Vulture and cobra team entered the separate warehouses, first making sure the coast was clear before they proceeded into the buildings. Mayo and Flores walked up to a shipment of oil drums that was about to be put in crates with a shipping manifest. "Lonestar Energies. They're based in Corpus Christi, Texas."
"Where are they sending the oil?" Flores asked.
"Corpus Christi, Texas," Mayo replied.
Flores radioed Julia and Colby. "Hale, Levine come in."
"Reading you loud and clear," Julia radioed back.
"Turns out our oil company is American after all."
"It is?"
"Lonestar Energies, based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Fitting name for an oil company based in Texas."
"You won't bet." Julia radioed her other team mates. "Cobra team, have you found anything in your warehouse yet?"
"Nothing yet vulture team."
"Roger that."
**********
Mike kept pacing on the bridge as he listened to the radio conversations between vulture team and cobra team and from time to time he would look out of the window in the direction of the Saudi coastline. Danny Green kept looking at him concerned. "Admiral, our land teams will be alright."
"I hear you XO." Nothing anyone could say could calm his nerves knowing his daughter was out there in potential danger.
Julia walked up to a small office and opened the door while Hale searched through the rest of the top floor. Inside the office was a desk, a computer and two steel filing cabinets. She opened them to find a bunch of files inside with information regarding the oil company and the shipping company and some company papers. She paged through them one by one. "Dammit...USS Chandler do you read me?"
"Reading you loud and clear lieutenant," Mike replied on the radio.
"You won't believe what I found."
"What did you find?"
"The shipping company that ships the oil to the United States belongs to none other than king Nasser Noorani."
"Roger that lieutenant." Mike hung up the receiver and looked out of the window again in the direction of the Saudi shore. "That son of a bitch." He then turned around to step off the bridge for a brief moment.
"This is cobra team, we found some more evidence. Information is too sensitive to discuss over the radio. We will brief Admiral Slattery as soon as we are back on the Chandler."
Kara took the receiver of the ham radio and pressed the button to speak. "Roger that cobra team."
"Where's Admiral Slattery?"
"He left the bridge cobra team."
"Cobra team, this is vulture team, let's head back to the ship," Cabrera spoke over the radio.
"Roger that vulture team," cobra team replied back.
Moments later they all gathered at the docks to leave for the USS Chandler when they noticed Julia wasn't there. Cabrera took his radio to hail her. "Lieutenant Levine, do you read me, over?" Cabrera looked at Hale who seemed very worried. "She was supposed to be with you. Where is she?"
"I decided for us to split up and search the upper floor," Hale replied.
"We weren't supposed to split up. We were supposed to stay together and have each other's backs. Dammit Hale! I'm going to look for her. If I can't find her you are going to explain to Admiral Slattery why his daughter didn't return with us to the ship."
Almost an hour later Cabrera returned partly worried but also furious. "Any luck?" Hale asked concerned.
"No, get in the RHIB. You have a lot of explaining to do. As soon as we are on the Chandler, you go straight to Admiral Slattery and inform him his daughter is missing and we cannot find her. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir."
**********
Mike was waiting for the crew to return from their search mission and watched as they entered the helo bay. A frown formed on his face when he noticed that Julia wasn't there and he immediately turned his focus on Cabrera who was responsible for the land teams. "Lieutenant Cabrera?"
"Sir..."
"Where's Lieutenant Levine?"
Hale walked up to Mike, a nervous wreck. "Sir... Admiral..." His heart was pounding in his chest at the speed of a runaway train as he went to stand in front of Mike.
"Officer Hale..."
Just Mike's sheer height and size was enough to make him want to run for the hills, but the problem for him was that there was only one way off the ship. "It was my idea we split up and I lost her. Lieutenant Cabrera went to look for her, but he couldn't find her."
Mike tried to remain as calm as possible in an attempt not to bite Hale's head off and also to calm his nerves. "You lost my daughter?"
"Sir...Admiral...I'm sorry. We were instructed to form groups, and I did not follow the instructions."
"Damn it Hale..."
"I'm really sorry sir."
"Cabrera, we need to go and find my daughter."
"Yes sir."
**********
Julia came to in an empty office with just a table and a chair inside. She had a split headache and held her hand over her head. There was a bump on her head that was sensitive to the touch and she winced as she slightly pressed on it. "Where the hell am I?" She got up from the floor and stumbled to the door to open it only to find it locked. It only dawned on her then that she was taken hostage and locked up to prevent her from escaping. "Shit." She scanned the room which was nothing but dark grey walls and carpeted floors. She then noticed the surveillance camera facing the window and the door. She looked directly at the camera. "Hey, is this some kind of a joke or what? Come and let me out!" She looked around the place again and then at the window and the chair standing by the table. "Why didn't I think of it. Window versus chair."
She picked up the chair and smashed it against the window only to realize that it was bulletproof safety glass. She then looked at the camera again. "Let me out you son of a bitch!"
