Chapter 6 Kelli inhaled sharply when the manhole cover above their heads shut out every scrap of light. She wasn't usually scared of the dark, but this was...all-encompassing. She couldn't see anything. She immediately began to shake. It started with her arms, then her legs, and before she knew it, her entire body was trembling. She'd never been so scared in her entire life. And now they were...what? Being held for ransom? It was ridiculous and unbelievable, and yet here they were. Her head throbbed where the guy had hit her, and she could feel the blood still oozing from the back of her head, down her neck, soaking into the coverup she was wearing. A small whimper left her mouth involuntarily. "Kelli?" She couldn't speak. Couldn't answer Flash. She felt paralyzed with fear and disbelief. "Where are-ow, fuck! I'm coming, hang on, sweetheart." The touch on her shoulder startled Kelli so bad, she literally gasped and wrenched away. Before her brain could process that it was Flash who'd touched her, and not the boogie man in the dark, she was in his arms. Closing her eyes-not that it mattered, she couldn't see anything with them open-Kelli held onto Flash with both arms and squeezed him as hard as she could. "It's okay. We're all right. We're going to get out of here. I give you my word." That made her feel better, even if a part of her deep down knew he couldn't promise any such thing. They'd been buried alive, and it was terrifying. "Come on, I want to look at your head." She couldn't help it. She snorted. "Look at it?" she mumbled against his chest. "Yeah, bad choice of words. But we need to stop the bleeding. Head wounds bleed like motherfuckers...Um, sorry. I tend to use more swear words when I'm stressed." At that, Kelli's head came up. She couldn't let go of the man she was clinging to as if she were a spider monkey, but out of instinct, she tried to look at him. "You're stressed?" she asked. It was his turn to snort. "Yeah. Stressed. Pissed off. Confused as fuck. Angry. Worried. Furious. All the adjectives you can think of. Come on, let's sit here." Kelli wanted to ask where, but before she could, Flash was lowering her down onto something metal. "It's one of the wheel humps," Flash told her, as if he could read the confusion in her body language. "I need you to let go of me for just a second. I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here. I'd never leave you alone. Understand? We're sticking together. Period." Swallowing hard, Kelli forced herself to drop her arms from around Flash's body. One hand still gripped the edge of his T-shirt. Even though there was no place for him to go, she still needed to keep contact with him. She couldn't even imagine what she'd be thinking or doing if she'd been dumped in here alone. "Does it hurt? Your head? Sorry, don't answer that-of course it does. Motherfucker clocked you good." She felt his fingers in her hair, gently probing. "Yeah, it's still bleeding. Damn, I wish I had my KA-BAR. I'm not sure I can rip my shirt without a knife or something." Kelli felt Flash's large hand cup the back of her head. It hurt for a moment, but then she leaned into his touch. Intellectually, she knew he was putting pressure on the gash, but feeling him cradle her head so intimately was incredibly soothing. He pulled her forward until her forehead was resting against her chest, as he did his best to stop the bleeding of her wound. Her arms went back around him, and she inhaled deeply. He smelled...sweaty. With a slight tang of river water. He definitely wasn't fresh and clean, but neither was she. And it wasn't as if they had any way of getting any cleaner. Their situation was beginning to sink in. They were in big trouble. Buried alive in a swath of jungle in the wilds of Jamaica. No one was going to notice a random manhole cover that was completely out of place in the middle of the woods. She was going to die here, which sucked. But all Kelli could think was that at least she wasn't alone. "We aren't dying here," Flash said, startling Kelli. "Stop reading my mind," she complained, mumbling against his chest. "Not hard to know what you're thinking," he told her. "There's no chance in hell my friends won't come to Jamaica to look for me when they get that fucking ransom request. Our kidnappers will find out who I am soon enough, when they open my wallet and find my Navy ID card. They'll think they hit the jackpot, that they might be able to get the government to pay for my return, but that's not going to happen. Everyone knows the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists, and while Heckle and Jeckle might think they've covered their tracks and no one will find us-they're wrong." He sounded so sure of himself. So positive that someone would find them. But Kelli wasn't nearly so confident. "We might need to be here a few days, but trust me when I tell you that we'll be out of here as soon as my friends can arrange it." Kelli nodded. Even if she didn't believe it, she wasn't going to disagree with him. "Heckle and Jeckle?" She asked the first thing that popped into her head. Flash chuckled, and Kelli could feel the laugh rumble through his body. "Yeah, they're cartoon magpies who cause problems for others and for themselves by their crazy actions. They're supposed to be funny, but I found the cartoon to be fairly violent. Then again, I guess that's kind of