The Senator's Choice
Page 17
Can I really do this?
He convinced himself he could — and that they were going to kill Luke anyway. His paternal instincts wanted to fight for Luke’s life, but it was beyond that now. He couldn’t kowtow to the kidnappers’desires, not now anyway. It was too late for that. He had to do what needed to be done. He’d made his last stand and sent Seth Matthews after his son. They’d failed.
No use making this entire venture a complete failure.
As Daniels walked down the aisle to cast his vote, one of the freshman senators, Gary Gordon, from his party stopped him.
“What is it, Gary?” Daniels asked.
Gordon sighed before speaking. “I—I just can’t vote for this.”
“Did they get to you?”
Gordon diverted his eyes.
“Look at me,” Daniels demanded. Gordon lifted his head up and his gaze met Daniels.
“What?”
“Did they get to you?”
Gordon started to push past Daniels. “I already cast my vote. It’s over, man.”
Daniels watched Gordon walk past him and take his seat on the chamber floor. He fumed as he walked forward and cast his vote.
Upon returning to his seat, he received a text message.
Disappointed in you.
His thumbs tapped out a response:
You found a workaround yet you still torture my son?
You’re sick. I’m going to find you.
His phone buzzed with another message.
Better come find your dead son first.
Daniels seethed as he watched the votes roll in. Gordon had betrayed him. If the count his aides gave him was accurate, they were headed for a tie that would send the deciding ballot to the vice president, a member of the opposing party. Everything he’d worked for was gone. And now so was his son.
Or he soon would be.
CHAPTER 44
LUKE TRUDGED TOWARD THE WATER with the inflatable raft resting on his right shoulder. He wanted to run and get as far away from these men as possible. But he couldn’t. Not yet, anyway. One way or another, this nightmare was going to end soon enough if he had any say in it.
Dave Dumas broke out into a laugh as he glanced at his phone.
“What is it, boss?” Bill asked as he put the raft in the water.
“Looks like we don’t have to go on the river after all,”Dave said.
Luke knew what he meant. He threw himself onto the raft and started slapping at the water with his hands to push himself forward while he looked around for the paddles.
He looked over his shoulder at a dumbfounded Bill and Sam.
“Don’t just stand there,” Dave shouted. “Go get him!”
***
HAMMOND AND ZELLERS watched the scene unfold in front of them but waited for Matthews’command. Luke dove into a raft and started flailing as he attempted to build enough momentum in the lazy river.
Zellers leaned forward, preparing to run after Luke.
Hammond put his hand on Zellers’chest.“Not yet.”
They watched as Luke beat the water and urged the raft forward. He didn’t get far before both Sam and Bill dove from the bank and each managed to grab a portion of the raft. They climbed aboard.
“Boss, we need to move,” Hammond said on his com link.
“We’re almost in position,” Matthews said. “Go after him.”
Hammond and Zellers scrambled down the embankment and threw their raft into the water. Once they untied the raft, Hammond yanked the starter cord on the motor as it roared to life. He revved it up several times before ramming it into the water and speeding after Luke’s boat.
They started to catch up rather quickly before their raft suffered a jarring bolt from the surprising arrival of another passenger.
It was Dave Dumas. And he was wielding his gun.
CHAPTER 45
SENATOR DANIELS’PHONE RANG. He glanced down at the screen. It was his son, Ben. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, not now with all his raw emotions. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and took a deep breath before answering his phone.
“Hi, son. How are you?”
“How do you think?” Ben snapped. “You just condemned Luke to death. Are you out of your mind?”
“Actually, I’m keenly aware of what’s happening.”
“Would you care to enlighten me then?”
“I don’t think I know any more than you. It’s just that—” he stopped and scratched his forehead, searching for the right words to say. “It’s just that, I didn’t want Luke’s death to be in vain.”
“So you voted for a bill that’s obviously not going to pass — and now it cost Luke his life? Smooth move.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Oh, yes it—” Ben stopped talking.
“Ben? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here, but I don’t believe this. Are you watching the votes?”
Daniels stared at the board. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The bill passed. A pipeline was going to be built. He’d saved his hometown — and other portions of Ohio.
Or at least, someone else did.
He’d stood on his principle — and maybe even lost his son in the process.
Daniels broke down and wept on the chamber floor.
CHAPTER 46
LUKE SLID TO THE SIDE to avoid the oncoming tackle from Bill, while Sam climbed aboard and fired up the engine. He backed toward the middle of the boat in an effort to keep Bill and Sam within his view, even if it was only his peripheral vision. They all lurched once Sam opened up the throttle on the motor in the back.
Luke surveyed his situation, which didn’t appear favorable initially. Once Bill took the upper hand on him, he knew it was over.
On his right, Luke watched Bill creeping toward him. Bill reached down and snatched a knife out of his boot.
“I can make this quick, kid,”Bill said.
Luke glanced at Sam, who bit his lip. After several seconds, Sam finally spoke up.
