The Law of Motion (Law Series)

by Di'Nisha Robinson

  My heart was truly in my fucking throat.

  "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Tink hissed over the phone. I could hear her order instructions to call not only Dario and Jackson, but Cam Riley too. "Call Ross and Macon first; their closer. He can haul ass the rest of the way. Now, Kristen!"

  “I got Cam on the phone, he’s filled in. Tell him what you need.” Tink reported

  "I'm heading out to the café area now.” I informed running full speed out of the second entrance into the crowded food court. “I need Ross and Macon to get here. Someone took him," I breathed, trying to stay focused. If I were taking two kids away I wouldn’t drag them through the crowded expo. I looked around and saw a service door for workers only. The door was askew, I headed that way.

  "You've got it," Cam said soothingly. "I’m on my way.”

  "Chance!" Tink called over the phone. "Jackson says he’s coming. Ross and Macon are less than five a miles out."

  "Alyssa, I’ve got two units heading your way, complete with search dogs. They'll do regular procedures until I can get to you, got me?"

  "Yeah," I breathed, darting down the long hall that seemed to be heading to a loading exit, but I could barely see straight, because my godson was nowhere to be found. "And an ambulance, Cam," I muttered. "I don't know how bad it is with Adrian..."

  “Already called them.” Tink swore ten steps ahead.

  "Who've I got?" I growled, keeping the path.

  "Dario and I are on the line," Ross said, checking in. Her voice was a mixture of stress, anger, and fear. “Don’t lose my son, Chance.”

  "You two...come around the Southside. This tunnel looks like it’s going to let out in Central Park shopping center ."

  "On it," she replied.

  "Cam, ten minutes to you," Tink stated.

  “In ten minutes, I could lose them..." I panted not wanting this phone to my ear anymore.

  When I finally saw light at the end of the tunnel I pushed my legs harder. There was a Cars watch at my feetit was Cedrick’sbut there were two ways I could go. One way were stairs that led down to the parking garage for employees. The other was around the corner to a separate parking lot. "Fuck. Why would they take them both?" I panted, turning in one spot, but everyone talking in my ear at once was killing me.

  “One at a time, shit!" I ordered, closing my eyes so that I could hear everythingthe sound of the highway drowned out most of the noise.

  There was a low scream below me and I took off down the flights of stairs.

  "I've got sounds from the employee parking deck," I panted over the phone, taking the steps three and four at a time trying my best not to fall down them. “Macon, Jackson, Dario, Ross, where are you guys? I need someone to block off the lower parking deck.

  "I'm on the fucking highway," Dario growled. "Chance, keep pushing them down. Tink, switch to satellite image of Central Park Boulevard. We need eyes in the sky, and tell Cam to keep the cops off my ass!"

  “Cam’s on it.” Tink promised her fingers typing away.

  "Gotcha!" Jackson stated.

  "Chance!" Ross called. "Macon and I are at the Expo, trying to get to the deck. Please don’t give up."

  As I ran, I focused on my feet, not my nerves, not the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I took steps tow and three at a time, pushing myself faster and harder.

  I had no energy to talk and keep running, so I stayed quiet. Above me, I heard the shuffling of feet from security, below me, I could hear the boys calling for help. “I can see them, ground level exit!”

  When I reached the last step a shot pinged off the wall and I ducked behind the nearest Volvo pulling my gun out. “Tink, listen to me, they’re in a Tundra, an older one. There’s two men and a driver” One of the security guards reached the end of the steps pulling his weapon, but another shot echoed through the deck and the man fell, grunting and grabbing at his arm.

  “Chance, talk to me.” Tink demanded when she heard the shot.

  Idiot, I thought to myself before answering her, “Yeah I’m fine, there’s two guys and another one’s driving. One has a gun on Cedrick, Juan’s already in the car.” I pointed my gun over the trunk trying to line up a safe shot.

  A guy with a scruffy face had a gun pointed to Cedrick's head. "Don't do it, bitch!" he yelled. "This brat won't see Santa Claus this Christmas...I promise you."

  "Keep him talking, Chance," Cam urged.

  "What do you want?" I yelled, standing all the way up, my gun hanging on my finger in a sign of surrender.

