Chapter 12

The travel to the warehouse was very quiet. In the first car were Frank, John, Kick and Agent Kennedy who had called and briefed a Swat team and rescuers. In the second Weller car, Patterson Jane and Reade were anxious. They have a thousand questions, unable to stop thinking. Obviously, they were more than happy to have located Tasha. Only in view of the information none of them allowed themselves to release the pressure until they knew more about her physical and mental condition.

Kurt was driving. The young father was determined to end this nightmare and bring their friend home no matter what he had to do. Jane was in the same state as her husband. Moreover, she couldn't help but rethink the confidences made by the Hispanic a few weeks earlier. She had already suspected that the young woman had lived difficult things. No one was born with such fear to engage, to open to others and to have a broken heart. Also, it wasn't natural to always bring others' happiness before her own, even with a big heart. Patterson vowed to do everything possible to have her best friend recover from this horrible experience quickly, as possible as it could be. The blonde had no trouble imagining the devastating damage of such a childhood on the self-esteem, but she would do everything she could to make her understand how much she deserved to be happy. Reade, meanwhile, was completely stoic. Since they had learned that Tasha had been kidnapped and everything she went through, he was no longer able to think properly. All he had in mind was how meaningless his life was without her at his side. When they had not talked to each other for a whole year it was hard, but he knew she was there somewhere and that she was fine. Besides at that time, all that animated him was the anger and pain he felt when she left. Today all this seemed so ridiculous. All he wanted to know was that she would be fine, hold her in his arms and promise her that he would not let anything happen to her. Since he watched the video, he couldn't help but reviewing images of her, exhausted, full of blood, her body stretched by pain. He couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that she was already dead. No one could endure such horrors indefinitely.

"We have arrived," Kurt interrupted. They all got out of the car and joined the control room established a hundred meters from the buildings. They had to remain discreet to avoid bloodshed. Nobody wanted to take the risk that Tasha was caught in a crossfire.
"We will do four teams, each taking an entry. According to satellite tracking, there would be five people, but they did not see any movement. We approach as discreetly as possible and neutralize them gently. Once the building is secure, the medical team is called. The only goal is to bring Zapata alive. Understood?" Franck asked, addressing all the agents on the spot. They nodded resolutely and went to equip themselves. Once their guns were fired, auricles and assault rifles in their hands, they launched the operation.

Cautiously and under James' orders, the officers began to advance. In a perfect synchronization, they returned to the warehouse. They were ready to deal with several armed men, but the place was strangely very quiet. Intrigued they continued their way. At the end of a hallway the team fell on a twenty years old man, Hispanic and with gang member tattoos. Weller, who was on the front line, was about to announce himself when he realized he is staggering. Looking more ready he saw a gunshot wound. When the man fainted, he approached and took his pulse. He turned to his friends and nodded his head in a negative way.

"Tasha," They all whispered smiling. Even if they must stay cautious it was a very good sign. She is the only one who could have done that, and it meant that she had tried to escape. Maybe she even made it. They continued their way until they found themselves in the main room. To the general surprise they found three other members of the Trinitarios and their two suspects ashore. They were all visibly shot. However, there was no trace of their teammate. When they saw that Kurt, Jane, Patterson land Reade panicked. If she was not there while the tracer said where could be their friend. Maybe they found the implant. They had withdrawn her and after torturing her for hours they had killed her. Her body had been buried in a place where they would never find her, and this slaughter was only a coincidence. They could also have moved her or even sold her. The possibilities were endless
"Damn Patterson you said it was reliable your thing but where is it?" Reade began by getting annoying. Under pressure, he knocked into a container.
"Hey, calm down, we're all on edge, okay? I reviewed the documents it's reliable. The tracker's here. Since I don't see any way for them to find it, it means that she's somewhere within a 20-meter radius," The blonde replied in the same tone. She knew that this anger was not directed on her only she was far too frightened to stay rational.
"James the five people spotted by the thermal vision were kidnappers. They are all dead but there is no trace of Agent Zapata. Do you see anything on your screens?" Frank told his consultant through his earpiece.
"No with all the agents present the radars are useless but Agent Patterson is right the tracer is there. I downloaded the plans it's a real maze you absolutely must keep digging."
"Good everyone is combing the area thoroughly. We have a missing person and we have to find her as soon as possible," He cried out to get everyone aware of the rest of the operations. The agents distributed themselves in small groups and lock down the warehouses, opened the containers present and some cover even the outside areas.

