Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.
Chapter 8: Confession and What Was Most Certainly a Painful Death.
Toby pulled up in front of the very damaged warehouse right on time as Mojave and Nighthawk materialized from the darkness of the building. Each carried a little girl in their arms.
" Sarah, Mandy, you can open your eyes now, we're out of the building." Said Nighthawk. The two girls opened their eyes and looked around their surroundings. then they both clung to their individual rescuer tightly as the four of them made their way to the massive black SUV a few feet away. Toby quickly got out of the driver's seat and opened the side passenger door. The four people piled into the car. Nighthawk and Mojave quickly wrapped the girls in the thick army green blankets Toby had kept in the trunk. Now they were waiting for their leader to materialize out of the delapidated warehouse, Mandy and Sarah seated comfortably between the two CIA operatives. True to form, Ghost appeared with the unconscious form of Blake Jennings draped over a shoulder.
" Pop the trunk." Growled Ghost.
Toby obeyed without question and watched the CIA Operative unceremoniously dump his battered burden into the trunk bed before wordlessly heading for the front passenger seat. Toby trotted around to the driver's side and got in.
Ghost took off his night-vision googles, exposing his eyes through the mask he still wore. He turned around to look behind him to see the rest of his team and the hostages they'd just rescued.
" Mandy, Sarah, are you two alright?" He asked in a voice that was gruffer than his usual tone, though his deep brown eyes conveyed his concern and caring. The two girls nodded vigorously, captivated by this new stranger.
" A-are you gonna take us home?" Asked Mandy.
" Yes, we are. We're gonna be headed back to the city, your mom and dad are waiting for us." Answered Ghost. Nighthawk and Mojave also removed their goggles, giving themselves more humanity for the girls sake.
Ghost turned to Toby and nodded, Toby started the car and made a U-turn back onto the road, leaving the dilapidated building behind them. As the night-time scenery passed them by, Ghost pulled out his cell-phone and pressed a number on speed-dial.
" RING"..." RING"..." RING"...
" Steele." Came the reply.
" It's me sir, it's done, we have the hostages and Jennings." Said Ghost, all business.
" Is he dead?" Asked Steele.
" Not yet sir, but trust me, he will be." Said Ghost calmly.
" Whatever you're planning, make sure it works. And get those girls home safe. Oh, and don't worry about the warehouse which I am sure is very messy at the moment, I'll take care of it." Said Steele before the line went dead.
Ghost put his phone back into his pocket before turning to the back seat.
" Is anyone hungry?" He asked. He watched with a tiny smile as two identical hands shot up.
" Guess we should stop by Burger King or somthing. We have an hour to spare before midnight." Said Ghost to Toby.
The blonde CIA agent nodded in agreement as they all settled in for the ride, the forest giving way to the city of Angels.
The SUV weaved it's way through the now sparce traffic and pulled into a Burger King drive-thru. Toby had killed the light and Ghost hid his face in the shadow the car provided.
" Hello,I'd like to order two junior mealswith two smallvanilla milkshakes please." Said Toby as he fished out the cash from his wallet.
" You so owe me man."Muttered Toby under his breath as he handed the cashier at the window the mony and accepted the food when it came, passing it back to Mandy and Sara.
Nighthawk and Mojave watched in amusment as the two girls went at it with the best. They devoured their meals and sat content, a protective arm around each of them as Toby continued on to the West Valley Mall parking lot. As they drove, Ghost reached into one of his other pockets and pulled out a contact lens container.
Meanwhile, at said parking lot, Don popped his gum for the millionth time, much to the annoyance of Megan Reeves, who shot him a glare.
" Sorry." Muttered Don as he stared back out into the lot, back to a still pacing Daniel Rudyard. It was ten minutes to midnight, ten minutes before the kidnapper said he'd show. The minutes passed by painfully before a noise was heard. The entire FBI unit that was their immediately became alert as a massive black SUV pulled into the parking lot.
" Hold your positions guys, we go only when the girls are safely out of the way." Said Don into his mich.
" Copy." Came the grainy voices of David and Colby. They all watched tensely as the SUV came to a stop a few feet away from Daniel Rudyard.
