Away From the Sun - Part 2
“We know the mission was to find biological weapons.”
Justin turned in the direction Ben’s voice came from. The other man was still seated in the same position he was five minutes ago. Justin, on the other hand, could not stay still for a moment, feeling restless, feeling as if he was wasting time.
“So, why go to Ukraine?” he asked, moving away from the window and back over to the desk that was covered with various plans and documents. “Ukraine is probably one of the quietest countries of former Soviet Union.”
“Maybe that’s the reason? Obviously, Ukraine would not be the first place one would go looking for biological weapons.”
Justin shook his head. “No. It doesn’t make sense.” He looked over all of the documents pertaining to Brian’s mission which they were able to get in the last six hours.
“Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the Ukrainian government. Or at least, not all of it. It could be just a person or a group who are paid by the mafia.”
“It would have to be someone with a lot of power – power over the military,” Justin added.
“It’s no secret that many former KGB agents are now leading the organized criminal groups in the former republics.”
Justin closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, but it didn’t seem to do the trick anymore. They had been here for six hours. Six fucking hours and they were nowhere close to figuring out where Brian was or, more importantly, how to get him out of there.
“Dammit!” Justin swiped the desk with his left hand, sending all the papers flying on the floor. He ran his hands up over his face and head and down to the back of his neck as he walked over to the opposite wall. He couldn’t contain the frustration inside anymore. Leaning back against the wall, Justin slid down to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest.
“Justin,” he heard somewhere above him. Most of the time Ben’s calm voice grounded him, kept him in one place, whole. But now the Zen behavior of the other man only irritated and frustrated Justin more.
“Justin, you can’t lose your head,” Ben said, crouching down in front of him.
The blond made himself look up into his eyes. “I think I’m losing a lot more than my head.”
“You can’t talk like that.”
Ben’s undying optimism almost made Justin laugh. Instead, he finally voiced the one thought that had been running through his head ever since Daphne told him about Brian’s capture. “What if…what if he’s already dead?” His voice sounded so small and quiet, Justin barely recognized it as his own.
“He’s not,” Ben responded quietly.
“How do you know?”
“Because we’d know. Because no government would pass up the opportunity not to go public with capturing and killing an American spy. It would be all over the news, trust me.”
And he did. For the first time in hours Justin felt a tiny surge of hope that it wasn’t over yet. That somehow they were going to find a way to bring Brian back home.
Just then the doorbell rang, startling both men. Justin looked at Ben briefly, wondering for a moment whether the other man would know who would come calling at this hour.
When the doorbell rang the second time, Justin pushed himself up and went to open the door. To his surprise and relief he found Daphne on the other side of it. She was carrying a laptop case as well as a box full of folders and different gadgets.
“Are you gonna let me in?” she demanded when Justin just stared at her.
“Uhm…yeah.” He held the door wider for her so that she and the entire contents of the box could pass through the doorway. She immediately headed to the living room where Ben was waiting. Getting over the initial shock, Justin locked the door once again and followed the woman.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you,” he told her once she lowered the box on top of the desk. “But what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Well, Lindsay came to see me. She thinks it would be a good idea if I took leave of absence.”
“What?!” Justin had half the mind to get in his car and drive back over to Lindsay’s house and give her a piece of his mind once and for all. “Why? Because you told me about Brian? Is she firing you?”
“Uhm…I don’t think so,” Daphne replied calmly – the fact that caught Justin completely off guard. “She said that I should have these,” she pointed at the contents of the box. “In case I might be…needed.”
Justin took in the smile on his best friend’s face, then let his gaze drop to the box, then back up to Daphne, realization washing over him – even though Lindsay couldn’t do anything officially, she realized that he would try to get Brian out himself, so she sent him help.
Beside himself with gratitude, Justin enveloped his friend in a bear hug.
“Well, I guess I’m needed,” Daphne concluded as Justin finally released her.
~~~***~~~***~~~
“Ya poluchil. Spasibo.” Justin hung up the phone and pulled the fax out of the fax machine. “I got it,” he said, bringing the piece of paper with the detailed plan of the base where Brian was being held over to the desk where Ben and Daphne were currently going over the satellite footage.
All three of them bent over the layout of the military base.
“This is where he is being held,” Justin said, pointing to a square in the far right-hand corner of the plan that represented a barrack. “My source says that there is a holding room in the basement, right here.” He trailed his finger over the spot that he was describing. “This is the best place to keep hostages and prisoners.”
“Did your source happen to mention how the two of us are going to get into that place?” Ben asked, standing up straight.
“Uhm…one of us,” Justin said, avoiding the two sets of eyes staring at him.
“What?” Ben’s voice seemed to have lost the Zen quality it usually carried.
Mentally preparing himself for the argument that was sure to follow, Justin straightened up as well. “I’m going in alone.”
“Are you crazy? Breaking into a high-security military base alone? That’s suicide!”
Justin’s eyes briefly glazed over Daphne’s face, who seemed to be in shock over the recent turn of events, before he returned his attention to Ben. “The odds aren’t much better with the two of us going in there together.”
