Long Blonde Hair, Sky Blue Eyes Pt. 05

"He told me that I was on my way to Russia, where I would, and I'm quoting him exactly, 'become a whore for my friend Anatoly, one of the most powerful men in the world.' He then said, 'You're going to be very useful for my friend. He entertains rich men and politicians from every country, and they will enjoy using a famous model as they please, just as my friend and I will!

There is one important American who will particularly enjoy you; he loves to play out his perverted fantasies with tall blondes like you. That means Anatoly will probably keep you around for him to play with for a while, before he sells you to someone as breeding stock. The market for pretty Americans is always strong, and you will bring a very high price! By then, you won't care who owns you, because you will be worn out from all the fucking and sucking you've done!'

"He tried to take my jeans off then, but the brunette woman threatened to shoot him. He cussed her, but got up, leaving me on the floor. He sat on the seat by my head, and described all the perverted things they would do to me before I was sold. I can tell you a few of them, but my brain kind of shorted out when he started, and I don't remember much until they pulled me out of the van and took me into an office in some dark building. They kept me there until the officers got me out and into their big vehicle.

The lieutenant started to speak, but Annika held up her free hand. "Wait! I heard the two women talking while we were in the office. The blonde woman - Linda Warren, you said - was asking the one she called Mila if all that was true, and Mila said it was, but I wasn't their problem. She said Mr. Koslov was paying them $250K each for the kidnapping, and then they would disappear to live in luxury on a Caribbean Island.

"I think they're lovers, because of what I heard and because I saw them kiss when I was getting dressed."

The deputy commissioners had exchanged looks more than once during Annika's recitation. They both stood; the one from St. Paul thanked her for her cooperation, and asked her to contact the lieutenant if she remembered more.

Lt. Laine asked a few more clarifying questions, and then turned Annika over to medical personnel for a thorough examination. They were looking for injuries, but also for DNA.

Erik and Carl used the opportunity to reply to the frantic texts and voicemails they had received begging for an update and reassurance that Annika was all right. Erik sent a group text, and then called Johnny, who was with a distraught Hanna.

"Hey guys! Before you ask, no, she wasn't harmed, and she's okay. In fact, she's with doctors right now, being examined for the police record, but she was not raped or beaten. The asshole from the limo did feel - well, maul - her breasts, but she claimed everything was okay... physically.

"Emotionally... that's another story! She was pretty badly messed up by all this, which, when you hear the whole story, you'll understand! She's going to need a lot of support, and counseling."

"Are we all in danger, or was this about Annika only?" Johnny asked.

"From what I heard, it's about Annika, but I only know what she told us. The police are questioning six men and two women who were involved, including a Russian mob boss named Anatoly Koslov, so they may have more or different information, especially if this one caves like they think she will.

"Anyway, I think we all need to be extremely careful until this plays out and we know for sure. A 'Russian mob boss' could be into anything right? So don't let your guard down, and make sure you're prepared. Two normal-looking women rang the doorbell at my apartment, and shoved guns in Annika's face when she opened it. See what I mean?"

Hanna gasped, and he could hear her crying softly. "Hanna, I don't want to be cruel to you, but that was probably the highlight of her day - it got a lot worse after that, culminating with being told she was going to become a whore in Russia, and then sold into slavery! This is a day she'll never forget, and it's up to me, her family, and you guys to help her survive it. She's a mess, and I understand how she feels. I'm scared for her, and I'd like to go torture and then kill her captors - especially the one who ordered her kidnapping and planned to whore her out! His death can't be painful enough; Dmitry's either!"

Carl and Lt. Laine heard the last part of what he said, and Laine told him he agreed, but, unfortunately, the feds had come and taken him and the others into federal custody. "They are also demanding to talk to Miss Olsson and all other witnesses, including you, Mr. Swahn. My advice would be to lawyer up before you do - we never know what to expect when dealing with billionaire international criminals."

"I'm a lawyer myself, and I have a number of excellent criminal attorneys on staff. As soon as you release my daughter, she's coming with us. 'She's too close to a mental breakdown to undergo anymore questioning today, and she's already told the police everything she knows anyway! I'm taking her home, and to see a mental health doctor. You can talk to her when her doctor agrees it is okay.'

"Is that acceptable?"

