by AJ Newman
“We’re probably going in late summer, but maybe up in the Northwest.”
“I’d like that. Maybe an RV so we can see the sights as well as camp. Jere gets bored easily.”
That made me think back to camping with Sally and the kids. Her idea of roughing it was lowering herself to staying at a four-star hotel. The kids and I hated taking her, so we ended up leaving her at home.
“We’ll fly up to Colorado and rent an RV and see the Northwest. We’ll go to Yellowstone, Old Faithful, some ghost towns, and then head across the high desert to Bend, Oregon, and on to the coast. Bandon will be nice at that time of the year.”
Jane placed her hand on my thigh. “Will I be able to trust you?”
Damn, the woman agrees to go on a camping trip for weeks with me and then throws ice water on me. I placed my hand on top of hers. “The real question is – can I trust you not to attack me? Most women find me irresistible after camping with me out in the wild.”
She leaned toward me. Just when I thought she’d move closer to kiss me, she said, “Just remember, Jere will be chaperoning us about every minute of the day.”
That finished freezing my thoughts.
A few minutes later, I saw movement from the silver SUV. The two people left the vehicle and walked toward New Waves’ front door. Jane said, “Darn, their bad luck. Five minutes to go.”
“I hope they’re not going in to warn them to evacuate.” I recognized Bill, Mike’s head of security, but the woman wasn’t Beth. Mike’s window was down. “Mike, there won’t be an explosion unless Bill is committing suicide.”
Mike slapped his hand on the side of the SUV. “Damned traitor. Jane, arm the bombs.”
Jane pulled something that looked like a radio control for an RC plane and fiddled with it for a few seconds. “Done! Boom in ten minutes. I also sent one of the drones to land on the last batch of FXA2 we made today.”
“Big boom.” This was going to be a spectacular explosion, and I hoped everyone remembered our stories and didn’t let anyone trip us up during the investigation.
We watched to make sure no one entered or left the building, and then I saw a freaking UPS truck pull up to make a delivery. The driver backed up to the dock and went into the building only to return and then drive away in a couple of minutes. We’d almost had a disaster.
My phone rang! Who could be calling now? I looked and saw the name and answered. I listened and then said, “Glad you’re safe, are you sure about the others? Oh shit.”
Damn, the bad luck! Just as I was going to tell Mike about the call, a familiar car drove up to the front of the building. The car looked a lot like my ex-wife’s Jaguar. Suddenly Cindy yelled, “Dad, that’s Mom!”
Mike yelled, “Stay! You don’t have …”
Jane grabbed my arm, yelling, “You don’t have time! Don’t leave!”
I couldn’t let my kid’s mom die. As I left, I said, “I have to save her, or I couldn’t look Cindy in the eye again.”
Jane yelled, “I’ll honk the horn with a minute to go!”
I kissed her and ran.
Cindy jumped out of Mike’s SUV and attempted to follow me, but Mike caught her. I yelled over my shoulder. “Stay, I still have time to get her …”
I was now halfway to Sally when the thought hit me that I could die, saving the bitch who’d left me for a rich man. I sprinted as fast as I could while yelling for Sally to come to me. My chest heaved as I drew in the hot air, and my lungs burned as if I was running in the winter. The dumbass didn’t hear me because she had an earbud and was talking to someone. Probably trying to sell Bruner’s building before it went boom. Sally finally turned and grinned that snarky grin of hers. The bitch thought I was happy to see her.
I heard a horn honking and knew we were in for a frantic run back to the others. Summoning courage from deep down, I ran faster and yelled, “Bomb! Run! Now! Follow me!”
She almost fell down when I slammed into her. Grabbing her arm, I yelled again as I tugged her behind me. “Bomb! Run!”
We wasted a few precious seconds for her to comprehend that she needed to haul ass. I wasn’t in the best of shape, and I mentioned earlier I’d put on an extra thirty pounds. She fell twice, but I kept dragging her along the second time. She could grow new skin. Thank God, she was a skinny short bitch, and I could keep her moving. The bitch cursed me with words that would’ve made me blush on any other day.
