Dead Shot

by Ethan Johnson

  Milton gestured to the command console. “Okay, I need your help. Call in backup, for all the good it’ll do us. They might have to pull some kids out of class. I’ll talk you through it. I need both hands on the wheel.”

  Diana grabbed the radio handset and pressed two buttons on the console. She squeezed the talk bar on the handset. “This is…” She lowered her hand. “What’s our call sign?”

  Milton did a double-take, then gripped the wheel tightly as he rammed the truck. “7439. Who taught you how to use that thing?”

  She raised the handset to her mouth. “7439 to base.” She squeezed the talk bar, then let go, realizing she wouldn’t hear the response until she did. She gave Milton a wry smile. “Preston showed me.”

  The radio squawked. “7439, go ahead.”

  Milton swerved to avoid a homeless man in the middle of the road. “Okay, now you say…” He banged against the truck again. “You know what, here. Hold the damn thing close to my mouth.”

  Diana squeezed the talk bar and pulled the handset close to his gritted teeth. “7439. We have a reckless driver heading westbound on Warren. Am in pursuit. Requesting backup.”

  The radio crackled, and a thin voice seeped from the speaker. “Disengage.”

  Milton swore and pressed the cruiser against the truck in hopes of forcing it into a pole. “This is bull. We’ve got this fool dead to rights. He’s going to jail, or to the morgue. I’m not letting him think he rules the streets or some crap. We get enough of that on a daily basis without adding him to the mix.”

  He pulled alongside the truck, and Diana looked up at their quarry. He looked down through the window and his eyes bulged at the sight of her. She dropped the handset at the sight of him. He slammed on the brakes, and Milton pulled hard on the wheel, blocking the truck’s forward exit. In a flash, his seatbelt was off, and he approached the truck with his gun drawn.

  “Freeze! Hands where I can see them.”

  The man ducked below the windshield line, and Milton stepped cautiously around to the passenger side. The truck’s engine still idled, and Diana crawled across the front seat of the cruiser to get out through the driver’s side door. She didn’t trust being too close to the truck.

  Especially with her father behind the wheel.

  She drew her gun and stayed low beside the cruiser as she approached Milton. He held his gun at eye level and reached forward with his left hand to open the truck door. He peered through the window and barked, “Put the gun down. Hands where I can—"

  Diana screamed as a single gunshot sounded from inside the truck, and Milton dropped to the sidewalk with a bullet clean through his neck. He twitched on the pavement, made a gurgling sound, then went completely still. Diana stepped backward, and her father sat up behind the wheel. He leaned out the driver’s side window and waved her over. She shook her head and aimed for his forehead.

  “Oh, come on, baby, that’s no way to treat your Daddy. Come here and gimme a hug.”

  She squeezed the trigger, and a bullet glanced off the windshield, leaving a thin white mark on the glass. Her father let out a whoop and gunned the engine.

  “As I live, I never woulda thought I’d see this. My baby is a cop. And here I thought not being able to follow simple instructions was your greatest failing.”

  Diana clenched her teeth as tears began to well up. “What are you blabbering on about?” Her rural accent she suppressed returned with a vengeance.

  “I told you to read the Good Book. If’n you did, and this is what you done instead, well, then I guess next time I see you, you’re gonna have to die.”

  “What’re you saying? You left me! Your only baby girl! Tell you what, no need to wait. I’m gonna kill you. Now.” She raised her gun and fired a shot into his right bicep. Blood spattered against the front windshield, and he let out a howl as he pulled the truck into reverse. He stomped down on the accelerator as he favored his arm and sent a gaggle of onlookers scattering in all directions as he pulled onto the sidewalk. He put the truck in gear and sent a black cloud of exhaust fumes swirling in his wake as he sped toward the intersection and rounded the corner.

  She ran behind him and put two more bullets into the back window before he made a sharp right turn and sped away.

  She watched helplessly from the street and fell to her knees. She never expected to see her father again. As she knelt, she made a vow: next time she saw him would be the last.

