I Will Not Yield

by William Hogan

  The skilled SWAT sniper stationed to protect the exit spotted the gun flash. He dispatched the shooter and his companion, saving Sokol the job.

  CHAPTER 34

  A Place Of Healing

  Mike’s feet throbbed. He took a load off of them after pacing the length of his jail cell. His seat was a plank of wood on legs. There was no mattress, no cushioning, and one thin blanket. The hollow cube of thick gray stone and adjourning bars disoriented him. There was one way in and no windows. He was caged. The stench of festering piss floated in the air. This sucks.

  He laid down on the hard surface and started to drift asleep. Fighting terrorists and the sixteen hours of FBI interrogation took its toll. Mike was cooperative and did not request a lawyer.

  On the edge of sleep, footsteps echoed on the floor. Mike opened his eyes and peered through the bars. Shit, it’s that pretty oriental FBI agent. More questioning.

  The footsteps sound increased and came to a halt. Mike dragged himself upright and went to the bars.

  “I need rest before answering any more questions. Or I’ll ask for a lawyer.”

  “You won’t need a lawyer. You’re free to go. A terrorist named Marat corroborated your story. He convinced us you were wrongly imprisoned. It appears he would prefer an American prison to Russia’s Black Dolphin. That damn place is insane.”

  “And?”

  “Well, it means this for one.” She held a piece of paper in front of his face.

  Mike hadn't noticed she'd been holding one. He read the document header, 'Certificate of Early Parole.'

  “No shit? The FBI has no control over me?”

  “No shit. You're a free man Mr. O'Connor. Our country owes you a debt of gratitude.”

  “Get me the hell out of here. I need to see Kim.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I will also give you a lift if you don’t mind.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Mike yanked on the door latch to Kim’s hospital room. The flowery ‘Get Well Soon’ balloon he had purchased downstairs slipped from his hand, floating to the ceiling. Damn the weight tied to the string fell off.

  He leaped to snatch the string and the six-inch teddy bear he was carrying escaped his grip. Mike snatched the stuffed animal before it hit the floor while the balloon string raced back up. His grip on the string tighten. Stop the damn comedy act already.

  He entered her room and was shocked how much colder it was compared to the hallway. An antiseptic aroma assaulted his nostrils. The black couch functional. A nightstand stood to one side with scattered hospital papers, and an old television hung on the wall.

  Mike looked at Kim, a cart stacked high with the monitoring equipment mimicked a robotic soldier guarding her. The heart monitor drew a squiggly line with every beat. His heart froze. Chill dude, chill.

  Standing next to the side of her bed was an IV stand with two large bags, one with a clear liquid and the other with a brownish fluid. The lines snaked across Kim’s right arm and terminated with shiny needles stabbed into her skin.

  A large swathe of hair had been shaved to her skin, a discolored ring circled her eye, and transparent plastic tubes attached to her nose were connected to a breathing machine.

  She looked asleep. If I shake her, she’ll wake up. He moved to wake her.

  Charlie’s voice stopped him. “Mike.”

  His mind refused to forget the tone and pitch. Mike turned in the direction of the voice, Kim’s old boss, sat beside her hospital bed. How’d I miss him? He read the title of the book in his hand, ‘The Hobbit.’ Mike closed the distance between the two.

  Mike’s brows furrowed and his lips straighten. “Not exactly happy at seeing you here, but how is she?”

  “There is no change. The doctors removed the bullet and no major internal damage. She was lucky to have expert medical help close by. The head injury is called a cerebral contusion. It means she has a bruise on her brain. She should recover.”

  “What do you mean should?”

  “The doctors will explain better, but they induced the coma to reduce brain swelling. They gave her medication to assist the antibiotics in healing her wound.”

  “That bullet was meant for me.” Mike’s palm slapped his head. The sound echoed in the room. “What the hell have I done?”

  Charlie’s voice sounded cold to Mike. “Feeling sorry for yourself is not going to help her. The Doctors want to try ween her off the drugs tomorrow. You need to be ready to help.”