"That works for me, especially with your father being close friends with my police commissioner and the one in Minneapolis too. I've had my nuts in a vice ever since I got this assignment!

"And thanks to you and Johan for calling me, Erik! I was having a nice quiet month, which is now shot to hell! Oh, and Mr. Olsson - if the one who assisted Lt. Karha in finding the van becomes your client, I'd advise him to keep his mouth shut. Johan is good, but he's not THAT good, and that's a whole other can of legal worms."

Carl advised him he certainly would, should such person come to him for legal advice, and then listened as Laine took a phone call.

"Okay, we're about to burn our last string with the Fibbies, but drive your car around to the north side of this building. A door will open, and your daughter will be escorted out. Get her out of St. Paul as quickly as possible, and protect her like we talked about."

****

Carl did better than that; ninety minutes later, Annika, Hanna, and Erik were on a plane. It flew west, landing at Boise, Idaho. A car was waiting; it took them around the field to another hanger, dropped them off, drove back to the first hanger, and then onto the highway. Their original plane, now refueled, flew to an airfield near Annika's condo in LA, and three passengers disembarked.

A second plane left the new hanger and flew east to St. Louis, where three passengers disembarked. At three am, a third plane flew to Albuquerque, and three passengers disembarked and were whisked away in a limo. The plane refueled, taxied out, and headed southeast; according to the flight plan, it would land in Corpus Christi.

It did, but after it dropped three passengers at a private airstrip near Canyon Lake. The passengers used a jeep the Swahn family kept there to drive to the Swahn-Lundell lake house. Erik parked, closed the garage doors, entered the security code, went inside, told Siri to turn on the lights, and then walked to a camera in the living room. Dad, you should have gotten the 'human in the living room' alert by now, and I hope you're listening. As you can see, I have Annika and Hanna with me: DO NOT tell anyone where we are! It could get us killed or arrested!

I'll explain more when I can find a way that's secure, but please believe me. We don't have our phones, so you can't contact us. I'm going to unplug the camera now to protect both of us. Call Carl or Oliver to find out what happened up there, but for gods' sake don't indicate you know where we are. I'll talk to you as soon as I can."

He turned back to his charges, who were standing in the entry hallway to the living room. "Alrighty, ladies, let's get all our stuff hung up in the bedroom closets and our toiletries put away!"

They glared at him until he laughed. "Okay, I guess we already put up what we brought with us. So, let me get us a few weapons out of the gun safe and we'll decide what we do next."

Erik opened the door to the basement/ ground floor and went down the stairs; Annika and Hanna looked at each other, saw the quivering bottom lip on the other, and fell into an emotional hug. After a few moments, Annika said, "I'm so sorry you're missing school, but I really do need you with me right now! I love Erik, but I need my best friend to talk to!"

"He's the best guy in the world, Annika, but he takes a very masculine approach to everything. 'Find problem, analyze problem, solve problem - uh!' I know you need to talk and talk, and I do have enough counseling training to not make things worse, I hope.

"But he's right - we need to decide what's next? How do we keep safe? How do we get groceries and clothing and phones without being recognized? Especially you, but we're probably all over TV and the internet by now too!"

Erik's voice came from the door to the stairwell. "Can either one of you shoot a pistol, rifle, or shotgun? You went shopping instead of bird hunting, so I don't know."

Annika looked appalled; Hanna replied, "I can shoot all three. I'm good with a shotgun, okay with a rifle, and very good with a pistol, if it isn't too powerful."

"I'll pull out a few, and we can figure out how to teach Annika to aim and shoot a shotgun later, after we find food."

Erik was packing his .357 magnum revolver, but it was hard to conceal. He chose two Sig Sauer 365s with 3 inch barrels; both shot 9mm ammo in ten shot mags, they had four boxes of ammo, and an extra magazine for each. Two .308 bolt-action rifles with detachable 10-shot magazines were next, followed by three shotguns; a 12 gauge with double-aught buckshot for him, and 20 gauges with #3 buckshot for the other two. After relocking the door, he called the girls downstairs.

"Look through this closet and select the camo you're going to wear when we go out in a few minutes. Annika, you need a cap or hat, and you need to hide all that gorgeous hair under it. Pick baggy stuff if you can; we're hiding, not showing off."

