Heather rented an Airbnb for herself and the team Marcus assembled, which, according to him, were "the best in the state." Yet when they arrived, she couldn't help but blink in disbelief. All she saw were Chinese men, ranging in age from seasoned veterans to fresh-faced rookies. Heather's gaze shifted from one to the next, silently sizing them up like she was solving a puzzle. They didn't fit the image she'd conjured, but she kept her thoughts to herself and turned toward her laptop. Marcus had already briefed them about the situation.
Heather sat down and typed furiously on her computer. Her plan was straightforward, she was hacking into the police database. While she wasn't exactly proud of her ability to break into secure systems, it was a skill she'd picked up years ago as a teenager, trying to unlock her dad's internet restriction settings to binge-watch her favorite series. It was laughable then, but now, those years of tinkering were becoming a lifeline.
She entered the license plate number: XZB-7491. Just as the officer at the precinct had said earlier, there was no match in the state's database.
"Try another state," one of the team members suggested, his accent heavy. His name was Wei Jian, and he seemed to be the group's leader.
Heather nodded, taking his advice. She typed the number into another state's search. Nothing. She tried a third state. Still, nothing.
"There's no match in three states now," Heather muttered, her frustration bubbling over. "I can't keep trying every state."
Wei Jian leaned forward thoughtfully. "Can you think of anything that connects you to any state? Maybe the napper has been tracking you from somewhere?"
Heather frowned deeply. "I have connections with a lot of states."
"Let me see that for a second." Wei Jian moved closer, gesturing toward the screen as he stood beside her.
Heather yielded, leaning back as he entered the plate number again. "What about New River Heights?" she suggested and he typed it into the system.
"Nothing," Wei Jian murmured after a moment.
Heather sighed and crossed her arms. "Try Clear Valley."
He typed, his expression tightening as the database returned empty again. "Nope."
"This is a waste of time, honestly," one of the younger men, Sheng, said from across the table.
Heather narrowed her eyes. "Well, can you think of anything better?"
Sheng shook his head, he held up his hands in surrender.
Wei Jian suddenly leaned forward again. "Quality Town."
Heather straightened. "Quality Town?"
Wei Jian typed rapidly, and after a tense pause, he grinned. "Found a match."
Heather shot out of her seat so quickly she nearly knocked over her chair. "Where exactly?"
Wei Jian pointed at the screen, his grin widening. "32 West Meadow Lane."
"We've got the napper," Marcus said, his voice filled with relief.
Heather exhaled sharply, relief washing over her. She had been teetering on the edge of defeat, questioning whether it was worth stepping outside the law to get a lead, but her curiosity about Alex's captor pushed her forward. She didn't want to sit back while the captain waited for a ransom call, she wanted answers now. And she wanted to deal with whoever had stolen her son personally.
"We're going to QT," Heather announced.
Hours later, Heather stepped down the stairs of her private jet, inhaling the crisp, cool air of Quality Town. It was nicknamed "Napping Town" by Sheng, for its sleepy, rural vibe, but Heather wasn't here for tranquility. Marcus and her crew followed closely behind as she climbed into her car, with Marcus taking the wheel. She had brought fifteen bodyguards, not because she thought she needed that many, but because she wasn't taking any chances.
When they arrived, Heather stepped out cautiously. She adjusted her sunglasses, pulling them down slightly to confirm what she saw.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sheng muttered under his breath.
A car rental?
Heather's jaw tightened. The address led them to a car rental establishment. The license plate they were chasing belonged to a rental car. Why would someone go through all this effort, using a rental car, to kidnap Alex and Asher? Heather clenched her fists around her sunglasses. Whoever they were dealing with wasn't an amateur. This wasn't some simple ransom scheme. The meticulous planning, the resources, it was too much for a beginner. Did the culprit plan to keep the children? But why?
"See anything you like?" a man called out as he approached them from the rental office. The place looked empty, so his approach wasn't uncalled for.
Heather ignored his attempt at humor. "I'd like to speak to your manager."
"You're looking at him," the man replied, his grin not faltering.
Heather straightened. "Can you show me to your office? This is urgent."
The man glanced at the line of bodyguards behind her, raising his brow slightly before nodding. He gestured for her to follow, but Heather motioned for Marcus alone to come with her.
Inside, the office was cluttered but functional, and Heather wasted no time. She sat across from the man. "A few days ago, my son, alongside another child, was taken from his school."
The manager's face fell slightly. "I'm so sorry to hear that. But how does this connect to me?"
Heather leaned forward, her voice low. "The car that was used in the kidnapping had this plate number…" She handed him a note with XZB-7491 scrawled across it.
The man furrowed his brow as he glanced at the note. "XZB-7491?" He shook his head. "I've never heard of it, or seen it."
Marcus raised an eyebrow skeptically. "The car was rented from your establishment."
The man shrugged. "There are so many plates like this... it could be from anywhere."
"We ran it through the police database," Marcus pressed. "It only matched here."
The man glanced around, his movements jittery, as though he was searching for an escape route. Heather caught the shift in his demeanor and leaned closer. "I'm not here to arrest you."