She shook her head. “No, but I can only assume it’s because they think she can either recreate the virus or get Walter to cooperate with them.”
“Boss,” Lucas called from behind her. “Found the bullet, but I don’t think this printer will print another day.”
“Oh, thank God,” Iris said, her shoulders slumping in relief. “We have to find her!”
“We will,” Cal assured her. “I’m holding out hope that she activates that panic button sooner rather than later. If only we knew how long she’s been gone.”
“Does it tell you what time I activated the panic button? I was probably conscious another five minutes before he fired off the shot.”
“Great thinking!” Cal said, grabbing his tablet and calling it up. “She’s probably been gone thirty minutes, which seems like a lot of time, but in this part of the country, you can’t get far in thirty minutes. That said, we don’t know what they’re driving, so until she hits that panic button, we have no choice but to wait.”
“What? No!” Iris exclaimed, trying to stand but being forced back into her seat. “We can’t wait! We have to call the police. They can find her!”
“And what am I supposed to tell them?” Cal asked gently. “That a woman has been kidnapped, but we don’t know by who, what they look like, or what they’re driving? I’m confident that Bec will activate that SOS button as soon as possible. Do you know where she kept it?”
Iris’s cheeks heated before she answered. “I showed her how to hide it in her bra.”
“Good,” Selina said, patting her shoulder. “Less chance of anyone taking that when doing a body search.”
“I tried to remember what Cal taught us,” Iris agreed.
“If they tied her hands behind her back, then she might need to wait until she can convince them she needs the bathroom before she can activate it. Let’s be patient. If they took her and the vaccine, they want something from her, so they’re not going to hurt her.”
“I hope you’re righ—”
Cal’s tablet rang, and he glanced up at them. “Mina,” he said before he answered with their traditional greeting.
“I’ve got a bead on Walter,” she said without preamble. “His phone pinged at a cabin about thirty minutes from your location yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Had it been off before then?” Cal asked, and Mina nodded. “I wonder why he turned it back on.”
“For the call,” Iris said without hesitation. “Maybe the coverage isn’t good, and the call didn’t go through, but he had to know those guys were going to call.”
“I was thinking he was checking to see if the ransom had been paid early,” Mina said. “What call by what guys?”
Cal filled Mina in on what had happened and that Bec was taken. “Send me the coordinates for the cabin. They’re likely gone, but on the off chance they’re still there, I need to check it out. Keep an eye on Bec’s SOS button. If it goes off, notify me immediately, and I’ll change course. Did you find a deed for the cabin? Do you know who owns it?”
“Walter,” Mina answered without hesitating. “It appears he bought it last year around the same time he paid off all his other debts.”
“That’s not a coincidence,” Lucas said, to which Cal agreed. “What direction is the cabin? His house is only about thirty minutes from here, too.”
“It’s south of you instead of north like his house.”
“I predict we find Walter’s belongings there, but he’ll be long gone. Regardless, we’re on our way.”
“Ten-four,” Mina said. “But wait, Iris, do you know if Bec has her phone on her?”
“I don’t know,” Iris said, leaning forward. “Let me call it.”
“No!” Mina exclaimed, holding out her hand for calm. “If she has it and you call, that could alert them.” She held up her finger and typed on her computer before she spoke. “I’m running a check on it. It last pinged off a tower about ten miles from your facility. Hasn’t pinged since.”
“Coverage out here is extremely hit and miss,” Cal said.
“Or they took it from her and tossed it,” Iris said, her lips in a thin line. “Come on, baby, you gotta activate that panic button.”
“She will,” Selina promised, squeezing her shoulder while Cal and Mina finished their conversation.
“Selina, would you stay with Iris? I’ll let Zac and Declan know we’re heading to the cabin. Efren and Mack are doing patrol, so I’ll leave them here. Lucas will come with us.”
