Chapter 4
Drake watched as the last of the students milled around to talk with Jillian. The question and answer session had bled over the regular class hours, but only a few students still lingered. His stomach lamented his lack of food today. He glanced at the clock behind her and stood, stretching the kinks out of his back. He hadn’t exercised today, and his body was making sure he knew how displeased it was with him.
Another loud grumble from his gut reminded him the only thing he'd eaten since this morning was a muffin Miss Amanda slipped each of them as they said their goodbyes. He made his way down to the instructor’s podium. Cliff was involved with two students by the door. Their conversation appeared animated and congenial. Several of the students who lingered next to Jillian turned as he approached. He read the looks on their faces. Several of the young men puffed up, trying to look more intimidating. The girls, well…they were girls. Batting eyes, coy looks, and blushes. If Dixon were here, the girls would be treated to lively conversation. He, on the other hand, wasn’t much on convo. In fact, he hated meeting new people. Dixon had that talent, he didn’t. He’d follow D’s lead and play to his hand, but if it were left to Drake, he’d end up sitting at the bar, alone.
“Hi. Are you a new professor?” A four-foot-nothing little piece of blonde cheerleader-type female tipped her head back and smiled at him, fluttering her eyelashes. Damn. What was she? Eighteen? Drake lifted an eyebrow at her and glanced at Jillian. The imp. She hid a smile behind her hand. He shook his head and couldn’t hide the smile her laughter brought out.
“Trisha, did you have a question?” Jillian’s humor fed through her words. The girl scrunched her eyebrows together and glanced from Jillian to Drake and then back again. “Oh. Oh! I’m sorry, Doctor Law, I didn’t know your husband was here.”
Jilly’s eyes widened, and her eyes darted to him. Drake moved the two steps it took to reach her before he slipped a hand around her waist. He channeled Dixon and smiled at the jailbait. “No problem. We were just going to go get an early dinner. My wife has neglected me today, and I must admit, I’m famished.”
He turned his smile on Jilly. Her deer-in-the-headlights look lingered as her eyes scanned his face. He goosed her side with his hand, and she jumped. “Oh, right.” She glanced back at the student. “Trisha, I’m sorry. If you’d send me an email with your question, I’ll get you an answer as soon as I can.”
“No problem! I’d let your husband take me,” the girl gave him a brazen up and down before she finished her thought, “anywhere. Enjoy taking care of that appetite.”
They watched the girl bounce out of the lecture hall, past Cliff who was still talking with a student. “Oh, my God.” Jillian stepped out of his hold, much to his displeasure. He liked the way she fit against him. “She thought you were my husband?” Jilly shook her head.
“Why is that so unbelievable?” Drake followed her as she moved to the desk and started to pack up her computer.
Jillian stopped and flashed an irritated glare his way. “Right. Like you’d be married to someone like me.” She shook her head and tossed her computer into her bag.
Drake put his hand on her arm, stilling her suddenly aggravated actions. “Hey, what just happened there?”
Jillian shook her head and moved away from his touch. “Nothing.”
At the sound of Cliff’s voice asking the students to give him a minute, they both turned. Cliff jogged up to them. “Jillian, I need to head to the lab. One of the teams we have building the artificial intelligence power unit has an issue.” He turned towards Drake. “You’ll be staying with us tonight?”
Drake tipped his head acknowledging the fact he would be spending the night. That worked for him. He hadn’t checked in anywhere.
“Good. Depending on what’s going on, I could be late. I’ll see you in the morning before you leave.” He extended a hand and Drake shook it. Cliff reached over and gave Jillian a kiss on the cheek. “Take him to Scrolls. The Lobster Thermidor is excellent.”
He darted back to the small group, and they exited the lecture hall. Jillian placed the strap of her bag on her shoulder and motioned toward the door. “The lobster is excellent.”
“That’s fine with me, but don’t think you’ve sidetracked the conversation. Why the attitude a minute ago?”
