A/N: A big Thank you to all reviewers for taking your time to give much appreciated feedback and to my beta AG, who has again done a wonderful job...
I hope you enjoy the read! :-)
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Day 3 - part 4
Lucy Farinelli was currently at the helm of a rental helicopter, crisscrossing over San Juan County, Utah.
Events had unfolded quickly after they had been able to identify Tiffany's boyfriend, a French guy named Patrice Delmont. At first they had not been able to locate him, but that changed as soon as Lucy took a look at his credit card data. He had used it in Durango and a small town called Monticello in Utah. He had been the one to rent the black Mercedes; the staff had recognized him immediately.
Sally and Jen had quickly been dispatched to Monticello by helicopter to verify the identity of the person that used the credit card there. Both video surveillance tapes of a food store and the local gas station owner confirmed that Patrice Delmont had been there that very morning.
Everything fit perfectly. Monticello and Durango were about 100 miles apart, a two-hour drive. This matched their expectations of a 150-mile radius or a three-hour drive from the summer camp where the girls had been taken.
Lucy didn't hesitate one moment. She and three of her best battle-wise staff members had grabbed their gear and flown to Utah where they teamed up with their two colleagues.
Lucy had felt elated, positive that they were getting closer.
Now she wasn't as optimistic anymore.
During the five-hour flight from New York she had started a cell signal search, trying to identify and track Patrice's signal. There had been an identical signature in Durango on Monday and later in Monticello that could be followed all the way between the two towns and had connected to a transmitter in Monticello every so often yesterday and today. She concluded that she had found what she was looking for. So much for the good news. Part of the bad news was that the signal was lost just outside of Monticello and that the cell had not been connected again since she and her team had left New York.
As it now seemed, that was only the beginning of their trouble.
A first glance at information about the town and its region revealed that it was well known for its isolated mountains and canyons, offering a vast choice of secluded lodges. That would have been bad in itself, but the worst was yet to come; numerous abandoned mines permeated the area a few miles west of Monticello on the southern slopes of the Abajo Mountains.
Now that Lucy had a view on the region from above, she fully recognized why the area was also known as "The Outlaw Trail."
Steep slopes and narrow canyons alternated and dense vegetation interspersed with occasional lakes completed the scenery. The view from the helicopter was spectacular, but Lucy didn't dare imagine the number of possible hideouts. She groaned, Caroline and Cassidy could be virtually anywhere. Without fortune smiling on them, they could very well spend weeks or even months looking for the girls, time they did not have.
She had equipped the helicopter with an infrared camera but it had not picked up any human life signs so far. Lucy had been circling for more than 40 minutes now. Growing impatient, she decided a more analytical approach was in order, her random search having not provided any results.
The mines troubled her in particular. They were perfect hiding places, the infrared camera not being able to pick up any heat signatures underground. Of course they had no way to know if the twins were held prisoner in an abandoned mine, but it was where she would hide them herself and she figured it was as good a guess as any.
"Sam, get cards and records for the mines in San Juan County. Pinpoint all coordinates for those within a 30 mile radius of Monticello and send locations to my laptop," she instructed her operating assistant over the radio.
o-o-o
It was on the third of five places they had located thanks to the US Archives and Record Service that the camera finally showed life signs. Four people were sitting or standing close together, about a 100 yards from where the mound of an abandoned mine was supposed to be.
Not daring to stay put and check from above, Lucy radioed her team.
"Get ready for action guys. Four on the ground at number three, I repeat, four at number three. Team one, go in and check it out. I'll be with you in five."
"Got it clear and loud Lucy. Team one check on number three, ready in five."
They had set up mobile headquarters in two rental SUVs that were now stationed in an isolated spot near the Abajo Mountains.
Team one included Tom and Sally, who would be operational within a couple minutes. Lucy flew to pick them up. To save valuable time she would deposit them closer to the designated area from where they would continue on foot. They would have to hike a fair distance, since Lucy didn't want anyone to pick up on the helicopter's engine again, alerting whoever was on the ground. Hearing a helicopter passing once was okay, doing so twice would be suspicious.
