A very naked Prez stands in front of Noah taking off his clothes.
There’s a close-up of Noah while offscreen Prez’s voice coos, “What will you do for me, Noah?”
The shot changes to a hand fondling a zipper.
Noah’s voice says, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
RING! There’s a cut to Noah answering his cell phone. “Hi, Olivia. What’s up?”
Cut to black.
So much for not worrying yourself.
“I’m sure there is an explanation… ” begins Mrs. Wang.
RING! Olivia’s cell phone rings.
“Olivia… ” says Noah.
She interrupts. “I want a divorce.” She hangs up.
***
From a small Cedarville jail to an apartment in Shanghai to a girls’ home in New York.
At Abby’s House, Sam, Kathy, Dr. Tang and his wife, watch the early news. It’s been a good day. The paperwork allowing them to operate an ESL-certified school was processed in record time, and they have been interviewing potential teachers all day.
This, of course, is of no interest to the young inhabitants of the home. Seventeen-year-old Tanya has an interest in esthetics and managed to drag her sister, Larissa, and young board member, Sam Xi, on an expedition to look at a couple of New York makeup schools.
An exhausting time for all, and with pizza and sodas for a late night meal, they turn on the tube—it’s the news. Not interested in current affairs, Sam is about to click the remote to change to a different channel when he sees a familiar face onscreen. “Noah!” he yells.
The anchorwoman speaks.
In Oregon, there is news of incredible sexual brutality by the president of a large philanthropic organization, the Chad Huang Foundation. Noah Reid was arrested today for sexual assault and murder of Oregon State Sen. Sandy Patterson, the new chair of the Oregon State Native American Gambling Committee, after she and the Coyote River Casino refused to okay the purchase of the Native American-owned casino to him. Officials claim that Reid had offered to buy the casino under the pretense of operating youth centers. However, documents seized in possession of the senator reveal that Reid was, in fact, planning to build a casino as large as those found in Macau, next to Hong Kong where he lives.
“That’s bull!” yells Sam. He turns to Kathy. “Did you ever talk about that to Noah?”
“You kidding? The guy’s a saint.”
“Well, this saint is going to get crucified if somebody doesn’t do something. I’m going to Oregon.”
“Me too,” says Kathy.
“What can you do though?” asks Dr. Tang.
“Who knows, but I know definitely if I don’t go, Noah is going to rot in jail.”
Now that’s a rescue team. A fourteen-year-old ex-Hong Kong street gang member and a twenty-year-old ex-junkie, ex-alcoholic and NYU dropout from the Russian language department.
***
The telephone rings again. Olivia doesn’t want to answer, but Mrs. Wang forces the receiver into her hands.
“What?”
“Olivia, it’s not like that at all.”
“I saw you about to hop into bed with Heidi the hell raiser.”
“We didn’t do anything, and she was in my room when I got there.”
“I knew you had a thing for Asian women.”
“Olivia, listen to me. I didn’t do anything. This is all part of some kind of conspiracy. I’m in a jail right now. In Cedarville.”
“Good. Because when I send someone to castrate you, you won’t be able to run away.”
CLICK. She hangs up and glares at Mrs. Wang. “I don’t care whether you said to have no stress. I don’t care if I lose the baby. I don’t want it or him anymore.”
Olivia starts bawling. Mrs. Wang takes her and holds her tight.
“We haven’t even married a week, and already he’s cheating on me. And then he tried to lie his way out of it. Said there’s some crazy scheme going on.”
“What if it’s not a lie? And he is very rich. Has he ever done anything like this before?”
“Once it starts, it will never end. My father… even before my mother died… Men are just like that.”
Mrs. Wang strokes Olivia’s forehead. “Not just men, Olivia.”
Olivia looks at Mrs. Wang’s furrowed face. “You?” she whispers hoarsely.
Mrs. Wang nods. “JJ was not the sifu’s son.”
