"Hello," Dillon all but whispered into his cell phone. His heart beat like a jack rabbit, pounding in his chest. The silence on the other end of the call was like a death sentence waiting for the switch to be pulled.

"Dillon?" the strange voice replied.

"Ah, yeah."

"Good to hear from you, boy. I was just having a conversation with your father and it seems we've reached an impasse."

"A what?"

"We've decided that we, shall we say, disagree. He seems to think his life isn't very important, but I think that you think it is." Dillon frowned. The pit of his stomach was doing back flips and the thought of throwing up had to be pushed away.

"What do you want?" he finally managed to stammer out.

"Ah, that's good. The spirit of cooperation will do us all good."

"What do you want?" Dillon said with more resolve.

"No need to get testy. My needs are very simple. Just tell me where Daniel is and your father will live to see another day."

"Daniel?" Daniel looked up as his name was mentioned. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aaah, Dillon. And I thought we had an understanding. Let me be perfectly clear, so there's no misunderstanding. You tell me where Daniel is and your father lives. Refuse me and your father dies an agonizingly slow horrible death. Can I be more clear than that?" Dillon just about dropped the phone. His face went pale and the cabin of the Lear jet suddenly became fuzzy. In what seemed a fraction of a second, Daniel snatched the phone.

"This is Daniel and who the hell is this?" he said heatedly.

"Aaah, Mr. Simon. I'm so glad to hear your voice. We'd given you up for dead, with that nasty plane crash and all, but I'm certainly glad to hear you're alive, so now, I can slowly choke the life out of your miserable, pathetic excuse of a human being." Daniel took a deep breath.

"There's a place where people like you belong. To Harry Potter, it would be Azakaban. Since we're not in the movies, I would think your kind belongs in the sewer, after all, that's probably where'd you feel most at home."

"There's a gentlemen here whose son is currently with you. It would be a shame for your friend to be fatherless."

"Make all the threats you want you son of a bitch! I'm not the one you want! If you had half a brain, you'd be looking for Stan Bouchard! He's the one you really want!"

"Come now, Daniel. Trying to throw suspicion on someone else is beneath you. How you managed to evade some of my best men is still a mystery to me and given the fact that they are either dead or in prison leaves me with very little patience. So it boils down to this … turn yourself over to me and your friend's father lives. Refuse, and I slit his throat and then I'll start in on your friend's mother."

"You made your point very clear."

"Excellent. Now we can get down to business."

"Before we do that, I want to talk to Mr. Rankin," Daniel said firmly.

"Sorry, no can do. He's a bit tied up at the moment." Daniel's temper was approaching the danger threshold.

"You'll put him on the phone, right now, or I hang up."

"You're in no position to …" Daniel hit the end button before the man could finish.

"What the fuck did you just do?" screamed Dillon. "Are you crazy?"

"They won't kill your dad, Dillon," Daniel said firmly. "They're smarter than that."

"What the fuck do you know?" Dillon screamed as he lunged for Daniel. Surprisingly, it was Casey that grabbed him.

"Whoa there, mate! Take it easy," Casey said as he grabbed Dillon around the waist and pulled him back. "From what I've seen, I think Daniel knows what he's talking about. Let's just collect ourselves for a moment." Dillon relaxed slightly in Casey's arms, but he seethed at Daniel.

"Dillon, they'd be fools to kill your dad. Taking him is one thing, but to kill him is quite another. I have a feeling we'll be hearing from them again." As if on cue, a cell phone rang. Daniel looked down at Dillon's phone, but it showed no incoming call. The cell phone rang again. Everyone frantically searched for the ringing phone. It was Teri that finally held up the ringing phone. She glanced at the screen.

"It's Jevic!" she announced and quickly handed the phone to Daniel.

"Hello."

"Who the fuck have you pissed off? First I get burned out of my house, then a freakin' tidal wave almost washes me away. I'm a true and loyal friend, Daniel, but what the hell is going on?" Daniel was laughing despite himself.

"Sorry, Jevic. I'm not laughing at you. It's just that with everything going on, your call couldn't have come at a better time," Daniel said still chuckling to himself.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, Daniel, but this is starting to get old. I don't care if 'He Who Must Not Be Named' is after your ass, this has gotta stop. I'm totally tapped. Hell, I've had to move in with mom and dad. Do you have any idea what that does to your social life?" Daniel couldn't help himself as he fell to the floor overcome with laughter. "Funny is it? I'll have you know my parents know I'm gay, but having them meet the boyfriend is a completely different thing!"