the nature of some of those older cartoons." He kept talking about his favorite episodes of the cartoon, and to her amazement, Kelli found his chatter about something so inane helped her relax. "I think the bleeding has slowed down. How do you feel? Are you dizzy? Nauseous? Have a headache?" It took Kelli a moment to realize that Flash had stopped talking about Heckle and Jeckle and was asking her questions. "I'm okay," she told him. She wasn't, but what was she supposed to say? It wasn't as if he had some painkillers in his pocket or he could get her to a doctor. "Right." Then he shocked the hell out of her by putting both hands on either side of her head and tilting it back. She felt his lips against her forehead, then he simply held her for a moment. She imagined he was staring at her, and if they had light, he'd be searching her eyes and facial expression to try to ferret out her true thoughts. "Thank you." "For what?" Kelli asked, confused. "For not making that fucked-up situation worse." She couldn't help it. She laughed. "I don't think it could've gotten any worse." "Of course it could've been worse," Flash said calmly. "You could've screamed, freaked out Heckle and Jeckle, and they might've shot one or both of us. They could've beaten the hell out of us, or killed one of us in the jungle, leaving the other in here alone. You did exactly what you should've done. Kept quiet and followed directions." "I thought it was always better to fight," Kelli said softly. "I've watched a few of those crime shows that are super popular on TV these days, and they always say that if you let someone take you somewhere in a car, that's the worst thing you can do. That you should fight." She felt Flash shrug. It was almost weird how, without sight, her other senses became so much sharper. "That's not always true. Every situation is different. Fighting an attacker or kidnapper could result in them killing you while trying to subdue you. Other times, fighting is your only chance of survival." "How do you know which is more appropriate?" Kelli asked. "Intuition." "Is that why you didn't do anything to take that gun away from the guy? I have a feeling you could've done it without too much issue." "Yeah, pretty much. The main thing was, while I could've taken that gun away from Jeckle, I didn't know what Heckle would do. I had no idea if he had a weapon as well, and concentrating on Jeckle would have left you vulnerable. And my fears were right. Heckle did have a gun. He could've shot us both while I was subduing his partner." Kelli shivered. "Besides, I have confidence in my team. They'll find us, Kelli. We just have to stay alive until they can get here." She wanted to ask how long it would take for his friends to find them, but it was a stupid question. Flash didn't know that. So she kept her mouth shut. In the eerie silence of their tomb, her stomach suddenly growled loud enough to almost echo off the sides of the metal vehicle they were in. She could feel her cheeks getting hot and was briefly thankful that it was so dark. "Sorry," she whispered. "Don't be. I'm hungry too," Flash told her. "Maybe they left something for us to eat." The possibility perked Kelli up, but she quickly sagged again. "I didn't exactly see crates of supplies before they shut us in." "No, but there is a box in the corner. I saw it...before." "A box?" Kelli didn't remember a box, but then again, she'd been freaking out and looking up at the hole, and then Flash as he'd dropped down next to her. "Yeah. From what I can tell, we're in a stripped-down bus. At least that's what it looked like in the short glimpse I got before they turned out the lights. No seats, just the humps of the wheel wells. Even the steering wheel is gone. They took out the emergency exit in the roof and somehow replaced it with the manhole cover. I think we can probably reach it if I put you on my shoulders, but I want to make sure Heckle and Jeckle are far away from here before we try to mess with it. Just in case they're up there watching." "This bus is much taller than usual, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, I don't remember the bus from middle school being this tall." "Yeah, I noticed that too. But if they retrofit the emergency exit with a circular manhole, I guess they could've somehow raised the roof too. Making it harder to reach the ceiling, and thus harder to escape." His words made Kelli shiver. "Do you think we can just push the lid up? I mean, I know manhole covers are heavy, but it's not like, welded shut, is it?" "We would've heard them doing that if it was, I think. I want to inspect that box before we do anything else though. Wait here." Before she could protest, Flash was gone. Like before, when the cover was put in place and she'd had a small panic attack, the loss of his presence was disconcerting and terrifying. "Flash?" she called out, unable to stop herself. In a few seconds, she heard footsteps approach right before she felt Flash's hand on her knee. