The two men in suits watched from the moonlit car waiting for her young gentleman friend to leave. At 11:00 p.m. the front door opened and they watched the young couple share a kiss before the man headed to his car and drove off. Jennifer closed and locked the door already feeling comfortable in her new home. Sitting on the couch she watched the evening news too wound up from her day to sleep.

They grew impatient waiting for the lights to go out, deciding to alter their plan slightly. At 11:20 p.m. the two men walked to the front door and rang the bell. The unexpected noise startled Jen. Ambling to the door she suspected Scott had forgotten something and returned. She looked through the peep hole and saw the strangers. She yelled through the door requesting they identify themselves. Having prepared for all possibilities the men held up very authentic looking OSI badges and stated their names. She began unlocking the door but the uneasy feeling intensified.

They stood at the doorway and explained the unorthodox meeting.

“Sorry to bother you so late Dr. Austin but the OSI has received confirmed threats against you and Dr. Rudy Wells. We’ve been assigned to take you to a safe house for security purposes.”

Jen stepped back unsure why she didn’t believe them. Was she that naïve that she couldn’t believe someone would want to kidnap her? She asked them in and looked down at her blue jeans, white tank top and unbuttoned denim blouse. “Is it okay if I go like this?” They nodded. “Do I need to take anything with me?”

“No doctor. We hope to have this situation wrapped up in the next 24 hours.” They didn’t want many things missing from the house.

“Okay just let me get my sneakers” She retrieved them from next to the couch and began tying them. Still something felt amiss and she suddenly knew how to fix it. “I should contact my father and let him know what’s going on.” She stated as she walked towards the kitchen phone. They were swift in their attack and grabbed her from behind throwing her light weight body on the table. Jennifer was well trained in the art of self-defense and reacted accordingly by landing facing her attacker, thrusting upward with her knee and gouging at the closest man’s eyes. He stepped back, bent at the waist from the blow and grabbed at his eyes, curses falling from his lips. The larger man, outweighing her by at least 140 pounds, lunged at her and was able to hold her easily off the ground from behind until she threw her head back which was answered with a nauseating crunch of his nose. He tightened his grasp as his partner injected her with a sedative. With her heart racing the drug circulated quickly causing her to collapse within a minute’s time. They carried her out into the dark night leaving no witnesses.

While all this was happening another set of men were knocking on the front door of Dr. Wells’ townhouse with the same story. He too felt something was not right. When he tried to resist they informed him they already had Jennifer and would kill her if he didn’t come quietly. He immediately entered their vehicle, not knowing if they were telling him the truth or not but he couldn’t take the chance. The three hour drive was uneventful through the rural landscape but Rudy didn’t notice as he was blindfolded for the whole journey.

It was still dark when they arrived at their destination. As remote an area as Rudy had ever seen from what he could make out in the dim moonlight. The massive building he was ushered into was half underground and very industrial looking, everything constructed of steel and cement. He couldn’t quite place what it was. Leading him down a flight of black metal stairs, through immense steel doors and down a long corridor they escorted the doctor into a cell. Rudy did not offer resistance hoping his kidnappers were lying about having Jennifer. One man remained standing outside his jail cell. At least he had light above him and throughout the long corridor to his survey his surroundings. Checking the bars he found them to be relatively new and very much secure.

He entertained himself with trying to figure out where he was, already fairly sure why they wanted him. He was deep in thought for only a few minutes when he heard a pair of heavy footsteps coming his way. He positioned himself in the back of the cell, his gut twisted at the sight of a limp Jennifer being carried by a large man in a very expensive business suit looking slightly disheveled. As his colleague unlocked the door he placed Jen on one of the cots. Neither spoke to Rudy but conversed between themselves with thick Russian accents.

“What the hell happened to your face?” The smaller man asked with a furled brow taking in the already swelling nose and eyes of his colleague.

“She resisted. I thought we would get her clean but she fought back and got lucky.”

