Bulletproof Badge

by Angi Morgan

  “Step out of the vehicle. Nice and slow. Get those feet on the ground fast.”

  Blinded by more flashlight beams than she could distinguish, she couldn’t see who was holding them. Then she realized there were flashes a few feet behind them. She heard the whirring of a professional camera.

  Both she and Garrison followed the step-by-step instructions exactly. With their hands behind their backs, they were unable to hide their faces. As bad as she looked, the bruises developing on her face would not hide her identity. Even a kick to his head wouldn’t hide Garrison’s distinctive features.

  “Where are we?” she asked once she had both feet on the sidewalk, still blinded by cameras. “What’s going on?”

  “The county’s booking your boyfriend for murder. That’s what.” The voice belonged to a woman in a police uniform.

  “We didn’t—”

  “Kenderly, don’t say a word. You’ll be out of here in two shakes. Ignore the taunts and don’t answer them—any of them.” Garrison was escorted in front of her.

  This time the men surrounding him were in different uniforms. There were a couple of men in suits, but none of them wore a white hat representing the Rangers.

  “It’ll work out,” he said, twisting in his escorts’ hands. “And remember what we talked about.” He was pulled from her and disappeared into the crowd.

  The media frenzy gathering for Garrison’s arrest was in front of the courthouse. She was still in handcuffs, walking uphill about fifteen feet behind those surrounding him. They continued leading her hero to a podium, but she was held on the outskirts of the crowd. Her body recoiled at the checkered-shirt’s hands grasping her arm. The memory of his search for the flash drive made her gag.

  Someone spoke at the podium in the distance, but she couldn’t focus on his words. Cameras and lights were pointed toward him, leaving her in the dark. The vile checkered-shirt creep turned on a flashlight and pointed it at her face.

  “Lieutenant Garrison Travis has a statement to make,” the voice she couldn’t see announced.

  She wished she could swat the bright beam from her eyes. She could only assume that she was spotlighted to remind Garrison she was still in danger. She didn’t want to be. She yanked on her arms. Twisted. Tried to fall to the cement. The flashlight wavered. But never dropped.

  “I guess by now you all know who I am. I’ll be saving the taxpayers some money by waiving my right to council and pleading guilty to the charges.”

  “No—” she wailed, only to be cut off by a hand over her mouth.

  “This is really unusual,” one of the voices from the crowd shouted. “Why the makeshift press conference in the middle of the night?”

  The blinding light turned off, and she could see Garrison being led away. She was crying at the thought of never seeing him again. Maybe a little because the next few moments seemed so bleak.

  “We’re taking Miss Tyler to get debriefed,” checkered-shirt said.

  She didn’t know who was listening to him. Her eyes were a bit blurry from the tears, and she couldn’t see until she blinked them away. There had to be a place where she could make a run for it.

  They walked on a sloped hill, but even then she was so weak she didn’t think she could outrun two very fit men—or even unfit men. Emotions and fatigue were wearing her down. They drew even with the van again, and the man from the passenger seat opened the door.

  A booted foot kicked out, connecting with his head. The man crumpled to the ground. The checkered-shirt pervert reached for something but let her go.

  Kenderly ran. She didn’t look back. Her hair blew in front of her face, she flipped it away and darted in front of an oncoming car. She was across the street and ran through an opening in the wall.

  Furiously pushing the elevator button, she read that it was the county jail and courthouse parking. She got on the elevator and rode it to the top floor. She ran in between the only two cars parked next to each other.

  “Of all the rotten luck,” she huffed. “No one’s going to help someone in handcuffs.”

  Collapsing, she leaned on the tire and sat, forbidding any more tears to come, refusing to let herself panic. She’d gotten this far.

  “Maybe I can break my thumb,” she mumbled.

  “Why don’t you come with us instead?” a man in a suit and glasses asked her.

  Kenderly bolted in the opposite direction, but within seconds two men grabbed her by the arms. Practically lifting her off the ground they ran down the ramp to a truck parked on the level below.

  “Wait a minute. Where are you taking me? If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with.”

  “You don’t mean that. You didn’t sound like the quitting type. Never give up. Kenderly, do you recognize my voice? I’m Jesse Ryder, Garrison’s best friend and partner.”

  Talking didn’t slow him down, but his words certainly did relax her. They got her on the floor of the truck and were leaving the garage in record time. Jesse drove, and the second man took out his keys.

  “Let’s get these things off you. Can you lift your arms any?” She did and he unlocked the cuffs.

  “Is it okay to sit in the seat now?” She rubbed her wrists and rolled her shoulders, constantly looking behind them. No one followed. “They’re going to realize I’m gone. Those men—”

  “We took care of them. We need to get you out of here.”

  “Not without Garrison. They’re going to kill him as soon as he makes a statement.”

  “I agree. It’s logical. Why else would they have a press conference at this late hour unless that’s exactly what they intend to do,” Jesse said.

  “That’s true,” the other man stated. “We need backup.”

