“No, I’m not.” Ramirez was staring at his screen on the other end of the phone. “I’m guessing it was turned on for about six or seven minutes before it was turned off again.”
“Where? Can you tell where they are?!” Darlington almost yelled into the phone.
Ramirez was expecting this as her first question. “Well, I can tell you what tower they connected to, but unfortunately I can’t pinpoint their location.”
Darlington’s heart was racing. “That’s a start.”
“Maybe,” replied Ramirez.
“What do you mean maybe?”
“They were connected to the tower for several minutes, but the weird part is where the tower was located.”
Darlington squinted her eyes. “Where was the tower located?”
Ramirez had checked his data three times. He had to be sure about this. “China.”
“China?” She hoped she hadn’t heard him right.
“China,” he confirmed. “And it gets stranger. His phone was turned on, sent and received a text message, and then turned right back off.”
35
Sarah sat patiently on Christine’s lap as Christine brushed her wet hair. Avery was straightening their bed atop the large sofa while Rand stood near the kitchen window, looking outside into the forest. He turned and looked at Sarah with her blond hair combed straight down, then calmly returned his gaze to the window.
Avery patted the blankets and stood up.
“Sarah, would you be okay out here if I took a quick shower?” Christine asked, peering around the side of her tiny shoulder.
“Sure.”
She set the brush down and began to stand up when Sarah whispered into Christine’s ear. Christine looked at Avery then back to her.
“I don’t know,” she whispered back. “Ask him.”
Still shy, Sarah looked at Avery who was watching her with interest. After appearing to contemplate something, she slowly walked across the room to him. Avery bent down slightly as she approached.
“Can we please play checkers again?” she asked.
Avery gave her a hard stare which turned into a soft grin. “Do you promise to take it easy on me?”
Sarah smiled. “Yes.”
Avery straightened with a satisfied look and motioned to the small table in the kitchen. “Do you remember how to set it up?”
Sarah smiled and trotted over to a shelf and retrieved the game, then began laying it out on the table in front of Rand who was watching her with a grin. Christine had noticed that Rand’s stone like expression softened when he watched Sarah.
Christine looked at Rand and Avery. “That okay?”
They both nodded. “I got the things you asked for and left them in the bathroom.” Avery said.
Christine opened her other eye and then carefully handed the .40 caliber Springfield back to Rand. “How was that?”
“Good, but remember to keep your shoulders more forward.”
“It’s a lot to remember,” she said with a frown.
Rand took the gun, smoothly replaced the magazine, and slid it back into his holster without looking.
“I think I’m just going to need a lot more practice.”
“We don’t have much time,” he replied.
Christine gave him a hopeful look. “Maybe whoever was doing this is gone. Maybe he was one of the men that you killed.”
He shook his head. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
“What, what hasn’t happened?”
Rand squinted and peered out over the field. “I don’t know exactly. But it’s coming. And I must be there.”
“And what if you’re not?”
He turned and looked at Christine solemnly. “Then I fail. I fail her, and I fail him. I fail everyone.”
Christine took a deep breath. She had wanted to say something for a while. “Listen, I have to admit I’m still struggling with this. I mean God and this constant battle of good and evil; it’s a little hard to imagine.”
Rand stared at her. “Do you believe in God?”
“Of course I do.”
“Do you believe he cares for you?”
Christine nodded. “I do.”
“And do you believe evil is real?”
“You mean like Satan and demons, that sort of thing?”
“If that helps.”
She sighed and folded her arms. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Then why is it such a leap? If you can believe that he created you, why are you unable to believe that he also fights for you?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I guess that’s just not how I learned it.”
“You learned wrong,” Rand replied, reaching down to pick up his AR-15 assault rifle. He turned it over and checked the chamber.
“What’s that supposed to mean, ‘I learned wrong’?”
“The religious teachings that most people believe in today are far from the truth. The Bible was not intended to be a book of interpretation. Interpretation and time are the enemies of truth. What you have today is a version of the Bible that has been twisted so many times that it can now be used to vindicate almost anything. It’s no longer the true word of God.”
Christine tilted her head, her arms still folded. “Then what is the truth?” she asked.
He began turning away but then stopped abruptly and looked at her. “The truth? The truth is that your God fights for all of you, for all of his children, and he’s losing!”
Christine stepped back. “Losing? I thought he was all powerful.”
“He is. But evil is far stronger than anyone believes. They’ve successfully led you all down a road of sloth and apathy, a path you are all too eager to travel. Even your churches have strayed. They have compromised for little more than to guarantee their tithe, and now even they struggle to fill their seats. The number of God’s children who still speak to him is diminishing.” Rand looked away with a look of disgust on his face. “He fights for you, but who fights for him? I mean really fights!”