  Mike’s muscles tensed, but he gave a nod of agreement. “I don’t like you very much. I really think you should have had that asshole that shot me on a better leash. You were his boss, for Christ’s sake, but I appreciate what you’ve done for her before and after she left the FBI. I’ll be civil as long as there is work to be done.”

  “Glad to see you are coming to your senses. I worked with Kim for over three years. I trained her when she was a snot-nosed rookie. I’m a close friend. Sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with it.”

  “We have a truce now, but someday things might be different.”

  “You know I regretted what happened. It will haunt me the rest of my life, but I can’t change the past. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness.”

  “You don’t have it yet, that’s for damn sure, but you’re a step closer today.”

  Mike walked to Kim’s side and held her hand. “You get better now, you hear.” He heard somewhere that the greatest gift of love was sacrifice. He would have taken his last breath to see her smile.

  He leaned and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. He whispered, “I’ll be back.”

  Pulling away, Mike noticed faded dots sprinkled her shoulder. Freckles? How much more have I missed? How much more will I miss? Damn!

  Mike disappeared from the room to find Kim’s doctor.

  It took Mike fifteen minutes of loud conversation to get the doctor to consent to see him.

  The doctor approached Mike. He wore a tag that said, Dr. Sawyer. Doctor Sawyer had gray hair and bushy eyebrows. His hair and eyebrows were both unkempt, but his hospital clothes were neatly pressed. His deep brown eyes drew you in.

  Mike sensed intelligence.

  He motioned Mike to take a seat.

  Mike fidgeted but obeyed.

  “Her brain swelling was life-threatening. The swelling started to constrict blood flow and would have destroyed additional brain tissue. The medical staff induced a coma after she did not respond to other treatments. Her brain is resting and the swelling should be decreasing.” He shushed Mike. “We are going to test this theory by reducing the coma-inducing drugs tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? Promise me it will work.”

  “No promises, I’m sorry. Brain injuries are tricky things. There is a small chance she may never recover.”

  Mike stretched his shoulders. His arm announced its displeasure with a jolt of pain. “Tell me what to expect. And you can forget about odds, she will pull through.”

  “We’ll start weaning her off the drugs we used to induce the coma and do this gradually to prevent any withdrawal symptoms. If she is stable, can open her eyes, follow commands, and shows the strength to breathe by herself, there should be no reason that she can’t be taken off the ventilator after three to seven days.”

  “That was a lot of ifs, doctor.”

  “I feel confident she’ll recover. She was in great shape before the incident, and the medicine seemed to reduce the swelling. There is a chance she will lose some of her memory. Be prepared when she wakes up.”

  “What do I need to?”

  “Pray and wait. Be by Kim’s side. She knows you’re here. She can hear your voice. It was good that her friend read to her. Talk to her.”

  “I will be there for her.”

  The doctor nodded and left on his rounds.

  Mike shouted. “Can you keep the press off my back?”

  “Any staff members who leak what you are doing or your whereabouts will be fired immediately. I won’t let a m
ember of my team or anyone in this hospital ruin her chance of having a loved one by her side when she wakes up.”

  “You’re a good man Doc.”

  “You know we don’t like being called Doc?”

  “Sorry, sir.”

  Two days later, a small weight was lifted when Mike entered the room, and the tubes had been removed.

  On the third day, he chased out Fast Eddie, Melanie, and Charlie for trying to force him to rest. After they had left, his gaze refused to move from the couch. To make them happy, he unfolded the sleeper sofa and threw on a pillow. His eyes locked on the pillow. The pillow made him sad. The fluffy whiteness meant surrender. He collapsed. ‘What the hell?’ was his last conscious thought before he crashed into the thin mattress of the sofa.

  A sound woke him. A moan. He sprung off the couch and ran to Kim. Her eyes were half-open. Mike made an effort to be brave. “Kim, Kim, you’re up.”

