Hostile Hostages pt 3

The five agents waited in the office. Buck had dug up all the information he could on Tim Carter and they were going through it with a fine toothcomb, hoping they could find something that would be useful to them in the upcoming interview.

'So, he's got no criminal record of any kind?' Nathan asked Buck who was beginning to look a little tired.

Buck let out a long breath and laid the file he was looking at down on the table. 'Like I already said, no. Not even a parking ticket.'

'Mr. Squeaky clean' JD snorted.

'More like he's just too clever to have gotten himself caught yet' said Vin, who'd been researching into Carter's career to date. 'Top of his class in every school he went to, headhunted right out of college by a multinational computer firm. This guy was earning big money up until about 18 months ago, when he quit his job at ACG Electronics. Nobody heard anything more from him till 3 months ago, when he applied for a post as a prison guard...'

'...which is where he is now' Buck cut in. 'I still don't get why a guy like that would want to help out these sons of bitches. What's he getting out of it?'

'That's what we're gonna find out' said Chris as he walked into the room, cup of very strong black coffee in one hand, another thick file in the other. 'These are Carter's bank details for the last 2 years. I want you to go trough them, see if there are any irregularities, any large amounts unaccounted for'

'You figure they paid him for his troubles up ahead?' Nathan queried.

'Can't see a man as smart as that risking his neck on a promise.' Chris took a sip of coffee, before placing the cup on the table and taking a seat.

JD shifted forward in his. 'I can't see him being cheap either. How'd they get their hands on the money?'

Vin glanced at Chris, whose face had settled into a deep scowl.

'Their last victim was a wealthy widow, in her eighties.' His eyes darkened as he remembered. 'The day before her body was found she withdrew her entire fortune from her bank account. No one could ever trace it'

'We knew damn well what had happened to it - those...' Chris could feel the anger welling up inside him again, but he forced it back down. 'They took it. We just couldn't prove it, they'd killed the only witness.'

He picked up his coffee cup again and sat sipping from it silently.

Vin gave Chris another worried glance before continuing the story. 'It was the first time they'd ever shown any interest in money. Up till then they'd just been in it for the killing. Almost as if they knew we were closing on them, and they decided they'd better put something away for a rainy day'

JD sat back in his chair his eyes wide. 'So, how'd you catch them?'

This time Buck took up the story. 'They started to get sloppy. Fighting among themselves. Weren't so careful on the cleanup, we got a couple of prints. We already suspected Atterton, just didn't have enough hard evidence...till then. And when we got him in the box it wasn't long before he gave us the others too.'

At that point the elevator doors opened and Ezra and Josiah stepped out.

font color=white>Ez

'I assume that Mr. Carter has not yet arrived?' Ezra said as he walked over towards his desk. Receiving a response in the negative from his colleagues he sat down in his chair. 'Well then, I suggest that now would be an opportune moment for us to fill each other in on what we have uncovered so far.'

JD and Buck got up to get everyone coffee while Chris outlined what they knew, and they all settled in to wait for their prime suspect to arrive.

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'Shit!' Emily tried to sit up but her head started to swim violently and she was forced to lay back down.

'Em? No, don't do that! You got to take it easy for a while, they got you pretty bad' said Ceci as she sat close by her friend.

The rest of the girls let out a collective sigh of relief - they hadn't been sure that Em would wake up, her injuries looked so severe.

Resigning herself to her horizontal position Em asked groggily 'What the hell happened?'

'They took you away. You don't remember?' asked Laura, concern in her voice.

Groaning softly Em went to put her hand to her face, but the agony the movement caused made her cry out.

'Whoa there! We think they broke your arm' said Ceci as she readjusted the temporary sling they had made out of Trix's overshirt.

Em grimaced. 'I remember. Don't know what I did to him, but Brimwood seemed real pissed off with me.'

'Yeah. We figure it's because Ezra shot him. He's taking it out on you.'

They all went silent for a while before Maria asked 'So what are we gonna do? We can't just sit here till they kill us'

'But they've got guns! What chance would we have against them?' Renee exclaimed.

'Well, if we sit here and do nothing they're gonna kill us anyway. Might as well die trying to escape.'

'Maybe take a couple of them with us you mean?' Said Rebecca, a grim smile on her face.

