Blind Rage

by Michael W. Sherer

“Come on, Tess. You’re the one who said you could handle it. I’m the one who has to do all work. All you have to do is write the reports based on my observations.”

  “But I shouldn’t have to—”

  “Hey, Tess!”

  Both of our heads jerked toward the sound of Toby’s voice. He was slouching against a wall, hands in his pockets. The halls were deathly quiet since the day’s seventh, and last, period had already started.

  “Toby?” Tess said. “What are you doing here?”

  He pushed off the wall and ambled toward us. “Waiting for you. Why haven’t you gone to the police, Tess?”

  The question startled her—and me—and I saw a cloud of fear darken her face. “Police? About what? Why should I go to the police?”

  “If you’ve got nothing to hide, why won’t you talk to them?”

  “I already told them everything I know about Carl,” she said, a note of panic creeping into her voice.

  I fixed Toby with a stare and said quietly, “Why don’t you leave her alone?”

  “This is between me and Tess,” he said. “I want to know what you’re hiding, Tess. Why can’t you do the right thing?”

  “We’re leaving,” I said. I took Tess’s elbow and steered her toward the commons, but Toby stepped in front of us and blocked our way.

  “Look,” I said, “you need to back off. She already told the cops what she knows.”

  “No, she didn’t,” he shot back. “Not about the woman’s murder down in Renton. She used to work for your family, didn’t she? You know something, don’t you, Tess?”

  The color drained from Tess’s face. “How do you know about that?”

  “I told you. I heard my father talking to Chief Clifford. Tad told me that the woman was your cook. Seems a little much to be a coincidence. What’s going on, Tess? I want to know.”

  No one was supposed to know that Tess and I had witnessed Helen’s murder. Something didn’t feel right. Toby was stalling, delaying us for some reason. I glanced over my shoulder. Down at the far end of the empty hallway, Tad pushed open the exit door. Two men in black commando gear rushed inside. My ears filled with the low thump of my heart pushing adrenaline through my veins.

  I faced Toby. “You, too? Those aren’t cops!”

  He stared down the hall, brows knit in confusion.

  I grabbed Tess with one hand and fished in my pocket for my phone with the other. “Tess, we have to run.”

  “What’s going on?” she cried.

  “Run!” I growled. “We’ve got trouble!”

  Toby pulled himself together when he saw us moving around him into the open hallway, and halfheartedly tried to block our path again. I shouldered him aside and speed-dialed Fred’s number on my phone.

  “Let’s go, let’s go!” I said, pulling Tess down the hall. She got her feet under her and picked up the pace, but when I looked back the men behind us had quickly gained ground, Tad on their heels. Toby stood in the middle of the hallway, facing them with his hands up as if to stop them.

  “Wait! Wait!” he called.

  They bowled over him, knocking him to the floor. But when I glanced back again, one of them had gotten tangled up and had gone down in a heap with Toby. The other one kept on coming, steadily closing the gap, his pounding footsteps echoing loudly off the walls.

  “Faster, Tess!” I said. “He’s catching up!”

  “Who?” She sounded terrified. “Who’s catching up?”

  “Just keep moving!” I said.

  I willed her legs to pump faster, the sound of our pursuer’s footsteps closing in. Only a few steps later, a hand grabbed my sleeve and yanked hard, pulling me off stride. I lost my balance and slammed into the wall. Pain rocketed through my shoulder. A blur of black whipped past and swarmed over Tess from behind. She shrieked in fear. Instinctively, her hands went up to the massive forearm curled around her neck. She planted one foot and pulled down on the man’s arm, bending at the waist the same time. I regained my balance and pushed off the wall as Tess’s attacker went up and over her hip. He wasn’t expecting it, and he went down hard. I raced past Tess and slammed the toe of my shoe into the side of his head, aiming for some imaginary goalposts. The kick rolled him over to one side of the hall.

  “Come on!” I shouted, grabbing Tess by the arm.

  She came without a word, kicking into high gear without any prodding. There were almost always people hanging out in the commons. If only we could get that far, the men wouldn’t dare attack Tess with people around. I heard footsteps behind us again.

