They headed back to the cabin, collected their belongings, loaded Stormy into the cargo carrier, and headed south toward New York City.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kayci rolled down the window and sucked in the familiar diesel-soaked air of the city. Even though she was born upstate, she’d spent most of her last fifteen years in New York City.
The bank rested at the edge of Manhattan’s southeast side, just a block over from the vaulted towers of Wall Street. Jordan pulled the Suzuki to the curb and stopped. “You sure you want to go alone?”
“It’s more inconspicuous that way.” She twisted to unhook her seatbelt.
“I doubt anyone is looking for us,” he said.
“No, probably not, but you don’t want to leave Stormy alone in the car, do you?” She pulled the release and shoved the door open with her elbow.
The bank entrance didn’t look like anything impressive, but as soon as Kayci stepped through the carousel door, the place came alive in a lavish way.
A white with black-veined marble floor gleamed with a shineno floor should have. A huge six-foot tall bronze dolphin statue rested inside a twelve-foot circular fountain.
There was no traditional teller station like one might see at most banks, but there was a row of expensive desks with tellers at each one, off to the right. Off to the left were the vault and deposit boxes.
Kayci walked up to the center station that said Customer Service. She presented the key to the smiling Asian girl behind the desk. The girl looked over the key and typed the imprinted number code into a terminal. Then she inserted the key into a reader device and waited.
“Welcome to Sovereign State International Bank. Your ticket will be right up,” the girl said with a smile.
In a second, a small turtle-shaped machine on the cherry-wood desk spit out a ticket.
The teller instructed, “Present this ticket to the guard at the door. He’ll show you to your box. You’ll have twenty minutes. If you need more time, you’ll need to come back and get another ticket before that time expires. If you’re closing the box, just leave the key in the lock and leave the box on the table. We will assign a new box and key when you return. There are courtesy bags inside the room. Take as many as you need.” The girl handed Kayci the key back along with a piece of paper that recorded the ticket transaction. “Do you have any questions?”
“No, thank you.” Kayci turned toward the large maple syrup-colored security guard who looked far tougher than the steel and glass door he protected.
“Ticket, please,” the man requested as she approached.
Kayci held out the ticket. The man took it and slid it into a receptacle on the wall near the door. The door lock buzzed and clicked, and the man held the door open for her.
“You’re box is number 1897S. That’s around the corner in block S, that’s the blue rows.”
Kayci smiled and walked past the man. He closed the door behind her, and she made her way around the corner. After walking past the color coded end-caps at each isle, she found the blue and walked down. She saw the box and fitted the key into the lock.
As the box slid out, she did not expect it to be so heavy and it slipped right out of her grasp and fell to the floor with a massive clatter.
She heard the door buzz, and the security guard came around the corner.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It was just heavier than I expected.”
He walked over, picked up the box, and placed it on the desk for her. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I should have known it would be tough with one hand. I should have helped you. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, thanks.”
The man turned and headed back out.
Kayci turned the key and pulled up the top of the box. Just as she suspected, her brother had quite the little stash of safety cash. There was also a letter and a small black velvet pouch with what appeared to be a fistful of uncut diamonds.
“Whoa, Josh, where did you get these?” she muttered to herself. There was also a leather pouch. In the pouch were ten gold bars, each about the size and shape of a deck of cards, but about half the thickness. She was not fully up on the current price of gold, but if these were solid, they must have been worth a hundred thousand dollars.
On the corner of the large desk was a stack of black folded doubled-handled nylon courtesy bags. She took one, unfolded it, and put all the cash into the sack, quickly counting it in her head. It was just over a hundred thousand. Then it came to her. There was probably one hundred thousand in cash, the same in diamonds, and the same in gold.
Josh had been doing much better than she’d ever suspected. If this was his safety cash, he must have had a million somewhere she would never find. No doubt, his adoptive parents would find a fortune when they went through his accounts.
Kayci zipped the black bag, unfurled the shoulder strap, and hung it around her neck. She unfolded the letter and glanced at it briefly.
There is only one person on the planet who could be reading this letter, and that is you, Kayci. If this is all that is left of me, I’m sorry. There are things I’ve learned which I can’t tell you because they could put you in danger. But I need you to know that things are not as they appear to be, so trust no one. He found me, and he may find you too.
She folded the letter and left the key in the box.
“Thank you for your help,” Kayci gratefully thanked the security guard as he held the door for her.
“Do you need an escort?” the guard inquired. “We can assign you an armed escort to your destination.”
“Thanks, no. I have someone waiting at the curb.” She walked outside with the words of the letter still in her head.
***
Back outside, Jordan watched the door. It had been years since he’d been in New York City. He thought about driving across the river to visit his mother, but that wouldn’t be the unplug they needed right now.
Finally, Kayci appeared carrying a black bag. He reached across the seat and opened the door for her. She climbed in.
“So…where’re we going?” Jordan asked.
Kayci flashed a wry smile. “Anywhere we want.”
Jordan put the vehicle in gear and drove away.
“First thing we need to do is get a better vehicle.” Kayci glanced around the interior of the aging Suzuki.
“What?”
