Bylines & Deadlines

by Kimberly Vinje

  Someone grabbed her from behind. Trying to struggle, her legs left the concrete walk, and her arms were pinned to her sides. She couldn’t get free, and she couldn’t scream through the hand over her mouth. Just then the short man from outside the hotel room appeared before her. Her panic grew, and her eyes widened. She kicked her legs harder. Her ribs hurt from the pressure of him squeezing her.

  “Look, we’re not going to hurt you,” the man said. “I’m Agent Roberto Massoni from the FBI.” Her mind soared from one thing to the next, and she stopped her struggle against the man holding her. She knew her eyes still showed fear, though. “If we let you go, promise you won’t scream? We need to talk to you about the man you’re traveling with, Jack Rawlings. You’re in a lot of danger, ma’am. Can we let you go?” She nodded once. The man let her go, and she looked back at him to see what he looked like.

  “I want to see your ID,” she said. The man opened his coat and pulled a leather billfold-type holder. She took it from him and opened it. On one side was an FBI badge, the other a photo ID. She studied it and then the man’s face. It was him in the picture. “How did you find us?”

  “The cell phone one of you took off our man has GPS tracking.” She mentally scolded herself for being so stupid. “Look, we have to talk fast. Mr. Rawlings is a dirty agent who works for his father. We think you’re in grave danger.” Grave danger, she thought. She had never heard anyone actually talk like that. “We need to know where he’s taking you. We’re trying to get more information to put him and the rest of his family in prison,” he said.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said thinking something didn’t seem right. “He could have already killed me. He’s had a lot of opportunities.”

  “He knows we’re following him. Now, ma’am, I’m sure you didn’t know what you were doing, but you’ve helped him kill several of our men. We even have reason to believe you may have single-handedly killed some.” She swallowed hard and couldn’t speak. The shot she had fired into the woods rang in her ears. This was too much for her. “Look, we’re not holding you responsible. We want him.”

  “We’re going back to his family’s house,” she said without thinking about it first. The man looked at the other two men and nodded.

  “Makes sense. He’s probably going to prove his loyalty by taking you there. Get back on the truck with him. Do what you’re doing,” he said.

  “Wait, I need to...” she began as she heard Jack’s voice from the side of the building.

  “Megan? Are you okay?” The voice got closer. The man put his finger to his lips and disappeared into the woman’s room with the other man in black. She cleared her throat.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. Her voice shook when she spoke, and she walked toward him. They nearly ran into each other rounding the corner.

  “Hey, sorry,” he said laughing. She didn’t look up and stiffened at his hands on her arms.

  “Just watch where you’re going,” she said and forced a stiff laugh before rushing past him. She went into the gas station and paced the motor oil aisle. Big Lou came in to pay. She walked up to him and glanced at the clerk. “Um, hi. Did Jack give you some money for that?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He did. He’s a nice guy. Seems to care an awful lot about what happens to you,” he looked her up and down but not in the obvious way some men did.

  “I know you’ve done an awful lot for us already. Could I ask you to do me one more, please?” She used her best damsel in distress eyes, and it wasn’t much of a stretch for her at this point.

  “If I can,” he said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out some money. She took the gas receipt and the pen on the counter to write down the number for Will’s cell phone, his name, her name and a quick message. She said a brief prayer that the number was still his and she remembered it correctly.

  “As soon as you drop us off, please call this number and read this note. The man’s name is Will - he’s my boss. Whatever you do, please don’t tell my friend I gave this to you.” She glanced over the man’s shoulder and saw Jack by the truck looking at her. She formed a smile and said, “He’s so protective - he gets a little jealous if anyone else helps me. Will you do this for me, please? It could be a matter of life and death.” And she picked up a pack of gum and paid for it. She glanced out the window at Jack.

  “Uh, sure,” he said.

  “I think we better get going,” she added. As she walked out of the station she looked around, but there was no trace of the men she had talked to moments earlier.

  She got to the truck and hesitated before letting Jack help her up the step. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it might jump out of her chest. They made their way up to their mound of coats as the door shut. Now what? She thought to herself. She dropped to her uninjured hand and knees, grabbed some coats and hugged them to her as she sat with her back against the wall.

  “You okay?” Jack asked.

  “Mm hm,” she said quietly.

  “Want to talk some more?” he probed.

  “No, I’m tired,” she said. She put her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She wanted to run through every event. The only thing she knew for sure was that she wasn’t sure of anything.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Megan pretended to sleep for the duration of the ride ignoring Jack’s whispers of her name. Yet she was aware of every noise he made. She played back the moments since she had gotten on the plane and first noticed him. She ran through every word, every gesture that was made and was no closer to understanding anything. She used to trust her instincts. She used to know how to read people.

  When the truck stopped and they were standing in a rest area somewhere outside of New York City, she searched Big Lou’s face with hopeful eyes. Did he remember the receipt? Did he remember her plea? If he did, would Will still have the same cell phone number? Would he believe some strange man with an unbelievable story? She swallowed hard to free her throat from the growing lump and felt tears well in her eyes. Now, what? Her mind raced. Damn! She had had an entire truck ride to plan her next move and all she could think about was Jack. Her heart beat erratically and sweat formed on her forehead and upper lip.

