Dr. Urban and Dr. Giovanni both chose a clock from the wall. I had no idea whether it was the right clock or the wrong clock, because we’d each chosen two—one for the real answer and one fake answer.
They each sat at the kitchen table with me, deciphering their codes. We figured we could buy some time by having to do that little exercise.
“Hurry up!” Ron yelled.
“I don’t have time for this.” Nicole grabbed each of our papers and walked toward the door, then faced the thug. “Kill them all.” She grabbed Ron’s hand and they left the house.
The thug pointed his gun at Dr. Giovanni first. Dr. Urban and I hopped to our feet and overpowered the thug, wrestling him to the ground. Dr. Giovanni put his foot over the man’s arm and the gun went off, hitting the baseboard of the living room wall. Dr. Giovanni grabbed the gun, flipped on the safety and turned it toward the thug.
“Even with a fake hip, I can still do it.” He faced both of us. “You both gave the fake code, right?”
“No, I was to do the real one, and you each were to do fake.”
“Oh no! I did real,” Dr. Urban said.
“Me too,” Dr. Giovanni answered. “I guess we have a job to do now, right?”
Two cars pulled into the driveway, and four officers stormed the house.
“This man is evil,” Dr. Giovanni said. “Take him away from trying to kill us. We have a job to do, and if you need me, call my cell phone.” He handed the first officer his card.
“What happened to you?” the officer said, staring at my face.
“Car wreck.” Well, sort of. I didn’t need to have them get upset and take me to the hospital just yet. I had to save the world first, and didn’t need a police escort. But I did need to make a phone call. I picked up Dr. Giovanni’s phone and faced him. “Can I use your phone?”
“Sure.” Dr. Giovanni turned back to the officer while I dialed. I just hoped Mark was still alive. I had to tell him I loved him.
~~~~~
Chapter 12
“This town hall meeting will show that the two candidates, Senator Paul Garrett from Massachusetts and Senator Ronald Augustino from Virginia have different viewpoints. It’s up to you to figure out how they’re different, so the American people can decide who to vote for.”
The place erupted in clapping and cheers, while Dr. Giovanni, Dr. Urban, and I stood behind the guards.
“Think we should just rush the stage?” Dr. Giovanni asked.
“No. Let me stand in line.” I reached down and took off my shoe, then pulled out the insole. Beneath that lay the two pictures that would put Ron Augustino away for life.
“So you had them all along?” Dr. Urban whispered, glancing at the photos.
“Yep. I had to hide them in case anything happened. They’re the smoking gun…literally.” I watched the line forming for people who’d been prescreened to ask questions. We hadn’t exactly been invited, but Dr. Giovanni had friends in high places who’d gotten us in.
The three of us huddled together. “Since I’m the youngest,” I said. “I’ll run up there and take the microphone. If Ron sees me standing in line, he’ll call the guards and I won’t get any words out of my mouth. I can run faster than both of you guys.”
“I’ll tell my friends over here,” Dr. Giovanni whispered, nodding to the guards. “They’ll give you a few extra seconds before the cops get up there.”
“Thanks.” I looked behind me, and as soon as I saw his face, I smiled. “Mark!” I whispered. I ran to him and gave him a huge hug while Dr. Giovanni walked over to the security guards and had a short chat with them.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Mark asked.
“I’m fine.”
He stared at my face and winced. “You don’t look fine. I’ll take it from here and you go to the hospital.”
“Oh, no. This is what I’ve been destined to do and I want to see Ron’s face when he sees me. I’m supposed to be dead, according to his wishes.” I pointed to my cheeks. “I want the world to see what he and his thugs did to me.”
“I’m coming with you, then.” He hugged me again. “I’m so glad you’re alive! We looked everywhere for you.”
“Are you okay?” I backed away. Even though he told me he was fine over the phone earlier, I had to make sure.
“Yeah. They used bean bags.” He leaned closer to my ear. “It seems they need me alive for some reason. I’m not sure why, but it might have to do with this town hall meeting. William shot one of them and he’s talking like crazy.”
“One of your guys is in on it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Ron told me. Be careful.”
Dr. Giovanni looked over to me with a grin, nodded, then winked. It was time.
“Go get ’em,” Dr. Urban said to both of us.
I nodded, then I ran full-force to the now-empty microphone. “I have something to say and I promise it’ll change this town hall forever!” Mark was at my side, his arm on my waist.
Ron Augustino looked surprised, to say the least, but hopped to his feet, regaining his composure while pointing at me. “Arrest her!”
The police started toward the stage, but the campus security guards held them back.
“I have proof of Ron Augustino’s crookedness.” I lifted the two pictures in my hand, showing them to the people on the stage, then the cameras, and the people in the audience. “This happened when he was in the army, when he had sex with a prostitute, then shot her in cold blood.” I held the one picture in my hand. “This picture shows him clearly shooting the woman in the stomach.”
“I object!” Ron yelled, walking toward me. “That’s not me!”