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. You're okay." And just like that, Kelli felt stupid. Of course he wasn't going anywhere. Neither of them were. They were stuck down here. "Sorry," she murmured. "Don't be. This isn't a situation you've ever been in before. For what it's worth, I think you're coping amazingly well. You're doing great." "I'm not," she protested. Then asked, "Wait, have you been in a situation like this before? In the dark? Buried underground with no way out?" "Not exactly. But there was this one time when I was diving. My job was to place an explosive against the hull of a ship that...well, that doesn't matter. But I was underwater and visibility was shit. Like, I couldn't see a damn thing, kind of like now. I was fumbling around, trying to feel my way to where I was supposed to attach the explosive. After a while, I decided that I needed to just do it and get the hell out of there. But after I set the timer, I got turned around. I didn't know which was up and which was down. I couldn't see the bubbles from my equipment to follow them to the surface. I panicked. It was as if I was in a coffin." "What did you do?" Kelli asked with bated breath. "I got lucky," Flash told her. "One of my teammates appeared as if out of thin air. He realized I was panicking and got me out of there. We didn't get the second set of explosives set, so technically the mission was a failure, but I'll never forget the feeling of being disoriented and not knowing which way was up or down." Kelli couldn't imagine. "I'm glad your friend found you and got you out of there." "Me too. And he'll find us again this time, and get us out of here too." For the first time, Kelli understood Flash's confidence. The things he did, the places he went, he had no choice but to rely on his fellow SEALs to have his back. It was literally a matter of life or death. And if he said they'd be looking for him, and could find him, who was she to disagree or not believe? "I'm okay now," she told him as firmly as she could. "How about we both go and check out that box?" Flash asked. Kelli liked that idea. A lot. "Yeah." Flash took her hand in his and she could feel him stand in front of her. She got to her feet, swayed a little, then got her balance. "The bus is empty, but stay behind me anyway," Flash told her. "Against the sides are where the wheel humps are, so if you're using the walls to guide you in the future, be aware of that." Kelli nodded even though he couldn't see her. It was time to stop being a baby. Sitting around crying wasn't going to help their situation. Yeah, she was hungry, thirsty, and scared. But she was alive. Flash was right. Heckle and Jeckle-she smiled at the nicknames he'd given their kidnappers-could've shot one or both of them. She was grateful they hadn't. And she had to trust that Flash's SEAL teammates would come for him. Flash felt as if he was going to go out of his skin. He wasn't a fan of the dark, especially now. He could still feel Kelli's blood on his hand, and he didn't like that he couldn't see how bad that cut was. If she needed stitches. A little light would also help figure out how to get the fuck out of this damn bus. How the hell had Heckle and Jeckle gotten equipment into the jungle to bury the stupid thing? It would've taken some backhoes and some serious digging to accomplish it. He wondered how long the bus had been here, how many other hapless tourists had been held captive. His anger simmered just below the surface of his skin. He hadn't lied to Kelli earlier. He was scared and stressed. But he was more furious. He knew better than to go off the resort's property. And yet he'd let himself be talked into it. So stupid. Actions had consequences, and here he was. Here he and Kelli were. That was probably the worst part of this. That she was terrified and hurt and there wasn't much he could do about it. If they'd been left in the jungle, he could find her something to eat, get her some water, and make a shelter. But here? Inside this fucking underground bus, he was helpless to do much of anything except reassure her that Kevlar and the rest of his team would be coming. Pressing his lips together, he just prayed they'd be able to find him. He wasn't sure how they would. Unless they found the kidnappers, there wasn't a definitive way to determine where he and Kelli had gone after leaving the river tour. And of course, he wasn't wearing his tracker. Tex wouldn't be able to just pull it up on his computer and lead his team straight to him. He was on vacation. Why would he have brought his tracker? One more thing he kicked himself for. Again, he should've known better. The travel advisory for Jamaica should've been enough to make him extra cautious. Sighing, Flash held out his hand so he wouldn't bump into the front of the bus as he walked. The last thing they needed was a second head injury. It wasn't long before his hand made contact with the front of the vehicle. He considered seeing if he could break through the plywood that had replaced the windows, but decided that wouldn't help their situation. Would only make it worse if the dirt all around them filled the bus. "I wish MacGyver was here," Flash muttered. "The guy from that TV show?" Kelli asked. He'd almost forgotten she was there. No, that was a lie. He couldn't forget. Her grip on his hand was tight, almost desperate. But he'd been lost in his head for a minute, and Kelli was staying quiet, her steps equally silent. He hadn't lied when he'd said she was doing amazingly well for someone so outside her comfort zone. The last thing he needed was to deal with a hysterical companion, not that he'd blame her if she was. But other than a little trembling and the way she was reluctant to lose contact with him, so