“The mother,” Lisa added. “No, I haven’t forgotten her. She obviously stood to gain a lot from Mr. Bryan’s death. Life insurance, everything that was jointly held is now hers alone. But why kill the kids? If she’s behind it all, why them? And why not kill Scott? Seems to me you’d be getting rid of a potential witness.”
“Joint effort,” Alex suggested. “A family affair.”
“Okay, Alex that’s just sick,” Lisa grimaced.
“Not that kind of affair,” Alex laughed. “I just mean like mother like son. Maybe he’s a killer in training or something. Maybe the Rock Springs thing was some sort of test. Assignment by Mommy Dearest.”
“You’re assuming she’s the leader,” Lisa said.
“Someone has to be,” Alex insisted. “Who do you think’s more likely? Son or Mom?”
“Whoever has the strongest personality, I suppose. I dunno – maybe they’re unrelated. Maybe Scott got angry at the world and took it out on three of his friends because they weren’t crippled. As for Mom, maybe she was motivated by money.”
“Okay, so how do we explain Dave Collins?” Alex asked “That didn’t even come up in my conversation with Scott Bryan.”
“We don’t,” Lisa offered. “Unless it comes to trial and we absolutely have to, we leave all the unconnected dots just that, unconnected. We save it for a rainy day. We hold on to the card. Keep it tucked secretly away while we connect the dots. Heck, nothing you just told me can be used anyway. Scott Bryan wasn’t advised of his rights. He told you this stuff in confidence. It’s hearsay.”
“So, what then? We still haven’t explained Collins.”
“Scott Bryan’s mother is a banker. I’m betting anything Collins had dealings with the mother’s bank. I’ve requested all of Mr. Collins’ bank records be turned over to us, but some of them have yet to surface.”
“Mommy.” Christina appeared in the living room, almost out of thin air. She was rubbing her eyes with her left hand, carrying a pink bunny rabbit in the other. She looked stressed.
“What’s wrong, Baby?” Lisa asked.
“Can’t sleep,” she whined. Christina rarely whined, so Lisa knew something was bothering her.
“Why not, honey?” she asked.
“Don’t know,” she said, “The lady keeps waking me up.”
“What lady?” Alex asked.
“In here,” Christina said, pointing to her head.
Alex laughed. Lisa chuckled, though only half-hearted. Was the child hearing voices or was her mind simply too busy to sleep?
“Come up here,” Alex said, patting his lap. “Let’s get you tucked into bed.”
“Is it okay?” Christina asked, staring uncomfortably at Alex’s legs.
“Sure it is, Honey,” Alex said, cheerfully. “You can ride in Daddy’s big boy stroller.”
“Okay!” she chirped excitedly. She jumped into his lap. She’d gotten bigger, from the look on Alex’s face. Finally, Lisa laughed. A real laugh. The sight of Christina hopping happily into her Daddy’s lap was one of the best things Lisa had seen in weeks. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, followed by an urgent knock on the door.
“Wonder who that could be,” Lisa said.
Alex shrugged. “I’m gonna put the munchkin to bed. Whoever that is, tell them we don’t want any.”
“Check on Mike, will you?” Lisa asked.
“Mike?”
“Yeah. Just see if he’s asleep. Yanno, whatever.”
“Somebody ask for Mike?”
He came into the living room as quietly as had Christina. He was wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt.
“Here,” he said, lifting Christina out of Alex’s lap. “I’ll put her to bed. You all right with that, little one?”
“Yeah,” she said, shrugging. Turning to Alex, she said “Daddy, can I ride in your big boy stroller tomorrow?”
“You bet, sweetheart. Get some sleep though okay?”
“Night, Daddy.”
“Night, Baby. I love you.”
“Night Mommy,” she said, as Mike turned to take the child off to dream land.
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
The doorbell rang again. Whoever it was, somebody wanted in.
“Daddy?” Christina said, just as Mike entered her room, carrying her in his arms.
“Yeah, honey?” Alex called from the living room.
“I love you too. And Mommy.” Alex smiled, but said nothing. Lisa opened the door. To her horror, there stood Danny. Battered, beaten. Covered in cuts and bruises.