She made a face and stuck out her tongue, and then began rummaging in the closet with Hanna. He was glad to see her respond to his teasing; the tremors and tears were breaking his heart, and he didn't know how to help her.

Being a male, his failure to protect her rankled. He should have seen it coming earlier; he should have gone with Rhonda! 'To do what?' his rational mind asked. 'Get shot like she did? Be kidnapped and held for a ransom of the green module programming?' He knew he couldn't have predicted and prevented what happened, but his male ego wasn't satisfied.

The girls had pulled out camo in every configuration, from boots and socks to shirts and pants, to coveralls and overalls, and several jars of face paint. Hanna giggled, "I love this! We can be bird hunters like we saw in Hondo, decked out hat to boots in camo, with our faces painted! No one will know you then, so we can do things without worrying so much!"

That was a great idea, and they implemented it. The girls wore denim camouflage overalls with camo shirts underneath, lace up camo boots, and applied a little face paint to distract. Hanna wore a cap with her ponytail pulled through the opening in back, but Annika picked a camo hat. She piled her hair on her head, pulled the hat over it, and viola - she looked nothing like the famous model!

Erik settled for denim camo pants, a tee shirt, boots, a light windbreaker, and a hat like Annika's.

"We're going to San Marcos," he informed them. "The jeep and I are too well known around the lake and New Braunfels, so we're going back routes to San Marcos. We'll use the cash your dad gave me to buy pre-paid phones, groceries, a few clothes, and wigs or whatever you think you need to develop a disguise.

"We'll start at Walmart; I'll get the phones, you look at the jeans - cowboy cut Rustler, Levis, or Wrangler, not skinny leg. Dickie's has good overalls and work clothes, and you need to consider that the purpose of shopping there is DISGUISE. I don't know if they have wigs, but maybe? Anyway, stay in the women's or shoe section and I'll find you.

"From there we'll hit HEB on the way home. If I can, I'm going to try to get us a nondescript pickup to drive - this red Cherokee is too well known."

"What is this lake called?" Hanna asked. "Canyon," he replied.

"It's pretty, with all the hills and cliffs," Annika observed. "But there are a lot of houses and resorts."

"True, and it can get crowded during the summer. By the way, we're going in on Purgatory Road and coming back on Devil's Backbone. Does that make you nervous?"

They laughed, and began a conversation about disguises. Erik appreciated hearing Annika laugh and tease, so soon after the traumatic experience. She wasn't over it or mentally healthy yet - he could see it in her eyes and face when in repose - but every inch of normalcy regained mattered.

"Eric, Annika is too unusual a name and might clue someone," Hanna offered, "We're thinking of calling her by her middle name, Isabelle. We could call me Gabriela, and you Alexander."

"Remember, you have to answer when called. Those names aren't uncommon down here, but neither of you look Latina, so how about Isa and Gabi and Alex? Would you answer to those nicknames?" That required another conversation, but they ultimately agreed, if they could call him Lex. He said that was fine, and he wouldn't feel like his dad.

They breezed to town, drove through the Texas State University Campus, crossed the spring-fed San Marcos River and then IH-35, and stopped at Walmart. The beauty of San Marcos and the university campus was the new topic of conversation on the way and on the walk across the crowded parking lot.

Neither was familiar with Walmart, but he pointed them in the general direction and headed for electronics. After his purchases, he sent a text with Hanna's phone telling Johnny to call after eight tonight, and called his dad with his new phone. "Hey! What's shaking?"

"Glad you called; I have a contractor who needs to talk to you. He'll stop by after he gets through today, probably around dark"

"Cool. Is he the carpenter we need?" "No, he's electrical, and has a great reputation - give him a listen."

"Will do; we'll talk tomorrow then." "Bueno."

The girls were in the dressing room when he got there, so he decided to buy a few things for himself. The first cool front had blown through and another was headed down, so he bought some jeans, denim shirts, and Dickie's carpenter overalls - lots of pockets for ammo, if needed. He added steel-toed work boots and then went to check the dressing room.

This time they were ready, with a cartful of clothes and a couple of bikinis. He didn't ask, but they offered quietly that there was a well-hidden place to sunbath on the southwest side of the house. "Then why the suits?" he asked casually. "Isn't all over better?"