'What about Em? She's in no state to be getting into a fight.'

Em struggled to sit up again, this time beating the dizziness that washed over her, and with the help of Maria and Ceci she leant against the wall. 'Give me a while, I'll be fine' she said.

Renee looked round at her friends, at the various injuries they had already acquired and bit her lip. 'Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, the guys are probably gonna find us soon...'

Laura placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'I know. But in case they don�t...'

'Besides, it'll give us something to think about.' Said Ceci.

'Other than how much pain we're in you mean?' Em smiled grimly as she shifted her weight in an effort to get more comfortable.

'So' said Maria 'What are we gonna do?'

They all huddled together and started to form an escape plan.

As the girls were outlining their escape plan in the small room, Brimwood sat in the living room of the house, drinking a beer, while watching Henderson pace the room.

'So... they know about the camera. What else do they know?' Henderson was talking to himself.

'I�m really looking forward to killing those girls, and then to see the agony Team 7 has to go through.' Jones grinned from the couch he was sitting in.

'Oh yeah.' Brimwood nodded. 'Killing Standish's girlfriend will be especially nice. You�re still gonna let me kill her? Henderson?'

'Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever.' Henderson was deep in thought.

'Well you get to kill Larabee�s girlfriend.' Atterton said to Henderson. 'Who do I get to kill?'

'We'll sort that out later.' Henderson said as his cell phone suddenly rang. 'Yeah?'

'Henderson, it�s Carter. I�ve been called in.'

'What do you mean?' Henderson asked.

'I have to go into the ATF offices.' Carter said.

'Are they suspecting you?' Henderson asked.

'Nah, I don�t think so. They have questioned the other guards as well. I even think they asked Burrows to come into the office as well.' Carter sounded calm and relaxed.

'If you say so.' Henderson said. 'But if you tell them anything, you can kiss your money goodbye... and your life!'

'I know I know. Believe me I won�t tell.' Carter said. 'I have to go otherwise they�ll come looking for me.'

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40 minutes later the elevator doors of the ATF office opened to reveal Tim Carter. Nobody seemed to notice him so Carter made his way to the door that read Chris Larabee. Carter was studying Team 7, all engulfed in writing reports or otherwise. Carter thought to himself that these men didn�t seem to miss their girlfriends that much. As he knocked on the door he heard a dark voice calling him in. Carter opened the door to come face to face with Chris Larabee. After what Henderson had told Carter, Chris Larabee was a man you didn�t mess with. At least not when you were face to face with him.

'Yes?' Chris said looking questioningly at Carter.

'I�m Tim Carter, you have asked me to come here.' He said smiling politely.

'Yes, please come in.' Chris said letting him step into the office.

As soon as Carter was inside Chris slammed the door shut and as Carter turned he was faced with seven very angry looking men. Carter soon realized that the men sitting outside was not Team 7, this was Team 7.

'Alright. Where are they?' Chris growled staring coldly at Carter.

'Who?' Carter tried his best to sound innocent, but he had to admit Chris Larabee was quite a frightening person.

'You know very well, who.' Nathan said taking a step closer to Carter.

'Where are they?' Vin asked stepping so close to Carter that he was able to feel Vin�s breath against his face.

'Who?' Carter said again, suddenly feeling quite small.

'Well let�s see...' Ezra began. 'Emily, Renee, Maria, Laura, Trix, Ceci and Rebecca.'

'Who?' Carter persisted.

'If you don�t tell us where they are I swear I will...' Buck began.

'...kill you.' JD finished the sentence for him. 'I can easily make you disappear in the system. Write your death off as suicide.'

'I don�t know what you�re talking about.' Carter took a small step back.

'Yes you do.' Chris said.

At that point Carter was faced with Josiah a tall, big man. Suddenly feeling very small, Carter backed up until he came to a stop against Chris� desk. Josiah was standing in front of him, looking down at him. Carter was starting to feel very nervous. Henderson never told him about this man. He was huge and he looked like he was about to break every bone in Carter's body.

'Wha... What d... do you want from m... me?' Carter managed to stammer out.

'We want you to tell us where our girlfriends are.' Chris hissed. 'Otherwise I�m gonna let Josiah do whatever he wants with you.'

'That�s illegal.' Carter said.

