Chapter 1721 - The Signal

~ Eastern Europe, the base of the Lebedev family ~

June 7

5:36 AM

An ear-piercing sound woke up Sarah.

She frowned and moaned while wondering what that noise is. In the next second, her eyes sprang open and she pushed a pile of papers she used as a cushion off the bed while scrambling to get to her laptop.

That is the sound she set when Aiden's ring sends a GPS signal!

Sarah blinked her sleepy vision away and focused on the dot which represented the location from where the signal came and two heartbeats later, the dot was gone.

Sarah frowned and swiftly typed on her laptop, retrieving the last ten seconds so that she can see it again and confirm that it was real.

6:01 AM

Michael, Oni, Nala, Haru, JoAnna, Jeff, Sophia, and Felix are gathered in the study room and listening to Sarah.

"Are you sure that is from Aiden?" Jeff asked with anticipation obvious in his voice.

"Yes." Sarah confirmed. "It was only for a few seconds, but that is more than enough."

At that moment, Zack and Masika entered the room.

"Is it true?" Zack asked while taking a seat without removing his sight from the map of Asia that has a dot on the East side of Russia.

Sarah smiled. "He is alive. They used a crate ship to transport him from Los Angeles to Port of Magadan. As soon as he disembarked, the ring started charging and I got a video from the port's surveillance…"

Sarah played a ten seconds long video where they see someone being half-dragged in the back of an unmarked white van without license plates. 

"His head is covered, but that is Aiden. Or someone who has his ring." Sarah explained. "The van drove toward North. Unfortunately, they got out of the range of cameras and it seems that they have a signal jammer with them but it will not be impossible to track them. There are not many roads toward North from the Port of Magadan."

They all exhaled in relief. Getting out of range of cameras is not a good thing, but this is the first news they got of Aiden after eight days and it was refreshing.

"We don't have contacts in that area.", Michael said with a frown.

Sarah bobbed her head. "I do. Prepare the helicopter… Michael, Oni, you will come with me."

"Where are we going?" Michael asked Sarah.

"We are going to check the port and talk to the locals. This can't be a one-time thing. Someone arranged for that van and waited for them."

Sarah instructed Haru and Nala to keep investigating the video and to see if they can find any other clues.

Masika and Zack got a task to check security cameras along the roads in the direction van disappeared and to see if they can spot the vehicle.

"There is a chance that they change vehicles.", Zack warned Sarah.

"I know. But this is something and until we are confident that we are hitting a dead end, I want us to keep on looking into it."

Sarah left Sophia and JoAnna to handle regular things and to notify the kids of the good news while she went to the villa of Elder Milena, requesting to talk to Edward.

"Dad… You gave me Specter's number, so I assume you know him." Sarah said to Edward as soon as he joined her in the study.

His messy hair was a giveaway that he just woke up.

Edward blinked. "Yes…"

"I need you to ask him to do something."

Edward smirked. "Why don't you ask him?"

"He is taking too long on the phone and I don't have the time for that…" Sarah ignored Edward's frown. She gestured to him to come closer to the laptop where the map was shown. "Aiden was in the Port of Magadan about one hour ago. I need Specter to track a van via satellite. I'm sending you the timestamp, location, and the video I've got. Please, talk to him as soon as you can. There is a risk that they will change vehicles and then it will be difficult to trace him..."

It took some time for Edward to understand what Sarah said. "You found Aiden?"

"Yes. He has a GPS tracker on him, but it worked only for two seconds before they blocked it. In the video, you can see that he is being taken into a white van… Can you do this for me?"

"Of course…"

…

By the time Sarah finished talking to Edward, the helicopter was ready.

Ron and Zula heard about the news and they also wanted to go with Sarah. Sarah approved because Zula is good in Russian and she can help talk to the locals.

From the helicopter, Sarah called Mr. Wang and asked him for assistance in tracking the van. He agreed immediately.

"I will notify my men in the Port of Magadan to start gathering the information. And my forces to the North will keep an eye out."

Sarah was happy to hear this. "Excellent, Mr. Wang. I will be there in two hours. Please tell your men to be tactful while talking to the locals. They need to capture their targets and preferably not kill them because we need to interrogate them. It is important that the information of us looking for that van does not leak because… they kidnapped my husband. Whoever sees the van should not engage it. I will send you what I have so far."

Mr. Wang sucked in a breath before responding. "I understand."

Sarah was looking at the map that Mr. Wang sent to Sarah, with information about the areas his forces are covering.

"There are gaps…" Ron said. "If they move toward the West, which is highly likely considering that Marija met with them here… We have these areas uncovered."

Sarah exhaled. Ron is right. Well, there is one more person she can call...

"Mr. Patel, this is Sarah White, aka Sigma."

"I remember you, Mrs. White." Mr. Patel responded. "How can I help you?"

Sarah could hear that he is smiling, but she knows very well that Mr. Patel's kindness comes with a price tag. However, she is ready to pay whatever is necessary.

Sarah decided to go straight to the point. The more she drags, the more time Mr. Patel will have to come up with a variety of requests for her.

"My husband is kidnapped. He is taken North from the Port of Magadan in a white unmarked van. I need your help tracking it without engaging in a conflict."

"That sounds serious. And it seems that it will take many resources…"

"Name your price Mr. Patel." Sarah interrupted him.

"The job you did for me was a decent one, and I am in a good mood so it will be… three hacking jobs."

Sarah cringed. This is like three blank checks. "Can you be more specific?"

"It can be five hacking jobs."

"No, no, no. Three is fine. How do I send you the information about the van?"

"Hmm…" Mr. Patel hummed and paused. "I'm in the middle of something and I don't have the time for this so I will transfer you to one of my assistants. I can assure you that she is capable and has access to my resources. She will be at your disposal until you find your husband. How does that sound?"

Sarah sighed. Does she have a choice? "OK."

"Great. Please stay on the line for a minute so that I inform her about the deal and transfer you…"

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