The Current Between Us

As Gage took a step back and let everyone work, relief coursed through him. Relief the government agreed so easily to his terms, and relief that the capture ended successfully with no harm to his people. Funny, how a week and a half could change a person. He would have given them anything they asked in order to keep Trent safe. They had him by the balls and didn’t even know it.

Gage took a moment, standing in the middle of the command center breakdown, to send a text to his head of security. The weak signal required he stand with his phone stuck in the air, but it finally went through. He used their code to let Hopkins know phase one completed with everyone intact, they were moving into phase two. He got an immediate text back assuring him Trent and the children were inside their home, safe and sound. Hopkins beefed up security surrounding the Cooper house in case Abdulla’s apprehension triggered an attack on the family, but so far nothing had changed in the neighborhood, and again, staggering amounts of relief poured through him.

General Porter caught his attention signaling departure time. Gage followed the general to his jeep, where he was driven to a secret location. They left the region in a secure military airplane. Porter thrived in the environment, shedding the dignitary role and garbed in his fatigues. Seeing him from this side, Gage had a whole new respect for the man who seemed to crave being back in the trenches with his men.

Once they were in the air, he got a little bit better signal and finally received confirmation from Hopkins that all his men in the area were in retreat mode. The military had never beaten them to a target before. This was a first. They were retreating and regrouping, waiting to hear from him. Gage sat casually in the airplane, wondering what that conversation might be like. How could he tell these men who’d worked so hard for him, he’d abandoned the report for his boyfriend? A grin spread across his face at the thought, and he swiped his finger across the cell phone screen until Trent’s photo came up. This particular picture never ceased to make him smile, and he thought about how in love he found himself with this wonderful man.

The plane ride to El Paso seemed to take longer than the extradition mission. Once landed, the entire team drove in caravan style to the secure location holding Abdulla. Dust and sand caked everything in this drought-ridden location. The farther they drove out of the city, the more tumbleweeds and dust bowl conditions they encountered. Porter spent his time studying the information Gage supplied them, occasionally asking a question, and Gage answered, but that was all he gave in the way of communication. His mind focused on exactly the best way to confront Abdulla. He’d decided hard and firm was the best approach. Abdulla needed to know he didn’t mess around and he meant what he said.

As the detention center came into view, Gage watched the stark white building take shape in the distance. Gage took a minute and centered himself. He was going to have to look the devil of a man straight in the eye and intimidate him enough to make sure he never opened his mouth about Lynn, Hunter, or Em.

Guard shacks dotted the landscape around the highly secured detention center. Armed military guards patrolled both the grounds and the rooftops. Every few hundred feet there were elevated guard booths, high in the air, with assault-style weapons trained on the yard and the building. No one got in or out unless they were authorized to do so.

Gage’s convoy entered through a remote location toward the back of the center. Even with the clear markings on the vehicles, no one was allowed entry without proper formal protocol taking place. Every one of their IDs were checked and scanned. They drove straight to the back of the facility, and used a private door to gain entrance. They held Abdulla in the maximum security portion of the center, but to Gage the entire place felt maximally secured. He couldn’t see anyone making a step in the wrong direction without fearing for their lives. These guys weren’t playing at all.

The deeper in the center they got, Gage watched the size of the officers grow. The military officers protecting Abdulla were massive and stood about every twenty or so feet, lining the stark white hallway. Gage was taken from security point to security point, ID’d the entire way. He stayed quiet, and the deeper he got in, the more glimpses he got of Abdulla sitting in a room from the many monitors stationed at the check points along the hall. Apparently they weren’t taking any chances with Abdulla. He stayed under constant video surveillance. His arms and legs were still chained and the chains were locked to the floor where he sat.

“He hasn’t said a word or resisted anything,” a guard said to Gage who stood watching the LCD monitor outside the interrogation room Abdulla sat in.

“Nothing?” Porter asked.

“No, sir, not a word,” the guard said.

“Has anyone tried to speak to him?” Porter asked.

“Yes, sir, his rights were read to him. He was told he is a prisoner of the United States, and he hasn’t responded or said anything,” the guard replied, handing them back their identification.

“He hasn’t spoken in a month. It’s the vow of silence,” Gage added to the conversation.

“What’s that all about?” Porter asked, staring at the screen now.

“I don’t know. It was a surprise to us too. We found nothing that would have led him to this spiritual journey,” Gage said, itching to get inside. The guard picked up his hand-held and began the steps to get General Porter and Gage inside the room. There was another long hall lined with armed guards and a massive set of doors locked from the outside, with two armed guards standing outside the doors.