"Jevic! Stop it!" Daniel called out between laughs. "Stop it! I can't take it anymore!"

"You can't take it anymore? What the hell about me?" asked Jevic as he stifled a chuckle.

"I-I'm sorry, Jevic. I'm not laughing at you."

"I know that, you silly twit! But, honestly, Daniel, this shit has got to stop. My insurance is about to drop me and I can't afford to rebuild my house, twice!" Daniel caught the sincerity in Jevic's voice.

"I know, bud, and I'm sorry … truly I am. The things that have happened would be the making of a good novel." Daniel sighed deeply, reality suddenly catching up with him. "I wish I could stop all this. At least we know who's causing it and what has to happened to make it all come to an end."

"Just give me the fucker's name and I'll wipe up the streets with his ass." Daniel smiled and would have laughed, but thoughts about Stan stifled the humor.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Jevic."

"What kind of trouble are you in, Daniel?"

"Let's just say I'm onboard a Lear jet and we're about to land in Prague."

"Holy shit."

"Hang in there with me, Jevic. We have a plan and hopefully, all this will come to an end soon."

"What can I do to help?" Daniel smiled at his friend's sentiment.

"You're already doing it, bud."

"OK, but if you need me, call."

"I'll do it." Daniel pressed the end button just as Timmy told every one to buckle up. They were on final approach to Prague.

David Rankin sat in the cell contemplating everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours. He was worried about his son and very worried for his wife's safety. He had been in the business long enough to know who was real and who wasn't. The men holding him and his wife captive were certainly the latter. David made a point of reading the intelligence reports concerning Daniel Simon when his son first mentioned him. Everything seemed to indicate that he was not involved with whatever the Internet Division was worried about. What they were worried about exactly, David didn't know. The departmental briefs were still on his desk. He had intended on reading them after lunch, but he never got back to the office. And that brought up another good point. Someone would be looking for him. After all, when a man with level four security clearance suddenly goes missing, that tends to get the attention of a lot of people.

The men holding him captive certainly knew departmental procedure. His shoes and watch were the first things taken. In fact, they took them as soon as he was shoved into the black SUV. He remembered watching as both the watch and the shoes were unceremoniously thrown out the window, along with the emergency distress transmitters hidden within them. One thing had evaded them though. Level four security clearance personnel were also issued additional means of communication. The surgical procedure had been simple enough with a local anesthetic, a simple incision, the insertion of the device and a couple of stitches. David smiled to himself knowing that his tracking device would be activated once it was determined he was missing. He only hoped the cavalry would arrive in time. He knew from experience that his captors would turn to his wife next and that thought was enough to make him shiver.

The man sat back in his chair heavily. Then he started to grin, much to the astonishment of the young agent standing nervously in front of his desk. The news the young man delivered was security level five. Information requiring that much security was not a laughing matter.

"Gene is gonna love this," the man said smiling to himself. He dismissed the security courier and reached for his phone. A short time later, a familiar voice came on the line.

"Gene Westbrook," the voice came across the phone.

"Gene, it's Mac Harrel."

"Hey, Mac. Ready for a little rematch?"

"Didn't think you'd be so eager since I beat you," Gene chuckled.

"Hey, give a man a chance to make his money back, will ya? Besides, I think it was a fluke."

"Nope, pure talent, my friend. Pure talent."

"I know this call isn't about a golf game, so what's up?" Mac Harrel sighed and started his explanation.

"Seems you have more rogue agents than you know about, Gene."

"What makes you say that?" the questioning answer came.

"One of our level four agents is missing. According to the documents on his desk, he was investigating Daniel Simon." A sigh of recognition came from the other end of the phone. "My agents report that he was, ah, escorted to a black SUV from where he was having lunch."

"Shit," the NSA agent whispered.

"Yeah, and his wife is missing too."

"That could mean trouble."

"You're telling me, Gene. I don't know what's going on in your Internet Division and really don't want to know, but you've got some problems there. Since one of my agents is missing, it becomes my problem too." Mac Harrel took a deep breath. Gene was his friend, but professional ethics required him to continue. "I think it's time you shared what the NSA Internet Division is currently investigating, how it's connected to Daniel Simon and how it involves the abduction of one of my best agents."

Stan handed a piece of paper to the young boy and admonished him not to be late. The customer was paying top dollar and Stan was taking no chances. He'd already had his way with the boy making sure he was "primed" for his customer. He made the boy take a long bath and he poured luxurious bath oils into the water. Then he dressed the boy in extremely tight pants and a silk shirt. He even admitted to himself that the boy looked hot.