'Like Mr. Dunne said, he can easily make you disappear in the system.' Ezra said an evil grin forming on his face.

'What's it gonna be?' Chris growled as every member of Team 7 stepped closer to Carter.

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Back in the wooden house the seven women had outlined a plan for their escape. Laura was trained in martial arts but since she had at least one broken rib she wasn�t in as good shape as she needed to be. Maria knew some basic karate moves and Renee was one hell of a boxer. Ceci, Rebecca and Trix were quite strong and Laura was now training the three, teaching them some moves. Emily was in no shape to fight with her broken arm.
After a couple of hours Laura found Rebecca, Trix and Ceci as good as they could get with the short time they had left.

In the living room Jones and Atterton sat playing cards, while Brimwood sat watching TV. Henderson was standing by the window staring out over the garden. He was wondering why Carter hadn't called yet. But since Carter hadn't been the least worried about going into the ATF offices, Henderson tried not to be to alarmed... yet.

'What are you worried about?' Brimwood asked as if he just read Henderson�s mind.

'I�m not worried.' Henderson said not turning to look at Brimwood.

'Shouldn�t we go check on the girls.' Atterton asked after a while. 'They haven�t received any food or drink in a while.'

'Don�t get so fucking soft!' Brimwood exclaimed glaring at Atterton. 'Those girls are dying soon anyway.'

'Yeah, I know, but still...' Atterton said. 'Will they survive until then?'

'Yes, of course they will.' Jones said. 'Besides we�ll get something to eat tomorrow morning.'

'Who gives a fuck about when or what they�ll eat!' Brimwood exclaimed. 'All we should care about is that we soon get to kill them.'

'I have a bad feeling.' Henderson said after a while.

'About what?' Jones asked.

'Carter, I think he'll turn out to be a snitch.' Henderson said.

'Don�t worry, with the money we're paying him he won�t say a thing.' Brimwood said.

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Back in the office of Chris Larabee Josiah held a very scared Tim Carter pushed up against the wall.

Carter's mind raced furiously. How the hell had he gotten himself into this position? Josiah loomed over him, giving the smaller man a grim smile.

'Anything you feel you want to share with us right now brother?' he asked.

Carter frowned - at himself rather than Josiah. What could these men possibly do to him anyway? They could threaten him all they wanted, but the fact was, they laid a finger on him they'd be the ones in the wrong. Which wouldn't do him much good if he was dead, a nagging little voice in the back of his mind told him. Trying to ignore it he thought through the situation as logically as he could. He held all the cards. The seven men, mad as they were, had an air of desperation about them too. They wouldn't do anything stupid, like killing him, and risk losing the only chance they had of finding their girlfriends alive. A smile formed on his face, and he straightened up, the fear on his face fading.

'I'm sorry gentlemen, but I can't help you. I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Josiah looked at him in disbelief.
Chris just exploded.

Vin had heard his friend grinding his teeth, the sound becoming louder and louder. At Carter's words, full of confidence that he could bluff his way out of the situation, Chris had lunged at the man, pinning him to the wall, his arm pressed hard up against Carter's throat making it difficult for him to breathe. Taking his gun from its holster Chris held it to the terrified man's temple.

His finger on the trigger, fury blazing in his eyes, he spat 'One more chance Carter - WHERE ARE THEY!'

font color=white>Ez

Carter's confidence had vanished. Trembling like a child he tried to gulp, but the pressure of Chris' arm against his throat made it impossible, and he started to choke. Chris just applied more pressure, indicating with a movement of his gun and a raise of his eyebrows that he wasn't going to wait all day for a reply.

'OK! OK! I'll...tell you..what I know!' The words came out in gasps, as he struggled to catch his breath.

Chris loosened his hold slightly, letting Carter get some air into his lungs. The gun stayed pressed firmly against the side of his head.
All the assurance now gone from his voice, Carter began to talk.

'I...they..they came to me about 18 months back. Offered me big money to set up a few...video feeds...untraceable phones...I swear, I never knew! I..If I'd known...!'

'Just tell us where they are!' Chris roared, reapplying the pressure.

Carter's eyes widened in terror. 'I don't know! They never told me what they were doing! I..I was just bought in for...for the technical stuff! I was doing it for the money..just the money! You have to believe me!'

