Page 80 of The Attercop

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam snapped.

Charlie continued. “I’ll go as bait. You stay well out of the way until I’m picked up, then you follow where they take me.”

“And how are we supposed to follow you if we can’t get close?” Sam asked.

Charlie held up his hand, revealing the smart watch. “You don’t have to be close. Not with this.”

“Brilliant,” Constable Smith said.

“What the fuck is brilliant?” Gary asked.

“You can track him with that. You can do almost anything with a smart watch like that,” Constable Smith said.

Charlie held out his hand. “Sam, unlock your phone and give it to me.”

Sam did as he was instructed and Charlie started to work on it. In less than a minute, he handed the phone back to Sam. “There. I’ve synced my smart watch to your phone and downloaded theapp you’ll need. As long as I have the watch on me, you can track me wherever I go.”

Charlie continued. “The watch can also record sound. Everything that goes down will be captured.”

“Do you know what kind of risk you’re taking?” Sam asked.

“The same kind of risk Declan would take for me. Sam…I have to do this. Declan’s everything to me.”

Sam nodded and extended his hand. Charlie went to shake it and Sam pulled him into a quick hug without saying anything.

“Well, I guess you should get going, then,” Sam said. “There’s nothing else you can do here.”

“Wait a minute, there is one more thing,” Charlie added. He fiddled with his watch. “I’m installing a form of panic button. When I press it, it will sound on Sam’s phone like an amber alert. Don’t come in guns a-blazing until I press it. What I don’t want is to have you burst in too soon. Whoever this is may not be taking me to where Declan’s being held right away, so if you’re early you may end up saving me but not getting Declan. And as far as the police notice on Chipping goes, hold off on that. We can’t run the risk of tipping them off that we’re onto them.”

“Do you still want me to stake out the place, Sarge?” Smith asked.

“Better not,” Gary said. “Hopefully nobody’s watching the building right now. No matter what, we can’t run the risk of Chipping seeing a cruiser parked outside the building. Park a few blocks away so you can get here fast if you need to. I’ll tell the kid at the front desk to keep an eye out for him and call if Chipping returns. I have a feeling that Charlie’s plan is our best bet.”

Charlie left the building, got into his car and raced to meet up with Declan’s captor. He just hoped and prayed everything would go according to plan.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Charlie drove to the Accurate Car Parts parking lot. His hands were shaking and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He didn’t want to be a hero, but he would risk everything to see Declan again.

The properties were large along the industrial section of 106th Avenue and the numbers on the buildings jumped quickly. In his haste, Charlie drove right past the address he was looking for. By the time he’d realised his mistake, he was two buildings south of the location. He stopped the vehicle, put the car in reverse and backed up. The glow of the streetlamp on the side of the road barely illuminated the sign—Accurate Car. The rest of the company name was obscured by a banner advertising ‘Industrial Building For Lease’.

Charlie slowly drove around to the rear of the cinder block structure. The back wall was punctuated by two large roll-up doors. He pulled up to the building, shut off the car, and glanced at his watch. He’d gotten there in twenty-five minutes—five minutes earlier than the time limit in the message. As he looked up, a person rounded the building. It was Jules, or Julie, or whatever her real name was. She was smiling.

Charlie stepped out of the car and walked toward her. He was trying to figure out what to say to her after all she’d put him and Declan through, but before he could open his mouth, she pulled something out from behind her back and said, “Bang!”

Every muscle clenched in a full-body spasm. He toppled to the ground. He realised that she must have hit him with a Taser.

In seconds, Jules was on top of him. Before he could move, she’d secured Charlie’s hands with a pair of handcuffs, and covered his mouth with duct tape. The actual pain was short-lived, but he was dazed and winded from his fall to the ground.

Jules worked in silence, dragging him back to his car, manoeuvring him into the front passenger seat. Charlie sensed he had regained some control over his body, but he forced himself to remain a dead weight. He had to overcome his instincts to fight her off, reminding himself that hewantedto be caught. Hopefully she would take him to Declan, and when he got there, he would push the panic button on his smart watch. His hands were tied together behind his back and he knew he could reach his wrist when the time was right.

Jules stuck her hand into Charlie’s pants pockets and pulled out his car keys. She positioned herself in the driver’s seat, then looked over at him. “Nope. That won’t do,” she said, as she reached around him and put on his seat belt. “Safety first. Don’t want a police officer pulling us over for a seat belt infraction.”

Charlie found it hard to breathe. He groaned.

“What?” she said.

“Mm-mmm-mmm.”