An Unlikely Hero (1)

by Tierney James

  “Sensors say it’s inside. Try downstairs. Better fess up and get her the hell out.”

  Stealth-like, Chase slipped down the stairs and into the front parlor to get his bearings. He could see into the dining room easily and beyond into the kitchen. The family room appeared to be off the kitchen. Quickly, he changed positions in order to get a better view of the far room. Nothing unusual.

  “You’re close, Chase. Really close. What’a ya see?”

  “Nothing!” he growled deep in his throat.

  Tessa felt another presence in the house. Maybe she should have called to check out the plumber. He could be an ax murderer for all she knew. The aroma of baking cookies permeated the warm country kitchen. She stopped stirring the remaining cookie mixture and slowly turned to look at something that caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Gasping, Tessa put her hand to her throat as a short, thin man stepped out of the mudroom into her kitchen. His ruddy complexion was dark and uneven. Bushy eyebrows nearly grew together over small jet black eyes that glared dangerously at her. There was no lust, just anger and contempt. His narrow lips were nearly hidden by a thick black moustache. Tessa froze momentarily with fear. All the CSI and Law and Order television shows she had ever seen flashed through her mind. She would be the next victim soon to be the plot around the hit series that aired every night of the week. The man crouched forward, taking one slow, unsure step as his ebony eyes narrowed then searched the room and those beyond like a mine sweeper bent on avoiding disaster.

  “Honey,” Tessa called out in a loud shaky voice. “We have company!”

  Chase stiffened. He could see the Middle Eastern man clearly from his half hidden position in the dining room. Whispering warily, Chase reached out to his partners in the van. “Tony, guess who’s here?” No response. “Tony?” An uneasy realization washed over Chase, knowing he may very well be on his own. His partners had been neutralized.

  Tessa could feel her legs dissolving into liquid Jell-O as her hands reached back to steady herself against the counter. “Get out or I’ll…”

  “Shut up! Where is the bomb?” The man growled in a heavy accent she recognized only as Middle Eastern. “Quick or I’ll kill you here!”

  Tessa glanced at the door and could see the plumber creeping closer. He held his finger to his lips and motioned for her to edge closer so the invader would follow. She realized he planned to jump the mad man before her. “Look, I don’t know what you want! But…” Slowly, dangerously, Tessa moved toward the brown-eyed plumber waiting to save her.

  “Enough! The bomb, woman! The bomb!”

  Tessa tried to steady her quivering voice. “No. I’ll never give it to you.”

  The dark man stopped his approach.

  Chase froze as well. She knew. Who was this woman?

  “That’s right,” she tried to keep the wobble out of her voice to stall as her eyes tried to watch Chase without being obvious. “Who are you?”

  He clenched his fist and threw his head back with a frustrated yell. Slowly he lowered his beady, insane eyes on her as if any moment he would explode. “I am Jamaal! Now tell me where it is or I’ll slice you in a million pieces. You are alone. There is no one to help you. The bomb, woman!”

  The memory of two airliners crashing into the Twin Towers jolted Tessa into an uncommon courage she didn’t know she possessed. “Jamaal, you’re too late. Someone was already here.”

  Jamaal leapt across the kitchen floor, grabbing Tessa by the throat. From the fold of his ragged shirt he produced a long knife. Tessa’s eyes bulged at the sight of the weapon with a fleeting question of whether it was just rusty or stained with dried blood. “American whore, tell me who it was before I…” Jamaal’s nose was but inches from Tessa’s, but her wide, terrified eyes were focused on something behind him. Just then Jamaal felt a tap on his shoulder. Even with his body rigid with shock, he managed to slowly turn his head to see the brown eyed plumber, smiling a toothy grin, with a M9 Beretta pointed at his ear.

  “We meet again, Jamaal.” Chase’s voice was level and cool. “Essid must have you on a short leash these days. What did you screw up this time? Oh wait a minute! You lost a bomb.”

  “You know this man!” Tessa said hoarsely. “What kind of a plumber are you?”

  Both men looked at her in bewilderment.

