Sought

By Antonio Tripodi

Now that John Daniels has Sarah Parrish safely by his side, their first order of business becomes rescuing the kidnapped reporter, Ben Briggs – the man who first identified John as the creator of the website that sent the whole world into chaos only a week earlier. Thanks to that very website, the still-skeptical police and volunteer searchers are also being kept apprised of Briggs’ location, forcing the criminals that have him to keep him moving from one place to another. Who will be the first to reach Briggs, and will they get to him before his inconvenienced captors decide to take more drastic measures for solving their annoying problem? If John and Sarah are able to save him, will Briggs prove cooperative or will he choose to cause even more trouble for the pair? John remains determined to continue using the GEE in pursuing his mission, and Sarah shows that she’s determined to do everything she can to help him (whether John appreciates her efforts or not).

John and Sarah must figure out what they want from their evolving relationship and how to make things work while John’s mission keeps them constantly on the move and “home” becomes a string of motels and strangers’ spare rooms. Is it even possible for them to date while working to bring closure to millions of families around the world and keeping themselves out of the hands of the authorities? John turns to his close friend and inside contact with the police, Lieutenant Kiel Samuels, for advice and a sense of something familiar. It turns out Kiel has a bit more experience with the subject than John first realized. And while it is true that Sarah trusts John with her life, does she really trust the GEE? And if she can’t, what will that mean for her relationship with John? Will John be forced to choose between a future with Sarah and answers about the past and what happened to his younger sister, Mia? Their encounters with people along their way help them learn about themselves, what they really mean to each other, and the future they hope to build together.

Even as they struggle to establish a new sense of normalcy, forces begin gathering in the shadows with sinister purposes. Adelaide Furson is more than just impressed with the GEE and the website even as they threaten to put her directly into the hands of the authorities. While she may not know everything the device is capable of accomplishing, she has more than a few ideas that she’d like to have the opportunity to try. In order to secure that opportunity for herself, however, she must first manage to get her hands on the GEE, which also means facing the improbable task of getting it away from a vigilant John. Adelaide quickly decides that she’s up for the challenge. But how do you go about stealing a device when it knows you’re coming before you even get close? Adelaide’s determination and cunning are put to the test as she plots and cons her way closer and closer to an unsuspecting John and Sarah. Will Adelaide succeed with her plots or will someone else – someone worse – get there before she can? Can John protect both Sarah and the GEE when he doesn’t know what’s coming?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Antonio Tripodi
• Release date: Jul 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311741868

Antonio Tripodi

Born in Adelaide, Australia, to Italian immigrants, Antonio Tripodi grew up believing the lies that his words weren’t worth two cents, a belief that turned writing into a tiresome nightmare. His speaking little English as a child led to difficulties in primary school and fuelled those false beliefs regarding his writing, beliefs which he overcame with the help of his love for God and creating original stories. He chose to work with a professional creative writer to rewrite the manuscript, and a mystery specialist to review, edit and proofread the manuscript for JD Series Book 1.After finishing Year Eleven, he went on to complete a Fitter and Turner Apprenticeship, Graphic Design Degree, Advanced Diploma in Christian Ministry and now is an author. Somewhere in between, he was a sales assistant, furniture removalist, bookkeeper and maintenance.Tripodi has loved inventing things for as long as he can remember. At forty-six, he now realises the ultimate inventions are original stories that everyone loves to read. With God’s help, he hopes to create great original stories and transport readers through factual and fictional worlds. Always working to improve his English and writing skills, Tripodi finds inspiration in the works of Anton Chekhov and F. Scott Fitzgerald.His work on the JD Series began in the wake of his father’s untimely death from a rare cancer in August 2012. Tripodi lives in Adelaide though he enjoys traveling frequently and has visited Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the US, and the Netherlands.

Book preview

Chapter One

Adelaide Furson focused the binoculars on the third window to the right where she’d seen the movement before. She was well concealed in her perch but growing bored with waiting. She knew she couldn’t be the only one after it, the GEE. It would be an impressive prize to whomever managed to get their hands on it first and she was determined that person would be her. No one she’d been working for suspected who she really was so they hadn’t guarded their conversation around her. It was pathetic, really, and sloppy. The fact that they considered themselves professionals made her want to laugh, even now.