She hands Olivia the phone. “Call him.”
***
It’s a slow night at the police station. As a matter of fact, most nights here are pretty slow. Other than the regular party-too-hard types and the occasional B and E’s for laptops and cigarettes, there isn’t a whole lot of crime in Cedarville.
Therefore, Noah is a bit of much-favored distraction from the regular ennui of small-town police duties.
Lester walks the dozen steps to the cell housing Noah. Noah’s naked body scrunches up like a little ball by the cell bars.
“You know what I hate? I hate rich people. And you know what I hate even more? Rich people who are phony baloney.”
When Noah doesn’t respond, the warden continues. “You wanna be like this? You don’t say nothin’? I can get some target practice that way. And if I miss, well… the world will thank me for killin’ a killer who’s tryin’ to escape.”
Lester takes out his gun and sets his sights on Noah, but he’s out like a light.
“Playin’ possum with me, rich boy? Well, I don’t play games.”
Lester slowly cocks the gun then fires. It is one inch away as it flies by Noah’s head and embeds itself deep into the concrete wall.
“You deaf or something?”
The warden’s about to shoot again when the phone RINGS! He snarls as he picks it up.
“Hello. Cedarville Police… Just a moment. I’ll see if he’s available.”
Lester puts the cordless phone into his hand and carries it to the cell. “Wake up, a-hole. You got a call.”
No response from Noah.
“I said, wake up, m-f’er.”
Still no response.
The warden stoops down right beside Noah’s ear. Lester is about to scream when Noah’s hand rockets out through the cell bars, grabs the hand that Lester holds the phone with and yanks it hard against the iron bars.
“Ow!” screams the pained warden. “You’re gonna break my arm if you keep that up.”
Lester’s head jerks back against the iron bars too. Noah grabs his hair with his other hand and tugs on it to the point of breaking.
“Your choice. Broken neck or broken arm or both or… ”
“Or what?” yells the warden.
“You open the cell door now with your free hand. Then I might let you live.”
The warden tries to fight, but Noah increases the pressure.
“Okay. Okay.”
Lester fumbles for the cell keys. Hand shaking nervously, he inserts it into the lock and opens the door.
Noah has to let go in order to get out. This moment is all the warden needs to reach in for his gun. Lester may be fat, but he’s no slouch on the draw and gets off a round at Noah.
Noah dives to the floor, darting out of the miniature missile’s way, but then another two rounds soar right at him.
Unbelievable! Noah whips his hands in front of his chest and grabs the bullets just before they enter his body.
The warden gapes at Noah—who the heck is this guy? Lester fires his last three bullets in rapid succession.
Noah does a sideways cartwheel to get out of the way.
What is really awesome about Noah’s acrobatic display is that the whole jail is less than the size the average city school classroom. Finesse, as well as speed and strength are imperative.
Noah changes direction and flips a handspring toward the trooper. Noah’s feet land hard against the Lester’s head, knocking him down.
But this warden is one big donut-eating machine, and it’s going to take more than that to put him out.
/> He throws a roundhouse at Noah’s head. Noah pulls back but still takes part of the blow, knocking him to the floor.
Lester tries to belly flop on top of Noah, but Noah quickly rolls over, and the warden crashes hard to the floor, bursting his belt.
“Noah!” calls Olivia on the other side of the phone.
“I’m a little busy!” shouts the lawyer.
Noah yanks on Lester’s pants. The button on top of the zipper breaks. The pants pull down halfway, revealing that Lester goes commando.
Enraged, the warden throws a fist the size of a ham at Noah’s head, but Noah counters with a side chop that knocks Lester’s arm off course.
“Noah!” calls Olivia again.
“Yes, dear!” shouts the lawyer.
Noah then launches two fingers into the trooper’s eyes.
“AAAA!” screams the big man as Noah follows up with a series of jackhammer punches to the gut.
“What’s happening, Noah?” screams Olivia.
