SAME TIME.
"Curran, help me..."
James had taken one look at the caller ID on his cell phone screen and seen Casey's apartment number and raced to his jeep.
"Case? Answer me."
"I'm sorry Agent Curran, may I call you James?" The eerily polite male voice on the other end of the line sent chills down his spine. "Agent McDaniels appears to be unable to take your call, can I take a message?"
"Thorpe?"
"Very good Agent Curran, you have been doing your homework."
"You so much as touch a hair on her head and I'll make sure it takes a month for you to die." Curran said as he swung the jeep around a sharp corner two blocks from Casey's apartment.
"Oh, I plan on doing a lot more than touching just a hair, don't you worry about that. Catch us if you can."
The line went dead.
Curran dialed Webb's number.
"Webb."
"It's Curran , get over to Casey's apartment, she just called me from there asking for help and then Thorpe came on the line."
"Where are you now?"
Fear sent icy shivers down Clay's back.
"En route to Casey's, I'm about a block away."
"I'll meet you there, don't touch anything. I'll get forensic on it."
CASEY MCDANIELS APARTMENT
1 HOUR LATER
"What did they find?"
Curran moved from one foot to the other agitatedly.
"Nothing we can use, he used a psychotropic agent on the pizza but apart from that we have nothing."
"I definitely do not like this guy.He's a few brain cells short of a full load."
"To the contrary, he's actually got the IQ of a genius." Webb said with a grim look. " That's what makes him so damn dangerous."
"He's going to kill her isn't he?"
Curran asked.
"Not until he gets me to go after her."
"Why does this guy hate you so much anyways?"
Curran asked.
Webb took a deep breath.
"About 6 years ago, I was working with another agent by the name of Georgina Metcalfe, we were assigned to bring down a weapons dealer operating out of Sydney."
"Georgina was Cody's mother right?"
Webb nodded.
"Thorpe was that dealer. We built a taskforce, worked for 3 months on the op. We were half way through, when our undercover agents started turning up dead. Thorpe killed 5 of our team before we even located him, another two were killed trying to apprehend him. We had him tried and convicted in Sydney, sentenced to life without possibility of ever gaining parole, but when we took him down several of his customers decided they weren't too happy about being left short on the weapons front. They tracked down Thorpe's 17 year old brother at a boarding school and executed him to teach Thorpe a lesson."
Curran let out a low whistle.
"And he blames you for his brothers murder?"
"He blames the entire task force. Thorpe escaped from prison last year, right after that ex-members of the task force turned up dead. The only original members of the team left were George and I, Thorpe murdered George and 9 other agents at the Sydney bureau, then he came after Cody, all he has left to do now is to kill me to complete his revenge."
"Unless he decides to kill Casey to make you suffer first."
Curran said.
"Exactly, but I don't think he will, he needs her to get to me.Without Casey, there's no game."
"Catch us if you can"
Curran muttered.
"Exactly."
Both were startled by the sudden ringing of Casey's home phone, the forensic team all stood stock still as the phone rang again.
Webb pressed the speakerphone button.
"Webb."
"You really should work on that phone manner Webb, don't you ever say 'Hello'?"
"What do you want Thorpe?"
"I have what I want, and I must say it was worth the wait."
"I want to speak to Casey."
"No deal Webb, you get to speak to her when you see her." Thorpe said with a smile in his voice. " Hello Agent Curran, how is your night turning out?"
"It'll get better once I put a bullet in you."
Curran gritted out between clenched teeth.
"I'll look forward to seeing you try."
Webb stepped closer to the speakerphone.
"Where and when Thorpe?"
"42 Rivergate Street, it's alongside the wharf, be there at 9pm both of you."
The line went dead.
"Now we got us a game."
Curran said softly.
THORPE'S HIDEOUT
42 RIVERGATE STREET
ALEXANDRIA, VA
Thorpe moved towards the unconscious form laying on the mattress, she would be out for at least another 30 minutes if he'd assessed her body weight correctly.
