Brett Battles - Little Girl Gone

There was nothing at first, not even footsteps. For a second, he thought that maybe Aaron had already finished and gone back inside. Then Logan heard a foot kick at the concrete almost directly below him. Involuntarily, he pulled back a few inches.

“Yeah, yeah…okay,” Aaron said. “No problems at all…yeah, I’m sure…okay, okay…we’ll see you in a few hours, then.”

Logan heard the muffled tone of the call being disconnected. There was some movement, then a scratching sound followed by the intake of a breath. A second later, he caught the whiff of cigarette smoke.

Aaron took a few steps, then stopped. Logan could hear him blow out a stream of smoke. Suddenly, he was enveloped in its cloud, and had to choke off a cough.

“Who’s up there?” Aaron asked, surprised.

Dammit.

Logan ducked into the dining car, intending to rush back to his bed, and get behind his privacy curtain in case Aaron came looking for him. But he only made it halfway across the empty dining car, before the train started rolling again. He tottered to his right, and grabbed the nearest table to keep from falling down, then started on his way again. He was just moving around the snack counter into the narrow passageway, when he heard the door behind him open.

“Hey, you!” Aaron yelled.

There was no way he would get into his berth now. That left him two choices: keep going until he reached the end of the train, or stay in the dining car where there was no one but the two of them. Either way he sensed was a confrontation in his future. And while he liked his odds no matter where it happened, it would be best, he thought, if they weren’t surrounded by sleeping passengers.

Having walked the train a dozen times already, he knew there was a little nook at the backside of the kitchen near the exit to the next car.

He raced down the passageway, took the sharp left that marked the end of the kitchen, then tucked himself into the nook.

Five seconds later, Aaron blew passed him, then stopped at the car door without opening it. It was easy to imagine what was going through his head. I didn’t hear it open .

That’s right, Logan thought. You didn’t.

Aaron’s youth was his downfall. Once he realized he’d been tricked, he whipped around so he could figure out where Logan had hid. What he didn’t expect was that Logan had silently slipped out of the nook, and was standing two feet behind him.

“What the hell?” Aaron shouted, jerking back.

“Aaron Hughes?” Logan asked.

Aaron’s eyes widened, confirming what Logan had already assumed.

“Hello, Aaron,” Logan said. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Logan Harper.”

Aaron stared at him confused. “Harper? Harper. You’re…you’re that guy.” Though he had never seen Logan before, he’d obviously heard his name from Ryan or Angie back in Los Angeles.

“I’m that guy,” Logan confirmed, then hit him in the jaw.

Aaron stumbled backwards into the wall, and fell to one knee. He wasn’t out, but he was definitely shaken up.

Logan grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his feet.

Aaron took a swing, but Logan easily moved out of the way, and grabbed Aaron’s wrist, using its momentum to guide the kid’s fist into the wall. There was a satisfying crunch.

Aaron yelped out in pain, then tried to swing at Logan with his other hand. Logan decided it was time to do him a favor. He twisted Aaron around, then put his arm around the kid’s throat and cut off his air just long enough for Aaron to slip into unconsciousness.

It really wasn’t a fair fight from the beginning. Logan had had years of military training and experience, plus the element of surprise. Aaron had maybe a year or two as a cocky bastard in high school, and little else.

It was Aaron’s own fault it had even happened, though. Logan hadn’t wanted to fight him in the first place. Aaron didn’t have to chase him after he’d heard Logan cough. He could have let it go, and assumed Logan was just someone out getting a little fresh air in the middle of the night. It would have sure made a hell of a lot more sense from his point of view than finding the guy who’d been snooping around looking for Elyse back in L.A.

Logan dragged him down the passageway, and laid him on the floor behind the snack counter. It was only a temporary solution, but it was out of sight in case anyone else came by on a late night stroll.

He then went and woke Daeng.

“My turn already?” Daeng said as he opened his eyes.

“I need your help.”

“Now?”

“Yeah. Now would be good.”

Logan led him back to Aaron. The kid was still lying on the floor, not having moved an inch.

“Is he dead?”

“No.”

Daeng glanced at Logan. “This isn’t exactly keeping a low profile.”

“I thought we could use this to our advantage.”

“This should be interesting.”

“The train’s got to stop again in the next hour or so, right?” Logan said. “I was thinking that might be a good time for Aaron to get off, and forget to get back on. Do you know anyone in this part of the country?”

“I know people in all parts of the country.”

Logan had hoped as much. “Someone who could meet us in the middle of the night, and take possession of our friend here?”

Daeng looked at Aaron for a moment. “That could be arranged.”

“Excellent.” Between Daeng and Dev, Logan was creating a network of people stashers. Whatever it took, he guessed.

“His friends are going to come looking for him,” Daeng said.

Logan shook his head. “Not until morning.”

“You can’t count on that.”

“They were drinking, so I gotta think they’re going to be out for a while.”

“What about him?” Daeng asked. “He wasn’t sleeping.”