  His grip on her hand was tender but trembling; tears flowed.

  Kim’s voice was a wheeze in the wind. “Who are you?”

  “M--Mike. You don’t know who I am?” He stared at her incredulous.

  “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

  I’m going to kill her! Realization slammed home. A surge of energy struck him. He bolted from the room. “Nurse! Doctor! Nurse! Doctor! She spoke, she spoke! Come quick!”

  Kim’s spontaneous recovery was indeed spontaneous, there was a lot of work to do, but the danger was now part of her past. After hearing from Doctor Sawyer, Mike clambered back on the sofa bed and instantly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  CHAPTER 35

  Deception

  Sokol stood on the Metropolitan Police Department’s First District Headquarters’ steps. Surrounding the steps to the entrance was a large sidewalk lightly dusted with snow. He crinkled his nose at the smog that clung to the air.

  He tugged on the collar of his cheap black suit and adjusted his cream colored tie. The white starched shirt’s collar scrapped against his neck. I’d rather wear real camouflage.

  He took a moment to check his surroundings, standard situational awareness. Time to enter the building.

  He strutted to the entrance. Once inside, he met a large barrier in the form of a messy desk. He approached the desk to speak to the officer. The cameras mounted in the corners tickled his senses. It was an involuntary reaction. Facial recognition would confirm his disguise as Special Agent Townsend. He gave the cameras a quick glance. Might as well use them to my advantage.

  Sokol prepared, he studied the layout of the building and could locate an exit quicker than most of the officers who worked there. A week previously, one of Sokol’s men performed routine maintenance on several of their networked copiers. During the maintenance, they copied the contents of the data stored on each of the machine’s hard drive. The hack provided everyone’s schedule for the State of the Union, their assigned locations, force structure, and the unfortunate location of a pimple on a photocopied butt of a disgruntled cop.

  He reached into his jacket pocket and waved official papers. “Good day sergeant, these papers say I’m supposed to meet with your Captain as soon as possible.”

  The grumpy old Desk Sergeant waved the papers away. “And who the hell might you be?”

  “Sometimes I don’t have enough brains to grease a skillet, here’s my badge and I.D.” Sokol slowly laid the papers on the counter. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and sprung opened his Bi-Fold wallet. The FBI Shield and ID were a perfect replica. “Special Agent Townsend reporting for duty.” Sokol clicked his heels together and made a half-hearted salute.

  The desk sergeant did not appear to be impressed. “Well, I got bad news, Agent Townsend the Captain’s not in. Would you like to see him in the morning?”

  “We both know that’s bullshit. My superiors would not like it one iota if I didn’t meet with your captain today.” He grabbed the papers and waved them. “I’m being assigned to the Congressional Security Detail as a courtesy to your department. Our head honchos discussed this. Please call and let him know I’m here.”

  The Desk Sergeant picked up the phone and dialed the extension. “You’ll see him?” A bewildered look faced Sokol. “Surprised that happen, follow me.”

  Sokol played the long game by doctoring his phony records to show an unparalleled knowledge of Russian military tactics. After the attacks, he made this knowledge known, ensuring he would be placed on a security detail upon request. Bribes, booze, and accommodating women melted any resistance to his effort.

  He stayed in the footsteps of the sergeant who lead him into the central processing area of the station. He passed drug dealers, prostitutes, twelve- and thirteen-year-old kids in handcuffs, and an upper-class women sporting a black eye, swollen lip, and torn clothes. Fucking America.

  Captain Simmons’ office door was wide open. He stepped in and stepped back in time. The walls were decorated with baseball paraphernalia from an era long past. He took a minute to admire the autographed picture of the “Shot Heard Around the World.” He studied baseball and other sports but not this moment. The label on the photo made it simple.

  He directed his attention to the captain and extended his right hand. “Agent Townsend, my pleasure.” He eyeballed the room. “You have some great stuff here.”

  Sokol sensed the pride in the captain’s voice. “Started my career in New York. If you look closely, those are the Brooklyn Dodgers, not those sissy LA boys. Anyways, you’re my Russian expert?”