“C’mon, this thing is tired. I’m not driving in this thing all the way to California.”
“So we’re going to California?”
“Isn’t that what you were thinking?”
Jordan laughed. “Yeah…sometimes I forget I’m broadcasting.” He moved his hand around his head.
“Actually, you weren’t. I was reading.”
“So can we read anyone’s mind?”
She shook her head. “Yes and no. If they’re broadcasting, yes. And most common people walk around blasting out thoughts all day long. They don’t know how to keep their minds quiet. People like us, we can only read each other if we share that open intimate link. That’s if the other person is not blocking.”
“So, I can block you.”
She raised her brows and turned a devilish smile. “You can try, rookie.”
“Nice.”
“Well…” She shrugged.
“So what you’re saying is I can’t lie to you?”
“Nope…and I can’t lie to you.”
“So what does that mean?”
“I guess it means we both better be good to each other.”
Jordan smiled, pursed his lips. “I can do that.”
“You better, because I can still kick your ass, even with one hand.” She leaned across the seat and kissed him.
For a split second, Jordan forgot about the fact he was driving, in Manhattan of all places. He pulled away just in time to slam on the brakes and avoid rear-ending a taxi. “Are you nuts?”
Kayci bit her lip. “Maybe just little”
Chapter Thir
ty-Three
Jordan looked around the car lot. He was sad to see his orange Suzuki go, but it was getting tired. He had to agree with Kayci on that. They had a lot of driving to do. Pittsburgh looked like a good place to pass the car on to the next person.
Kayci was inside making the final arrangements, filling out the paperwork and such. Jordan suddenly had a nasty feeling, something he couldn’t explain. It was an ache in his entire body. His head felt like it was filling up with air. As if a switch went off in his brain, the meaning became clear. This feeling was not new, but he finally knew what it meant.
He looked to his left. There were two teen girls standing on the sidewalk in front of the dealership. Without thinking, he was in a full-blown sprint toward them.
Suddenly everything slowed to a crawl. The word seemed to be stuck in a jar of heavy liquid. He strained to move faster, but everything was in this jelly mode. He saw the car from the left, clipping the bumper of the other car and starting to spin out of control right toward the two girls.
“Hey,” Jordan yelled, but his words stunted in the hollow of time.
He reached the girls as they turned to look at him. He grabbed them both, pulling them as hard and fast as he could back off the sidewalk and into the car lot.
In a blur of streams in his vision, everything warped back to full speed. Tires were screaming and so were the two girls. He yanked them and threw himself to the ground to leverage both of them and swing them out of the way.
The car skidded and zoomed right by his feet and flipped when it hit the edge of the lot. The small white car flew through the air and came to rest on its roof, smashing into the line of brand new Ford Focus sedans of every color.
People came running from all around to check on Jordan and the girls.
“Holy Mother of God!” one man shouted from behind him. “You just saved them.”
Jordan got to his feet and looked back at the stunned teenagers on the ground trying to find their bearings. He smiled and laughed. A wave of relief crashed into him like he’d never felt. He was giddy with joy, the tears of which welled up in his eyes.
“Wow, man!” a short, baby-faced car salesman said, “that was impressive, dude.”
Jordan walked up to the two young girls. It shocked him at first how much the one looked like Christie, his friend, the first person he’d seen die. Then something inside him made sense of it all and the universe fell into place.
Kayci came running over. “Is everyone okay?”
Jordan looked toward the man in the car, and people were helping him out of the wreck. He was shaken but otherwise unharmed. “Yeah, I think we’re all okay.”
One of the young girls walked up to Jordan. Her fair blond hair and crystal-blue eyes looked so much like Christie’s that it spooked him at first, but then it made him happy, and in a few seconds she didn’t look so much like his old friend anymore. The girl said nothing but gave him hug.
As she pulled away, she offered thanks, “Thank you. How can we thank you?”
“You just did.” Jordan smiled, put his arm around Kayci, and walked away. “Let’s get out of here.”
She tossed him the keys to the almost brand new Ford Explorer.
“They didn’t have it in orange, huh?” He blew out a long breath as he sat down in the firm seat.
“No orange. It was silver, black, or blue.”
“I like the blue.” He twisted the key and fired up the engine.
***
The miles ticked away and so did the day. They were heading directly into the burnt orange sky. Jordan remembered the one thing he loved so much about being on the west coast was the amazing sunsets. The orange colors in the sky were just so awesome that he would make sure to spend every day in front of the ocean view. He glanced over at Kayci. She had been sleeping for a good two hours now.
He looked down at the gas gauge, then up at the rearview mirror. He had the nagging feeling someone was following them. He‘d already checked the frequency plane, and there was no one on there besides him and Kayci.
He was starting to understand more and more about this frequency deal. Now when he concentrated, he could see colored lines of frequency against a black background, similar to the graph of a heart monitor, only with many lines overlapping in three-dimension. Some were different colors, some beat in small, wavy lines, others were tall with jagged peaks and everything between. The highest frequencies weren’t yellow as one might expect, but the same laser-red from his dream with Anna. The brightest, almost iridescent reds, and violets streamed below those, while yellow, white, and green shades were near the bottom. But they all had a bluish halo around them. He wasn’t sure if this was the way everyone with his ability would see it.
