by R Weir
Olivia started to lunge for Brushstroke, but Hunter stopped her.
“Remember what I said,” he whispered to her. “Save your energy for the right time and this isn’t it.”
Olivia raised her middle finger to the evil man standing there, the defiance in her body language clear.
Hunter smiled. “I believe we’re done here,” he proclaimed walking with Olivia arm in arm towards the door.
“The days are slipping away, Hunter,” yelled Brushstroke to his back. “That is when all that macho bravado of yours will be destroyed.”
Hunter ignored him, thrilled for once to be heading back to their isolation and away from this freakish monster. As the two of them neared the outside entrance of the building, Isiah Sellers came running up behind them, pleading.
“Olivia, please, let me explain!”
Sellers ran through the two guards grabbing her by throwing his arms around her, his mouth on her ear. Hunter reacted, eventually peeling the man off of her, the tangle of everyone including the two guards causing chaos. Olivia broke free, placing her back against the wall as the four men struggled. Hunter pounded at Sellers, the two guards yelling and threatening, while using the baton to smack Hunter across the shoulder blades, the sting immediate. He rolled over on the ground, a gun pointed at his head, the other guard dragging Sellers away, bloody and bruised.
“Up and off to your room before I shoot you in the thigh,” the guard yelled.
Hunter rolled onto his stomach, rising slowly feeling the agony before eventually staggering into the room, the door closed behind them. He dropped to his bed, a throbbing pain running up and down his back. This wasn’t how he envisioned the day ending. Glancing up he saw Olivia, shock on her face before turning and walking into the bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Hunter asked, through gritted teeth.
There was a long pause, before she answered. “No, I’m not. Can you come in here?”
Pulling himself up, Hunter walked in, worried she’d been injured, ready to console the young woman when he saw an item in her hand. It was an iPhone.
Knowing they were out of sight of the camera, but could still be heard Hunter mouthed, “How?”
Olivia looked at the phone, motioning to her jacket pocket. She had found it after the struggle knowing it had to have come from one person.
“Sellers,” she mouthed.
Both were uncertain why, but wouldn’t question it. Knowing this tech device might give them a lifeline to call for help.
Chapter 62
Olivia held the iPhone, powering it on. When she saw the home screen asking for the fingerprint, her expression sunk.
“It’s Deion’s phone,” she whispered, noticing the background picture. “My fingerprint won’t work.”
Hunter thought about it for a minute and turned on the water in the sink to help cover up their words.
“Do you know his passcode?” he asked, knowing of the backup login option in case it couldn’t read the fingerprint.
She thought about it for a second. “Maybe. But I only get so many tries.”
“Think about it. Most use a short code or phrase common to themselves. Birthdate, combination of favorite number, a girlfriends name—stuff like that.”
Olivia’s mind went over everything, trying to think like her brother. He loved music and some sports. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to use his own birthday but might use someone else’s. There were many options to choose from, requiring her to narrow them down, having only ten tries to get it right. She started with her dad’s birthday, which didn’t work. Then went onto her mother’s but that failed. Thinking about it a little more, she got a revelation. Their dog Pepper had been a rescue, a canine Deion had found and loved to death, adoption coming shorty after. The length of the name was perfect. She typed in the corresponding number—737737. The screen unlocked to the bevy of icons on the home page. Olivia did her best not to scream out in joy.
“Nice job,” commented Hunter, patting her on the shoulder. “What type of signal strength does the phone have?”
Checking the graphic reading, it showed one bar at best and only at 3G. She showed him the screen.
“Send a text message to your mom and dad both. Text doesn’t need a lot of data to send.”
Typing out the message, she told them it was her and Hunter and to answer back immediately. It was nerve racking, taking at least a minute before the message showed sent. After five minutes her mother responded.
Olivia held her hand to her mouth, thrilled to get an answer. “What now?”
Hunter thought for a moment, knowing the ‘Find My iPhone’ feature was generally on, allowing a user to track the phone. She typed that out asking them to track the phone and sent the message. They again waited for a response, hoping Deion was there to log in, the software and GPS hardware doing its job to pinpoint their location. It was probably ten minutes before they got an answer.
“She says we’re near Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.”
Hunter nodded; already certain they were in Canada from the plates he’d seen. Now at least they knew the nearby town.
“Tell her to communicate to the team to get up here ASAP. Time is running out. We’ll turn off the phone to save battery and check in again in two hours.”
