Ch 11
Wearily, Scott rubbed his forehead with his hand as he said his goodbye to Brains. Setting the phone down on the table, he looked to his brothers.
"Sorry guys, he can't do it. We can't get a physical trace on the emails sent by Control."
"What?" Alan was fuming. "Surely, Brains can find out where this Control freak lives?"
"Control has some sophisticated IT arsenal up his sleeve. Brains thinks it will take days to get something. We don't have days."
Virgil started to pace. "What about the cousin over there? We can get the police to question him further and get some answers."
Alan's fists clenched. "I'll get some answers out of him."
Scott laid a hand on his younger brother's arm. "Easy, Al. I think Kegworth is too far gone emotionally to provide anymore answers tonight," he gestured to the tubby man who sat rocking back and forth in his chair as a man
was preparing to inject a needle into him.
"That's it then. We're at a dead end." Alan's shoulders slumped in defeat.
Scott tightened his grip on Alan's arm. "We're not at a dead end, Alan, not by a long shot. John believes he is close to finding out the details of the plane which took Gordon."
"Close? Like a few days close or a couple of hours close?" Alan replied, his frustration clearly heard in his voice.
"That I can't say; other than looking for more clues, there is little more we can do in this apartment. It's been a long day, and I think we should catch a few hours sleep at the Tracy Corp apartment. I'm hoping that'll give John
enough time to get some more information."
Virgil nodded in agreement but Alan, exhausted as he was, could not comprehend even a few hours rest while he knew Gordon was in trouble.
The blonde moved away from Scott's grasp and shook his head. "You two go to the apartment for a rest. I'll stay here with the police; they may find something we can't."
Scott sighed heavily. He didn't want to pull rank but he needed Alan with a clear head, and Alan with no sleep and running on pure adrenalin was not an option. "Not going to happen, Al. I don't want to have to order you to get
some rest but I will do it. For Gordon's sake we need to be alert, and you can't possibly do that if you have no sleep."
His young face tensed as he prepared to battle his elder brother but the need to rest over ruled Alan's will to fight. "OK you win, big brother. But the instant John calls and has something, I'm going."
Virgil clapped a hand on Alan's shoulder. "We'll all go. Now give me the car keys, Alan. I haven't been on the go as long as you two have and I don't want you to fall asleep at the wheel."
With a little reluctance, as Alan hated not being in the driver's seat, the youngest Tracy handed the keys to Virgil. Scott grabbed his phone and they headed to speak to Capitaine Arceneau before leaving the apartment.
The Capitaine was overlooking the forensics team as they photographed the bodies.
"Did Kegworth say anything more?" Scott asked the blonde officer.
Arceneau shook her head. "He mumbled a few more times about the statue before we sedated him. We'll take him to the hospital tonight."
"Do you believe what he said about the statue making him do it?' Virgil questioned.
The woman shrugged. "Not sure. From what checking we did on the family before we arrived, they were very close. It could be, perhaps, a quarrel over money that got out of hand."
Scott nodded as he looked at the blood-soaked siblings. "I can't believe a statue caused someone to kill."
Arceneau turned to Scott, one of her eyebrows arched inquiringly. "You don't believe in voodoo, Scott?"
"No, he doesn't, and neither do we," Alan interrupted with a firm reply.
"Thank you, Alan," Scott presented his brother with a tight smile before addressing the officer. "I haven't experienced it to form a serious opinion, Capitaine. But do you think voodoo has something to do with Kegworth killing his
cousins?"
Again, Arceneau replied with a shrug. "I have been involved with several cases that have been linked to voodoo, and certainly this case has some of the hallmarks," the blonde woman began before noticing the weariness in all
the Tracys' faces. "But I will need to examine the details closely, and it will take some time. You, my young friends, look tired. We will be here for a while yet. I will contact you if we have any news."
The Tracys nodded their goodbyes, and started to head for the door. The Capitaine called after them, "Did you get the address of this Control person Kegworth spoke of?"