She tensed beside him as they walked down the hall toward the main exit. She shrugged and shook her head, visibly releasing her clenched muscles. “I am well aware, I’m not the type of woman you go for.”
Drake opened the door for her as they walked out to the massive covered overhang. “I’m rather perplexed that you think you know what type of woman I would go for.” He lifted his hands and made air quotes on the last two words.
She stopped and spun towards him. “Excuse me? I know exactly the type.”
Drake threw back his head and laughed, “Prove it, Professor.”
Jillian’s eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline. She spun on her heel and started down the stairs.
He turned to follow as a burst of granite splintered beside him. Years of experience in warfare, being shot at, and his constant training kicked in. Drake lunged forward and tackled Jillian, rolling them both behind a parked car. He covered her with his body. Finally the sounds of shots being fired registered. “Are you okay?” He was laying on top of her and could feel her body shaking.
“What’s happening?” She screamed when the bullet hit the tire on the far side of the vehicle.
“Someone is shooting at us.” He pulled his handgun out of its holster at the small of his back and peeked around. Huddles of terrified students clumped themselves behind vehicles and bushes. “Stay down. Don’t move. Don’t make yourself a target!” His voice rang with the authority of countless missions. “Don’t get up, Jilly. Don’t move.” She grabbed her head with her hands and clenched her eyes shut.
Drake shifted off her and pressed against the side of the car they were using as cover. He glanced at the steps and then calculated where the shooter would be based on the angle of the shots. He lifted up and peeked through the driver’s side window. Several buildings across the green space could be used as a fortified shooting position. He crab-walked to the end of the car. There was no movement around him. Sirens in the distance wailed in ever-increasing volume as the campus police force and local PD swarmed the space. Drake holstered his weapon and moved to cover Jillian. There hadn’t been a shot fired in over two minutes. Either the perp was waiting for them to expose themselves or they were fleeing.
Drake lifted his phone and hit speed dial. The connection to Guardian was almost instantaneous. When the operator answered, Drake hissed, “CCS, now!”
“CCS.” Zane’s voice came across the connection.
“Drake. Shots fired MESE Campus. Tell the campus police the shooter was on the north side of the green in one of the buildings. At least four stories up by the direction of the shots.”
“Affirm. Standby.”
Drake peeked over the door and watched as patrol cars slammed into reverse and backed out of the square and out of harm’s way. He heard a cornucopia of cell phone alerts sounding off. The campus’ emergency notification system. Unfortunately, with the times they lived in, the notification systems the schools employed were a necessity.
“Status.” Jacob’s voice came over the line.
“Secure. I don’t see anyone down. I have a shit ton of scared kids, but from what I can tell, the shots were directed at us.”
“Doctor Law?”
“Yeah.” He glanced down at Jilly. Her shirt was torn, and she’d been scraped up when Drake tackled her to the ground. She was staring at him. She was afraid, but she was alive. Thank God.
“Campus police have the area cordoned off, and they are in the process of clearing the buildings. They’ve sent out an SMS message to all the students to shelter in place.” That was Jewell’s voice.
“I have a suspicion they won’t find a damn thing.” Drake reached down and put his hand on Jill
ian’s shoulder. She closed her eyes and shivered. Damn it, he didn’t need her going into shock.
“Sniper?” Jacob’s question rang through the connection.
“I would lay odds on that, Skipper. Three shots. One when we were on the stairs. I got us to cover, and then two went into the vehicle we’re sheltering behind. Nothing since. He fucked up and missed. The two bullets after we made cover were nothing but anger.”
Drake knew the type well. They prided themselves on one shot, one kill. The thought that the mark had escaped would piss off a sniper. If they weren’t surrounded by law enforcement right now, he had no doubt that the shooter would wait until they moved and take them out.
“No notifications of student injuries,” Jewell reported.
Drake glanced at the huddles of students he could see. None of them looked worse for wear. Terrified, but in one piece. “Copy that.”