The victims' safety held absolute priority. As long as the kidnappers did not believe they were followed or had been discovered, they would go about their routine and not treat their hostages any differently. For Lucy's team to be discovered sneaking around would put the girls in considerable danger and had to be avoided at all costs.
As soon as she touched down, Lucy switched into battle mode and addressed her people.
"Sally, Tom, you go and recon the area, we need to know who it is that are staying at number three. Jen and I are covering for you from a safe distance ready to join you if needed. I want us all to wear battle gear, just in case this turns nasty. Take the helmet camera as well, I want to be able to follow the action."
"What if it turns out to be nothing?"
"I'll come pick you up with the chopper and we're going to check number four and five. We have to be quick, I have a feeling Miranda is growing impatient and might act again. She might pay the ransom or negotiate the girls release on her own." Turning she addressed Sam. "Anything new concerning Miranda or the transfer?" she asked.
"Not yet. I'll let you know the minute there is a change."
Lucy nodded. She didn't want Miranda to interfere again. She needed to stay in control now, since a move in New York might have unforeseeable consequences on operations here in Utah. She needed Miranda's input later if things turned out like she envisioned, but now was not the time. Miranda had already almost jeopardized their investigation this morning.
"Sam, get me Andy," she instructed.
As soon as Sam gave her the all clear, she addressed the young woman in New York.
Andy, don't reply to this, just listen. I don't have much time. There has been progress on the girls' whereabouts and we are ready to check out a promising location. Don't tell Miranda, not yet. But be ready to follow instructions, we might need your assistance. Stay close to Miranda and be sure she doesn't try to make any contact. I'll be with you again later, Lucy out.
After last minute instructions to her team they quickly checked their equipment and took off.
o-o-o
Sally and Tom moved fast and soundlessly through the dense vegetation. Lucy had dropped them on the rear side of a mountain at about five miles from the target area and they continued on foot now. Both were well trained and would cover the distance in about thirty minutes.
Upon approaching they took cover behind trees. Tom was the leader in their team and he motioned for Sally to take the left side whereas he himself would circle the camp on the right. They would meet again in ten minutes at the exact same spot they left off now.
Sally moved slowly, taking great care not to make any noise. One false movement, one step on a dry branch and she would be discovered and all hell would break loose. It was not the first time she'd been on this kind of mission and, if asked, she would admit she loved the tension that went with it.
At first she couldn't make out much, vegetation obstructing her view. It was only thanks to their high-end technical equipment that they knew they had arrived and four people were close. Thermal sensors clearly identified four human life forms and a fifth smaller one, origin as of yet undetermined.
Creeping forward, Sally caught sight of the first person. A man was standing alone with his back to her. Raising her binoculars, she could make out fair hair and guessed he stood about 6 feet tall. Certainly not Patrice Delmont, who was much smaller and dark haired. This could be anyone, an innocent by-stander who was not related to the kidnapping at all.
She informed Tom, murmuring almost inaudibly into her radio. He hadn't been able to make out anything from his side so far.
Taking her chances, Sally stayed rooted in place, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone else. Unfortunately after a minute had passed, her target moved out of sight instead of someone else joining him. Sally sighed and started to circle the camp again, drawing a little closer. The dense vegetation offered good cover, she was positive no one would notice her.
She had been quietly creeping forward a couple of yards, when a sudden noise stopped her dead in her tracks.
Voices were getting closer to her position.
Ducking behind a large tree trunk, Sally caught her breath and blended into the ground. Lifting her eyes carefully, she tried to peek at whoever was talking. She couldn't make anyone out, but still heard them speaking. There were two different voices, both male. One held a soft lilting singsong to it that Sally identified as a French accent. They would need a visual for confirmation, but chances were good that this was Patrice Delmont. Perhaps they had truly found the kidnappers hideout; Sally's hopes were rising.