  CHAPTER 33

  Lyssa pounded on the locked door to their shared dorm. Diana spilled the contents of a duffel bag onto her bed, and she sifted through it for a worn paperback, held together with rubber bands. She picked it up and sat at the edge of Lyssa’s bed.

  “I just need a few minutes to myself, okay?”

  The pounding stopped, and she saw the shadow of Lyssa’s feet move away from the door. Diana took a deep breath and removed the rubber bands. The shadow under the door returned, and a light rapping sounded. “Okay, I’m here for you. You know that, right?”

  Diana sighed. “Yes, I do. I just… need to think.”

  “Okay.” The shadow disappeared once more, and Diana flipped through the Good Book. She didn’t know what she was looking for, exactly, when a scrap of white paper fluttered from between the pages and landed on the floor beside her feet. She bent over to pick it up, and she unfolded it. Her eyes darted back and forth across the note, and she looked up at the window as tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked at the note and read it again.

  There, in a childlike scrawl, her father’s handwriting provided instructions.

  You got to show me you got what it takes to help Daddy fite the bad men

  Meet me at old red barn tomorow nite – sundown

  3 miles north east

  Daddy loves you baby

  Hope you saved some of that jerkie for me ha ha

  See you tomorow

  A page of the Good Book was dog-eared, and she flipped to it. It contained instructions for navigating by starlight. He figured she could make it there overnight and wait for him. But she never showed, because she never opened the Good Book after he abandoned her.

  Until now.

  She dropped the book on the floor and fell face-first on Lyssa’s mattress. She cried like a baby. Lyssa pounded on the door and begged to be let in. After a few minutes, Diana stuffed the book, note, and the rest of her belongings into the duffel, and shoved it back in the closet where she found it. She wiped her cheek with her sleeve and unlatched the privacy latch. Lyssa rushed into the room and threw her arms around Diana. Sapphire looked in as she walked by, and pulled the door closed with an exasperated sigh.

  The two separated, and Lyssa grabbed Diana by the shoulders. “Don’t shut me out like that. Don’t push me away. I don’t like it when you’re hurting, but I hate it more when you won’t let me be there for you.”

  Diana sniffed. “I’m sorry, Lyss, it’s just… you wouldn’t understand.”

  “No, not if you won’t open up to me. What happened? Is this about the officer who got killed? Do you blame yourself? Talk to me.”

  Diana shook her head at all of it. Fresh tears trickled down her nose, and a lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. She pulled Lyssa close and sobbed. Lyssa made soothing sounds, then broke down crying with her. She walked Diana backward to her bed, and they fell onto the mattress.

  She stroked Diana’s cheek and wiped tears away at intervals. Diana sobbed uncontrollably, despite her desire to calm down and think rationally. She squeezed her eyes shut and she saw her father speeding away with a gunshot wound to his arm. She wondered if she had done the right thing, shooting him. Or, more to the point, if she had stopped short of doing the right thing by only wounding him.

  Her reputation was solidifying as a deadly precise marksman, and a cold-blooded one, to boot. Then again, she thought as she shuddered on the mattress, none of the people she shot were her father. She could see them just as criminals and punks. This was far different. And she wondered if he th
ought of her in the same way now, or if he had reduced her to being just another police officer standing in his way. His way to what? He never did tell her why they were always hiding, keeping to themselves, and moving on without warning.

  And what did he mean by “fight the bad men?” Was he involved in Arbor Day? If so, how? Is that why he was in Newark? Or was he here looking for her? How did he know to come here?

  Her face burned as she fought back another sobbing fit. Mabel. She knew. If he hurt her, she’d—

  Lyssa stroked her hair. “Hey… hey. Talk to me. Let it out. It’s not helping, keeping everything bottled up like that. Good God, you look like a tomato.”

  “He’s my father,” Diana blurted.

  Lyssa’s eyes widened. “Your Dad was the officer who got killed? I had no idea… you never said you had family on the force.”

  Diana shook her head. “The man who shot him. The man I shot. The man who got away and is going to find me and kill me. He’s… my father.” She wept again, and Lyssa patted her back.