Christine frowned and looked out over the open field in front of them. Another thick wall of trees stood behind them and separated the pair from the cabin. “Maybe it’s the suffering,” she said. “Maybe it’s the pain of watching terrible things happen in this world, like millions of innocent people being wiped out by horrible dictators, or thousands of children being molested and ruined for life. Or maybe it’s the countless people wasting away, dying of cancer right in front of the ones who love them most.” She looked back at him. “I think it can be easy for people to lose faith when they see things like that every day.”
“That may be true,” Rand replied, slinging the rifle over his shoulder. “Except for one thing.”
Christine looked at him expectantly.
“Those are not God’s decisions or choices. He’s not the one making those things happen. It’s them. God is the one trying to stop it. He has a plan, but he’s losing the fight. He’s losing the fight, because he’s losing his children.”
Rand began walking back when Christine called after him. “Rand.”
He turned back to face her.
“If he chose me,” she said with a solemn expression, “then I’ll fight.”
The sun finally dropped behind the mountains as Christine and Rand walked in through the front door to find Avery and Sarah making dinner in the small kitchen. Sarah stood beside him on a folding stool, reaching almost to his shoulder. She was looking inside a large pot and had dropped the dried pasta in just as Christine cleared her voice.
Sarah looked up and climbed down the stool to run over.
“What are you doing?” Christine asked with a smile.
“I’m helping Avery cook,” she explained. “We’re making pasta.”
Avery smiled from his spot next to the stove. “She likes to cook too.”
“Wow.” She looked down as Sarah hugged her. “That’s very impressive.”
Sarah looked up at Christine and then over to Rand. “Dinner is going
to be ready in ten minutes,” she said.
“Twenty minutes,” corrected Avery.
“Dinner’s going to be ready in twenty minutes!”
Christine laughed while Rand smiled. They watched Sarah run back into the kitchen.
“She’s a great kid,” Christine said.
“Indeed.”
Over her shoulder, Christine realized the TV was still on in the other room. She walked over to it and grabbed the remote control, trying to turn it off, but accidentally hit the wrong button which changed the channel instead.
Two news anchors instantly filled the screen, talking about the first New York church bombing. But it was what Christine saw on the screen next, and more specifically what was pictured at the top, that caused her to freeze. Pictured on the screen were headshots of three people she knew!
“...Griffin, Michael Buckley, and Cheryl Roberts, all officers from downtown’s 19th Precinct have been confirmed missing for three days. The statement was issued today by the precinct’s Deputy Inspector Kim Darlington.”
Christine gasped and turned around to face Rand as the anchor continued on the screen.
“The department reported that there are no leads as of yet, but confirmed the three officers were working together on a case involving a woman and child.”
“Oh my god!” Christine took a step back and placed a hand on her chest after pictures of her and Sarah also appeared on the television screen.
“Police say the woman, Christine Rose, may have abducted the girl who was at the time under police custody…”
“No!” Christine cried. “No! You’ve got to be kidding! I’m WANTED?! What the hel-” She turned to look at Rand again and found that Avery was now standing next to him, peering at the screen too.
“…ask that if anyone has any information that they call the number below…”
Christine leaned forward and turned the sound down just as Sarah grabbed her hand.
“Those are the men who helped us at the hide house,” she said.
Christine was staring at the screen, speechless.
“Aren’t they?” Sarah asked expectantly.
Christine nodded. “Yes.”
Sarah studied Christine and spoke softer. “Did something happen to them?”
Christine looked at Rand and Avery again and then finally down to Sarah. “Maybe.”
“Did the red ones get them?”
Christine covered her mouth with her other hand as her eyes began to fill with tears.
“It’s only begun.” Rand said quietly.
Christine took a few steps and collapsed down onto the couch. Still holding her hand, Sarah silently climbed onto Christine’s lap. She tried to wrap her other tiny arm around her.
“My god, what’s happening?” Christine cried out through her tears.
Both men looked at her quietly, and Rand took a step forward. “It’s okay; we’re safe here for now.”
Christine blinked and suddenly looked up at Rand with a frightened expression. “Oh my god! Danny!” She pointed to the screen. “Danny!”
“What?”
“Oh no! Oh no!” she said, feeling a sickening sensation spreading through her gut. “We’re in trouble.”
Rand and Avery looked at each other. “What do you mean?”
She abruptly stood up, still holding onto Sarah. “He texted me. HE TEXTED ME!”
Neither of the men were following. Christine took a deep breath and tried to slow down. “He texted me. Danny. Yesterday. I accidentally turned my phone on, and a text from Danny came through.”
Rand and Avery’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”
Her face filled with guilt. “I replied.”
Rand raised his voice. “You did what?”
“I’m sorry,” Christine cried. “I didn’t know. I just told him that I was fine and would contact him later.”
Rand instantly had his gun in his hand without Christine even having seen it drawn. He turned to Avery just as all the lights went out, and the cabin was plunged into darkness.
36
Avery’s silhouette ran to the wall and opened the panel, revealing the security system and all of the sensors around the perimeter of the cabin. All the lights were red.
