“Clearly you’re a little out of touch with what is trustworthy. Do you have a card?”
As Chase fumbled for a business card the voice in his ear remote spoke, “Jeeze! Are you sure she doesn’t work for us?” Tony sounded concerned his buddy wasn’t going to get inside the house. What was Chase doing? He didn’t usually stall for time. “The bomb is definitely in or around the house, Chase. Be careful. Thomas and I got your back if she spanks you.” Chase frowned at hearing both men chuckle.
“Here ya go. Look lady, I got lots to do. If ya don’t need me now, fine! He took out a work order from his pocket. “You Mrs. Scott?”
“Yes.”
“What’ll it be?”
Tessa read the card and stepped aside for the cocky plumber to enter.
“Upstairs bathroom. There’s a leak under the sink and I think there’s another one in the powder room,” she pointed down the hall, “down there. I hear this drip in the wall too.”
He held up a tough looking hand for her to be silent. “Enough. One thing at a time.” Chase started up the spiral staircase and disappeared from Tessa’s sight.
She frowned as a sigh escaped her lips. A fleeting thought occurred to her about calling the number to check on the plumber but then her eyes fell on the gallons of paint Robert had brought in for her. Stacked on the dining room floor, along with brushes, drop cloth and edging tape, it gave Tessa a sense of dread. This didn’t look like much fun and she certainly wasn’t in the mood to get started. Today would be a free day. No kids. No husband. No counting calories. No problems.
Tessa could hear the brown-eyed plumber in the kids’ bathroom as she retrieved her cup of coffee from the microwave and leaned against the counter. Her mind drifted to her family and she wondered what they were doing. Already she doubted her decision to stay home. Her soul was empty without her precious family.
~ ~ ~
“Dad, she’s going to hurl!” shouted Daniel as he tried to edge away from his sister in the backseat.
Robert heard a disgusting liquid sound hit the back of his seat. The smell of vomit filled the car instantly along with the soft cry of his daughter and the moans of his sons. Fortunately he’d reached the overlook at Donner Pass. A sarcastic thought of the Donner Party turning their noses up at wanting to eat his family crossed his mind as he jumped out of the car and opened the door to inspect the mess his daughter had created.
“I’m gonna be sick too!” Daniel flung open his door and gagged over the edge of the rock wall lining the overlook. Sean Patrick was soon beside him gagging as well.
Robert stared at the pink, lumpy explosion on the back of his seat, Heather’s lap and her clothes. She reached out to him and he froze. His first thoughts were, “Yuk! I’m not touching that.” But then he carefully reached in and released her from the small car seat, lifting her carefully to the ground. “There, there, sweetie. Daddy will get you some water and some clean clothes.” As he began damage control he heard Tessa’s words of warning. “Don’t feed them greasy fast-food for breakfast. It sometimes makes them sick.”
“We’ll keep this our little secret from your mother, huh kids?” Robert coaxed as they began on their way once more.
Sean Patrick, sitting in the front with his father, crossed his arms as if in protest. “We’ll see how the rest of the trip goes. Sure wish Mom was here.”
“So do I,” thought Robert in dreaded anticipation of the next two weeks.
~ ~ ~
Chase searched through the bedrooms and the baths upstairs with no luck of finding the weapon. The Enigma Agency hadn’t wanted to alarm the neighborhood or the town. The news media could make any dangerous situation into a circus. Whatever happened at the garage that caught on fire a street over the night before was still a bit of a mystery. Evidence indicated a possible bomb had been launched. This place appeared not to have suffered any recent trauma other than a floor littered with toys and ballet slippers. He listened carefully for a ticking sound but only heard the soft humming of Mrs. Scott downstairs stirring happily in the kitchen. Was that the smell of cookies baking? He tapped the earpiece roughly. “Nothing, Tony. Any signals?”
“Sensors say it’s inside. Try downstairs. Better fess up and get her the hell out.”
Stealth-like, Chase slipped down the stairs and into the front parlor to get his bearings. He could see into the dining room easily and beyond into the kitchen. The family room appeared to be off the kitchen. Quickly, he changed positions in order to get a better view of the far room. Nothing unusual.
