The car was never reported stolen, and deputies hadn't stumbled across an abandoned Bentley anywhere. I called the sheriff and told him to put a BOLO out on the vehicle and caught him up to speed on the situation.
"You need assistance with this?"
"I’d rather we keep this between us. I don't trust anyone outside of our circle. No telling who’s on the payroll with these guys.”
“You pick the team. I’ll keep OPSEC tight. Don’t get into a situation you can't handle.”
"I can handle this. I'm not quite sure how, but I'll figure it out.”
“You let me know when you need assistance.”
“I appreciate it.”
"You two watch your back.”
I thanked him and ended the call.
JD and I spent the rest of the afternoon strategizing, but we didn’t have much to go on.
I ordered from Diver Down, picked the food up, and we ate on the sky deck. JD went with the shrimp tacos, I had the mushroom cheeseburger, and Madelyn went for a steak burrito.
We were about halfway through the meal when she said, “I have an idea.”
45
“No,” I said. “That’s too dangerous.”
Madelyn shook her head dismissively. “They can’t kill me until I’ve updated the platform. It’s simple. We make the swap, I’ll have a tracker, and you’ll follow me back to the kidnappers. You and all your law enforcement buddies can storm the place and rescue me.”
I shared a look with Jack. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s not your call,” Madelyn said.
“What if they find the tracker?”
“I’ll hide it well.”
I gave her a flat look. “There are so many things that can go wrong.”
“You have a better suggestion?”
I didn’t.
“Look, if they get a sense that we’re setting a trap, they will vanish. They’re going to keep coming after me until they get what they want. This is your best shot at bringing them down.”
“These are just middlemen.”
“Well, it’s a start.”
It was late afternoon when a text message buzzed my phone through the encrypted app. It listed a set of coordinates and read:[Bring Madelyn at midnight. Involve no other law enforcement authorities. No FBI, no Coast Guard, not even the county. Bring yourself and Madelyn to the rendezvous point. You will receive instructions from there. Any deviation from these instructions will result in the death of Sebastian.]
I couldn't help myself and texted back: [If Sebastian dies or is harmed, you won't get Madelyn.]
[I realize you have no skin in this game. Careful, Deputy, we will move on to someone you do care about.]
I wanted to strangle the guy.
When the time drew near, JD and I prepped the gear and loaded the tactical boat with all kinds of goodies—M4s, extra magazines, grenades, the drone, and even a highly illegal RPG-7.Don't ask.