  "I've got what I came for," he chuckled, shrugging one shoulder. "Call everyone else off," he ordered, gesturing to my phone on the trunk, "or this could get real ugly, real quick. You have to let us go. We'll kill them, quicker than you can get to us, and you know it." He shifted his hand, placing the muzzle of the gun just under Cedrick’s chin. "Are you willing to bet their lives?"

  The back door of the Tundra was open. I couldn't see what the driver looked like, but I could see Juan's profile, a revolver pointed directly at his forehead.

  “I can’t do that, these are fucking kids, and one of those kids is very important to me.” I argued sorting through everything in my head.

  The guy smirked at me taking the safety off the gun and pressing it against the already whimpering boys head. “Miss Alyssa, I really want my mommy.”

  “I know Cedrick, I’ll get you home.” I promised trying to see Juan through the tints. Turning back to the guy outside. “Let’s work something out here man, what do you want?”

  “You know what I want.” he repeated with an evil smirk on his face, “Now back them off or the precious cargo isn’t going to be handled with care.” I heard Juan’s whimper from inside before a louder cry came out.

  "Back them off, Cam," I begged bringing the phone to my ear. "I can see inside the car. The someone’s got a gun at Juan’s head, his partner on Cedrick’s."

  “No!” Ross snapped

  "Fuck, Chance...do something." Dario said at the same time.

  I ran a hand through my hair, finally meeting his gaze. "I can't...I don't... I don’t fucking know who this is," I eventually sputtered.

  Tears of anger and frustration, of heartbreak and worry filled my eyes as I thought it over. I threw Adrian’s gun across the ground, pointing to the asshole leaning against the truck.

  "I will find you," I promised him. "Make note of the time, because you’ve officially committed suicide the minute you drive away."

  "Don’t be so dramatic, Mom. We’ll be seeing each other soon enough.” He promised with a sick grin on his face, “But if we’re followed I will throw these boys out of this truck in the middle of 95."

  Mom?

  Ross reached the bottom of the stairs as he got into the car.

  "Mommy!" I heard from the truck, and it was all Macon could do to hold Ross backand me, not to test my odds, like I had done a million times before.

  I picked up the phone. "Cam, let them go."

  It was the hardest words I'd ever spoken. One of the most important things in my life was just about to drive away with people he didn't know. My heart shattered when the asshole shut the door and the truck drove off.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” I swore kicking the side of the Volvo before sliding down with my back against the wall.

  "Roslyn," Dario soothed when she fell to pieces, placing a hand on her shoulder when her knees gave out and she sank to the ground. "Let's go see about Tawny, yeah? Giselle we should check on Adrian too.”

  I nodded, but I had nothing left, standing up to go retrieve Adrian’s gun and check on the injured security guy. Once I directed an EMT his way, I turned my attention to Ross talking on her phone. “Victor, I need you to get out here as soon as you can. Call Liam too. A dead man just took my fucking kid.”

  

  "Let me see," the young EMT said softly, lifting Adrian’s head gently to look at the spot where he was hurting the most.. "Looks like they got you with that pipe pretty good.�
��

  Adrian nodded, and then shrugged. “I’ll live.”

  "I don't think you need stitches, honey," she stated, "but you need to sit up. Stay awake, okay? If it's a concussion, then sleeping would result in further damage. Do you have anyone that can look after you?"

  Her tone was professional, but her eyes were borderline seductive. Normally I would find girls attempts at Adrian amusing. I was use to women throwing themselves at him, whether I was around to see it or not. When he said that he had lived in D.C. for a while before he met me, I had expected to run into an old sex buddy or two, but it was becoming a routine. Especially with one of them working in the plaza across from our office where we frequently ordered lunch.

  But today, I wasn’t in the mood, so I answered her question myself, “Yeah. Me.”

  She turned to him for confirmation and he nodded back at me. "I'm okay," He sighed, sitting up on the edge of the gurney as she cleaned his wound and walked back to the ambulance.

  I looked up when several federal vehicles pulled into the parking lot. Cam was out of his car and in front of Adrian before I could blink, as his officers walked to the picnic tables that were filled with worried teachers, parents, and fidgety kids.