“What in the—?”
“Do not ask,” Danny insisted. “Mind if I come in?”
She backed out of the door and Danny walked in. The look on Alex’s face mirrored the horror, confusion, revulsion and fear that Lisa felt brewing inside. Immediately Danny met Alex’s eyes.
“You don’t ask either, Bro.”
“What in the world happened to you?” Alex asked, ignoring Danny’s request.
He sighed. “I think that accident must have affected your hearing, Bro. I told you don’t ask.”
“Yeah, well, humor me,” Alex said. “Who did this to you?”
“Fred the Fed and that witchy partner of his. I think.”
Lisa growled, but said nothing. Alex just went cold. His expression was cold. His eyes were – if there was a word for it – vengeful.
“Relax,” Danny said. “Both of you. They’re dead now.”
Vengeance once again became shock, horror, fear, and confusion, not to mention a host of other emotions.
“Geez, Danny,” Alex exclaimed.
“Danny,” Lisa said, “Sit down. I think you have some explaining to do.”
* * *
The night sky cloaked his approach on the Mendez house. The wind was howling more violently than it had in weeks. It sent a heart-warming chill down his spine. A slow smile crawled across his aging face. Time was of the essence now and he relished under the necessity for impulsive behavior. Patience had served his interests and now he could act as his purpose demanded. Cham’s revenge, at last, was coming. At long last, The Master would sit upon the throne that had been denied him.
“Soon,” He whispered, his voice more raspy than the howling wind that gently mussed his darkened hair. “The time draws near.”
* * *
Christina’s breathing was shallow, relaxed. Lying on her side, eyes closed, she was nonetheless wide-awake. Trying to sleep because it was bedtime, only because it was bedtime. Uncle Mike had left pretty fast. Probably because she’d pretended to be asleep. Her mind was full, busy with worries she couldn’t even understand. Things The Lady was thinking. Things that made Christina curious.
What was wrong with her Daddy? Why did he have the big boy stroller? Sometimes, he sounded like Grover from the Big Bird show when he talked. She heard her door open. She cracked one eye just enough to see Brandy happily padding her way in. Opening her eyes, Christina patted the bed.
“Here, girl!” she whispered. Brandy whimpered softly, climbed into Christina’s small bed and sniffed her. She licked Christina softly, causing her to giggle but then suddenly, urgently, she turned toward Christina’s bedroom window. Through the miniblinds, a few thin beams of lavender streetlights revealed the shadows of oak tree limbs waving in the howling night winds. On the roof, Christina could hear the gentle tick, tick, tick of whatever branch or limb was requesting entrance from above. The air in Christina’s room cooled noticeably, her spine tingled, sending a shiver through her small frame. The shadows of waving tree limbs hid themselves behind a tall, slender apparition that stood perfectly still, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
At once, Brandy began to bark loudly. Eyeing the shadow milliseconds before, Christina’s scream had come just after Brandy’s first warning of danger. Her scream was shrill and very loud Protect the Innocent!
“Daddy!” The small windowpane shattered, cracking the mini-blinds, forcing them off of their secure wall brackets. Small shards of glass exploded, fill
ing the room, one slicing across Christina’s cheek. Brandy let out a yelp. Falling backwards off the bed, Christina slept. The Sleeper awoke.
* * *
The noise was loud enough to alert Lisa and Alex all the way in the living room. Instantly, police training, steel-trap nerves sharpened by parenthood combined to remove any lethargic effects the late hour might have been having. Lisa darted from the couch, instinctively heading for Christina’s room. Mommies protect. Behind her, she heard Alex fumbling with his wheelchair. He’d gotten out of it to get comfortable beside Lisa while Danny filled them in on the escape of Scott Bryan, the deaths of the two FBI agents and how in the world he’d gotten so trashed out.
No time, Lisa thought, sprinting down the hallway.
Christina.
Must help Christina.
* * *
Alex’s legs were cooperating frustratingly slow, unstable. His arms were shaking and unsteady, washed under a flood of adrenaline that served to hinder him as much as it kept him alert. As had become the habit over the past few weeks, his stressful voice strained, crackled as he called for Brandy’s assistance. Alex was struggling, but still halfway into his chair by the time Brandy came padding into the door.