Inside the car, Ghost blink his eyes as he got used to the contact lenses he'd just donned, turning his deep brown eyes to a very icy shade of blue. Hopefully, that would be enough for his own brother not to recognize the face behind the mask. Ghost turned to the back and eyed the eager faces of Mandy and Sarah Rudyard when they caught a glimpse of their father in the distance. Then a moan came from the trunk, Blake Jennings was awake from his little nap. The two girls clung to either Mojave or Nighthawk, fearful of the man who'd put them through this hellish day and night.
" Okay, Mandy, Sarah, these two guys are gonna take you to your dad. I'm gonna handle the guy in the back so don't worry about him, he'll never hurt you again, I promise." Said Ghost.
" Why are you're eyes different?" Asked Sarah.
"It's for security reasons." Said Ghost simply. The two girls looked at their three saviors.
" Are we gonna see you again?" Asked Mandy. At this question, Ghost answered carefully.
"I don't think so sweetheart, but you never know." Said Ghost, earning twin smiles from the two girls.
Outside, FBI agents had moved into position, ready to take out the " Bad guys".
" Let's do this." Said Ghost as he opened his side door, Mojave and Nighthawk doing the same.
Daniel Rudyard watched tensely as the doors of the SUV opened and men wearing black came out. His heart stopped when he saw two of them carrying the blanket wrapped forms of his two daughters.
" Mandy? Sarah!" He yelled. In the background, Don and the other FBI agent stood on high alert, wondering what the " Kidnappers" were up to.
" DADDY!" Yelled Mandy and Sarah as they still clung to their rescuers but waved at their father. Nighthawk and Mojave slowly made their was to Daniel Rudyard and handed their precious bundles to the very relieved man before them.
" Oh God, are you to all right? Are you hurt? I love you. I love you!" Cried Daniel Rudyard as he wrapped his arms around his girls, kneeling on his knees as he hugged them. Nighthawk and Mojave both turned and began to walk away when the enevitable yell came.
" FBI! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
Don Eppes and his fellow agent converged onto the scene, they formed a semi-circle around the two masked men, making sure to keep their distance when they saw the numerous weapons these two carried. Daniel Rudyard began to move back woth his girls, taking them away from the dangerous situation when out of nowhere, both of the girls broke free from his grasp.
" Mandy! Sara! Yelled Daniel in shock as he watched his girls run towards the two masked men. They managed to push past the FBI agents, who were caught off guard by them. Sara and Mandy threw themselves into Nighthawk and Mojave's arms as the two men kneeled down to catch them. The two girls had used themselve to sheild their rescuers.
" What the hell? Lower your weapons now!" Yelled Don, shocked beyond belief at what he was seeing. Both Mandy and Sarah started wailing in unison as the men they were hugging tried to calm them down.
" Mandy, Sarah, sweethearts please get away from them, their bad men!" Yelled Daniel Rudyard as David struggled to keep him back.
" NOOOO... THEY SAVED US FROM THE BAD MEN!" Wailed Mandy as she clung tighter to Mojave.
" PLEASE DON'T HURT THEM!" Cried Sarah as she hugged Nighthawk, all the while sobbing uncontrollably.
These two statements sent shockwaves through the FBI agents.
" Everybody, lower your weapons!" Yelled Colby, his eyes still glued on the scene before them. Nighthawk was gently rubbing Sarah back and whispering reassurances in her ear while Mojave did the same thing. Then, a rustling sound was heard as a third masked man materialized from the darkness. Ghost looked from the plethora of FBI Agents to his two guys and the two girls they had in their arms. He glanced back at Toby, who'd also donned a mask and held a vice-like grip on the hooded and still groggy Blake Jennings in the shadows.
Don watched as this new guy made his way over to the two kneeling men.
" Mandy, Sarah, it's gonna be okay, just come here. Come to me." Whispered Ghost gruffly hoping Don wouldn't recognize his voice.
Mandy and Sarah hesitantly let go of Nighthawk and Mojave and walked over to Ghost, still weeping. The FBI watched as this new man gently pulled both girls into a hug. They in turn hugged him back.
" You girls are really brave you know that?" Chuckled Ghost softly.
" We don't want them to hurt you." Blubbered Sarah.
