"Son, I know you are mad and nearly out of control now, but you have to think of Kate and get yourself in shape to do what we need to do for her. We cannot successfully undertake and discharge this mission if you are being controlled by emotion and not cool logic and training. Can you pull yourself together by the time we arrive at our destination?"

Rick turns to him and the visage that greets Hunt is all that is needed to tell his dad that he has this. There is nothing but ice in his countenance, a cold determination that would freeze the Gates of Hell itself. Inside that coldness is a determination that will not be denied. Tonight he will get his wife back, unharmed and untouched.

"Dad, you do not have to worry about my commitment to this.

I will return Kate to our family – tonight."

They drove on in silence to the address given them by the two club flunkies. Rick called Ryan again and asked if they had arrived at the two men's apartment yet. Ryan said they had and one of them was still unconscious when they arrived. He informed Rick that when the paramedics trailed a capsule of smelling salts, he had revived quickly. He did say one had a gunshot wound and Rick grinned and said to be sure he personally took his statement. He wanted to hear exactly what the man said when being questioned about the intrusion. Ryan agreed and Hunt simply said, "Might need to be convinced to keep his mouth shut."

Just then Rick let Hunt know they were only about two minutes away from the Long Island house matching the proffered address. Hunt began making preparations for a possible confrontation at the house. He did not like going into a location without actionable intelligence, but sometimes there was no other choice. This was one of those times. So Rick and Hunt would have to rely on their training and wits. If something came up quickly, they would have to be able to count on the other one to be their backup.

He quietly said to Rick, "This guy might have some sort of security team since they have the means to afford it and probably need it for personal protection, given the business being conducted here. I suggest we go in pretty heavily armed and quietly, not letting anyone know we are there until we have entered the house. We have to be sure to disable any alarm system, or at least know where they are so we can try to avoid them. Questions?"

"None yet."

Rick slowed the car and drove quietly past the main entrance to the house, which could, as the club flunkies hinted, be called a mansion. It had to be centered on seven or eight acres with a high wall around the entire compound. Infiltrating the area would be difficult at best. Hunt said he was up for ideas, even if they were dumb ones. Rick said, "I've got one." Rick opened the trunk and took a couple of pistols out of his private duffel, one his favorite silenced 50 AE Desert Eagle. He also placed a new knife in the scabbard on his thigh, replacing the one left staking the Lewd Man's hand to the table.

"Let's go try out this 'dumb idea'."

Hunt and Rick approached the main entrance of the mansion on foot, arms around each other singing and acting completely snockered drunk. There was indeed a guard at the front gate and they staggered up to him, laughing and stumbling.

"Hey, buddy, do you have a bathroom out here somewhere I can use? My partner says I can't pee on the sidewalk, says we'll get arrested. He's just no fun at all. What do you think?" Rick said, giving his best impression of a drunken comedian. When the guard stepped out from the gate, Hunt quickly and quietly dispatched him with his bare hands. The guard never knew what hit him.

"How much time do we have before he wakes up?" Rick asked.

"Oh, he will be out for several hours, plenty of time to get what we want from the inhabitants of this humble abode. Now, son, we may have to use more force to get into the main house than what we have before. Up for that?"

"Dad, don't ask me again if I can do what is required to get Kate back or I'll shoot you myself. There is nothing I won't do to bring her home safely."

"Alright then, let's check inside this guard house to determine what kind of security systems they have. My guess is it's not going to be that easy to get in undetected, so we will have to be diligent in our approach to the house. I see security feeds from many angles out here, probably cameras on all four corners and I see at least two along the drive. Looks like our best approach will be through this lightly wooded area to the east of the main house. We can skirt along this wall and not be seen by the perimeter cameras. Once we get to the trees, we will have to time our traverse to stay out of the view of this camera, which looks like it is mounted on a pole or building corner just east of the trees. It is sweeping on a . . . 30 second rotation cycle. So we have about 10 seconds to get to the trees before we are back in the field of view of the camera. Once there, we can move through the trees pretty easily and be within about 20 yards of the building. From there, it is open area to the main house. From all the security feeds I can see, we should have about 15 seconds of free time between sweeps of this camera," Hunt said, pointing to a screen on the display console. "It is on the eave of the porch roof where we are headed. Can you make that dash without being caught by this camera sweep?"

"Don't worry or wait on me. I'll get there with you, if not before. You're getting old, Dad, so it won't be a problem staying with you."

"Don't count your ole man out just yet, Rick. I'll put my years up against your writer's physique any day."

"OK, let's just get going. We can't wait here all night," Rick says, smiling at the easy bantering he is having with his Father. "Kate needs us."

"I agree, let's do this. We need to get her back before someone gets any ideas about trying to move her out of the country. If someone attempts that, our mission gets a lot more complicated, - not impossible, just more difficult. Ready, son?"

"Yes, let's go get her."

Rick and Hunt start to move quickly, and with no sound at all, along the east wall to the trees. Once in the proper position, they watch the surveillance camera for just the right time to move without being caught by the sweep. They have no trouble at all accomplishing this trek and silently move through the trees without being noticed. Once to the other edge of the trees, they time the camera sweep and quickly run to the front door.