Sliding his arms under her he picked her up and carried her down to the basement, he would have to prepare her in time for Webb's arrival and judging by the clock he had less than an hour to get the final stage of his plan set up.
When Casey came to 25 minutes later the first thing she noticed was the moldy mildewy smell, then the fact that her limbs ached even though she could not move them. Still groggy from the doping agent Thorpe had given her, she opened her eyes, immediately shutting them again as the bare bulb swinging from the ceiling sent shards of pain slicing through her skull.
"Ahh, sleeping beauty awakens."
The disembodied voice came from somewhere above her.
"Who are you?"
"You know who I am, you've been seeking me."
"Thorpe."
"Very good Agent McDaniels, or may I call you Casey."
"McDaniels is fine, it wouldn't do to get too personal with someone I'm going to kill!" She spat.
"Tutt, tutt, Casey, I don't think you're in any position to make threats at the moment. One look at your restraints should confirm that."
Daring to open her eyes against the light again, she looked towards her hands and found them tied securely with duct tape to a large wooden cross.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Revenge, simple as that. Webb's carelessness took someone I loved from me, now I am taking someone from him."
"You already murdered Georgina and then his son."
"I know, little Cody's murder was a true work of art. Timed to the second. Ah Casey, you should have seen the look on Webb's face...priceless."
Thorpe chuckled.
"You're a sick bastard, you murdered a 4 year old boy in cold blood."
His lack of any kind of empathy made her sick to her stomach, Cody's death had been nothing more to him than an episode in his macabre little soap opera.
"Sick? No Casey, I'm not sick, insane maybe, but definitely not sick."
The voice had ceased to be disembodied, Thorpe walked out of the shadows of the large dank basement and over to where his prisoner fought her restraints. "In fact I haven't felt this good in years."
Casey looked into the eyes of the man that had killed Cody, rage flared her nostrils and fear battled with hatred in her eyes.
"That's right, you should be afraid of me my dear, because you're going to die very, very slowly and very, very painfully."
Thorpe said, running his finger down her cheek.
"You're going to die," Casey hissed. "And I'm going to watch."
"Such brave words my little Martyr, lets see how brave you are when I start torturing you. My guess is that you'll squeal like a stuck pig and be begging me to stop."
"Screw you Thorpe, I'll die before I utter one word."
"I do so love a challenge Casey, I knew we were going to get along famously." Thorpe pulled a knife from his belt and ran the flat of it across her cheek. " Webb has such delightful taste in women, although he doesn't manage to keep any of them for long."
With a smile he pulled the knife back and plunged it into Casey's thigh.
Casey sucked in a large gulp of air, but made no noise, the urge to scream and let out the pain was intense but she knew if she did, he would kill her immediately.
"Go ahead and scream Casey, it'll make you feel better." Thorpe said as he rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes glazed with bloodlust, stared up at her.
"Go fuck yourself."
She bit out, panting for breath.
"Such language Casey." Thorpe grinned."How does Webb put up with it?"
He pulled the knife out of her thigh, causing her head to swim and her vision to blur. Thorpe held the knife in front of her, it's blade slick with her blood.
"Such a beautiful color." He mused.
The sound of a car door opening outside drew his attention for a moment, Thorpe looked at his watch 8.35pm.
"You're friends are early.How annoying."
He pulled a small remote out of his jacket pocket and pressed a button.
"What is that?"
Casey asked, icy fear running through her veins.
"This , my dear, is the remote control to the motion sensor pads that are hidden in the floor upstairs. If your friends step on one of them they'll be blasted into tiny pieces that even NASA couldn't find, and I've just armed them."
Thorpe looked at Casey, a grin spreading on his face.
"What's the matter Casey, you look like you're not having fun?"
Casey didn't answer, she merely closed her eyes and tried to ward off the tide of nausea that engulfed her with each wave of pain.