" They won't. Now look at me." Said Ghost as he pulled back and met two pairs of weepy green eyes.
"You see that pretty FBI lady over their?" Asked Ghost as he pointed towards Megan. The two girls turned towards the indicated person.
" I want you to go to her, her name is Megan, tell her to get you and your dad out of here, I don't want you to see what happens next." Said Ghost as he cupped one of Mandy and Sarah's cheek with a gloved hand. The two girls nodded before they turned and did what Ghost told them.
" Megan?" Squeaked Mandy, loud enough for the female FBI agent to hear. Megan holstered her weapon and lunged forward, taking both girls into her arms and dragged them away, though in the back of her mind, she was stunned that they knew her name. The two girls were reunited with their father, Megan directed them to the waiting ambulance that would take them to the hospital before she headed back to the tense stand-off.
" Who are these guys?" Asked David as the FBI agents raised their weapons once more and watched as the third guy disappeared into the shadows for a few seconds before materializing once more, this time yanking another man with him. Don eyed the handcuffs and hood, wondering what was going on.
The man with the hood on his head was roughly shoved to the ground a mere foot away from Don. He stood on his knees while the masked man visciously yanked the hood away, revealing a very bruised and battered face, along with a funning looking collar-like device around his neck. The man was breathing fast, a look of fear gracing his battered face. The masked man loomed over him and roughly grasped some of the kneeling man's dirty blonde hair, causing him to cry out in pain.
" Talk." Growled the Masked Man as he roughly released the hair he grasped in his fist.
" M-my name isBlake Jennings, and I am the man who kidnapped Mandy and Sarah Rudyard." SaidBlake through gritted teeth. All sympathy for this man's sorry state was immediately wiped out upon hearing these words.
" Why'd you kidnap them Blake?" Asked Don, his voice and gaze hard.
" Daniel Rudyard is a well to do man, I only wanted the money, I wasn't actually going to hurt his girls." Pleaded Blake wretchedly. As soon as these words left Blake's mouth, the FBI watched as cold fury fill the pale blue eyes of the masked man. He pulled out a pen-like object from one of the pockets of his cargo pant and pressed the red button at the very top of it.
Don and the other FBI agents watched in horror and the collar around Blake's neck came to life with God knows how many volts of electricity now coursed through the man kneeling before them. It only lasted a second but it was enough to reduce Blake to tears before he spoke.
" I'm s-sorry... I'm s-sorry!" He shrieked pitifully. Ghost noticed with satisfaction that the British secret service agent he'd once known and respected was long gone, replaced by this wretch of a man.
" Hey! Don't do that again." Yelled Don as he turned his gun on the Masked man.
" I have the clearance to terminate, this man is a former British Secret Service Agent. Me and my guys, we're CIA. We're here to finish what he started when he went rogue. You have your confession Agent Eppes, I suggest you leave it at that. Now, you can watch our friend Jake here fry cause that's what I'm going to do, or you can go check on Mandy and Sarah Rudyard, make sure this son of a bitch didn'thurt them in any way." Growled the CIA Operative as his two fellow CIA Agents flanked him.
This new developement left Don's mind reeling. They were staring at three CIA Operatives, all with the intent to electricute Blake Jennings. What Don ahted was the fact that they had the clearance. With a deep sigh, Don lowered his service weapon, the other agents following his example.
" C'mon, we don't need to see this." He said calmly as he turned and left. The other agents followed suite, as they went, Ghost couldn't resist.
"Nice to see you again Agent Granger." He smirked as Colby stopped dead and whirled around with David eyeing him strangely. Colby lookedconfused as he stared at the CIA Operative, who's pale blue eyes gazed back at him in mild amusement.
" Go Home." Said Ghost before he turned his cold gaze back to a terrified Blake Jennings, who trembled where he knelt.
Colby allowed David to pull him away, still trying to fathom just what Ghost had meant.
Don paused a moment to gaze back at what he was turning a blind eye to. He knew, Blake Jennings was in for a long and torchureous way to death. He now wondered what he was going to say to Director Merrick when they got back to the office. Don turned and headed for his SUV, where his team was waiting for him. He was thankful that all he could do was imagine what Blake was going to go through and not have to witness it in it's entirety.