We still had fifty yards to go as we passed some parked cars. My legs were shaking and felt like rubber. That’s when I knew we couldn’t make it out of the blast zone in time. I started looking for shelter from the blast even though we were booking it along as fast as my tired legs could run. Suddenly the earth trembled, and there was a fireball right behind us. I pushed Jane behind a parked car and fell on top of her. The fire blew under the vehicle, and the pain began. My body shielded Sally from most of the flames and the shrapnel. The car was on fire. I fought through the pain and dragged Sally away from the burning wreck, dodging debris that had fallen. That’s when something crashed into my back. My head bounced off the car, and yes, I saw stars but no angels.
Sally struggled to get out from under me, stood up with tears rolling down her cheeks, expecting to be the center of attention as usual. She didn’t even look down at me and say thanks for saving her worthless neck. Mike and Jane ran to my side and helped me to run with them away from the burning cars. We were only fifty feet away when a Chevy’s gas tank blew and knocked us all down. All I could think about was living through this and getting back to Cindy and Jane.
Mike had to throw me over his shoulder to move me to my truck. Jane helped him put me in the back of the truck, and Mike drove off with Jane in the bed with me. She tended to my wounds the best she could as the truck weaved its way to the other end of the complex. Jane tugged at my back and then tore her t-shirt off and wadded it against my back to stop the bleeding. She held me in her arms and kept the pressure on the wound on my back.
I was barely conscious and couldn’t remember everything, but Jane and Mike often remind me about the dumb things I said that evening. I lay on my side with my head on Jane’s lap. “My back and head hurt. Got any aspirin?”
“You can’t use this as an excuse to keep from taking me camping.” Jane laughed.
My mind was a bit foggy. “My back and leg are on fire, but I think I can still catch you.”
“You’ve suffered some serious wounds. Now I won’t have to worry about you chasing me around the campfire. Maybe we’ll just stay here and let me play Nancy Nurse.”
I couldn’t resist. “Could you wear one of those skimpy nurse outfits?”
Jane snickered. “Now, I think you have a brain trauma. I’ll wear my flannel shirt and dungarees.”
I passed out, looking up at an angel’s face.
Cindy stayed behind as planned. Well, I was supposed to be with her to help explain the reason for the explosion. Of course, we would blame the Russians for hijacking the process to make explosives. Mike told her to make up a story about inviting Sally to drop in and see where she worked. Sally agreed to play along since that was exactly what she’s been doing. She’d planned to surprise Cindy and me and then take us to dinner. Piss poor timing on her part.
Our story changed to have Jane, Mike, and I leave to work at J&M’s office in London. We were supposedly working on new business with the Brits. Mike’s contingency plan was to have his jet ready for us to escape the Russians in case they caught on to our plans.
Mike drove a short way to a hangar at the south end of the runway. His men ran over and took me aboard a Gulfstream with the others following behind. The jet took off as one of the men said, “I was a medic, and I’ll tend to you.”
We’d just cleared the other end of the runway, accelerating into the sky when an explosion destroyed several cars in the parking lot. Jane described the event since I was flat on my back. “Holy crap! A car exploded beside the first building north of the New Wave building. The smoke and f
ireball rose to a hundred feet. Five cars are on fire, and only the hood and door are left from the one that blew up.”
Mike asked, “We didn’t have any bombs out there, did we?”
“No, I checked video from each drone to make sure they were in place before we detonated them,” Jane said.
“Sir, several Apache and other helicopters are approaching from the north. Hang on, I’m heading south.”
Epilogue
London, England
Jane’s eyes caught mine, and she smiled. “Doctor Logan, you’re on pain medicine, and is that your best redneck pickup line?”
“What pick up line? I really thought you were a beautiful angel.”
Damn, ‘Doctor Logan’ sounded a bit formal, but I didn’t know why. I asked, “Are you okay. What about Cindy?”
