He could hear men talking—in English. The sound of a jet engine spooling up told him that they were at an airport. Not good. This could only get worse if they got him outside of the country.

David heard the trunk open and felt a rush of cool air. Then the hands grabbed him again. It was more than two people. Not a fair fight even if he had use of his arms and legs. Tied up, his chances were precisely zero. They moved him swiftly. David gave up struggling. There was no point. He felt cowardly for not fighting. He tried to justify it in his mind. He told himself that he was saving up his strength but deep down he knew it was just reality setting in. David had completely lost control of the situation.

It felt like there were zip ties around his legs, feet, and hands. He barely had the ability to move and was almost certain that the loss of circulation had made his limbs fall asleep. God, he had to pee. The fear made it worse. If they didn’t untie him he was just going to go. What was there to lose? Now they were lifting and pushing him up. The loud sound of the jet engine indicated that they were likely putting him on a plane. He was going to get thrown into a dark prison cell and be tortured by someone that barely spoke English. He had seen enough on TV to know how it went.

They set him down gently enough on what felt like a cushioned surface.

A voice said, “We ready to go?”

“Yes sir. We’ll be airborne in five.”

“Roger. Thanks gents that will be all.” Footsteps down a metal ladder.

The jet engine noise faded and then a hiss as the cabin door must have been closed. He heard a higher-pitched whine and felt the rumble of the aircraft as it taxied out. He was pretty sure that there was at least one person nearby. He could sense it.

“Hang in there, David. We’ll untie you in a minute. Sorry about this. It is not ideal. Relax. We’re not going to hurt you.”

A rush of relief and maddening curiosity flooded him. He fought back tears as he thought once again about his family. He thought about trying to talk but again it felt useless. Just wait. Wait. Wait. He knew that voice. Who was that? It was…Tom. It was Tom Connolly, one of the senior managers at David’s work. David didn’t work directly for him, but they had been in meetings together. What the hell was he doing here?

Someone tore off the duct tape and lifted off David’s mask. He looked up at Tom and two others, sitting in the luxurious cabin of the Gulfstream G-V. Tom wore a wrinkled suit and a tired face. There was one other man who had on black tactical gear and was about the size of an NFL linebacker. The third person was a short, round woman that looked to be in her early forties. She had fading highlights in her hair and a very odd smile on her face considering the situation. It was a sheepish look, like she was hoping that David wasn’t going to be mad at her.