“I’ll tell you in a moment!” calls Noah.
Lester can’t move because his pants, still half-on, limit his mobility. He’s got no choice but to be Noah’s human punching bag.
The warden grabs at Noah, but he misses.
“Noah!”
There’s one final bullet. Lester shoots it, and the cartridge grazes Noah’s skull.
Noah screams, “AAH!” He elbows Lester in the head.
The blow sends the big man to lala land. Lester collapses onto the phone, smashing it and rendering it useless.
Noah looks at the beached whale in front of him. What grabs his attention is a curiosity on his fat ass—there’s a strange-looking tattoo on one of the cheeks.
Noah shakes his head as he heads out the door.
***
At the other end on the landline, Olivia hears everything and feels completely helpless. She screams, “Noah, Noah,” but there is no answer.
“Why else isn’t Noah answering? He’s dead or dying,” wails Olivia.
Mrs. Wang tries to console the pregnant Olivia and uses a newspaper to fan air at her. “Calm down. No stress. No stress.”
“How can I not be stressed? The last thing I heard before the silence is a gunshot.”
“If Noah can survive the helicopter attack, he can survive anything.”
“I’m going back to get him. If he’s dead, I want to know. If he’s alive, he needs help.”
“The baby, Olivia, the baby.”
“Mrs. Wang, my father was a Shaolin kung fu master. My husband is a Shaolin kung fu master. My baby is a warrior, too. I’m going ,too, and you can’t stop me.”
“If you go, I go,” says Mrs. Wang.
“You don’t have an entry visa into the US,” says Olivia.
“Maybe I can be a refugee. I hear America loves them,” says Mrs. Wang. “Or maybe the foundation can pull a few more strings.”
***
In another part of town, Chin sits listening in on the conversation in a room with Orlando, a young crony.
“I think the best way is for us to charter a private jet,” says Olivia. “We won’t tell anyone so we won’t be tracked. By the time we’ve dealt with paperwork and bureaucrats, Noah might be dead.”
Fifteen seconds later, a call comes through the computer phone.
“Princeton Charters, may I help you?” greets Orlando.
“Hello, I’m wondering about chartering a plane from Shanghai to Oregon?” asks Olivia.
“Yes, for how many and when?”
“As quickly as can be arranged for two people.”
“We can be available within two hours. Do you have visas, etc. arranged?”
A brief silence then, “I need a certain discretion.”
“Of course. There is a surcharge for that service.”
“I understand. What will the cost be?”
“A hundred and fifty thousand American dollars.”
Another brief silence then, “Agreed.”
“Please give me your details, and we will make the appropriate arrangements.”
***
A naked man walking around will attract attention. Even more so, a naked man driving a state police car. Therefore, because he has no idea where his clothes are, Noah has no choice but to take Lester’s oversized clothes and wear them himself. With a weight differential of over a hundred and fifty pounds, Noah looks like he’s swimming in the outfit.
He looks ridiculous, but behind the wheel of a patrol car, you’d have to look really hard as Noah heads out of the police station, onto the local highway and back in the direction of Coyote River.
Noah focuses on the dragon tattoo on Lester’s ass. There was one like that on Prez’s. And Sandy’s.
What’s the connection? Is it Chin? If so, why?
Chin’s kids each had an animal theme to them. Duke and Chin were Tigers. Queenie was a Crane. King’s were Snakes. Prince was the Leopard man. Tigers. Snakes. Cranes. Leopards. And now Dragons, the fifth animal of the Shaolin?
Okay but then, so what? How about the names? King, Prince, Duke, Queenie and Prez are all names of leaders.
Then it dawns on him. Prez is more dangerous than her siblings. All the others were content to be part of the criminal underworld—people smuggling, drug dealing dealing in prostitution. Prez is going legit—gambling is just a stepping stone. If she succeeds in turning around Coyote River and the other troubled Oregon casinos, who knows how far she can go?
