Chapter 33
By the time Danny and Steve returned to H50 HQ the whole team, including Adam, ware already at the workstation going through all the evidence. A tissue was found in the first van. Analysis showed that Sofia wiped her shoes with it. If she thought she'd transfer the assailant's DNA she was right. One match was found: Jane Obrovski, retired marine, current whereabouts unknown.
The second van was found at the port, recognised by a scratch that showed on one of the recordings. The registration plates were rotational and different to what was observed on the footage. There was no further useful evidence as the interior was wiped with a high concentration alcoholic solvent.
Steve showed Jerry the number Malina wrote on his arm. Jerry paused for a moment, staring at it and then said "Oh my God! I've… It must be the shy bug. I've only ever read about them… Hold on, I just need to get something." Jerry turned to the work station and started typing. "Yeah, I got it. Somewhere in that eastern bloc they developed an undetectable tracer. Long story short, it sits quietly until there is a free wave, then it rides. You need a code to lead it to you. The code acts like a magnet. It's like… Oh, here we go." Jerry said turning his attention to the screen. "What's the number?"
Jerry typed in the number and said "Now we wait. The moment it gets a free wave it will blink."
The team stood for a few moments looking at the screen, but there was nothing. "We just wait for it to ping?" Kono asked.
Jerry shrugged "On the bright side, it cannot be detected. It turns itself off as soon as it sense something strong in its vicinity."
"So, the fact that there is no signal means that she is still surrounded by others. She's not alone?" Steve said.
"Yes. But it could be anything…" Jerry was interrupted by a ping. They hoped it was the signal, but it turned out to be some other alert.
Jerry pulled up the alert; an article in which Malina revealed her true identity. Even though it was published by a small local newspaper, it went viral within half an hour. Everyone stood around, reading it in shock.
"There is no mention of Sofia." Jerry said.
"That's why she did it." Steve said flexing his neck to undo the stiffness. "It's not her."
While others looked at each other in confusion, Steve took out his phone to call Malina. Her phone was switched off.
"I have to go speak to the reporter." Steve said.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" Danny asked.
"Steve, I can call her. Moani is a friend." Kono suggested.
"Alright, call her and let me talk to her." Steve said.
The conversation with Moani was short and professional. She told Steve how she and Malina had a long conversation over coffee. Malina called her about 40 minutes later, about quarter to six, to correct the article. She said that it was time to tell the truth since her father's killed had been convicted and that she was tired of hiding. Moani couldn't believe her ears, or her luck. She never would have guessed.
"There is no problem with the story, is there?" Moani asked. "Malina told me if there is anything untrue that she's happy to answer all questions."
"No, no, the story is fine. Did she say anything about future plans?" Steve said.
"Not really. We just said we'd meet again once the lectures start in September. I wouldn't be surprised if the university changed the venue for the lectures. Students are really hyped." Moani replied.
Steve thanked her and finished the conversation. He tried calling Malina again, but her phone was still switched off. 'Don't worry about me, I'm fine' echoed in his mind. Should he trust her or should he go home and check on her?
"So, I've been going through this again." Lou said. "Sofia sends a message to Sam saying she wants to meet up. Sam replies…"
"No…" Steve said slowly. "Sam invited Sofia to hang out."
"Steve, I'm pretty sure Sam said that Sofia sent her a message." Lou persisted.
"Jerry, can you check the messages?" Chin said.
Jerry pulled up the messages that Sofia and Sam exchanged. "No, neither one invited the other. There was a third party interception. Basically, third party sent a message to the one and the other and then navigated the conversation from there. The third party left and then Sofia and Sam had a conversation about engagement, dresses, shopping, meeting earlier…"
"Jerry, can you find out who the third party is?" Steve said.
"I'll do my best." Jerry said as the system beeped.
Sofia's tracking device came to life. The signal came from the Pacific, nearing Mexico. It didn't take long to calculate that they must be on an aeroplane since they reached so far.
"I got this." Adam said referring to an acquisition of an aeroplane. "Steve, I got this. Give me a couple of hours. I'll call you where to meet us."