far, she was doing great. "Yeah, but that's also one of my teammates." "Oh, right. He's the one who's trying to adopt the three kids from Ukraine?" "That's him. He got the name MacGyver because he's a magician when it comes to making something out of nothing. He's gotten us out of more jams because of his ability to make a fucking time machine out of a brick, some dirt, and a rubber band." "If I could go back in time, I'd tell Charlotte that I didn't want to go tubing, and I'd stay on the beach sipping frozen drinks and reading a book." "Same," Flash agreed. He felt around with his foot until he found what he was looking for. The box he'd seen before they'd been sealed inside this bus. "Did I tell you about Little Mac?" "No, who's that?" Kelli asked. "She's MacGyver's stepdaughter, Ellory. She's twelve going on about twenty-seven. She has Crohn's disease, do you know what that is?" "I think so. Something to do with the intestines not working correctly." "Pretty much. Anyway, she's struggled a lot. Bullies in school, delayed puberty because she simply doesn't want to eat because it hurts too much, things like that. When her mom married MacGyver, the two got close. My teammate and Ellory, that is. They tinkered in his garage all the time, and he showed her lots of tips and stuff. Then she and her little sister were kidnapped and put into a Conex container, and they escaped because Ellory used the tricks MacGyver taught her...so we started calling her Little Mac." "Wow! Well, if a twelve-year-old can figure out how to save herself, maybe we can too," Kelli said. Flash closed his eyes for a moment, more grateful than he could articulate that this woman was as strong as she was. She could be flipping out, probably should be. Could be complaining about how hungry she was-her belly was still growling; they were both doing their best to ignore it-and yet she was trying to stay positive. She was exactly the kind of woman Flash had been looking for. The kind of woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Someone who wouldn't dwell on the bad, but would find the good in every situation. Because Lord knew dating him would mean she'd find herself in plenty of situations where things weren't great. His long absences, the dangerous aspect of what he did. But there would hopefully be good things too. Lots of them. Family, friends, reunions. "Did you find it? The box?" Kelli asked. Her question snapped Flash out of the rabbit hole his mind had fallen into-again. "Sorry, yeah. Although now that I'm here, I'm thinking you should probably go to the other end of the bus. Just in case." "In case of what?" This was one time he kind of wished she was a little less naïve. "I don't know what's in here. And since I can't see, the only way I'll be able to figure that out is by picking things up and feeling them. If Heckle and Jeckle are sadistic enough, which I think they could be, they may have put something explosive in here." At that, she didn't step away from him-her hand around his tightened. "If you're going to get blown up, so am I. I'd rather go that way than have to sit in here with your body parts strewn all over the place." Flash couldn't hold back the bark of shocked laughter that left his lips. "Sorry, was that too gross?" she asked. "It's true though. I'd rather die with you than have to be here by myself. So we'll investigate this box and whatever's in it together." Flash couldn't stop himself. He turned and unerringly found her cheek with his free hand. "We aren't dying," he said, the thought completely unfathomable, now that he'd gotten to know Kelli a little better. "Well, I hope not," she said with a shrug he felt. "Right. Okay. Let's sit. Might as well be comfortable while we check it out, yeah?" he said, tugging on her hand, pulling her to the metal floor with him. She situated herself right next to him, her thigh touching his. "For the record, even though I said I'd rather be blown up with you than sitting on the other side of this bus, that doesn't mean I'm brave enough to touch whatever's in that box. There could be mice or something. So I'll leave that up to you...if that's okay." It was more than okay. Flash didn't mind that she was relying on him. Moving slowly, he reached forward, finding the edge of the box. From what he remembered, it was about the size of a medium shipping box. Maybe a foot square. Taking a deep breath, he reached in. The first thing he touched was small and soft. He turned it over in his hands, not sure what he was holding but guessing it was some sort of cloth. He brought it up to his nose and sniffed. A little musty, but no alarm bells went off in his head. This could be useful. "Hold out your hand," he told Kelli. "This isn't one of those times you put something gross or scary in my hand and laugh at my reaction, is it?" she asked. Flash laughed. He couldn't believe he was finding anything funny about this situation, but he was. "No, promise. This feels like some sort of towel or cloth. I want you to hold it to your head." "I think the bleeding has stopped." "Even so. You can probably use it to clean your neck, if nothing else." He felt her fingers brush against his as she took the cloth from him. "It's tiny. Like, smaller than a washcloth. What is this, and why would it be in the box?" "Not sure. But I think it's a torn piece of T-shirt. Probably their way to mess with us by