"If this kid doesn't have whore written all over him, at least he'll smell like one," Stan chuckled to himself. The appointment was in one of Prague's most luxurious hotels. The customer was an American with lots of dollars to spend. Stan intended to make a good impression with the Texas oil baron and decided to send his top star to pleasure the man for the night. The twenty-five hundred dollar fee was but a drop in the bucket to the Texan.

Stan watched as the boy made his way down the sidewalk toward downtown Prague. Delivering the "merchandise" in a limo would be a bit too much. Discretion was Stan's middle name … after all, he'd been playing the game for many years and knew all the rules.

Remik walked down the sidewalk, proudly at first, since he was dressed in expensive clothes. As the thoughts of what lay ahead of him swept through his mind, his proud walk slowly took on the characteristics of a condemned man. He didn't want to do this, but he knew that his family was depending on him. As long as the American bastard was giving him money, he would continue. The money meant more to Remik's family than his personal pride or needs. Squaring his shoulders, the young boy walked through the doors of the hotel.

Daniel and company exited the limo provided by Timmy's company. Porters grabbed their bags and followed them into the ultra modern lobby of the Pyramida Hotel.

Timmy immediately stepped up to the desk and made the arrangements. Dillon was at his side with his wallet out. Daniel, although concerned with the payment for the accommodations was distracted by the very cute young boy that had just walked in the door. He immediately recognized the nervous foreboding look on the young boy's face. It was a look that had graced Daniel's face many times. The boy moved slowly and cautiously toward the elevators. Daniel turned to Cody and whispered.

"I'll be right back." Cody nodded questioningly and watched as Daniel made his way across the vast lobby toward the elevators.

Daniel quickened his pace as he saw the elevator door open. The young boy, dressed in the tight pants and silk shirt tentatively entered the car. Just as the doors were closing, Daniel slipped in. He looked the young boy up and down a moment and without reservation, decided what he needed to do.

"Which floor?" The boy looked at him questioningly. "Which floor?" Daniel asked again pointing to the elevator controls. The boy stammered a moment, pulled out a piece of paper then pointed to the top floor button. Daniel pushed the button, then turned to the boy as the car started its upward journey.

"You speak English?" Daniel asked quietly. He noticed the boy seemed extremely nervous, but he did nod.

"You here with your parents?" Daniel asked. The boy shook his head. "Aaah, going to meet your 'uncle' then?" The boy frowned a moment then smiled as he nodded in the affirmative.

"Oh, a working boy then?" The boy flushed red with a blush. "It's OK. I've done it myself. Not much fun, but the money's good." The boy frowned and nodded once again.

"I'm Daniel. What's your name?" The boy looked up at Daniel for a moment then answered softly.

"Remik."

"Remik. Cool name. So tell me, Remik, do you really want to go to the top floor?" Remik paused and slowly shook his head no. "I didn't think so. How about coming with me instead?" The boy instantly frowned and backed away. "No, no! Not to work. Just to relax a bit." The boy smiled but slowly shook his head no. He looked down at his watch and started to fidget.

"Well, then tell me who you work for. I'm kinda short on cash and might need to work too." Once again Remik fidgeted. When the door opened to the top floor, he finally looked Daniel in the eye.

"Stan."

"Some of the agents in our Internet Division got, well for lack of a better word, they got slapped in the face," Gene explained. Mac got out a piece of paper and started taking notes. "The whole thing started simply enough with a child pornographer, but this guy was different. He toyed with our agents and sent them on an endless numbers of wild goose chases. Our guys were getting frustrated. Then the suspect did something unbelievable. He hacked into the NSA computer system and completely deleted all the files concerning the case."

"We never got a memo on a breech of security," Mac said hotly.

"I know, I know and I'm sorry, but this case is unique."

"That doesn't excuse standard protocol, Gene and you know it. Withholding information that could potentially put not only your agency, but every other governmental agency at risk is a major breech of National Security Protocol."

"Wait until you hear all the facts before you make judgment, Mac. On the surface it looks completely different to what's actually there," pleaded Gene.

"OK, you've got my attention, but this better be good."

"The day after he hacked into our system, one of our agents was killed and …"

"WHAT?!?"

"Yeah, it was quite a shock 'cause the Internet Division is considered one of the safest departments to work in."

"I can't believe this, Gene."