“Here,” he said, pointing next to his chair. Obediently, Brandy limped toward Alex, favoring her front right paw. Alex looked at Danny “Go!”
Danny simply nodded and disappeared into the hallway. Carefully, Alex lifted Brandy’s paw, noticing a slight sticky wetness, which he realized, was Brandy’s own blood. Whimpering again, Brandy jerked her paw away from Alex, stumbled into a seated position and licked cautiously at her injured foot. Dutifully, she stood fully erect again, looking at Alex as if to declare her readiness to serve. Alex stroked the retriever’s ear lovingly, pulled himself into his wheelchair, relying too much on Brandy to steady himself. Shaking worse, Alex was having an increasingly difficult time maneuvering into the wheelchair comfortably despite partial use of his legs. Alex’s upper body seemed inadequate. His limbs, legs and arms both, were becoming increasingly weakened by the intense spasming. Just as he was flinging his legs into the foot rests, Alex heard loud crashing noises coming from elsewhere in the house. Screams. Shrill screams. Sounds of a scuffle. Brandy paced nervously all of the sudden, as if torn between training and duty to Alex or acting on age old inbred protective instincts that had long ago garnered canines the title of Man’s Best Friend.
“Go Brandy,” Alex commanded, “Help Lisa!” As if receiving approval was necessary, Brandy darted out of the room, leaving behind her duty to Alex, snarling. Finally steadied, Alex was right behind.
* * *
Lisa had been just in time to see the slender man with the dirty blonde hair rip Christina out of her bed. The window had exploded, leaving shards of glass everywhere and Lisa’s bare feet seemed to find the sharpest pieces. Though her mind registered the pain, her body was able to ignore it, distracted by the larger problem of Christina’s attempted abduction, which was being played out right in front of her. Until now, Lisa hadn’t even given thought to her gun, but now she regretted not retrieving it from the end table before running in like a desperado on a mission. Still, Lisa slipped into police mode.
“Drop her!” she commanded, realizing he could easily drop her out the window, or harm her in some way. “Put her on the bed and walk away or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” he asked angrily. “Kill me?” His voice was unimaginably deep and thunderous. In the dimly lit bedroom, Lisa found it easy to imagine the crazed maniac having installed some stereo system to which he was connected by microphone. “Go ahead, shoot me,” he dared Lisa. “Maybe you won’t hit the girl.”
Searching the room, Lisa found Danny with gun drawn. “No!” she screamed.
The walls vibrated. Toys spilled off of collapsing shelves. The entire room filled with wind that, Lisa thought, only somewhat originated outside the shattered window. Lisa’s body lifted effortlessly, as if caught in the grip of an invisible giant. She was flying backwards. Her mind registered it in slow motion, though it happened quicker than the eye could blink. She bounced off the wall, falling to the floor among broken toys, splintered shelves and shards of glass. She heard Danny’s voice, but could not see him.
“Don’t do this, Scott!” Danny shouted, holstering his weapon. “Not today.”
“Fool!” he said, “I spared you once. How dare you tempt fate twice.”
“I’ll tempt you right back into a jail cell if you don’t put Christina down now!” he growled.
The room shook more violently. Christina’s dresser and toy boxes exploded. The sheets ripped from her bed, ensnaring Danny like a tangled web. Lisa was losing consciousness. Moments later, she heard barking. Brandy! A growling sound filled the room, but it was not Brandy. It was coming from Christina’s kidnapper.
Scott. Danny had called him Scott. Oh no, Lisa thought. Scott Bryan has my Baby! She fought to wake up. To not black out. Not again, you psycho! The wind felt like it would rip Lisa apart. Shards of glass were beating against her. Tree limbs were pushing their way in and out of the opening where once a window guarded against the night.
“She’s mine now!” Scott Bryan hissed.
“No!” It was Mike.
“Try and stop me.”
Christina screamed. Was she in pain? Lisa’s vision blanked out. She saw nothing, not even a shadow.
“You can’t have her!” Mike screamed.
