Chapter Eight: The Capture

After leaving the cabin, Ray arrived at Mike Long’s residence. While parking his car in on the opposite side of the street, he realized that he had only a few hours left before Kevin’s committee hearing.

He pulled out his balaclava from his duffel bag and wore it over his head. Taking his side bag with him, he got out of the car and walked as fast as he can towards the front porch of the house. As he reached the front porch, he ducked and went through to the side of the house where the basement door was situated. He took out his lock pick and unlocked the door.

He entered the house through the basement, and with the utmost silence, he closed the door right behind him. The room was dark as the lights of the house were off. So he took out his gun with the night-vision scope and used it to navigate himself up the stairs to the dining area of the house, which was only lighted by the side lamp on the kitchen sink. Ray assessed the room, the corridors, and the living area. He found an antique rocking chair near the fireplace, and settled himself down.

#

Meanwhile, after Claudine’s rescue, and when all the chaos and the confusion at the apartment had returned to normal, infuriated by the escape of Claudine and the loss of his men, Mr. Long ordered the other men to clean up the place and to leave the house at once.

“I’m going home to meet up with Singh. Be sure your men clean up this place. Don’t want any trouble with the police.” Mr. Long stated as he started the car’s ignition.

Mr. Long pulled the car out of the driveway and drove off home.

#

Patiently waiting, Ray’s tension arose when he heard Mr. Long’s car pulled up in the driveway. Ray peeked through the window and waited as Mr. Long got out of the car. He got up from the chair, and positioned himself behind the door. He sensed as Mr. Long unlocked and opened the front door. And as Mr. Long entered his home and closed the door behind him, Ray, from behind, quick as a lightning, grabbed him and gave him a headlock even before Mike Long could turn on the lights.

When Mr. Long fell unconscious, Ray went to the kitchen to look for a packing tape. He found one lying on the kitchen counter, and grabbed this along with a pair of scissors. Ray went back to Mr. Long, who was lying on the floor as if he was already dead, and proceeded to secure his hands and feet with the tape. Afterwards, he picked up Mike Long’s body and slung him over his shoulder while he carried him out of the house, and into the back seat of Mr. Long’s unlocked car. He searched Mike Long’s clothes and body for any weapon. He found a small pistol, took it, and placed the gun behind his pants. When Ray was satisfied, he searched for Mike Long’s car keys and found them in the right-side pocket of his pants. Ray returned to the front porch and closed and locked the door of the house.

He got back into the car and started up the engine. Placing his side bag on the front passenger side, he took out his silenced Gluck gun and placed this on top of the bag beside him.

After everything was satisfactory, Ray started to drive away. He headed for downtown, with no particular destination. It was an old habit he got from the Special Ops especially when he was on a mission.

Through the streets of Geneva, he drove as he opened his side of the window and let the cold wind blow on his face, enjoying the cool breeze as they arrived at the heart of downtown. Ray looked at his wristwatch, and realized he only had a couple of hours left.

He stopped at a gasoline station and parked the car there. He got out of the car, bringing his gun with him. He opened the door of the back passenger side of the car, and got into the back seat, with Mr. Long beside him lying unconscious. Without warning, Ray slapped Mike Long on the face to rouse him up. Mr. Long came around after a few slaps from Ray.

“Where am I? Who are you?!” Mr. Long asked, confused as he gained consciousness, whose view was upside down as he was still lying on the back seat while Ray stared down at him.

Ray said in a smooth but threatening tone, “This is what I want you to do. I want you to call your boss, Mr. Singh. Tell him I’d be willing to trade you for Carolina. I heard he’s staying somewhere here in downtown. The thing is, I don’t want to waste any more time with you people, so I will give you only less than half an hour for you and Singh to comply before I kill you.”

“Ah you must be Ray! Welcome to Geneva, the home of the freaking Swiss Alps!” Mike Long greeted with scorn. “What makes you think I’d comply?”

