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Chapter 7

The Wrong Girl

Annie awoke in darkness. She realized that there was a hood over her face and could not make anything out past the fabric. Annie lay perfectly still, trying to determine where she was. Her stomach lurched as if she was on a roller coaster, telling Annie that she was in an airplane. Annie tried not to panic, but the CIA gave no training as to what to do when you got kidnapped because your captors thought you were someone else. One of the men must have seen that she was awake, for a blow to her head sent Annie back into the realm of unconsciousness.

The bright light was hurting her eyes and worsening the pain in her head. Annie wished the mask was back on her face to shield her eyes. She moaned and tried to go back to sleep, but she was dragged out of a car by her captors. The men led Annie across a large, well-tended lawn. They ascended several steps to an imposing set of double doors. A butler opened the doors and led Annie and her kidnappers down a long hallway until they reached a tastefully furnished study. A handsome man with Latin features was seated behind a mahogany desk. Carlos. His skin was tanned and his dark curls were a little bit too long to fit with the crisp, professional air of his expensive suit.

Carlos stood up, his deep brown eyes blazing with such fury that Annie was chilled to her core. At a snap of his fingers, Carlos's men came into the room each holding a gun pointed at Annie's captors. "How could you have been so incompetent?" Carlos hissed. "How could you have brought me the wrong girl?" To his men he said calmly, "Take them to the basement. I will be down shortly."

Everything that Annie had learned about Carlos was coming back. Carlos's father had virtually run the Columbian drug trade. When Carlos was an adult he took over the family business and moved the operation to France. Little was known about Carlos except that he was good at what he did and did not let anything stand in his way.

Annie watched silently as her captors were being led away. "Have a seat." commanded Carlos in unaccented English. Annie sat on the plush, leather couch. "Now tell me," began Carlos, "why is it that you are here instead of Arya?"

Annie did not respond. Carlos leaned forward. "One way or another, you will tell me everything I want to know." he said, his voice dangerously soft. "You get to choose whether or not you emerge intact. I have those imbeciles to deal with, so I will give you some time to formulate your response. When I return, I hope for your sake that you choose correctly." With his parting words ringing ominously in Annie's ears, Carlos motioned to a man waiting outside the door and walked away.

The man walked over to Annie and took a seat next to her on the couch. "I am Manuel." he said with a Columbian accent. "I have been with Carlos for many years, and I want you to know that he is a reasonable man. If you tell him what he wants to know, he will let you go unharmed. But if you do not cooperate…" Manuel paused. "Just do what he says."

"What sort of 'reasonable man' goes around kidnapping people?" asked Annie scathingly.

"When it comes to Arya, Carlos will do anything. I suppose she is the exception to the rule. Tell me, how is she?"

"Why do you care?" replied Annie, her voice full of contempt. "You kept her here for that monster."

"Listen," said Manuel firmly. "I don't like what Don Carlos did to her any more than you do, but all of us here who work for Carlos owe him our lives. We could not betray him. The other men here just see Arya as a piece of property, but not me. She is my friend and I do care about her. While Arya was here, I tried to do what I could to help."

Annie could see that Manuel was telling her the truth. "She was in bad shape when we found her." admitted Annie. "I think she has been making progress, but her life will never be normal again." Miguel's eyes were full of guilt. He was Annie's best chance of escape. She would not be able to do flee on her own. Annie would need someone familiar with Carlos, his house, and the area if she would have any hope of laying low long enough to contact the agency. Manuel was young and Annie could tell that he did not want to live a life of crime, but he was loyal to Carlos. If Annie could convince him to help her, she just might have a shot of getting out alive.

"Where am I?" asked Annie.

"You are in Paris." he replied. "But I cannot tell you anything more. I really should not be talking to you in the first place."

Manuel led Annie to the kitchen and gave her some food. Annie tried to control herself and not wolf it down, but she was starving. Annie and Manuel sat at the table in silence for over an hour. Manuel did not say anything, and Annie knew that progress would be slow; she didn't want to push him. Once the adrenaline started to wear off, Annie's thoughts turned towards her family. No doubt Joan had already concocted a lie to explain why Annie was away and why she had not called. Annie felt a pang of loss sear through her. She had to constantly lie to the ones she cared about the most. If she was killed here, her family would never even know the truth about why Annie was really in Paris.

Carlos entered the kitchen. He had changed his clothes, but Annie could see a few flecks of blood that he had neglected to wipe off after dealing with her kidnappers. This frightened Annie more than words or actions ever could. If she did not talk to Carlos, all that would remain of her would be a few spatters of blood on the skin of a monster. "So," he began. "Have you decided to talk?"

Annie nodded.

"Good girl." he said approvingly. "Come to my office."

Carlos sat at his desk and motioned for Annie to sit in the high backed, wooden chair opposite him. "You are CIA, yes?" He did not wait for her confirmation.

Carlos began to think out loud. "So my source was fed false information. I can assume that your agency had thought of the possibility that I might come for Arya and end up with you instead. For all I know, the CIA are on their way right now. The men I hired checked you for bugs and found nothing, but we both know there are ways to plant trackers that are not visible to the eye. I am going to have to do a more extensive search for bugs or trackers. Come with me."

Annie could see from the way that Carlos carried himself that he was in excellent shape and could handle himself in a fight. Even if she could take him out, she would not be able to evade all of the guards posted around the house. Carlos brought Annie down a flight of stairs to the basement. He opened the door to one of the rooms and gestured for Annie to enter. Without warning, everything went black.