Chapter 9 The second the door opened, Smiley pushed his way inside and grabbed the man on the other side around the throat, pushing him backward into the hut. "Easy, Smiley," Kevlar warned. He'd been concerned about his friend for a while now. The whole thing with the missing Bree Haynes, and Smiley not being able to find her, was pushing the man to the edge. It was frustrating for all of them, knowing the woman was close yet not being able to locate her. But Smiley was taking it personally. They'd found Errol Brown, however. It wasn't hard. They simply went to the address the tubing company manager had provided and knocked on the door. The man lived in a very poor neighborhood. People were cooking over open fires outside their front doors. The neighbors had watched without much expression as the minivan the SEAL team was using pulled up. Kevlar couldn't decide if they were used to strangers approaching Errol's house, or if they just didn't care. Kevlar shut the door behind them and watched as Smiley pushed the man into a chair. "Errol Brown?" Kevlar asked. "Yes? Who are you? What do you want?" "We want our friend back," MacGyver said in a low, pissed-off voice. At his words, Errol tensed. The man knew something. He was the key to finding Flash. Kevlar had no doubt. He grabbed the only other chair in the room. It was made out of wood, and when he turned it around and plopped it down in front of Errol, Kevlar wondered if it would even hold his weight. Mentally holding his breath, he straddled it and crossed his arms on the back, staring at their "host." Several tense moments went by, and Kevlar purposely didn't speak. He and his team had discussed strategy on the way here, and they'd all agreed to let Kevlar take the lead. Safe, Blink, Preacher, MacGyver, and Smiley all stood around Kevlar with their arms crossed and scowls on their faces. They were an intimidating bunch, which was their intention. "So...Errol. Here's the thing," Kevlar said. "There we were, minding our own business back home, when we find out someone had kidnapped our friend while he was on vacation here in Jamaica. They had the balls to call our commanding officer and demand fifty thousand bucks to get him back. That wasn't cool. Not at all. So you know what we did?" Errol glanced away from Kevlar, up at the other men standing around him, and then the door, then he met Kevlar's gaze once more. He visibly swallowed and shook his head. "We got on the first plane to the island and our investigation immediately led us here. To you. What do you think of that?" "I don't know nothin'," Errol said. "You see, I just don't think that's true. Your buddies at the place where you work-the same place where you didn't show up today-said you were the last person to see Flash and his friend. That you picked them up from the river and were supposed to take them back to their resort. But surprisingly, they never arrived. You want to explain that?" Errol pressed his lips together. Kevlar sighed. He was tired of this already. Didn't have the patience to drag this out. He needed answers, and he felt in his gut that this man had them. He stood up suddenly and kicked the chair he'd been sitting in. It went flying sideways, breaking into several pieces from his vicious kick alone. He stepped up to Errol and pulled out the KA-BAR knife that never left his side. Visions of Remi being tortured by his former teammate swam in his mind. Her scared eyes as she floated next to him in the ocean in Hawaii... How Josie had looked when they'd broken her and Blink out of that Iranian prison cell... Wren, Maggie, and even MacGyver's kids, Ellory and Yana... He was sick and tired of men praying on women and children who they believed were somehow lesser than them. Of course, he had no way of knowing what Errol's motivation was for kidnapping this Kelli person along with Flash, but he was done. D. O. N. E. Done. The tip of his knife pressed against Errol's throat as the man wrenched his head backward, trying to get away from the deadly weapon. Preacher and Blink had already stepped behind him, and they grabbed his arms, holding him still in the chair. Kevlar was in complete control. He wasn't going to kill this asshole. He just wanted information. Now. And he'd do whatever was necessary in order to get it. "Talk to me, Errol. It's obvious you aren't living the high life here. I don't see a woman around, no luxuries...few belongings at all. That tells me you're probably sick of scraping by every day. Is your belly growling with hunger? It sucks, I know. Maybe you were offered money you couldn't turn down. Is that it? Or maybe you're the one who came up with the plan to kidnap and ransom who you thought were a couple of rich Americans. At this point, I don't care what your role was. I just want to find my friend." Every muscle in Errol's body was tense as he stared up at Kevlar. The urge to plunge the knife through his throat was strong. But Kevlar wasn't that kind of man. The kind who killed out of frustration. "I don't think you understand," Blink murmured, leaning into Errol as he held him. He was almost whispering into his ear as if they were lovers. But his words were anything but loving. "You have no idea who you kidnapped. If you did, you would've chosen one of the other pansies who were on the river that day. See...our friend, Flash? He's a Navy SEAL. Just like us. You kidnapped one of the most highly trained men the United States government has to offer-and you pissed off his teammates." Blink's tone became almost conversational. "Do you know we've been taught ten ways to kill a man and make him bleed out in seconds? The jugular is such a cliché vein to sever. Too easy. Myself? I like the femoral artery." The snick of his own KA-BAR knife being flicked open was loud in the suddenly quiet room. Blink held it against Errol's inner