by Alton Gansky
Luke’s heart pumped his blood at racetrack speed. A sense of accomplishment rose in the darkness of fear, but he paid it no mind. It was no time to gloat.
“Come on, kids. That way.” He kept his voice low and pointed to the back of the hall, back to the kitchen. “Hurry.”
Judith opened the doors and motioned the children to her. “Come this way, children. Follow me. This way. Hurry … Luke!”
The warning came a half second too late. The door behind him swung open and slammed the wall. Luke spun and saw Pennington, his face frozen in fury. He looked down at his unconscious partner then back at Luke. His fists clinched into balls of iron.
Luke, who prided himself on his mind, his logic, his ability to reason through any problem, stopped thinking. Long buried instinct kicked in. Judith needed time. Luke would give it to her.
He charged.
He swung with a fist still clutching the glass shaker. It was a punch capable of dropping a heavyweight boxer, if it landed. It didn’t. Pennington shifted to the side and Luke’s swing missed its mark by two feet.
Pennington’s punch didn’t.
As Luke caught his balance, a fist caught him square on the nose. The pain blinded him, water flooded his eyes, and he staggered back a step. Something warm and thick flowed across his lips. He raised his hands to his face. Another blow landed on the back of his hands sending pain racing through his arms like lightning.
“No more of you, pal,” Pennington said. “I have had my fill of your meddling.”
Something hit Luke in the ribs. It felt like a demolition ball but he knew it was the fist of the man beating him. Something cracked and fire blazed just below the skin. Luke dropped to his knees. A second later, he rose and faced Pennington, raising his hands like a boxer — displaying the courage of the desperate.
Stall him. Give Judith a chance. Stall him for just a few minutes.
Like a man before a firing squad who refuses a blindfold, Luke faced his attacker, took a step forward, and threw the best punch his body would allow. It landed on nothing.
The next thing Luke felt was his feet leave the floor and his body flying over his head. Pennington had grabbed his extended arm and threw him over his shoulder. The floor took the last ounce of fight out of Luke.
He couldn’t move. He could only stare at the ceiling.
Pennington stood over him. He grinned.
Judith began her sprint before Luke hit the floor. Leaving her shoes behind, she moved faster than she had since high school gym class. She let out a scream just as she leapt on Pennington, who still gazed down at his fallen prey.
She hit him with all her weight, sending both of them tumbling to the floor. The impact jarred Judith and the pain of it startled her but she had no time to think of it. She balled her hands into fists and began to pummel whatever part of Pennington’s body she could find. The fact that she had somehow ended on top of him, straddling his abdomen, surprised her. Several of her blows landed on his face but the attack didn’t last long. He reached up, seized a fistful of hair, and yanked hard to the side. Judith’s head and body followed. Her scalp blazed with pain but she continued to throw punches.
A fist came out of nowhere and caught her on the side of the head. The room began to spin and sparkles of pain that delivered glittery drops filled her eyes. She raised a hand to throw another punch but her arms ceased cooperating.
Another yank on her hair and she crumpled to the floor beside Pennington.
He rose, brushed himself off, then reached beneath his coat and removed a dark object. The tears in her eyes slowed her recognition but two blinks later she saw a black gun in his hand. He aimed it at her, paused, then pointed the muzzle toward the still-unmoving Luke.
“No,” she said. She had tried to shout it, but only a threadbare whisper emerged.
“I could make you beg for his life, but it would be a waste of time. I’d kill him anyway. Why pretend?”
Judith tried to rise, but the blow to the side of her head kept her down and kept the room spinning. “Pl … please.”
Pennington laughed. “I see. You think a polite request will work better.”
A movement caught Judith’s attention. A small form stepped between the business end of the gun and Luke.
A child. A little girl.
Judith started to warn her away but words would not come. Another child stepped to her side, then another and another. The best Judith could tell, every one of the children stood between Pennington and Luke. Some moved by her.
“Get out of the way, kids. They started it. I’m going to finish it.”
The children didn’t move.
Pennington swore, reached forward, and pushed the closest child to the side. Immediately another child took her place.
“Don’t make me angry, kids. Do what I say.”
No one moved.
“Move! NOW!”
They stood their ground.
The young girl who made the first move looked at Pennington. “Mister, there’s lots more evil on you. Lots more.”
“Lots more,” the children said in unison. “Lots more … lots more … lots more.”
Judith’s grip on consciousness slipped.
thirty-six
Pennington rubbed his chin. The Find woman had landed one decent shot and now his jaw ached. Oddly, he found it amusing. The bus rumbled up the grade, Ernie at the wheel. He had come to a few moments after Pennington had put the meddling twosome in their place. He gave him a few minutes to clear his head then ordered Ernie to load the bus with the children. To win the children’s cooperation, Pennington had promised not to shoot Find and Becker. At least he had a name for the man now, a name he learned from rifling through the man’s wallet. There wasn’t much information, just a driver’s license, a debit card, and some cash. Pennington had no interest in the latter. He tossed the billfold on the unconscious man’s chest.
