Chapter 10

Lee walked with difficulty out of his cell due to the infected cuts on the bottom of his feet, not to mention the other sores and bruises on his body. Once again, secured to the chair, Lee's ribs were causing him considerable discomfort from struggling so hard during yesterday's sessions.

Tweddledum started the IV and then hit the play button for the video, a warm-up for Decker.

Lee closed his eyes; he didn't want to see the faces of the men who discarded him. It was bad enough hearing the disgusting words. The film was almost over when Decker made his appearance, delayed by a call from Johan with the news of Schmidt's arrest yesterday. Things were happening quicker than anticipated. He sent Frederick into the valley to snoop around.

"Let's get down to business. I spoke with Admiral Nelson last night and he is not pleased with your progress. I'm afraid you're in for a rough day. If I was you, I would be petrified going back to Seaview. Who knows what horrendous plans they have for you? But enough of that, shall we get started?" Decker signaled Alex to start a new DVD, one Boris had masterly manipulated last night. If this one didn't break Crane, nothing would.

Thanks to the Russian's talent for mimicry, only a small percentage of the voices on the tape were real. If Crane was at the top of his game, he might have been able to spot the impressions, but in his confused and weakened state of mind, he would certainly accept as fact all that he heard.

First came a repeat of some of what was played before, then the new assault began. With backs positioned to the camera or faces turned, Crane wouldn't notice the words out of sync with the lips.

"You know there are drugs I have that could kill him and would be cleaned from the system by the time we reach port. As his physician, I could sign a death certificate without question. It's something to think about if he ever dares show up on the boat again."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Will. I think he's being shown what we think of him. Even he's not stupid enough to believe we want him back."

"There are always accidents, Admiral. It would be a real shame if a bracket failed and a torpedo crushed him."

'Nelson' chuckled. "That's not a bad idea, Francis. But it would be a black mark against Seaview's reputation."

"What about a burial at sea, Admiral? No body to autopsy or way to tell if he really was dead before entering the water," 'Sharkey' gleefully suggested.

Lee trembled at that thought. The voices and faces changed but the tone was the same. At all cost Lee knew he had to avoid letting those men get hold of him.

Unseen by Crane, Frederick entered the room and motioned Decker over to him. In the corridor, the servant tersely explained his presence.

"Herr Decker, I just returned from the village." He then repeated what the waitress and butcher had told him about the Americans. They had been shown pictures of Crane plus a description of Decker minus the disguise of the scar and eye patch.

"I returned right away after selecting some meat for dinner since I didn't want to arouse the butcher's suspicion. It appears I only missed the men by ten or fifteen minutes."

"That idiot Schmidt must've betrayed us once arrested," Decker snarled. "Tell the guards to come here, and then load up your car with our belongings. I had hoped for several more days to ensure a complete breakdown but we can't take the chance of discovery."

Frederick hurried away to obey his orders. Decker returned to his prisoner but first stopped by the drug-laden table and filled a syringe. He injected the sedative and signaled Alex to lower the volume.

"Looks like our time here is finished. I just got word Nelson and the crew wants you back on Seaview. Guess they have plans to finish this by themselves. I wonder how they'll do it? Burial at sea would solve all the problems, but maybe the admiral and doctor want to see you suffer, dying slowly from poisoning. I hope for your sake it's quick, but I doubt it."

The drug was taking effect, but not before Crane tried to reach out toward Decker. Lee was only able to make a weak plea for help escaping from those sailors with murder on their mind before passing out.

The men arrived and they carried Crane's slack body out of the castle into the SUV, carefully hiding his body under blankets. Boris had arrived to help Alex and together they rushed to dismantle electronics and destroy the evidence of recent activity in the room. The wall with the whips would be left untouched. If the entrance were ever found they could be explained as a collection best forgotten.

Frederick had packed most of his employer's possessions immediately after the kidnapping, in case the experiment needed to be concluded at a moment's notice. The plan had called for another week of treatments but Decker had not survived this long without planning for the unexpected. The butler made several trips loading the luggage into his car while the guards returned to help cover their tracks. Decker made a call to his uncle telling him to return and cautioned there might be visitors asking questions. Completing a quick call to arrange his flight and one more to take care of unfinished business Decker got into his car and left the castle. He knew returning would be impractical for a couple of years. He conceded that his thirst for revenge had compromised the enterprise, allowing the enemy to track him to Germany. To be safe he would need to stay away.

The two guards took an unmarked back trail known only to a few. Decker drove to the location by way of a better-maintained but still seldom traveled path with Frederick soon to follow on the road most tourists used. The latter two linked with the unmarked path, but only if you knew where to look. Maybe they were a little overcautious but Decker had no plans to spend his life behind bars. All would be scanning the area for any sign of the Americans. Decker surmised they should have several hours start, if he knew the military mind. A search of the motels would be the first plan of action followed by checking houses and castles situated away from the village.