thigh. "Personally, I like to distract my target by cutting off their dick, and while they're screaming and crying about that, they don't even notice the pain from me slicing their thigh open and severing their artery. It makes a bloody mess, but it's very effective." "Please, man! Don't! I'll tell you what I know. We didn't know he was in the Navy! It wasn't until we took their wallets and found his military ID that Brant came up with the idea to find his commander and call him for the ransom." Blink straightened, and the knife he'd been holding disappeared back into a pocket. Kevlar smirked with satisfaction. They were finally getting what they came for. "Brant who?" "Williams. He's the one who came up with the plan! Said we could get easy money from the tourists. I thought he meant robbing them. I didn't know nothin' about any kidnappings until the day before. I swear!" "Where are they? Flash and the woman?" Safe asked. Kevlar hadn't moved. He still had the tip of his knife against Errol's throat. "He'll kill me, man!" Errol whined. Kevlar didn't feel the least bit sorry for him. "You should be worried about me killing you," he bit out, pressing his knife a bit harder against the man's skin. A bead of blood welled up and dripped down his neck. "Stop!" Errol cried. Kevlar held onto his patience by a thread. Taking a deep breath, he straightened, taking his knife with him. He made a big show out of putting it back into the hidden sheath at his waist. Then he leaned over, getting right in Errol's face. It was difficult, as the man smelled horrible. Body odor like onions, and his breath could kill. But he didn't let his disgust show. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell us everything about the plan. About Brant Williams. His family, where he lives, about this bank account he told our commander to deposit the money into...and we'll think about letting you live." Errol swallowed hard and nodded. "If you lie to us...I'll let Blink have his fun with you." Errol's gaze whipped up to his teammate, still holding one of his arms, then back to Kevlar's. He nodded again. "Good. We're on the same page. Let him go," Kevlar said, nodding at Blink and Preacher. They did, stepping back but staying close to Errol. The terrified man rubbed his upper arms where he'd been held down, then brought a hand up to his neck. He wiped away the blood, stared at his hand for a moment, released a shuddering sigh...then began to talk. Twenty minutes later, Kevlar and the rest of the team knew everything about the plan to kidnap clueless Americans through the tubing company. Flash and Kelli had been their first attempt, and even though Errol was an asshole, he wasn't dumb. When his accomplice began talking about getting the Navy to pay the ransom, Errol had allegedly tried to convince him the plan wouldn't work. Errol admitted that he'd been the one to figure out where Flash was stationed, and he'd found Kelli Colbert's Facebook account and deduced that she wouldn't make a good target. With her job at a small travel agency-and a somewhat recent hire, at that-he figured Flash was the one who made more money, the one they should concentrate on. He also swore that he'd walked away from the entire fucked-up plan. That he'd left Brant on his own. When he'd reluctantly admitted that this Brant character had buried a stripped-out bus in the middle of the jungle, one that he'd had altered by fitting a cast-iron manhole cover into the roof-and that they'd left Kelli and Flash inside-Kevlar saw red. His Remi had been buried alive, and she still sometimes had nightmares about it. And she'd only been in that box for minutes. Flash and Kelli had been there for nearly a full day now. Yes, a bus was way more roomy than the box Remi had been forced into, but still...buried was buried. He took a step toward Errol, and surprisingly, it was Smiley who took hold of his arm and held him back. Safe stepped in front of his team leader and took over the interrogation as smoothly as if they'd done it many times in the past. It took Kevlar several moments to regain control. He heard Errol trying to give the others directions as to where he and Brant had buried the bus. All he could think of was getting there as soon as possible. There was a possibility that Flash had found a way out of that bus, but given how Errol was describing the area, and what they'd done to try to make sure no one could escape from the buried vehicle, Kevlar wasn't so sure. When Errol was done talking, he asked, "What now? What are you going to do with me?" "You're coming with us. You're going to tell the police everything you just told us. Without leaving anything out," Safe said. Errol winced. It was a crapshoot if the local authorities would do anything to the man. Unlikely that he'd be prosecuted. But since the team's goal in coming to Jamaica was to find Flash, Errol's future wasn't their concern. Now, Brant? That man had to be found and needed to pay for what he'd done. What he'd planned on doing to as many tourists as he could. According to Errol, he had plans to use the buried bus many times over. Apparently, once he'd received money from a family, or a group of families, his plan was to wait until his captives had passed away, remove their bodies, then play his sick game all over again. Errol Brown was a patsy. A small-time punk who'd gotten mixed up with the wrong person. Kevlar was itching to head to the jungle. It was obvious they'd put the bus in a place known to locals but difficult to access. The easiest option would be to take Errol with them, make him show them exactly where they'd stashed Flash and Kelli. But they had enough info to find the bus without him, of that Kevlar was certain. No. He'd prefer Errol be taken into custody right away by the Jamaican authorities, and he didn't want to have to worry about the man