"I'm coming with." Kono said.
Steve kept looking at the little dot on the large screen. The idea that that was his daughter sent chills down his spine. Where were they taking her? Mexico, Morocco, Africa, perhaps further east, depending on the type of beast they are in, they could get anywhere in the world. Steve's mind raced through all the friends he could call, what kind of help he'll need. At what point would it be alright for him to say that Sofia is Malina's daughter? Would that be ever alright? If it meant saving Sofia, yes it would be alright. He even thought about calling his mother, but she might bring more heat than help.
Steve tried calling Malina again, and again her phone was off. He asked HPD to swing by his house. They informed him that his car was parked in front and that the light was on in the kitchen. He was satisfied that she was home. Other journalists were probably calling so she turned her phone off.
Steve kept checking the article. Thousands of posts from around the world, some not even in English, yet not one mention of her daughter being kidnapped that day. There was a post on line about a girl being kidnapped in broad daylight, but it went quite. Few commented how the horrible it is, wondering what the world is coming to and if we're safe, and a few people wished well for the girl and her family.
Sofia's signal kept going on and off. Steve became accustomed to it. In this case, he preferred safe and slow to fast that could turn into all kinds of things.
Adam found an aeroplane and had it prepared before calling Steve. He had already assumed that he would pilot it, so that Steve can get on with coordinating information. After all, they still had no idea where they were going. Kono had also already decided that she is going, though it never felt like a decision. A decision assumes there was a thought process, in this case, Kono didn't give it a moment of thought. Danny, Chin and Lou simply followed Steve after Adam called.
"McGarrett, do you think you're going alone?" Lou said noticing how Steve got ready, without any reference to them.
"Guys this is…" Steve shook his head.
"This is where we're at." Lou said nodding. "Do you think I can go home, face my own daughter, if I let you go without me?"
"Besides, considering the other case, our days might be numbered anyway, so…" Danny sounded like going on this chase with Steve was lesser of two evils.
"How often do we get a chance to chase someone around the world?" Chin smiled patting Steve on the back. "Now, apart from that signal, we've got nothing else, is that right?" Chin asked, Lou and Danny shook their heads.
"Oh, and before I forget," Jerry said feeling proud to stay behind and be the informant, "I've made this for you." He handed Steve a phone. "The device can be tracked only by a specific programme that takes way too much space, so it can't fit on your phone. I've put it on this old thing. I've modified it a little bit… It has nothing but Sofia's tracking."
"Thank you. That's great Jerry. And just… Keep doing what you're doing." Steve said.
Jerry nodded watching the whole team leave. For a moment he wondered if he will ever see them again. Then he smiled and whispered 'Jerry, you can be a real Dopey sometimes'.
They were airborne by 4:28 in the morning, travelling east, making the sun rise much faster and come to its full glory in no time at all. Sofia was already over the North Atlantic. Steve hoped that Mexico was their destination, but as soon as he realised that they weren't losing altitude, he knew they'd keep going. Now that he was behind her, he felt calmer and more like himself.
Hours passed. Morocco was also not their destination nor was Africa. Sofia's tracer followed the line of the international waters of the Mediterranean, swinging under Sicily, then Greece, then Turkey, until it turned left into the Turkish airspace just at the border with Syria. It kept going. Steve thought if it doesn't start losing altitude soon, Russia might be their destination. He had very few contacts in Russia. While he wondered about his contacts in Ukraine or Kazakhstan, Sofia's plain started losing altitude, her tracer becoming more off than on. Eventually it showed that they landing in eastern Turkey. Iran, Iraq and Syria were practically a 'stone-throw' away.
Steve felt relieved. Compared to other options, this was the best. Sofia's tracer was scarcely on, until it went off and stayed off for a while.
Jerry checked the location. He found that CIA had a bunker there at one point, but that it was abandoned decades ago. That could be it. According to Jerry, it looked like it; a long tunnel of about half a mile, buried ten meters underground.
"I'm not sure how accurate these are," Jerry said, "but those maps are the best I've got."
