The Courbet Connection (Book 5) (Genevieve Lenard) (37 page)

“Show me.”

“Now, wait just a moment there, lad.” Manny looked at me, communicating a warning. “Why would you want to see that? It’s not horror movie night.”

“I can help.”

I thought so too. “Tell him how you’ll be able to help.”

“I know the area. I’ve been there a lot.”

“You know the mountains?” Judith’s tone mirrored the doubt exhibited on her face.

“Yes. I go there often. I was there yesterday.”

Manny’s muscle tension increased. “Explain yourself, laddie.”

Caelan closed his eyes, blocking out Manny. I was not surprised at his reaction to the harsh demand in Manny’s tone. I sighed, knowing that I was going to have to intervene. “Caelan can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m sure he wasn’t there in person. He travelled that area using Google Earth. Did you, Caelan? You like exploring different geographical areas, right?”

He opened one eye and looked at my shoulder. “I don’t have a car or a passport, so I travel the only way I can.”

“If you watch these videos, you might be able to tell us exactly where the students are.” It was a method I’d never considered.

“Lad, these videos are not easy to watch. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“I’m up for it. Show me.”

I had hoped to never have to watch that footage again. Seeing terrified young people running for their lives while sick individuals hunted them had been traumatic for me. But finding Michael and the others took precedence.

Francine printed out a large map of the piece of land in which we suspected the hunt would take place. Judith helped clear the table and placed the printout in front of Caelan. It took us an hour and forty minutes to go through thirty of the videos, focussing solely on the surroundings, not on the hunting.

Since very few of the hunts started at the same place, we had to work through every recording individually. Caelan impressed us all with his ability to locate small paths through the wooded areas and point out which mountain they were facing. The night-time recordings were more difficult because of the lessened visibility, but even then he was able to point out locations.

It wasn’t long before a pattern emerged. Many humans wished to be unpredictable, to present themselves as different, interesting. Yet inherently, we preferred routine. We liked the predictability of the known and avoided the unsettling unknown. Dukwicz presented a pattern.

He favoured seven different places, the exact starting points mere metres from each other. The density of the vegetation, the time of day and changing shadows had made each place look individual to my untrained eye. But as Caelan pointed out these places time after time, I saw the similarities in the areas.

Manny’s phone rang, interrupting a particularly brutal hunt of a female student. Francine paused the footage and Manny answered, again placing the phone in the centre of the table. “Millard.”

“Have you got a tighter location for us?” Vinnie’s voice was lowered. “We’re on the northeast end of this property, but we need directions.”

“We’re working on it,” Manny said.

I leaned closer to the phone. “We’ve isolated seven possible starting points. We’ll send you the co-ordinates so you can prepare.”

Francine nodded when I looked at her and tapped on her tablet’s screen.

“Thanks, Jen-girl. We’re on standby. Daniel has called in backup. They’ll search the rest of the property for a building or someplace they’re are working from. They should be here in ten minutes or so.” He paused and cleared his throat. “How long until the hunt starts?”

The hunting auctions had taken less than fifty minutes to conclude. Since then another large digital clock had been counting down the minutes. I blinked a few times and swallowed. “Nine minutes.”

“I know no one here wants to say it, so I’m going to.” Colin’s mouth and eyes were tense, his expression almost angry. “We’re going to have to wait until the first video comes up before we can send you to the right location, Vin. Caelan has been helping us and I reckon we’ll know exactly where they’re starting as soon as the feed goes live.”

“Aw, hell.” Manny fell back into his chair and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

“Shit, dude. That sucks.”

“I’m fast. I’m good.” Caelan stared at the phone. “I’ll give you their location when I see the video.”

“You do that, kid. We’re all counting on you.” It was the first time I didn’t hear annoyance in Vinnie’s tone when he was speaking to Caelan.

The call ended and we sat in silence for a few seconds.

“We should move to your room, girlfriend.” Francine got up and tilted her head to my viewing room.