They chuckled as they walked out and down the hallway.

Rudy immediately went to the young woman’s side and examined her. She appeared uninjured but heavily sedated. All he could do was wait for the drug to wear off so he sat across from her on the other cot and did just that.

A half hour later she slowly regained consciousness and Rudy returned to her side to help her get oriented. He explained what had happened as best he could not aware of what happened at her place. She struggled to sit up fighting off the dizziness and fog. She told him she remembered them coming to the door, not believing their story and attempting to telephone her father but never got a chance to. Rudy asked if she remembered breaking the guy’s nose and she gave him a knowing nod and a weak grin.

In the OSI Lab Steve toyed with the microscope while waiting impatiently for Jen to arrive. He was anxious to tell her about his date with Barbara. When he last checked his watch it was 15 minutes past the hour and Jen was a very punctual person. Dr. Wells had not arrived yet either but that was not as unsettling as he was frequently delayed. Steve finally gave up and entered Oscar’s office. His boss was on the phone and sifting through papers from the file folder on his desk. He silently gestured for Steve to take a seat. The phone conversation soon ended and Oscar seemed puzzled by the information he had received.

When Oscar remained quiet Steve asked, “Is there something wrong Oscar?”

“Huh? Oh…it’s just this intel we received last week. It’s strange…or code…or something.” He shrugged as Steve stood and amble to the desk to get a look. “Our code breakers were only able to partially decipher it.”

Steve saw the random words on the paper, ‘OSI…Two…Twenty four…Leningrad…Machinists….Million.’ He seated himself on the edge of the desk his brow furled in deep concentration. He barely heard Oscar’s question, “What did you need me for?”

Without looking up he replied distractedly, “Oh, I was wondering where Jen was this morning. I was supposed to meet her first thing in the lab.” His face came up from the paper, eyes staring off into the distance, the decoded words forming on his lips.

At that moment Oscar’s phone rang, Steve listened to Oscar’s words. “Oscar Goldman speaking….I’m not sure where Rudy is why?....I see….That’s odd…I’ll see what I can find out….Right.” With that the phone receiver was returned to the cradle.

“Is Rudy supposed to be somewhere?” Steve asked.

“Yes, he scheduled a meeting this morning with some very important people. He even confirmed it with everyone yesterday. They’ve been waiting for him to show up since 8:00 a.m.”

Steve knew Rudy wasn’t overly punctual but he was never known to be late to a high level meeting especially one that he setup. Steve’s eyes widened and he was out the door and headed to the lab. Shocked by his friend’s swift exit Oscar followed. Steve found the room to be as empty as before. His stomach churned as his mind began to finish the code in his head. Oscar arrived a little short of breath, “Steve what’s wrong?”

He began to perspire as he replied, “The code…I think I know what it was saying.”

“What?”

He pointed at the paper as Oscar followed his logic, “’OSI’ location… ‘Two’ doctors… ‘Twenty four’ that’s tomorrow… ‘Leningrad’ destination maybe… ‘Machinists’ build machines… ‘Million’ payment. It’s a stretch but considering my punctual daughter is not here and Rudy missed an important meeting…” Steve looked at Oscar with a raised eyebrow.

Deciding to investigate as a team they both headed out toward the parking lot intent on checking Rudy’s townhouse and Jen’s home. Oscar stopped briefly to ask the gate guard if he had seen either physician or anything out of the ordinary as Steve continued walking to his car parked in his assigned space. The guard was unable to provide any usable information.

With unexpected fury Steve’s car exploded in a deafening roar, propelling metal and burning interior pieces in every direction. Oscar stood stone still staring at the devastating scene before him.

At daybreak the two doctors were ushered upstairs. During their silent walk it finally dawned on Rudy that they were in a missile silo that had been partially redesigned into a house. No wonder it was such an isolated area. The man they were taken to see was not known to either of them. They took the seats offered in front of an ornate mahogany desk.