  "Talk to me, man," he said, taking out a phone. Prepared to make whatever call was necessary. His face radiated worry and just plain anger, because he'd become a true friend since he helped us take down Garcia and Lorentz, not to mention he had been crazy about Tink.

  “Where is my son?” Doc asked coming over. Her face a calculating calmmore like me than herself.

  Adrian looked to Ross and me too. “Did we get em’?”

  Ross answered with a head shake. “TawnyAdrianwe um...we had to let them go, guys. We had no choice," she soothed when Doc’s sobs, and her ability to breathe, became harder. "Sweetie, we had no choice. They would have killed them before we could blink. They told Chance they'd be in touch.”

  My phone rang in my pocket, and thinking it would be Tink, I answered it. “Chance” Kristen sighed. “Put Doc on the phone.” I held it out to her but Ross just took it and put it on speaker. “Talk to me Doc..."

  "Kristen, he's gone," Doc sobbed, her control slipping a little more. "They took him and his friend, Cedrick, and they're gone!"

  She hissed a string of curses, but took a deep breath. "Where's our team looking on this, Tawn?"

  "Chance and everyone chased them, but...they couldn't...they didn't..." She heaved a deep breath trying to get herself under control.

  Adrian growled. "It's my fault. Fuck! I didn't check ...I just took them in..."

  "Calm down for me, Tawny," she soothed on the other end, and I could hear the murmurs and coos from Makenna on the other end. It made me sad, Doc and Ross didn’t have their child anymore, because I let them go.

  A sound of pure anguish met my ears, and everyone else’s, and I looked across the lot to see a woman being held up by one of Cam's men.

  Tawny grimaced, understanding her pain. "Mrs. Moretti," she told Cam. "Cedrick’s mother."

  He nodded, rubbing Doc’s hands. "I wouldn't mention a thing about what you know around her. Best let her think that you're in the same boat she is. It could get ugly if she thinks your work brought this on her child."

  I nodded in agreement, and even Ross muttered to her, "That's not a bad idea, baby."

  Adrian’s head shot up when Jackson’s car up in front of us. Adrian stood up to meet them and almost fell back over. I grabbed his arm steadying him. “Easy.”

  I continued my walk to meet them but Doc grabbed my shirt. "What do we do?" She ranted, gripping my arm . "We have to get him back, Chance.”

  Adrian cut in. “I didn't know someone was in there. I'm sorry..."

  She locked eyes with his. "I need my baby backI can'tbreathewithout him."

  "We. Will. Fucking. Get. Him. Back," he swore, “There is no way we’re going to let”

  He was cut off when my phone rang, I answered it quickly. "Hello..."

  There was silence on the other end, then a frantic "I want to go home!"

  "Juan," I breathed, my heart stopping, because my godson sounded scared as shit.

  Ross snatched the phone from me, turning the speakerphone on. "Alyssa Giselle Marshall...or Neil…if you prefer…," a voice on the other end started. It was neither male nor female. In fact, it sounded distorted, the pitch alternating between high and low like a malfunctioning robot. "Do I have your attention?"

  "Yes," I breathed. "Who is this?"

  "Oh, I'm sure you’ll figure it out," The fragmented voice chuckled.

  The seven members of my crew that were there circled around my phone, staring at it like it was the Holy Grail or some shit.

  Cam came next to me his face grim as he spoke low into his headset. "Margaux...trap and trace on Alyssa's phone."

  "You won't catch me," the voice snapped over the line. "I just wanted to make sure Mrs. Marshall was paying attention."

  Mrs.?

  "What do you want?" I snapped, snatching the phone from Ross’s hand.

  "That will come in time," the voice sighed dramatically. "I have a lot I’ll need from you if I plan to get ahead, but first, I plan to get even. Stay close to your phone Mrs. Marshall.”

  The call ended, but everyone around me was still and silent. I looked to Cam, who was still on his phone.

  "Throwaway phone," he muttered, nodding like he'd guessed that would be the case. "Trace it as best you can, Tink. Anything on the truck?" he asked her, sighing deeply. "Well, let me know what you get." When he hung up, he reported to us. "The car was stolen, but Tink is running a search for anything or anyone connected to you that may have a car like"

  "What about an Amber Alert?" Ross snapped, standing up from in front of me and starting to pace.

