Ethan
Eight hours earlier…
“Come alone, or I'll kill her.”
The electronic voice clicked off, and the line went dead.
A picture came through of Laura tied to a chair and address to meet.
Ethan stared at the phone in his hand. He was shaking. He never shook like this during business meetings or even when climbing over hundred foot drops. But this had him shaking like a leaf in a tornado.
Someone had Laura and was going to kill her.
He swallowed hard. It had to be Janie. The car, the break-in... and now she had Laura.
His knees buckled, and he sat down hard in his office chair. The chair swiveled, nearly dumping him over and he cursed. He hated this Colorado temporary office.
“You need a plan,” Ethan whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and started visualizing. It was what he did when he faced a difficult vertical mountain climb. He would visualize each spot his hands needed to go to and just how to grip the rock. He would plan the entire ascent up the rock face and anticipate any hidden obstacles. What if a rock breaks? What if his fingers slip? He visualized all of it, so there was always a backup plan.
He did this during business too. What if the acquisition goes south? What if the stock falls the day before a merger? Having a plan was critical. It was soothing in a way. He knew if he had a plan, he would know what needed to be done next. So, he looked at the problem and came up with solutions.
First, Laura was taken by an unknown entity. He assumed it was Janie, but just as a handhold could look secure and crumble as soon as he put weight on it, he knew better than to trust an assumption.
He was told to come alone to an address sent to his phone. There was no money ransom or business mention. This was about him and Laura. That told him this was personal, lending credence to the Janie theory.
He looked out the window at the darkening sky. The city lights started to flicker on as the sun turned the mountains orange. He wondered if Laura could see the sunset from where she was being held.
He picked up the phone to call Bruce and hesitated. He trusted Bruce, but something he had said bothered Ethan.
“Someone knew the system. It has to be an inside job or someone who knows our systems.”
If he called Bruce, there was a very good chance that Janie would find out. She either still had access to his security or had someone on the security team helping her. He couldn't call Bruce. Bruce and the rest of Ethan's team had to stay in the dark about this.
He thought about just going to the warehouse, but without knowing what was going on or having some basic plan, that was a terrible idea. Who knew what Janie wanted from him?
Ethan flipped his phone over in his hands, playing with the smooth features. He needed some sort of security. He needed help, but he couldn't use his own security team. He was afraid to use Carter's team as they often shared personnel.
He would have to use someone else's team. Someone who could contact the police without drawing attention and had experience with this kind of thing.
Luckily, he had just that kind of friend.
“Let's go over the plan one more time,” Dean Sherman, head of billionaire Jack Saunders' security team said. He leaned forward over the small coffee table in Ethan's hotel room to listen to the response.
“I go to the warehouse alone,” Ethan told Jack's head of security. “You and your team will be waiting in unmarked vans outside on the street.”
Dean nodded. “The Denver police are already there making it look like electrical work is being done. It won't be strange to have several large vans in the area. The police are aware of the situation, but we're saying that it's Jack, not you on the radio. As far as everyone but you and I know, this is about him.”
Ethan nodded. Jack was a good friend for letting him borrow his security team. Dean had flown out from New York immediately at Ethan's phone call to Jack. Ethan had met Dean at Mia's fundraiser and knew that the man was amazing at his job. He'd been part of the search for the missing boys.
“I'll have a syringe with a sedative up my jacket sleeve,” Ethan continued with the plan. “If Janie searches me, it'll feel like part of the coat. I just have to make sure I don't stab myself with it.”
“Yes, that would be bad,” Dean replied dryly.
“I make sure Laura is safe. Then, as soon as I get the opportunity, I inject the sedative. The best is the neck, but the arm or glute will work if necessary,” Ethan said. “Once I've done that, I say 'she's down' into the wire I'll be wearing.”
“And what happens if you can't do that?” Dean asked, his bright blue eyes sharp as he waited for an answer.
Ethan didn't like thinking about this part of the plan. He wanted it to go easily and smoothly, but he knew that a plan for if things went to hell in a hand-basket was necessary and probably more important than the best case scenario.