The work starts

Con eyes Austin skeptically. “You think letting Katie help is a good idea?”

“Would I have said yes if I didn’t?”

“No, but…she hasn’t had training with us or anything.” Con glances at Katie, then back to Austin. “I love her spunk, but is that enough?”

Austin folds his arms across his chest. “If there was ever a case I’d want her on, it’s this one. She’s like a bloodhound when it comes to Jason, and that might just come in handy.”

Con relents without argument. “Alright. We need to get a hold of Reese, let him know what’s going on, and get a couple more men sweeping the area.”

“Agreed.” Austin glances at the clock. It’s past suppertime already, but there will be no rest. “It’s gonna be a long night.” He turns to Katie. “Come out in the other room with me and help me set up a corner where we can work. In any kidnapping case, time is of the essence.”

Cindy barely hears what’s going on around her, and numbly follows Wes out to a chair to sit down, the tears still flowing. “I just…can’t believe it……he’s…he’s all I have, Wes…. We have to find him…we just have to!”


Mick lifts an eyebrow at Damien and briefly explains about the computer chips. “None of us knew we had ‘em in us either until I discovered mine and went digging for more information.” He nods to him. “I’m only asking this because of that that person said on the phone that you heard. But do you have any strange scars or anything like that?”

There is a brief interruption as the others come back into the room, obviously with bad news. Mick stops his questioning and looks up at Austin, wondering what’s going on. The room goes quiet.

Austin shakes his head grimly. “Please be on heightened alert, if you’re not already after this fiasco. Jason, Katie and Adam were at the mall some hours ago and Jason disappeared. We believe he’s been kidnapped.”

Several gasps can be heard. Jade’s eyes widen and her face pales slightly. “Who would do such a thing?”

“Our best guess is the Agency, though we can’t prove it. If any strange calls come in, if anyone hears or sees anything suspicious at all, please, please report it to me.” Austin takes a deep breath to remain in control of himself. “Speaking as an agent and not as a grandfather, my guess would be that if it’s the Agency who did this, that they took Jason to interrogate him. But as we all know….when desperate men either are finished with what they have, or don’t get what they want, there’s a very real danger of someone losing their life.”

Clint exchanges a surprised look with Wendy, not even sure how to react. A new awkwardness comes over the room as no one is quite sure what to do now.

Austin points to the far corner of the mess hall away from the gathering. “Katie and I will be setting up there and I will be in touch with TJY.”

Jeff raises an eyebrow. “Katie?” He looks at his niece, then at Austin again.

Austin nods, making eye contact with him and with Rosetta. “She’s unofficially part of the TJY team for this case.”

He goes to line up a couple tables in the corner, moves a computer over, hooks up several connections, borrows a phone and is finally as set up as he can hope for. “Con, I want you to go out to the hideout and find out why on earth no one knew we had intruders here tonight, and inform the others about Jason. Bring back some of the surveillance equipment and my laptop.”

Con nods and leaves to do as instructed.

Austin gestures to a chair for Katie and hands her a notepad and pencil. “I want you to write down every single detail you can remember about the mall incident. Every sight and every sound that you can think up.” He settles down with a file folder full of criminal profiles and at the same time, dials a number on the speaker phone. The other end picks up.

“Yeah, this is Reese.”

“Austin here.”

“Oh, Austin, hi. I was going to…”

“They’ve got Jason, Reese.”

Reese seems stunned. “What?”

Austin eyes his files as he talks. “He got nabbed at the mall today. I need a couple men to get down there and sweep the area – just a five-mile radius to start. Check out anything suspicious…abandoned buildings and the like. Also run a search on the local jail and see who’s been let out in the last week.”

“You got it.” Reese sounds as if he’s writing things down. “How did it happen?”

“We’re not sure. He was separated from his friends and just disappeared. His watch was left behind…it was obviously foul play.”

“Aw, great. Do you think he’s still alive?”

Austin pauses in his work, gritting his teeth. “Logic says that for the moment, yes.”

“Think they’ll interrogate him?”

“Yep.”

“I hope he can last ‘til we find him.”

Austin sighs. “Me too.”

There’s a slight pause as it seems Reese suddenly realizes he’s talking to Jason’s grandfather. “We’ll find him, Austin. I’ll have Plowman and Lukas out within the hour. You got anyone to help you there?”

Austin nods, though Reese can’t see him. “I still got my three men, and…” He glances to Katie. “I got a keen young woman on my side too.”

“That wouldn’t be Kit, or Kathy, or…”

“Katie?”

“Yeah, Katie. Is that who it is?”

Austin can’t help a slight grin, knowing that Reese is unaware he’s on a speaker phone. “Yep.”

“Ah, okay. Jason called me just a few days ago…left a message saying if I ever wanted to train a new sharpshooter to look her up.”

Austin smirks at the phone and looks to Katie again. “That renegade of mine when right over my head with that request.” He shakes his head, focusing back on Reese. “Look, I’ll be working on my end. Call me if you dig anything up. I’ll keep you informed.”

“Right. Will be in touch.”

Austin ends the call, hanging up the phone and going back to his files.


While all that is going on, Mick tries to turn his concentration back to Damien. “This whole thing gets bigger and bigger all the time. You can see why we’re all confused and leery of anyone anymore. So about my questions…just because you were with the Agency doesn’t make you immune to their use or betrayal. Come to think of it, you’d be a prime target for a chip…because they wouldn’t think we’d have anything to do with you.”


Any sense of time seems to have vanished. Jason’s muscles complain against the position he’s been forced into, but he cannot move. The basement is cool and damp, the smell of mold filtering through the air. It’s a scent so strong and so familiar.
Jason can still feel the fear connected with that smell…it’s like he’s in that room all over again… a captive, locked away from the world where reality begins to blur. He begins to fall into the memory, terror trying to take hold of his mind. But he fights. He can’t allow his past to control him, especially now. He has to conquer it…he has to…