  Jamaal, enraged, cried out as he swung the knife toward Tessa’s throat. Before the knife could meet its mark, Tessa felt her fingers touch the still hot cup of coffee. With one quick move she threw the hot liquid in Jamaal’s face. His surprised cry caused him to drop the knife and take a step backwards. Tessa escaped past the two men into the family room, staggering with fear and relief.

  The intruder recovered quickly and with cat-like swiftness, picked up one of her rolling pins from the collection Tessa had acquired over years. She remembered Robert complaining that one day her collections of anything old would be the death of him. With a powerful lunge, and a swing of the rolling pin, Jamaal came at Chase knocking the gun from his hand. The Beretta went sprawling across her clean, slick wood floors.

  The two men struggled as Tessa remembered her son’s toy found in the garden. Quickly, she darted to the toy box and jerked the missile-like object from among the Lego’s, G.I. Joes and soccer balls, fumbling with it in the air recklessly, only to catch it again before it hit the floor. The weight of it was heavy and unexpected. Why hadn’t she noticed this before?

  The sound of breaking glass, thuds and groans startled Tessa into lifting her eyes to see the two bloody combatants in the kitchen. The surreal smell of burning cookies reached her nose at the moment the two men fell to the floor reaching for Chase’s gun. Without a second thought, Tessa clumsily placed the missile under her arm and pressed it firmly to her body. Just as Jamaal crawled toward the Beretta, Tessa entered the now smoky room and grabbed the bag of flour off the counter, only to dump it on the floor, before Jamaal.

  Jamaal tried to scamper up on one hand but hit the flour and went sprawling again, dropping the gun on Chase’s chest. Chase pushed himself up on one knee. His eyes widened at the site of the bomb under Tessa’s arm, just as she snatched another rolling pin from the counter. With one haphazard swing, Tessa slugged Jamaal across the back of the head.

  He collapsed with a groan and a heavy sigh. Tessa’s breath, ragged and labored, prevented her from speaking clearly. “Get up!” she panted. Chase did so slowly, wondering if he’d not stumbled onto another terrorist cell. “Who are you and what is this thing?” She dropped the missile from under her arm, but caught the tip of it with her hand.

  Chase felt his heart in his throat as he tried to catch it himself. “Lady, that is a bomb. I want you to hand it over nice and slow.” He lowered his gun slightly and reached out his other hand.

  “I think I’ll just make another call to the police. They should already be in the area,” she warned drawing the bomb nearer to her heaving breasts.

  A hard, sinister look flashed in Chase’s eyes as he jerked the gun back up and aimed. Tessa’s mouth opened for a scream just as he began shooting and grabbing for her shoulder. “Down!”

  The gunfire was deafening. She felt the plumber push her into the dining room as his hand pressed her head downwards. The realization that the Beretta was not the only gun firing caused Tessa to tilt her head sideways to see three more Middle Eastern men dressed in some sort of gray jumpsuits invading her house, unloading their semiautomatic rifles in her home. The sounds of exploding China and splintering cabinet doors ricocheted in the Scott home. Tessa’s heart pounded so hard that she could barely breathe.

  “Out the door, lady and get in the truck!” Chase panted as the gunfire ceased. He could see the other men circling, looking for a way to rush them as Jamaal staggered to his feet. Replacing the magazine in his gun, Chase found himself pressing Tessa up against the wall where she couldn’t move. “They’re about to charge. Go!”

  Tessa tried to turn the door knob to no avail. Locked. Placing the bomb ba
ck under her arm once more, Tessa heard the plumber yell. “Here they come! Now, lady!”

  Bullets began to clip all around their heads as Tessa felt a scream escape from down deep in her lungs.

  Robert handed the last of the supplies to his sons as he felt a little tug on his pant leg. It was Heather, frowning and squinting from the warm Tahoe sun. “I miss Mommy” she said in a small, helpless voice. “Why didn’t my Mommy come?” she demanded as Robert lifted her up into his strong arms.

  “Mommy wanted a little rest and relaxation, Cupcake.”

  “What will she do without us, Daddy?” She liked being carried by her father.

  “Shop, talk on the phone, have tea with her girlfriends, basically, nothing at all,” he grumbled.

  “That sounds boring.”

  Robert spotted the boys throwing rocks in the lake. “Yeah, she’ll probably be so bored she’ll come up here tomorrow.”