Duct tape provided the bonds necessary to keep Find and Becker from slipping away and calling the police. Now that is a mystery, isn’t it? Why hadn’t they gone to the police already? Perhaps they had but the cops didn’t believe them. Although cops are generally stupid, this kind of problem should elicit immediate attention from even the dullest flatfoot. But there were no cops. Maybe the dumb ones were Find and Becker.
The bus rocked as it made turn after turn up the twisting road. He took hold of the metal rail that separated his seat from that of the driver. Pennington sat in the seat immediately behind Ernie. He gazed back at the children. They sat in pairs in the seats, hands folded in front of them, their eyes fixed on him. They were a strange bunch. No one cried out in fear when he delivered a beating to Becker then Find, and they had the courage to step in front of his Glock 9mm. There was something far more bizarre about them than their weird-colored eyes.
But that wasn’t his problem. His job was to collect and deliver, and collect he did — all but one child. Twelve out of thirteen wasn’t bad, but not perfect. His employers wouldn’t be happy but nothing could be done about it at the moment. He’d have to track down Abel Palek later. He did have a reputation to protect.
“Pull over, Ernie.”
“Why? I just got a good head of steam going. This grade is a killer.”
“I said, pull over.”
Ernie sighed but did as Pennington ordered. The school bus slowed to a stop and Ernie set the brake to keep it from rolling downhill. “What’s wrong?”
“I have one last job for you, then you can call it quits. Let’s talk outside.”
Pennington watched as Ernie gave him the once-over, his suspicion clear. Ernie popped open the door and stepped out. Pennington joined him and walked to the back of the bus. He looked up to see if any of the children were watching.
“I want you to go back and finish the job,” Pennington said. “You won’t have the kids to get in your way like I did.”
“I don’t understand.” Ernie didn’t bother to hide his reluctance. “Are you just going to sit here and w
ait for me?”
“No, your work is done. I’ll see to it that you get extra pay for this. A lot of extra pay, if you know what I mean.”
“Who will drive the bus?”
“Me. I’m checked out on any fixed-wing aircraft short of a 747, I think I can handle a school bus.”
“I … I don’t know. I mean, I’ve done a lot of stuff I ain’t proud of, but offing two people seems over the top.”
Pennington took a threatening step forward. “Yeah? Well, don’t forget, buddy, those two can identify you as one of the men who kidnapped twelve kids.”
“I didn’t kidnap anyone.”
“No, but you’re an accessory. Think about this: You have two strikes on you now. It’s one reason I hired you. Three strikes will put you away forever and a day. I’m no lawyer, but I gotta believe that twelve counts of kidnapping, child endangerment, and who knows what else will add up to a lot of time in a federal penitentiary. I hear child abductors don’t do well in prison. Not even the murderers like them. Are you catching my drift?”
“Yeah, yeah, I think I get the picture.”
Pennington removed his gun and handed it to Ernie, who took it like a man very familiar with weapons. “It’s only about a mile, maybe a mile and a half. After you do them, get rid of the gun. There’s a septic tank on the property. The access port is visible. You should be able to open it and drop the pistol in. By the time the police find it, it will be too late. Be sure to wipe it down.”
“Maybe I should burn the building down.”
“Nice idea, but it will attract too much attention. Someone will see the smoke and the fire department will be called. We don’t want the bodies found this soon. Just leave them to rot. It will be days before anyone finds them, maybe longer. By the time they’re found, if they’re ever found, we will be in far off places. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Good. I left the keys in the Humvee. Use it to get as far out of town as possible. Now, start walking.”
Ernie took the gun, wedged it in his belt and started down the road.
Pennington stepped into the bus and sat in the driver’s seat. He closed the door, started the engine, then studied the controls for a moment. The hard part would be starting up a hill, after that, it should be a breeze.
“Where is the driver going?” one of the boys asked.
“I told you that I’d send someone back to free the man and the woman. They’re bad people. They need to go to jail. Ernie will make sure they’re okay and wait for the police to arrive.”
The boy wasn’t buying it. “They had lots and lots of good on them. I don’t think they are bad people.”
“Shut it, kid. I have had it with all this good and bad stuff you kids pretend to see. I’m not going to play that game.”
“It’s not a game, mister. They had lots of good and you have even more bad on you.”
“I said, shut up!”
Pennington threw the bus into gear, released the brake, and chugged up the grade.
Judith had never hurt so much. The ache in her head came in waves of migraine proportions that rolled through the rest of her body. Her scalp stung where Pennington had grabbed her hair and she could feel the swelling beneath the skin on the left side of her head. As bad as those things were, being bound with duct tape bothered her more. Arms tied behind her, ankles taped painfully tight, and a swatch of the gray tape across her mouth put her in a near panic. She forced herself to remain calm, taking deep breaths through her nose.
Despite her near-panicked state, she had a greater concern. Luke was choking. In his confrontation with Pennington he had taken a crushing shot to the nose. Blood oozed from it, swelling made it look a third larger. She held no doubts that Luke’s nose was broken and he was choking on his own blood. Several times he had blown hard to clear his nostrils so he could inhale as much air as possible.