She knew she really shouldn’t allow a personal side project like this to distract her from a paying job, but she’d already done as much reconnaissance as was necessary for her client. Addie had seen the same kind of thing before and would state as much in her report. The managers were able to keep their immediate subordinates in line, but there was discord among the lower-level enforcers, guards, and grunt workers. The managers were too busy or too big-headed to bother with dealing with problem-causers themselves and either ignored it – believing things would sort themselves out – or delegated to incompetent fools who only made the problems worse. Bottom line, those wielding real power had a mess on their hands and she would have to recommend that they clean house. Then she would offer them a list of personal contacts she could assure were trustworthy and discrete to help get rid of dead-weight and restock the ranks.

Addie twisted her head until she heard her neck crack faintly. Boy, was she happy she always worked alone. She was only accountable to herself, so all the pride, disappointment, and responsibility for a job going well or heading south fell on her own shoulders. In truth, she was the only person she trusted at this point. It was a lesson she’d learned the hard way but one she wasn’t likely to forget.

The lights were still off in the window and there was no more movement. She leaned back a bit and pulled her phone from her pocket. The site loaded automatically as she had visited it often in the last thirty-six hours. She’d quickly screen-capped the address where most were speculating the reporter Benjamin Briggs was being held by his captors and dismissed it. Once it appeared on the news, there was no way they’d continue holding him there. The news vans had probably managed to beat the police to the location, which would make for an interesting confrontation for the next news cycle. But only idiots would continue holding a prisoner in that kind of situation, and while she knew for a fact that the organization in question did possess a statistically higher proportion of idiots than most, they weren’t quite that dumb. Most people had latched onto the address or were left speculating about whom the cryptically coded names belonged to. Addie had seen the address and knew in an instant, which organization was behind the abduction of Ben Briggs. Knowing them as well as she did, she had a pretty good idea of where they would bring him.

The video on her phone was muted, but she had the audio memorized and heard it again in her mind as she watched the man who called himself JD explain the website and how he was able to manipulate it from the device he wore on his wrist. It looked like a simple nylon strap had been used to fasten it in place. It wouldn’t be too difficult to detach and abscond with it. The tricky part would be getting close enough to JD to get at the device. After getting arrested on set during his interview, the man had successfully vanished from police custody. The officer who had taken him in had been found several hours later in the trunk of his own car. Presumably, JD had then gone on to successfully rescue his friend… girlfriend… whoever the young woman named Sarah was to him. At least, that’s what was in the statement JD sent to police once Sarah was safe.

Of course, Addie had further information on that. Still undercover for the contracted surveillance report, she’d heard through the professional grape vine about the way JD had managed to slip in and out of a facility that was supposed to be the organization’s most secure. He’d gotten in, taken out several guards with an unidentified gas, and left with Sarah all under the noses of security cameras that failed to capture a single image of either of them. The lowlifes gossiping about the incident had already magnified it to legendary status, calling it the work of some sort of magic – that the device he’d demonstrated during the interview had been the brain behind the successful rescue mission. Addie was skeptical about how much credit these henchmen gave to a mere trinket – it didn’t take too much technical savvy to impress them. At the same time, once she got her hands on it there would be plenty of time to play with it and see what it was capable of doing. The little demonstration during the interview was impressive enough to make her want it.

She checked the clock on her phone and did a quick mental calculation of how long it would take them to move their prisoner from the location seen on screen to the new one. He would have been removed from those initial premises as soon as someone of the appropriate rank could appear on site with a vehicle to make the move. But they wouldn’t have taken a direct route to Mr. Briggs’ new residence, and they would almost certainly not keep him anywhere for too long. It was only a matter of time before he made a stop here.

