Deep Down Under

Chapter 47

Alser Strasse, Vienna, 6:01pm

Sadowsky woke as if a jolt of lightning had struck him from above.

"You were out for almost an hour," said Sophia, who was looking at him in shock.

Giggs arrived with a bottle of water in his hand, "Here," he said and handed the bottle to Sadowsky. He gulped all the water and relished every sip of it.

They both helped him get to his feet. "What happened?" asked Giggs.

Sadowsky didn't reply. He was still shaken by the images he had seen, and then he turned to Papa, "You know what happened, don't you?"

The old man's face wore a look of concern, "It's like an infectious disease, look at me in the eye, and you will catch it."

Sadowsky raised his eyebrows right after dusting his coat, "Then why did you give it to me?"

Papa raised his wrinkled finger and pointed it to him, "You didn't know the consequences, so I had to make you see."

Sophia's eyes widened. Then, she knew exactly what had happened to Sadowsky.

"Great," he muttered, "Now I get to predict the future."

A car came to a screeching halt in front of them, Sadowsky stumbled back and almost fell down, but he managed to regain his balance.

The door swung open, and a man exited the car. He had curly hair and a slightly tanned skin tone. "You all are gonna have to come with me."

American, he was definitely American.

"Where are my manners? I'm Agent Eisenhower with the FBI," he introduced.

Finally, Sadowsky was meeting up with someone one of his own nationality. The Agent looked at him, "Do the names Mavis and Gabriel sound familiar to you?"

That was when Sadowsky realised that his plan had worked after all. Perhaps, if he hadn't recorded that voice file then he would have been far from safety.

"What are we waiting for? Come on!" exclaimed the Agent rather informally.

The four of them made themselves comfortable in the sedan. For the first time in two days, Sadowsky finally felt some feeling that he was safe.

But what he had seen still sent chills down his spine.

* * *

Vienna Police HQ, Vienna, 6:45 pm

Eisenhower led the four through the busy floor where different men and women were brainstorming different ideas on how to exploit the situation to their advantage. So far, they were all stumped.

Eisenhower tapped on the shoulders of one of the officials, "Any luck on the bomb?"

The official replied by shaking his head. Sophia's body froze. A bomb?! The gravity of the situation was getting heavier and heavier. More grave. That meant an increase in the expected number of casualties.

She shot a glance at Sadowsky, who was still shuddering with fear from that traumatic experience. Sophia knew how he felt; it had happened with her once, after that, she didn't sleep for two nights in a row.

That was what fear did. It would plant itself within you, and devour you from the inside. No different than a parasite.

Eisenhower led them into a room encased in glass panes, with a table and a TV set inside. It was currently occupied by two people. A man and a woman. They were faces Sadowsky recognized all too well. Gabriel and Mavis.

"Profs! Good to see you!" greeted Gabriel with a wide grin on his face.

Sadowsky grinned back. It was beginning to feel more at home here in Vienna, with everybody coming from the States.

He nestled himself in the chair, not his regular leather coated, teakwood chair, but it was sufficient for him. The past day had taught him a lot on improvisation and adapting to your surroundings.

Mavis arrived with cups of coffee in her hand, she handed one to Sadowsky and took the other one for herself.

"Okay, back to business," Eisenhower started, he pulled a tablet from a suitcase, "We've got a major situation on our hands, they're threatening to blow a bomb, think you can recognize this place?" And turned on the tablet and played a recording of one the frequency hijacks.

There was a bomb sealed in a wooden crate but open from one side, it was propped up with some planks, possibly from the open side if they were resourceful.

Sadowsky focussed more on the background. It looked a storage room or janitor's closet of some sort. He shook his head, "Nope."

Eisenhower pursed his lips, "Damn. Thought you could help zero in on the place."

Eisenhower handed the tab to one of the officials around, "Call me if you find anything."

He rubbed his palms furiously, "Do have any idea who they are?"

Sadowsky turned to Giggs, who gestured him to tell the truth but spare him.

He looked back to Eisenhower, "Not a clue."

"Really? Nothing?"

He raised his arms in the air, "What could I do? I spent most the time trying to escape or I was drugged. And whenever I asked them, they wouldn't answer," he lied.

"Okay, forget about that. Do you know the girl who was on TV?"

Sadowsky nodded his head, "She's my friend's daughter."

"Is he her father?" asked Eisenhower pointing to Giggs, who whispered into Sophia's ear, "Do I look that old?"

Sophia shook her head, so did Sadowsky in response to the Agent's question.

"Then where are her parents?"

"Dead," came the reply, cold and dry.

Sadowsky got frustrated, "That's not important, we need to save her."

"Well," Eisenhower said, "Thought you might ask."

* * *