The henchman arrived first and carried the unconscious man to the cellar of the well-hidden house, dumping his body on the cot. They returned outside to wait for the others. Decker arrived in about fifteen minutes and Frederick soon after. The house was small with heavily boarded windows and a securely locked front door that would deter anyone who happened across it. When all arrived they entered the building with Decker carrying his bag of tricks. In the basement, Frederick placed one of the miniature playing devices in the corner, and attached one to the bottom of the metal frame of the cot. The third was attached to the outside frame of the cell door. The controlling device that activated all three speakers had been placed in the closet of the upstairs room. With a few simple commands from the laptop, it would sound as if the whole crew were surrounding the house.

Decker removed a stimulant-filled syringe injecting the hypo into Crane. It wasn't long before Lee began to stir. The butler, impatient to get away, shook Crane and slapped his face to bring him around. A disoriented Crane, awakening with thoughts of being turned over to his bloodthirsty tormentors and recorded threats still ringing in his ears, saw only a large man standing over him ready to strike him again. He staggered to his feet and threw an ineffectual punch at Frederick. They all laughed as the prisoner fell to his knees as the butler easily deflected the blow. The attempt however inflamed the German's temper.

"How dare you try and assault me, you worthless piece of scum! I see I'll have to teach you your place."

Frederick instructed the thugs to hold Crane's arm to the floor and took great pleasure stomping on the hand with his boot. The men repeated the same action to Lee's other arm and Frederick's foot connected with the left hand, this time hitting more of the wrist.

Lee's choked cries of pain brought a smile to Decker's face. "You shouldn't have done that, Frederick. But I'm pleased that you did." His plan was almost complete. The guards yanked the dispirited Crane to his feet.Decker filled his largest syringe with the mind-controlling drug and injected Lee.

"I admit I'll miss our time together, my dear Commander. Your crewmates will soon be here to return you to Seaview. It seems they want one last go at you themselves. Can't you hear them coming up the road now? It's time for us to leave you to your fate. May your God have mercy on you, I'm sure your 'friends' won't."

"You can't leave me, Decker," Lee croaked. "My hands... I won't be able to fight them. You know what they plan to do to me, you can't leave me behind!"

Lee fell on his knees as he continued to plead with the departing men, hysterical with fear. Decker looked back at him, a satisfying smile on his face. The conditioning had worked just as he planned. The great Lee Crane was now nothing more than a terrified sniveling five-year-old frightened by the monster under his bed.

Frederick, standing outside the door with the two guards, opened the laptop and issued the first command. Sounds of car doors slamming and angry voices were heard coming from the speaker mounted on the doorframe. Lee scrambled to hide by the end of the cot, pulling his knees up to his chest, screaming at Decker to save him.

Kowalski's loud and boisterous voice was the first to be heard. "Come on man, this is the place. Break down the doors if we have to, but get Crane! I want to put a rope around his neck and lynch him from the tree out here. Why bother dragging that sorry piece of crap back to the boat."

As Decker closed the cell door, the screaming pleas grew louder. The pitiful cries echoed off the stairwell as the four men climbed their way out of the cellar and to the front door. The bar was lowered and locked in place. Decker was unconcerned knowing if the rescuers could not pick the lock, a bullet or two would take care of it.

Tweddledee drove off in the SUV heading for Berlin. Tweedledum rode away towards Düsseldorf in Decker's car. Frederick waited behind the wheel of his for Decker. They would fly out of Munich airport on a hired jet, first making sure to wipe all fingerprints from the vehicle and then abandoning it in the airport parking lot.

Frederick issued another laptop command, and the sounds of multiple footsteps played through the speaker. Even the sturdy door could not completely block out the screams of terror. Decker took out Crane's cell from his pocket and walked away from the waiting vehicle, picking out a spot to drop the now active phone, one that was broadcasting its location. A group of bushes some distance from the cabin was the perfect spot. Knowing the genius of Nelson and the trickery of ONI, Decker was not surprised to find a special device embedded in the phone. He anticipated the battery to last several days, enough time for the search party to zero in on the signal. If they were late, Crane would probably die from starvation or dehydration. Not his original plan, but his enemy would not be interfering with his operations anymore.

Returning to the sedan, he leaned back against the seat, a satisfying smile on his face. Decker wished he could stay and watch the discovery of Crane, but he had put his organization into too much danger already and for no monetary gain. He would read the manuscript again when they arrived in India but it did not appear to be anything except for what he'd been told. He would have wasted precious time trying to obtain classified info about Seaview from Crane. He almost weakened last night but with the news this morning of Schmidt's capture and the Americans' arrival in Neuerburg, Decker congratulated himself on sticking to the original plan.

The sadist took great pleasure typing in one final order. Now all three speakers would be playing most of the threats Lee had heard during his conditioning. The speakers were programmed so that only one would be playing at a time, literally surrounding Crane with the voices of his imaginary attackers. Sweet revenge was much better than money.

Kowalski and Gordon finished speaking with the owner of the castle. At first, she was upset with the strangers, thinking them tourists wanting to tour her home. The scowling on her face turned to a look of concern when the Americans explained their plight. She had not seen anyone unusual in the area, if you excluded the pushy foreigners who wanted a look inside. They were invited in while she hunted up an old handmade map her father had drawn of the area. She copied it on her printer, returning to the guests.

