Chapter 21: Calling in the Cavalry
Mick and Beth were waiting outside the club checking out the scene. The person they were meeting tonight was a regular here and they wanted to have a plan first. This person was known to help anyone without asking questions. There was a good chance he had helped Coraline with new ID's.
They were just about ready to go in when Mick's phone rang. He looked and saw it was Devon. "St. John."
"Mick I need you and Beth to get to Josef's as soon as possible."
"What happened? Is she okay?" Panic seized Mick.
Beth heard as well and was gripping his leg tightly in fear that something had happened to their daughter.
"No, Kayla is fine. She's upstairs with Mrs. Kostan right now. There is a new development and David is on his way home. He wants everyone here when he lands."
Beth snatched the phone from Mick, "David?" She knew what that meant instantly. "Where's Candice?"
Devon sighed loudly. "That's the problem no one knows. She was supposed to get on a plane but never went."
"We'll be right there."
Beth hung up and looked at Mick, "Candice is missing Mick."
"I heard sweetie," Mick already had the car started and was driving downtown towards Josef's. They needed to find her.
"David must be beside himself."
Mick knew what his friend must be feeling. When the woman you love needs you and you aren't there to protect her. It rips you apart inside. "We'll find her."
Mick and Beth arrived in the war room, what they were now calling Josef's expansive living room, just minutes before David came charging through the door.
"What do we know?" He didn't waste time on hello's only on what mattered.
Devon stepped forward. "The two men we had on Ryan were found dead behind some dumpsters in the warehouse district. Ryan's tracker went offline at 1:47 this afternoon. It just went dark."
"Where was his last location?"
"We don't know. The data was corrupted."
"He hacked into his anklet?" Beth asked astonished. From what she knew about those things they were pretty secure.
"The anklet works by sending a continuous signal to a satellite which then relays the location to whoever has access to it. We think that a scrambled was placed on the device and when the secure signal was sending it was also sending a virus that when it made it's way into the monitoring system it corrupted the data for the last 24 hours."
"I don't care how he did it. HE TOOK CANDICE! I WANT HIM FOUND! NOW!" David growled.
Mick grabbed a full glass of AB negative and handed it to David. He tried to push it off but Mick took hold of his shoulder, "You need to keep your strength up. Candice needs you strong."
David took the glass knowing Mick was right. He was so caught up in his own maelstrom of emotions he couldn't think straight. "You're right." He drank the glass down.
Beth moved to his side and gave his arm a squeeze, "She's strong. We'll find her."
"What do we know?" He asked hoping for something to go on.
Devon looked around the room sadly, "Just before you arrived I received a call from Henry. They found the SUV the men watching Ryan were in. They're pulling the GPS Nav system now to retrace its path. We're hoping that they didn't think to wipe it as well. He didn't take it so we're assuming he has a vehicle of his own besides the bike."
A bike wouldn't be conducive to taking someone hostage, Beth thought. "What about Candice's car?"
David looked at her happily, "If they took it we can track it."
Beth smiled hoping that were the case. She went over to the computer and pulled up the tracking system. She'd gotten the system that Beth had recommended to her. "I need her tracking ID. Do you know it off hand?"
"Yes," David moved in front of Beth and typed in a series of numbers and letters. An hour glass began flipping on the screen as the system loaded. After a moment a map came up on screen with a blinking light.
"The tracker hasn't been disabled. It's showing her car just off E. Washington and S. Downey."
Devon looked at the address and sighed, "They found the bodies and the SUV less than two miles from there."
David slammed his fist onto the desk with a resounding thud. "He knew we'd track it. Ryan is smart. He evaded us with Coraline for years. We have to get ahead of him."
Devon stepped forward, "When we debriefed him about his time with Coraline he told us how he evaded us. He said they stayed close at first, so that we would start expanding our sources and they'd be able to slip through. Maybe he'll use the same tactic. Keep her close until he thinks he can slip through."
David ran a hand down his face. He had to focus. He couldn't let his mind be clouded by fear or hatred. He needed to find her first. "That was when he had a narrow window. We didn't even know he was missing until a couple hours ago which gave him at least a 5 hour lead on us. He could have gotten her out before we noticed she was missing."
The facts were not on his side. He hadn't talked to her since this morning. She'd called him earlier but he'd missed the call. He wished he'd answered. For the life of him he couldn't remember what he was doing at that moment and why he didn't but maybe if he had things would be different.
"We need to retrace her steps." Mick looked at everyone. "David your building has security cameras. We can start there. Devon have some men secure her car, don't touch anything just make sure no kids stumble onto it and decide it's their lucky day."
"Let's go," David was already headed towards the door. Mick and Beth followed quickly on his heels.
To Be Continued…
Evilous