  “Stairs!” I shouted. “Ten!”

  Tess slowed and stumbled. I pulled her up and she grabbed for the railing. When she found it, she tried to take the steps two at a time and tripped. I caught her and half dragged her up the remaining steps. Once more, we took off running, and a few paces later Fred and Barney rounded a corner from the commons and ran toward us. Fred’s longer legs put him out front.

  “Behind us,” I gasped. “Two, at least.”

  Fred nodded and barreled down the stairs.

  “We got this,” Barney yelled as he followed. “Get out of here!”

  We didn’t need to be told twice. Thirty seconds later we raced out the main entrance and into the parking lot. I steered Tess toward the car and pulled the key fob out of my pocket. A push of a button unlocked the car with a chirp. Tess focused on the sound and hurried toward it. I stayed with her and hustled her to the passenger door, leaning in front of her to open it. While she scrambled in, I raced around the car and got behind the wheel. Without bothering with a seatbelt, I started it up, backed out with a squeal of rubber on asphalt, and peeled out of the lot on smoking tires.

  “Which way?” I yelled.

  “Just drive!” she screeched. “Anywhere! And stop shouting at me.”

  I yanked the wheel to the right at the end of the drive, out onto the street, and gave the car some gas. Movement in the lower parking lot caught my eye as I headed down the slope from campus. An SUV accelerated across the lot toward the street, moving way too fast. I realized that it was going to try to cut us off. Heart hammering in my chest, I jumped on the throttle. I could feel that the BMW had plenty in reserve so I backed off just a little, wondering if I could time it right. The other driver glanced up at me, and I could see he was thinking the same thing.

  “Oliver?” Tess said in a small voice.

  “Hang on tight!” I said through clenched teeth.

  We sped toward the entrance to the lower parking lot, the SUV on a collision course. I jammed the accelerator to the floor. The engine howled, and the car leaped ahead.

  “What are you doing?” she shrieked as she was pressed into her seat.

  I tensed and gripped the wheel tightly, my bloodless hands skeletal. Fear hunched in my gut, heavy and brooding. I cringed as we flashed by the lot entrance, waiting for the inevitable blow and screech of rending metal. The SUV loomed in Tess’s window and then vanished as we slid past. A squeal of brakes filled the air. Behind us, the SUV skidded out of control across the street and smashed into the ditch on the far side. I turned my eyes back to the road in front, heart pounding and blood roaring in my ears.

  Barely slowing, I turned at the corner on protesting tires and raced through residential streets until we came to an arterial leading to the freeway. I got on heading east and melded into the flow of traffic, checking the rearview mirror every few seconds for signs of pursuit.

  CHAPTER 44

  Travis’s phone vibrated. He eased it out of his pocket and held it in his lap under the table. A quick glance told him all he needed to know. The text on the screen said: 911. He excused himself quietly and got to his feet. Most people remained focused on the speaker at the head of the conference table, but one or two glanced at him as he left the room. He noted which faces looked simply curious and which looked peeved. It couldn’t be helped.

  Those who are miffed by my exit can go take a leap. I have a company to run.

  In this case,
however, he knew the emergency came from home. He dialed the number as he left the room.

  “Talk to me,” he said when the number connected.

  “They rabbitted,” Fred said.

  “You let them get away from you?” Travis saw the startled reaction of an employee down the hall, and lowered his voice as he headed for the elevators. “What the hell happened?”

  “It’s not what you think,” Fred said in clipped tones. “A team got inside the school and tried to take them. They hit the panic button and made a run for it. We intercepted them and told them to go. Figured they’d be safer outside while we secured the scene.”

  “And?” Travis paced in front of the elevators. Changing his mind, he headed for the stairs, moving quickly now.

  “The two of them had already done a pretty good job of it. Put one of the assault team down with a serious concussion. Another wanted to start a firefight in the middle of a hallway, so we took him out quickly. Spotted their vehicle on the way out, smashed up in a ditch, so we figure probably two more. No sign of them. They probably cut and ran.”