not giving us an entire shirt. Hang on, let me see what else is in here," Flash said, as he reached back into the box. He picked up something that felt somewhat heavy. Running his hands over it, Flash's heart rate sped up. "Holy shit!" "What? What is it?" Kelli asked, sounding a little alarmed. "Sorry, nothing bad. I think it's a radio." "A radio?" "Yeah." Flash turned a knob but nothing happened. No static, nothing. "Damn. It doesn't work. But...hang on..." Turning it over, he found the compartment on the bottom that should've held the batteries. Opening it, he smiled. "It has batteries." "But it doesn't work," Kelli said, sounding confused. "Yeah, but depending on what else is in here, we might be able to get some juice out of them anyway. Maybe even make a light." "A light?" The hope in Kelli's voice had Flash realizing he'd fucked up. He shouldn't have said anything until he was sure. But the thought of having some sort of light was too tantalizing to keep quiet about. "Maybe. I'm no MacGyver, but I've seen him use wires with batteries enough that I think I can do it." "I have no doubt. What else is in there?" The more stuff he found, the more Flash was sure that Heckle and Jeckle were fucking with them. They'd put things into this box that they probably thought were completely useless. That would demoralize them more than help. There was water, which he recognized by the shape of the bottle-and was relieved the safety seal was still intact-but only one. That sucked, but it would've sucked more if there'd been no water at all...or additional captives in this bus, as it sounded like they'd planned. A ballpoint pen, what felt like a conch shell, a couple of coins, a thick candle-but no matches or lighter-two cans but no can opener, a key-which was especially ridiculous, considering they were underground and Flash was certain there was no engine in this piece-of-shit bus-a Band-Aid, a bullet, a condom, a handful of what felt like uncooked pasta noodles, and a spoon. Again, their kidnappers probably thought giving them all this stuff was a joke...but it was a treasure trove to Flash. "I was hoping there might be something we could use," Kelli said, sounding dejected. Flash realized that while he'd kept up a running commentary of what he'd discovered, he hadn't shared the usefulness of the items. "We can use most of this." "How?" "Well, first things first, the cans. We have no idea what's in them, it could be dog food, which would suck, but hopefully it's human food of some sort." "But we can't open them." "Yes, we can. They gave us a spoon. Again, probably to torment us mentally, but in lieu of an opener, that's exactly the tool we need to get in. All I have to do is rub the edge of the spoon back and forth in the same spot on the top, and it'll break through." "Really?" "Yeah. The tops of cans aren't as thick as the sides. So we can definitely get into them, and again, hopefully it'll be something we can eat." "What else?" Kelli asked, scooting closer to him and sounding much more interested now. "The one bottle of water isn't super convenient, but listen..." They were both silent for about a minute. "I hear dripping," Kelli whispered. "Right. We're in the jungle. It's wet. It's not surprising that this bus isn't waterproof. We can drink this water, then use the bottle to catch more from wherever it's dripping. It'll probably have dirt in it, but any water is better than none. And they gave us a freaking container. If they were trying to demoralize us, they definitely failed there." "What about the shell? What can you do with that?" "It could be another container, but I'm thinking if I break it, the edges will be sharp. It could be a useful weapon." "Cool! And?" "Well, not everything is useful, although I bet MacGyver could come up with a use for literally all this shit. I'm not sure about what we can do with the Band-Aid or the coins. And the bullet is pretty useless." "Did they think we were going to have sex while we're in here? I mean, really? A condom?" "Actually, that could be the most useful item of all," Flash told her, glad she couldn't see his grin. "A condom can hold water. We could use it as a kind of glove if we had to, or an improvised pressure bandage for wounds. It can be used to make a splint for a broken finger; it's rubber, so it could also be a rubber band, except we don't have anything to cut it up...but maybe the shell would work if it had to. It can be a slingshot, an emergency sealant, like on a pipe or something. And I've even seen MacGyver start a fire with one." "Now I know you're lying." "I'm not. I swear. He filled one with water and used it as a magnifying glass. It took a good bit of time, and there were a lot of bad words, but damned if he didn't get smoke, then flame. I was as surprised as you." "Okay. So the condom can be used for more than...you know, the obvious." "Yup. We can take the ink out of the pen and use the casing as a straw, and while the uncooked pasta will be hard on our teeth, it does have some caloric value. And lastly, the candle is pure gold. Assholes thought they were taunting us, but I think I can strip the insulation off some of the wires in the broken radio, hook them up to the battery, and maybe get a spark that will light the wick." "Holy crap. That would be awesome!" It would. If he could get it to work. Flash usually left this kind of thing to