He slid down the side of the car and sat down. Jillian’s eyes followed him. “Come here.” He motioned to her, and she scurried from where she laid on her belly over to him. Drake wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her into his side. “You okay?” He held the phone to his ear as he spoke to her.
She shivered and pushed into his side. “They were shooting at me?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He admitted.
“Why? They wouldn’t be able to get to my invention if they kill me.” Drake rubbed his hand up and down her arm, trying to give her some warmth.
“Because you don't live, the invention more than likely doesn’t get presented. No invention, no problem, the world rolls along in the status quo.” Jewell spoke the words Drake thought.
“Would anyone be able to reproduce your work?” Drake saw a kid start to get up. He shouted, “Get the fuck down and stay down until you get the all clear.” The kid dropped like a lead weight and stared at him.
Jillian shifted so she could see the young man. “Idiot.” She drew a shaky breath and shook her head. “I don’t see why not. They could pick apart my work and use it as a template. The mechanics and math are solid.”
“So if you weren’t here to claim copyright, anyone could mass produce your product?”
“Yeah.” Jillian tucked closer to him and shivered.
“Well, that is the opposite end of the spectrum,” Jacob mused. “It could be someone who didn’t want her invention to see the light of day or someone who wanted it for themselves. No limit on the fuckwads after that tech.”
“They’ve cleared the three buildings to the north. One broken window in the building directly across the quad. Still no reports of injuries to students or faculty,” Jewell interjected.
“Roger that.” Drake dropped his head back against the car door. “Skipper I’ll need a co-pilot. Have them up here and ready to go. I won’t take any chances on this. Shit has gotten real. We’re not dealing with a jealous contemporary. They hired a marksman to take us out in broad daylight on a college campus.”
“I’m heading to New York anyway. I’ll pull Mark Jenner with me, he can meet you tomorrow morning.” It sounded as if Jacob covered the phone for a moment as he spoke to someone. The connection cleared, and he continued, “Okay, he’ll be with you until you don’t need him anymore.”
Drake knew Mark. He was a solid pilot with similar ratings. He’d be solid back-up.
Jillian answered his questions with one-word replies. He was worried about her, but until he could move, just keeping her responsive and safe was his goal. He moved to ease her position and still allow him to move if he needed to react. Thank God he’d plugged his phone in on the drive up. The full charge kept Guardian on the line while he received updates as the buildings were cleared.
“Drake, they are going to give the all clear.” Three hours after they walked out of the engineering facility, Jewell relayed the news.
Once again a chorus of cell phone alerts sounded, and he watched as the students lifted cautiously from where they’d been sheltering.
Drake stood and helped Jillian to her feet as Cliff raced out of the building. “Oh, my God! I could see you from the door, but they wouldn’t let me out. What happened?”
Drake motioned toward his armored SUV. “Let’s get into the truck, and I’ll fill you in.”
“Agent Simmons, a word.” Drake sent a quick look over his shoulder as the campus police chief and one other man pounded the cement in a direct line towards him. He reached in his pocket and gave the vehicle’s key fob to Cliff. “Go, get inside and turn on the heat for her. Get her warm. Do not push the red button under the Plexiglas flip top.”
Cliff held his daughter and looked from the keys to the vehicle. “Why, what is it?”
“An extreme duress alarm. Believe me, you don’t want to push it.” He glanced back at the men coming after him. There was more than enough going on without alerting every law enforcement agency in the tri-state area that a Guardian needed assistance.
Cliff's shoulders straightened, and they moved toward the vehicle as the chief stopped in front of Drake. “What the fuck is going on?”
Drake lifted an eyebrow at the chief. He got it. The man had just lived through the one thing every campus in the nation dreaded. The magic difference in this case? There had been no injuries. It didn’t make it right or change the danger that the students faced today, but it was a silver lining.
