jack, satisfied.
As they brushed themselves off, the warehouse door opened. Both Jack and Carolyn looked up in surprise. Three men in street clothes walked toward them.
“There will be no trap setting from you two,” said the first.
“Yes,” said the second. “You’ve done quite enough.”
“Who the hell are you?” asked Jack
“CIA. When we lost contact with Carolyn mid-phone call and heard the scuffle we knew something was wrong. So we followed you, following them here,” said the first man.
“Then why didn’t you come out when, you know, Carolyn was being held at gun point, or say I was being knocked out by the enemy ?” exclaimed Jack.
“You were never in any danger. We had the place surrounded. Your actions needed to be natural and play out as authentic,” said the second man.
“That’s the CIA for you,” mumbled Carolyn to Jack.
“We couldn’t endanger the operation any more than it already has been,” said the first man.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Jack.
Out of the bushes stepped two riflemen and...Bob?
“Bob! Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, Jack. You stepped into an operation that took us two years to put into place. We’re all lucky it wasn’t blown to hell.”
“We’ve had key people in place to make sure that the plans Cheryl received each time were dummies,” said the third man.
“But we were and are still after her higher level contacts. The man with the hat is just a shill. Those plans and her op come from very high levels. We’ve been trying to get up higher,” explained Bob.
“I see,” said Jack, suddenly tired.
“So what happens now?” asked Carolyn.
“We’ve got a team following them by satellite and there will be a team at whichever airport they decide to go to. Because of you they’ve decided to close up shop and get out,” said the first man.
“Not necessarily a bad thing,” said the third man.
“Right. If we have
Carolyn unclicked the lighter. “It’s not burnt all the way through, but I think you can break it now. Jack struggled against the one strand. It didn’t budge.
“You’re going to have to burn more of the strands before that will work,” he said.
Over the next half hour, Carolyn and Jack worked at burning through the various strands of rope around his wrists.
“We had to get the guy who knows how to tie knots,” Jack complained.
After the fourth strand Jack tried again. He tugged and rubbed and eventually the strands came loose.
He was still tied to Carolyn though. Using his free hand he palmed the lighter from her and burnt the other rope. Hands freed, he quickly untied his feet and then Carolyn’s hands and feet.
They sat on the ground and looked at one another. Carolyn was sweating. He helped her up. He could tell she was shaking too. That was her MO. Calm during emergencies, react later.
Jack put his arm around her. “You did great, kid.”
“Thanks,” said Carolyn recovering her composure.
“Now what?” asked Carolyn. “We’re both in this up to our necks.”
Jack thought. “We need to lay low so they don’t know we’re gone yet. As soon as they find out, we’ll be in danger all over again.”
“Unless we’ve caught them first,” declared Carolyn.
Here was the woman he knew. “So we’ll need a trap.”
“Yes, but how about one that doesn’t threaten either of our lives?” suggested Carolyn, with emphasis. The last trap Jack set used himself as bait and if Carolyn hadn’t found the shooter in time, who knows what would have happened.
“Deal.” Jack had no use for martyrdom. Plus he wanted to keep Carolyn safe. It was his fault, after all, that she was even involved.
“Your boyfriend is going to have my neck when he finds out what happened,” said Jack.
“Jack,” said Carolyn seriously, “you and I both have a taste for danger. We thrive on it. That’s a part of me that Evan is going to have to accept.”
“Okay,” said Jack, satisfied.
As they brushed themselves off, the warehouse door opened. Both Jack and Carolyn looked up in surprise. Three men in street clothes walked toward them.
“There will be no trap setting from you two,” said the first.
“Yes,” said the second. “You’ve done quite enough.”
“Who the hell are you?” asked Jack
“CIA. When we lost contact with Carolyn mid-phone call and heard the scuffle we knew something was wrong. So we followed you, following them here,” said the first man.
“Then why didn’t you come out when, you know, Carolyn was being held at gun point, or say I was being knocked out by the enemy ?” exclaimed Jack.
“You were never in any danger. We had the place surrounded. Your actions needed to be natural and play out as authentic,” said the second man.
“That’s the CIA for you,” mumbled Carolyn to Jack.
“We couldn’t endanger the operation any more than it already has been,” said the first man.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Jack.
Out of the bushes stepped two riflemen and...Bob?
“Bob! Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, Jack. You stepped into an operation that took us two years to put into place. We’re all lucky it wasn’t blown to hell.”
“We’ve had key people in place to make sure that the plans Cheryl received each time were dummies,” said the third man.
“But we were and are still after her higher level contacts. The man with the hat is just a shill. Those plans and her op come from very high levels. We’ve been trying to get up higher,” explained Bob.
“I see,” said Jack, suddenly tired.
“So what happens now?” asked Carolyn.
“We’ve got a team following them by satellite and there will be a team at whichever airport they decide to go to. Because of you they’ve decided to close up shop and get out,” said the first man.
“Not necessarily a bad thing,” said the third man.
“Right. If we have
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