Scott shook his head slowly. "No, not yet. "
The officer smiled, her features' sympathetic. "I will see if we cannot track him down. Go now, we will carry on."
The three Tracy brothers made their way to the car, and it was in a subdued silence that they drove through the French city streets to their apartment.
His voice hoarse from shouting to whoever may be on the other side of the heavy door, Gordon had eventually made his way back to his bed. The young man had a strong urge to cover himself in the blankets, go back to sleep and pray to God he would wake back in his island hut. He was that exhausted from the lack of food and water that sleep seemed a viable option. Gordon swore out loud, frustrated that sleeping was the only thing he seemed to be doing since he started his holiday.
Taking several deep breaths, Gordon lay back on the bed and forced himself to relax. Since he started to swim competitively, Gordon had learnt calming techniques that would keep nerves and fear at bay. When swimming, Gordon would concentrate on the black lines under the pool, it helped him to focus on winning. Now, with fear and anxiety nibbling at his senses, the young man's mind concentrated on the faces of his family, they kept him focused on escaping.
As the tenseness of his body slowly subsided, Gordon replayed in his mind the events that he could remember since the beginning of his holiday. It was pretty clear that he had been drugged and kidnapped. His wrist com was missing, and now that his head was clearer, he knew he hadn't cut himself on someone else's beer glass but had his chip removed, his hope of contacting his family lost.
Gordon presumed Mia, Piers and Keg had targeted him and were the kidnappers; what about the woman in the nurse's uniform? A member of their gang, perhaps? Was he still on the island or had they taken him elsewhere?Was he kidnapped for his dad's money? He could only guess that is what Mia and her family would want; he didn't think they knew about his connection to IR, however, his wrist com was missing, could they possibly know?
As Gordon's mind battled with the many scenarios to his capture, the door to his room slowly opened. A slight creak snapped the young man to attention, and he sat up quickly; he instantly regretted the sudden movement, it made his delicate head reel, and his eyes blur.
As his eyes re-focused, Gordon could see a short Asian man with glasses standing at the foot of his bed. Next to the small man was a giant. As broad as he was tall, this man held a powerful gun in his hands, and stood over Gordon with a stern face. The bespectacled man held a tray of food and a glass of water which he placed on Gordon's bed. He then clapped his hands; another man appeared, skinny and with bowed head, this man presented Gordon with clothing, and what appeared to be a commode. Gordon grimaced at that.
The first man smiled pleasantly at Gordon. "For your comfort, Mr Tracy."
Irritated at the man's sunny countenance, Gordon snarled, "If you cared about my comfort I wouldn't be here."
The man's smile did not waver. "You are my Master's guest and we would like you to be comfortable for your stay with us."
"My stay? Who are you and who is your Master? Is it Mia? Piers? Keg?" Gordon barked at the annoyingly calm man.
"I do not know these Mias or Kegs," the man frowned momentarily before his smile quickly returned. "My name is Li," Li gave a short bow and continued, "Master is known as the Master, and he is busy for the moment but will see you tonight."
"Tonight?" Gordon exploded and wildly gesticulated around the room. "This dungeon doesn't have a window, I don't even know if it's the morning! I demand to know why I am being kept here against my will!" The young man made to get out of his bed but the bear of a man quickly stepped forward and thrust the gun into Gordon's enraged face. Staring hard at the larger man with narrowed eyes, Gordon slowly backed down.
Li made a small clicking noise with his tongue. "There, there, Mr Tracy, you almost upset your food, and I know you must be hungry. Relax and enjoy the meal, and we will see you shortly." With that Li, his caveman companion and the thin man turned and left the room.
Gordon looked at his meal on the tray. The possibility of being drugged again wavered in his mind. The food did look good however; it appeared very similar to what Kyrano would cook. After debating whether to eat or not eat, Gordon's need for sustenance overwhelmed his fears and he took up the plastic knife and fork.