“Dr. Wells, Dr. Austin I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” His tone one of sincere admiration. Neither physician replied to the greeting, both waiting to hear their fate. “I guess you are both wondering who I am and what I have planned for you both.” The tall, brown-haired 40-year-old man stood and confidently walked around the desk. “My name is Victor Gustinov. I am a business man who handles and transports unique and unusual items…import and export. I have a client who is paying me a handsome sum of money to deliver you both unharmed to him in two days.” Stopping in front of Jen he leaned forward menacingly, “However if you attempt to resist again I will kill you, take half the money and only deliver one. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” The doctors nodded in unison. Pleased with their immediate response he continued to address them leaning against the front edge of the desk, his arms crossed confidently, “You see my client is well aware of your cybernetic achievement Dr. Wells. I’m afraid Colonel Austin has done considerable damage to my client and his organization in the past. Dr. Austin you are his daughter are you not?” It was obvious to Rudy and Jen the man already knew the answer to that question.

“Yes” She replied in a weak wavering voice.

“So you, my dear, are just the icing on the cake.” Smiling menacingly Victor stated while staring at Jennifer, “Dr. Wells my associate will return to your cell now. I’d like some time alone with this beautiful lady.” Rudy didn’t move, not wanting to leave seeing Victor’s hand caressed her face and her body stiffened. He quickly pulled Jen to her feet and held her face in his hands admiring her azure eyes, his hand slowly sliding across the fabric of her top. She didn’t resist but her eyes defiantly held his. She could not prevent the cold sweat that broke out but she forced herself to remain still and control her breathing. She knew there was no immediate action she could take with Rudy in the room along with two guards whom she assumed were armed. She would have to wait until the odds were better. Rudy’s stomach lurched assuming she was frozen in fear. He suddenly lunged at her abuser. A guard quickly pulled him off his boss throwing him to the side against the sturdy desk. A sickening crack was heard and Rudy laid unmoving, blood staining the carpet under his head.

The unexpected violence interrupted Victor’s plan to get better acquainted with his female prisoner. “Please let me go to him.” She asked with a slightly quivering voice. Victor released his hold and she went to her friend. She found a deep gash and lump on the back of his head. Victor ordered his men to transport the doctors back downstairs which they did without hesitation.

Not having a wrist watch she looked at Rudy’s to assess the amount of time he was unresponsive. Two hours passed before he groaned and brought a hand to his head.

His eyes slowly focused briefly on Jen’s familiar face. “Take it easy Rudy you had a hard blow to the head.” She carefully helped him into a sitting position and patiently remained silent as he regained his bearings.

He asked, “Are you okay Jen?” not knowing how long he was unconscious or what transpired in that time. She smiled at him.

“I’m fine Rudy.” She replied confidently. In a soft caring tone she asked, “What were you thinking? Didn’t you notice we were just a bit outnumbered in there?” He nodded and quickly wished he didn’t as the room swayed.

He was bewildered by her calm demeanor. With a raspy voice he explained the reason for his fruitless assault, “I couldn’t let him do that to you.”

She smiled at the act of love and bravery he showed in an attempt to come to her defense. Now it was her turn to explain so there would be no confusion later, “Rudy listen to me carefully. I can take care of myself okay? I am very well trained in self-defense, my father made sure of that. I did not resist him because it was too risky. I don’t want you to do anything like that again do you understand?”

“But Jen he was going to…”

“He was going to try…” She sighed, “Rudy I was assessing the situation from the moment he stepped in front of me and deemed it was not the opportune time. We were outnumbered and those men are probably armed. I allowed him to touch me in hopes that if I got him alone I could subdue him.”

Rudy looked her in the eye, “But you were trembling and your voice shook. I thought you were terrified.”

She dropped her head and suddenly felt guilty, “Rudy, how can I put this, yes I was trembling but only because I chose to let it show. I have very good emotional control. I deliberately made my voice sound shaky for a reason.” She met his gaze.

