Unintended Consequences

page of her phone again. “Nothing yet.”
    Stanley spoke up from the front seat. “Something you need to know,” he said. “They’re going to try to negotiate, probably to get their hands on you, Mr. Barrington, but if they think negotiations will fail, their attitude will be, if she’s not an asset to them, then she’s a liability. They’ll kill her. They won’t be dissuaded with thoughts of getting caught or the death penalty—it’s how they do things.”
    Nobody said anything.
    “We’re a couple of miles out,” the driver finally said. “I’m killing the siren and lights.” He switched them off.
    “Stanley,” Dino said, “what’s your best guess?”
    “They’ll avoid the beach area,” Stanley said. “They’ll be inland a few blocks, heading for a garage or factory—something they can drive into.”
    “Tell the sergeant where to go. We’re in your hands.”
    Stone’s phone chimed, and he checked the screen. “We’ve got a text,” he said. “It says: ‘You for the girl.’”
    “Tell them yes,” Stanley said. “Don’t threaten them.”
    Stone texted back:
Agreed. Where and when
?
    Holly spoke up. “We’ve got a hit on the phone. It’s moving.” She held the phone where Stanley could see it.
    “Hang a left,” Stanley said to the driver.

55
    H elga sat in a cane-seated chair, her hands tied behind her, and her feet tied to the chair. She had been working on freeing her hands since her arrival in this place, and she was nearly there. Her ankles, however, were another problem. She strained against the cord binding them, hoping to stretch it a bit, as she had done with her wrists. She knew that her guard had a switchblade knife, and she decided that she must have it, if she wished to be free again.
    She tried very, very hard and managed to slip the cord binding her wrists over one hand, at the expense of some skin. The man was too far away, though, for her to reach his knife, which was tucked into his belt. She renewed her efforts to stretch the cord binding her ankles.
    She was making progress when one of the other men walked into the office-like space where she had been put. He was a nasty piece of work, and he kept his weapon, a silenced pistol, in his hand at all times. He walked over and ripped the tape from her mouth.
    “That’s better,” he said. “Now you can suck my cock.”
    “Yes, yes, give it to me,” she said, “and I’ll bite it off for you and send it to you at Christmastime, gift-wrapped.”
    He backhanded her with his free hand, toppling both her and the chair. Helga struggled to right herself, kicking off her shoes and renewing her efforts to free her ankles. She managed to keep her hands, now free, behind her, holding tight to one wrist with the other hand.
    He walked over, grabbed the chair and pulled it upright. “Jesus,” he said, “you weigh a lot.” Helga stood up, grabbed the silencer, held on to it, then struck him flush in the nose with a hard right. She felt it break, and blood began to stream down his face. She wrenched at the pistol, trying to dislodge it from his grasp, but he was a strong man, and he wouldn’t let go. This time she aimed a fist at his throat, but he lowered his chin and caught the punch there.
    Her guard suddenly came alive and simply pushed her to the floor, her ankles still bound. The man with the pistol approached now, his body language indicating a kick to her head.
    “Stop it!” Majorov screamed from the doorway.
    The man froze.
    “I told you she is not to be harmed. Not yet, anyway.”
    The big man backed away, and her guard got busy retying her hands.
    “I have never dealt with such incompetents,” Majorov said. “I leave you alone for a few minutes and return to find that she has freed herself and broken your nose. What an idiot!” He turned to Helga. “Miss Becker, I will have no more of this nonsense. I am prepared to release you when my business is done, but if you give me further trouble, when we are done, I will allow this gorilla to have his way with you, then shoot you.”
    “Hah!” Helga responded. “Free me, and I will hand you his head!”
    “We will leave his head where it is for the time being,” Majorov said. “It is time for us to go and meet Mr. Barrington.”
    “He will not meet you,” Helga said. “He is too smart for that.”
    “You are quite wrong,” Majorov said. “He will meet me, give me what I want, and then I will free the both of you.”
    “I’ll believe that