“Why?” I didn’t want all these people in my room. Already the team room felt crowded.

“You have more monitors. I have access to the GIPN team’s vest cams. We can keep an eye on the hunting footage as well as where Daniel, Vinnie and the others are.”

“I don’t want to know how you got that access.” Manny got up and walked to my viewing room.

It became clear that I didn’t have an option in this and I followed them. Francine was already sitting in the chair next to mine, working on my computer and opening different windows on each monitor. Manny and Judith stood in front of the antique-looking cabinets. Caelan was behind me as Colin and I walked into my room.

We sat down and Caelan walked to the other side of Francine and stood there, rocking slightly. No one spoke. Split across the four monitors in the centre, the digital clock of the hunting site counted down from six minutes and twenty-two seconds. The surrounding monitors displayed live footage from the cameras attached to each GIPN team member’s vest.

It was a few minutes before four in the afternoon. Summer in France meant that the sun was still high, giving us a good view of the team’s surroundings. I counted three SUVs parked deep in the woods. The team members were talking quietly, the tension visible in all their bodies.

A shot of adrenaline went through me when I saw Vinnie on the second top monitor. Each monitor displayed the date, time, camera number and team member’s name. That was how I knew Vinnie was speaking to Daniel. Vinnie nodded and took his phone from one of the many side pockets in his black cargo pants. He swiped the screen and lifted the device to his ear.

I jerked in surprise when Colin’s phone rang. He answered it, looking at the monitor. “Vin.”

“Dude. Have you got something for us?” Vinnie’s voice was clear over the system. The equipment GIPN used was of superior quality.

“Not yet. We’re in Jenny’s room and watching you guys on her monitors.”

Vinnie looked startled for a millisecond, then looked directly into the camera on Daniel’s vest. “Cool. It’ll be good to have extra eyes on this.”

“I think we should keep an open line.”

“Good idea.” Vinnie opened another pocket on his pants and took out a cordless earpiece. In his left ear was an earpiece I
assumed was from the GIPN team. He put his phone earpiece in his right ear and put the phone back in a pocket. “We’re good to go.”

“One minute,” Francine said softly. “When this is done, I’m finding a way to bypass all Tor security. This will not happen again.”

Determination hardened her face. This case had shown us many weaknesses in our abilities. I didn’t have time to ponder on this any longer. The clock turned into a paper target and the centre exploded in a bad attempt at special effects, sending fake blood splatter all over the screen.

Colin touched my arm, his hand warm. “Breathe, Jenny.”

I took a shuddering breath, but stopped when woods filled the four centre monitors. The next second a young man ran away from the camera into the shadows the tall trees provided.

“Where are they, lad?”

Caelan stared at the monitors, his breathing erratic. “I don’t know. I don’t know. Siberia contains around twenty percent of the world’s forests.”

“Oh, hell. Doc, work with him.”

I couldn’t. I could barely hold on to my own control as I recognised the young man running through the woods. Michael was wearing the same type of running shoes as I’d seen on the other students. He also displayed all the same nonverbal cues of fear. This young man was Nikki’s friend, called her Nikkidee and tolerated her teasing. I liked him.

“Doc!”

“Jenny, we need you.” Colin squeezed my arm and I nodded.

I didn’t take my eyes from the monitor. “Caelan, don’t look at the person running. You said you prefer looking at landscapes. Look at the landscape. Tell me what you see.”

“Trees. Shadows to the right. He’s running—” The barrel of a gun came into view, the sound of the shot loud in the room. Michael stumbled, his hand grasping his shoulder. “Neptune is the coldest planet!”

Caelan keened, his eyes tightly shut. I was equally tempted to give in to the darkness that was closing in on me. But Michael needed us. “Caelan. Where are they? Where is Michael?”

He shook his head, rocking back and forth. He mumbled something and I thought he was in a complete shutdown. When he repeated himself over and over again, relief stole my breath.