Ray smiled and then laughed, as Mr. Long began laughing with him, and they laughed together as if they were drinking buddies telling some old jokes. Without any warning, Ray took out his gun from behind his back, and pointed it to Mike Long’s face.

“See this, Mike?” Ray said as he waved the gun. “This can either end a life, or worse, ruin a life. Which of the two would you pick, huh Mike? Would you rather die in an instant or still be alive but living the rest of your life in a wheelchair in pain and misery?”

At this point, showing a trace of uneasiness, Mike Long fidgeted and began to sweat but tried to cover his nervousness when he forcefully laughed and said in arrogance, “Why don’t you shoot me now Ray? You can’t now, can you? Face it, you need me.”

Ray just smiled and replied, “You know, what if I pointed this gun to your knees, and I pulled the trigger? The thing is, the bullet would have the tendency to get stuck in the bone, and that’s the big dilemma. You’ll live the rest of  your life as a handicap. Now, what about your family? They need to take care of you instead of you taking good care of them, like a real man. What about your wife? How are you going to sleep with her now, huh Mike? And your children, they’re probably going to develop some kind of trauma seeing their good old Dad like this. You’re going to live the rest of your life feeling sorry for yourself and your family. That would be so sad, wouldn’t it?” Ray threatened as he pushed the barrel of his gun against the left knee of Mike Long.

And as the fear began to run up his spine, Mike Long realized the seriousness in Ray’s tone. He also experienced a little pain from the gun being pointed and pushed hard against his knee.

“Now let’s find out if you would cooperate or if I will be forced to incapacitate you.” Ray used the strong term to drive home his point.

“No need, man.” Mike replied, now sweating profusely despite the cold air coming through the opened window of the driver’s side. “C’mon, I can get you to Carolina in no time. Get me out of these tapes and I’ll drive you to where she is.”

“Ha! You’re funny, Mike. I never thought you would ever think I’m stupid. Now, you have five minutes to call Singh. I will do the talking. Do you understand? Now get the heck out of the car and go to the phone booth. Call!” Ray shouted as he pulled Mr. Long out of the car and onto the pavement of the empty gas station.

Mike stumbled as he stood up and tried to steady himself, almost losing his balance. Ray removed the tape that bound Mike’s arms and ankles, and pushed him towards the phone booth near the left corner of the gas station.

When they reached the phone booth, wavering to go inside the booth, Mike yelled, “Please, maybe we can make an agreement. I can get you money, any amount, all in cash!” His voice heavy in desperation as he made this proposal to Ray.

A loud bang echoed into the night as Ray’s gun went off all of a sudden. The bullet ricocheted towards the concrete when Ray fired the gun.

“Call Singh now! Or provide me with his number.” Ray demanded.

Mike gazed at Ray in disbelief. He was totally in shock after the gunshot just barely missed him.

“Okay, okay. Calm down, I’ll call him now.”  Mike Long said, his voice shaking as he nervously proceeded to pick up the telephone from the unit in the phone booth.

In one swift motion, Ray snatched the phone from Mike Long and demanded,

“I said I will do the calling and the talking! So give me the number, you dumb piece of s**t!” He smacked his gun against the right leg of Mr. Long, who yelped in pain as he gave out a series of numbers which Ray dialed.

The phone rang while they waited.

“Why don’t you let me handle this? They might trace this call, so let me talk to Singh first so that he and the UN would not get suspicious.” Mr. Long suggested to Ray. “There’s a pass code, and the usual protocol and stuff.”

An active operative himself who always receives different mandates from time to time, Ray understood such systems and protocols. So he agreed and gave the phone to Mr. Long as he stepped off a few feet away.

“Fine, just get me through the security code and the pass code, and I will still be the one to talk to Singh. You have one minute.” Ray said.

Mr. Long nodded as he turned his back away from Ray when he began speaking on the phone. Ray could not listen to the conversation as he’s a few feet away from Mike, who spoke into the phone as he, at times, would glance at Ray, and then turned his face away again as if hiding something.