“Kayci, you awake?”
She rolled her head to face him. “Are we still being followed?”
He was surprised she knew that, but he shouldn’t have been. “I think so.”
“Pull into the next rest stop, so we can get to the bottom of this.”
“We have no weapons,” Jordan reminded her.
“Oh, Jordan, have faith. I always have a weapon.” Kayci opened the glove box and revealed a Glock pistol.
“Where’d you get that?”
“I stashed it in your Suzuki before we left the safe house.”
Jordan pulled into a rest area just outside Decatur, Illinois. The small building sat up against some tall oaks, and at this hour, it was deserted. He parked the SUV and headed into the vending area opposite the bathrooms.
Jordan stood and stretched. He noticed only two other drivers parked in the long, narrow lot. He put a dollar in the vending machine and selected a bottle of orange juice.
The plastic bottle dropped. He bent, stuck his hand through the doorflap, and gripped the cool container. When he stood and turned, two men were standing near him.
“Gentlemen,” Jordan greeted, “nice weather tonight.” Neither man said anything.
“Hands in the air boys,” Kayci demanded from behind them.
The men turned to face her.
“Kayci Dewitt,” the one man said. “I’m Special Agent Craig Gander. This is Special Agent Gibson Phelps. We’re with the FBI.”
Jordan walked around to get behind Kayci, studying the men’s credentials as he passed them. Agent Gander was a tall, thin man with a large nose. Agent Phelps was a typical fraternity boy, good–looking, with dark hair and eyes. Jordan hated to judge but he looked fresh out of college and probably guilty of at least one date rape in his life.
Kayci lowered her weapon. “What do you want?”
“Can we talk?” Agent Gander requested. “This way”
The two men walked to their sedan parked a few spaces from the new Explorer. They directed Kayci and Jordan to the backseats. They all climbed in.
“Ms. Dewitt, we understand you’re no longer with the NSA, but we’re here to ask for your help.”
“What do you need?” Kayci asked.
“We need your help locating Nathan Pratt.”
“And why should I help you?” Kayci’s tone indicated she had no intention of getting involved.
“Because you know it’s the right thing to do. And if you don’t, there are charges we did not pursue against you, including obstruction.”
“Hey,” Jordan interjected. “Those other FBI guys said no charges were pending.”
Kayci concurred. “I was assured by SSA Ramirez and SSA Doyle that they knew I was not involved.”
Gander shifted in his seat. “Roy Fletcher implicated you. He’s willing to testify against you. We don’t want that, Ms. Dewitt. We know Fletcher is guilty. But we’re desperate, and you understand we use whatever leverage we have to get what we need. We can legally bring charges against you. And although you’ll likely beat them, you don’t want to spend the next two years of your life spending money on lawyers and defending your name.”
Kayci shook her head. “I should’ve known.”
Agent Gander said, “We assure you, Ms. D
ewitt, your involvement will be minimal. But we understand you have certain abilities that will be useful in tracking down Nathan Pratt.”
Kayci looked to Jordan. He shrugged.
“Okay, I’ll help on two conditions. I want Jordan with me the entire time. My ability works better when I’m relaxed, and he helps me relax. I want him debriefed as part of the mission, or I’m out. And I want assurances the FBI is going to take down Fletcher, because it’s he and Avery Von Strieder that started this war.”
Agent Gander pulled a cell phone from the console of the car. “Here, this is your contact phone. I’ll be in touch. You’ll be leaving from Denver International airport. Two agents will meet you there.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Denver was cooler than it should’ve been. The trip took them about twice as long as it normally might’ve, but they were not pushing themselves. Sticking to just a few hours a day on the road and cheap interstate hotels at night, they arrived at the pet hotel with no time to spare.
Kayci convinced Jordan to leave Stormy at a hotel for pets, just outside of Denver. For just ninety-nine dollars a week plus food, Stormy would be staying in the lap of luxury. After meeting with the owners and checking out the place, Jordan was satisfied the cat would be okay for a few days. He said goodbye to his velvet-furred friend and headed toward Denver International.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Kayci asked.
He twisted his lips. “I’m not sure. I’m not even sure what to get ready for, so I’m not sure how to get ready.”
“There’s something else you need to know.” Kayci was more somber. “If you do this, if, we do this, they’re going to ask again. And trust me when I tell you, it is very hard to say no to these people. The NSA knows how to get things they want.”
“I thought we were helping the FBI?”
“That’s only what they want us to think. Deception is what the NSA does. The FBI only thinks they are running this operation. It’s just the way it works. The FBI enforces the law, and the NSA sidesteps the law at every opportunity. But none of that even matters. The NSA will start another program like SORC. They’ll come up with a catchy new vague acronym, and they’ll establish a new team of people like us. They’re using me to get to Nathan, because they know they won’t find him otherwise. And he can’t be out there running around, knowing what he does. People like us have too many secrets in our heads, so there are really only two options. We live under their thumb, or we don’t live at all.”
Savior Frequency (Frequency Series Book 1) Page 16
