Negotiating Point Read Free Page A

you’ll need to get us wired.”
    “No problem. I’ll head downstairs and get what we’ll need. I’ll make calls, see who knows what about this Freedom Today group. If they’re a major player, my contacts at the CIA will have them on a list somewhere.”
    * * *
    An hour later, with Vic on speakerphone, Gavin stood next to Mike’s desk counting down the eighteen minutes until their next communication from the kidnappers. Janet sat in one of the leather guest chairs in front of the desk, notepad in hand.
    “What have you got?” Mike asked Vic.
    “It’s a farmhouse. There’s a car parked in the driveway. No activity outside. Shades are pulled. I got a plate number for the car. And relax, head-shrinker, I didn’t go near the house.”
    Pain in the ass. “So, no way to tell if Roxann is inside?”
    “No.”
    Janet raised her hand to get their attention. “When they call, why don’t we have Mike ask to speak to Rox, then I can get a location for the phone. If the address is a match for the farmhouse, we know that’s where she is.”
    “Beautiful,” Vic said.
    Love this woman. Maybe they’d get Roxann and her unborn baby released unharmed. “Vic, check the area for somewhere to set up a command post.”
    “On it.”
    “We’ll keep you posted.” Mike disconnected, ran his hands over his face and sat back. “Now we wait?”
    Gavin nodded. “Now we wait.” He turned to Janet. “How confident are you that you can grab the phone’s location?”
    She glanced at Mike, then back to Gavin. “In my downtime, I’ve hacked into the top three cell carrier’s systems. If the phone is part of one of their networks, I can get its location. I retrieved the number from when they sent the video. All I’d have to do this time is check the location of the phone they’re talking on and make sure it matches.”
    “I love you,” Mike said.
    She shrugged. “I’m a geek who likes a challenge. I thought having access to cell carrier networks would come in handy at some point. If they use a different phone, I’ll have to get that number.”
    Mike’s cell phone rang and he scooped it up. “Blocked number.”
    They’re early. Interesting.
    Leaping from her chair, Janet shooed Mike from his spot near the computer. Quick little woman, that one.
    “If it’s them,” Gavin said to Mike, “don’t agree to anything. Fact finding here.”
    Mike hit the speaker button. “Michael Taylor.”
    “This is Joe Smith from Freedom Today. If you meet our demands, your wife will be returned unharmed.”
    “Put her on.”
    “No.”
    “I’m not agreeing to any demands until I know she’s okay.”
    Muffled voices came through the speaker. Joe Smith probably put his hand over the phone. More than one captor. And Joe Smith? Could he have picked a better fake name? Totally generic.
    More muffled sounds filled the otherwise silent office and Mike tapped his fingers against the edge of his desk. For some reason, Gavin thought of the fingerprints that would be left on the glass. He supposed it was easier than staring at Mike. Who waited. For the sound of his pregnant wife’s voice.
    Gavin breathed in when his mind flashed to his mother crying herself to sleep after his dad had died. As he’d done many times, he stored the bits of memory, one by one, into his brain’s hideaways.
    The muffling noise from the other end of the phone disappeared. A beep sounded. Speakerphone. “Hi,” Roxann said in her steady, control-freak voice.
    Mike straightened, closed his eyes for a second and dropped his head to his chest. In that moment, Gavin imagined a bizarre combination of grief and respite pressing his boss further and further into turmoil.
    “Are you hurt?” Mike asked his wife.
    “No. I’m okay.”
    “That’s enough.” Male voice— Joe Smith. “Now you’ve spoken to her. She is unharmed and if you want her to stay that way, her newspaper will run an article we’ve prepared in tomorrow’s paper. It will be emailed to your