ask more questions.
He muttered to Swede, “I must be losing my edge.”
“You’re in love, it’s allowed.”
Without missing a stride he reached out and punched Swede in his rock hard gut.
Swede gave a snort. “Damn mosquitos.”
A soldier raced toward them. “Mason.”
Mason groaned. “Damn it. I wanted a shower, was that too much to ask?”
The soldier reached them. “The commander is looking for you.” He lowered his voice. “Now, I’m not supposed to say anything, but it’s to do with that lady you rescued.”
Mason froze. Then he was sprinting to the commander’s office. He burst through the door completely ignoring protocol. “Tell me Tesla’s okay.”
The commander glared at him. “She’s missing. Gear up.”
Swede stood behind him. “We’re ready.”
“How the hell…” Mason was at a loss for words. How could they lose this woman again?
“We think two men posing as her company employees walked into the house and left about an hour later.”
“With her?”
The commander rubbed the back of his head. “She was under surveillance. Both men were knocked out cold, and as we can’t find her, we’re assuming yes.”
“The cameras?”
“At the garage, yes,” he nodded.
“A large SUV. Yes, we’ve checked the plates. They are ours.” He stood up and glared at them. “She was due at a reception tonight and her presentation was the main event. Then she was going to be doing a demonstration tomorrow morning.”
“Her house?” Mason barked.
“Searched and clean.”
“No one knows anything?” Mason was beside himself. They had to know what direction she’d gone. They needed information. And they needed it now.
“There is one thing,” the commander said. “When they were searching her house her laptop was gone, but her coworkers had an instant messaging system on her tablet. She answered the chat the last time just over an hour ago.”
“Were they talking to her since?”
“Yes, but she didn’t respond.” He looked down at the papers on his desk. “We’re presuming she couldn’t.”
“We need to know what direction they’ve taken.”
“We’re tracking the SUV now. It’s heading south out of the city. We’re on it.”
“Any cameras confirm she’s inside as it could be a decoy.”
“We can’t confirm that at this time.”
Mason nodded, his fists clenching and releasing. “I need to see her place.”
The commander said, “They are waiting for you. You know how much we need this software. And given the type of software, we can’t let it get into enemy hands.”
Mason glared at him. “Tesla is not expendable.”
He turned on his heel and raced out. Swede behind him. The others were waiting outside. While Swede filled them in, Mason found a truck. They had to find Tesla. And fast.
Chapter 16
T HE VEHICLE DROVE steadily, the rhythmic movement keeping her in a half hypnotic trance. She’d woken in a stupor with her mind struggling to make sense of what happened. When she figured it out, her body was too paralyzed to do anything about it.
“How is our guest?” someone asked up front. “Is she still asleep?”
“She’s asleep.”
“Good. We can’t lose her.”
“Maybe not, but she needs to pay for what she did to my brother.”
“That’s not for us to do.” The first man snapped. “We hand her and her computer over and we get paid. It’s simple.”
“For you, it’s simple. You don’t care that they caught you and left you behind.”
The first man sniggered. “That’s funny.”
“There’s nothing funny about it. Besides, I didn’t stay caught. Sometimes you need to play possum to come out the winner.”
“Ha, you weren’t playing possum. You’re just damn lucky we found you in time. You were grandstanding. Playing the big ego role. He was your friend and you beat him. Only you didn’t. He turned the tables and caught you.”
“And like the game it is, I turned the tables yet again and escaped.”
Finally, Tesla
He muttered to Swede, “I must be losing my edge.”
“You’re in love, it’s allowed.”
Without missing a stride he reached out and punched Swede in his rock hard gut.
Swede gave a snort. “Damn mosquitos.”
A soldier raced toward them. “Mason.”
Mason groaned. “Damn it. I wanted a shower, was that too much to ask?”
The soldier reached them. “The commander is looking for you.” He lowered his voice. “Now, I’m not supposed to say anything, but it’s to do with that lady you rescued.”
Mason froze. Then he was sprinting to the commander’s office. He burst through the door completely ignoring protocol. “Tell me Tesla’s okay.”
The commander glared at him. “She’s missing. Gear up.”
Swede stood behind him. “We’re ready.”
“How the hell…” Mason was at a loss for words. How could they lose this woman again?
“We think two men posing as her company employees walked into the house and left about an hour later.”
“With her?”
The commander rubbed the back of his head. “She was under surveillance. Both men were knocked out cold, and as we can’t find her, we’re assuming yes.”
“The cameras?”
“At the garage, yes,” he nodded.
“A large SUV. Yes, we’ve checked the plates. They are ours.” He stood up and glared at them. “She was due at a reception tonight and her presentation was the main event. Then she was going to be doing a demonstration tomorrow morning.”
“Her house?” Mason barked.
“Searched and clean.”
“No one knows anything?” Mason was beside himself. They had to know what direction she’d gone. They needed information. And they needed it now.
“There is one thing,” the commander said. “When they were searching her house her laptop was gone, but her coworkers had an instant messaging system on her tablet. She answered the chat the last time just over an hour ago.”
“Were they talking to her since?”
“Yes, but she didn’t respond.” He looked down at the papers on his desk. “We’re presuming she couldn’t.”
“We need to know what direction they’ve taken.”
“We’re tracking the SUV now. It’s heading south out of the city. We’re on it.”
“Any cameras confirm she’s inside as it could be a decoy.”
“We can’t confirm that at this time.”
Mason nodded, his fists clenching and releasing. “I need to see her place.”
The commander said, “They are waiting for you. You know how much we need this software. And given the type of software, we can’t let it get into enemy hands.”
Mason glared at him. “Tesla is not expendable.”
He turned on his heel and raced out. Swede behind him. The others were waiting outside. While Swede filled them in, Mason found a truck. They had to find Tesla. And fast.
Chapter 16
T HE VEHICLE DROVE steadily, the rhythmic movement keeping her in a half hypnotic trance. She’d woken in a stupor with her mind struggling to make sense of what happened. When she figured it out, her body was too paralyzed to do anything about it.
“How is our guest?” someone asked up front. “Is she still asleep?”
“She’s asleep.”
“Good. We can’t lose her.”
“Maybe not, but she needs to pay for what she did to my brother.”
“That’s not for us to do.” The first man snapped. “We hand her and her computer over and we get paid. It’s simple.”
“For you, it’s simple. You don’t care that they caught you and left you behind.”
The first man sniggered. “That’s funny.”
“There’s nothing funny about it. Besides, I didn’t stay caught. Sometimes you need to play possum to come out the winner.”
“Ha, you weren’t playing possum. You’re just damn lucky we found you in time. You were grandstanding. Playing the big ego role. He was your friend and you beat him. Only you didn’t. He turned the tables and caught you.”
“And like the game it is, I turned the tables yet again and escaped.”
Finally, Tesla
Similar Books