“Soon,” Scott Bryan laughed. “Soon you all will be mine!”
Lisa’s stomach churned. She felt like she would throw up any second. Her throat went dry. She could not give voice to the anguish swelling in her heart. She lay helpless. She could not even bear witness to her daughter’s horrific ordeal. Something hit her on the head. Something hard. Something heavy. Time stood still. Or did it? In the unconscious black depths under which she drowned, time lost all meaning. She fought to stay awake. She fought to keep a clear head. She struggled against the tide of darkness washing over her, but the waves were too strong.
Unwilling, struggling to the last, Lisa sank into the most frightening darkness.
Chapter 23 ~
Mike sat eerily calm in the center of Lisa’s living room. For a second or two, he reminded her of some Hindu holy man or a Buddhist monk preparing to spout some incoherent, drug-induced mantra or philosophy. Either that, Lisa thought, or he was about to break into a rousing round of Jimmy Cracked Corn though this was hardly the time for a campfire sing along. Besides, when it came to Jimmy’s corn cracking, Lisa was quite sure she wasn’t the only one who did not care.
“You’re not ready to face this evil yet,” Mike began, solemnly.
“Who are you to tell me?” Alex interrupted. “That fool has my little girl and if you think for one minute I can’t get her back just because I’m in this wheelchair, you have never seen me angry.”
“Being angry will not help you here, Alex, which is why you’re not ready.”
“We don’t have time for this, Mike,” Lisa said, standing and turning toward the door. Brandy lifted her head from Alex’s leg, regarding Lisa with a curious whimper then looked at Mike as if half-expecting a command.
“Your daughter is protected for now,” he began. “Christina cannot be harmed until the appointed time.”
“And when is that?” Lisa hissed, turning to face Mike.
“Only the Dark Agent knows the time appointed by his Master. But I do know the end is not yet.”
Danny, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during the exchange interrupted. “Okay look, I don’t deal in riddles and mumbo jumbo. I deal with facts, a badge and a gun. Now are we going to get Christina or not?”
“Bullets will not stop the Dark Agent,” Mike insisted.
“It’ll stop Scott Bryan,” Danny said, his voice full of determination.
“A name which no longer has meaning,” Mike said, looking intently at Danny. “You would do well to listen. All of you.”
* * *
Mike had always possessed an inexplicable magnetism but Alex was unable to turn his mind off. So too, it appeared was Lisa unable to stop listening as Mike recounted the tale of Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
What had always seemed like a tall tale, told to scare prospective believers into submission suddenly held new significance for Alex.
“I don’t get it,” Danny interrupted. “How does this story relate to Christina? And how is some parable going to help get her back?”
“This is not just some fable,” Mike said, his voice booming with impatient urgency. “It is important.”
“If it’s real, where’s the evidence of the flood? And why is Christianity the only religion with such a story?”
“It’s not,” Alex said, eliciting a look of shock from everyone in the room. Even Brandy cocked her head, twitched and ear and chuffed as if asking Alex to repeat himself. “I read it on the net,” Alex said, after a small pause. “First, The Old Testament was written for Jews by Jews. Christianity didn’t come till much later. And most religions, most cultures – many older than Christianity – have some sort of catastrophic event somewhere in their stories of history and legend.” He gazed at Mike. “Right?”
“Correct,” Mike nodded. “Their names weren’t Noah, Ham, Shem and Japheth either. At least they probably weren’t,” Alex continued. “The men in our Biblical version were probably what we would call Hebrew or Arabic. Though I’m not sure that would be entirely accurate.”
“The son you know as Ham” Mike continued, making little effort to elaborate on Alex’s statements, “is known by many names, just as the master he serves is known by many names. After the Great Destruction, he defiled the honor of his father. He broke the covenant made between his father and The Creator.”
“You’re losing me, Mike,” Lisa said, impatiently
“Lisa,” Alex said calmly, “I know this is hard but please, listen.”
“How can you sit there, just listening to this garbage? I don’t care about animals walking two by two or eight people spending a month floating around in a little box. I want my daughter back and I’m going to get her back. Are you going to help me or not? Danny? What about you?”
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