"Because you're a perve!" Hanna answered quietly. He chuckled.

The dove hunting shotguns were still stashed under a blanket on the back floorboard, so they loaded the loot in back, loaded, and drove to the H-E-B on Hopkins, which was the road they would take out of town. No one mentioned the camo and face paint at either store, probably because they weren't the only ones dressed that way, and it's bird season!

Erik added a Seafoam Green 45-quart Rtic Extreme Cold ice chest to a third basket, and they made their way to and through the shortest checkout line. They were good on groceries for a week, at least, and would probably gain weight unless they exercised.

Erik couldn't help but take them up to Wimberley when they reached the cutoff, and they were charmed by the tranquility and beauty of the Blanco River with all the Cypress trees lining the bank, and by the tiny 'downtown' that was a weekend tourist destination.

The Devil's Backbone Tavern called to them, but they were hesitant to go in for several reasons, including somehow being recognized, so they went to Fisher and then toward the lake house. 'Lex' remembered the gun shop and gun range when they drove by, and took a chance by stopping in.

The owner and one shooter were there and neither blinked when they walked up. "Got one here who's never fired a pistol, but she's moving to New Orleans and I'd like to let her try out a few she might carry. What do you recommend?"

He produced and recommended a Glock 19 9mm, which he had 'Isa' fire a few rounds from. Surprisingly, she was a good student and quickly increased her accuracy until almost every round was in the torso of the target. She was excited by her success, and said she loved the gun.

Erik pulled the owner aside. "Donnie, I don't want you to think badly of her, but she's here and hubby isn't for a reason. We can't wait out all the government BS, so is there any chance we can make a cash deal and walk out with the one she's holding?"

"Nope, but I have one in back I got from a gun show, and there are no records on it. There would be a small surcharge, but you can carry it out. Want me to get it, let her try it, and see if we have a deal?"

It was silver with laser-engraved roses on the barrel so she loved the look, and it shot as well as the other. Lex fired a few to make sure, and then walked to the office and paid the amount the owner asked, plus enough for a couple of boxes of ammunition.

Isa was walking on air. "That is so much fun! I never dreamed shooting a gun would be fun, but I loved that! And I did pretty good, didn't I?"

They assured her she did, that she was a natural, and that they were certain she'd be just as good with a shotgun and rifle! She beamed and chattered, and both Gabi and Lex wondered if it could be that simple.

They took the shotguns inside but kept the pistols with them as they carried the groceries in and put them away. Lex locked up, Isa and Gabi started dinner, and he kept an eye on the road. The house was on a point of land that extended out into the water, creating coves on either side. Past the house, the point was brushy on the sides, but had been cleared toward the lake.

There was a patio on that side and a rocky pathway from it down to the water. They were the last house on the winding, unpaved road, and the houses around them were summer homes that were rarely used.

It wasn't a great place to hold off an armed gang, and there was no escape except back up the road, but they were counting on not being found.

"Driving up," his new phone proclaimed.

He took a shotgun and his .357 to the door and watched the man get out. Well damn! He waited until the big man was near the door before opening it, motioning him inside, and exchanging a powerful handshake. "I did not expect you, Ranger Hammer!"

"It's Retired Ranger Hammer, Erik. I retired last year and bought into a little company that provides security and conducts investigations for some very nice companies in and around the San Antonio-Austin corridor. Bet you didn't know that there's about 700 Fortune 1000 companies represented in our little neck of the woods, did you?"

"I did not!" Erik replied, and noticed he had lost his audience. He turned, and saw the girls watching from the entry to the kitchen; they were now free of camo, wearing cutoff jean shorts and tees from Walmart.

"So, now I know who you're protecting," Hammer said without moving his eyes. "Introduce me."

Erik accompanied him to the girls and asked him to explain who he is and why he's here. After he doffed his hat he said, "Ladies, I'm retired Texas Ranger Bill Hammer, and I'm a part owner of a security and investigations concern headquartered in north San Antonio near the airport. I'm also an old friend of the Swahn and Lundell families, and Alex asked me to stop by.

"I'm retired, but still well connected. You must be Annika Olsson, and you must be her friend Hanna, who disappeared with her and this outlaw. You are both as gorgeous as reputed, and I'm very glad to meet you."