“Come on, Bill. Do we really have to do this?”
“This kid has seen our faces,” Bill answered. “He could identify us in a lineup. If we don’t kill him now, we’re going to jail — and for a long time.”
Sam stared at Luke. “You won’t tell, will ya, kid?”
Luke shook his head. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Bill laughed.“Like I believe that.”
“Honest, I swear,” Luke shot back. “I won’t tell a soul. I don’t care what you guys are up to, but if you let me go, I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“There’s only one way to ensure that someone doesn’t say anything,” Bill sneered. “You make sure they can’t talk.”
Bill lunged for Luke and held his knife close to his face. The current began to pick up pace as the boat bounced through some low rapids. Luke could hear Bill’s shallow breathing along with the trickling water and the sound of rocks scraping the bottom of the boat. He tasted the bile in his throat as he glared up at his attacker.
“You ready for a life of silence?” Bill asked.
A shrill scream echoed through the mountains — and everyone turned and looked toward the back of the raft. Then they all froze.
***
HAMMOND DIDN’T NEED to inspect Dave Dumas up close to know that the arrow from his crossbow penetrated the man’s shirt and ripped into his heart. The raft morphed into a bloody mess as Dave stared back at the two men, mouth agape.
Stunned, Dave grabbed his chest with one hand, his gun falling out of his other. “I never meant for anyone to get hurt.”
“So, that’s why you pummeled a kid?” Hammond asked.
Zellers didn’t wait for a response. He just glared at Dave and pulled the trigger again. “That was for Luke.”
Still clutching his chest, Dave rolled off the side of the boat and tumbled into the river.
Hammond cranked the engine up a notch and sped toward Luke.
***
Bill, caught off balance for a moment, staggered to his feet and waved his knife at Luke. “Look what you did!” Bill growled.
“I did nothing,” Luke answered. “I don’t have a gun.”
“But you’re the reason he’s dead.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “No.He’sthe reason he’s dead. You should’ve never kidnapped me in the first place.” He paused and studied his two attackers, both still trying to get a better position so they could pounce on him.
“Now, you’re going to die,” Bill said. He rushed Luke and caught him near his knees.
Luke buckled and crashed to the floor of the boat. Instead of giving any more lectures, he went for the knife lodged in his sock and jammed it into the side of the boat.
Air whistled out of the boat as it started to deflate. Bill lunged toward Luke.
And Luke tumbled into the water.
CHAPTER 47
SETH MATTHEWS GRIPPED the steering wheel and bit his lip. The seconds dripped past like hours, with each one creating a flurry of questions in his mind. Though there was only one he wanted to know the answer to: Is Luke safe?
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” he said into his com link.
The sporadic chatter and shouts along with gun shots created more concern, even though he could still hear their voices.
“Don’t make me ask again,” Matthews said.
“Luke’s in the water,” Hammond said. “I repeat, Luke is in the water.”
“Where are you, Jones?”
“I’m on the bank about half a mile upstream. I can see everything.”
“And?”
“Luke just rolled into the water and they’re going after him. It looks like Luke punctured the sidewall of the raft and it’s losing air rapidly.”
“Atta boy,” Matthews said with a smile. “Be ready to go in after him.”
In the backseat, Shepherd stared at his laptop screen, his fingers ablaze on the keyboard.
“How are we doing back there?” Matthews said as he glanced in the rearview mirror.
“Almost there,” Shepherd said. Every piece of footage captured by Shepherd’s micro drones were being forwarded to Senator Daniels’office.
“I’m about to pull over and set up on the riverbank. Do you think you can handle yourself while I’m gone?”
“If I can manage to pull you out of a burning cellar with a fire burning six hundred degree Fahrenheit, I think I can handle myself.”
Matthews went to rub Shepherd on the head before Shepherd grabbed his arm just short of its destination.
“Don’t touch me,”Shepherd said.
Matthews withdrew his hand and exited the vehicle. He rambled down the embankment and took up a position behind a larger boulder at the water’s edge. And he waited.
“I’m in position,” Matthews said. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
“You’ll be able to see for yourself in about three seconds if my estimations are correct,”Shepherd said.
***
WITH NIMBLE NAVIGATION, Hammond guided their raft down Sanders Fork. The current’s increasing pace and plethora of rocks create a significant challenge. Ahead, the white water churned and sputtered, almost taunting them. Due to their altercation with Dave, they fell behind and had lost sight of Luke as his raft turned around the bend.
“I see him,” Jones said over his com link. “He’s in the water. I’m going after him.”
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Matthews said.
“Luke’s in the water, but we don’t have eyes on him,” Hammond said. “We’re coming up on their location once we clear this bend.”
Then another gunshot ripped through the mountainside.
***
LUKE BOBBED IN THE RIVER, fighting against a current that seemed determined to keep him away from the shore. The rocks and boulders in the water appeared as though they were flying at him. Water sprayed his face, blurring his vision. He didn’t have time to plot a course — he could only react to the imminent danger that seemed relentless.