"It's gets even more bizarre. I was just looking over the case file before you called, so I'm up to date. Seems some of our agents took the killing personally and went after someone they thought was the suspect. Turns out, it wasn't, at least at first that's what we thought. Recent evidence indicates this person is involved. To what extent his involvement is, we don't know."

"Don't tell me," signed Mac.

"Yeah, the suspect is Daniel Simon."

"And now one of my agents is missing, who just happened to be investigating Daniel Simon."

"Not only that, but do you remember the damn incident in North Carolina?"

"Yeah."

"We've tied that to him as well." Mac Harrel took a deep breath.

"What's the reason your agency started this investigation in the first place?"

"That's what I don't know. I hate to say it, but the agents involved in the original investigation were all suspended after they started running around the countryside shooting at this Simon character. Since all the files were deleted by the hacker, they're the only ones who have all the facts. The interesting part of all of this is that no one has been able to get in touch with any of them."

"They've gone rogue, Mac. And I'll bet they have Agent Rankin too. We found his shoes and coat near the restaurant where he was having lunch. Only well trained and experienced operatives would have known about the distress locators."

"I think we need a joint task force, Gene. We need to find Agent Rankin and we need to concentrate on finding Daniel Simon."

"I agree."

Daniel stumbled back against the elevator wall when he heard the name. There was just no getting away from the man he pictured as the devil himself. The boy looked at him like he was crazy. Just as Remik turned to leave, Daniel grabbed him and pulled him back into the elevator. The boy's scream was cut silent from the tenth floor of the hotel by the closing of the elevator doors. Daniel quickly punched the lobby button.

"What?" started Remik. Daniel whirled around and looked hard at the boy. Remik shrunk back in terror from the taller imposing youth with the angry face. Sensing the reaction, Daniel forced a small smile.

"Stan is NOT the person you want to be associated with. Trust me, Remik. I know Stan. I used to work for him. He's an evil man. He even killed a friend of mine." Remik's eyes widened in fright and he shrunk back even further, wrapping his arms around himself. I know you've just met me and Stan has promised you all kinds of money, but you have to believe me. Stan will eventually hurt you." Daniel leaned back against the wall and tried to collect himself. He knew his blood pressure was through the roof. He took a deep breath and looked back at Remik. "You don't have to do this," Daniel said softly.

"B-but my family," Remik stammered. Another flash of anger crossed Daniel's face as he thought of the lies Stan had told this innocent young boy. Seeing the anger, Remik dropped to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees.

The ding of the elevator rang out in the silence as the door slid open. Daniel turned to see all of his friends standing at the door. Cody quickly took in the scene before him.

"What the hell is going on here?" he exclaimed. Remik saw his chance and darted out of the elevator and took off toward the front door at an all out run. Daniel immediately started after him, but Cody roughly grabbed his arm. Daniel looked into furious chocolate brown eyes.

"He told me he's working for Stan," Daniel said quickly. Cody immediately let go of his arm. The other friends dropped their bags and followed Daniel as he ran toward the door.

The hotel manager was overseeing the final placement of the ornate plants near the hotel front door when he was literally knocked to the floor by six running teenagers He yelled after them, but they paid no heed as they blasted through the front door. They all came to a stop just outside. Everyone was looking for Remik.

"That kid is our ticket to Stan! You two go that way," Daniel said to Teri and Timmy. "You two take that way," he said to Dillon and Casey. "Cody, come with me." They split up and headed in different directions looking for the boy with the tight pants and the silk shirt.

"How do you activate the device?" Mac Harril asked. The systems operator in the level five security area of the CIA headquarters glanced at his superior with stifled humor. All the top executives of the agency knew very little about the technical expertise the department had at its disposal. Perhaps if they paid a bit more attention to the technology the department would be a whole lot more up to date. Advances in technology were left to the 'computer geeks' and the geek currently at the console grinned at the technological ignorance of his boss.

"It's really rather simplistic," the operator started with an air of superiority in his voice. Mac deciphered the tone of the voice immediately.

"I know I should spend more time learning what technology is available, but right now I need to find an agent that's been taken. His very life depends on whatever buttons you need to push to tell me where he is." The operator, recognizing the concession, turned back to the terminal.

"The device is always active; however, in order to be able to locate its signal, I'll have to perform a satellite search. Can you give me any idea where I should start. These searches are very limited in search area." Mac pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to the operator.

"Those are the coordinates of the last place the rogue agents used. Let's start there." The operator nodded and entered the commands. Deep in space, the CIA satellite swung around and aimed its dish at the coordinates provided. Moments later the operator looked back at his superior.