Crap, I’d forgotten about my daughter. Then I wondered why I needed to worry about her. I was dazed and confused.
Before Jane could answer, I heard, “We’re both okay, and you’d better not talk about people sitting behind your back. Dad, how do you feel?”
“Mainly with my fingers and toes as Mike always says. The truth is, I’d like a pain pill but don’t want to get hooked on them. My back feels like it’s on fire.”
Jane checked the monitor. “Doctor, you have a pain pump and would be in deep doo doo without it. I’m afraid you’ll have to grin and bear some pain.”
My smile was gone, and I was a bit confused. “When can I get out of this joint, and where am I?”
Cindy noticed the change in my demeanor. “We’re in a hospital in London, and you’ve been here for four days. You had a chunk of metal embedded in your back and a severe burn on top of the shrapnel wound. We know you’re in pain, and it’s okay to be a bit irritable.”
I wasn’t grouchy, just confused. “I’m in London? … London, why am I in London, and why are all of you here? Where’s Mike?”
Cindy walked around the end of my bed with Jere in tow. “Yes, London. It’s a long story. Mike’s setting up an air ambulance to fly you back to the States. He’s been swamped between working with Bates’ people and his spook contacts.”
“Tell him I need to see him.”
“Doctor Logan, Jere wants to speak to you,” Jane said.
At first, I couldn’t remember who the hell Jere was. “Bring him over,” I said, hoping I’d remember who he was when I saw him.
The boy walked around the end of the bed to stand in front of me. I said, “Hello, Jere. What are you doing here?”
I didn’t know where here was but hoped that maybe I’d regain my memory if I talked with the people in the room and pick their brains.
My daughter, Cindy, said, “Mike has been back to the States twice and brought Jere and Jane’s mom back with him.”
“Uncle John, you need to get better soon so you can take us camping.”
“I’m doing the best I can to get well. Pray for me and tell the doctors to hurry up and cure me.”
“I will, Uncle John.”
Hmmm, Jere must be related to Jane, and why is Jane here or her mother for that matter? Crap, everyone seems to know what happened but me.
It was the end of visiting time, and one of the nurses ran everyone but my daughter out of the room. Just moving my arm was painful, and I was damned tired of lying on my stomach. I lifted my arm and drew Cindy close. I sorta hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Cindy looked down at me with tears in her eyes. “Dad, what do you remember?”
Oh, crap! Something terrible had happened, and I don’t remember much of anything after Jane and I sat in my truck. Then I wondered why I would be sitting in a truck with my student. “Hon, my head hurts almost as much as my back. I know you and Jane, but who is Jere, and why is Jane’s mom here? Crap, where are we?”
Cindy started balling big tears. Crap, I done it again.
“What’s wrong, ‘punkin’?”
“Nothing.”
“Then, why are you crying?”
“I’m happy.”
“Huh?”
“Dad, you almost died.”
That caught my interest. Now I needed to find out what had happened to me and why I didn’t remember anything much past the end of the school year.
Cindy filled me in on part of what had happened to me. She told me I’d been unconscious for several days, which was a good thing since the doctors had to stitch the wound in the middle of a large burn on my back. The wound was deep enough that they had to leave a drainage tube in my back. The car had mostly blocked the flames, but there was a vertical ten-inch long by four-inch wide burn just below my shoulder blades.
I still couldn’t remember much and had a thousand questions. “Why was I in an explosion?”
“Please wait for Uncle Mike to explain all of that. What you need to know is you saved Mom from certain death. Dad, you are a hero, and no one but our group will ever know about your courage. We destroyed the building and their complete operation, including everyone from Bates on down. The threat is over.”
“What threat? Surely you don’t mean James Bates the billionaire?”
“Yes, he went boom. Please, let Uncle Mike explain that part.”
“You’re just confusing me. Is your mom okay?”
“Yes, some scrapes and bruises that she blames you for.”
“Of course, will she ever show any gratitude?”
“You know, Mom.”
