CHRISTOPHER'S POV
We arrived at the border at the same time as the patrol, but the area was deserted. Not a soul in sight. The knot in my chest tightened with each passing second. I was sick with worry for Eve and the others, but mostly Eve. If anything happens to her… I can't live with that.
"Wait," the Detective said, his voice sharp against the silence as we fanned out across the border area. "These are fresh tire tracks." He pointed to the ground, a little ways from the actual border crossing.
"So the GPS was right," he muttered, half to himself. "To be honest, I was skeptical."
The SWAT team launched a drone, its rotors whirring as it climbed into the darkening sky. A few minutes later, they brought it down, huddled around a laptop, their faces grim.
"Listen up!" the SWAT captain barked, his voice cutting through the air. "The assiliants arrived here recently but turned back, likely spooked by our pursuit. Thanks to the signal from the GPS tracker on Mr. Luther's fiancée's necklace, we know where they're headed. We're going in. It's almost nightfall, and we don't know how many we're up against, but we're not coming back without those three women. Let's move out!"
We moved towards our car, ready to follow, when the captain and his team blocked our path. "You three aren't coming," he said flatly. "Too risky."
"Like hell we aren't," I snarled, my fists clenching.
"You're civilians, Mr. Luther. All three of you. Go back to the station and wait for us," he said, his tone brooking no argument.
"I don't give a damn," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "I'm going to find my wife and her friends."
"Escort these gentlemen out of here," the captain ordered, turning his back and heading for the armored car. Several officers moved to block us, but I wasn't backing down.
Rage surged through me. I grabbed a SWAT member, yanked his sidearm from its holster, and leveled it at him. The air crackled with tension. Every officer in the vicinity swung their weapons towards me. Cole and Luca were shouting, begging me to lower the gun.
"What the hell are you doing, Mr. Luther?" the Detective demanded, his face a mask of shock and anger.
"Put the gun down, goddammit!" the SWAT captain yelled, his voice tight with fury.
"I will, as soon as you agree that we're coming with you," I said, my voice steady despite the tremor running through me.
The captain turned to Cole, desperation in his eyes. "Mr. Mickelson, talk some sense into him. This is insane. His presence will only jeopardize the mission."
Cole stood his ground, his expression unwavering. "I'm afraid I can't do that. He's the only reason we even know where to look for my sister and her friends. We're going where that GPS leads, with or without your approval.
The captain sighed, a weary sound heavy with exasperation from their earlier argument. "Lower your weapons," he ordered. I lowered mine, returning the police's borrowed gun.
A few seconds later, we were bumping down a barely-there track, deeper into the forest. The SUV lurched to a halt in a small clearing, the signal having died.
We climbed out, the unexpected emptiness of the location unsettling. "Something's wrong with the signal. This is the middle of nowhere," I said, frustration boiling over, fueled by anger and worry for Eve.
"I don't think so. In fact," the captain said, advancing towards a large tree at the clearing's edge, "I think this is the right place."
"How so?" Cole asked.
"Because we've been here before... I can't go further than this. It's classified, and you three are merely civilians."
"Then unclassify it," I spat, my patience stretched thin.
"You might be the biggest shot in the country, Mr. Luther, but some things are simply above your pay grade. Leave it at that." The captain's tone was sharp and final.
I couldn't really blame him. If I were in his shoes, having a civilian breathing down my neck during an operation, I'd be fed up too.
"Let it go, Chris," Luca whispered, and I backed off, forcing myself to take a calming breath.
Night had fallen, and we used the SUV's headlights and our phone flashlights to illuminate the clearing, searching for any sign of Eve and the others. I walked towards the tree the captain had indicated, circling it but finding nothing. Then, as I swept my flashlight beam west, I noticed a patch of leaves on the ground that looked different from the rest – less decayed, disturbed somehow.
Hope flickered within me. I cautiously moved toward the area, praying it was a clue and not just my imagination. Kneeling, I gently brushed the leaves aside. Beneath them, almost perfectly concealed, was an iron door set flush with the ground.
"You need to see this!" I shouted, my heart pounding with anticipation.
The captain and the others rushed over. "Get it open," the captain commanded. His men strained against the heavy iron, finally managing to slide it open. Beneath was an even stranger sight: a section of shiny steel, with a small screen attached.
"Call me crazy, but that looks like an elevator," one of the men said.
I crouched, touching what looked like a power button. The screen flickered to life, displaying a prompt for a passcode.
"We need to get through the lock, but unfortunately, we didn't bring the equipment to bypass it," the captain said.
"You don't need any special equipment. I can hack the network and bypass the password to get us through," Luca said, his voice surprisingly confident.
Everyone, including me, turned to stare at him. I had no idea he was a hacker.
"It's all yours then," the captain said, gesturing toward the screen. The others crowded around Luca, eager to see him work.
He knelt, calmly typing into the system. Within minutes, a grinding noise echoed from below. The steel-like covering split in two, revealing a tall, gleaming elevator.
"It's an elevator," the captain said, shock evident in his voice.
"I killed the beep that would have notified them when the elevator left the floor. You all need to hurry, before they realize we're onto them," Luca said, his tone urgent.
The SWAT captain and his men, fully equipped, crowded into the elevator. It was a tight fit, all ten of them squeezing in.
"We'll be back with your family," the captain said to me, the doors sliding shut and the elevator descending.
"I need to get in there," I whispered to Luca the moment the elevator disappeared.
"You'll need a gun. When you get to the car, there's a discrete compartment on the right side of the steering column. Push it gently and take what you need," he whispered back.
I casually walked back to the SUV. Just as Luca said, a hidden compartment held a high-quality handgun with a full magazine. I took it, tucked it into my waistband beneath my jacket, and rejoined Luca by the open elevator shaft.
"By my calculations, the elevator should be back up in thirty seconds. I'll use that window to open it for you. You have to be quick, before the police have a chance to stop you," he said. I silently nodded, adrenaline coursing through me.
"Whatever you two are discussing, fill me in. I need to be down there too," Cole said in a hushed voice, stepping beside us.
"How did you know?" I asked, surprised he'd caught on so quickly. He just gave me a grim smile.
"Then get ready, both of you," Luca whispered. Before anyone could react, the elevator reappeared, the doors sliding open. We jumped inside, the doors closing behind us an instant later.
I pulled the gun from my waistband, gripping it tightly as I braced myself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cole draw a gun from his suit jacket. Shock was an understatement.
"If I find him first, I'll kill him," Cole said simply. He didn't need to say Frederick's name. I knew who he meant. But I hoped I beat him to it. Frederick would regret ever meeting me, I vowed inwardly as we descended deeper into the earth.