"Nothing there, sir."

"OK, widen your search area in and around those coordinates. That's the best place to start."

"Yes, sir, but realize these search sweeps will take a few moments each. It could be hours before I'm able to search even a ten mile radius."

"I don't care if it takes all day, all night and all day tomorrow, keep searching." The operator nodded and entered more commands into the terminal. Mac turned around and sat down heavily in his seat. He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. Grimacing, the yelled out to no one person in particular. "Can we get some fresh coffee in here?!?"

"Mac, you really need to learn to relax." Mac turned to the man sitting in the chair next to him.

"Relax? Gene, tell me something. Just exactly why should I relax?" Mac's friend chuckled softly to himself.

"Because, Mac. There's nothing you can do that you haven't already done. So relax and let your department's technology do its work." The operator at the terminal smiled smugly to himself as Mac sighed deeply.

"Oh I suppose you're right. It's just that I want the information and I want it now," Mac said with heavy frustration in his voice. Gene patted Mac's hand.

"Does Martha still bake those incredible cookies?" Mac couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, she does. You and David should come by ... soon. I've missed spending time with my old college roommate."

"Old? I'll have you know we're the same age, you old fart."

"At least I still have a son in high school. Your kid's in Ivy League!"

"He's a freshman, Mac. And Jonathan is a high school senior. He'll be at Harvard this fall."

"Oh God, please don't' remind me. My financial advisor is giving me grief over letting him spend the summer in New Zealand. He tells me that frivolous spending will cause me to sell some stock." Mac leaned over to his best friend and whispered. "But he's never seen my son turn on those puppy eye dogs, roll out his bottom lip and look at me with 'please dad' written all over his face." Gene laughed out loud.

Cody and Daniel turned the corner and looked up the street. Disappearing around the far corner was a pair of tight pants and a silk shirt.

"That's him, come on!" yelled Daniel as he took off in a sprint. Cody was right on his heels. The boys dodged the few people on the sidewalk and quickly rounded the far corner. Cody caught sight of the boy running up fire escape steps about midway down the block

"There he is!" he called out. They quickly ran to the fire escape and scrambled up the steps in quick pursuit of the boy.

"Remik!" Daniel called out. "Please wait! We want to help!" The boy paused at a window, then quickly dashed inside.

"Shit!" called out a frustrated Cody as he scrambled up the steps behind Daniel. Finally reaching the window, they rushed through and found themselves in a hallway.

"It's the one at the far end," Daniel said firmly.

"How do you know?" asked Cody.

"I just do. Come on." They approached the door and stood before it. All kinds of thoughts ran through Daniel's mind. Was the monster behind the door? Would he be able to face the man for the first time in eight years? Could he do it?

"This is it," Cody said softly. Daniel nodded, took a deep breath, then pounded on the door with his fist. The door jerked open and there stood the man that caused all the nightmares and all the pain.

"You?" the man said, totally surprised.

"Yes, it's me. Now I can be your worst nightmare," Daniel said with clenched teeth.

"Aah, Danny boy, I don't think so," the man said calmly as a nickel plated forty-five automatic suddenly appeared in the man's hand. "You know, it was you that should have been in the film instead of Timmy. You've got more fight. Timmy just gave up. Such a shame too, he was so cute." Daniel lunged at the man, but Cody held him back as Stan raised the pistol

"You bastard!" Daniel spat.

"That's no way to talk to someone who made you who you are today. If it weren't for me, you'd be some miserable piece of trailer trash workin' five dollar blow jobs on the street corner." Cody held Daniel back as Stan cocked the trigger on the pistol. "So nice of your 'fuck buddy' to keep you in check." The sound of the gun discharging left a ringing sound in Daniel's ears. As the door slammed shut, he felt Cody grabbing his arm. It was slow motion as the boys went down to the floor.

"BASTARD!" Daniel screamed as he tried to get up. The arm grabbing him held him in place. As Daniel turned to look at Cody, he saw the blood on Cody's shirt. "NO!" he screamed as he grabbed Cody. Daniel watched helplessly as Cody's eyes rolled back in his head and his boyfriend's body became limp in his arms. Another shot rang out from the other side of the door. "Oh God, NO!" screamed Daniel as he wrapped his arms around Cody.


On to Chapter Fourteen
"Set Backs"

Back to Chapter Twelve
"We Need a Plan"

Chapter Index

Jevic's Story Page

I'd love to hear what you think!
Email me at jevic@tarheelwriter.com