A faint light appeared and vanished in the distance and Adelaide raised her binoculars once more. A car was creeping up the drive with its headlights off in the hopes of going unnoticed in the dark. With a high-pitched screech that rendered the other attempts at stealth moot, a poorly jointed metal sheet rose in imitation of a suburban garage door. The lighting was too poor to make anyone in the vehicle out clearly, but given the cloak-and-dagger routine her money was on Briggs being the special guest. Two large men opened the back door and pulled out a figure with a canvas bag over his head and his arms bound behind his back. They walked him into the building and the garage door descended once more, then the car that had brought the visitor backed down the rough road he’d used to get to the building.

More lights went on inside the building however whatever passed for shades were quickly drawn to keep unsolicited attention like Addie’s from peeking in. It didn’t matter. Briggs wasn’t her main target. Were they keeping him on the move to buy themselves time against another escape attempt by JD? He didn’t strike Addie as the kind of guy who would stand for anyone being punished for associating with him. Sure, Sarah was clearly someone he cared about, while his association with Briggs was… well, it certainly wasn’t personal or meaningful. But this JD had alerted the world to the fact that Briggs was missing. With everyone else looking for him, would JD bother to try and find him personally? Addie’s gut told her the answer was ‘yes’ so she was going to use Briggs indirectly as bait to get close to JD and the GEE.

One of the lights on the second floor of the building came on and it poured into the darkness. Rather than immediately getting smothered, the window remained unblocked. Adelaide trained her binoculars to the window. The building wasn’t residential – it was more of a storage facility or small warehouse. It must have high ceilings because she judged the second-floor window to be almost thirty feet off the ground. A backlit figure appeared at the window. He might be the man who’d been brought in with the bag over his head. Then again, he could be someone sent into the room with Briggs to make sure he stayed put.

Adelaide began to creep down from her perch, relinquishing the clear view into the building for the sake of getting closer. If JD was coming, he’d be going in and unless she found a way to stowaway in whatever vehicle he showed up in, she’d need to be much closer. The yard was full of shadows, but she’d seen an inquisitive rabbit trip the motion-detectors and the sheer brightness of the outside lights had startled her to the point where she’d nearly lost her grip and fallen. They hadn’t stayed on for very long, though she had no way of knowing whether someone inside had turned them off on purpose or whether their timer was simply set for a ridiculously brief interval.

She stayed low to the ground and crept forward slowly, ready to lay flat if the lights popped on and alerted the goons inside. As she inched her way closer to the side of the building, she contemplated her decision to leave Briggs in the small organization’s custody. It was a branch of something much larger, the tip of an iceberg. She had a vague sense of the massive structure beneath, but had hesitated when it came to poking her head underwater and seeing just how big. Still, an operation this size wouldn’t have had the resources to track someone like JD or Briggs alone; they wouldn’t have even realized these were people who needed to be tracked in the first place. If they were merely the hired guns for someone bigger…

Perhaps it would be easier to get to JD if she had personal control of Briggs. If she could liberate him from the organization and take him somewhere she controlled, JD might come straight to her. But part of the problem the organization appeared to have was the inherent fact that they’d kidnapped Briggs.

When she could feel the cold metal of the building’s siding against her back, Adelaide oriented her position so the graveled drive was in front of her. Shielding the cell phone from casting a noticeable light in the darkness and giving her position away, Adelaide called up JD’s website and searched for Briggs’ case. However the website was tied to the device, it was remarkably well organized. She found the file she sought in no time, and as she suspected, it had been updated with the address for the building she was leaning against. Because Briggs’ kidnapping was a crime and JD had done whatever it was to open the case to the public, his location was now public knowledge. Assuming the police had been keeping their eyes on this case, they’d be here soon. Or would JD arrive first?

She could only hope at this point. Freeing Briggs wouldn’t be a crime so she didn’t think it would register with the website, but to take him and use him as bait herself was just as likely to lead the police straight to her as it was to lead JD. There might be some way to free Briggs and keep close to him, but would JD keep looking for Briggs if the site registered that he’d gotten away? She was pretty sure JD would work to free the man, but would he continue to search for Briggs to be sure he was all right after escaping? Was that more than JD’s unknown resources could handle or part and parcel of whatever mission it was he’d undertaken?

