To Catch A Fox

Chapter 6

Over two weeks had passed, and they were no closer to finding the abductors. A ransom video came in, demanding several million dollars. They had a month to scratch it up. Jayum had no intention of paying it, but Misyuk was giving it more thought. Henry could only imagine what Horace was doing to his partner. Thinking about it hurt him.

Henry was asleep at his desk when a painfully familiar voice trickled into his head. "I can hear the whispers in my head.. The voices telling me this should be mine." Henry's subconscious was pricked, yet he didn't wake. It was a dream to him. "You... You claim you trust me. You think I don't see the doubt behind your eyes...I'm going to build me an empire.. And it's lonely at the top! But madness and greatness can both share a face and nobody will ever convince me to stop." A sudden burst of pain sliced through Henry, waking him up. He blinked rapidly, trying to figure out what had happened. After a few minutes of wondering, he figured sleep deprivation must have gotten to him and he'd dreamed it all. He went back to work, thinking intensely about his partner. He missed her.

The magic binding cuffs on her wrists were looped to a pole hanging from the ceiling. She stood often for hours at a time with no respite, usually drugged. Lilian had her hair tied in a ponytail. Cuts and bruises were all over her face, blood dripping onto the floor from various injuries on her body. Her arms had gone numb. She was wearing a dark t-shirt and jeans. Lilian was okay with it. She just had to believe Henry was safe.

Lilin tried to reach Henry. Usually she would be able to reach someone's mind silently. The binding cuffs gave her an incredible migraine any time she tried to use magic. She found a way to reach out though. Speaking out loud and breaking past Henry's barrier provided her with a way. The only problem was that she was constantly being monitored, and speaking plainly would probably get her killed. And so, she sang! A perfect excuse. She could only pray that Henry would get the message, if it even reached him. She was extremely drugged, and trying to use magic instantly made her feel sick.

When her guards heard singing, they put an end to it quickly. Once she stopped singing, they drugged her again. Uncuffing her, one man let her fall to the ground. He then replaced the cuffs. She couldn't stand forever.

Henry woke up the next day. He was at his desk. "My gods! You're a genius!" His shout startled many agents. He hurried to Zariyah, who was at a computer. "Zariyah, the Empire State Building. Is it open?" The tone in his voice left no room for argument or question.

Zariyah typed quicker than he could keep up with. "It closed a month ago. Why?"

Henry tapped his finger on the desk, excitement rising. "She's been right under our nose all along." Jupiter stood with Nathan and hurried over.

"The Empire State Building? Really?" Jupiter eyed Henry. "How do you know?"

"Dang, we're stupid. Why didn't we check that sooner?" Nathan mumbled.

"She told me - well. Indirectly." Henry added. He ran out of the room to get Misyuk's approval for a mission.

"Indirectly? We're basing this operation on indirectly?" Zariyah looked at Nathan, worried for reasons other than the one at hand.

"That's Henry for you." Nathan sighed, fingering the little dents in the handle of his gun.

Misyuk came back with Henry. "Alright! It can't hurt to check - Henry will be leading the mission as it's his partner. He'll pick what agents he wants with him."

The agents stood, looking at Henry eagerly.

"Zariyah." He spoke first. "Jupiter, Vinnie, Teiran, Heather." He glanced at Nathan. "Nathan and Vikki. That's all I'll need." He was taking some of the best-scoring agents.