“They’re still better,” Ben argued. “Besides, you don’t even know what condition Brian is in. What if he’s unconscious? Are you just going to carry him out of there?”
“I’ll manage,” Justin replied. Now it was his turn to be the voice of reason.
Ben shook his head. “No way.”
“Look,” Justin let out an exasperated breath. “I can pass for a Russian soldier. I speak the language fluently. I know the area and culture. I even fucking look Slavic. You on the other hand…”
“What?”
Justin made a face. “You look like fucking Rambo.”
He heard a quiet snicker coming from where Daphne sat. Ben didn’t seem to find Justin’s comment as amusing, but to Justin’s surprise no more arguments were thrown his way.
“Besides, I’ll need you to make sure that no matter what happens, Brian gets home alright.”
After a long silence Ben nodded and Justin could finally breathe a little easier.
“You’re still going to need the guard schedule, and which room Brian is being held in,” Ben told him, once again looking over the plan sprawled on the table. “You need that information to be able to get in.”
That was the second phase of Justin’s plan. “I think I know where I can get it,” he replied.
~~~***~~~***~~~
Leaving the other two in the living room to hash out all the small details, like passports, visas, and plane tickets, Justin went to his room to pack. His plane was leaving in two hours.
Walking over to the dresser, he picked up his cell phone and carried it back to the bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Justin flipped the phone open and stared at the phone number he swore he would never use.
He pressed the button and listened to the tone that let him know that somewhere, on the other side of the world, another phone was ringing. Finally, a man answered.
“It’s me,” Justin said quietly. There was a pause. “I need to see you.”
He made the arrangements for the meeting in less than two minutes. When he hung up, he realized that Daphne was standing in the doorway.
“Who was that?” she asked when he closed the phone and tossed it on top of the duvet.
“Just a contact. Someone I used when I was in Ukraine on a mission,” he lied.
She seemed to buy it, though. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to him. The two friends remained quiet for a while before Daphne finally spoke up.
“I’m scared,” she told him honestly.
Justin looked down at his hands, clasped in his lap, then up at her. “I have to do this, Daph.”
“I know.”
“It’ll be ok.” He wasn’t quite sure whether he said that for her benefit or his.
She nodded as if she believed him. Then she did something strange. She reached her hands behind her neck and unclasped the necklace with a small gold cross that she wore. Holding it in her left hand, she took Justin’s hand with her right one. “I want you to wear this.”
“Daph, you know I don’t…”
“Believe? I know, but I do…” She glanced down at the necklace. “Please, wear it for me. I’ll feel better knowing that it’ll keep you safe.”
Justin wanted to object. Instead he quietly let her put the necklace around his neck.
“You can give it back to me when you come home,” she added as Justin covered the cross with his sweater.
He managed an encouraging smile and hugged her.
“Please, try not to play a hero, ok?” she asked as they pulled apart.
He smiled again. “You got it.”
~~~***~~~***~~~
Sixteen hours after he said good bye to Daphne and Ben, Justin was being led through an unfamiliar hallway of a building he had never seen before. Five men met him at the airport; the sixth one was waiting in the car. He was then blindfolded, so that he would not know how to get to the house. The blindfold was taken off only when they pulled in front of a two story building.
Now, flanked by four guards, Justin found himself in the familiar territory. The door to the office was opened for him and in the next moment Justin stood face-to-face with his father.
The father and son eyed each other cautiously for what seemed like eternity. Craig Taylor was the first to move. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk before sitting back down in his own large, red-leather one.
Justin attempted to swallow the lump that was stuck in his throat and forced his legs to move toward the chair his father pointed out. Sitting down, he returned his gaze to his father’s face.
“I have to say, I was surprised to get your call,” Craig said.
“I know.”
Craig’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. “So, what can I do for you?”
Justin licked his lips, his mouth suddenly as dry as the desert. “Brian’s been captured by the Ukrainian government.”
“Brian as in Brian Kinney?”
“Yes.”
Craig nodded. “And what do you expect me to do about it?”
“I want you to help me,” Justin replied.
“To get him out,” Craig clarified.
“Yes.”
“The same man that’s been hunting me for years? Not to mention all the shit that he’s done to you. Personally, I hope they crucify him.” His face turned into a grimace.
“Brian hasn’t done shit to me!” Justin exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He wanted to scream at his father, let all of his frustration out on him. But he was here for a reason.
He took a deep breath in, trying to keep calm. After all, he was here because he needed his father’s help, not the other way around. “Look,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I know that you don’t approve of my choices in life. And I know that you don’t approve of Brian. But that doesn’t matter right now.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No. Because I’m going to that military base no matter what. Whether you help me or not, I’m still going after him. I just figured with your help I’d have better chances of getting out of there alive.”
The two men glared at each other, neither one willing to look away, not willing to give in.
Justin decided to make one last plea. “I need your help, dad.”
Craig Taylor studied his son’s face for a moment. “What do I get out of it?” he finally asked.
“Me,” Justin breathed out.
And with baited breath, he waited for the answer.
Go to Part 3