He stood a good chance of suffocating.
Like a caterpillar, Judith wriggled to where Luke lay. His skin had a slight blue tint that ratcheted her fear another notch. With greater urgency she inched along the floor until she lay face-to-face with him. Then she continued twisting and stretching until her belly was near his face. She rolled over to her other side and backed toward Luke, her taped hands close to his face.
She waited two horribly long seconds until Luke caught on and bent and squirmed until his face touched her hands. Quickly as she could, she worked her fingers along his skin until she felt the edge of the tape and began to pick at it, trying to get a corner she could grab.
The sound of Luke’s wet breathing pressed her on. He couldn’t be getting enough air. He coughed and convulsed. She waited until he placed his face near her hands. One second followed another like one day followed its predecessor. Tears ran from her eyes and fell to the dusty floor. How many minutes did she have? How long could Luke last before oxygen depravation plunged him into unconsciousness?
Don’t think. Don’t analyze. Just do. Focus on getting the tape.
A corner of the tape pulled from his skin. She couldn’t see it but it was large enough to pinch between her fingers. Again, she explored his face blindly until she pinched the tape between index finger and thumb. She rolled, hoping with all her might that she could maintain her grip. She felt Luke pulling away.
The tape slipped from her grasp.
“No,” she moaned through her gag. In desperation she searched for the loose end and found it. Again she rolled and Luke pulled back.
A new sound.
A loud puff followed by a wheezing inhalation. The sound repeated itself. She reached for the tape but couldn’t find Luke’s face. Panic descended until she recognized the sounds. Enough of the tape must have come loose for Luke to breathe through the corner of his mouth. The wheezing, puffing inhalation and exhalation became a beautiful sound.
Just as Judith’s nerves threatened to get the best of her, reducing her to a weeping mass of woman, she felt Luke’s face at her hands again. This time she got a good grip on the tape and Luke pulled away, leaving the tape in her hands. The sound of air being gulped by the lungful replaced the wheezing and puffing.
“I … I thought that was it for me.” Luke sounded like a man who just finished a forced marathon. “What a lousy way to go.”
Judith allowed herself to relax for a moment. They were far from free but at least she didn’t have to watch as Luke suffocated.
It took another five minutes, but Luke, using the same technique as Judith, removed the tape from her mouth. Both bore scratches from the nails of desperate fingers. Minutes passed as both rested.
“Judith?”
“Yes?”
“If we get through this; if we get free, I’m going to kiss you full on the mouth. I’m going to kiss you long and hard.”
“If we get out of this, I’m going to let you.”
Luke gave a pathetic laugh. “What makes you think you can stop me?”
“I’ve seen you fight.”
Luke laughed again. This time it was genuine and deep, more a laugh of relief than humor. He coughed. She looked at him. His eyes were closed but his chest moved in an even rise and fall.
The door to the dining hall opened and the loud clap of the screen door slapping the frame filled the space.
“What have we here?”
Judith turned her head and saw the silhouetted figure of a man standing in the doorway.
“Oh, great,” Luke said. “Just when I thought things were looking up.”
The man stood with hands on hips, head tilted to the side. It took Judith a moment to realize the new arrival was too thin to be Pennington and too tall to be the other guy. It also occurred to her that she had not heard a vehicle drive up.
Judith noticed something else: the man reeked of booze.
“I don’t suppose you guys have any beer?”
thirty-seven
Where’s my brother?” the man asked.
“That depends.” Luke tried to sit up but couldn’t
manage it. “Who’s your brother?”
“Ernie. Ernie Braun. I’m Vince.”
Vince moved away from the door and Judith could see him better. Thin, mussed hair, stubbly chin, and a sheen of sweat covered him. He looked nothing like his brother. “Do you work for Pennington?”
“The guy with the Hummer? ” He laughed. “Yeah, I worked for him — for about thirty seconds. That’s how long it took him to toss me out of the car. Can’t blame him, though. I ain’t nothing but a drunk. My brother gives me an opportunity to score some serious scratch and I blow it. I really need the money.”
Luke spoke. “Vince, as you can see, we have something in common. We’re not real high on Pennington’s list of favorite people.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I surely can. Looks like he busted you up pretty good. Did you get any licks in?”
Luke continued. “Nothing to brag about. Listen, Vince, birds of a feather flock together. Ever heard that?”
“Sure. I’m a drunk, not stupid.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything. I’m afraid I got my bell rung a few too many times today. I’m not thinking straight.”
“No problem. I’ve got a thick skin.”
“Here’s my point: Pennington tossed you and he tossed us too. We have that in common. He stiffed you out of your money, right?”
“You got that right.”
“I can help you with that. What were you supposed to get paid?”
Judith stayed out of the conversation thinking Luke knew how to handle the man better than she.
“Two hundred solid for picking him up from the helicopter and driving him here, then following the bus.”
“Okay, here’s the deal. You untie us and I’ll pay you the two hundred.”
Vince studied Luke then Judith then his eyes fell on Luke’s wallet resting on the floor. “That your wallet?”
