Free Captured (The Prometheus Project Book 2) by Douglas E. Richards Page B

didn’t wait for a response. He selected three mercenaries. “The four of us will go with Mr. Resnick here to work on our escape,” he announced to his other soldiers. “The rest of you stay here and guard the prisoners. Major Manning will be in charge whenI’m not here. Follow his orders as you would mine. The three million dollars I guaranteed each of you is just the beginning. Prove your loyalty to me and the sky’s the limit.”
    After a short telepathic discussion, the kids decided to follow Tezoc and their father. They already knew where the prisoners were being kept. But if they failed to learn where their father was being taken they might not be able to find him again.
    Tezoc and his group set out in a green Hauler. The large electric truck was easy for the siblings to see from a great distance and allowed them to lag far behind and still follow in their golf-cart. Not that the soldiers were paying attention to the terrain behind them anyway. Tezoc’s mental abilities made them overconfident; certain that the towering alien would detect anyone following them, and just as certain that there was no one left to do so anyway. They surely would have paid far more attention had they known there were two kids in the city who didn’t register on their boss’s personal radar screen.
    The mercenaries stopped against a seemingly random part of the city’s barrier and set up camp. Tezoc handed their father a small computer and an object that he could use to measure various forces in the wall and explained their use. He then sent his men, one at a time, on various errands, carefully describing the location and appearance of the equipment he wanted them to gather.
    After only thirty minutes, a large table and full complement of chairs from a nearby building had been moved to the site. The table was made from a yellow-colored alien material that was cool to the touch and remarkably smooth. Ben Resnick sat at the table furiously studying data and formulating ever more complex equations for the computer to solve.
    A considerable distance away, his two children were carefully peeking around the side of a building, watching.
    “Tezoc never leaves Dad’s side,” whispered Regan. “And there are always at least two of the three soldiers guarding him.”
    “I think we need to try to rescue him anyway,” whispered her brother. “Those men are watching Dad just to make sure he doesn’t try to get away. They can’t possibly be expecting a rescue attempt. I think we can surprise them.”
    Regan shook her head. “It’s suicide Ryan. We wouldn’t stand a chance. Plus,” she added, “we don’t know anything about Tezoc. He could be stronger and faster than he looks.”
    “We can’t just do nothing while time runs out,” protested Ryan.
    “I agree. But if we’re going to try a suicidal rescue, let’s at least try one that makes sense. Let’s go back to the other building and try to rescue the prisoners there. If you count Tezoc, there are four people guarding Dad.That leaves five soldiers at the other building—three inside and two guarding the entrance.”
    Ryan nodded. “That’s right.”
    “So we’d have to go up against about the same number of soldiers to free Dad or to free the prisoners. But Dad is out in the open, making surprise almost impossible. The prisoners, on the other hand, are in a building that has a secret back-entrance the mercs don’t know about. And if we pull it off somehow, it should be easy to free Dad, because then we’ll have Carl and his men on our side.”
    Ryan nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “You make a lot of sense. So do you have a plan for the rescue?”
    “Come on, Ryan,” she said with a grin. “I’ve figured out who we should rescue. Just so you don’t feel left out, I’ll let you decide how we should do it.”
    “I’ll take that as a no.”
    “I don’t have any idea,” admitted Regan. “But I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out