Buck moved from where he'd been standing watching the exchange between his leader and Carter. Stepping up behind Chris he peered directly into Carter's face.

'And you just tell me, why in the hell should we do that? Huh?!'

'I swear! I..I dont..I don't know!' He started snivelling.

Vin gave a big sigh of frustration, and anger. Their only lead, and it looked like it was a dead end.

'I'm loath to say this gentlemen, but I believe he's telling the truth.' The look on Ezra's face showed the rest of them just how unhappy he was with this turn of events.

Chris loosened his hold on Carter altogether, but kept the gun trained on him as Buck cuffed the man and forced him down into a nearby chair.
As the men turned towards one another, to begin a discussion on what they were gonna do next, JD's face brightened.

'Hey guys! He did the video feed for them right? He just said so!'

Nathan glanced over at the seated Carter, then back at JD.

'So? How can that help us?'

'Well, he must know where it was being fed too! And I'm betting that's where they are...they wanted to see what we were doing.'

'They wouldn't want to leave the girls alone though...too much of a risk...so the feed must be going to wherever they're holed up!'

Chris grabbed the front of Carter's shirt and pulled him to his feet.

'Well? Where's it going to?'

Carter swallowed, his eyes widening again. 'It...well, it's being relayed...so the signal couldn't be tracked.'

'But you've gotta know where it ends up, if you set the whole thing up!' JD insisted.

'Oh...man! They're gonna kill me! I..'

'What the hell do you think I'm gonna do to you if you don't tell me where the goddam feed's going RIGHT NOW!' Chris snarled.

'Oh God! Ok!...Ok! Don't kill me...please! It's...the final destination...it's an old house on the outskirts...Gerrard Street...please don't kill me!'

Chris dropped the terrified Carter like a stone and the seven men headed out of the door. Giving orders to one of the agents in the office outside that Carter be kept in custody until they returned, they made their way as quickly as they could across the city, to Gerrard Street.

During the drive to Gerrard Street all seven suited up in bulletproof vests and standard ATF jackets. All loaded their weapons and all were intensely focused. Chris sat driving the van somewhat relieved over finally knowing where the girls were but still incredibly worried that the gang had finished their job. As they started to approach Gerrard Street Chris parked the van and they all got out and started to slowly approach the house. The house was indeed very old; a few windows were broken with a few boards to cover them. The garden was filled with weed and long grass; it hadn't been tended to in several months, perhaps years.

Inside the house Brimwood stood talking to Henderson, they were both starting to wonder why Carter hadn't called back.

"I can�t shake this bad feeling." Henderson said.

"Something's wrong." Brimwood said. "Carter should have called by now."

"I say we kill them now." Jones said and small grin forming on his lips. "Then if Team 7 gets here while we�re still here we finish them off too."

"Sounds lovely." Brimwood laughed evilly.

"Let�s go." Henderson said agreeing.

The gang armed themselves with ropes and weapons. As they approached the small room where they had locked the seven girls in they heard noises of someone choking. The men all looked confused at each other and Atterton unlocked the door. As the door swung open the gang came to face Emily and Ceci in a fight, Ceci with her hands around Emily's neck apparently attempting to choke her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brimwood yelled as he saw Emily turn more and more pale.

"They got into a fight." Trix whispered. As Jones separated the two Emily fell to the floor and Ceci backed up against the wall.

"Are you insane???" Atterton exclaimed as he went up to Emily. "You okay?"

"Just fine." Emily grinned suddenly standing upright, unharmed.

Renee punched Jones who were standing close to her, causing him to double over. Laura Trix and Ceci attacked Henderson while Rebecca and Maria charged Brimwood. Emily managed to disarm Atterton by completely surprising him with a quick punch to the face.

Nearby the seven came closer and closer to the house. Soon they were all outside the front door all pressed up against the walls. Suddenly several gunshots rang out and all looked at each other in shock. Chris completely lost it and kicked the door in throwing caution to the wind he entered the house. He was met by even more gunfire, but none of the bullets seemed to head in his way.
The seven men were soon inside the house and they managed to pinpoint where the gunshots had come from. Chris took the lead with Vin following him closely. As they came down in a short hallway a bullet came in their direction causing the men all to dive for cover. Chris quickly returned the gunfire and soon even more bullets were flying over their heads.

Part IIII

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