by Brady, R. D.
Up ahead, she saw the clearing and tall outcropping of rocks that she’d seen this morning when she’d gone for a walk. She picked up speed, and leaped up the rocks and into a small crevice hidden behind them. Pulling around her M4, she rested it on the rocks as she waited for the men following her.
A few seconds later, two men fully dressed in camouflage stepped into the clearing. Their eyes scanned the area, looking for their target, looking for her. Without pause, she took down one and then the other, both shots center mass.
She waited another few beats. No one else appeared. Silently, she thanked her uncle for the shooting lessons he’d insisted on when she was a teenager. It had been his idea of bonding time. Who could have known how helpful they would be?
She cautiously crawled out of her hiding spot and waited, listening for any sound. She could hear Yoni’s gun in the distance and the returning fire, but nothing close. She headed back towards her uncle, stopping to listen every few feet.
As she passed a giant sycamore, she hesitated, sensing rather than hearing someone was there. She inhaled sharply at the press of the gun barrel between her shoulder blades.
“I must admit, Dr. McPhearson, you are much more resourceful than most college professors I’ve met. My brother greatly underestimated you. I, however, have not."
Gideon. Panic flashed through her and she struggled to keep it out of her voice. “If you’re waiting for me to apologize, it’s going to be a long wait.”
He pushed his gun deeper into her back and she forced herself to ignore the pain. “Not at all, not at all. I am merely paying my respects to a worthy opponent. Now, please lower your weapons.”
Laney’s mind scrambled, running through all possible scenarios of escape.
Gideon, though, seemed to know what she was thinking and his voice turned cold. He leaned in close, his lips almost touching her ear, and his voice turned cold. She couldn’t help but flash back to Paul doing almost the exact same thing.
“Do not misunderstand me. I would as soon shoot you. But for now, I need you alive. I do not, however, need you completely unharmed. Try anything and I will take great pleasure in giving you pain.”
Laney didn’t doubt him. She slowly lowered her weapons to the ground.
He nudged her forward with his gun. “Excellent. Now, let us proceed.”
A man burst through the trees on her right. She leaped back at his appearance. From his clothing, she could tell he was one of Gideon’s men.
He took in the scene and then walked towards them. His eyes stayed on Laney. She didn’t like the look in them.
“I can take her, Mr. Gideon.” He looked her up and down. “I’ll take real good care of her.”
Gideon sighed and then beckoned the man closer. The man leaned forward. Gideon pressed his gun to the man’s forehead and pulled the trigger.
Laney stumbled back as blood and bits of bone sprayed across her face. She started to shake.
Gideon hauled her to him, his hand firmly clenched around her arm. “One thing I can’t abide is a man who would mistreat a woman.”
She stared up at him in disbelief.
Catching her look, Gideon smiled. “My dear, my intentions towards you have nothing to do with the fact that you are a female. And neither will the pain you experience.”
He raised his gun and brought it down on her skull. Pain exploded through her head before everything went black.
CHAPTER 61
Jake tried to reach Laney again, but she didn’t pick up. He tried Yoni and still nothing. He didn’t like it. Something was wrong.
Pushing down the accelerator, the tires of his Suburban squealed as he turned onto the winding lane that led to their rented house. A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed that Henry, who was following in the other Suburban, had matched his pace.
Jordan Witt glanced over at him. “Problem?”
Jake and Jordan had served together in the SEALS. When the tough Californian had left the military four years ago, he’d joined the Chandler Group at Jake’s urging.
“Can’t reach anyone at the house,” Jake replied tersely. “Something feels off.”
Jordan nodded and turned to the four armed men seated behind them. “Trouble ahead, gentlemen. Suit up.”
The house was the only one on the block and stood almost a full mile from the street. As Jake approached the drive, he noticed a shape lying in the drive.
“No,” Jake growled, his heart starting to pound. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
Jerking to a stop at the front of the drive, the men poured from the car taking up defensive positions around it. Jake and Jordan quickly moved to the body and rolled it over.
“Do you know him?” Jordan asked.
Jake nodded, scanning the area. “He was part of the security detail Henry brought in this morning.”
There were discarded shell casings strewn across the drive, but there was no sound. Whatever had happened seemed to be over.
Jordan watched the woods surrounding them. “There were four other members of that detail. Right?”
“Yes,” Henry said as he joined them, his Glock at his side.
Jordan turned to the men to direct them. “We’ll find them.”
Jake sprinted back to his car with Henry on his heels. “We need to get to the house.”
Henry didn’t even respond as he threw himself into the passenger seat. Jake slammed the car into drive. Henry trained his handgun out the window as they sped along the long drive.
There was no movement as they raced towards the house. Jake told himself to calm down, but fear was threatening to choke him. And it wasn’t fear for himself. He needed to see that Laney was all right. Approaching the house, he cursed as he swerved to avoid another body in the drive.
