Page 7 of The Hijack

I did the math in my head, calculating the amount of force it would take to pry the wall loose from the bars. It was unlikely that the board would hold up. It was falling apart in the middle and looked as if it had weathered a thousand storms.

“I don’t know,” I hesitated, not making a move to pick it up.

“It’s worth a try,” he encouraged me.

I narrowed my eyes at the other prisoner, wondering if I could trust him. What if we did manage to break free and I took him with me to find Theo? Was that his endgame? Did he want to prove himself a solid ally by sharing a cell with me? Who was behind this little meet-cute, and did I trust them?

“How did you end up here?” I asked, needing more information before trying my luck with the guard.

“I was in the middle of an operation,” Lincoln said. “Don’t ask me for specifics.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“And I was captured. Long story short.”

“Why should I trust that you haven’t been planted here to follow me?” I declared, watching him carefully for any signs of deceit.

“Sure,” he said sullenly. “This is all about you.”

I grimaced. It was sort of egotistical of me to assume that he was only in the cage on my account. Maybe he really was an operative on an entirely separate mission. But if that was the case, why had he captured the attention of the same bandits who wanted my life? There had to be a connection.

“Are you with Dark Sparrow?” I asked suddenly.

He looked up, shocked out of his poker face. I read it clearly then. He was involved with Dark Sparrow, though I couldn’t tell to what extent. How far did Lukas’s network go? I was surprised to learn that there were other Americans involved, though it was clear that he had operatives working across Europe.

“How do you know Dark Sparrow?” Lincoln asked, realizing his mistake.

“I was tracking them down,” I admitted. “Until I realized I was chasing the wrong people.”

“So you’re friendly?” he asked hopefully.

“Assuming you really are Dark Sparrow,” I quantified my answer. “Then yes.”

Lincoln exhaled slowly. “We have to get out of here.”

“Do you even know where ‘here’ is?” I asked, finding myself warming up to him despite my earlier misgivings.

“Sorry,” he responded.

I sighed. It might not matter in terms of prying open our cage, but our geographical location would be very important the moment we broke free. I knew I’d arrived on a boat. That meant we were on an island. And judging from the dialect and the appearance of our captors, I guessed we were somewhere in Southeast Asia. But that entire region was made up of islands, and the particular country mattered. If we were being held in a country that was friendly to American interests, we might be able to leverage our corporate identities to find a way out.

It was a long shot, but I decided it was worth it. Giving Lincoln a meaningful look, I picked up the board and prepared to do my part.

Chapter 4

Clark

––––––––

THE BOARD DIDN’T WORK. It literally disintegrated in my hands before I managed to apply it to the steel wall. Lincoln waved down the guard to try to distract him, but he wasn’t fooled. In his native language, he pointed at me and laughed, clearly unconcerned about us getting out that way.

I threw the board at him, surprising him in mid-guffaw. He didn’t expect me to be able to launch a projectile through the bars. It was a mistake. I should have saved the board for a later time when the guard was unaware, but I was pissed.

The man stumbled back, shook his head, and returned to his seat. That was my last chance to hit him at the present moment. Unless there was a shift change, the enemy was on to me. Lincoln let out a war whoop, drawing even more attention to what I had done.

“Shut up,” I snapped.

“That wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was satisfying nonetheless,” Lincoln quipped.