It was at that moment that Tom contacted her over the radio. She tensed. They both wore earplugs so Tom's voice wouldn't ring out and no one should be able to hear the small static noise from the transmitter, but this was definitely not the best moment. Sally ducked deeper into the ground. Listening to her team leader, she learned he had finally been able to get close enough and had a good view on what seemed to be a makeshift camp. He reported four tents, a table and chairs. The unknown fifth entity was a dog...
Sally almost groaned out loud. A dog changed everything, they had to be extremely careful in their movements, one step into the wind and he would smell them and give their presence away. She quietly took note of the prevailing wind direction. If she slightly adjusted her path to the left, she might be able to finish her scouting without the wind sending her scent into the camp. She would need to be careful.
Daring despite the closeness of the other two people, she 10-4ed to let her colleague know she had gotten the message.
Returning her attention to the people close by and straining to hear, she unfortunately couldn't make out what was being said. She had no choice but to wait for them to leave before resuming her circling of the camp.
o-o-o
Tom and Sally met again precisely ten minutes after beginning their recon mission. They quietly agreed to put some distance between them and the campsite before contacting team two, Lucy and Jen.
The whole team had followed Sally's and Tom's movements and findings thanks to mobile cameras. Therefore they went straight into action, as soon as team one was out of earshot.
Excitement colored their voices. They had spotted and recognized Patrice Delmont; there was no mistaking him. This place was definitely the kidnappers hideaway, and chances were Caroline and Cassidy were close by.
There had been no sign of the twins yet but they had not expected to find any. Their mission was not to find the girls but to sound out the situation.
Things didn't look bad from their point of view. The group counted four adults, three men and a woman, plus the dog. From what they had been able to observe, none of the supposed kidnappers bore any firearms. That didn't mean they didn't have any, but it certainly meant that they were not expecting trouble in the near future. Consequently, there was no need to rush things; Lucy and her team could take their time to analyze the situation and map out their strategy.
"Sally, Tom, stay put and wait for me and Jen to arrive," Lucy instructed, panting as she was already running through the forest. "Try to observe what is going on at the camp, but stay at a distance. Rather you don't see anything than they spot you."
"10-4 Lucy. Do you want us to search for the mine?"
"Not yet. I don't want you to snoop around and be discovered. I prefer to wait for one of the kidnappers to lead us to where the twins are. Wait for us, we won't be long."
They were still on their way, when a couple of minutes later Sam made contact over the radio. "Payment's arrived and Miranda got another email with another picture. From what I hear over Andy's mic at the townhouse it must be the second twin. Miranda is close to hysterics and Andy's trying to calm her down. Seems like they do get along now."
The whole team of The Last Precinct felt elated at the news and could only imagine what Miranda must be going through. None of them had dared to imagine the worst, finding only one twin alive and being too late for the other.
"Thanks Sam, contact Andy in fifteen minutes and ask her to hand the earplug to Miranda. I need to give her instructions personally. Set up a line for me to talk to her when I tell you to."
"10-4 Lucy. Sam out."
It took Lucy and Jen another ten minutes to join the first team. Tom and Sally had retreated from the kidnappers camp again, so they could talk in private.
They quickly reviewed the situation. All was still quiet, Tom and Sally not having observed any changes during the last thirty minutes.
"Okay, here is what we are going to do." As the leader Lucy lay out her plan. "I want Miranda to negotiate with the gangsters again. I'm going to give her instructions in a moment. Tom, Sally, you keep an eye on the camp. Hopefully someone will go and check on the girls after Miranda starts to negotiate. Follow them, but stay at a distance. Contact us immediately. Jen and I will take over from here. We'll be moving in and freeing the girls if possible. You two," she pointedly looked at her team one, "give cover."
"Okay Lucy, but watch out. There might be another guard or a trap. We haven't seen any signs but still, you never know. There might be cameras too."
"Right. We'll check, Jen get the night vision goggles, we are going to need them in the mine. Tom, Sally, if anyone moves in our direction, you are free to proceed as you see fit. Take out whoever approaches, quietly, we don't need to alert them yet. Try not to kill them, use the stun guns if possible. If you can't, go ahead, it can't be helped. We'll deal with casualties later. After we've got the girls, we need to arrest everybody. Take the usual positions at six, nine, twelve and three o'clock for the final move. Use tear gas grenades and bombs to bring them down. I take it you all have your masks."