“What reason?”

“To make him think I was weak, defenseless, fragile….female. It’s not hard because men subconsciously expect a woman to be that way. Basic psychology…convince your captor that he is in control and you are helpless. I guess my acting performance was a little too good huh?” She received a weak smile from him.

He half jokingly asked, “In the future how am I suppose to tell the difference between acting and actual fear?”

She smiled, “Just look at my eyes.”

Oscar watched in horror as the flames continued to lick at what was left of Steve vehicle. He moved as close to the chard wreckage as he could get, still in shock, not sure he wanted to find the remains of his friend if there were any. Hearing a moan he spun around to find Steve lying on macadam holding his head. Kneeling by his side he helped him to sitting.

“Steve are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a headache.” His hand came away from his face covered in blood, “Okay maybe a little more than a headache.” Oscar helped him shakily to his unsure feet as the fire trucks entered the parking lot. Successfully keeping his friend upright Oscar escorted him back into the building.

Linda, Rudy’s assistant was in the lab. Oscar solicited her help with Steve’s head wound. As she cleaned and stitched it Steve commented to his boss, “I guess we are close to what’s really going on.”

“You can say that again.” He commented as he paced next to the treatment table making Steve dizzy, his ears still ringing from the blast.

“Would you stop that please?” He pleaded in a quiet tone.

“Huh? Oh sorry. How do you feel?” He watched his friend slowly sit up.

“Like I drank a fifth of whiskey then smashed the bottle over my head before getting hit by a moving train.” He carefully got to his feet. “Thanks Linda. Are you ready to go?” He looked at Oscar.

“Go? You can’t go anywhere you probably have a concussion.”

Steve gave him a smug look, “Maybe but until my doctor can verify that I’m a free man.” With that he headed slowly but steadily to the door. Without looking back he called to friend, “You’ll have to drive Oscar my car seems to have been misplaced.”

Shaking his head in resignation and thanking Linda he followed Steve’s path.

Sitting in the car outside of Rudy’s place they reviewed what they had found at each residence. At Jen’s house Steve was not able to locate the clothes Jen was wearing the day he helped her move. Leading him to believe she was taken sometime that night. A fleeting thought crossed his mind, ‘Was Scott Yeager involved?’ He quickly dismissed it remembering Jen’s description of him and her usual good judge of character.

A small amount of blood was found on the carpet near the dinning room table. Steve had also found a 12 inch scratch in the brand new tabletop. He surmised if there was a scuffle and Jen landed on the table maybe something she had in her hand made the mark. Steve considered the obvious, ‘It was too narrow to be a tool or weapon. Maybe something on her hand like her mother’s diamond ring she always wore on her right hand’ he thought.

Rudy’s home seemed untouched. No forced entry as it was with Jen’s place. It was like Rudy disappeared.

Oscar was on his car phone trying to get more intelligence information while Steve’s head was pounding making it very difficult to concentrate. The pieces were too slow coming together. Nothing they found pointed to where or who. They were running out of time.

Jen was pacing impatiently as Rudy rested on the cot. Their captures had at least provided ice to reduce the swelling on Rudy’s head. The blurred vision came and went as did the nausea and dizziness. Feeling the late morning sun’s heat coming through the secured window Jennifer removed her long-sleeved denim blouse she wore over her tank top before tightening her ponytail out of habit. With persistent movement of her feet and her arms folded across her midriff the young woman mentally reviewed the events down the minute details. Would the OSI know they were missing by now? Remembering their plan to meet this morning Jen knew her father would be the first to notice her absence. She smiled devilishly wondering how things went between him and Barbara last night, maybe he didn’t make it in to work on time.

