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They were stopped, hauled out of the car, and drugged in short order. With his last conscious thought, Gavin regretted not having Bear drive them today.
The soundof water sloshing against a dock woke Rachel. That and the monster headache. “Uggh. What’d they give us?”
“I don’t know but it’s a bitch.” Gavin said beside her. She sat up, surprised she wasn’t tied up.
“Where are we?”
“On a dock in a shipping container,” Gavin said.
“So, anywhere between Virginia and New York,” she muttered and leaned her head back against the warm metal of the empty container.
“More likely Maryland. I don’t think we were out that long.”
She used the wall to stand, her joints stiff and her headache making it hard to control her movements. Gavin had his flashlight app on and was slowly walking the perimeter of the structure. Rachel made her way to the sealed doors and glanced around to see if there were any way they could manipulate the thing to open. She banged on the door in frustration. “It’s sealed tight.”
"Mmm-hmm."
"Has the sun gone down?" The air in the container was stale and warm but not unbearable. If the sun hit it directly, however, she had a feeling it could get very hot, very fast.
“Probably, the temperature’s gone down in here since I came around.” He flicked the light off, eliciting a yelp from Rachel. “Sorry. We need to conserve the light.” He flicked it back on until she’d made her way to him and eased back to the floor. He joined her then turned off the flashlight.
“The Senator?” she asked, fearing the worse.
“Not sure. He wasn’t here when I woke up. I figure they have him in an office or a room somewhere and are trying to get names.”
“The names we don’t have,” she whispered and felt his nod. She let her head rest against his shoulder for a moment then straightened. “Okay. We need to find a way out of here.”
They took turns using their flashlight app and going over every inch of the space. Gavin wrenched free a wooden bar that had been added to the structure, eyeing it uncertainly. “It won’t get through the door, but if someone comes for us, it’ll be handy to have.”
Rachel stomped her foot in frustration as she made her fourth circuit of the perimeter. “There’s got to be a way.” Then she stomped again. “Where’s the echo?”
Gavin’s face was in shadow, but she felt his puzzlement when he repeated her. “Echo?”
“The echo. We pound on the wall, it echoes. We yell and it echoes. The stomp didn’t echo.” She knelt on the floor and felt around. “It’s wood.”
They started examining the floor then. The wood, smooth in places and rough to the point of splinters in others, was thick by the sound of their thumping. In one corner Gavin found a hole just large enough for a rodent to crawl through. When he pointed it out, along with the gnawed edges, Rachel quelled a shiver. “How long would it take us to gouge that out?”
“We’re going to see,” he replied grimly and went to retrieve the board.
They took turns working at the hole, gouging it with the screws protruding from the wood piece and cursing. Less than an inch of wood had been pulled away when Rachel flopped against the wall, her hand cradled against her side. A jagged cut on the edge of her palm oozed blood where she'd jammed her hand through the jagged hole.
“It’s not going to work.”
"Not with this," Gavin said and tossed the wood down. It made a thunking sound as it hit the floor and skidded into the wall. A noise from the outside of the container almost sounded like a reply and they glanced at each other.
“Hello?” Rachel said then repeated herself a little louder. Was it morning? Were there workers milling around outside?
Her answer came when a loud bang on the side of the container startled her. Scraping noises at the locked doors brought both of them to their feet and finally, a screeching sound preceded one of the doors opening. A shaft of light blinded Rachel and she saw the Senator fall onto the floor before the door closed again.
Gavin got to him first and cursed.” He’s been beaten,” he said and ran his hands over the older man’s body, searching for injuries. Rachel touched Grayson Mitchell’s forehead and then felt for a pulse at his neck. His rapid pulse told her enough that she could release the breath she’d been holding. When he groaned and rolled onto his stomach, she knew he’d survive, at least for now.
He pulled to a sitting position and looked at them through bloodshot eyes. “You two okay?”
Gavin spurted a laugh. “We’re fine. You bleeding anywhere?”
“Don’t think so. I have a broken rib or two, though.” The Senator folded over until he was on all fours, then pushed up, groaning as he did. Rachel and Gavin helped him to his feet and he surveyed the room, its illumination eerie. Rachel’s phone lay on the floor with the flashlight aimed toward the ceiling and casting shadows.
“Not the officer’s club,” the Senator mumbled and headed to the nearest wall where he leaned wearily.