“You’re close, Chase. Really close. What’a ya see?”
“Nothing!” he growled deep in his throat.
~ ~ ~
Tessa felt another presence in the house. Maybe she should have called to check out the plumber. He could be an ax murderer for all she knew. The aroma of baking cookies permeated the warm country kitchen. She stopped stirring the remaining cookie mixture and slowly turned to look at something that caught her attention from the corner of her eye.
Gasping, Tessa put her hand to her throat as a short, thin man stepped out of the mudroom into her kitchen. His ruddy complexion was dark and uneven. Bushy eyebrows nearly grew together over small jet black eyes that glared dangerously at her. There was no lust, just anger and contempt. His narrow lips were nearly hidden by a thick black moustache. Tessa froze momentarily with fear.
All the CSI and Law and Order television shows she had ever seen flashed through her mind. She would be the next victim soon to be the plot around the hit series that aired every night of the week. The man crouched forward, taking one slow, unsure step as his ebony eyes narrowed then searched the room and those beyond like a mine sweeper bent on avoiding disaster.
“Honey,” Tessa called out in a loud shaky voice. “We have company!”
~ ~ ~
Chase stiffened. He could see the Middle Eastern man clearly from his half hidden position in the dining room. Whispering warily, Chase reached out to his partners in the van. “Tony, guess who’s here?” No response. “Tony?” An uneasy realization washed over Chase, knowing he may very well be on his own. His partners had been neutralized.
~ ~ ~
Tessa could feel her legs dissolving into liquid Jell-O as her hands reached back to steady herself against the counter. “Get out or I’ll…”
“Shut up! Where is the bomb?” The man growled in a heavy accent she recognized only as Middle Eastern. “Quick or I’ll kill you here!”
Tessa glanced at the door and could see the plumber creeping closer. He held his finger to his lips and motioned for her to edge closer so the invader would follow. She realized he planned to jump the mad man before her. “Look, I don’t know what you want! But…” Slowly, dangerously, Tessa moved toward the brown-eyed plumber waiting to save her.
“Enough! The bomb, woman! The bomb!”
Tessa tried to steady her quivering voice. “No. I’ll never give it to you.”
The dark man stopped his approach.
Tessa didn’t realize Chase froze as well or that he wondered about her identity.
“That’s right,” she tried to keep the wobble out of her voice to stall. Her eyes tried to watch Chase without being obvious. “Who are you?”
He clenched his fist and threw his head back with a frustrated yell. Slowly he lowered his beady, insane eyes on her as if any moment he would explode. “I am Jamaal! Now tell me where it is or I’ll slice you in a million pieces. You are alone. There is no one to help you. The bomb, woman!”
The memory of two airliners crashing into the Twin Towers jolted Tessa into an uncommon courage she didn’t know she possessed. “Jamaal, you’re too late. Someone was already here.”
Jamaal leapt across the kitchen floor, grabbing Tessa by the throat. From the fold of his ragged shirt he produced a long knife. Tessa’s eyes bulged at the sight of the weapon with a fleeting question of whether it was just rusty or stained with dried blood.
“American whore, tell me who it was before
I…” Jamaal’s nose was but inches from Tessa’s, but her wide, terrified eyes were focused on something behind him. Just then Jamaal felt a tap on his shoulder. Even with his body rigid with shock, he managed to slowly turn his head to see the brown eyed plumber, smiling a toothy grin, with a M9 Beretta pointed at his ear.
“We meet again, Jamaal.” Chase’s voice was level and cool. “Essid must have you on a short leash these days. What did you screw up this time? Oh wait a minute! You lost a bomb.”
“You know this man!” Tessa said hoarsely. “What kind of a plumber are you?”
Both men looked at her in bewilderment.
Jamaal, enraged, cried out as he swung the knife toward Tessa’s throat. Before the knife could meet its mark, Tessa felt her fingers touch the still hot cup of coffee. With one quick move she threw the hot liquid in Jamaal’s face. His surprised cry caused him to drop the knife and take a step backwards. Tessa escaped past the two men into the family room, staggering with fear and relief.