Her thoughts concerning her father were interrupted by Victor’s authoritative stance before her. He preferred delivering the news personally just to get another look at his feminine quarry. Rudy sat up at his arrival. “I just wanted to inform you that we will be departing the country at daybreak tomorrow.” He gazed at the pretty physician. She could tell by his stare he was undressing her with his eyes or worse, causing the hairs in her neck to rise.

There were few women Victor Gustinov had to coerce. Most were drawn to his looks, his money…or his dark nature. His smile grew to a grin at the thought of having this woman with or without her consent. He conceitedly rationalized that even the women he ‘took’ had still enjoyed his attention. His eyes followed her pleasant curves pleased to see her well-toned arms bare, her white shirt clinging to her torso before disappearing into the narrow waist of her denim jeans. He wondered what she would look like with her dark hair unrestrained, framing her angled face. His mind and body longed to find out many things about the mesmerizing woman. He suddenly became aware she was taking cautious steps towards him with a small smile. ‘Maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult after all’ he thought.

She spoke calmly and assuredly through the bars, “Do you have any idea what my father is going to do to you when he finds you? He’s going to literally tear you apart.” Rudy watched the scene knowing she was probably right about Steve retaliation to the situation.

Victor displayed a toothy grin, “I can assure you he will never find me or you for that matter. I understand this morning he was killed when his car exploded …in the OSI parking lot.” He got much satisfaction at those last few words.

“You’re lying!” She forced out through clenched teeth.

He gestured for dramatic purposes, “Two pounds of C-4, one turn of the key in the door and they are probably still trying to decipher which metal pieces are from the car and which are from your father.” Jen did not realize that tears had begun to fill her eyes. Victor fed off her grief and anger. “Please understand Dr. Austin he had to be eliminated so we could deliver you without incident. I’ve been told he could be quite tenacious. Besides his termination brought me a healthy bonus from my client” He sighed heavily before finishing, “Well, maybe later I can help you through your grief.” His smile disgusted her when he turned and strode down the corridor.

Jen began to cry sinking onto the cot. Victor reveled in the sound of her sob as it echoed towards him. He laughed loudly for his prisoners to hear before the slamming of the steel door was followed by silence.

“Jen I’m so sorry.” He placed a comforting arm over her shoulders. He too was saddened by the unexpected news. When the sound of the metal door closing was followed by silence Jen immediately stopped her dramatic crying and stood up. Her action confused Rudy, “Jen?”

“I don’t believe him. My dad was not killed by a car bomb.” Rudy thought she was in shock, denial or both by the rapid change in emotion, “Jen you’re just in shock.”

“Rudy I’m 90% sure he’s not dead.” She said adamantly.

“Why do you say that?” Seeing the strength in her eyes.

Her short walks from one end of the cell to the other began again, “Because he said the key unlocking the door triggered the bomb.” She let a grin cross her face confident her theory was correct. “My father has had his car for three years with a remote lock control on the keychain. I have never once seen my dad unlock the door with the key. In fact, every time I’ve seen him use it he was at least 10 feet away if not more.” She looked at Rudy, “That’s why I don’t believe he’s dead.”

Rudy thought a few seconds, “Jen even at 10 feet two pounds of C-4 would cause serious injuries.”

“I know.” She said softly needing to remain hopeful.

Rudy laid back down in an effort to quell the throbbing in his head. Jennifer couldn’t rest too much information was flowing through her mind. She had no desire to leave the country tomorrow morning, there had to be a way out of this mess. She knew there was only one option that held any possibility for success. “Rudy I need to get Victor alone.” The doctor glared at her, “No Jen…please.” He pleaded.

“My dad always told me if you want a snake dead cut its head off. Victor’s the head, without him the rest of his henchmen will scatter like roaches.”

As if on queue a suit clad drone appeared and unlocked the cell door and gesturing with his arm, “Mr. Gustinov would like to see you Ms. Austin.” She whispered to Rudy before exiting, “I’ll be fine trust me.” He watched her bravely travel the corridor remembering the many times he heard Steve utter those same five words.

...Continued