Endangered

by Robin Mahle

  “I read your file,” Kate began with an inexorable stare. “Those boys must’ve fucked you up pretty good.” She watched as Stroud’s face turned dark. He wasn’t going to get away with trying to intimidate her. “Is that why you did it?”

  “Did what, agent?”

  Kate smiled. “What a weak, pathetic man you are. They’re going to have all kinds of fun with you after you’re locked up again. You won’t be asking for a treat then. Oh no. You’ll be the one giving them.” She refused to let go of his gaze. “Might’ve been better for you to take a bullet rather than face what comes next.”

  Nick regarded her with what appeared to be admiration. “Did she hit a sore spot?” He nudged Stroud and grinned at Kate.

  » » »

  Word had already reached the media before they returned to the Fairfax precinct with the man in question. Lyle Stroud’s prison mugshot was showing up on news feeds across America with the headline “Ex-con and child predator-turned killer, captured!” A few reporters waited for their arrival to catch a glimpse of the man who’d murdered two children along with members of his own family, and held two others captive.

  The chopper landed in the back parking lot to avoid the growing chaos.

  Once the pilot shut it down, Nick opened the door. “Let’s get him inside.”

  Kate stepped out first while Dwight helped to unshackle Stroud from the seat and the two carefully lowered him to the ground.

  “Nice one, Agent Reid,” Dwight said as they both stepped away from the helicopter.

  “How do I look, agent?” Stroud turned his cheek toward Dwight. “Got the press waiting to see me and I want to be sure I look good. Mind you, the injury might raise a few questions about your technique.

  “You look like a God damn peach; don’t you worry about it.” Dwight yanked on his arm as they made their way toward the station entrance.

  Stroud looked over his shoulder at Kate, leering again, attempting to rattle her. But she refused to allow him to elicit a reaction. Instead, she attended to Nick, whose expression revealed no relief at their accomplishment.

  “I know you wanted this to end differently, but that’s not who you are, Nick.”

  He stopped cold and square in front of her. “I know exactly who I am and what I’m capable of. My judgment was clouded and now this man won’t get what he deserves.”

  She dropped the conversation and they entered the building only steps behind Dwight and Lyle Stroud, who was about to be tossed into an interrogation room to wait for a court-appointed lawyer. And so it would begin, the grueling task of juries and trials and convictions, and he would go back to prison to live out his life while the children whose lives he took would never get real justice.

  As they entered the corridor, Kate spotted Jake Talbot. “I thought he went home.”

  “He must’ve heard the news. I’d better nip this in the bud.” Nick picked up his stride to get out in front of Dwight and the man who killed Jake’s son. “Jake.” He wrapped his arm around his friend’s shoulder and ushered him away. “What are you doing here? You should go home, man. You don’t want to be here right now.”

  “Is that him? The man who killed my son?” His cheeks flushed with a rising anger. “Why didn’t you kill that son of a bitch when you had the chance?”

  Nick felt Jake’s body tremble and saw his fists clench. In only seconds, Lyle Stroud would cross Jake’s path, steps away, but easily within eyeshot of him. He would have to restrain him because he already felt Jake pushing back, waiting for the moment to lunge. “Come on, buddy. Come outside with me for a minute.”

  “No. I want to look him in the eyes.”

  “It won’t do any good. He doesn’t care about what he did.”

  “Then I’ll make him care.” Jake wrestled away from Nick and pushed toward Stroud. He reached beneath his shirt.

  Nick’s eyes widened when he saw what was in Jake’s hand. “No!” He ran toward them.

  Dwight’s head spun toward Nick as he cried out, still maintaining his grip on Stroud.

  “You killed my son!” Jake plunged a knife into Stroud’s gut and stared him down.

  Stroud’s face masked in shock as he looked down at the knife sticking out of him. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor.

  Jake lost his balance and fell on top of him and began pummeling his face. “You killed my boy!”

  Nick spotted several officers drawing their weapons. “Stop! Don’t shoot!” He stood over Jake and pulled him up with his hands still swinging. “Goddammit, Jake!”