  “Rat teebya veedet’. Pleased to meet you.” Sokol proffered his hand. “That would be me.”

  “Good, I hope we don’t require your services. I will arrange for the car and an access badge during the State of Union.”

  Sokol's lips pointed toward the ceiling and his teeth shown.

  The captain scratched his chin. “I got a rookie detective needing grooming. You now have a partner Agent Austin.”

  Sokol suppressed his reaction. He kept the smile but didn’t appreciate the idea of a partner one bit.

  Later, Sokol contacted the foreman of the crew installing a winter lighting display in Stanton Park.

  “Is the project on time?”

  “It will be done.”

  “Leave the city and country if you value your life after you complete your tasks. Things are about to get interesting.”

  His generous donation authorized his workers to bury cables and setup a multicolored lighting display illuminating the proud General Stanton on horseback. Sokol was delighted at the irony of the statue pointing to his target, Washington’s political elites.

  The lighting’s cable connections spoked in four directions from the three-tiered concrete base of the statue in the center of the circular park. All the cables attach to Washington, DC’s power grid.

  Their length and thickness made a suitable antenna amplifier and transport system for the strongest land based EMP burst ever attempted. The power grid infrastructure is fragile and would not survive the attempt.

  CHAPTER 36

  There Is No Place Like Home

  A surprise birthday dinner loomed. Mike let Kasai, Eddie, and Charlie in on the ambush. Mike had Kasai take Kim shopping. Kasai stressed that her friends call her by her nickname.

  After the party decorations had been mounted, Mike and Charlie mingled at the kitchen table playing a game of chess.

  It was Mike’s move, and he slid his queen in place.

  Charlie scratched his head. “Hey, you’re not supposed to do that. Where did you get that idea?”

  “I’ve been waiting for someone to open with the Sicilian, so I’ve been saving this little surprise. Besides, ain’t there a law or something that said cops aren’t supposed to be good at chess?”

  “You know we’re not all dumb ex-jocks.”

  “Hmm… That’s pretty strange thing to say. By the way, was your guy able to get info on that voicemail message? I can’t believe she waited to tell me about it.”

  “We we
ren’t able to trace the cell. The bastard kept the call short and used a sophisticated blocking scheme. What’s weird is there was something interesting about the type of cell phone he used. I zoned out on the technical mumbo-jumbo.”

  “Get to the point, please.”

  “It was a Russian Gresso phone with special encryption. I don’t know if you know anything about them, they’re exquisite-looking cell phones; as alluring as any women.” He winked. “Basically, it is latest iPhone encased in titanium with gold trim. They have a weatherproof coating. Costs around five grand.”

  Mike shrugged. “Sounds like him. The bastard had good taste when he set me up.”

  The doorbell rang, two long and one short. Mike told Kasai to sneak ahead and signal a warning. Mike swept the chess pieces in a box and hid the board.

  “Damn it, I was going to win.”

  “In your dreams sharpshooter.” Mike has not forgiven him a hundred percent.

  Lokai barked in agreement.

  Charlie worked on the surprise. They arranged the party stuff, cake, pizza, and gifts.

  Kim strolled through the door with a handful of shopping bags.

  Mike, Charlie, Kasai, and Eddie boomed, “Surprise!”

  “Oh, you guys shouldn’t have.” She gave Kasai a knowing wink. “Our friend here is pretty sneaky.” She ran to Charlie and kissed him on the cheek and then turned to offer Eddie a hug. She jumped back when he tried to caress her ass.

  “Behave yourself, boy.”

  Eddie held both palms toward her, his fingers pointed to the ceiling. “Guilty as charged. But you can’t change the stripes on a tiger.”

  Mike slapped Eddie on the back of the head.

  Eddie balled his fists and gave Mike the eye. “Let’s don’t start that shit again, it’s her birthday for Christ’s sake.”

  Lokai growled in the background.