He pulled up short in front of the house. As he stepped from the car, the front door flew open. Dropping to his knee, he pulled his gun in one fluid motion. From the corner of his eye, he saw Henry do the same.
“Hold your fire,” Yoni yelled, his hands raised as he came into view. “It’s me.”
Jake lowered his weapon. “What happened?”
Yoni shook his head. “They came at us from the front and the back. But they left. I don’t understand why. They knew I was still alive. Why wouldn’t they finish me?”
“Because they didn’t come to kill us. They wanted something else,” Henry said looking around.
Jake moved towards Yoni. “Where are Laney and Patrick?”
Yoni started running towards the back of the house, calling out over his shoulder. “I was just going to look for them when I heard your car. They were smoked out. They ran into the woods.”
Jake sprinted in the same direction as Yoni and took over the lead. He glanced at the bodies that littered the lawn only long enough to know that they weren’t Laney. Come on, Laney. Where are you?
As he crested the hill, he saw Patrick moving unsteadily towards them, his hand held to his head.
“I’ve got him,” Henry yelled as Jake and Yoni continued forward.
They followed Patrick’s trail to the encasement of rocks and then stopped. “Patrick must have been hit here.” Yoni pointed to a pool of blood. “But where’d Laney go?”
Jake looked around, and seeing no sign of her, closed his eyes. He pictured Laney when he’d met her. She’d wanted to lead Paul away from the high school kids, not wanting to put them at risk. Then, she risked her life to save Rocky. In both situations, she could have just saved herself. But that wasn't who she was. His eyes popped open.
“She would have tried to lead them away from him.” He stood up and looked at the ground, finally finding a footprint in the ground a few yards from where Patrick had fallen. “She went this way.”
With a start, Jake realized she had followed the same trail she’d taken this morning when he’d caught up with her. He remembered the feel of her lips on his. He shook himself free of the memory, focusing on the task at hand.
They crossed through the wooded a
rea, over a fallen tree, to a body lying face down on the path. Jake’s heart stopped before he realized it was a man. They continued on into a clearing and found two more men that Jake couldn’t identify. They looked around. The clearing was encircled by rocks.
Yoni looked up. “I bet she settled in there and took these two out as they came into the clearing.”
Jake nodded, picturing it in his head. “And then she went back for her uncle.” He turned around and retraced his steps to the man they’d found in the woods.
Jake rolled him over. There was an almost perfect hole in the man’s forehead. “Laney didn’t do this.”
“How do you know?”
Jake pointed to the bullet hole. “Powder burns. Whoever did this put his gun right up to the guy’s skull and pulled the trigger. It’s cold, not panicked. She couldn’t have done that.”
“Then what happened?”
Jake struggled to keep his voice even as he stared into the woods surrounding them. “I don’t know. But I think Laney’s gone.”
CHAPTER 62
Chester, MT
Laney’s first thought, when she came to, was that she needed some aspirin. Her head pounded and her arms ached uncomfortably. She tried to move into a better position and couldn’t. Her hands were tied behind her.
Her eyes flew open as she remembered the attack at the house. There was one door opposite her and she was lying on the floor, surrounded by shelves of food. I’m being held captive in a food pantry?
She slid along the floor until her back touched one of the vertical beams. Pressing her back against it, she managed to work herself up into a sitting position. Her vision swam as she straightened. She bowed her head, breathing deep, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
Raising her head slowly, she gritted her teeth against the pain in her head. She struggled to free her hands. They were bound incredibly tight. God damn fallen angels.
She kept working at the rope for another five minutes but only managed to rub her wrists raw. Her shoulders slumped. Obviously, she wasn’t getting out of here until someone let her out.
She remembered Gideon's whispered threat. Tears gathered in her eyes and she willed them back. Get angry! she yelled at herself. Don’t give him the satisfaction.
Focusing on her breathing, she let the anger build, until the feelings of despair were replaced. She heard heavy footsteps heading towards her. They stopped just outside her door.
A key turned in the lock and the door flung open. She glared up into the face of Gideon.
“Good, you’re awake. I was worried.”
“Yeah. I’m sure you’ve been real torn up inside.”
Gideon reached down and pulled her to her feet. Laney’s instinct was to fight him, but she knew right now that would be useless. It would be smarter to go along and wait for an opening.
“You know, Dr. McPhearson, even though I want you dead – and I really do want that – I must tell you I admire your spirit. I'm a big fan of the human spirit.”
“Can’t say I’m such a fan of the angel spirit.”
Gideon paused. “Well, you really have been busy.” He gripped her arm tighter.
She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
“Let’s just keep that information between ourselves, shall we?” His grip tightened again and she nodded.
“Excellent.” He started to pull her down the hall. “Not, of course, that anyone would believe you. But best not to take the chance. You know, this might even turn out to be a good thing. You knowing who I am, that is. You can imagine how difficult it is to keep some things to myself. And you did remove the one person I could share this with.”
She refused to give into the tentacles of fear that were beginning to travel through her system. “Where are you taking me?”