  “Ohhh. Diana, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.” She wiped tears from her cheeks and coughed up a small laugh. “And I thought my stories were crazy.”

  Diana screwed up her face, signaling a bawling fit was imminent, then she suddenly turned placid, with a faint smile. Lyssa tipped her head, searching for the impetus for such a dramatic shift. Diana pulled her head closer and kissed her on the lips. She let Lyssa’s head go, and she grinned. “Lyss, you always know how to cheer me up.”

  Lyssa frowned. “I do? What did I do?”

  Diana sat bolt upright on the bed. “Come on, get your tablet. I’ve got to freshen up for a sec, then let’s watch our stories.”

  Lyssa bounced off the bed and searched for her tablet. “Are you sure? Don’t try changing the subject, if you need to talk this out.”

  Diana hurried to the bathroom. “I’m very sure. Be right back.”

  After they took turns using the bathroom, Diana returned to her usual spot on Lyssa’s bed with her back pressed against the wall, with Lyssa’s back pressed against her. She loaded up the episode of Fortune and Destiny they had been watching before Lyssa had her jealous fit. Chet Franklin stood on the docks beside a gloomy industrial building of some sort, and his mysterious connection had emerged from the shadows, having claimed he had something Chet was looking for.

  “Don’t waste my time. Do you have the artifact?”

  The mystery man smiled and reached into his coat. “Yes, I do. It’s right here.”

  In an instant, he drew a pistol, and fired a single shot, sending Chet backward into the water with a huge splash. The man with the gun watched the water return to its previously calm state, then he pressed a button on an electronic device as he held it close to his mouth. “Franklin is out of the picture.” He said the line with an air of smug satisfaction as the camera closed in on his face.

  “Pause it,” Diana commanded.

  Lyssa fumbled for the button. “Oh, no, Diana. We shouldn’t have watched this. It’s… too soon.”

  “No, Lyss, it’s okay. Really. Help me understand what just happened.”

  “Really? I thought you hated Chet Franklin. I loved him when he was Greg on Hope and Sacrifice.”

  “He’s not my favorite, but that’s not important right now. The man who shot him. He said he had an… artifact, right? What is it?”

  “Oh, it’s this Mayan mask that got stolen from the Moorcrofts when—"

  Diana shook her head vehemently. “No, that word. What does it mean?”

  “Ah. Well… wait, should I get the dictionary? I mean, in a nice, helpful, supportive way.”

  Diana smiled. “No, leave it. Just this once. Besides, we’re all comfy.”

  Lyssa snuggled her back into Diana’s chest. “True. Well, okay. Um, I guess the best way I can put it is… it’s an ancient thing that has a lot of value.”

  “Ancient, meaning…?”

  “Really old. Like, hundreds or thousands of years.”

  Diana struggled with the components of an equation in her head and fought to put the variables in the correct places. “Chet Franklin met up with that guy because he wanted that valuable thing, right? And the guy knew he wanted it so bad, and fooled him into thinking he had it, and shot him.”

  “That’s pretty much it. The Fortunates think Viktor is the one who set him up, but I think it’s really Count Ludwig. Oh, I forgot, you don’t read the fan sites. We call ourselves Fortunates, because it’s a play on—”

  “I know why my Daddy came here. He’s not looking for me. He wants the artifact.”

  Lyssa turned around quickly. “Holy crap, Diana, you’ve got a valuable relic? Does it have, like, rubies and diamonds all over it? Is it pure gold?”

  “Huh? No. It’s… a book.”

  “A golden book?” Her eyes sparkled hopefully.

  “What? No. It’s just a book we’ve had for a long time. We call it the Good Book.”

  Lyssa frowned. “Um, you’re not telling me he wants the family bible back, are you?”

  “No.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Lyss, I’ve never shown it to anybody. Not Mabel, not Veronica, nobody. I’m scared to show you, but I want to let you in, because, I… love you.”

  Tears fell from Lyssa’s eyes. She tossed the tablet aside and threw her arms around Diana. She kissed her again and again, then pulled back to look deeply into her glistening eyes. “I love you too, Diana Pembrook.”