She will be able to write her own ticket for just about anything. If she isn’t stopped, then it will only be a matter of time.
Noah has got to get back to Coyote River, but suddenly, the intrepid escapee is a victim of the decline in Oregon’s tax revenue—the state trooper’s car has run out of gas.
Nobody who sees him running down the highway in his oversized stolen trooper’s uniform will mistake him as the president of a multibillion dollar foundation.
Chapter 20
I’m gonna kill that guy. Lester groans as he shakes his throbbing head.
“What the—?” The warden sees that he’s clad only in his underwear.
He takes a look outside and discovers the state vehicle is gone.
“I am going kill you dead, Reid,” moans the big man.
He makes a phone call. “Wally, I need a car and some clothes. Don’t even ask.”
***
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, a private jet wings its way to Cedarville. Olivia was carried via stretcher down the stairs at the Wang’s place, taken via ambulance to the private airfield then carried again onto the jet where she lies down on a bed. Mrs. Wang is not happy about Olivia’s traveling, but at least she was obedient enough to not try to make it down the stairs by herself.
Before they left, Mrs. Wang went to the Chinese apothecary across the street and loaded up on every possible herbal remedy that might help Olivia’s condition. Unspoken is the worry that there is a possibility of spontaneous abortion—the loss of a pregnancy without medical or mechanical means. Mrs. Wang loaded up on red dates, lotus seeds, Shout Tai or “fetus longevity” pills and more.
Fifteen thousand feet in the air and climbing, Mrs. Wang looks anxiously out the window. “Sifu and I always talked about visiting America. I’m doing this for the both of us.”
Olivia looks at her tummy. She’s not showing at all, but it’s the psychological, not the physical, that’s driving her. “So am I, Mrs. Wang.”
The elderly woman stands and starts doing slow tai chi movements in the small space.
“Why are you doing that now?” says Olivia amusedly.
“When we get off the plane, I want my body to be ready.”
“Ready for what?” says Olivia.
“Ready for the reason we are going.” Mrs. Wang stops and looks at her. “You are in no condition to fight, Olivia. I was my husband’s longest and most loyal pupil… I have never been in battle either, but I too am a warrior.”
Then, out from the pilot’s cockpit, walks out a most
unwelcome surprise.
Chin.
“In that case, you will be very happy to see me.”
***
Cedarville never had so many visitors come by air in one day. Approaching the small town from the opposite direction of Olivia are Kathy and Sam, just minutes away in their chartered helicopter.
“My first time in a chopper,” says Kathy. “You?”
“Chopper. Jet. Luxury yacht. Been there, done that,” says Sam with a swagger.
“Cool.”
“Yeah. I had to save Noah’s ass a whole bunch of times. Snakes, ninjas… ”
“You’re full of it.”
“Be there in ten minutes,” calls the pilot.
Kathy looks out the window and stares at the ground. She points at a figure jogging down the highway. “Check that out. Dude looks like his clothes are gonna fall off. And he’s got a state trooper’s uniform on.”
Sam looks down and shouts, “That’s no dude! That’s Noah! I’d recognize him anywhere!”
***
As the buzz saw sound grows louder, Noah looks up and sees the helicopter approaching him. Noah’s experience with helicopters is not good. On previous occasions, his opponents launched attacks on his party. Once in the middle of the ocean, once in the middle of a mountain range.
Now, on a two-lane highway in the middle of nowhere?
Noah darts into the woods to try to escape.
And then, a voice comes from a hundred and fifty feet in the air through a megaphone.
“Noah Reid, you have been selected as best dressed state trooper of the century. Please return to the highway for your reward.”
Noah looks up in the air and can’t believe what he sees. Sam has a megaphone and is at the helicopter door, waving at him.
***
RITUAL SACRIFICE: The Ultimate Alpha Female & Political Corruption on the West Coast (Noah Reid Action Suspense Thriller Series Book 5) Page 15