  At least then he could really have a vacation.

  Chapter 3

  Tires squealed as the CIA Plumbing truck raced backwards down the driveway. Bullets began bouncing off trees and the hood of the vehicle. Tessa ducked down, still clinging to what moments ago she thought was a toy. Just as she tried to sit up Chase banged his fist on her back, balancing his weapon across her half raised shoulders. He fired rapidly. Tessa tried to cover her ears as she somehow sandwiched the bomb between her lap and breasts. A frightened cry escaped her mouth as the rear window shattered, raining glass in her hair and down her back.

  “Hold on! They’re following!”

  Tessa rose to look back and saw four men jumping in a weathered van with a crumpled bumper. “Dear Lord!” she quaked. The CIA truck accelerated beyond neighborhood rules. “I am so in trouble,” she mumbled. Just then Chase sped through the subdivision gates into the path of an oncoming delivery truck. When Tessa screamed Chase swerved, landing the tires on her side of the truck onto the curb. The jolt threw her into Chase’s lap. Quickly, she tried to push away and realized her hand had landed between his legs. Jerking her head up to look at the brown eyed devil beside her, Tessa was shocked to see him grinning like a wicked schoolboy.

  “Not now, Mrs. Scott. I’m a little busy.” His voice was so cool and nonchalant that Tessa almost forgot the danger she’d plunged into. Awkwardly, she shoved herself back to the passenger side.

  The truck dropped back down on the road and began taking the curves at top speed.

  Tessa began searching the seat with her hands. “Oh no!”

  “What!” Chase demanded, as he looked sideways at her for a split second. “Something wrong with the bomb?”

  “No! There’s no seatbelts in here!” Tessa didn’t realize how utterly absurd her fears were until Chase began to laugh.

  “I guess we’re breaking the law then!” he yelled catching a glimpse of the approaching terrorists in the rearview mirror. He tapped on the radio then his ear piece as he noticed that Tessa clung to the bomb like a newborn child about to slip from her grip. “Anybody! Officers down at Sommersview. Repeat, officers down.”

  A male voice sounded from some hidden speaker causing Tessa to jump with fright. “Copy that. Where are you?”

  “Highway 10, headed west toward the Yuba River. We’ve got company too.” Chase pulled out around a slow moving minivan, accelerated and managed to whip in front of an eighteen wheeler that began blowing his horn in anger at the near miss.

  “You’re going to kill us!” Tessa screeched. “Let me out!”

  “Who is that?” the hidden voice demanded.

  “Mrs. Scott. She has the bomb. I couldn’t leave her there to get cremated with the rest of the house.”

  “My house is on fire?” Tessa yelled in horror.

  “Is the bomb activated?” the voice was level but concerned.

  “Mrs. Scott?” Chase looked over at Tessa as she unfolded the bomb from her arms. A hum had begun with the several small flashing lights. “Yeah, Enigma, I’d say it’s activated.” Chase eyed Tessa and realized she was seeing it in its real form for the first time. “Essid’s friends are still coming at us. Give that trucker behind me a call will ya? License plate ERZ7773.” Chase reached over and gently touched Tessa’s shoulder. “We’ll be okay, Mrs. Scott. Maybe you better hand me the bomb.”

  “I can’t” she whimpered.

  “Sure you can. It’s a bomb. It’ll be okay.”

  “No,” Tessa nervously shook her head. “I really can’t.” Tessa leaned back and let the bomb move slightly forward. Her index finger had somehow gotten shoved into an opening. The swelling had already begun and there was no removing it. Tears welled up in her terrified blue eyes. “What kind of bomb is this?” Swallowing hard, Tessa lifted her chin up in a raw courage that until now had been unknown to her. She imagined her family at Lake Tahoe, fishing and nibbling on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that she’d packed for them. The sounds of their questions, laughter and playful pranks swirled in her head. Robert would be smiling at the perfect little family they’d created together, even if he wasn’t sure what he was doing. Deep inside her Tessa knew he would be thinking of her.

  Chase looked back at the eighteen-wheeler and saw him pick up his cell phone. “Come on, buddy. Help me out here.” Just then he saw the terrorists start around the huge truck behind him. Suddenly, the trucker dropped his phone, laid on the horn until Chase raised his eyes up at the rearview mirror. The trucker was making the thumbs up sign. He poured on the gas and managed to push the truck to 95 miles per hour.

