“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Jodle said, hoping to dampen the high spirits of the cold-blooded killer.
He faced Jodle and the smile was gone.
“Let’s hope it is not, for your sake.” The Russian turned and started for the closed elevator doors and then waited on the younger man to catch up with him.
“And what do we do about those people at the navy yard?” The tall man waited for the Russian to acknowledge his concern. The bell chimed and the elevator doors slid open to reveal three of the mobster’s men waiting inside. He hesitated before climbing into the car. He turned with his black-gloved hand on the doors, halting their closing cycle.
“As of now I have four missing men who were conducting surveillance on these strangers. It seems whoever these people are”—he looked up into the trader’s face—“are very resourceful. That scratches most of the NYPD and federal authorities off the list. Especially since most of this borough’s uniformed men work for me in one capacity or another.” He stepped into the car and raised his dark brows until Jodle joined the four men inside.
“Regardless of who they are, they will nevertheless dismantle the doorway and remove it. And I assure you, Mr. Jones, the process cannot be duplicated. Times have changed and getting the necessary technology for duplication is highly illegal and, I might add in most cases, impossible to acquire. So if I may ask, how do you intend on getting the only working doorway out of the hands of these people?”
That irritating, knowing smile etched the Russian’s face as the elevator doors started to close.
“We do what any civilized gentlemen would do: we ask politely.”
The doors closed on the shocked face of the stockbroker.
The families were gathered to celebrate the birth of their first granddaughter. The proud parents held the newborn as the grandparents beamed while taking photos. The young woman was the only child of the couple who came to be parents a little later in life than usual, even for New York yuppies.
The grandfather had recently retired from a construction firm where he had served as an engineer for forty years. He and his wife considered themselves young and vital and prepared for the challenges of the second half of their lives. They felt it was all well deserved for the horrid first few years they had suffered. Benjamin and Natalie Koblenz were now complete and had guaranteed themselves that their strange legacy was going to continue in the grinning face of the newborn baby they now watched in their daughter’s arms.
The house was quiet as the grandmother and daughter began to place dishes on the table for a late supper after the long day checking out of the hospital.
The light knock on the back door caught the two women unawares as they exchanged curious looks.
“The back door?” the daughter asked.
Just as the grandmother turned, the door opened and three men stepped inside. Her eyes widened when she saw the guns in the men’s hands. The young woman gasped and before the strangers could react ran into the living room. She came to a sliding stop when she saw the second set of three men in the hallway holding the same menacing weapons as the ones at the rear door. Her eyes frantically went to the living room where she saw her husband standing with their newborn and her father staring wide-eyed at the intruders.
“Benjamin Koblenz?” the only black-clad man without a handgun asked politely.
“Yes,” answered the silver-haired man, who took a step backward to shield his son-in-law and new granddaughter. He turned when he saw his daughter standing in shock and then suddenly run to be with her husband and daughter. His wife was moved from the kitchen to the living room with a gun politely sticking in her back.
“And this must be Mrs. Koblenz, the former Natalie Freiburg.”
The husband remained silent as his wife came to his side. She was shaking and this infuriated the older man.
The talker placed a piece of paper into his coat pocket and then nodded to one of his men.
“My associate will assist you in gathering anything you may need for your child. Dress her warmly, we have a bit of a drive ahead of us.”
Panic spread rapidly across the daughter’s face like a wild flowing river as she removed her daughter from her husband’s hold and sat hard on the couch, holding her child tightly to her heaving chest. “You can’t take my baby,” she cried as her frightened husband tried his best to shield them as he too sat.
The man shook his head. “We are not in the habit of killing children,” the man lied as he had done just that a few months before with a freeloader and his family in Staten Island. “We need twenty-four hours of cooperation and then we will return you and your family to your home.” He smiled. “Completely intact and unharmed.”
“Who are you and why do you need us to go with you?” the grandfather asked as a diaper bag was tossed to him by one of the intruders.
“I will let Miss Mendelsohn explain that to you.”
Both Benjamin and Natalie Koblenz exchanged worried looks.
“Who is that?” the daughter asked as she and her young husband were brought to their feet.
The silence that greeted the question was unnerving as the six men went about preparing to abduct the entire family.
A small portion of the Traveler’s secret and extended family was being rounded up.
The darkness had eaten most of Sarah’s enthusiasm as she thought about how Jack and Niles were going to fly off the proverbial handle when they learned that she and Anya were in the process of going rogue on them. All of this after the director had allowed them all back in after being caught trying to manipulate the young Morales. No, this was not going to sit well at all.
“There it is,” Anya said as she saw the address and the name on the black gate and the surrounding brick masonry that guarded the monstrous Gothic building.
Sarah slowed the car down and stopped at the chained gate and looked at the large mansion beyond. The darkness was complete. “Well, it sure as hell looks abandoned,” Sarah said and then nearly screamed when a knock sounded on her window. Embarrassed, she turned her head and saw the uniformed security guard standing just outside of the car. He had tapped on the glass with a flashlight. The man stood straight when the car’s dome light came on when Anya stepped outside and walked to the side of the car where the old man waited.
“You young ladies know this is private property?” he asked as he watched the gorgeous woman with jet-black hair approach. He was appreciative of her figure as his locked and loaded eyes made obvious.
“We just need some information,” Anya said as she stepped closer to the older security guard, whose frame looked as if it hadn’t missed any meals of late. “How long has the”—she looked at the brass name on the gate—“Briarson Home for Children been closed?”
“Oh, gosh, even before I got out of grade school. The town was sad to see it go, I do know that. The firm that supported the school and home was very generous to the local community. Let’s see, 1983, maybe ’84.”
“Wow, that has been awhile,” Anya said with a quick look into the driver’s side window at Sarah. Then the plastic Taser came up and into the man’s large belly. His eyes went wide and he became rigid as the electrical charge coursed through his body. “Sorry,” Anya said as she tried in vain to ease the unconscious guard to the ground but cursed when he crashed anyway due to his unexpected weight. She quickly rummaged in the man’s pockets and then stood and looked at a shocked Sarah McIntire. “We don’t have a lot of time here for Q and A,” she said as she turned and ran for the locked gate. She quickly had the chain removed as Sarah jumped out and started dragging the moaning security guard through the now open barrier.