“The Senator is waiting for you.”
“Why am I still alive?”
“Well, you’re no good to us dead,” Gideon replied, his voice upbeat.
He led her down a hall decorated in a Western style with Native American prints, exposed wooden beams, and animal heads mounted on the wall.
“What good am I to you alive?”
“Why, you’re leverage, my dear.”
CHAPTER 63
Gideon knocked briefly on a door before tugging Laney into a well-appointed home office. The giant picture window behind the hefty oak desk provided an incredible view of the rolling mountains in the distance. Awards and pictures of the Senator crowded the walls. The office of a man who loved himself a great deal.
Drawing her eyes from a picture of the Senator and a former President, she focused on the man behind the desk. She barely recognized him, despite the fact that he sat surrounded by pictures of himself
His face was haggard, with the beginning of deep jowls forming. His eyes looked smaller as the skin above them had begun to sag. Even his hair looked thinner. Or maybe it was just evil taking its toll. Well, he’s definitely a beneficiary of Photoshop.
The Senator didn’t even glance up at her. He sat leaning back in his desk chair, his glasses perched on the end of his nose and his shirt sleeves rolled up. He continued reviewing the papers in his lap, occasionally making notes. After a few minutes, he looked over his glasses at her and then Gideon. His look was glacial.
“Gideon, why is she still restrained?”
“Senator, she’s a security risk.”
Kensington scoffed. “Oh please, she’s a college professor. What’s she going to do, lecture me to death? Remove the restraints.”
Yeah, Gideon, remove the restraints, Laney thought.
“I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“I am still in charge here, Gideon. Remove them.”
“Very well. But it is your neck,” he replied softly.
The Senator glared at Gideon’s back as he cut the ties. Free, Laney rubbed her wrists, trying to restore the circulation. Gideon gave her a wink and a pat on the shoulder as he left the room.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him leave. Granted she’d only met two fallen angels in her life, but she had to think that even for those guys, Gideon was a few feathers short of a full wing.
The Senator continued to ignore her, which was fine by her. As far as she was concerned, he was a small threat. Gideon was the one to worry about. And this might be her only chance to escape.
They were on the first floor. If she incapacitated the Senator quietly, she might be able to make a good run before Gideon even knew she was gone.
Removing his reading glasses, the Senator addressed her for the first time. “Dr. McPhearson, you have caused me a great deal of trouble. You and your friends have endangered my work here.”
“You mean the enslavement of hundreds of men? Gotta say, I’m not feeling real bad about messing that up for you.”
The Senator continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I do not think you appreciate the enormity of the task I have undertaken. I am personally ensuring the future of this country. The United States is at crossroads. We are beholden to oil-rich countries and without a means to sustain our current lifestyle. Unless we find another source of energy, our standing in the world will fall. More than that, we will become the lapdog of other, more oil-rich countries. My work here will ensure that does not happen. What I am doing will save this country and ensure its future.”
“At what cost, Senator? How many lives will you destroy?”
The Senator waved away her words. “No lives of value have been lost.”
“No lives of value?” she sputtered. “You’ve abducted hundreds of men to work as slaves at your site. And how many of those men have been killed?”
He sneered. “Men? They’re not men. They’re burdens to society. As you well know, we have over one and a half million people incarcerated in the United States with another five and a half million under some form of correctional supervision. The criminal justice system is the largest part of most state budgets and a huge part of that goes towards housing and supervising felons.
Good, decent Americans can’t send their kids to college because we’re too busy housing convicts. And then what happens when we let these offenders out? They commit more crimes. The cycle has to stop.”
“By killing them?”
“They provide a vital service to this country. They’re helping secure its future. They are finally paying back the debt they owe the country that they have so egregiously harmed. Some may not survive, but their work will.”
“They were incarcerated. They’ve paid their debt.”
“Paid their debt?” he shouted, his face turning a violent shade of red.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and the guy will have a heart attack.
He pounded a fist on the desk. “You liberal professors are always the same. Inmates are incarcerated, for what? Maybe a half of their actual sentence? And then they’re released for ‘good behavior’. And what is that good behavior? They didn’t kill anyone while locked up. How’s that paying their debt?”
He shook his head. “No. We need to start treating inmates like they treat us. We need to use them for what we need and not care about the ramifications of our actions.”
She stared at him with disbelief. Was this guy serious? Did he actually believe the crap he was spewing? “How does that make us any better than them? If you’re so angered by their behavior, how does becoming like them make us any better?”
The Senator stood up and began to pace the room. “Like them? I am nothing like them. I am not doing this for my benefit. I am doing this for my country. Through my efforts and their sacrifice, this country will be stronger. Our future will be assured. This country will be restored to its former glory and we will lead the world once again.”
Well, apparently someone had seen one too many James Bond movies. He was the villain come to life. “With you at the helm. Right, Senator?”
“Someone with the right vision has to lead this country. And true leaders make the tough decisions and don’t look back. I am willing and able to make those decisions.”