  “Son of a bitch!” Dwight began to drag Stroud out from beneath the man who would see him dead.

  Nick managed to pull him off and yanked him backwards, dragging his heels on the ground.

  The grief-stricken man sobbed while Nick sat him down on a nearby bench toward the lobby entrance. Flashes of light flooded the room from the media outside, who had to have seen the commotion.

  “We need an ambulance now!” Dwight knelt down over Stroud, who’d begun to spill blood from his mouth. The knife was lodged at an upward angle from the middle of his abdomen to near the sternum. Dwight wrapped his hand around the handle of the knife.

  “Wait! Don’t pull it.” Kate squatted next to him. “He’ll bleed out. Ambulance is on the way. We’ll have to keep him calm.” She looked around for a jacket or sweater or something to put under his head. A nearby chair with a sweater hung over the back would do. “Here.” She rolled it up. “Let’s get this underneath his head.”

  Stroud began to cough and appeared to struggle to breathe.

  “Jesus. He’s not going to make it.” Dwight peered over the desks to eye Nick and Jake, ensuring the man wouldn’t make another run for it. Although most of the officers standing around were palming their holstered guns.

  Nick viewed Detective Mason’s approach and tightened his grip on Jake’s arm. He was already shaking his head at her as if to imply she couldn’t do what he knew she was going to do.

  “Jake, I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with me. I’m so sorry.” She retrieved a set of cuffs.

  “Wait. Just hang on a minute.” Nick knew the law and knew there was no other way but was trying to buy them some time. “Christ, Jake. I can’t help you now.” Nick’s eyes glistened as he tried to comprehend what the hell had just happened.

  Mason lifted his arm to help get him to his feet and turned him around, wrapping his arms behind his back. “I’m so very sorry.” Her eyes revealed regret as she looked to Nick.

  Jake held Nick’s gaze. “Tell Rachel I took care of him.”

  They heard the approaching ambulance sirens and Mason began, “I hope to God that bastard lives.”

  Several officers were assisting Dwight and Kate in an effort to stabilize Stroud, but he was going downhill fast.

  “I hear the ambulance. We need to keep him alive.” Kate knew the stakes. They all did and so helping this monster to live was the only choice.

  Stroud’s eyes met with Kate’s and he managed to find the strength to raise his lips into a faint smile, as though this was the best possible revenge he could ask for.

  In that moment, all she wanted to do was push the knife deeper into his gut and watch the light fade from his eyes. This man deserved to die for what he did, but that would mean Jake Talbot would spend the rest of his life in prison. And a family that had already suffered would suffer yet again.

  Another burst of chaos erupted when the EMTs rushed through the entrance. Shouts from reporters sounded in the distance as they made their way inside.

  “Over there!” Nick rose from the bench, taking his eyes away from Mason leading his friend toward the booking area. “He’s over there.” He followed the paramedics and for the first time, saw the damage that Jake had done.

  Stroud was a robust man, but now his gut swelled as though he was a six-month pregnant woman.

  “He’s bleeding internally.” One of the EMTs squatted. “Please step back.”

  Dwight and Kate
moved away to allow the men to do their jobs.

  “Sir? Sir, can you hear me?” He flashed a pen light into his eyes.

  The other began taking his vitals. “Radial pulse is week. We need to get him into the truck.” He reached for the backboard and the two began to carefully slide it beneath Stroud. “Watch the knife.”

  They stood up to lift him and haul him outside.

  “Will he survive?” Nick followed them out while they carried him to the ambulance with reporters beginning to swarm around them.

  “We’ll do our best, sir.” The EMT closed the door after his co-worker jumped in to begin working on Stroud. He climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled away, lights blazing and sirens sounding.

  Nick watched them leave as the reporters, who’d grown in numbers, began to throw questions at him. He could only stand there in shock.

  Dwight rushed out and came to the rescue, taking hold of Nick’s arm. “A statement will be made shortly,” he said to the press while pulling his friend back inside.

