Chapter 28
The briefcase laid on Nelson's couch. Nelson, Dash, Rick and Aubrey sat in a arch before the briefcase. Everyone was grim. No one smiled or made a joke. They had finished the mission, the got the codes lives were saved but why did everyone feel so hollow inside?
"This bloody case isn't worth shit," Rick and Nelson said in unison.
They could say they had saved some lives from a catastrophe but the fact still remained that they had lost Jake Harper no doubt and Harriet was off comms which wasn't a good sign as well. Rick was there when the ambulance carrying Harper was cruising off and even after that he stayed for another ten minutes waiting for Harriet but she never showed. Three hours since then and no word from anyone neither about Jake not about Harriet. When Rick and Dash had returned Nelson and Aubrey had told them that two detectives had visited and questioned Nelson about why his car was crashed was found in Midtown South. Nelson had told the hood detectives that he had lent the car to his friend Jake Harper and promised to call them the moment he knew more.
In some sense Nelson hadn't really lied to the good law enforcers it's not like he did the right thing but still it was a necessary evil as many cartoon villains would have said.
Aubrey stood and went to man the computer when he suddenly got an incoming transmission.
"Ah guys we're getting a transmission," Aubrey announced
"From who?" Rick asked and everyone tumbled over to stand behind Aubrey.
Aubrey looked at them nervously. "It's coming from Harriet"
"Play it," Rick said firmly
Aubrey nodded and played the transmission. It was an audio transmission.
"Well, well, well," Rick, Aubrey and Dash recognized the voice, "it seems you guys are stealing thunder that belongs to me."
"Oh screw you bastard," Rick said
"Mh I'll think about it," Will said as though in thought, "but that's not why I made contact with you."
"Then why did you?" Rick asked
"Well I want to make a trade of course. You have what I want and I have what you want," he stated simply. Rick growled and Will laughed. "Tell you what I'll hand over Harriet completely unharmed and all you have to is give me the codes"
"Yeah that doesn't work for us," Rick said with conviction in his voice. He honestly didn't want Harriet to die but neither did Will. He had seen the way they had been during the time Harriet and Will were dating and there was no way that Will was pretending because it's one thing to play the government and quite another to play love. "And besides I don't think you have it in you to hurt her"
"Yes that may be true for me but my ally Spencer Crane wants vengeance for the slaughter of his team and he's more than eager to take her out," Will said and as if to emphasize his point Harriet moaned, obviously in pain.
Rick spoke before he could stop himself. "Alright, alright. Where do you want to trade?"
"No Rick don't!," Harriet shouted in the background right before she groaned in pain again. Everyone's face was masked with anger as they helplessly listened to their leader's shouts of pain.
"Stop!," Rick roared in anger
"I'll send you a location right at dawn," Will said, "oh and yes I'd love to see Aubrey, Dash, Harper and yourself present. Don't want any uninvited guests now do we?"
"No we do not. But I wouldn't worry about Harper though," Rick gritted his teeth, "he's either in critical condition or dead"
"Excellent," Will said in French and cut the transmission.
"Damn it!" Dash said and sat down in frustration, "that was brutal man even for him"
Rick nodded in agreement. What kind of sicko feels guilty about hitting the one they love but don't have any qualms about someone else hurting them.
"So we plan an ambush?" Dash asked
"It wouldn't be possible," Aubrey chimed in, "he must suspect that we'd do something like that that's why he wants to send us the location at the very last minute"
"So what are we going to do? We can't just hand over the codes," Dash said.
"And we can't just leave Harriet to die!" Rick said with so much emotion. For a while he had been denying to himself that he didn't have any feelings for Harriet Beecher yet here he was risking the nation to save her life, "and besides. She'd do the same for us"
"We can't just hand over the codes like that though," Aubrey said.
"I know," Rick said with a retired sigh. "Get some rest," he said and headed towards Nelson's guest room. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing he was. That this was a hopeless situation.
Rick was surrounded by pitch blackness he peered around and his eyes landed on a spotlight that shone over a beaten up Harriet who was on her knees. Tears trailed down her cheeks and a gun was pointed at the back of her head.
"No!," Rick screamed and tried to run towards her but his legs felt like lead. Voices laughed and taunted him from the darkness.
"Rick," Harriet moaned lowly, "hurry please"
Rick struggled but it was hopeless the laughter heightened and bang the gun went off—Rick roused with a start.
It was only three in the morning but he rose either way he grabbed his Magnum by cleaning out it's parts. It took him a full hour to do so then used another hour to think about what was about what was to come.
The hour went by so fast that it was now four in the morning, dawn. Almost immediately Aubrey yelled from the kitchen, "Incoming transmission!"
Rick was there in five seconds, Dash joining in shortly after. Nelson must have still been asleep but that didn't matter. Aubrey opened the transmission.
"Give us the location," Rick demanded
"What am I not going to get any good morning greetings?," Will said as if he was hurt.
"You don't deserve them," Dash said
"Well then I guess you're right," Will agreed, "now then. Shall we?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Rick replied
"I'm sending the location now. You have five minutes to get here. If you're late then Harriet dies simple as that," Will cut the transmission and GPS coordinates popped up on the screen afterwards.
"Let's go," Rick said as he placed his gun on his waistband and walking through the living room carrying the briefcase with him. Dash and Aubrey followed closely behind each carrying a weapon. Dash had the silver desert eagle and Aubrey had a Glock 17 and a laptop. They all slid into the Audi Q8. Rick in the driver's seat, Dash riding shotgun and Aubrey in the back. Rick put the coordinates in the cars GPS.
"Let's get this over with yeah?" Rick said and drove off the curb speeding to 100km/h.