We have all had a good time of relaxation since our last case and I think we are probably all ready for another one to come along. Though it might be nice to have one a bit less, um, exciting. That last one was a bit hard on everyone since we lost 2 of our team members. That part is always hard. Unfortunately, in this business it is also something that is always possible. But we are well rested and our new girls have finished their testing and passed with perfect scores.

I made a few changes in our teams now that we have Team S here and Mandar wants us to keep them as part of our team. So I shuffled some of the girls around so each team would have a better mix of qualifications. My team is the smallest of the 4 since we will have less hands on time with cases, just fulfilling smaller roles for now. Baldwin is away on a business trip again. He is trying to spend more time at some of his key companies to make sure that everything is running smoothly and hopefully catch any problems before they get to be something serious.

He is learning a bit from Mandar. Speaking of Mandar, Annelie and some of the other girls that she taught to make her famous donuts, have just finished a fresh batch of them just as Mandar drove up to the chateau. He and Baldwin are so similar in this respect, they both seem to know exactly when those donuts will be ready, even if Annelie changes the time of day that she makes them! Amazing really. But when Mandar came inside he was not his usual joyful self.

He did not even smile when Crystal brought him his 4 donuts and coffee, though he did thank her nicely as he always does. I knew something was wrong but kept to some small talk at first, waiting for him to bring up the subject that was on his mind. On his second cup of coffee he finally looked at me and asked if we could be more alone for a while so we could talk. So I chased most of the girls out of the library except for Annelie, Sky, Jennifer, Kat, Kristina and Vlora.

Rock and Matt were also permitted to stay since they both live at the chateau. Rock, since he is married to Annelie, has always lived here, and Matt lives here now too since he and Penny are now married. Except for the first three, that includes all of the team leaders. “I have a serious problem Steve,” Mandar began, “something I know your team can handle. You do not know this, but I have 2 children, other than the daughter with my wife and she was my wife’s daughter from her first marriage.

These children were from my relationship with a young woman before I met my wife. She had twins, a boy and girl, and they are my children. This woman was living in California and I was providing good care for her and her family. Just 3 days ago some men broke into their home, killed the woman and took her children and are now holding them for ransom. They want $500 million for each of them. I could pay the ransom, but, as you know, I would never receive the children alive after paying.

I cannot involve the police or the children will be killed. The same would happen if I get my security people involved. Apparently these men worked for me until last week, then they disappeared. Before they left, however, they were able to secure photos of all my security people. If they can identify even one of my security people trying to rescue the children, then they will be killed. I dare not take that risk. I would like them back, alive if at all possible.

I do not care how it is done, I do not even want to know how you do it. I will pay for whatever you need to get the job done.” “Can any of the girls you have sent to me be identified as still on your security teams?” I asked, “Especially I am thinking of Vlora and her team.” “No, all that came over to your team were totally erased from our files as soon as they left and Vlora and her girls were never part of my security personnel.

Right from the beginning they were a “ghosted” security group, which means a security team that we were training for someone else. In cases such as that their files are completely untraceable so as to protect them and the company they are being trained for, a safety feature I have had in place for some time.” “Do you have some idea where they might be hiding right now?” I asked. “Yes,” he said, “but it will not be an easy task to get at them.

They are in Argentina as we speak, though they may not stay there permanently. I do not believe these men are acting alone, a larger player must be behind this kidnapping, which is why they are asking for so much money. These children are 18 years old and these are the latest photos I have of them from their 18th birthday which was just 2 weeks ago. This is the place where they are being held. It is a rather large mansion in the forest.

A former friend spotted my 2 children in a town near there 2 days ago and immediately recognized that something was not right. So he followed them with a drone to see where they were going and he got some good photos of the layout. You can contact him when you arrive there and he will give you the photos and any additional information he may have at that time. You have 8 days, my good friend, but you will only get one chance to rescue my children. They will not give you another.”

We talked some more and then he returned home. I then talked things over with my team leaders and we made our plans. Travelling is going to use up a lot of our time, so we need to get going. We will be using only Baldwin’s jets and vehicles this time so they will not be recognized by these people. But we will still remove any of Baldwin’s identifying symbols and replace with our own, which vary, depending on the team. Most of our main planning we will do while flying.

I just wish we had access to those other photos right now so we could study the layout of that mansion in the forest. However, Annelie managed to find some satellite images of that area which are quite clear and they do give a good overview of the whole area around there, which will be helpful. Like Mandar said, we will only get one chance, so we want as much information as possible. I need to be along on this case since Mandar’s former friend will only deal with me personally. Maybe I’m too suspicious, but…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.