  “Megan?” Jack said taking her arm. “You okay?” Think quick, she thought.

  “No,” she gasped. “Can you get me something to drink, please?”

  “Lou, Will you stay with her for a second?” Jack asked as he took off for the rest area building. Megan waited for him to be out of ear shot. She looked up at Lou.

  “Do you still have the note?” He nodded worried. “Good. The phone number is for an old boss of mine who is probably the only one who can help us get away from my husband. Jack doesn’t know him and might be hurt if I ask anyone else for help. He thinks there might be something more than friendship between us, but there isn’t. Know what I mean?”

  “Sure,” Lou said. “You just leave it to Big Lou.” Jack was jogging back toward them.

  “Thank you so much. You’ve been so wonderful to me,” she said. Jack tapped the top of a soda can.

  “This is all they had,” he said and popped the top. He handed the can to her, and she took a sip. “Drink it slow.” He looked up at Lou and added, “We haven’t been able to eat very well. I’m sure she’s just tired or maybe the hand’s infected.”

  “Are you sure you want me to drop you here?” he asked.

  “Yes, we’ll be fine,” Jack assured him. Megan looked at the tab of the can. She wasn’t so sure. However, she was fairly certain she had convinced her new friend to place the call for her, and for that she felt better.

  She was still armed with a gun and a cell phone with GPS tracking. She would have to be even more careful.

  As the truck pulled out of site, with their bags slung on their backs, Megan looked up at Jack. “Now what?”

  “We’re not that far away now.”

  “Why didn’t we stay with him?”

  “He was going in the opposite direction. We would have end
ed up farther away.”

  “Remind me again why we’re going to your family’s house. Isn’t that a bit like pouring lighter fluid on the hot coals you’re walking on?” She wasn’t sure she should change the plan since the gas station FBI agents, and potentially Will, thought that’s where they were headed.

  “I don’t know any other way out of this for us. I don’t think anyone would expect us to go there. If we can get something - anything - to help us then I think it’s worth a shot.”

  “Like what, Jack? After dear old dad slaughters some poor, unsuspecting guy or worse - his wife - does he confess it in his Hello Kitty diary? You know, kind of like: ‘Dear Diary, Today I had two eggs for breakfast, bought a new tie and arranged for some poor bastard to get shot in the head?’ Or how about a row of video’s by the TV? ‘Uncle Ed’s Wedding,’ ‘Ralston’s Pre-School Graduation,’ ‘Our Hit Men’s Greatest Hits Volume 1?’” she said sarcastically in a near panic.

  “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Probably nothing quite that obvious. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we should pull some agents into it. Only problem is you don’t know which ones you can trust and which ones you can’t.”

  “Tell me about it,” she snorted under her breath - her mind racing. She wondered why he would say that if he wasn’t a “good” guy. Hell, maybe he said it because he isn’t a good guy. Crap, she thought. Now her head hurt. Any way she looked at it, a change in plans may do her more harm than good. “Screw it. I say we go. I want to march up to the front door, ring the bell and beat the hell out of whoever opens it,” she said with a laugh that sounded mixed with dementia. “I’ll even dress up like a Girl Scout selling cookies. I’ll say, ‘one box or two’ and then POW! I’ll poke their eyes out with my merit badges.” Jack just looked at her while she ranted. She stopped, took a deep breath and said, “My head hurts.”

  “Uh,” Jack said tentatively. “Why don’t we talk about the details of how we get into the house later.” He looked at her with a cautious stare. “There’s a rental car place about 15 minutes away. Let’s get a car, and then we can figure it out,” he said and tried to take her by the arm.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I thought you said this place was only 15 minutes away,” she said suspiciously as she took a big step over a fallen tree. Jack had wanted to stay out of site from the cars on the highway. This raised her suspicions, so she kept a hand in her coat pocket that carried the gun. She also made sure he was always in front of her, and the roar of a passing truck could be heard on the highway about 50 yards on her left.

  “Give me a break, okay? I’ve never walked it before, and I don’t need a time Nazi nagging me the entire time,” he said losing his patience more rapidly than usual.

  “Go to hell,” she said with meaning. “When we get to this god-forsaken car rental place - if it exists - why don’t you go your way and I’ll go mine? If I disappear on my own, I’ll probably do a better job of protecting myself than the morons who have claimed to try so far.”

  “Because we’ll both be dead in a matter of weeks,” he said talking to her as though she was stupid.

  “Sounds like it might be a couple more weeks than what I’ll live if I follow you,” she said sarcastically.

  “Look,” he said turning and slamming his bag down. “What the hell has gotten into you? You go to the bathroom, and all of the sudden I start getting more attitude than the usual,” he said. She could see him trying to calm down and regain his composure. He started more calmly, “I can only protect you if I know where you are.”

