Trinkets - Part 13
'No, no, no, no.' The words repeated in Harm's head when he saw on one of the TV screens that Clinton intended to come up, but leave Mac downstairs … with that electric thing on her back. Without Mac here to back him up, even if Harm managed to knock the remote free, then he, by himself, was going to need to take Clinton out … after ensuring Mac's safety by somehow keeping the remote permanently out of the villain's grasp.
Maybe, if Harm was lucky, before he would have to reveal that he'd gotten free of his bonds, he could get Clinton to set the remote down, if only briefly, and use that opportunity to attack. … After all, Clinton wouldn't need to be careful about keeping a firm grip on the controller up here. Mac would not be able to see whether or not he was holding the remote, so he ought to know that she would have to assume that he could zap her at any moment. And, in theory, Clinton would view Harm, supposedly handcuffed, as no threat.
Yes, Harm decided that, since his primary concern was for Mac's safety, getting their captor to voluntarily put the remote aside was the best scenario. Much better than causing the extra risk of getting Mac electrocuted if the button got pushed when Harm tried to grab the remote or knock it away. So much could go wrong in a struggle, and he didn't want to have Mac in any more jeopardy.
(())
As soon as Clinton turned to head for the stairs, Mac noticed that there was a gun in the shadows on the floor not too far from the other side of the body. It looked like Nichols had tried to use it, but had dropped it after he was shot. Her heart skipped a beat in sad surprise when she suddenly recognized the weapon as the gun that Nichols had confiscated from her when she had come in. Her eyes scanned the handle and barrel, confirming her familiarity with the weapon. That was definitely the gun that she had brought with her. It was a special gun … with no bullets.
She didn't know where Jake's own gun was, but if he had grabbed hers to defend himself, then he didn't have a chance to take Clinton out. She sighed. Another one of the plans that had failed … and had possibly even backfired if Jake could have eliminated his devil of a partner when they were down here. Using the term 'backfire' in this context seemed somehow inappropriate though, since the gun did not - and was not meant to - fire at all.
Mac thought back to the meeting in her office that morning. Bud, Sturgis, the Admiral, Harriet and she, herself, had brainstormed the best they could in preparation to get Harm back as safely as possible. Mac had refused to involve authorities of any kind, because she didn't want to disobey the instructions given to her in the box and risk Harm's life. She insisted on going to the restaurant alone, although she did allow the Admiral and Sturgis to bring a separate car to wait outside.
They had hoped that, if Mac was sent elsewhere, they would to be able to follow her to the next location. But they also knew that keeping up with her wouldn't be easy, especially if she was being escorted. Nichols specialized in security and would have no difficulty noticing a tail. With the amount of distance they'd have to keep, it was likely that they would lose her.
As it turned out, they never even had the opportunity to follow Mac, since she had to switch cars and was directed to use a different exit out of the restaurant. Mac knew that AJ and Sturgis would not have even been alerted to when she had left the restaurant, much less where she had gone. So, the plan to follow Mac hadn't worked, but that was somewhat expected. Bud had especially been pushing the issue of needing a plan B for knowing where Mac was being sent or taken.
The gang that morning had discussed the high probability that the kidnapper would take precautions against any kind of tracking device on Mac. She had not been surprised when, after getting instructions from the bar, she had been required to use an automobile provided by Nichols. That eliminated the ability to track Mac's car and, knowing Nichols, the car she was directed to use probably had technology to scramble any trackers on Mac's person.
They had also predicted that Nichols would give Mac a pat down and scan her for any devices when she reached the destination. … And that was where the gun had come in.
They all knew that Nichols would not let Mac keep a gun. If she went in, gun in hand, the first thing Jake would do, before searching her for anything else, would be to disarm her. Since guns are dangerous by definition, Nichols would have no reason to examine the gun that he would automatically take from her possession. So, having replaced the bullets with a battery-powered tracker, Bud would, in theory, be able locate the gun, and therefore Mac … and Harm.
The tricky part though was that the tracker could not be active from the get-go. If there were scramblers in the car, they could permanently destroy the accuracy of a tracker that was on. Even if there were only detectors in the car, they risked Jake knowing that Mac had a device on or with her, which would not be good. And on the off chance that Nichols did scan her before taking the gun they couldn't risk her walking in to whatever situation with a live tracker in use.
So, the plan became that Mac would push a button on the gun to activate the device right before the gun was taken away. They just hoped that if Jake used scramblers to kill any tracking devices, that he would rely on them working during Mac's transit to meet him and would not use any scramblers wherever Harm was. Up to a point, the plan seemed to have worked.
"Now, now," Jake had scolded her. "You can just drop that gun right there, and you won't need a flashlight."
Mac had hesitated, both out of caution and from not wanting to appear too eager to cooperate, which would have been out of character.
"Come on, Colonel, drop the gun or you won't make it another step."
Very slowly Mac raised both the gun and the flashlight so that they could be seen, and then she lowered them to the ground, making sure to covertly switch the safety to the on position, which Bud had told her would activate the tracker.
"Good, now take off the jacket and put your hands up."
Mac did as she was told. Not a moment later, a pair of hands had snatched the jacket away and was patting her down for other weapons or devices. "You didn't really think I'd let you come in here armed, did you?" asked Nichols, shifting to check Mac's other side.
"Couldn't hurt to try," Mac had said, stoically. Of course, he wouldn't let her keep a gun, but it was all part of the plan. "A handgun wasn't one of your rules," Mac had pointed out. "And the bartender only asked to confiscate my cell phone in exchange for me to get this address."
"Huh. I forget sometimes that you're a lawyer. Always lookin' for a technicality."
Consulting her inner clock again, she concluded once more that – technically - something with that plan had certainly gone wrong. If the tracking device had worked … help would have arrived long ago. … She and Harm were obviously on their own.
(())
The muscles in Harm's arms were starting to shake from the fatigue of holding his wrists in place to keep from breaking open the tentative handcuff locks made of gum. The earlier electric shock, the drugs, and the general weariness from his mistreatment weren't helping his arms either.
How was he supposed to fight Clinton in this condition? He could hear the footsteps on the stairs and knew that he would be faced with his opponent in a few brief seconds.
If Harm had not already set this plan in motion, he would have abandoned it now as being too risky for Mac. What was the likelihood that Clinton would set that remote down? And either way, it would be near impossible to wrangle Clinton and keep the remote from him until Mac was safely out of the electric harness.
In his weak state, there was no way that Harm would be able to subdue Clinton right now.
But, then, a voice inside reminded him that all that mattered was Mac's safety. Damn the odds! Harm was summoning up all the strength and abilities he could for what could be the fight of his life. … His life?
Maybe that was the solution. Maybe he couldn't beat Clinton; maybe Clinton would kill him. But maybe, Harm could at least make it so that he dragged the fiend down with him into the afterlife. Harm would willingly give up his own life to protect Sarah. After all, it was his fault that she was in this mess in the first place. He would not allow her to be hurt, no matter what the cost.
TBC ...