“They are in the southwest corner.” I took the printed map Francine had brought and pointed to the exact location. “It was the second location Caelan identified. He said that tree looked like the letter B.”

“Vin, did you get that?” Colin’s voice held urgency.

“We’re on our way. It’s going to take us about five minutes.”

“Please stay alive.” Francine clutched her hands in front of her in a praying gesture. “They’re coming, Michael. Just stay alive.”

Michael was running fast. Faster than most of the other students I’d seen. He leapt over fallen logs, zig-zagging the whole time, making himself a difficult target. The breathing coming from the hunter was increasing as he followed Michael. He made just as much noise racing through the woods as Michael. It would make them easier to find. I hoped Dukwicz and the hunter were so focussed on the hunt they would not hear Vinnie and the team until Michael was safe.

Caelan’s keening stilled, but he was still rocking. He shuffled closer and I glanced at him. He was looking at the screen, biting his bottom lip, his face pale. He moved a bit closer and put a shaky index finger on the map. “They’re here. Moving north.”

Colin immediately relayed the co-ordinates to Vinnie. The vest cams showed them still in the vehicles, racing along a dirt
road. The visibility from the last vehicle was very low because of the dust being kicked up by the SUVs in front, but the driver didn’t slow down.

Another shot sounded through the room and I jerked. On the centre monitors, Michael was holding his side, a deep red circle developed on the skin under his hand. It slowed him down, but he continued running, moving more erratically than before. I pulled my legs onto the chair and hugged them hard against my chest.

Caelan retreated until his back was against the wall and he slid down into a sitting position, similar to mine. But he was no longer looking at the monitors. He dropped his head onto his knees and bounced his back off the wall.

“They’re there.” Francine pointed at the top monitor. “Look. Daniel can see them.”

A shudder went through my body as two men jogged past Daniel. Their body language indicated their attention to be totally focussed on Michael. The tallest man was easy to recognise. I had been looking for him for the last six months. He’d been in my bedroom. He’d terrorised me in the shop. Dukwicz was wearing camouflage pants and a dark green t shirt, a rifle slung over his shoulder.

The other man was shorter, stockier. He was running at a comfortable pace, not racing after Michael. The short moment I had to look at his face was enough to see his enjoyment. He was having fun chasing an innocent student through the woods, shooting him with rubber bullets.

I looked at the monitor displaying Vinnie’s vest cam. He was not near Dukwicz and the hunter. He seemed to be running much faster than anyone, as if wanting to reach a certain point before the others. His running slowed and his breathing became more audible. “Dude, have you got eyes?”

“They’re still making their way north, Vin. I don’t have a visual on Michael.”

The next moment, Michael ran into the view of Vinnie’s camera. He saw Vinnie and his eyes stretched with fear. He tried to swerve away from Vinnie, but didn’t make it in time. Vinnie caught him and held on. I didn’t know if Michael had met Vinnie. If he had, he’d obviously not recognised him. The stark fear on Michael’s face told me he expected to die at Vinnie’s hand.

“Calm down, kid. I’m here to help.”

The struggle was up close, giving us only glimpses of Michael wrestling for freedom. Vinnie grabbed both Michael’s hands and pulled him in so close, the camera only showed the young man’s shoulder. “I’m Nikki’s friend. We need to get you out of here before—”

A loud shot rang out and Vinnie grunted. He pushed Michael away from him with a loud, “Run!” The camera shuddered and slowly moved downwards, briefly showing Michael running as fast as he could. The image jerked when Vinnie landed on the ground. He grunted again. “Son of a…”

“Well, well, well. Aren’t you just making my day fun.” The familiar accented voice brought ice-cold fear into my chest. Black boots came into view and kicked Vinnie’s chest. “Hurts like a motherfucker, doesn’t it? Your back is going to have a huge bruise thanks to that Kevlar vest. Not that you’d see it. You know, I’ve never had a problem shooting someone in the back. But for the kill shot, I think I’ll look you in the eye.”