MacGyver, but it was his turn to step up. If he could give Kelli the comfort of some light, he would. To his surprise, she chuckled. "What's funny?" "Just that Heckle and Jeckle thought they'd break us by leaving a box of worthless crap. Except they didn't know they'd kidnapped a freaking Navy SEAL. Idiots." Kelli had a lot of faith in him. Flash hoped it wasn't misplaced. Determination swelled inside him. He'd do whatever he could to make this experience as painless as possible for the woman at his side. They'd be uncomfortable, and until they climbed out of this damn bus, he wouldn't let his guard down, but maybe, just maybe, they'd come out of this dented instead of broken. He hoped. Brant Williams looked at the US Naval ID in his hand and smiled. His plan had been to contact the families of the American tourists they'd kidnapped and demand ransoms, but knowing he had a member of the military in his grasp was even better. The Navy would want to rescue this guy. They'd definitely pay. "I'm not sure the Navy is gonna pay a ransom," Errol said, the uncertainty clear in his voice. "Of course they are," Brant retorted. "There's no way they'll ignore me. They'll have to pay, or I'll go to the media and tell them the US government is letting one of their own die." "But the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists," Errol told him. "We aren't terrorists," he argued. When Errol continued to frown, Brant felt irritation rising. "You were the one who fucked things up. If you'd done what I told you, brought at least four or five people with you, we would've been able to get more money. But instead, you only brought two." "I told you! I couldn't just force some of the others to wait while those two were still on the water." "Why not?" "Because! They were bitching about leaving and the other driver offered to cram them all into his bus!" Errol yelled. "You know what? Fuck this! I'm out." "What? You aren't out!" Brant yelled back. "I am. You aren't listening to me. You think I'm stupid. I'm the one who found where Wade Gordon is stationed in Riverton, California. I'm the one who found Kelli Colbert's Facebook and discovered she works for a tiny travel office. She doesn't make shit for salary. Without me, you wouldn't even know who to contact to ask for money in the first place. And you still aren't listening! The Navy isn't going to hand over fifty thousand dollars for this Wade guy. He's enlisted. Not an officer. That makes a huge difference." "No, it doesn't!" Brant argued. Errol rolled his eyes, which pissed Brant off all the more. "Whose idea was this? Mine! Who paid for that bus to be buried? Me! This whole plan wouldn't have happened without me. I invited you to join me, not the other way around. I'm in charge. And I'm telling you that this is going to work just fine. Now chill!" "Nope. I'm done. Good luck. Don't contact me again. Ever," Errol told him. "Fine. Good. All the more money for me." "There won't be any money," Errol muttered, as he turned and left Brant's small rundown house. Brant dismissed the asshole before he'd even slammed the door. He didn't need him. He already had everything he needed. He had the addresses of his captives, and Errol had given him the contact information for Wade Gordon's commander. He also had an untraceable cellphone that he'd use and get rid of right after the call was made. Then he just had to sit back and wait for the money to be deposited into the account Errol had already set up. The man was good with computers, and it was a shame to lose someone with that skill, but Brant would find another partner. Starting with someone to remove the bodies from the bus after his captives died. But he'd worry about that later. First things first, call this Navy commander and let him know Wade Gordon was in imminent danger-and the only way to save him was to send fifty thousand dollars. Brant was done living in squalor. He wanted more. What he deserved, which wasn't to be living here. And this job would be the first of many. Once he had a million dollars, Brant would move to Los Angeles, buy a huge house, and live like the king he was meant to be. And it all started with Wade Gordon. Brant glanced at the drivers licenses on the table, then back to the Navy ID in his hand. The Navy would be desperate to have their soldier, sailor...whatever back. He was sure of it. Title: A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow In "A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow" by CrushReel, Flora Hayes's life takes a tragic turn after a fatal car accident. However, her final moments reveal a chilling glimpse of a future fraught with peril for her children two decades ahead. Exploring themes of resilience and sacrifice, this CEO drama intricately weaves elements of modernity and time travel into a compelling narrative set within the grandeur of a mansion and the intensity of an office environment. As Flora grapples with the aftermath of her premonition, the story delves deep into familial bonds and the weight of destiny. What sets "A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow" apart is its masterful blend of suspense and emotional depth, captivating readers with its intricate plot twists and nuanced character development. Discover the gripping saga at CrushReel, where this ongoing tale awaits those eager to embark on a journey through time and motherly love.