They all nodded their consent. They had been through these routines hundreds of times and knew perfectly well what they had to do. Lucy might have been an expert with FBI's hostage rescue team, but they had been marines who had been into battle many times.
Lucy then contacted Andy and talked to Miranda, telling her what she wanted her to do. Fortunately their client had recovered and seemed to be the determined and serene woman everyone knew her to be. Miranda would do as she was told and the four members of the rescue team only had to wait for the action to begin.
Watching the camp from afar through a pair of powerful binoculars, Lucy and the others didn't have to wait long. About twelve minutes after the talk with Miranda, they noticed a sudden agitation. A man came out of one of the tents gesticulating wildly and all others came running. Talking briefly they disappeared from sight into the tent.
"Point the directional microphone and get me that conversation," Lucy murmured.
No, we're not doing any of that... Free a hostage... Who does she think she is?… No way, we're not releasing a twin before we have any money... Why not take as much as we can for the first twin and see how it goes?... Yeah, let her pay 3 million for one and then we raise the ransom for the other... she'll be desperate and will pay whatever we ask for...
Lucy and her team mates smirked; that was the discussion they had hoped for. The one with the French accent didn't want to hear any of what Miranda had to say, but his comrades clearly preferred the wealth Miranda offered.
All the rescue team needed was someone to go and attend to the girls. Sooner or later someone would, Miranda had demanded the first twin's release within an hour and wanted to have proof the kidnappers had done as instructed. If they took Miranda's offer, they would have to comply fast.
Lucy and her team waited patiently, not losing any of the on-going discussion in the camp, which Sam recorded for later use in court.
o-o-o
Much to their surprise they had followed a kidnapper not to the old mine but to a very well hidden entrance to what must be a natural cave.
Dense vegetation hid it from view and one had to almost stumble right onto it to be aware of its existence. The kidnappers had probably found it by chance as they were checking out the mines. Still, it was an ingenious hiding place; Lucy and the others would have taken a long time to find by themselves, if ever.
Lucy covered the area while Jen sneaked closer, taking position next to the entrance. They would not let the person inside get back to the camp.
It was finally time for action.
Pointing her stun gun and changing to the night vision goggles, Lucy entered the cave. She immediately got down on one knee, crouching close to the wall. A quick glance at her surroundings revealed she was in a narrow corridor, about eight feet long that seemed to open into a cavern. Mindful of the earlier warning about possible surveillance, Lucy took the time to sweep the cave with a mini spy detector. She smiled, the corridor was free of all electronic devices, as she had expected, since radio signals would not carry with those massive rock walls. From her position Lucy couldn't make out anything else, so she crept forward, careful not to make any noise. As she reached the end of the corridor, she motioned for Jen to follow her.
Quickly poking her head around the edge she saw that the cavern was empty; the man had disappeared elsewhere. Night vision revealed several passageways leading deeper into the mountain. Without using high-tech equipment they had no way to know which one was the right one. Lucy took out a handheld thermal camera and checked for warmth signatures. Nothing. She then pointed a small directional microphone in the direction of each passageway. At first there was only silence before she picked up a faint murmur coming from the second path to their right.
She indicated the direction to her partner and both women moved their positions to either side of the entrance. Lucy would go in first and check the situation. As team leader she was in charge and if things got nasty she would be first to act and make decisions. Therefore she insisted she always be first in action., but all who knew her suspected she needed the extra thrill.
Pointing the directional into the passageway she tried to get more information. Unfortunately the resounding echo on the cave's walls made understanding impossible. She could only make out two blurry voices. Two. Not one. That meant there was a sentinel watching the twins.