The intruder recovered quickly and with cat-like swiftness, picked up one of her rolling pins from the collection Tessa had acquired over years. She remembered Robert complaining that one day her collections of anything old would be the death of him. With a powerful lunge, and a swing of the rolling pin, Jamaal came at Chase knocking the gun from his hand. The Beretta went sprawling across her clean, slick wood floors.
The two men struggled as Tessa remembered her son’s toy found in the garden. Quickly, she darted to the toy box and jerked the missile-like object from among the Lego’s, G.I. Joes and soccer balls. She fumbled with it in the air recklessly, only to catch it again before it hit the floor. The weight of it was heavy and unexpected. Why hadn’t she noticed this before?
The sound of breaking glass, thuds and groans startled Tessa into lifting her eyes to see the two bloody combatants in the kitchen. The surreal smell of burning cookies reached her nose at the moment the two men fell to the floor, reaching for Chase’s gun. Without a second thought, Tessa clumsily placed the missile under her arm and pressed it firmly to her body. Just as Jamaal crawled toward the Beretta, Tessa entered the now smoky room and grabbed the bag of flour off the counter, only to dump it on the floor, before Jamaal.
Jamaal tried to scamper up on one hand but hit the flour and went sprawling again, dropping the gun on Chase’s chest. Chase pushed himself up on one knee. His eyes widened at the site of the bomb under Tessa’s arm, just as she snatched another rolling pin from the counter. With one haphazard swing, Tessa slugged Jamaal across the back of the head.
He collapsed with a groan and a heavy sigh. Tessa’s breath, ragged and labored, prevented her from speaking clearly.
“Get up!” she panted. Chase did so slowly, questions showing on his angry face. “Who are you and what is this thing?” She dropped the missile from under her arm, but caught the tip of it with her hand.
Chase groaned as he tried to catch it himself. “Lady, that is a bomb. I want you to hand it over nice and slow.” He lowered his gun slightly and reached out his other hand.
“I think I’ll just make another call to the police. They should already be in the area,” she warned drawing the bomb nearer to her heaving breasts.
A hard, sinister look flashed in Chase’s eyes as he jerked the gun back up and aimed. Tessa’s mouth opened for a scream just as he began shooting and grabbing for her shoulder. “Down!”
The gunfire was deafening. She felt the plumber push her into the dining room as his hand pressed her head downwards. The realization that the Beretta was not the only gun firing caused Tessa to tilt her head sideways to see three more Middle Eastern men dressed in some sort of gray jumpsuits invading her house, unloading their semiautomatic rifles in her home. The sounds of exploding China and splintering cabinet doors ricocheted in the Scott home. Tessa’s heart pounded so hard that she could barely breathe.
“Out the door, lady and get in the truck!” Chase panted as the gunfire ceased. He could see the other men circling, looking for a way to rush them as Jamaal staggered to his feet. Replacing the magazine in his gun, Chase found himself pressing Tessa up against the wall where she couldn’t move. “They’re about to charge. Go!”
Tessa tried to turn the door knob to no avail. Locked. Placing the bomb back under her arm once more, Tessa heard the plumber yell. “Here they come! Now, lady!”
Bullets began to clip all around their heads as Tessa felt a scream escape from down deep in her lungs.
~ ~ ~
Robert handed the last of the supplies to his sons as he felt a little tug on his pant leg. It was Heather, frowning and squinting from the warm Tahoe sun. “I miss Mommy” she said in a small, helpless voice. “Why didn’t my Mommy come?” she demanded as Robert lifted her up into his strong arms.
“Mommy wanted a little rest and relaxation, Cupcake.”
“What will she do without us, Daddy?” She liked being carried by her father.
“Shop, talk on the phone, have tea with her girlfriends, basically, nothing at all,” he grumbled.
“That sounds boring.”
Robert spotted the boys throwing rocks in the lake. “Yeah, she’ll probably be so bored she’ll come up here tomorrow.”
At least then he could really have a vacation.