  “Damn! You left them there?”

  “Didn’t have much choice,” Fred said. “It was either that or answer the cops’ questions for the next two or three days. Figured you might need us, so we boogied. It was a good shoot, Travis. A couple of kids saw us in the hallway. The guy threw a couple rounds at us, then tried to take one of the kids hostage. Barney put a single round in his head. We rattled the kids, told them to keep their mouths shut. Gave ’em some b.s. about national security. But we won’t be able to avoid law enforcement for long.”

  “Where are you now?” Travis huffed as he took the stairs down two at a time.

  “On the way back to the house. We’ve alerted Marcus. He’s mobilizing the troops.”

  “Okay, I’m on my way.” Travis thought for a moment as he raced down another flight of steps. “Make sure my gear is loaded. I’ll change when I get there. You have a lock on the car?”

  “Yeah, we’ve got them. They’re heading out of the city.”

  “Okay. I’ll call the school and the authorities on the way and give them a heads-up about the attack. I’ll stall, let them know we have an ongoing situation, and say we’ll report in later. I’ll see you in twenty.”

  “Right.”

  Travis hung up and banged through the door into the parking garage. He sprinted for the Range Rover and wheeled out of the building in a matter of seconds. He navigated the city streets as fast as he dared, keeping an eye out for SPD patrol cars, and reached the freeway minutes later without incident. With fewer distractions on the highway, he used the Range Rover’s Bluetooth feature and called Derek first. Tersely, he outlined what had happened and told Derek to be on standby in case there was any activity in Tess’s e-mail account, or in the event Oliver contacted him. That accomplished, Travis called the school to let them know he’d been apprised of the situation there and would alert the authorities.

  By the time Travis calmed the principal down and got off the phone, he was pulling into the drive at the house. He held off calling the police chief. He wanted to be on the road before he alerted law enforcement. Once the police got involved, Travis and his team would be sidelined, relegated to watching, and Travis wasn’t about to take a backseat to anyone, especially local cops, when it came to Tess’s safety. His men had more training, more combat experience, and had more insight into the type of adversary they faced than some patrol officers with a few weeks’ SWAT training. Nothing against cops. Travis respected the job they did. But not for this.

  Both the SUVs were parked in the circle, ready to go when Travis pulled up. Luis was closing the tailgate of the one in the rear. The other men stood at the ready by the doors, which meant both vehicles were loaded and ready to go. Travis jumped out and hustled up to passenger side of the lead vehicle, nodding at Fred across the hood. He turned and looked back at the other SUV. Marcus, Kenny, and Luis climbed in and waited. Travis got in his vehicle and twisted to face Red and Barney in the backseat as their small convoy got underway. Barney wordlessly handed him a neatly folded pile of tactical black camouflage clothing. Travis shimmied out of his dress slacks, shirt, and tie, and changed into the combat gear.

  He swiveled to look at Red. “You all set?”

  Red nodded. “Laptop’s working fine. Signal from the Beemer’s GPS is strong.”

  Travis settled in his seat and buckled up. “We’re about thirty minutes behind them. Any chance of making up some of that time?”

  “Given their location,” Red said, “looks like they’re staying under the speed limit. Probably don’t want to risk attracting attention.”

  “I can make some of that up,” Fred said, punching the accelerator. “Depends on where they’re headed.”

  Travis stared out the windshield. “That’s the key question. Where are they headed?”

  CHAPTER 45

  Neither of us spoke. I couldn’t tell if Tess was in shock. She must have known from my erratic driving and the sound of the crash that something bad had happened. But now the steady, quiet hum of the engine and soft hiss of the wind rush outside calmed and soothed my nerves. I assumed it was having the same effect on Tess. Eventually, she sighed. When I glanced over I saw she had finally settled into her seat, letting go of the tension that had left the imprint of her fingers in the leather console cover. In each hand she held a flat stone—one pink, one blue-black. She worried them between her thumbs and fingers.