After a few minutes, policemen stationed outside shouted.
"We have a body here." At this announcement, they looked at each other terrified. It was not possible she couldn't be dead. They couldn't have lost her.
"Oh my god," Reade said just before letting go of everything he held in his hands. He hurriedly ran to the motionless figure of his best friend followed closely by his colleagues and two rescuers. Tears came to his eyes as soon as he arrived near her. Tasha was in a state that left no doubt about what she had gone through. She was wearing the same blouse and pants as last night, but they were torn, covered in blood and dirt. Bruises and cuts covered her skin. Her eyes were closed and her skin so pale that it was easy to guess she had lost a lot of blood. Without thinking, he collapsed close to her and put her head on his lap. Her long brown hair covered her head. He pushed them delicately and caressed the outlines of her faces with his fingertips
"Tasha, Tasha," He kept repeating, crying. The paramedics arrived and took her constants without moving him.
"The pulse is very weak and spinning but he is there," He confirmed trying to be reassuring. In fact, the doctor was very worried because in view of the first findings the situation was very worrying. They began to work to stabilize the young woman so that she could be transported to the hospital. Everyone was praying for not being arrived too late to save her. After a while, they saw the young woman start to move. She opened her eyes slightly. Tasha coughed and breathed hard.
"Hey, slow down," Edgar gasped with relief.
"Reade? Am I dreaming?" She asked hoarsely. Her body relaxed at his gentle touched and she lowered her guard for the first time in hours. If she dreamed of being in her best friend's arms she must have ended up in paradise.
"No, it's real. You are safe now everything is over," He replied with a smile. The brunette let out a lonely tear he wiped her tenderly with his thumb.
"I had them all, huh? He is dead?" She implored, looking for a positive answer.
"Yes, they all are. He will never be able to hurt you again."
"I'm so sorry for dragging you into this."
"Don't apologize, we are a family, we watch over each other. Now stop talking and keep your forces ok. We will take care of all this later."
"I can't Reade it hurts," The young woman replied continuing to cry. She had struggled for hours to stay alive despite the hell she was undergoing but it was getting so difficult. With time she had developed a great resistance to pain but now she could no longer fight. She was in pain, so bad that it was unbearable. She felt weak and couldn't breathe.
"No Tasha stay with me, I know it's hard, but you have to hang on. Please stay with me," The young man begged completely devastated. He could see she was exhausted. Things did not depend on her or him, but he couldn't bear the thought of losing her. His heart quickened when he saw her close her eyes again.
"I'm sorry I love you, Reade," The Hispanic whispered before losing consciousness.
"Natasha," Edgar shouted, tightening his grip on her. His tears redoubled harder and he was going crazy. The pain that prevailed was much stronger than all he had known. It was as if he could feel every piece of his heart breaks inside his body.

"Sir, you must let us work," The paramedic explained, trying to get closer. Seeing that the words would not work, Kurt and agent Bishop took their colleague by the shoulders and pulled him back to join the group of officers watching. Not everyone knew the young woman personally, but they were more than moved by the emotion that arose the situation. Weller was now staring at the portable defibrillator screen unable to stop looking at the numbers saying that her friend's heart was not beating anymore. Jane had taken refuge in her husband's arms in search of comfort. Patterson was beside them, her eyes blank and with tears. She gently took Reade's hand. When their eyes met, they were crushed by the weight of the ambient sorrow.

"Clear." They jumped at the sound of the device. Tasha's body lifted under the effect of the electric shock, but nothing changed. Her two best friends burst into tears.
"Repeat, load at 200 ... Clear" The same sound resonated in Reade's head again and again, never stopping. All that mattered was the noise. He wanted it to stop. It had to stop; her heart starts beating again. His breathing quickened and his vision blurred.
"Again ... Clear." Kick approached her teammate as he watched the scene. The young man wrapped his arms around her shoulders and looked at her sadly. They never had to take their affairs too seriously but that was exactly what they had all done. It couldn't end like that, after all, they had done, all she had gone through.
"There's nothing left to do," One of the two helpers said, talking to his superior. Hearing this, the four friends became livid. Reade moved away from the group and ran his hands over his face, breathing noisily. The panic rising in him was unprecedented. He knelt, starting to hyperventilate.
"One last time, 5 milligrams of epi, one charge at 250," The chief ordered affected by the situation. The two rescuers repeated the operation under the watchful eye of all the agents who had lost hope. Patterson, Jane, and Weller were all three clumped together, unable to stand alone. Edgar was at their feet, sitting on the floor, his head in his lap.
"We have a rhythm," He exclaimed in shock. It was almost a miracle that such a weak heart would leave after so much time. They all looked at each other with hope. It was unexpected, she was still alive. The assistant director raised his head slightly. He looked haggard, completely lost in thought. After this nightmare, she still found the strength to fight even though she did not think it was possible.
"She is very weak we must take her to the hospital as soon as possible."
"Go ahead and do what you have to do," Franck said, breathing again.

They placed Tasha on a stretcher, put her in the ambulance and drove off as quickly as possible to the nearest hospital. The team of Agent Novak organized the continuation of the operations in order to close the case. Kurt went to his friend and helped him get up because he was still very weak after his panic attack and then they went to their car to go to with their colleague, but Jane dropped the car keys out from her pocket because her hands were shaking. Kick hastened to pick them up.
"I will take you, none of you are able to drive."
"It's a good idea," The young woman thanked with a smile.

The five of them got into the car and took the road at once relieved to have found their friend but also terrified to the idea of losing it forever.