Chapter 10: Medicine Man

Conner traveled inside a van with Ed and the Russian agents. He knew Ed was unconscious, as he was lying on the floor.

The two agents spoke in Russian. Fortunately, Conner also spoke Russian.

“We took him easily. He’s not much of an agent,” said agent #1 in Russian.

“Da. Or he wanted to be captured. Last time he escaped from our warehouse. We should be cautious of him.”

“Did you scan him for tracking devices?”

“Da. He’s clean. No one will track him this time.”

“Let’s hope so.”

A while later, they arrived at a farmhouse. It was on acreage and remote from other houses.

The two agents carried Ed inside. Conner floated up to get his bearings. Once he had the location, he sped back to town.

Ellen was resting in nurse Hope’s spare room. She was glad that she could convince her to switch sides.

Conner floated through the wall and approached Ellen.

“Ellen, Ed’s in trouble. I need your help!” said Conner.

“Conner, is that you? I can’t hear you well, and you look fuzzy.”

Conner reached out and held/touched her hand.

“Can you hear me better now?” he asked.

“Yes, much better.”

“Ed’s in trouble. I need you to pass on a message for me.”

“Okay. Let me get a pen and paper.”

A moment later, she was ready.

“Please Call Noah Johnson at the office of US Public Affairs. You can look up the phone number. Tell him Russian agents have abducted Ed. They have him at this address,” said Conner. He told her the address of the farm.

Ellen picked up the phone in her room. She had to call the operator, as she didn’t have her phone, a directory, or access to the internet.

A few minutes later, she hung up.

“Conner, they told me they’ll pass on the message to Noah Johnson.”

“Good! I’ll check on Ed,”

Soon, Conner left.

At the CIA office, Noah Johnson received a strange message. Fortunately, he was used to getting strange messages. He picked up a red phone.

“Assemble two teams, send them to this address. We need to extract a US asset from Russian agents. Priority that he is unharmed. Bring him back here to me,” he said.

“What about the Russian agents? They’re active in our backyard.”

“If they’re nice, send them home. If not, make them disappear.”

“Yes, Sir!”

As branch chief, he didn’t go out on raids. He sent others. He wondered why the Russians had an interest in Ed. He’d have to ask Ed when he got the chance.

Conner flew across the rooftops back to the farmhouse.

When he arrived, he searched the house until he found Ed locked in a cellar, still unconscious.

“Ed! Can you hear me?”

Ed stirred. He looked up to discover Conner staring at him.

“What happened?”

“Russian agents jumped you in your parking garage. They brought you here.”

“Not again!”

“Unfortunately yes. I got Ellen to call Noah. Help is on the way.”

“That’s good. I’ll just wait here until they arrive.”

“If pressed, they might kill you or try to use you to negotiate. If you could escape or hide, it would increase your chance of survival.”

Ed lifted his head and examined the room.

“There’s one exit, and the Russians are waiting behind the door.”

“Try to find a hiding spot. It might buy you enough time to survive.”

Ed pulled himself to a sitting position. His head still felt the effects of the drug used on him. He groaned.

This was exactly what he’d tried to avoid. Since knowing Conner, the Russian agents had abducted him twice.

Within an hour, two CIA teams stormed the farmhouse. The Russians were ill-prepared for such an attack, and they were soon defeated.

A few minutes later, an armed person entered the cellar.

“Is your name Ed Tanner?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Can you walk? You’re to come with me.”

Ed struggled to stand, and with a little help, he left.

They packed him into a dark SUV, which sped him back to the city.

Ed noticed Conner had gone.

The CIA agents guided Ed without incident to the usual meeting room.

Soon, Noah Johnson entered the room.

“Hello again, Ed. Seems like you’ve been busy,” he said.

“I think it’s fallout from the last time. Perhaps you didn’t get them all.”

“Well, we got them this time.”

“I hope so. This is getting tedious.”

“Did you get any intel from them?”

“No. They drugged me. I was unconscious.”

“They were Russian nationals, with diplomatic passports. Which means they were Russian agents.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You should go home and rest. I’ll arrange a car to take you home and make sure there are no more agents waiting for you.”

“Thank you. I never intended for things to become this messy.”

Noah and Ed stood. Noah escorted him to an agent at the front, who walked with him to the parkade. They got into another dark SUV. Ed was unsure if it was the same one.

The CIA agent delivered Ed to his apartment complex and walked him to the front door.

After the CIA agent left, Ed went down to the parking garage. He found his phone on the floor beside his car. Fortunately, it was still working, and he had a message from his sister.

Ed went upstairs and entered his apartment.

Conner was there, waiting for him.

“Hello, Conner. Thank you for saving me.”

“No problem. It’s in my best interest to keep you alive and well. You’re important to me. I need you to pass on messages to Noah.”

“What about Ellen?”

“She had trouble seeing and hearing me. It was a struggle to pass the message. Honestly, I don’t know if she will continue to see me.”

“Oh. She didn’t get hit on the head, whereas I can see and hear you clearly.”

“Yes. And I’ve enjoyed working with you on projects. We got rid of that predator, for example.”

“But I want to avoid danger. No more abductions.”

“That wasn’t my fault. They came after you. I saved you.”

“True. Well, I’m tired. I must sleep, and then I have to explain my absence at work tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Ed.”

Conner vanished.

Soon, Ed was asleep in bed.

The next morning, Ellen Morgan contacted her lawyer. She explained that someone had abducted her and kept her in a drug-induced coma. She suspected it was to prevent her from claiming her inheritance.

“I must present myself at the solicitors for the estate of my grandfather. I believe another person is behind this. They tried to prevent me from appearing,” she said.

“Miss Morgan, I can arrange for a security detail to pick you up from your current location and take you to your meeting.”

“That would be helpful.” Ellen gave him her current address.

“Also, I have contacts at the DA’s office. If we can substantiate your claims, I will start criminal proceedings against those responsible.”

“I’ll need the help of a private detective. They can start by interviewing the nurse who I’m staying with and follow the chain.”

“I’ll make all the arrangements once I end this call. Your security detail and a detective will arrive soon.”

Ellen hung up the call. She expected a busy day ahead.

Midmorning, Ellen Morgan arrived at the solicitors for the estate of her grandfather.

“I’m surprised to see you. I was told you’d decided not to appear,” said the solicitor.

“You were misinformed.”

“In that case, per your late grandfather’s will, you inherit the entire estate. The only condition was that you arrive to claim it.”

The next step involved extensive paperwork. Ellen signed many forms and became the owner of various estates and properties.

Later, Ellen asked the solicitor, “who told you I’d decided not to appear?”

“Your cousin, the next in line to inherit, in case you failed to appear.”

“Thank you.”

Ellen left the solicitors with keys to her new property. She now owned a large mansion with grounds.