She signaled Jen. They would stay close together from now on, ready to fire simultaneously at both individuals, not intend on killing but incapacitating them. As a well-trained team, each knew which person to aim at first.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy began to count down on her fingers, they would move at one.
o-o-o
Two dark shadows, blending with the darkness of the cave and moving as soundless as ghosts attacked the two happily chatting men seemingly out of nowhere. They had no time to reach for a weapon or utter a warning. A short moment of dizziness and the ugly feeling of being paralyzed were followed by darkness. They had no time to realize two well-aimed shots from powerful stun guns had taken them out in seconds. Both would recover eventually, but not in the immediate future.
Lucy and Jen handcuffed and gagged both men, taking their weapons, flashlights, and other equipment. Even if they regained consciousness, they would no longer be a threat.
"Okay, let's get the girls," Lucy murmured. Just to be on the safe side she quickly swept the cave for surveillance or other electronic devices that might be used to guard the twins. She found nothing. There was still a remote chance of booby-traps, but considering the kidnappers had not shown much professionalism except with informatics and surveillance, Lucy assumed it was a good guess that there weren't any.
But they would watch every step, moving slowly, not rushing things, just in case. Lucy had enough experiences with seemingly harmless situations that had turned out very nasty, lethal even. She was not going to commit the same mistake twice.
From their position next to the men, they could not make out the twins. The passageway led further into the mountain and they carefully followed its path. After contouring a boulder they were finally able to make out a small widening, leading into another small cavern.
On the floor lay a body, motionless.
Lucy and Jen stopped, exchanged quick glances and made sure the way was clear before they rushed to the girl.
Kneeling beside the body, Lucy put out a hand and felt for the pulse point. Not finding any at the girl's throat she reached for her wrist. She needed to be sure, had to know for certain if the girl was alive or not. Carefully pressing her fingertips to the delicate wrist, Lucy finally got a slow, stuttering pulse. She let out the breath she had been holding, relaxing a bit for the time being. "Thank goodness, she's alive," she murmured addressing the still tense Jen next to her. "Cassidy, Caroline, can you hear me?" Not knowing which twin they had found, Lucy called out to the girl using both names. "Caroline? Cassidy?" There was no reaction; the girl was unconscious. That explained why the kidnappers had not bothered with more security, they had simply drugged the twins into unresponsive, non-threatening individuals. An easy and efficient, if somewhat ruthless, method to deal with prisoners.
Caressing the girl's cheek, Lucy took note how deathly cold it felt. The poor girl must have been lying on the bare floor in the cold and humid cave during all the time she had been kidnapped. No one had provided her with a blanket or other accommodations. Caroline or Cassidy was in a state of neglect, filthy and bruised, and most certainly suffering from hypothermia. Both women realized the twins needed medical attention and they needed it fast.
Unfortunately the second twin was nowhere to be seen. "Lucy, I'm going to take a closer look at this cavern, she should be here, why guard only one twin?" Jen's voice held all the concern she felt. She didn't want to think about reasons why guarding the second twin would not be necessary.
"Be careful, I attend to this one and I'll join you."
Taking out a space blanket, Lucy wrapped it carefully around the cold girl while quietly talking to her. She couldn't do much more for the time being, the medical equipment was in her backpack, outside.
"Hold on honey, we're going to find your sister and we are out of here. Just hold on," Lucy caressed the cold cheek one more time and went to join Jen.
It took them more than fifteen minutes to find the second girl. In the darkness they had missed a narrow fissure in the wall behind the boulder, leading to a second cavern.
Here was the missing twin, lying as motionless as her sister and much to the women's regret in much the same condition. Alive, but in dire need of medical care.
"We need to get them out of here, fast. You take this one, I'll carry the other. Let's bring them to the first cavern, see to them and leave them until the camp is secure." Jen nodded. They would radio team one from the cave mound and storm the camp as they had planned. Hopefully operations would not be too long, the kidnappers had weapons as they had discovered, but their rescue team still held the advantage of surprise.
"What about New York?" Jen asked Lucy.
"They are ready to move at my signal, arresting Tiffany and the silent observer we have been monitoring. Everyone is going down at once. No warnings, no escape."
o-o-o
TBC...
o-o-o