  They slid off the bed, and Diana pulled the duffel from the closet. She set it on a chair and rooted around until she found the book. She saw the scrap of paper with her father’s note under it, and she covered it with a dirty t-shirt. She held up the book, removed the rubber bands, and presented it to Lyssa.

  “Oh, my god. This is a how-to manual for overthrowing the government.” Lyssa thumbed through the pages and looked increasingly horrified as she read off the chapter and section titles. “How to survive an FBI raid. How to extract information from a hostile. Tactical Rape.” Her eyes bulged, and she looked up at Diana with a gasp. “Your Dad… did he… you know, touch you?”

  Diana gave her a confused look. “Like how? People touch all kinds of ways.”

  Lyssa lowered the book, looking ashen. “Did he… make you do things you weren’t comfortable with? Like… in bed?”

  “No… not that I remember. He had his own bedroom, and I had mine.”

  “Okay, well, that’s alright, I suppose. But, if you ever need to talk to somebody, I know a place that can help you.”

  Diana frowned at the page Lyssa had propped open. “I always skipped that part. I mean, it was neat seeing naked people pictures, but they made me feel bad, for some reason. I liked the parts about shooting guns.”

  “Firearms: How to field strip a semi-automatic handgun. Good God, this book is some prepper’s wet dream.”

  “Prepper?”

  “Doomsday Prepper. ‘Prep’ as in, ‘prepare’. These people, they get all freaked out about how the government is going to take over, and they build these crazy underground bunkers and stash lots of food and guns in there, and they wear lots of camo.”

  Diana frowned, imagining what such people were like. “No, Daddy always had one gun. A rifle. He said you should do with one shot what it takes another shooter to do with ten.”

  Lyssa flipped through a few more pages, then snapped the book shut. “He wants this back? Why?”

  “As best as I can figure, he told me if you have the Good Book, you don’t need nothing else. He probally wants it because… it tells him how to do something. Something bad, I reckon.”

  Lyssa cocked her head. “Uh, Diana? You’re not from around here, are you?”

  “Huh? No, ah come from Nebraska, whaah?” Her voice was thickening into a drawl every four words.

  “You’re talking like you grew up in the sticks. You don’t sound like you.”

  Diana cupped her jaw and felt her cheeks. Panic flashed across her face, and she scramb
led to find a folded piece of paper on the desk. She unfolded it, lifted her chin, and recited the words Lillian had carefully written in neat lines back at Stickler’s. “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” She took great pains to enunciate each syllable.

  Lyssa put her hands to her head. “Oh… my god. It’s not that you don’t sound like you. It’s… you’re finally using your real voice.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Diana looked at Lyssa, horrified.

  Lyssa looked at Diana, horrified.

  Lyssa took a step backward, picked up her pants, then scooped up the closest pair of shoes she could reach. She hurried to the door and fumbled with the privacy latch. Diana put her hand on her shoulder but was rebuffed. The latched flicked aside, and Lyssa threw the door open, storming out of the dorm. A cluster of male cadets stopped in the hallway and commented on Lyssa’s bare legs. Sapphire poked her head through a doorway down the hall and fumed. She walked stiffly toward them, fists balled at her sides.

  “Lyss, ah can explain. Come on home.” She reached for her shoulder again, and Lyssa spun around angrily.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  The young men whooped and snickered. “Oh yeah, girl fight,” said one of them, approvingly. Lee Harper smiled but didn’t speak. Diana shot him a reproachful glance, but he only shrugged and took a step behind the other males.

  Sapphire pushed the girls back into their room. Lyssa shouted at her to let go, but she maintained her grip, and once they were back in the dorm, she slammed the door behind them and flicked the privacy latch in place. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Lyssa and Diana. They sat at the edge of their assigned beds.

  Sapphire reached over her shoulder and flicked the latch open. She pulled the door open to reveal the boys leaning in close. “Hi, fellas. Want to check out my brand-new can of pepper spray? It’s DT-45 grade. I’ve been dying to field test it for weeks.”