  Mason approached them as they walked through the lobby toward Kate. “We’re processing him. He’ll need to stay until we can get him in front of a judge to request bond. He’s refusing to make a call to his wife. You want me to handle that?”

  “No. I’ll call her.”

  “You sure, man? I can make the call,” Dwight said.

  “It has to be me. I have to be the one to tell her that her husband is going to jail for attempted murder.”

  “I think the DA will opt for the lesser felony assault charge. And I doubt there’s a jury on this planet who would convict him.” Mason seemed to want to comfort him, but that was an impossible task right now.

  “I hope you’re right, detective. They better keep that son of a bitch alive.” Dwight looked on through to the crowd outside. “Where’s the chief? We should make a statement before those guys get out of hand.”

  “I’ll go get him.” Mason turned to leave.

  Nick rubbed his eyes as he stared at the phone, finger ready to press the green call button. “Dammit, Jake,” he whispered before glancing at Dwight again. “I should’ve done it. I should’ve killed him when I had the chance, just like Jake said.”

  “That’s not how this works. None of us knew he had a weapon. None of us thought he was capable of doing it.”

  “We’re all capable. It just depends on how desperate we are.” Nick finally pressed the button and turned away.

  Dwight took his cue to leave him to make a call he wouldn’t wish upon his worst enemy and began to make his way toward Kate again.

  She held the sweater in her hand and began to place it on a nearby chair. “I doubt she’ll want to wear that again.” She cast a glance to Nick. “How’s he doing?”

  “Not good. We’re going to have to stick to him like glue today—and tonight.”

  “Are we heading back to the office?”

  Dwight checked the time. “We’d better so we can start getting the paperwork in the system. I’ll call Campbell. I’m sure he already knows what happened.”

  “I doubt he knows the worst of it.”

  “Maybe not. Listen, the chief’s going to make a statement. I’ll stand by him. Nick shouldn’t be in front of the cameras right now. Why don’t you stick close to him until we’re through and then we’ll head out?”

  “Okay.” Kate rested her hand on Dwight’s shoulder. “I sure as hell didn’t expect things to go this way.”

  “None of us did.” Dwight continued toward the chief’s office.

  Kate was left alone to try to comfort a man who was already on the brink and no doubt would take the blame for this too. On her approach, he remained with his back turned, still on the phone. She stepped back and waited, overhearing some of the conversation.

  “You can’t blame yourself, Rachel. Jake was fueled by rage and I should’ve been the one to stop him; get him to see reason.” He paused. “We won’t know until I get the call from the hospital.”

  Kate continued to listen.

  “You want me to come by?” He pushed his hand through his hair, a nervous tick that seemed to worsen recently. “Okay, then. It’s probably best if you and Scott stay with your parents for a few days. But just know that Lyle Stroud won’t hurt anyone else ever again.”

  Kate closed her eyes and her heart broke at the sound of his trembling voice, on the verge of a meltdown.

  “I’ll let you know his condition as soon as I hear, I promise. I’ll talk to you soon, Rachel.” He ended the call and turned to see Kate. “She blames herself. Can you believe that? Says she knew where he was going and didn’t try to stop him.” He covered his eyes with his hand, trying to shield their growing redness from her view.

  Kate moved closer and reached for his hand, gently pulling it away from his face. “This isn’t anyone’s fault. Not yours and not Jake’s. Certainly not his wife’s either. Lyle Stroud will survive and justice will be served. If anything, Jake won’t serve for long. And it’s something you need to remember to tell yourself.”

  Nick inhaled a deep breath and rubbed his hair again. “We need to get the hell out of here and back to WFO. Where’s Dwight?”

  “He and the chief are getting ready to make a statement.”

  “I should…”

  Kate stopped him. “Let him do this.”

  “Yeah—okay.”

  Within minutes, Dwight walked past the two of them and nodded before heading outside with the chief to face the swelling masses. Lights came on, brightening the already day-lit skies and shined on the two men who stood at the ready.