Chapter 3
T ires squealed as the CIA Plumbing truck raced backwards down the driveway. Bullets began bouncing off trees and the hood of the vehicle. Tessa ducked down, still clinging to what moments ago she thought was a toy. Just as she tried to sit up Chase banged his fist on her back, balancing his weapon across her half raised shoulders. He fired rapidly. Tessa tried to cover her ears as she somehow sandwiched the bomb between her lap and breasts. A frightened cry escaped her mouth as the rear window shattered, raining glass in her hair and down her back.
“Hold on! They’re following!”
Tessa rose to look back and saw four men jumping in a weathered van with a crumpled bumper. “Dear Lord!” she quaked. The CIA truck accelerated beyond neighborhood rules. “I am so in trouble,” she mumbled. Just then Chase sped through the subdivision gates into the path of an oncoming delivery truck. When Tessa screamed Chase swerved, landing the tires on her side of the truck onto the curb. The jolt threw her into Chase’s lap. Quickly, she tried to push away and realized her hand had landed between his legs. Jerking her head up to look at the brown eyed devil beside her, Tessa was shocked to see him grinning like a wicked schoolboy.
“Not now, Mrs. Scott. I’m a little busy.” His voice was so cool and nonchalant that Tessa almost forgot the danger she’d plunged into. Awkwardly, she shoved herself back to the passenger side.
The truck dropped back down on the road and began taking the curves at top speed.
Tessa began searching the seat with her hands. “Oh no!”
“What!” Chase demanded, as he looked sideways at her for a split second. “Something wrong with the bomb?”
“No! There’s no seatbelts in here!” Tessa didn’t realize how utterly absurd her fears were until Chase began to laugh.
“I guess we’re breaking the law then!” he yelled catching a glimpse of the approaching terrorists in the rearview mirror. He tapped on the radio then his ear piece as he noticed that Tessa clung to the bomb like a newborn child about to slip from her grip. “Anybody! Officers down at Sommersview. Repeat, officers down.”
A male voice sounded from some hidden speaker causing Tessa to jump with fright. “Copy that. Where are you?”
“Highway 10, headed west toward the Yuba River. We’ve got company too.” Chase pulled out around a slow moving minivan, accelerated and managed to whip in front of an eighteen wheeler that began blowing his horn in anger at the near miss.
“You’re going to kill us!” Tessa screeched. “Let me out!”
“Who is that?” the hidden voice demanded.
“Mrs. Scott. She has the bomb. I couldn’t leave her there to get cremated with the rest of the house.”
“My house is on fi
re?” Tessa yelled in horror.
“Is the bomb activated?” the voice was level but concerned.
“Mrs. Scott?” Chase looked over at Tessa as she unfolded the bomb from her arms. A hum had begun with the several small flashing lights. “Yeah, Enigma, I’d say it’s activated.” Chase eyed Tessa and realized she was seeing it in its real form for the first time. “Essid’s friends are still coming at us. Give that trucker behind me a call will ya? License plate ERZ7773.” Chase reached over and gently touched Tessa’s shoulder. “We’ll be okay, Mrs. Scott. Maybe you better hand me the bomb.”
“I can’t” she whimpered.
“Sure you can. It’s a bomb. It’ll be okay.”
“No,” Tessa nervously shook her head. “I really can’t.” Tessa leaned back and let the bomb move slightly forward. Her index finger had somehow gotten shoved into an opening. The swelling had already begun and there was no removing it. Tears welled up in her terrified blue eyes. “What kind of bomb is this?” Swallowing hard, Tessa lifted her chin up in a raw courage that until now had been unknown to her.
She imagined her family at Lake Tahoe, fishing and nibbling on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that she’d packed for them. The sounds of their questions, laughter and playful pranks swirled in her head. Robert would be smiling at the perfect little family they’d created together, even if he wasn’t sure what he was doing. Deep inside her Tessa knew he would be thinking of her.
~ ~ ~
Chase looked back at the eighteen-wheeler and saw him pick up his cell phone. “Come on, buddy. Help me out here.” Just then he saw the terrorists start around the huge truck behind him. Suddenly, the trucker dropped his phone, laid on the horn until Chase raised his eyes up at the rearview mirror. The trucker was making the thumbs up sign. He poured on the gas and managed to push the truck to 95 miles per hour.
The Enigma Series Boxed Set Page 3
