Will they find Lester and what state will he be in?
Lester's POV
I woke up and once again I kept still until I was able to take in my surroundings to see if there was any sort of change in my environment. Straight away, I could tell that something was different. There was no noise coming from upstairs, but I could sense that I wasn't alone.
I slowly opened my eyes and let them adjust to the darkness before making any movement. I didn't want to alert whoever was in the room with me that I was awake. I looked around the room without turning my head at first. When I was unable to see anyone or anything different, I slowly turned my head to the right and then to the left.
In the corner furthest from the door was a woman. She was curled up in a ball and looked like she'd been badly beaten. I sat there staring at her wondering if she was awake or passed out. I didn't have to wonder long because she shifted her position in an attempt to get more comfortable. I could see that her clothes were dirty and that her hair was matted, but what struck me as a bit analogous were her hands.
Her hands were dirty, but they were perfectly manicured. I took a closer look at her and saw that the clothes she was wearing were ill fitted and she was barefoot but her feet were clean. Alone, one of these things wouldn't have been odd, but if you put them together, they just didn't add up.
The woman turned and looked at me and saw that I was awake. She started speaking to me in that same Spanish dialect as the men upstairs. I was already suspicious that the men upstairs were acting a role Now that this woman was down here with me playing a victim, I was convinced. I decided to play along and asked her if she was tied up.
When she shook her head, I asked her to come over and untie me. She looked towards the door as if to pretend that she was afraid of her would-be captors. I told her that if she untied me, I'd protect her from the men upstairs, but she remained in her corner, pretending to be afraid of me.
I laughed at this entire charade. If Ranger figures it out, the General will wish he was the one that was captured and not one of us. My ass is getting numb so I hope Ranger and the guys are not too far away. I could do with some food and something to drink as well. With that last thought, I looked up and asked the woman if she had any food or water.
She reluctantly came towards me slowly with a bottle in her hands. She tilted the bottle up to my lips and let me take a few small sips. She then returned to her corner with the water bottle and proceeded to ignore me.
After about an hour, I was getting bored. Part of me was hoping to be shot with another tranq dart. Sitting in the same position with no ability to move for at least 24 hours is painful. I decided that I might as well try and free myself so I leaned forward and put mine and the chair's weight on my feet.
It was awkward to stand with a chair tied to my legs, but once up, I was able to use my weight and a bit of sideways momentum to smash the chair into the wall. The chair was stronger than I anticipated, so it took four more attempts before the chair gave way.
I grinned and stretched my sore and aching muscles, revelling in the movements that were made possible by my freedom. I smiled at the woman and asked her how long she'd been here. She said she didn't' know, but she did make sure to mention that she was from Colombia.
I decided to play along with this little charade and asked her a bunch of other targeted questions. First of all, she said she was kidnapped by Ramon Dias' men and dragged here from Colombia to help with a revenge plot against an American military man. She didn't know any details about the man but she did know he owned a company that had offices in many cities, including Atlanta. Her story was getting more far-fetched the further she went.
In any other circumstances, I probably would have hit on her. She is tall, she had nice long legs and it looks like she has long dark hair. When she was closer earlier however, I noticed that she had a lot of freckles and that a few strands of flame red hair were showing at her neck. She was wearing a wig and she is probably wearing brown coloured contact lenses to hide her natural eye colour.
I stood across the room from her and stared at her for a long time. I wanted her to keep talking so I could catch her in a lie, but she sat down and stared back at me keeping her silence. All this time, there was no sound or movement from upstairs so I assumed that the men had left or were keeping quiet for some reason.
Now that I could move around a little more, I decided that I could use a bit more water so I walked over to the woman and asked for the water. I did this for two reasons. The first one was simple. I was thirsty. The second reason was to see how she'd react to me coming at her quickly.
If she were truly a prisoner, she'd be afraid of me. If she is an operative, she'll hold her ground. She did hold her ground for a few seconds but then decided to change tactic and back away from me. It was clear to me when she made the decision to back away, but I let her believe that I was convinced by her performance and went back to my corner once I had the water.
I stared at her for a little longer and finally decided to end the charade. I didn't want to jeopardise my rescue, but since she was down here with me and it appeared that there was nobody else upstairs, I took a chance.
I looked at the woman and said in English, "Were you guys disappointed that I showed up instead of Ranger?"
The woman's shock was apparent on her face and in her sudden stiff body language. She looked at me and asked, "When did you realise I wasn't who I said I was?"
I laughed and said, "Pretty much as soon as you opened your mouth. I overheard the men upstairs earlier and even though they were trying to speak in a Colombian dialect, they weren't very good at it. I spent a lot of time in that region of Colombia a few years ago and know what they sound like, so when you tried to go along with it, I knew you were in on something."
"What do you think I'm in on Mr Santos?"
"Well, my first guess would have to be that you work for General Matthews."
Her gasp confirmed my suspicions so I continued without waiting for her next enquiry.
"The General is not happy that Ranger refused to renew his contract with the government. Instead of letting go and moving on, he has devised this plan to trick Ranger into thinking that his only remaining Colombian enemy is out to get him. The problem with that scenario is that Dias is as much as a threat to Ranger as a baby bunny rabbit."
The woman looked at me and said, "How to do you know that Dias is not a threat? Our intelligence can't locate him and the last we heard from him, there was a price on Ranger's head."
"There was a price on Ranger's identity from a previous mission. Dias never knew Ranger's true identity. Besides, the reason you and your intelligence couldn't find Dias is because he's probably dead."
"How do you know that?"
"That last time Ranger was in Colombia, only two months ago, he tracked Dias down to a palliative care hospital. He had terminal prostate cancer and it was in its final stages at that time. Dias was checked into the hospital under an assumed name. Ranger only found this out because one of the nurses recognised him and told Ranger."
"Are you serious? The General told us that Ranger was compromised and this mission was set up to try and bring him in quietly. The General lied to us?"
I nodded and said, "I'm sorry, but it looks that way. I pity the General when Ranger finds out."
She grimaced and said, "The last time I spoke to the General, he said that he was sure Ranger would renew his contract for any information leading to your return."
I thought for a moment and hoped that Ranger was just playing along with the General. If not, he might be stuck at his mercy for another 4 years. No, I don't think so, if I could figure out this cluster fuck while tied to a chair, Ranger and the rest of RangeMan will figure it out as well. I had faith in them.
I turned to the woman and said, "The General will just have to be disappointed. Ranger is out of the game. He wants a life, to settle down and perhaps even start a family."
She sniggered and said, "I never thought I'd see the day when Ranger would settle down. It must be an amazing woman to get him out of the race."
"Indeed she is. Speaking of which, do you have a name? I can't keep referring to you are 'hey you,' now can I?"
"I'm Fiona LeBlanc."
"Nice to meet you Fiery Fiona."
Hmmm... what next? Are you still there? Shall I continue?