  The chief began. “At 10:00 yesterday evening, the fugitive, Lyle Stroud, was captured inside the home of an intended victim in the suburbs of Baltimore. The FBI assisted Baltimore PD officers as well as our own, in the tracking down and capturing of this man who, as you know, was wanted in connection with the deaths of several others in the past few weeks.”

  A reporter shouted, “Is it true he was targeting kids he’d found online?”

  “Sir, if you’ll let me finish, please. As you may already know, Stroud was brought here at approximately 7:30 this morning where he was subsequently attacked and is now in critical condition at the hospital.”

  “Will he live?” another reporter shouted. “Who attacked him?”

  Dwight stepped beside the chief. “We are not releasing any details of the assault at this time.” He nodded to the chief.

  “A very bad man is off the streets and is no longer a threat to this community or any other. Further information will be made available as we receive it. Thank you.” The chief turned to Dwight. “I appreciate you standing by me. These guys can get pretty brutal sometimes.”

  “Like sharks after chum.” Dwight smiled.

  » » »

  When the agents arrived back at the WFO, the elevator doors parted and revealed an empty office, dark and quiet.

  “Guess no one else works on a Saturday,” Dwight joked.

  Agent Vasquez emerged from the hall. “You’re back. Good.”

  “What are you still doing here?” Kate asked as she approached.

  “I wanted to come in and tell you guys that you did a great job last night. And I know it wasn’t easy.”

  “You played a big part in this too, so thank you for your help.” Kate smiled. “I assume Campbell’s gone?”

  “Nope. He’s in his office, waiting for you guys.”

  “Guess we’d better get back there,” Dwight replied and started down the corridor.

  They arrived at Campbell’s office. His door was open and he sat behind his desk, looking more tired than they did.

  He glanced away from his monitor. “Welcome back. Come on in. Take a seat. I’m sorry about what happened this morning, Scarborough.”

  “Me too, sir.”

  “For what it’s worth, your efforts didn’t go unnoticed. I got a call shortly after Stroud was apprehended. Lasseter has had nothing but good things to say about you and your team, SSA Scarborough. As t
he field coordinator for NCAVC, I expect he’ll authorize any expenditure you might need.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll be sure and reach out to him later and give him a full briefing,” Nick replied.

  “You don’t seem pleased by the news.”

  “I’m sorry. The team did do an incredible job and is worthy of the praise. But you’ll have to forgive me. I have more pressing issues.”

  “Of course, I understand. And to that end, I’m sure you’re all exhausted. I know I am and I’ve only been sitting at my desk, fielding calls.” Campbell began to rise. “You should all go home and get some rest. The paperwork can wait until Monday. Give yourselves some time to recoup.” He moved from behind his desk and patted Nick on the shoulder. “Good work.”

  “Good bye, sir,” Kate said as he walked past them. She turned to the others. “So, we’ll get started?” They weren’t going to go home, not yet. Things needed to be done and no matter what the boss said, he wasn’t the one to have to do it.

  » » »

  Several hours passed and it was approaching evening. Kate walked to Nick’s office and noticed he was still buried in files. “Hey. You mind if I head out of here?”

  He looked up from his desk and laced his fingers behind his head. “No. In fact, we should all get out of here. I think I’ve had enough of these bullshit reports.”

  “Good. I’ll see if Dwight wants to head out too, then.” But before she could leave, he appeared behind her.

  “What’s that?”

  “You ready to take off?”

  “I think so, yeah.” He turned his attention to Nick. “Why don’t we hang out at your place? Sit on the boat for a while with subs and beer and then I can crash with you tonight?”

  “I know what you’re thinking, but I’ll be fine. I appreciate you wanting to look out for me. Both of you.” Nick’s cell phone began to ring. “I won’t do anything stupid.” He answered the call. “Scarborough.” He was silent and eventually raised his eyes toward his colleagues. “Thank you for letting me know.” Nick ended the call and stared at his phone.