Rick picks the lock on the door and they are in, Hunt rapidly silencing the alarm with his electronic alarm device. Now all they have to do is find the owner and rescue Kate.

As they start to move through the many rooms of the mansion, they meet and quickly dispatch several security personnel that are roaming the structure. Hunt is very pleased with the skills Rick is displaying, rapidly silencing and immobilizing the guards. He is also impressed with the quiet determination with which Rick performs, no wasted movement, just the right amount of force and no regrets in his actions. These people threatened the ones he loves and he will not tolerate any such conduct, from anyone. So far they have not had to discharge either's weapon, which helps maintain their stealth mode of movement. As they move up to the second level, they see a single solitary guard at a large double entry to a room. The doors are heavy oak and are very ornate. They both nod silently that this is probably their destination.

Rick times his approach to the guard as he is making his visual sweep and takes him out with a very effective sleeper hold, sentencing the guard to a night of not so restful slumber. He won't be a problem anymore tonight. The man was dispatched without a whisper of a sound, so those on the other side of this door have no idea the hell that is about to rain down on them.

Rick and Hunt prepare to enter the room, listening for any sound emanating from it. They hear nothing other than shuffling of feet from what sounds like one person and other noises like someone in fitful sleep. Rick checks the door handles very slowly and quietly, determining both are unlocked. Hunt holds up three fingers and counts them down, folding one finger at a time back into his fist. When he hits zero, they open each door simultaneously and enter the room with guns drawn. What they find is somewhat shocking and very disappointing.

Rick and Hunt stop immediately inside the door, swiftly taking in all that is to be seen in the room. What they find are several women in various states of undress and obviously drugged out of their minds. There's also a very obese man in his underwear and a robe hanging open from his shoulders, sitting at a large decorative desk, counting a very large pile of money. He looks like a grotesque Buddha in boxers.

Rick approaches him quietly so as not to alarm any of the women and send them into hysterics. He does not want to alert any guards that might still be viable threats. Once he moves to the desk with his Desert Eagle trained on the head of the very large man, he asks simply

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?" the fat guy retorts.

Rick smiles menacingly and says to the obese man, "Want to play a game? I will ask a question, and if I like the answer, I won't fire this very large pistol. If I don't like the answer, well you figure it out. You must be a smart man to be able to own all this and to be able to please all these women in one night. So what will it be, do you want to play, or do I just shoot you where you sit?"

"Ask your question," the man behind the desk begrudgingly answers.

"Put your hands on the table," Rick warns, "Now."

The man does as he is told and sits waiting for the questions.

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

BANG

The man now has a 50 caliber hole in his left hand, screaming as he's hit by Rick's bullet. Hunt simply nods his head almost imperceptibly, his face expressionless. The women don't even respond, so out of it with the drugs.

"Hope you are right handed," Hunt smirks at the man at the desk.

"I'll ask again," Rick says, "Where is she?" He moves the gun so the trajectory is on the man's right hand. The man starts to move his hand away from the desk and Rick says,

"Uh-uh, leave your hands on the table or I will be aiming between your hands and slightly lower. You will probably not be able to please any of these fine young ladies if that happens. Now, where is she?"

"I don't have her. I am simply a go between, a waypoint for the transfer of the women on the way to their final destination. The one you are looking for, she's a tall, really built brunette with a really nice ass?"

Rick has had enough of this worthless stretch of skin and hits him alongside the cheek with his pistol.

"Answer the damn question or I will put a bullet in that fat fucking face of yours. Where is she?"

"She's upstate, at the villa of the man who runs this operation. He took special interest in that fine piece of ass."

Hunt looks at Rick again and says, "Are all of these guys really this dumb?" and shoots the man in the leg, through the desk. "I'm going to have to reload if they don't wise up. This is getting very tiresome."

"Oh, have fun digging out all those splinters," Hunt laughs at the very fat slug. "Rick, you know something? This guy looks like Jabba the Hutt. Maybe we do to him what Leia did to the Hut. What do you think?"

Rick smirks that his dad would know of his Star Wars obsession.

Rick turns back to the man behind the desk.

"Is this the price of the captivity of my wife? Is this what you were paid for her degradation and humiliation? Is this worth what is going to be your fate after tonight?" Rick asks as he sweeps all the money on the floor, scattering it to the far reaches of the room. "I guess the ladies can have it when they come down from whatever drug you have pumped into them."

Once again, Hunt lays the notebook on the table and says, "Address," and puts the still hot barrel of his gun against the man's forehead. He smiles when he hears the sizzle of burning flesh.

The man quickly writes an address on the pad and hands it back to Hunt. "You won't get to her, this guy has a veritable army working for him. The best money can buy."

Hunt says quietly, but threateningly, "Better be the right address, or you won't walk out of here tonight. Now goodnight," and he slams him in the temple with the butt of his automatic pistol.

"Arrogant prick!"

Rick looks at the address the man had written and says, "Shit, this is four hours upstate. It will be nearly dawn when we get there."

Hunt finishes up tying the man to his desk chair with his phone cord and says to Rick, "Well, we better get started then. We don't want to disappoint the Missus."

"Or miss our meeting with the son of a bitch that runs this mess and has my wife. Let's go, now."