  “There’s no time. Believe me. They won’t risk you or anyone else talking to him. Tenoreno doesn’t want any delays.” She argued, feeling as if she was an expert on Paul Tenoreno. “Garrison is in serious danger. There’s no time. You’re the only chance he has to get out of there.”

  She was about to plead, but one look at their faces and she knew they believed her. Their hesitation made her ask, “What now?”

  “Just one problem,” Jesse mumbled.

  “We show our faces up there, and we’ll be arrested,” Glasses said.

  “What’s your name?” she asked. “Don’t you have guns?”

  Jesse didn’t wait at the red light. He turned right from the middle lane, taking her farther from Garrison.

  “Bryce Johnson, and yes ma’am, we have guns.” He turned in his seat, pulling the seat belt closed, quieting the warning ding sounding throughout the cab.

  “Then, why can’t you use them?” She sat forward until her head was between the seats, and she could look at both men. “I’ll drive the getaway truck.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Garrison couldn’t see Kenderly anywhere. There was a gun in his side. He was headed into a courtroom that had his name all over it. These guys weren’t wasting any time. They were going to tape his confession and get him arraigned.

  He doubted he’d make it to a holding cell alive.

  No regrets on choosing this path. Neither of them would have made it this far if he hadn’t agreed. If he could get these cuffs off, he would have a fighting chance. A slim fighting chance was better than none at all.

  Had to be soon or there’d be no chance to save Kenderly.

  It surprised him just how much he’d meant it when he’d talked of sharing the stories with their grandkids one day. At this point it seemed like an unrealistic dream. Kenderly was the first woman he’d ever had a thought like that about.

  If they got out of this alive, it was worth seeing if the dream could happen.

  Pushed, shoved, tripped along the way... He took all of the abuse from law enforcement officers, knowing
how he’d feel by a betrayal like this.

  Three county deputies propelled him into the courtroom chambers. They stood guard after pulling out a chair and gesturing for him to sit. They didn’t speak. He couldn’t tell if their looks were honest disgust or dishonest smirks.

  Commotion at the back of the room. He didn’t care. He calmed his heart rate, preparing to focus the last bit of his energy on escape.

  Kenderly needed him.

  He memorized the room. Estimated the distance between each guard. Looked to see if their weapons were secured. The deputy farthest from him had his thumb break unsnapped on his holster. He could be compromised, his weapon stolen faster than the others.

  Once he made a break, it was useless to try and quiet the other deputies. There was nothing in the room to keep them from yelling. He’d have to run. Take the hallway the judges used, either direction would have a staircase to the bottom floor. He was only one flight up, he could do that in seconds.

  The trick would be to get out of the building. Finding a door that wasn’t already surrounded, expecting him, with a dirty cop there ready to pull the trigger.

  “I don’t care if he’s refused council or not. The state’s attorney’s office doesn’t want anything called into question. We need a certified signed confession to what he stated earlier. Now, step aside.”

  He knew that voice and suppressed the urge to turn around to acknowledge Bryce Johnson. Garrison forced himself to remain seated at the table instead of making a move. He waited and made eye contact with his colleague. Then he darted his eyes toward the vulnerable guard.

  “Get these handcuffs off him immediately.” Johnson directed the guard he’d spotted. He slammed his briefcase on the table, took his glasses off and wiped them with a glass-cleaner cloth.

  Garrison had seen him do the same thing in their offices daily, but never with this much determination. A guard slowly approached but unlocked his cuffs without a debate. Grabbing the deputy’s sidearm, he knocked him to the ground, dragging Johnson across the deputy’s chest.

  Garrison pulled the other ranger in front of him. There was video in the halls so he staged it to look like Johnson had been taken hostage. That cover would only last a short time. It wouldn’t take long for them to discover his fellow ranger had posed as a lawyer to get near him.

  “Don’t shoot. Put your guns down, you fools,” Johnson screamed like a frightened girl, causing the other two deputies to hesitate. They worked together, backing from the room into the hallway reserved for court staff.

  As soon as they were through the door, Johnson spun and led the way to an elevator. “Our ride’s on the north side of the building. This way. Ryder’s waiting with Kenderly. She insisted on driving the truck.”

  “She would. The doors will be covered by now.”

  “Use me as a hostage again.”

  “No. You’re staying here.”

  “I’ve got news for you, Travis. All of Company F is being detained. I’d rather my stay be in Waco instead of County. I’ve put a few of the crazies behind bars here.”

  “That’s it.” The elevator doors opened, and Garrison jerked Johnson back and led him farther down the hall.

  “I have a better if not riskier idea.” He spun the deputy’s gun and let Johnson take it. “We’re going out the prisoner corridor. There’s a second-floor bridge to county lockup.”

  Johnson fished out his badge and put it on his pocket. “I got you. Prisoner. Ranger. This should work.”

  * * *

  JESSE RYDER WAS perhaps even more stubborn than Garrison. He wasn’t letting Kenderly drive, and he insisted that she lie on the floor of the backseat, so no one would see her. She wasn’t stupid. His plan was safer. She understood completely.

  And he was right that Garrison would probably sock him for leaving her alone. Look what had happened the last time they’d been separated.