“We have company.”
In the darkness, Rand reached under a bookshelf near the television, pulled out several magazines, and stuffed them into his pocket.
“Get them in the back,” his voice said in the darkness. Avery had already grabbed both Sarah and Christine and was rushing them down the dark hallway.
Outside, over two dozen dark figures spread out in a perfect circle, were closing in on the cabin. Their progress was slow and methodical as they took small, quiet steps through the grass.
Murad Sarat led the team forward. Unfortunately, cutting the power and warning whoever was inside was unavoidable. They needed to sever all forms of communication, including what might be powering any transmissions. He held up his hand and gave the signal to lower their night vision goggles, a signal that was passed around the circle to everyone almost simultaneously.
Rand waited quietly. He needed them closer, a lot closer, or they would see him. He felt the familiar surge of warm blood course through him. He waited, eyes closed, listening to the soft steps through the grass.
Murad and his team slowed even more as they neared the structure. He was near the front and gave a ‘stop’ signal as he and another of his men approached the first step of the wooden porch. They both aimed their rifles and scanned the entire porch carefully. They couldn’t hear anything moving inside, just the warm breeze behind them.
He unclenched his fist and gave the signal to move in just as Rand’s feet left the roof, near the back of the cabin. He came down hard, crushing one of the dark figures below him into the ground. In a flash he was up, pulling the unconscious figure back onto his feet as a shield to block the gunfire that immediately erupted from the side.
Rand turned to his right and simultaneously fired his Springfield, dropping three men immediately. Without any hesitation, he wrapped his right hand around his dead shield and fired, killing two more attackers with two shots each to their neck and face, the only vital areas not protected by armor.
Even through the gunfire, Murad’s men did not scatter or break position. Instead, they all flattened themselves against the outside walls of the house. The two nearest to the shots on each side instantly teamed up and inched themselves slowly toward the back, while Murad and the others held their position.
The four men quietly approached the back and spotted bodies on the ground, but all were motionless. Each two man team scanned up the exterior wall and along the roofline. Finding nothing, they turned back to the bodies. Still no movement.
The four men then turned their attention to the small back porch and closed in. The old door had been boarded up. What they hadn’t examined closely enough, however, was that one of the bodies on the ground was not bleeding.
Murad heard several more shots and froze again. What the hell was happening? He wasn’t going to wait outside forever while someone picked them all off. He quickly gave the signal and all of his men rushed into the house. He and two others stormed the front porch firing several shots into the front door as they barreled inside. On the sides of the house, three windows were smashed as the rest of Murad’s team hurled themselves inside.
Rand heard the smashing windows from the rear of the house. He replaced his magazine and stepped over one of the bodies. He heard movement behind him and turned back toward the trees to see seven more muzzle flashes appear from the darkness. Dirt and wood exploded around him as the bullets tore through the ground and into the wood planking of the house. Already running, Rand fired several shots into the trees and bolted up the steps, smashing through the old boarded door.
He stumbled inside, past the door now hanging from one remaining hinge and around a corner just as hundreds of rounds destroyed the porch and door frame behind him. Rand unslung his rifle in o
ne smooth motion and, in complete darkness, fired a volley down the long hallway heading forward to the living room. He ducked back out of the way and slammed his fist several times against a large, blank wall. A moment later, a thick, hidden door opened with Avery behind it. He grabbed Rand, yanked him inside, and pulled the door closed behind him. Once the thick door was closed, Avery slid a giant bolt lock back into place.
Through the dim light inside, Rand could see Christine and Sarah huddled in the middle of the empty room.
“There’s too many,” he whispered to Avery. “We can’t get out.”
Christine stared at him with a look of determination. “We have to do something!”
“Well, I’m fairly certain negotiating is out,” Rand said, withdrawing another magazine from his pocket and slapping it into the bottom of the rifle. The movement was so fluid that Christine was not entirely sure what he had done.
“Is there another way out?” she asked, trying to keep her voice down.
“No.”
“So we’re screwed?” she yelled under her breath.
They could hear someone on the outside tapping their rifles along the wall, looking for the latch. A moment later it was joined by what sounded like two more rifles.
They all sat silently as the men outside found the hidden latch and began trying to pry it open.
“Oh god!” Christine whispered, as she watched the large bolt on the door begin to wiggle.
“They won’t get in,” Avery replied calmly. “This room is lined with two inches of solid steel.”
Christine rolled her eyes. “Wonderful, but unless you have a bathroom and a hell of a lot of food, we eventually have to come out.”
She pulled Sarah in tight and watched both men in frustration as they sat listening to the sounds outside. The giant bolt had stopped moving and now the sounds were spreading around the room while Murad’s men examined all sides, looking for a sound of weakness in the wall and a way in. Then, all at once the tapping stopped, and some shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door.
Amid the Shadows Page 15