He heard a gunshot. His attempts to glimpse along the shoreline or behind him at the boat carrying Bill and Sam were met with punishing collisions with the rocks in midstream.
Then another gunshot.
This time, he looked up and caught a peek of a body in a wetsuit collapsing into the river a few yards ahead of him. It drifted into his path and there was no way he could avoid crashing into it.
Luke looked down at the body. It was Nick Jones.
Jones appeared to be alive, though bleeding profusely. With all the water, Luke couldn’t tell where the bleeding was coming from. He tried to hold Jones’head up above the water, but the rapids created a challenge he couldn’t meet. He refused to let go, but Luke rammed into a boulder, jarring Jones loose.
He wanted to scream, to save his friend who’d risked everything to rescue him. But he couldn’t. He needed to save his breath for the task at hand — survival.
As he weaved and bobbed his way along, he caught a view of peaceful water up ahead.
If I can just make it about a hundred more yards …
His thought was cut short as someone reached down and yanked him out of the water. He turned his head to see Bill grinning at him. With pride, Bill motioned to the makeshift patch he’d applied to the boat’s side— right before he punched Luke in the face and made his world go dark.
CHAPTER 48
SETH MATTHEWS WATCHED the scene unfold in front of him. He wanted to turn it off or look away. Jones’lifeless body floating in the river. Two of the kidnappers managed to snatch Luke from the water and had tossed him into the center of the raft while they ripped through the rapids like it was familiar territory. And behind them, Hammond and Zellers were struggling to keep up. But now was not the time to close his eyes and cringe in fear — now was the time to see with clear eyes what needed to be done to save Luke.
Guess this is why we have backup plans.
He smiled to himself at the thought and began to formulate a plan of attack. It needed to be executed flawlessly.
He peered around the boulder once more to make sure the raft was on the same trajectory. It was.
Matthews counted down.
Five, four, three, two, go!
He scrambled to the top of the boulder and leapt down onto the front of the raft, jarring both men and knocking them off balance. He stabilized his own footing before pulling out both guns and pointing them at Sam and Bill.
“Not another move,” Matthews said.
Bill had also pulled out his gun and trained it on Luke, who was still lying on the bottom of the boat.
“Not so fast, old man,”Bill said.“It seems like you’ve got a problem now.”
Matthews glanced over Bill’s shoulder and could tell that Hammond and Zellers were still wrestling with the rapids. But it wouldn’t be long before they cleared them. He needed to stall.
“I think you’ve got the real problem since you’re either not getting out alive — or not getting a dime for your feeble efforts to kidnap Senator Daniels’son,” Matthews said.
“We’ve more than accomplished our job. The vote happened twenty minutes ago.”
“Then let the kid live and we’ll call it a day.”
Bill laughed.“Can’t do that. He’s seen my face. And unfortunately, so have you.”
Matthews peered past Bill to see Hammond and Zellers easing into the smooth waters. “I can keep my mouth shut.”
“I’d rather shut it—”
Bill stopped short as he collapsed when Luke rammed an oar right between his legs. Matthews didn’t flinch, firing two shots into Bill’s chest. Sam didn’t move, while Luke clambered to his feet.
Bill, still clutching his gun, s
tarted to move again.
Matthews reacted by putting a bullet in his head, but not before he got off another shot — one that struck Luke and sent him overboard and into the water.
Matthews whipped Sam with the butt of his gun, sending the third kidnapper to the bottom of the boat, now stained with Bill’s blood.
Matthews then dove into the water after Luke. He heard the raft zip away along with the sound of another boat approaching.
Searching through the murky water, Matthews grasped for anything that felt like Luke. Nothing but rocks and boulders.
“Luke!” he screamed as he came up for air. “Luke!”
CHAPTER 49
SENATOR DANIELS DIDN’T WAIT around to gloat to the press and remind everyone that he helped pass a bill that would create jobs and jumpstart a lagging economy in the Midwest and Northeast. He rushed out a back exit and made his way to his car. There was only one thing he wanted to do at the moment —confront Sarah.
Fifteen minutes later, he stood outside her Washington condo, banging on the door.
“Sarah! I know you’re in there. Better open up or I’m coming in.”
Nothing.
Daniels leaned back and put the full force of his weight into the door, splintering the edge of the door as it swung open.
He stormed into her home. “Sarah! You need to talk to me right now!”
As he weaved through the condo, he strode right toward the most likely place she’d be: her bedroom.
Several months ago, she showed him the panic room she’d installed in her bedroom in case anyone ever attacked her. He never dreamed he’d be the first one to force her to use it.
He grabbed the door handle to her room. It was locked.
Daniels kicked it open, just in time to see her scurry across the room for the panic room. He lunged toward her and grabbed her heel.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled.
“Jeffrey, I know what you’re thinking, but you have to trust me.”