“Also, he stole a famous painting from the Louvre, which is on its way back to the famous French art gallery and should have his fingerprints all over it. That’s just the tip of the iceberg!”
One of the campus security guards held Ron back, while the police stood still, dumbfounded at what I was saying.
“What else?” a reporter yelled, with his microphone suddenly in my face.
“I have knowledge that he and Nicole from the NSA…” I turned and pointed to her, walking out of the room. “She’s leaving! Stop her!”
Dr. Giovanni and Dr. Urban ran to her and forcefully pulled her up to the stage. “I have proof that they are in the process of giving China our secrets from the NSA, and Mr. Augustino has major backing from China for those secrets.”
“What happened to your face and how do you know this?” the reporter asked me.
“Because I helped develop those secrets for the NSA and I’ve been held captive for three days by Mr. Augustino and his cronies, who are trying to figure out how to make it work, even though they’ve been given fake code.” I hoped they bought it, too. “Mr. Augustino also arranged to have my parents killed, and has blood on his hands from various other murders he’s committed, all so he could get ahead. I wouldn’t be surprised if he even arranged to have his own brother-in-law, Timothy Thayer, killed.”
The place was silent. Mouths were hanging agape, and Ron seemed frustrated. He began to walk off the stage, but was stopped by a circle of police.
“Is this true?” Senator Paul Garrett asked.
“I want my lawyer,” Ron answered, crossing his arms.
“I’m not surprised.” Paul Garrett looked at one of the cops. “I’d like Ron and Nicole arrested, as well as anyone else in their company.”
“You can’t do that!” a man from the crowd yelled, standing up. I recognized him as one of the senators from Dad’s diary, and turned toward him.
“Oh, and Senator Lewiston, you and Senator Donalds are close associates of Mr. Augustino. I’d watch my step if I were you. I know a lot from my father’s diary, and trust me…neither of you have lily white hands, either.”
“Is there a way we can get a copy of that diary?” a reporter asked.
“No,” I replied. “It goes to Senator Garrett. He’ll take it to Capitol Hill and they’ll figure
out what to do with it then. It’s in a safe place right now, along with other evidence against Mr. Augustino.”
Mark nodded. “I have it stored in a very safe place, and I promise it’ll be at your office, under guard, within the hour.”
“What’s your name?” someone else asked me.
“I’d rather not say.” I backed away and began to walk out of the room with Mark at my side. My head was pounding from the lights, and I just wanted to sit down.
I heard someone run up behind me and I spun around.
“Andrew, we need an ambulance for Amy,” Mark said. “I want it to be—”
“She doesn’t need an ambulance,” he replied. His face turned angry. “She needs a morgue.” He pulled out a gun, and before either of us could stop him, he pulled the trigger. I felt searing pain in my stomach and fell to my knees. Two cops opened fire and Andrew fell down, right in front of me.
“Amy! Hang in there! Don’t leave me!” Mark’s hand went on my shoulder as I fell to the floor. “I love you. Don’t leave me alone with Mom!”
It wasn’t anything I could control, because everything dimmed in front of me and that was it.
~~~~~
“Doctor, she’s coming around.”
It was a woman’s voice but I didn’t care, as long as it wasn’t Doris. My eyes tried to open, but they weren’t cooperating all that well.
I finally forced them open and focused on an older gentleman in a white coat standing over me, grinning. “How do you feel?”
“Awful. Do you have anything stronger you can give me?”
Laughter erupted throughout the room, making me try to sit up. The doctor held my shoulder to the bed and put that stupid light in my eyes. “Just a minute. You’re very lucky to be alive, do you know that?”
“I figured. Ron Augustino has a ton of clout.”
“No, you were shot in the stomach and you had blood pressing on your brain from when they beat you. We had to operate more than once.”
My hand flew to my head, but I could only feel bandages. “No! And I survived? Am I still beautiful?”
The doctor laughed. “You’re very lucky.” He flipped off the light, then turned around and nodded. “You can see her now.”
“Who?” I asked. “Wait! Am I still beautiful?”
“Me and yes, you’re still beautiful.” Mark walked up to the bed and I bit my lips then felt the tears fill my eyes.
“Mark?” I reached out and hugged him. He was my rock, and anyone who didn’t want to have to deal with Doris alone was my hero.
“Party’s over,” I heard, and could’ve sworn it was Dr. Urban. I heard people leave the room, but couldn’t see who was there, because Mark’s face was all I saw.
He leaned over to me and gave me a gentle kiss. “You did really well. I’m so proud of you.”
“You are? Are you sure you still want to be married to me? I bet your mother is angry, isn’t she? I never should’ve gone up front to confront Ron and I’m sure she’ll never let me live it down, either.”
He began to laugh. “Don’t worry about Mom. You exposed a mole in my operation I had no idea we even had.”
“Is he…” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Dead? No, Andrew’s still alive, but he’s going to jail. He was giving secrets to Ron for the money. His brother was friends of Ron’s daughter.”