Until she knew more, Adelaide wasn’t willing to risk it. She couldn’t afford to bring attention to herself. A quick search for her own name in the website showed a string of cases linked to her that she viewed with a prideful smile. To have so many jobs under her belt with no major legal run-ins was part of what made her so sought after. So far, none of the cases had been opened for the public to view. Not that any of her clients knew her real name. Not yet. But if she could get her hands on the GEE device, she might be able to avoid any unpleasantness associated with it. She might even find a way to scrub those records from the site before selling it to the highest bidder.

A vibration passed through the metal siding Addie was pressed against, an unsettling sensation that caused her to drop her phone in the grass at her feet. She nudged it so the screen faced down and the light it emitted disappeared. A screeching noise signaled that the metal garage door was rising once more and needed greasing desperately. There were muffled objections from the reluctant guest and orders from an unseen henchman as a van door slid open and slammed shut again.

Damn, they were moving him again. As they pulled down the drive as quickly and quietly as the dark van would allow, Addie reached for the phone and checked the website again. Briggs’ location had been changed to in-transit. Damn, she cursed again under her breath. There was still a chance that JD would arrive a few minutes too late, but he probably had an alert system set up for any changes to a case he was working on, or someone he was working with would inevitably notice Briggs was on the move and tell him. She waited five minutes before the distant sound of sirens reached her ears and decided it was time to move along and reassess her approach to acquiring the device.

The speed with which the website was updated fascinated her as she reached her concealed car and drove away. It was nearly instantaneous.

Her cell phone pinged with a new alert and Addie found a place to pull over and read the message. It was her client backing out on the job she’d nearly completed. While they were grateful for the time and efforts she had undoubtedly exerted on the job already, matters of another nature would require their undivided attention for the foreseeable future. They had transferred half of the final agreed upon price of her services to the account number she’d provided and hoped that amount along with the generous advance would satisfy her regarding the expenses she had likely already incurred.

Addie tossed the phone down and put the car back into gear, turning back the way she’d come to counteract the efforts of anyone who might have been following her trail. Though she knew the likelihood of that was small, she was too good at what she did to get caught and never let herself get cocky to the point she grew sloppy, even when she was frustrated. She should be more upset about the job getting called off, though she’d been half-expecting word to come down for the last several hours. The operation was too small to protect itself from the likes of JD’s website for long. And given the lack of discipline she’d found among the ranks, they’d be lucky if any of them survived the strain the website would create. Off the top of her head, she could think of at least three goons who had probably already gone to the police in hopes of getting some sort of deal for their testimony.

She should be happy they paid her anything. It was, of course, a testament to her reputation that they didn’t want her to write them off as clients for when things cleared up. Her list of contacts and knack for matching an asset to the problem at hand were what put her at the top of so many lists. Facilitating those arrangements was where she really made her living. The commissions made the sum she’d just received for the cancelled job look like the leavings in a sandwich shop’s tip jar.

Under normal circumstances Adelaide would have been a bit put off, but at that moment, the gears in her head were too busy churning away at the problem of how to get her hands on JD and the device sending her client base into chaos.

Chapter Two

They’re moving him again, John said to Sarah. She groaned as she switched her blinker on and changed lanes again, maneuvering the car towards the next exit ramp so they could turn around for the third time.

If they keep this up, we’re going to need to stop for gas again soon, she muttered. "Can’t that thing tell where they’re going to wind up next so we can get there before they get there with Briggs?"

It’s almost certainly undermining any police efforts to recover Briggs, John agreed. What do you say, GEE? What can you do to help us out?

I can do any number of things to help out. Would you like a report of the various locations utilized by the men who have Benjamin Briggs in their custody? I can prioritize them based on the resources each has available as well as provide a map with all the locations marked along with the routes they’ve taken so far. A helpful pattern may appear.

Before John could agree to the request, the suggested map was projected from the device onto the dashboard in front of him. Seven bright green dots scattered the area around the city and a yellow trail crisscrossed the roadways between several of the locations. The yellow line was blinking at one end as it advanced along a main roadway on the opposite side of the city from John and Sarah’s current location (displayed as a blinking blue speck turning off the highway and onto a side road).