"My father knew every inch of the land around here for 20 miles. As a boy, he hunted in the forest and as he grew older mapped out the area. Some small houses had been in existence for hundreds of years. They are not shown on the tourist maps. Local hunters in need of shelter have used them. Many have been boarded up but I heard a few were still in use last year during an unexpected blizzard. They are not in the best shape but if one was lost in the forest or injured, it would provide shelter from the elements. It has been several years since my father's death, I'm not sure if all are still standing."

Ski and Art thanked her and hurried back to the car to study the map.

"There are two in our search area and one close to Chip and Pat. It's four o'clock now. I say let's investigate this lead and then meet up with Morton. Are you still scanning for Crane's tracking signal?"

"Yes sir, I'm going to check in with the other team."

Meanwhile Chip and Pat were not having any luck either. The two houses they checked revealed no clues. They were pulling away from the second one, disappointed no one was home, when Kowalski called and informed them of the hand-drawn map.

"Great, that's a help. We've got one more close by to check on first. We'll go there next, then we'll start setting up camp. Good luck."

"Yes, sir. We might need to do a little hiking but there is a dirt path barely suitable for the car that will take us up closer."

Chip, not wanting to raise Patterson's hopes, kept his thoughts to himself. These isolated shelters would be a perfect place to keep Lee prisoner and interrogate him. Morton pressed a little harder on the gas, anxious to reach the last house on their list. He glanced at the monitor on Pat's lap, hoping to see the light starts flashing.

They had just returned to the car after another disappointing conversation with the homeowner when Chip's cell rang and Ski's excited voice came through loud and clear.

"Sir, I picked up the skipper's signal. It's weak, but it's there. We're slowing down the car so I can try and get a better sense of its direction."

"We're on our way, Kowalski. Where exactly are you?"

Directions were given and Patterson found it on their map. He pulled his seatbelt tighter as the XO flew down the road.

"You keep your eyes on the road, Mr. Morton, and I'll keep mine on the tracking device."

Luckily, they had been working their way towards Chip and Pat when the signal started. At first Ski was confused as to why he didn't pick it up the first time but realized they were a couple miles higher up in the mountains, now in range of the homing device.

He had given the XO directions, including how to locate the secondary road on the map. The gravel path was not mentioned on Mr. Morton's copy, and the turn off was difficult to see without the handmade map., Ski solved that problem by setting up some reflective markers, from the cars emergency kit, to show the way. The beeping was growing louder then suddenly he lost the signal. He ordered Gordon to stop and got out to scan the area. Picking up the sound again, he walked slowly with the car cautiously backing up following him. He hand signaled to stop, finding the strongest spot.

"I'll go ahead on foot and see if I can find the source. I think the trees and rocks are interfering. You should wait here in case Mr. Morton has trouble finding the path. I'll call your cell if I find anything. When the others get here, continue slowly up the path in the cars. With Pat's monitor we should be able to triangulate the signal."

Ski grabbed the first aid backpack and took off.

Soon the signal made it necessary to leave the dirt path and continue the hike through the bushes and trees. From the strength of the pinging, Ski knew he had to be on top of the cell phone. The whole time he had been climbing upwards and in between clumps of trees,he spotted the same earthen path his car had been traveling. Stopping to catch his breath, Ski called Gordon, repeating the instructions to continue driving up the road when the others arrived. He apprised his supervisor of the situation.

"Mr. Morton, I got to be real close. Bring both cars and turn your headlights on so I can track you. The path we are on is above me. Follow the map, you'll come across the place. You head for it; I'm sticking to the trees in case the commander didn't make it that far."

Kowalski pushed on, saying a silent prayer they were not too late for the skipper. He hoped Decker or someone hadn't tossed the cell phone to mislead them. The tracking device was going crazy, leading him into a big thicket of bushes. Pushing aside branches and leaves, Ski found Commander Crane's cell phone. Almost at the same time, he heard the vehicles slightly above him. Digging out his own phone, Ski called the XO.

"Sir, I found the Commander's cell but no sign of him. Do you have the shelter in sight?"

"There is something just ahead of us."

"I'll head your way, you just passed me by the sounds of it."

"I'll have Gordon wait for you while we go ahead and scout out the area. It could still be a trap. I don't want to burst in without a little recon. You two can be our backup."

In no time, Chip and Pat arrived at the shabby looking dwelling, each drawing their weapons to check out the area around it, looking for any signs of booby-traps or recent habitation. Chip had noticed several different tire tracks and numerous footprints going to and from the front door but no other evidence from the side or back of the building. By the time the other car arrived, they were ready to force their way in. Gordon stopped them, first carefully checking out the lock and then, with practiced ease, opened it.

Silence met them. Turning on their strong flashlights, they split up. Gordon and Kowalski checked out the first floor, while Morton and Patterson took the cellar. In minutes, Pat was dashing up the steps yelling that they had found the skipper, and then running to the car for the shock blankets.