“True,” Logan conceded. “We should put him someplace out of sight until we hand him off. One of the bathrooms would work. And while we’re waiting I’ll see if he’s up for a chat.”

Daeng let out a quick, low laugh. “I wouldn’t mind having a man like you working with me. Maybe we should talk when we’re done with this.”

Logan moved around, and got his hands under Aaron’s shoulders. “Help me carry him.”

34

Logan tied Aaron to the toilet with some twine they found behind the snack counter, then closed himself in the bathroom with him. Daeng was still working on finding someone to meet up with them while also standing guard in the passageway in case any of Aaron’s buddies showed up.

Once Logan was satisfied the kid wouldn’t be able to break his bonds, he slapped him across the face a couple of times. Finally, Aaron groaned, and his head lulled back, then his eyes opened.

When he saw Logan, he tensed. “You have no idea who you’re messing with. Let me go. Now!”

“You know, Mr. Williams, or was it Mr. Dean? Anyway, one of them said something similar to me when I had them tied up in Santa Monica. And yet, I’m still here.”

There was a flicker of surprise in Aaron’s eyes.

“And if I remember correctly,” Logan went on, “your friend Ryan said I should have let him go, too, not long before he died in front of me last night.”

Aaron couldn’t let that one go. “What are you talking about?”

Logan shrugged. “He decided not to cooperate.”

“You’re lying.”

“Really? Did he show up back at your place on the river after his shift was over? You know the one I mean. That space you sanitized with one of your friends before heading for the train.”

Aaron stared at him.

“You left in a cab, dropped your friend off, then took two duffle bags to a deserted building and had them burned. Come on, you remember this, right?”

Aaron was gaping now.

“Then that meeting you had in a fourteenth floor office? And the guy you met with, you know where he went after?”

“Stop,” Aaron said, his voice a whisper. “They’re going to kill me.”

“Actually, I’m not going to give them that satisfaction,” Logan told him.

Aaron stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you might die, but it won’t be at their hands. It’s the age old choice, Aaron. Answer my questions truthfully and you live. Don’t and I throw you off the train.” Before the kid could respond, Logan added, “You may not believe Ryan’s dead right now, but you’ll certainly believe it the second you’re flying through the air before your head smacks into the ground.” He paused. “Where’s the girl?”

“I don’t know what you’re—”

“Don’t be stupid, Aaron. Where is she?”

Aaron seemed to be assessing his options, so Logan gave him a moment, knowing if he were halfway smart, he’d realize he only had one. Finally, he said, “Chiang Mai. Or should be by now.”

“How did they get her there?”

“Drove. By van.”

That made sense. If they were going to transport her that far, it was the only means they could use that would avoid unnecessary questions. The clean up crew could just take the overnight train to join them.

“Why Chiang Mai?”

Aaron’s mouth twisted like he was trying to keep his lips from parting. With effort, he said, “It’s where the hand over is supposed to happen.”

Logan’s skin grew cold. “What hand over?”

“I don’t know the answer to that. I swear. Mr. Andrews is in charge. I’m just one of the team.”

Just one of the team. The words made Logan want to belt Aaron as hard as he could, to hell with whether Aaron would be able to talk again or not. And to hell with whatever damage it would do to Logan’s hand. Aaron was distancing himself from responsibility, and that was something Logan could never stand. But he held it in, pushing his anger down to where he could save it for later, if needed.

“What time is this supposed to happen?” he asked.

“Sometime tomorrow…uh…I mean, later today. I don’t know the exact time. We’re getting picked up at the station, and then we’re supposed to go help get things ready.”

“Where?”

Aaron shook his head. “Only Mr. Andrews knows.”

“Where?” Logan repeated, his hand clinching into a fist.

“I don’t know! I swear to God! ”

As annoyed as it made Logan feel, he was pretty sure Aaron was telling the truth. “At the meeting on your way to the train station, what did the man give you?”

“Give me?”

“Don’t even try to lie. We were watching, remember?”

“An envelope,” Aaron said quickly. “He gave me an envelope.”

“What was inside it?”

“I have no idea.”

“You didn’t look?”

“Why should I? It’s not for me.”

“Who’s it for then?”

“Mr. Andrews. I’m supposed to give it to him when I see him.”

“Where is it now?”

“In…in my cabin.”

“Where exactly?”

“The front pocket of my backpack.”

Logan made him describe the backpack, then go over everything again just in case he could catch him in a lie or shake something new loose. But Aaron’s answers remained the same. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s me,” Daeng said.

Logan opened it a crack.

“We’re nearing the station.”

“You got someone to meet him?” Logan asked.

“All set.”

“How long until we get there?”

“Five minutes.”

Logan shut the door, and turned back to Aaron. “Sorry,” he said.

“Sorry about what?”

Moment later, Aaron was unconscious again.

35

The offloading of Aaron went smoothly. Afterwards, Logan and Daeng tried to get a few hours of sleep, then got up early, and were sitting in the dining car just a little past 6 a.m.