Annie pulled her hand back quickly. She nearly let out an expletive but had made it a new years resolution to clean up her rough tongue, something she had learned from her coal mining father. The water heater in the house was the original when the house was built in the 1930's. It worked extremely well, too well in moments like this when warm water would be preferable over scalding hot water. Annie rinsed her hands for a minute in the cold water and then dried them on the front of her apron. She looked out the window above the sink and could see the lighthouse in the distance.
Being a girl from North Dakota, she often wondered how she had ended up in Maine. Sometimes she felt like a stranger here in New England, despite having left North Dakota over 18 years ago. It wasn't that she held a particular fondness for that flat and uninspiring state, it was simply home. Her parents along with 2 of her 3 brother still lived on the family property near Mercer. She glanced at the clock. It was 7:18 and David should have been home by now. He usually called when he was passing the Sinclair but tonight he hadn't phoned. The Shepherd's Pie was just about done, the cheese turning a golden brown around the edges. It smelled comforting and she was proud of herself for not allowing their recent wealth to result in ordering take out every night. She found satisfaction in serving her husband. David had begun work 3 years ago on a device that would allow 512-bit voice encryption over cell towers. The government quickly garnered serious interest in the project. This led to a formal invitation to present the technology in D.C. and after 2 weeks of negotiations, David sold the technology to the Department of Defense for 12 million dollars. The contract signed by David's company and the D.O.D. required David to stay involved in the transition and implementation of the technology for the ensuing 18 months. David had promised her that once the project hand off was completed, the two of them would be spending 3 stress free weeks in Europe.
She had dreamed of floating down the canals of Venice and watching a firework show at the Eiffel Tower. It would be very unique to vacation together, just the two of them, and not have a single worry about money. She had always been so frugal, mostly a result of her low income upbringing, and now she didn't have to worry. She heard the old automatic garage door open and was relieved that David was home. She started toward the stairs to the garage when she heard her cell phone ringing from the counter. She headed back to answer it when the home phone rang. Almost instantaneously the door bell rang and a knock came at the back door. Then the sound from the garage door opening suddenly stopped. Annie froze and chills shot up her spine. Something very wrong was happening at 2564 White Pine Drive. She reached for her cell phone and as soon as she did everything went silent.
Chapter 2
Annie's hand stopped just as her fingers touched the phone. She froze. The cacophony that had just filled the room stopped just as abruptly as it had all started. Goosebumps surfaced all over her body. She gasped for air and realized she had forgot to breathe. She let her hand grasp the cell phone and then fumbled in an attempt to dial David. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Her throat went tight as she heard the call answered to the sound of a low breathing on the other end of the call. "David!", she screamed into the phone. The breathing stopped. "David where are you!?" Then she heard a snap, like the sound of a branch breaking from a tree after an ice storm. She not only heard the sound in the phone but she heard it emanate through the room. It came from the bottom of the stairs. She tried to think but she felt like a fog had just settled in over her mind. She stumbled backward against the counter and reached for some sort of weapon to wield in self defense. She grabbed the potato masher she had been using for the dinner. She flung it across the room toward the stair well. Somehow, despite her trembling arm, she managed to land the masher in the stairwell where it bounced down the wood stairs before reaching the bottom. Annie turned and found the closest knife, a 8 inch flat bladed knife she had used to dice the carrots.