Steve examined the maps. "They built this?" Steve asked.
"Not exactly. Apparently it's been there for thousands of years, it was just fixed up and used by the operatives. But then there were issues and the place was just abandoned."
"I'm seeing only one entry?" Steve said.
"Yes. There's no other way to get in or out of the tunnel or the bunker or whatever that is. That's why it's good for keeping stuff, but not for keeping yourself." Jerry remarked.
"It makes this easy." Lou said. "Of course, depending on what we find one the ground."
"Assault on this would be easy if we were taking out a thing, but…" Chin said. "They'll probably keep her at the very end of the tunnel."
"And we have to assume that there are guards all over?" Steve added. "Jerry, see if you can get anything else from there, anything. It doesn't…"
"Steve!" Lou interrupted holding his ringing phone. "It's the number."
"Hello… Honey…"
"Daddy…" Sofia's voice came muddled through the receiver. Just hearing her voice made him feel elated.
"Sofia…" Steve said as the line went dead.
Chapter 34
Sofia woke up cuffed to her seat, to the sound of quite buzzing. It took her a few moments to gather her thoughts. She was on an aeroplane. She remembered being with Sam, and the van that stopped, she remembered the way she was taken. She could also remember her hands cuffed behind her back, she was curled in the back of the van, on a cold metal floor, but she managed to take out a wipe from her back pocket and wipe her shoes. That's where her memory failed to exist.
She looked around. There wasn't much to see in the shadows of what felt like a tail of a plane. She sat thinking back to all the lessons she had over the years. None of that seemed helpful now. All she really wanted to do is wake up from the horrible nightmare.
Once the plane touched the ground Sofia felt physically sick with fear. A masked woman, the same one that took her, Sofia recognised her lips and eyes, came in to put a blindfold on her. Sofia thought about resisting, she wanted to resist, but then she thought that could be a sign of weakness so she just let things go as they will.
She was led off the plane, there weren't so many steps, and grass was under her feet within a few more steps. They walked on the grass for about hundred meters. Then they started walking down some steps that never seem to end. They were higher and narrower than usual steps. Even under her blindfold Sofia could tell it became darker. The air felt strange, it reminded of the underground trains in Istanbul. Sofia wished she was there, with her mother, museum hopping, arguing with the flirtations sellers in Capali Carsi and drinking tea from those small glasses, endless supply of tea for the millions of little glasses.
Sofia wondered how long they had walked on the flat, paved surface inside this tunnel. She couldn't tell and she forced herself to stop trying to figure it out. It made her feel even more nervous. They stopped to the sound of squeaking. The woman took off the cuffs from Sofia's hands. Sofia took of the blindfold as soon as her hands were free. She stood in front of a heavy door, wide open. The man, tall and dark, with a big scar below his left eye, holding the door, gestured for her to get in. Sofia knew it wasn't a question, but she chose to walk slowly, carefully examining the room of concrete walls, some dusty parts of something, and a bench on the back wall of the room. The moment Sofia stepped in, the heavy door was closed behind her with a bang.
Sofia felt a strange sense of relief. Whatever was to happen, was not to happen yet. She considered that good news.
In the shadow of a corner on the bench Sofia noticed a figure.
"Please sister…" a short, thin man said standing up and holding his palms wide open in front of him. "Don't be scared. I am Khalid." He placed his hand on his chest.
Sofia wasn't afraid. She approached him and realised that he is even smaller up close, top of his head barely reached her chin.
"What is your name?" Khalid said in heavy Arabic accent, squinting at her behind his broken glasses.
"Sofia. I'm Sofia. Are you a prisoner here?" Sofia said.
"Oh sister, I don't know what I am. They say Khalid you safe now. I not feel safe." Khalid shook his head and sat back down. "I had a terrible accident sister, terrible."
"What happened?" Sofia sat next to him.
"Oh they wanted to kill me. Then they thought I might done good, so they don't kill me. They keep me in prison. Prison had a window, sister. Now, Khalid don't have window." Khalid pointed at the walls.
