Chapter 2
Damn, they found them. It was only a matter of time. After informing the agency about what happened at the kidnappers' hideout and that she was able to escape with Sara, the communication cutoff came shortly after. She can only guess how the kidnappers found her, but she strongly assumes that the mole gave away her cell phone location at the time of the conversation. She quickly adds some more data to the stick. Pulls it off the laptop and hides it under the bed. Then she dials Steve's number. She hears the kidnappers downstairs trying to gain entry. She gives Steve as much information as she can, then Sara and Carole rush into the room. She quickly hands Carole her cell phone and the USB drive: "Pour Steve! Thanks for your help!" Carole is just able to scurry out the door, and the kidnappers are already in the room. Catherine lowers her gun, the danger that someone uninvolved in the well-occupied accommodation will be hurt is simply too great. They are roughly dragged to the waiting cars and pushed inside. As Catherine looks back through the back window, she just sees the house go up in flames. Shocked, she continues to stare out the window even though the road is long behind them.
Steve runs down the street. According to his cell phone, he has to turn right at the next intersection. He turns off and stops, shaken. Where the house was supposed to be, there is only the burnt-out ruin of a building. The smell of smoke is still in the air. It can't have been long since the fire. He probably won't meet anyone here who can answer a few more questions. Disappointed and sad, he is about to turn away when he notices an older woman who seems to be watching him. When he gives her a friendly nod, she retreats further into the house. "Excuse moi, madame. Que s'est-il passé ici ?" Curious, she comes forward a bit again. "Why do you want to know?" "A friend was in the house and called me yesterday. Then the conversation broke off. I got on a plane right away when I couldn't reach her." He looks at the ruin. "I guess I was too late."
She looks around, then waves him over. "Come on in. Vite!" She quickly closes the door behind him. "Follow me."
Somewhat unsure what is going to happen now, Steve follows her through the house. He is surprised to see that the house is larger than it appears from the outside. They pass several rooms, each with one or two beds, cupboards and armchairs. Young women and girls are staying in the rooms. Suspicious glances are thrown at him. They cross a large living room and then stand in a cozy eat-in kitchen. In the eat-in kitchen, three women are sitting at the table preparing food. The one twentyish woman is addressed by the old lady, "Carole, c'est Monsieur ..." "McGarrett." "McGarrett, he's looking for a friend who was also at the women's shelter yesterday." "Catherine, her name is Catherine." Carole tilts her head.
"Why are they looking for her?" "She called me yesterday asking for help, then we were interrupted." "What's her first name?" "Steve." "Un moment." She gets up and leaves the room. Steve gets a little queasy; he should have holstered his gun by now. Then Carole is back in the room and hands him a cell phone and a USB flash drive.
"She said if anything goes wrong I should give them this." "Merci." "De rien, they must leave now. And no one must know that the women's shelter continues to exist. For the protection of the girls." "No one will find out about me. Thank you for your help. Au revoir." The older lady lets him out the back. "Merci madame, et au revoir." "Bonne chance et au revoir."
Steve walks a detour back to the guesthouse. In his room, he plugs the flash drive into the laptop. It is password protected. Great. His gaze falls thoughtfully on the cell phone. It is Catherine's. When he turns it on, he gets stuck again. He doesn't know the PIN.
But Catherine gave both to Carole for him, so she assumes he can guess the PIN. He tries her anniversary. His birthday. Neither works.
Whether? He takes the day she left him. Indeed. The cell phone is unlocked. He has to swallow and his heart gets heavy when he sees the wallpaper. He remembers exactly where and when she took the picture of him. It's at Kono and Adam's wedding.
Finding no other clue to the password, he tries. He types the location and date into the laptop. The USB stick is unlocked. Folder by folder he goes through.
He finds everything possible to the order. It was probably about the liberation of a Sara de Medoc, the father from Gambia, the mother US American.
Sara's father is a politician in The Gambia, where he campaigns for the introduction of democracy, the abolition of the death penalty and women's rights, among other things. After all, he has made it all the way to parliament. According to the documents, there is a bill to abolish the death penalty there. De Medoc is a proponent of the bill. The vote is in two days.
The kidnapping of his daughter is intended to pressure him to reject the draft. The Agency's mission was to get Sara to safety. Well, that must have gone wrong.
But how did he get into the game now. Why doesn't the Agency just send a new agent?
The next document he opens explains it. There is a leak and the Agency has imposed a communications blackout. Catherine is no longer allowed to contact or request anyone. When she arrived with her team at the kidnappers' hideout, they were already expected there. Two agents are dead and another was captured in the operation. Catherine made it out with Sara, but as he knows they found her at the women's shelter.
Steve continues to sift through the records and documents. The trivia question now was, where did the kidnappers take Catherine and Sara? Back to the original hiding place? Or somewhere else. And how would he figure that out without satellite imagery, aerial reconnaissance or traffic cameras?