She slouched to the floor, using the counter top and surrounding cabinets as a barrier between her and the stairwell. She sat there for what felt like days but in reality was probably no more then 10 minutes. During those 10 minutes the only sound she heard was her own heart beating in her chest. What if David was injured? Was he being held hostage? What if he was lying on the driveway bleeding to death? Panic surged through her body and she realized she had to move. She had to find David. She started crawling through the kitchen toward the living room at the front of the house, hoping to get a view of the driveway from the bay windows. Her heart told her to run to the windows but her brain forced her to a slow crawl. She neared the hallway where she finally stood up, back flat against the kitchen wall. She peered around the corner and nothing appeared out of place. She started down the hall and had just reached the living room when the lights behind her went off. She swirled around and before she could see what was happening felt a blow to the side of her head. She didn't know what had hit her but an excruciating pain shot through her ear and down her neck. The blow caused her to stumble and her one foot caught the edge of the step into the living room and she fell backward onto the antique coffee table. Two of the table legs snapped upon impact and the table toppled over, flinging her helpless body into the base of the sofa. Blood was now running down the side of her face from the blow to the head and she tried to regain her feet to retreat but was overcome from behind by a strong arm that wrapped around her shoulders, pressing tightly into her neck. Then the tip of a needle sank into her shoulder, just above the clavicle. It felt like warm syrup had been injected into her skin and she couldn't think. Annie's world went dark.
Chapter 3
David stood there, staring at the overpriced cheese puffs at the Sinclair convenience store. He had a weak spot for chips and in an attempt to "fix" this unhealthy habit, Annie always made him pay at the pump with a credit card when they were together. However, when he filled up on the way home, he never missed a chance to come inside to buy a few bags of the "Scorchin Hot Sauce Cheese Puffs". David glanced at his watch. 7:32. Wow, he was running later then he had realized. He grabbed a bag and went to the register. The total came $54.73. Months ago, the number would have made him slightly nauseous. Now, knowing the status of his bank account, he smiled at the Sinclair employee and headed to the car. He hung the gas pump back up, crinkled up the receipt that dangled from the printer, and climbed into his Volvo. Knowing the time, he knew he better call Annie and let her know that he was nearly home. He reached for his phone on the front seat and his hand came up empty. He turned on the overhead light and looked around. David was sure he had been tossed his phone onto the passenger seat when he climbed into the car leaving the office. He fumbled around, wedging his hand between the center console and the seat. Nothing. He leaned over the front seat and peered under. Still no sign of his phone. Leaning back in his seat, he let out a big sigh and turned the key. He felt confident that he would have better luck looking when he got back to the house. He pulled out onto Highway 41 and speed toward home.
David thought back on his recent accomplishments. He was overly excited and appreciative in regards to his newfound fortune. Nevertheless, he couldn't shake a bad feeling about Grant Verneer. He and Grant had started the cellular encryption process together 3 years ago. Grant had been the one to pose the idea as well as fund the project. David had simply been the "brains" that made the project move. He was always amazed that whenever he asked Grant for additional funds, he was never denied. As more progress was made, Grant became more lavish with his money and had no intention of hiding it. The peculiar thing was that, although Grant seemed to be getting richer with the day, the project had yet to produce so much as a dime in profit. The funds were originally obtained through an Angel Investor out of Santa Monica California. A guy named Craig Lawrence, one of the few lucky beneficiaries from the dot com bubble. However, paying Grant or David had not been part of the original funding agreement. David had become suspicious that Grant was filtering funds from the project into his personal bank account. His obnoxious way of living, filled with women and alcohol, cars and vacations, was starting to wear on David. This coupled with the secrecy of how Grant was able to maintain such a lifestyle finally caused David to push Grant for answers. It had been on a Thursday morning over coffee. Grant responded with the same response he always gave, "David, you know my grandfather left me in great shape. If you need more money for the project, just let me know. Don't worry about the trivial matters of my personal life" David pried further which resulted in Grant cursing at him, causing a scene in the coffee shop, and taking off. Since that day, Grant had been around very little. Although he wasn't exactly missed, his absence was somewhat alarming to David.