“Sniper. We were exiting the building, and there was a shot that split the two of us. I pushed Doctor Law down, and we rolled behind this vehicle. There were two other shots fired. Both hit the vehicle. One sounded like it entered the engine compartment, one took out a tire.” Drake turned and placed his hands on his hips. “Your emergency notification system was fast and for the most part kept those kids controlled. Your force should be commended.”
“It helped that Guardian alerted us to the possible location of the shooter. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. Did you find any shell casings?”
“Nothing. One broken window, that was it.”
“I don’t have any proof, but I don't believe the shooter was after your students. There were no other shots fired to obscure his intent. Nothing to indicate an unbalanced or unstable person. This guy was a professional. When his first bullet missed its mark, he attempted another shot. In my opinion, the third shot was fired in frustration.”
“So, not so professional after all?” That came from the man accompanying the chief.
Drake swung his eyes to the mouse of a man. “Wrong. He was expecting a one-bullet, one-kill scenario.” Drake pointed to the building where he believed the shot came from. “The building where he or she sat in wait is at least a nine-hundred-meter shot. I can guarantee you the shooter was a professional. No pissed off student or person who’d had a mental break, or a person with an agenda would take three shots at a very specific target and then leave without anyone knowing they were involved.”
The chief did a double take. “You really believe a sane person did this?”
"Yes, the person who did this was sane and dangerous."
“I’m going to need a statement. City cops will need one, too. We have the state bureau of investigation heading this way, so you’ll need to stick around.”
Drake glanced at the SUV. “Sir, I need to get the charges under my care to safety. Guardian will provide you with everything you need. They were on the phone with me the entire time. I’m sorry, but I’m pulling the federal trump card on this one. The sooner I get Doctor Law off this campus, the sooner the threat to the safety of your student body is eliminated.”
“You mean the shooter was after Cliff’s kid?”
“That is my hypothesis. Guardian can help you with any press release.”
The chief’s eyes closed momentarily. “Fuck me. I hadn’t even thought about that. The press will be swarming.”
“Yes, sir. Guardian has an entire PR division. Give them a call before you talk to anyone. They can help.”
"I'll do that." The chief started to turn away but paused
and glanced over his shoulder. “No offense, Agent Simmons, but I don’t ever want to see you on this campus again.”
“None taken, sir.” Drake spun on his heel and headed to the SUV accompanied by a loud grumble from his stomach. Drake glanced down at his gut. “Shut the fuck up.” He rolled his shoulders and glanced at the building from where the shots had been fired as he walked to the armored vehicle. Today needed to end. It had been one fuck ton of oh-shit with an added measure of fucked-up on the side. Since he’d opened his eyes this morning, his brother had left, and he’d posed as a human shield. Not the worst day he’d ever had, but sure as fuck, not the best either.
Chapter 5
Jillian placed a cool, damp washcloth against the road rash on her forearm. She was bruised, and her neck hurt from the force with which Drake had knocked her down, but considering the alternative, she’d take the aches and pains. She could hear her father and Drake talking, not the words, but the steady sound of their voices. Her hands still shook. She clenched them into fists and closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. Someone had tried to kill her. To kill her. Because she’d made an affordable, efficient energy source. If her dad hadn’t called the twins? If Drake hadn’t been there? A spine-chilling sensation played hell with the composure she tried to maintain. She’d be dead. Her life would be over. That thought was the one that splintered her world. In an intimate way, as they sat on that sidewalk hidden behind the dark blue car, she’d confronted her mortality. As the campus police cleared the buildings, each minute that ticked by fueled the bitter cold reality that someone wanted her dead.
There was so much she wanted to do. So many things she wanted to experience. She had spent the majority of her life in classrooms and labs, putting off other things she’d been interested into work on making her mark in her field. She opened her eyes, tipped her head back slowly and blinked hard to stop the tears that had been falling since she locked herself in the bathroom. Would her effort to provide sustainable, clean, efficient energy be the cause of her death?
Drake (The Kings of Guardian Book 11) Page 4