  “The bomb.” Tessa spoke so softly that it startled Chase. “What kind is it?”

  Chase glanced back at the oncoming terrorists. They were nearly in the middle of the eighteen-wheeler. “Could be radioactive, Mrs. Scott.” He watched her closely. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Licking her lips, Tessa tried again.

  “We probably don’t have much time then. This was ticking earlier when I found it.”

  Chase nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Up ahead there’s a steep ravine. This time of year it’s still flooded. The water makes its way into the Yuba River but there’s a series of small earthen dams on this end that will help contain any contamination and maybe the explosion won’t hurt anyone. The government owns twenty miles on either side of the ravine.”

  “What are you saying, Mrs. Scott?” Chase took his eyes off the road to examine Tessa’s terrified profile as she stared out the windshield.

  “If we make it that far, get out and I’ll drive over the cliff.” Tears spilled down her cheek as she slowly turned her face toward the mysterious man. “I don’t want another 9/11.”

  Chase tore his eyes away from the pretty face of his unsolicited heroine and began speaking loudly to some invisible presence. “This thing is counting down!”

  “Okay, Hunter! We have your location. Leave that puppy in the vehicle and send it over the cliff into the Yuba.”

  “Negative! Mrs. Scott has got her finger stuck in it. She’s volunteering to do the deed!”

  Silence dropped like a hammer on the connection then static roared it back to life.

  “You heard them, Mr. Hunter! Stop this car now! Save yourself! I promise I’ll have God send angels to protect you from now on. Please. Stop!” Tessa gripped the dashboard with her one free hand. She realized those words didn’t make any sense to her either. “Do it before I lose my nerve.”

  In the rearview mirror Chase watched the trucker swerve his powerful machine into the passing terrorists as they sped up alongside him. With startling impact the eighteen-wheeler slammed the rusty van off into the gravel causing it to wobble then roll awkwardly down a steep slope. He could hear the screech of rubber against pavement as the eighteen-wheeler tried to stop. One problem solved.

  The Yuba River stretched out lazily meeting the horizon. In that moment he knew Mrs. Scott had been right in choosing the location for possible detonation. Quickly Chase slammed on the brakes as he slid into a roadside park. A cloud of dust surrounded them
and slowly pushed into the broken window, making Mrs. Scott cough. She fanned the brown air away in an irritated fashion as if she were on a Sunday afternoon picnic and had just discovered a mosquito buzzing her head. Chase reached across and tried unsuccessfully to remove her finger. There wouldn’t be time to cut off Tessa’s finger to save her life.

  “Mrs. Scott,” Chase left the truck idling as he put in park. He’d driven to an area where the ground slopped down nearly twenty five feet before dropping another one hundred feet into the ravine. “I don’t know who you are but you’re the angel in my book!” Chase could see that the time left on the digital read out was three minutes. “When you’re ready touch the brake with your foot. Can you reach it?” She nodded bravely. “Good. At the same time pull this down,” he pointed to the gear shift, “into drive. Got it?”

  “Yes!” she nodded anxiously like a little child being told what to do.

  Chase didn’t know why he suddenly reached over and pulled Mrs. Scott to him. Something in her eyes made his chest hurt. The blond curl falling over one cheek made him wish he’d met this woman earlier. Before he could stop himself he pressed his mouth against her trembling lips. The taste of dust and fear mingled with his own sweat and regret. Her eyes grew wide with surprise as he pushed away and out the door. “Tell the big guy I want you as my angel, Mrs. Scott.”

  He shut the door and hurried to the passenger side to reassure her if needed. But the time of reckoning had captured Tessa. She no longer saw him as she looked down at the bomb once again seeing the time had moved to one remaining minute. With a deep breath, Tessa’s foot stretched to reach the brake. The shift was moved into drive. Strangely, she felt no fear, only sadness as the truck slowly inched forward. Sadness that she’d not see her children grow into accomplished adults; sadness that she’d never hold another baby in her arms or know the love of her husband’s body against her own. But her faith in God gave her peace, knowing that someday she would be reunited with all those she loved.