trying to get away when they did find this damn buried bus, and their attention was focused on their missing teammate. Everyone would give Flash a ton of shit for getting kidnapped. Personally, Kevlar couldn't wait to tell him "I told you so." He was the one who'd warned against coming to Jamaica in the first place. Once they made sure Flash was all right, of course. Wasn't hurt, or was getting any medical attention he needed. Then they'd make fun of him for getting hurt in the first place. It was just how the team was. It was a coping mechanism. A way to release tension. Suddenly needing some air, Kevlar turned and headed for the door. The second he stepped outside, all conversation from the neighbors stopped. Their visit was obviously being gossiped about. Kevlar had a feeling everyone on the island would know about it in the next day or so. Which meant they needed to move fast. If Brant Williams got word that they'd been here, and Errol had been taken away, he'd get spooked. But Kevlar wasn't willing to split up his team. Flash was the most important thing right now. If Brant disappeared, they'd find him. Eventually. There was nowhere the man could hide. It took longer than Kevlar wanted to bring Errol to the police station and force him to give a full confession to the authorities. He wasn't feeling confident that the police would do much to him, other than make him pay a fine and send him on his way with a slap on the wrist. Eventually, they had no choice but to leave Errol in the custody of the local authorities. They'd done all they could to see that he was punished for the kidnapping. One of the officers had demanded to come with them when they went into the jungle to try to find Flash and the woman who'd been kidnapped. It made sense; Errol couldn't be charged without proof. But Kevlar was still annoyed. He didn't want anyone tagging along. He simply wanted to find his friend without having to worry about being politically correct. He could almost hear his commander in his head, telling him to do things by the book, to not ruffle any feathers, to not turn this into an international incident. But to Kevlar's way of thinking, it was an international incident. Keeping a Navy SEAL's kidnapping a secret wasn't a smart plan. It wouldn't be good for Jamaica, since they relied on tourist dollars. He couldn't stop thinking about Remi, and how she'd been kidnapped and buried alive. There were too many similarities to what happened to her and what was going on with Flash for him to remain rational. The trip to the jungle was long...and more difficult than Kevlar anticipated. They got lost once or twice as they tried to follow Errol's verbal directions to where the bus had been buried. Many of the dirt roads looked the same and, of course, the terrain didn't help. The minivan they'd rented was taking a beating, but Kevlar didn't care. The officer following them looked bored. Every time Kevlar looked behind them to see if he was still there, the man was on his cellphone. Amazingly, one time, it looked like he was smoking what Kevlar thought was a joint, but he couldn't be sure. Before long, he was kicking himself for leaving Errol behind. Even though bringing him would've added more stress to the situation, he could've led them straight to the damn bus. They should've waited to turn him in after Flash and Kelli were found...but it was too late to change that now. His stress levels were sky high, especially since it was creeping toward evening. They'd lose the sunlight soon, and if that happened, if they hadn't found the damn bus, they'd have to wait until morning to start the search again. The thought of his friend having to spend another night underground was unacceptable. Finally, they got to a point where the road abruptly ended, just as Errol said it would. Anticipation rose within Kevlar. They'd done it! Found the place Errol had described, where they'd made Flash and Kelli get out and walk into the jungle. All four doors opened at the same time, and the six SEALs climbed out, eager to find their teammate. The officer got out of his car and leaned against the door. "I'll wait here," he said. Disgusted, but not caring anymore what the man did, Kevlar followed the tracks on the forest floor that had probably been made by whatever large piece of equipment Brant had used to bury the bus. Kevlar had no idea how the man had done it. Or when. Yes, they'd obviously used heavy machinery, but the logistics of the entire operation were mind-blowing. Ultimately, though, the how didn't matter right now, only the where. They walked for around half a mile, and looking around, all Kevlar saw was trees and vines. The forest floor was covered in vegetation. A tropical rainforest. How the hell they were going to find anything buried out here was a real concern. Until he saw it. Exactly as Errol had described. Three large tires stacked on top of each other. Two had the rims still attached, which would make them extremely heavy. Kevlar knew that from experience. He'd had to change a tire on large trucks a time or two. Three of them on top of that cover would prevent anyone under it from being able to escape. Running toward the tires, he said in a voice much calmer than he felt, "Preacher, grab the other side. Safe and MacGyver, get the second one. Smiley, I'll help you with the last." No one argued. They got to work doing what needed to be done. No one spoke out loud about what they might find when they opened that manhole cover. True, it hadn't been all that long since Flash and Kelli had been kidnapped and buried alive, but depending on what condition they were in when they were left, and what supplies, if any, were inside with them, they could be facing the worst-case scenario. Taking a deep breath, Kevlar reached for the first tire. 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.