Sofia felt like laughing. This poor mad was clearly mistaken for someone else. He somehow found himself in an action movie, but he clearly belonged in a cartoon.
"Khalid don't know what to do now. My poor mother must be sick with worry." Khalid lowered his head on his palm.
"Okay, Khalid, I think we might both be fine." Sofia said.
"Oh no sister, Khalid never be fine again. Khalid had terrible accident."
"What accident?" Sofia said. "You know what, hold that thought."
"Hold what sister?" Khalid raised his eyebrows and focused on Sofia as if she was asking him for the answer to a very complicated mathematical equation.
"Just wait." Sofia said, turned away from him and struggled to get the phone from her bra. She turned back to Khalid. "I have this and two very crazy parents who will get us out. Do you know where we are?"
"Yes sister, Turkey." Khalid replied.
"What!" Sofia said while she waited for her phone to turn on. "What Turkey? Turkey as in Ankara, Istanbul…"
"Alanya, Izmir… Troy sister" Khalid smiled. "You know Troy? Very good story. War. You like Helena."
Sofia couldn't get her head around the idea that she was wishing she was in Turkey and that she really was. "Where are you from?" Sofia asked.
"Iran. What about you sister?" Khalid said.
"Bosnia." Sofia replied glancing at her phone.
"Bosnia?" Khalid's face seemed brighter. "Really sister?"
"Err, yes, really."
"Sarajevo?" Khalid said.
Sofia smiled. She never understood why people east always ask the question as a suggestion while people in the west asked the same question but they were always far more precise 'where are you from' or 'which city/town are you from'.
"Close, Zenica. North from Sarajevo. Okay, Khalid, how long have you been here?" Sofia asked.
"Khalid don't know sister. No sun, no moon. No people. They bring food at eight, one and six, and they go. No one speak to Khalid."
"I'm sure there is someone in front of this door?" Sofia said.
"No, never. I listen. Never any sound. You first people I see in many time." Khalid looked sad and happy at the same time.
Sofia thought for a moment if that is possible. She went to the door, lifting herself on the tips of her toes she peeped through the little opening. There was no one there. She could see both sides of the tunnel that seems to go on forever, and there was no one there. Sofia considered that both odd and comforting.
"I think you are right. There doesn't seem to be anyone here." Sofia said shrugging. "Well, we don't have to worry about them hearing us, though I think that door is sound proof anyway."
Sofia looked at her phone and said "I am so stupid. I expected to get a reception down here." She shook her head.
"Service?" Khalid said pointing at the phone.
"No service." Sofia shook her head again.
Khalid came over to the dusty pile of odd things, lifted some blanket and said "This sister. Wire. Antenna."
Sofia frowned tilting her head. "How do you know?"
"Khalid knows. Me. I know. I connect. You call for help." Khalid said sounding more like a grown up.
Sofia still wondered for a moment, but then thought 'what's the worst that can happen'. She gave Khalid the phone. Khalid fiddled with it for a few moments connecting the wires to it. "You can't lift it, but call on floor." Khalid said gesturing his order as if articulating it wasn't enough.
"Okay, I leave it on floor." Sofia said wondering why she's starting to speak like Khalid. "Oh no, I have no numbers in this phone. Oh wait!" Sofia clicked to the call log. The only number listed was the one Steve told her to dial on that speed boat that saved them.
"Daddy…" She said when the ringing sound turned to buzzing, but then even buzzing stopped.
"Khalid, it's not working." Sofia said.
"Bad system sister." He clicked something then shook his head. "I can only say try, try, try." Khalid shrugged.
"Okay, I'll keep trying. Why don't you tell me about your accident or is that a secret?" Sofia said looking at her phone and then at Khalid interchangeably.
"Oh sister. Satan himself gave me stupid idea. Khalid ruined much uranium. Uranium to water." He said gesturing like a conductor gestures for an orchestra to stop playing.
Sofia though for a moment, she thought so hard she forgot to check the phone. Khalid's face seemed serious, sad and comic. Sofia couldn't hold in her laughter. "I'm so sorry." She said. "I'm so sorry."