  "Already done, Roslyn," Cam said calmly. "I've sent it out from here, to Canada, to Florida, all the way west to California."

  "Is there anything else?" I asked, pointing to the bathroom behind us. "There's got to be something we’re missing." I turned focusing on him. "Did you see any-fucking-thing, Harris?"

  He flinched at the use of his last name. "No, I'm sorry."

  Cam nodded, turned to the officer standing next to him. "Get as many statements as you can."

  "What about Mrs. Moretti?" the officer asked.

  "I’ll take care of it," I sighed wearily. "I want Tawny and Ross back at their office. I want Tink there with them the next time these assholes call Chance?"

  "Is everyone accounted for?" Dario asked, looking around the Expo, which was coming to an end. "You know, kids, teachers, and employees."

  "The bus driver is gone," Adrian added, looking up at me when I spun to look at him. "The one that tried to pick up Juan...he's gone.”

  “Did you see him in the bathroom?” I asked.

  "No, I didn't fucking see him!" He growled. "I was too busy getting my head cracked open like an Easter egg.”

  "Okay, okay," Macon stepped forward, placing a heavy hand on Adrian’s shoulder. It wasn’t like him to play peacekeeper. "Let's get this shit back to the office."

  "I'll find out the driver’s name and check into the company that hired him," Cam said softly, looking between us. "You two," he ordered, pointing to Jackson and Dario, "I need you guys under the radar until I can legally help. It'll be better than having to rely on my office."

  "Got it," Jackson said, giving Adrian a strange look as he put an arm around me. "Let's go.”

  

  "Sit down," Doc requested, pulling me into a seat in the conference room. "I already sketched a photo of the bus driver but I need you to describe the other guys."

  I could see she was trying to get me to focus, but it was hard. I was riddled with guilt as I looked into her worried, but patient face. Why she wasn’t beating me up made no sense. This whole thing was my fault. I should've never let him out of my sight. I shouldn’t have let him go. Everyone blamed me, and the fact that no one lo
oked me in the eye proved it.

  “Was Juan wearing the watch I gave him for Christmas last year?” Tink called from the computer room.

  Doc thought through it, “Yes… why?” She asked getting up with me following the sound of her voice.

  She pulled up another program on her free laptop. “It was an experiment. I put a tracking chip inside; I was working on a chip that I could turn on remotely. You know, in case we were on a case and couldn’t activate them ourselves. Maybe I can turn it on.”

  “You chipped my child?” Ross questioned unsure how she should feel about the secret.

  “ No, the watch. I thought you’d be mad.” She answered honestly typing.

  “Not if it works.” Ross relented with a new hope in her face.

  “I’ll see what I can do, everyone else get back to work.” She promised. Doc and I went back into the conference room with a bit of hope ourselves.

  My eyes went to Adrian, who was pacing back and forth near in the computer room, looming over Tink. "Chance...you have to focus for me. You have to."

  I still felt lifeless, and just plain empty, but I took a deep breath and nodded. "Um...young, skinny. He was no more than our age. "I whispered. “I should have known something was up, Juan was so nervous around him. He knew something was wrong.”

  "Of course he did," she agreed, a weak smile touching her face. "He’s smart." Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she paused for a moment, but forced the conversation. "Keep going."

  "He was scruffy, unkempt, like he smelled bad if you got too close," I told her. "He had shaggy hair, like it had been a while since he'd gotten it cut, but like it used to be buzzed. Blue eyes, really light blue eyes. And he had ink on his arm."

  "What kind of ink?" she asked, looking up from the paper.

  "A bird of some kind but it didn’t look professional," I told her, looking over her shoulder. "His jaw was sharper, his eyes closer together."

  "Good," she praised, but her sole concentration was on the picture in front of her. "Good," she praised again, her pencil gliding across the paper.

  With a few more touches here and there, she got his face down on paper. She slid it to me, and all I could do was nod in approval, because it was perfect. “Why haven’t you killed me? I lost your son.”