  She’d spoken her thought that it might take more than one ranger to bust another out of jail. They’d both laughed.

  There really was something about a Texas Ranger creed or code that Garrison was going to have to explain one day.

  “Any sign of them?” she asked.

  “Nope. But no one’s running out of the courthouse like a maniac is loose with a gun yet, either.”

  “And you expect that?”

  “People running out, cops rushing in. Something like that, yeah.”

  “So how are they supposed to get out of the building? Think you need to take a look around?”

  “Johnson has a phone. When they know, I’ll go.”

  “And I thought Garrison didn’t communicate well,” she mumbled. Her arms and back were killing her. She was starving and probably dehydrated, to boot. She stretched and relocated to the corner of the seat, keeping herself out of the window as much as possible.”

  “You really should stay on the floor.”

  “I can look at what’s going on for myself this way, and you won’t have to talk at all. You should be happy.”

  “It’s safer.”

  “Listen, I’ve been through an awful lot in the past twelve hours. I’ve been threatened, had a gun fired at my brains—empty, but it was frightening. And I’m worried. I promise to sit here in the corner and not show my face.” Not to mention thinking Garrison was dead—more than once. “It’s been a hell of a day.”

  Dawn was breaking behind them. The orange and yellows were reflecting off the windows in the jail.

  “What happens now, Jesse? Let’s say they do get out, and no one shoots them again.”

  “Again?”

  “Are we all fugitives? Where do we go? How can we possibly get out of this city with the police and the sheriff’s department and, shoot, let’s not forget the other rangers on the prowl?”

  Maybe it was the lack of sleep or everything finally staring her in the face, but she felt kind of loopy. Maybe the bubbling anxiousness starting to shake all her insides was what hysteria felt like. She didn’t know and had little control. The feeling wouldn’t stop or go away.

  “When does Paul Tenoreno and the men he has do his dirty work get his comeuppance?”

  “I don’t have all those answers, Kenderly. We take things one step at a time. And I promise you. Garrison will be cleared and Tenoreno will go to jail.”

  She kept her face pushed back in the corner of the seat. Right up to the time the police cars began circling the building. Jesse started the engine, but they cut him off. He immediately began calling his partner’s cell. No luck.

  With no way out, she watched the ranger switch off the engine and drop his badge and weapon in a compartment under the console. “Kenderly, the officer is coming my direction. If you can get out on the passenger side, you might be able to make it between those parked cars without him seeing you. The other officers are heading to the courthouse. Can you do it?”

  “But—”

  “No buts. Take my phone and credit card, password’s seven nine eight three, and zip code is seven six seven nine nine.” The phone and small card holder slid over the console, and she grabbed both. “Got it? Garrison will find you. Remember that. Ready? Go now.”

  Jesse got out of the truck at the same time she opened her door. As she snuck to the other side of the street, she heard him confronting the police officer, asking questions, raising his voice and being slammed into the front of his truck.

  She stuffed the phone in her bra. If it was on silent, she wanted to feel it ring.

  Jesse was still drawing attention to himself when she snuck to the next car, and the next. There was construction equipment along the street. She stood up behind it and turned into the parking lot, leaning against the stone wall that separated it from the street.

  Her heart raced and her hands shook. She shoved them through her hair and wondered how she could do
this on her own. She sank to the ground, unable to keep her knees from buckling.

  What if none of them got free? She took a deep breath, then another. Sirens sounded around her. She jumped with the vibration of the phone but pulled it free and started swiping to answer it.

  “Jesse?”

  “Garrison? It’s me.”

  “Thank God, Kenderly. I’m coming to you. Just tell me where you are.”

  “Across from the courthouse. Jesse was arrested. Is Bryce okay?”

  “Sweetheart, be a little more specific.” He was running. She could hear him breathing hard.

  “There’s construction across the street. I’m against the wall.”

  “Listen carefully. Do you know how to get to the capitol from there? Johnson said that you and Jesse were on Eleventh Street, same as the capitol. Can you get there?”

  “I think so.”

  “No, sweetheart, you can. We got this. I’ll stay on the phone with you. Come on. You walking yet?”

  Hysteria or shock was wearing off. She inched her way up the rock wall and saw an exit the direction she needed to go. The police were focused on the opposite side of the street, but she didn’t want to risk it.

  “What about Bryce?” she asked again.

  “He’s headed to headquarters to get Jesse out. You know this city. Where can we meet?”

  “I’m heading to the west entrance to the capitol grounds. We should be closer to that side. The actual park won’t be open at this time of day.” She was thinking straight once more. The anxiety that had overwhelmed her for a moment was gone. “Are you okay, Garrison?”

  He was still running but answered yes.

  “I’ve met friends across the street from the park on Twelfth, there’s a small monument in the greenbelt.” She picked up her pace, ready to be back at his side. “I’ll wait for you there.”

  “Sure thing. They didn’t get the evidence.”

  “They mentioned that.” So that would be their next move, back to his aunt’s house again. “Going there hasn’t been very lucky for us.”