“Oh, Mark, I’m so sorry. If you want a divorce—”
He held his finger over my mouth. “No, I’m sorry. I’m glad I married you and don’t regret a minute of it. I love you with all my heart, and I hope you can forgive me for putting you in the situation you were in. When you called me after being kidnapped, I didn’t have time to tell you how much I’d missed you. I didn’t have time to tell you anything, and I want to make it all up to you.”
“I missed you, too. Did Nicole get the code to the Chinese?”
“No. We stopped it and the real code is now in the hands of the NSA. I wasn’t even allowed to see any more of it. Now explain to me why you felt it necessary not to give it all to me when I first asked?”
“It was for security purposes only,” I said, lowering my voice. “Dr. Urban, Dr. Giovanni, and I decided that the code was the key to too much power. We didn’t want to give it to someone who didn’t know how to use it, and for some reason, these guys didn’t trust anyone. I agree with them, given how it all turned out.”
“But you never gave me the whole thing and didn’t feel like you could trust me?”
His eyes looked very sad and with his frown, I felt very badly. But I persevered. “I couldn’t. It wasn’t in the thesis on purpose and I couldn’t tell anyone without the other two.” I stared into his beautiful blue eyes. “I trust you, Mark. Honestly, I do. I promise, no more secrets, either.”
“I understand. Ron’s in jail, Congress is working with your dad’s diary, and Senators Donalds and Lewiston are in hot water. Nicole and two other men from the NSA are under arrest and we have Bobby Delaney in custody. He’s the one who was selling your latest paper to terrorists overseas using the internet, and had talked to Dr. Urban before I did, before I met you.”
“What? Did any of the terrorists see the paper?”
“No, fortunately. The FBI was working undercover as buyers and nailed him.” He leaned up and kissed my forehead. “Now, as for us, is there still an ‘us’?”
“I’d like there to be. I was so worried you’d been killed, it made me realize that I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you.”
His grin covered his face. “Me either.”
“You love yourself too?”
He started to laugh. “I’m glad you’re back. They had you under for a whole week, and it was touch and go. We were all really worried. I’ve been staying in this room the whole time.” He pointed over at a chair, then put his hand on my arm. “I didn’t want to lose you, Amy. I never want to lose you.”
“Oh, Mark, go home and get some sleep. I’m fine.”
“Yes, you’re fine. You’re both fine.”
I did a double take. “Both?”
He leaned closer to my ear. “You’re carrying our child.”
I felt my cheeks heat up, my eyebrows raise and my mouth fall open. “I’m…”
His smile was adorable. “Pregnant. That’s right. I guess the ogre and the nymph did the trick.”
“No, it was the ‘we don’t need any condoms, it’s our wedding night’ that did the trick.” I was silent for a moment. “I’m so sorry. I’m going to mess up your plans now, aren’t I?”
“What plans?”
“The one where I work for you and get all those clients—”
His lips were on mine. “It’s fine. I just want you for you. You don’t have to work at all, and I want you to take it easy. Our baby needs a stress-free life right now, after what it’s been through. The bullet just missed him or her, but he or she is okay and a fighter like its mom.”
“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop from being kidnapped and didn’t know I was even pregnant. If I could’ve stopped Andrew—”
“I know. I have someone to wait on you hand and foot, by the way, and you’ll be protected.”
“Who?”
He bit his lips, trying not to laugh. “My parents. Dad’s even armed, and Oscar’s moving closer to us. You’re everyone’s hero, and Oscar and his friends have formed a posse to keep you safe. They’re all working for me.”
I cringed, trying to keep from frowning. “Your mother is going to wait on me?”
“Yep. She’s really sorry for upsetting you and wants to make it up to you…for the rest of her life.”
I covered my face with my hand. “No.”
“She’s even bought our child some clothes and is shopping right now for maternity clothes for you.”
I lifted my hand off my face. “You’re making me upset. You know that, right?”
“I see that. I intend to take a lot more time off, too, to help you deal with her. I quit my programming job so I can only b
e the head of the company, but I have others to do most of my job for now. Oh, and the two bimbos from the cafeteria have been fired for various reasons.” He picked up my hand and kissed it. “Your brothers are here, too, but will be going back to their lives as soon as you’re out of here. Brandy and Randy are going to do marriage counseling, as are John and Annemarie.” He looked almost sad, staring into my eyes. “When you almost died, I couldn’t help but thinking life’s too short to over-schedule myself. I want to be the best husband and father there is, and watch my children grow up, while standing right beside you.”
“Thank you, Mark. I guess I finally got the glass slipper after all, because you’re quite a prince.”
“Not at all, but, thank you for making my life whole.” He kissed me again, and I knew I now had a real family, not one states away from me. It was nice to be loved.
###
Visit Markee Anderson at http://www.markeeanderson.com.
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Saved By The Glass Slipper
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