Capturing Ella

Chapter 25 - Joe

2:08pm the next day.

'Helicopter RI302 ready for departure, over.' The helicopter pilot asked the Maui base, waiting for the response from the air control, and sure enough about fifteen seconds later we were cleared for takeoff.

I looked at the time on the digital display above the door. We were only taking up one minute late, but that minute felt like a century but I smiled as I enjoyed the freedom. Since the phone call last night, both Ella and I were locked into the nuclear bunker under the gym, on opposite sides so we couldn't even talk to each other. Not that we would need too, as we'd be spending the foreseeable future with each other down at the safe house. Annie was suppose to join us, but thankfully for her they found a safe house within Sweden, her brother's new flat that was completely uncharted so she was fine to go over there. She flew out only an hour and a half after that phone call, leaving just Ella and I with no where to go. There were discussions of sending me to an extended relative but was promptly shot down when all my family were found in the visible Net. Ella had the same issues, the only place safe for her would be her brother's flat in Denver and that brother was in the FBI. She would be in just as much danger over there as she is here. So they had to find us a safe house for the twenty nine days, and a few days after for it to blow over. They said they would work on it when we were gone but they cannot guarantee they'd be safe now as Ella was their key. They were effectively dumping us two somewhere in the middle of nowhere so we couldn't help with the efforts.

I couldn't sit on my ass for thirty days until a plane gets blown up, though. And I know full well Ella will be trying to escape the second her helicopter lands to help. She's a multitude of things, including someone who could be using me in the blunt words of Jason, but the last thing she'd do is watch a plane full of innocents get blown up.

'Joe, you need to listen to us now,' Jake shouted against the noise of the helicopter blades. I turned my gaze to him. I was sitting cross legged on the medical bench on the right side of the helicopter, whilst Jake and Quinn who are coming to accompany me down to the safe house. Based on the way the helicopter was going, we would be heading down to the South West. I knew where we were going was still in the UK, but that was about it.

'Yeah,' I replied back.

'Quite a few things you have to memorise.' Jake said, and I nodded. 'The most important is for your safety is that no one will know where you are being kept. Once you are off this plane, our memories regarding the location will be wiped and we'll be knocked unconscious until we're off the helicopter. The pilots will never remember this flight. All tracking devices on the helicopter are off, and the location is not even mentioned in any databases on site. The place you are going is a holiday home that is all we know.'

'Okay, right. So you'll have no idea of where I am at any second.'

'Correct.' Jake said.

'So we need you to wear these little black boxes. You put it on the hem of your boxers; Ella has hers on her bra. They will transmit the data to Norway, then Norway back down to base on your life statistics. So it'll tell us the vitals of your heart rate and temperature and we can see if you're still alive. There will obviously be silent periods where you don't wear it but just humour us and put it on for like an hour a day so we know you're not dead.' Quinn shouted but I only heard him through the headphones for the helicopter controls as appose to normal sound. The helicopter blades were strangely loud.

'Got it,'

'Okay, you and Ella will be sharing everything for the next month and a half - we know you like her so there is no issue for you. This is your new bank card. In the bottom of Ella's bag there is a machine that you'll have to use to set the PIN on the card which you'll use in shops to buy crap. The account is unlimited, so splash out but not too much. Don't be so bloody obvious to any passersby - don't go shopping for like Fred Perry shirts, go into Primark.'