Khalid began to laugh, but his laughter was considerably different to Sofia's.
"Khalid, if that is true, that really is a terrible, terrible accident." Sofia laughed against her better judgement. "I'm so sorry. I don't mean to laugh. And it is not funny."
"Very funny sister, until I go prison. They tell me I against Iran. Then I best in Iran." Khalid shrugged. "They don't know, sister. They don't know Khalid did not want problems. Khalid thought he make manmade uranium. Not so sister. Khalid pray and pray to Allah to keep Iran safe, and then…" Khalid's eyes filled with tears that seemed huge under his glasses.
"It's okay. You know, Allah works in mysterious ways… Daddy! Hello… daddy!" Sofia said leaning close to the phone.
"Sofia… Honey… I…" Steve said and then the line went dead again.
"Okay, Khalid, I need you to focus now. Okay? Can you do that?" Sofia looked sternly at him. "I need you to tell me all you know about this place."
"Big tunnel, sister." Khalid said.
Sofia waited for more, but Khalid just stared back at her like a child. "Do you know how many people are here?" She said.
"Ten, maybe twenty maximum." Khalid replied thinking. "They have guns."
"Do you know where they're from?" Sofia asked.
"Americans." Khalid replied.
"Americans?" Sofia sat up. "You are just full of surprises. What do they want with me?" Sofia wondered out loud.
"Very strange, sister. I also think very strange. Do you have accident?" Khalid said.
Sofia burst into laughter that she tried to control but failed. "I'm so sorry. No, no I did not have an accident." She said wondering why she was taken. What did they want with her?
"You from Bosnia." Khalid repeated his question not intending to sound like he didn't trust her.
"I was in Hawaii when these idiots took me and brought me here." Sofia replied. "But I am from Bosnia. I was born during the war."
Khalid looked like he was deep in thought twisting the hairs on his chin between his fingers. "Hawaii? That is very, very far."
"I know. I must have been injected with something, I slept the whole journey. My mother will flip." Sofia said still dialling the only number on her phone.
"Sister, I…" Khalid began, taking out a small A6 notebook from his pocket and a pencil that looked small even in his bony hand. "I give you something." He said getting up and going over to the bench. He sat down, bent over the notebook, his nose barely an inch away from the paper that he was scribbling on.
Sofia turned her full attention to the phone. She kept dialling, but the line kept breaking. She decided to try to type a message. Typing proved tough with the buttons that she was not accustomed to while trying to keep the phone on the floor; typing number 2 three times to get letter C was just annoying. But she persisted until she typed: E Turkey, 10-20 armed ppl, underground lrg tunl. As she tried to send it, the phone kept saying that the message sending failed. She didn't bother counting the number of times she tried. She told herself to stay patient and to continue to pressing the send button until it says that the message is sent. Eventually it did. The phone finally said the magic words 'message sent'. Sofia waited for a reply. The reply came much faster. Her relief was beyond this world when she got the words: On our way. B thr soon.
"We're saved!" Sofia jumped up. "Khalid, we're saved! My father is on his way."
"They know where we are?" Khalid said lifting his head.
"I guess." Sofia shrugged. "What are you writing?" Sofia asked looking at the almost full notebook.
Khalid raised one finger, which Sofia took to mean that she should wait. She went over to the door to check if anyone was coming. The tunnel was still completely empty.
"Here sister, for you." Khalid said handing her the notebook. "Your safe. You keep this if you need you give it. If not, you burn it. Okay?"
Sofia took the notebook and flicked through it. It had all kinds of strange symbols, some text written in English, and something that looked like equations to Sofia.
"That is what all want. You have it. You buy your safe." Khalid said.
"My safety?" Sofia asked. "You are giving me this in case I need to exchange it?"
"Khalid will die but will not give his brain to other strange people. Khalid wants to go home. See my mother."
Sofia smiled. "I know what you mean." She said deeply moved by the gesture. She put the notebook in the pit of her lower back where it would be safe yet unnoticed.