“You have less than thirty seconds! Do you have Singh on the phone now?” Ray yelled out as he grew impatient.

“One more minute, they’re verifying my pass code.” Mr. Long replied as he gestured to Ray and then turned his back away again.

Ray grew suspicious and impatient, and without any warning, ran up to Mike Long then forcefully grabbed the phone from him and caught the operator on the receiver, who said:

“Yes sir, the police will arrive in a few minutes, along with some UN officers.”

Now furious, he slammed the telephone down on its cradle inside the booth.

“You f*****g son of a b***h! Do you want to play games with me right now, huh Mike?!” as he pulled the trigger aimed directly at Mike’s right leg, just below the knee.

“Aaaaaaowwww!!!” Mr. Long fell on the ground, shouting in pain as the bullet penetrated his lower right leg. “What the f**k, Ray?! Are you crazy?”

“I’ve already told you, I’m not here to waste any more of my time with you people. So stop screwing around or it’s your balls that are going to be my next target.” Ray asserted.

Ray picked up the arrogant Mr. Long, who was now seated on the ground babying his injured leg. Helping him stand, Ray carried Mr. Long on his side, walking towards the phone booth again.

“What’s the number of Singh?” Ray demanded as he picked up the telephone from the cradle.

“He’s at the Minerva hotel here in downtown. You can connect through the City Operator. He’s in the Executive suite, room number 1442.”

Ray dialed the easy contact number of the Geneva city telephone directory and asked the operator to connect him to the Minerva hotel. After a couple of rings, a woman greeted on the phone:

“Welcome to the Geneva Minerva, how may I help you?”

“Yes, Good evening, could you please connect me to the Executive suite, room number 1442?”

“One moment, Sir.” The woman replied softly and cordially.

“Thank you.” Ray said as he waited for the operator to connect him to Mr. Singh’s room.

“You’ll never get to Singh, Ray! You don’t know who you’re messing with here. I suggest you leave now while you still can. You have Claudine now, so why even risk it, Ray?” Mike derided Ray.

Ray ignored him and just kicked him on his right leg where he was shot at, to shut him up. Long shouted in pain and almost lost his balance, but still managed to keep himself standing.

Finally, a man answered the call and spoke through the telephone:

“Hello? Who’s this? It’s still the wee hours of the morning, for God’s sake.” A man with a deep accented voice answered.

“Hello, Singh. Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to take Carolina to the airport, at the Swiss Air terminal.” Ray stated boldly.

“Hello? Who the f**k is this?” Mr. Singh asked through the telephone.

At this point, Ray pulled Mike Long and placed the telephone to his ear.

“Speak now! Let him know what happened to you.” Ray commanded, as he pressed his hand against Mr. Long’s injured leg. “Go, speak now!”

“Ahhhhoucch! Sir, it’s Mike. He’s got Claudine already, and he has me too!”

“Long, is that you?! What the f**k did you do?” Mr. Singh said.

Ray grabbed the telephone from Mr. Long, and said, “Remember, at the Swiss Air terminal. You have half an hour to comply, or Mike’s dead.” as he slammed the telephone.

With Mike Long back in the car, Ray opened his bag, took out a handkerchief, and tossed it to Mike Long for him to tie it over his gunshot wound.  With the roll of packing tape, Ray began to secure Mr. Long’s ankles and hands. After placing him into the back seat, Ray moved into the driver’s seat and drove away from the gas station, heading towards the airport.

Ray arrived ten minutes early and parked at the side of the pavement near the Swiss Air terminal. He opened the door of the car and commanded Mike Long to get out from the back seat, cutting the tape that bound his hands and feet. He instructed Mr. Long to move to the front of the car, as they both waited for the arrival of Mr. Singh.

Several minutes later, a limo drove by them and stopped right at the entrance of the Swiss Air terminal. As the car door opened, a tall woman stepped out of the limo, who seemed quite confused, as she went over and stood in the pathway to the entrance of the terminal. Meantime the limo remained as is, with its idled engine emitting spurts of smoke of carbon monoxide.