David was approaching White Pine Drive when a large SUV came screeching around the corner. David jerked the steering wheel to the right and was able to avoid a head on collision but slammed into the curb as a result. There was a loud pop sound and it was quickly apparent that the impact caused an explosion in the front right tire. David threw the car in park and cursed repeatedly at the lunatic driver who David could see in his rear view mirror disappearing into the darkness. There were only 5 houses on White Pine Drive and he was determined to find out which of those neighbors was associated with this driver. David reached into his pocket for his phone to ring Annie and only then remembered it was missing. David reached back into the car and turned the engine off. He then locked the car and headed down the street to his house. He knew it was better to get home and let Annie know the situation rather then spending another 20 minutes trying to replace the popped tire. Little did David know that the SUV that nearly killed him moments before was also carrying his unconscious wife in the back seat.
Chapter 4.
As David approached the house, he noticed that the garage door was open. So was the front door. This became even more alarming when David realized that he couldn't see a single light on inside the house. He quickly jogged up the steps to the front door. His eyes had pretty well adjusted to the darkness from the walk. He saw that the coffee table was overturned and the lamp was broken to pieces all over the carpet. David's heart began beating quickly as he stepped toward the light switch. Nothing. He swore again. This time it was barely audible due to the fear that was gripping around his mind like a vice grip. He ran into the kitchen and noticed the stove was still on high and a pot of stew was boiling over onto the range top and down the front of the oven. He quickly turned the burner off, somehow managing to not burn his hand in the process. Then he saw something that made his stomach churn. He couldn't contain it and barely turned in time to throw up all over the kitchen sink. There on the counter, barely visible through the moonlight coming through the sliding back doors, were strewn the internal remains of some sort of animal. David was able to regain composure, retrieve a flashlight from the pantry, and return to the disturbing site. He saw a piece of paper sticking out from the mess. He gingerly reached for it and turned the paper over. Then he read the words that for 17 years he had feared would one day resurface. "Hi Jack, we found you."
Chapter 5
The van sped down highway 4. Annie tried to open her eyes but they felt heavy, as if her eyelids had become small weights. She could hear rapid talking from the front of the van and a somewhat inconsistent breathing from someone near her in the back. Her head was spinning and she felt sick; mostly from the throbbing she felt at the base of her skull. The van continued bouncing along and each bump seemed to jolt her in the most uncomfortable way. She tried to make out what the men were saying but she couldn't maintain consciousness and passed out again. Annie woke with a thud that sent a pain through her back. She had been pulled by her feet out of the van and landed squarely on her back on a hard floor. She opened her eyes and was nearly blinded by the intense light from above her.
"Don't hurt her you imbecile."
"Sorry Sir."
"Annie? Annie can you hear me? Wake up dear."
She opened her eyes just enough to see a face about 3 inches from her own.
She struggled for words. "Who are you?"
It became apparent to the man standing above her that she was struggling to open her eyes.
"Turn off those bloody lights already, he barked."
The lights were dimmed almost immediately and Annie was able to blink a few times and finally fully open her eyes. Her eyes took a moment to focus and once they did she saw a man standing above her, apparently the one in charge and barking the commands. She recognized him. He had a somewhat round face with dark eyebrows and hair. She knew she had seem him somewhere but couldn't remember where. She started going through every dark corner of her brain in hopes that the memory would put a name with the face she was now seeing. However, her mental exercise was interrupted.
"Annie, you know why you are here right? Your husband, Jack, has something very important to us. The technology he invented belongs to us but he doesn't seem to believe that. You see, he is trying to maintain involvement for the next 18 months and that simply can't be allowed. He is also holding back a key portion of the code that we need. We really didn't want to have to do it this way but this is a sticky situation and my hands are tied. Things are turning desperate. And you know what they say about desperate times right?
He laughed to himself. A very obnoxious loud laugh.
"So thanks for coming with us Annie. Don't worry one bit....we feel confident that Jack will do the right thing. Smile!"
The man pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of her. When he moved the phone away she got another look at him and she nearly lost her breath. She recognized him as one who had sat at the same table as her and David at a special dinner they had attended in DC. She didn't want to believe it but she was pretty confident that there, standing over her, was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense.