  “Protect me?! You’re a joke! Do you know how many times I could have been killed in the last couple of days?” she yelled and threw her bag at him.

  “I’ve never tried to hurt you,” he yelled back.

  “Yeah,” she grunted. “This is how normal people spend vacations. Van crashes, flying off snowmobiles,” she said as she ticked them off one by one on her fingers. “I’ve been shot at and… and… you made me ice skate,” the last part sounded funny even to her.

  “Ice skate?” he said with a raised eyebrow and a laugh pulling at lips.

  “It’s not funny,” she fought to remain serious.

  “Well, if you want to go there, then you tried to hurt me, too,” he said.

  “What? I did not.”

  “You made me stand in the cold banging at a deadbolt while you were inside the cabin,” he said.

  “That’s stupid,” she replied.

  “That counts,” he said staring at her triumphantly as though he had just won some sort of contest. She was speechless. Her lips twitched.

  “I hate you,” she grunted as she picked up her bag.

  “I know,” he said as he picked up his bag.

  “Go,” she said wanting to keep him in front of her.

  Another 20 minutes passed before they came to the exit. There was a small but national rental agency, some gas stations, a half empty strip mall, a motel, a K-Mart and several fast food restaurants.

  “Let’s get something to eat,” he said as they walked through the parking lot of the strip mall. “Maybe it will improve your disposition.”

  “Bite me.”

  “Nice. Anything sound good?”

  “Whatever you want is fine with me.”

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  “Great. Kind of like the last supper,” she mumbled. She was too tired to sleep and too hungry to eat. They ended up in a truck-stop style diner that advertised home cooking.

  There was very little conversation. Jack ate well. Megan managed to eat some food and picked at the rest.

  “Jack?”

  “Hm?” he said with a mouth full of fried chicken strip.

  “Why should I trust you?” she said without looking up. There was a silence. She couldn’t tell if he was thinking or finishing chewing.

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t trust anyone - you shouldn’t.” It wasn’t what she expected to hear. “Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know,” she hesitated and decided not to tell him. “How long do you think it will be before we’re there?”

  “Well, we have to rent the car and then it’s about an hour and a half from here,” he said.

  “Sure about the hour and a half part?” she asked remembering her 15 minute walk that turned out to be closer to 45 minutes to an hour.

  “Yes. I’m sure. That’s drive time,” he said without any sarcasm.

  “Excuse me,” she said. “I’ll be back.” He nodded while she scooted out of the booth. She walked toward the restrooms. She had been careful to make sure she took the side of the booth facing the restrooms. She looked for a pay phone and found one situated between the two entry doors. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Jack wasn’t watching her. She dialed and said some silent prayers hoping there was someone somewhere listening to them.

  * * * * *

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re sweating.” Jack said when she finally returned to the booth. He sounded genuinely concerned. She noticed he had eaten some of the food off her plate.

  “Fine,” she lied through a forced smile. She felt terrible. The check was on the table face down. “Are you ready to do this?”

  “Sure,” he said and picked up the check as he made his way out of the booth. He paid cash at the register, and they made the short walk to the rental agency.

  ”You may need to do that thing you do if it’s a guy clerk,” Jack said as they neared the door of the building.

  “What thing?”

  “The pouting lip, big eyes, damsel in distress thing you pulled with the housekeeper and truck driver,” he said.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said adamantly but knowing full well what he wanted her to do.

  “Whatever. Just do it, because the ID I’m going to give him doesn’t look a thing like me,” he said.

  “Maybe you’ll get lucky and it will be a woman. You can do that thing you do,” she said sounding nasty and accusatory. He grabbed
her by the arm and pulled her to the side of the building.

  “What the hell has gotten into you?” he asked.

  “Get off of me,” she growled and jerked her arm away from him. He looked at her with a hurt and tired expression. “I just want this to be over - one way or the other,” she said.

  “You and me both,” he agreed. “You just seem… well… meaner,” he said. She drew a deep breath.

  “Sorry,” she said, but there was no sincerity to it.

  “Let’s just try to manage to co-exist for the next couple of hours. Can you manage that?” he said.

  “I’ll try.”

  “Fine,” he said and opened the door for her as they reached the entrance to the agency.

  “Can I help you?” a middle-aged gentleman said from behind the counter. It had to be Burt Newman’s long-lost twin brother, she thought. While they didn’t look the same, they had the same taste in clothing and hair styles. Flirting with a Burt Newman clone wasn’t going to be easy for her.

  “Hi,” Jack said. “We’d like to rent a car, please.” The man started pounding on the keyboard in front of him. Poor keys.

  “What size?” the man asked.

  “Full-size,” Jack replied. He looked at Megan and said, “I like to be comfortable.” She rolled her eyes, which the clerk saw and seemed to enjoy. She smiled at him and winked. “That’s it,” she caught Jack mumble almost inaudibly.

  “Can we have a red car?” Megan asked very sweetly.

  “What difference does it make? A car’s a car,” Jack said looking at her as though she’d asked for a ride on the space shuttle.