My mind shifted to Jane. We’d been friendly but never anything inappropriate. After all, she was my student. “Unfortunately, I do. Maybe I’m off base, but what put a bug up Jane’s ass, and why is she here?”
Cindy looked down at the floor. “You ran from her to save your ex-wife’s life. I think she’s jealous.”
“Why would she be jealous? She’s just one of my students. Oh, crap.” I remembered kissing her. Several memories of me kissing Jane flooded my mind.
“Dad, you don’t remember working with Jane and you two becoming close?”
“I just had some thoughts flash through my mind. Did I kiss her?”
“Several times. I thought you’d hook up.”
“I don’t like the term ‘hook up’.”
“Do you like that I expected you two to be caught bonking any minute. Was that better.”
No, it wasn’t. Part of me tingled when I thought about kissing Jane. “We were that close?”
“I thought so.”
I started remembering more about Jane and our relationship. “Hon, it’s coming back to me. I really do care a lot for Jane. I miss her. She’s beautiful, smart, and a great mother. Damn, Jere is her son!”
“Dad, have you told her any of that? Yes. Jere is her boy. He’s very fond of you.”
Cindy filled me in on Jane and Jere. She even told me that I’d already been in the hospital once, and her mom caught me kissing Jane. She also told me I was rich just before leaving the room. The money didn’t seem so important.
Mike came to visit early the next day. “John, old friend, how’s it hanging?”
“Painfully. How come I’m the only one of our group who got injured in this fracas and please tell me what happened? I’m slowly remembering parts of what happened.”
Mike snorted then snickered. “Because you were the only dumbass who ran toward the bombs to save the woman who screwed around on you. You’re a genuine hero. Stupid but a hero.”
Mike sat beside me. I said, “I don’t like her, but I couldn’t let the mother of my children die. I can’t remember much, can you fill me in on what happened that day?”
“Let’s start with Beth left the company.”
I didn’t know how, but I remembered she didn’t leave the company. “I know, she started working for me.”
“No, John, she died in the explosion. The good news is her stock in the company reverts to me, which I’ll share with you.”
“Huh? No! Beth wasn’t a traitor. We hatched a secret plan to have her cozy up to Bill and Grotski because neither of us trusted Bill.”
&
nbsp; “John, her car blew up in the parking lot across from New Wave. Jane saw someone who looked like Beth placing a black box on her old truck and assumed it was a tracking device. She took it from her truck and placed it on the SUV. Boom.”
“Mike! No! I’m remembering now. I got a call from her after she escaped the building under the UPS truck, the one that left just before the explosion. Damn, I just remembered her message. Bates, Bill, and Carl survived. They hid in the back of the UPS truck. Bates wanted the building destroyed. We just helped him blow up all of the evidence against him.”
Mike was visibly pissed. He cursed and then said. “Most of the bodies were burned so much that only a few could be identified. Neither Bates, Bill, or Carl’s bodies were found. I guess we can take some measure of solace since we saved millions of people.”
I said, “Bates was going to use the technology to kill tens of thousands of minority folks. He wanted to start a new country and saw them as a drag on the economy. That human syndrome apparently meant Bates thought there were too many people in the world for him to control. Reducing the population would give him an edge on starting his own country.”
Mike wiped his brow. “I guess Bates will pop up again but alls well in Mobile now, and Bates is a fugitive. I need to get the update to my CIA friends.”
My head swam with the news. “Why aren’t news reporters singing our praise on TV? All I see is there was an explosion in the USA possibly linked to a terrorist cell.”
Mike bobbed his head like a boxer trying to duck a punch. “My old friend in spookville was watching New Wave closer than I thought. They couldn’t get anything on them and used us to solve the problem. The explosions are officially terrorism-related per the US Government, and we have no connection to the problem.”
“What about Brunner?”
“He had an unfortunate car accident on the way home that day. His family did get to keep his three million bucks.”
I still had a few questions. “What about our money from New Wave and Bates?”