Sarah glanced over and the vehicle swerved slightly before she righted it. John smiled quietly as he looked over to see her eyes wide and her face pale in surprise. Her eyes were darting back and forth from the road ahead to the surprisingly detailed display, her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel in an effort to keep from freaking out. John brought his attention back to the diagram and the task at hand. Sarah would get used to the GEE’s surprising capabilities with time.

Three of the green dots hadn’t yet been used.

Should we pick one of those three locations and just wait until they show up with Briggs? Sarah asked as she put the car in park. They were in the back corner of the parking lot at a fast food joint.

Can I have the complete blueprints and specs for the three locations they haven’t used yet? John requested of the GEE.

Hartford House is the most secure location of the three, the GEE explained as the various points of entry were highlighted on the diagrams for each of the buildings. It has an advanced alarm system that requires key codes both to get in and to get out of the main building. There are emergency bolts for all the windows as well and it has enough supplies for a standoff lasting several days.

I think it’s trying to tell us that’s where they’re headed next, Sarah remarked with an attempted chuckle.

No, from the map it looks like they’re heading to this one over here, John pointed at the yellow line trailing across the car’s dashboard. Hartford House is over here.

But that one doesn’t have much in the way of protection, Sarah said, pointing to the blueprints of a one-floor warehouse that was maybe as large as a barn. The surrounding area is too open for adequate cover. They’d see anyone coming but have no way of stopping an approach. Even if that’s where they’re going, they won’t keep him there long. If we head straight for Hartford House, we could beat them there and be waiting.

The GEE can get me inside, John said with confidence, closing the images for the other two buildings and focusing on the plans for Hartford House.

What about me? Sarah asked. Or am I supposed to wait off in the bushes with the getaway car while you make a heroic escape?

John couldn’t quite tell whether she was joking or if she was hinting that she wanted to go inside the facility with him. Looking on the plans at all the places where access could be cut off with the flip of a switch tied his stomach in a knot. The muscles in his calves clenched suddenly in memory of the stairwell at the facility he’d run through with such singular focus on Sarah and what the brutes that ran the place might be doing to her. He’d just gotten her back; she’d been safe beside him for less than a day. He couldn’t bear the thought of putting her in harm’s way, even if the device on his wrist meant he could easily find her again. He didn’t want to have to find her; he wanted to know where she was at all times and he wanted it to be somewhere he knew with complete certainty was safe.

Getaway car, he said, infusing his voice with as much lightheartedness as he could muster. He watched her face tighten a little as she fought to control her disappointment. I’ll need the engine running and someone I trust behind the wheel.

Are you sure the GEE can’t handle starting the car while you’re on the run and driving it if necessary? she challenged. It was said with a smile and more than a little genuine curiosity but there was a certain hostility underlying the statement that John chose to ignore.

You know, I don’t know, John admitted, scrambling to think of a safer subject to bring up, one that would steer them away from what looked like an approaching argument. We should get going though; head for Hartford House now so we have plenty of time to ready ourselves for their arrival.

For the record, I can automatically start the car and when necessary, take over steering, acceleration, and braking as well, the GEE offered.

John pressed a random button on the device clenching his teeth as he fought to suppress the subject. They’ll likely come to Hartford House as a last resort, he said as he scrolled through the information on the building. The rooms most likely to be used for keeping Briggs confined were on the second floor but it could be any one of three. Do you have information on how many people are already at that location?

The blueprints expanded, shifting from two dimensions to three. The lines of the diagram remained stark even as they became transparent as necessary. Warm red figures wrapped in green populated the floors and moved about. A blast of deep blue appeared as one figure opened a door for a moment before shutting it again, the coloring of its head and limbs fading to an orangey-yellow before returning to a red so bright they were nearly pink. He’d opened the freezer in the kitchen.

There are six guys there now, John pointed out. "These two here look like they might be prisoners themselves, though. See the rooms they’re in? The doors are currently