“It’s time, Mike, get out of the car. Once you’re out, shout to Carolina and ask her to move towards my car. Once she started to move towards me, you may walk but only towards the limo. Listen, I don’t want to waste any more bullets on you. Do you understand?” Ray said, showing him his high-powered assault machine gun with a night scope attached to it.

“Now!!!” Ray yelled, as Mr. Long was ready to back out in a state of panic, being unsure of himself, but continued on as he pushed the passenger-side door open and got out of the car.

Once outside, Long yelled and waved, “Carolina, over here.” as he waited for a few seconds until she started to move towards him. He turned to Ray and said, “Well, I think this is it. Catch you soon, and I mean real soon, you a*****e!”

Mike Long began to walk towards the limo and on to freedom where Mr. Singh was seating inside and waiting for him.

As Carolina’s and his’ path crossed between Ray’s car and the limo, Long yelled out, “I’ll be watching you, b***h!”

Walking faster towards Ray’s car, she covered her face with the bandanna that she wore over her head. When all of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks with shock on her face as she saw Mike Long fell down with his face first on the pavement, while spurts of blood and brains bursted out from the back of his head. With a loud cry, she dove to the ground as she covered her head with both her arms, and began screaming. Ray got out of the car and ran over to Carolina, picking her up by the elbows, and dragged her to the car. Still screaming, Ray slapped her on both cheeks to make her stop as she placed her in the back seat of the car. Ray jumped into the driver’s seat and took off from the airport.

As he witnessed Mike Long dropped to the ground and watched all the action in the comfort of his limousine, Mr. Singh tapped the driver to go ahead and drive away.

With Carolina, Ray headed towards the autobahn, and stopped by the Swiss border, at a small local gas station. He went to the phone booth and dialed Kevin’s number at Kenya to call him and let him know of the good news.

#

Nairobi, Kenya

 Kevin glanced at his wristwatch, which read 5:49 in the morning. Wide awake and still pacing back and forth in his hotel room, the phone suddenly rang and Kevin rushed to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hello! This is Mr. Bobby Roberts.”

“Bobby who?”

“Hey Kevin, it’s me, Ray!  Did you already forget the codes?” Then with excitement, Ray began to tell Kevin the good news: “I got Claudine and your girl, so you don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Really? Where are they?”

“ I have them safe now. Claudine’s already on her way home with a friend who helped me out, and Carolina and I are headed towards the autobahn. We’re on the Swiss border at the moment. We’re at a gas station right now.”

“Can I speak with Carolina before I go to the meeting?”

“Carolina went to the Ladies room to freshen up. Anyways, I’ll ask her to call you once she’s back, Okay?”

“Thanks Ray for the good news! Thank God! Nevertheless, why are you all separated? Is something wrong? You still didn’t tell me how you found them.” Kevin asked worriedly.

“Listen, everything’s fine now. We’re all safe and that’s the most important thing. The less you know, the better for you, alright? You keep your head and focus on the committee meeting today, okay? By the way, for your info, Mike Long was assassinated at the airport a while ago, being one of the reasons why it’s better for you to be less involved.”

“What? Did I hear correctly? Mike Long’s dead? Well, he is a son of a b***h, but still, why would someone kill him? Oh well, one less a*****e to tackle today at the meeting would surely be a comforting thought. I guess you’re right, Ray. Thanks.”

“Not our worries anymore, Kevin. The most important thing is we’re all safe. So, now do what you need to do at the hearing, and nail these people and expose their conspiracy. I’ll be sending you facsimile copies of Singh’s photos while here in Geneva. You can use it at the meeting later. All the best! Got to go now.”

“Okay, Ray. I want to thank you for everything.”

“No need to thank me. You take care now, Kevin.”

“You take care too, man. Catch you later.”

“Alright man, I’ll meet you at the flip side.”