**********
Julia was asleep on the floor for a while when the door suddenly unlocked from the outside and opened. A tall, dark and handsome man in his thirties dressed in an steel gray Armani suit entered the room and closed the door behind him. "Miss Slattery..."
She was still fuzzy and sore from sleeping on the floor and gazed sleepily at the stranger standing in front of her dressed to the nines. He was ridiculously good looking and his dark hair was neatly combed back. The absence of a beard struck her too and his face was finely chiseled like that of a demi-god. How did he know what her last name was? "You are?"
"The king of Saudi Arabia."
Julia frowned for a moment not quite sure who he was. "I'm sorry...I didn't get your name king of Saudi Arabia."
"I'm king Nasser Noorani."
Julia almost choked as she was taken by surprise. So that was the man her father and the crew of the USS Chandler was after. "You are a king? I figured you would look different."
"Yes Miss Slattery. Get up, we need to go."
She looked at him confused. "Where are you taking me?"
"It doesn't matter. Come on. Let's go." Nasser held the door open for her and when she stepped outside she realized that she was in what looked like a basement. She looked up at the ceiling and from the pipes suspended from the ceiling it was evident. Nasser paused in his tracks and turned to face Julia. "Okay, you're not locked up in the office anymore. Now take off your clothes."
"Sorry?" Julia asked with a frown and someone peeved.
"You heard me."
"What for? So you can perv over me? I don't think so."
He suddenly lashed out at her and pushed her against the wall facing it. He went to stand against her from behind with his face inches away from her neck. "Miss Slattery, are you going to do as I say or do you want me to rip your clothes off for you."
"Ooh kinky," she replied with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"Come on. I don't have time to wait. And none of that kinky stuff you think. If you're not going to do as I say I'm just going to have to tie you to the ceiling clothes and all. Not like we would need it again anyway." He took a rope from the table and tied a noose around her hands before he pulled them before he threw the loose end over the beam and secured the rope again with a tight jerk.
"Hey take it easy. Not all of us girls like it rough," Julia said in a sarcastic manner.
Noorani just shook his head and looked at her. "You have a really dirty mind Miss Slattery."
Julia chuckled. "Dirty is my second name. And I told you I'm not a Miss anymore."
Noorani turned to face her and looked at her unimpressed. "So what did you find?"
"Maybe I'll tell you if you let me get kinky with you. You know my hands tied up like this kind of brings out the bad girl in me."
"That's not going to happen. And you know it as well as I do."
"If you let me loose I will tell."
"Nice try Miss Slattery. You are up to something. I can tell. Now tell me, what did you find?"
"Nothing really. Only a bunch of useless documents. Didn't give us much info."
"Why are you here?"
"My guess is as good as yours. We were told it was top secret. Only the President knows. I guess."
**********
Julia tried to scream, but the piece of cloth Nasser tied over her mouth prevented her from doing so. Her wrists started to hurt from the rope tied around it. He eventually removed the cloth from her mouth and she begged him to loosen it up a little bit. "Please. Let me go. Why are you still keeping me here? I told you everything I know."
"Because I need some information from you, and you're not playing along as well as I hoped. All you are doing is trying to seduce me. It won't work. Looks like I am going to have to torture it out of you." Noorani jerked the rope tightening the noose around her wrists even tighter. She let out a cry of pain when it felt like it was about to cut through her wrists.
Mike and Cabrera entered the warehouse where Julia was last seen. First making sure the coast was clear before they proceeded. They both were about to go up the stairs to the upper level of the warehouse when Mike heard Julia's muffled screams from behind the doorway leading to the basement. "Julia!"
Julia looked up for a moment and kept quiet when she thought she heard her father calling for her. And then she heard him again outside.
"Julia!"
She screamed as hard as she could from the top of her lungs. Mike followed the sounds of her screams and followed the stairs down to the basement where she was tied up. Nasser was standing behind her with a carving knife in his hands. Mike came to a standstill and looked at his daughter tied with her hands to the pipes. He stopped dead in his tracks when Nasser came out of the dark shadows behind Julia. "Admiral Slattery, you're just in time."
"For what?" Mike raised his gun and aimed it at Nasser.
"You really want to kill the king of Saudi Arabia now Admiral?"
"If I have to protect my daughter I will."
Nasser chuckled. "To protect your daughter? You know it can cost you dearly Admiral Slattery."
"I'd pay with my life to protect my own flesh and blood if that's what you're suggesting."
"Well we'll see about that." Nasser took the carving knife and was just about to cut Julia when Mike fired a warning shot. Just then Cabrera also came rushing down the stairs.
"Drop the knife. Now!" Cabrera rushed up to Nasser and pulled him away from Julia before he tied his hands behind his back with a piece of cable tie. He then proceeded to untie Julia's hands.
As soon as she was free Julia ran up to her father and embraced him. "Thank you for coming to save me. I was so scared you might never find me."