  We quickly left the suburbs behind and wound our way up into the foothills of the Cascades. The powerful car climbed without effort and ate the miles hungrily. Before I knew it, we’d wound our way up through Snoqualmie Pass and down into the Yakima River Valley. It was a while after that, maybe an hour and a half after our escape, that Tess finally spoke.

  “Where are we?”

  She said it so softly that I wasn’t sure I’d heard her at first. I glanced over. She cocked her head expectantly.

  “I’m not sure,” I told her. “We passed Ellensburg not long ago.”

  “I know where to go,” she said. She was silent a moment. “Pull up the GPS if you can, and look for a road that will take you to Wenatchee. Once you get there, take Route 2 north.”

  We crossed the Columbia River and got off the highway a few miles later, drove north through high desert that irrigation had miraculously turned into farmland. Then we doubled back west a little and followed the river up the valley to Wenatchee. From there, Tess’s directions took us northwest, back into the mountains. She said no more about our destination, so I left her to her thoughts and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery as we wound up through the Cascades.

  When we finally slowed to a stop at a light, Tess spoke.

  “I’ve never come this way,” she said. “Are we in a town?”

  “Cashmere, I think.”

  She chewed her lip. “I think I know where we are. About ten miles to go.”

  Less than fifteen minutes later, we drove into what looked like a German village. Many of the buildings had been designed and built with Bavarian architecture, giving it a quaint, Old-World feel. Any minute I expected a sleigh drawn by eight reindeer to appear and complete the picture.

  “We’re in Leavenworth, right?” Tess said when I stopped at a light.

  “Where’s Santa?”

  She grinned, a good sign. “Yeah, I know. Corny, but kinda sweet. Drive through downtown. On the other side, there’s a gas station on the left. Can we stop? I’m hungry.”

  Hungry. Another good sign. My stomach growled, too.

  Just as Tess had described, the gas station came into view a few minutes later. Inside was a small convenience store. I turned in and pulled up to a gas pump. While the tank filled, I poked my head in the car and asked Tess what she wanted to eat.

  “I don’t know. A sandwich, I guess. And chips. And something to drink. Water.”

  “Okay. You stay here.”

  “Wait. We need supplies. I should come in with you.�
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  “What kind of supplies?”

  “Well, enough food to last us until tomorrow at least. We need to figure out what to do.”

  “What are we going to do with it? There’s no fridge in the car. And where are we going to stay? Camp out? Sleep in the car? Get a motel room?”

  She smiled. “No. We’re close. Only a few minutes from here.”

  I thought for a moment. “Okay, but I still think you should wait in the car. If people come looking for us and ask questions, a blind girl is pretty memorable. A single guy isn’t.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  I could tell it wasn’t fine, but she knew I was right. The gas pump shut off, so I holstered the nozzle, grabbed a receipt, and parked the car outside the door. I waited while Tess gave me a list of things she thought we needed, and went in. Five minutes later I came out with a sack of groceries and a couple of sandwiches to tide us over.

  Tess guided me out of town down a side road a couple of miles, then told me where to turn off. An even narrower road wound down to the banks of a river and then split in two, one side running parallel to the bank and the other fork leading to a small bridge that crossed over. Tess directed me across the bridge, and we followed the road along the opposite bank as it curved through the forest. Pavement quickly gave way to dirt. When Tess felt and heard the change in road composition under the tires, she sighed.

  “Not far now,” she said. “I bet it’s beautiful. Tell me what you see. Please?”

  I described the scene out the windshield. High, fluffy clouds against an even higher ceiling of bright gray flecked with patches of blue sky. Douglas firs and spruce trees, along with maples and alders, lined either side of the road. Above them, in the near distance, rose a craggy mountain, the tops of its twin peaks still dusted with snow.

  “About a mile to go,” she said when I finished.

  We drove the rest of the way in silence, me with a growing sense of restiveness. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The road petered out a few minutes later in front of a lodge-style home that looked fairly new despite being weathered. I braked gently and we rolled to a stop a few yards from a massive door under a portico with columns of rough-hewn tree trunks. I sucked in a breath.