Olivia did as she was told, sending the message, ending it with an “I Luv U” before turning it off.
“We need a good hiding place for it?” said Hunter. “It’s possible they may discover the phone missing and come looking for it. When they do, we need to be ready to act. As there could be consequences.”
“Like what?” asked Olivia, thinking long and hard about where to hide the phone.
Hunter didn’t want to spell it out for her, but knew where their captors rage would be directed, the young woman the likely person they’d take it out on. He started searching around for anything he could use as a weapon, gearing up for what would be the final confrontation.
***
Excitement filled the Hawkins home, as Paige called Cameryn, Shen and Lance when she got the text. Shortly after Deion logged into his Apple Account, bringing up the ‘Find My iPhone’ function. It took a minute or so before it pinpointed the location, which wasn’t exact since it was tied to the nearest cell tower, but close enough. It would seem a trip to Moose Jaw was in order.
“I’m calling Amari right now,” stated Cameryn. “We need to mobilize quickly and get up there.”
“The jet is still in Utah,” noted Paige.
“It’s on its way back right now,” replied Shen. “Should be in Denver in about an hour, then we will fly back here. Probably two hours max.”
“It will take us a while to gather everyone together,” said Cameryn. “But we should be ready by the time they get here. I’m assuming you’re good with us flying up there.”
Both nodded without hesitation.
“We should go as well,” said Jose, with Paige agreeing.
“I’m not certain that is a good idea,” replied Cameryn. “We would have to worry about protecting you, and it’s possible this could get messy. Canadian’s are not thrilled about all out firefights on their land. Which is probably how this will end up.”
“There’s no argument, we’re going,” said Paige with the force of will difficult to argue against.
“I’ll watch them,” remarked Lance. “I can’t run, but I can still shoot. If there’s room enough on the jet.”
“There’s room for twelve,” said Paige. “Is that enough?”
Cameryn wanted as many people as possible, but figured it would be him, Shen and the three commandos’, if they could get them. Athena would have to try and meet them up there, if she could get away from Utah on a private or passenger jet. He didn’t want to lose time flying to get her.
“We can make do. What about Deion?”
“Reggie can watch him,” proclaimed Lance. “The threat here should be minimal.”
“Are you okay with that?” Cameryn queried the parents.
“Pack what you need,” stated Cameryn. “It might be a day or two depending on what happens. And make sure your lawyers are on standby. We might need them if this all goes to hell.”
Cameryn stepped out of the room and made the call to Amari.
“We know where Hunter and Olivia are,” he said into the cell phone. “Moose Jaw Canada. I need your team ASAP and whatever tactical weapons you can provide. And we need them in two hours.”
“So long as the Hawkins understand the cost,” Amari reiterated, even though this had already been spelled out.
“We’ve been given a blank check,” Cameryn replied. “Have your team meet us at the private airstrip here in Colorado Springs.”
“They’ll be there.”
Cameryn hung up the phone, wanting to call Athena. He decided to text her instead, since she was likely working to find Adin. His message was simple and to the point.
“We know where they are! Call when you can.”
Little did he know the battle she was about to face.
Chapter 63
A slow rain started to fall.
“Great job finding him,” remarked Valerie. “We figured Hunter’s connections with the US Marshal’s would come in handy.”
The formidable foe stood in black boots before Athena, her legs spread apart, black leather pants smoothly fitting her, an owl stitching decal on the hip. Under her black leather bomber jacket, she wore a yellow t-shirt, an offensive expression printed on it. Her black gloves squeezed into fists, her hair tied in back, the wind blowing the strand around behind her. Her two men were similarly dressed, water rolling off their shoulders. Each held a gun with a silencer in their hands, arms crossed to shield it from prying eyes.
Athena glanced around seeing students walking the area, some running because of the rain, a few seeing the scene and quickly dashing around them, knowing danger was afoot. The hail of gunfire here wouldn’t be good, a lot of innocent people likely to get hurt in the crossfire. But she hoped someone called into the authorities, seeing the danger building before them. Having the police involved wasn’t what she’d clamored for. But it might be the only way for her to survive the pending confrontation.
“How did you find me?” asked Athena, holding her ground, the rain dripping off her head and shoulders.
“Not real hard,” smirked Valerie. “We knew you’d be coming to Taylorsville from Hunter’s message he sent and would use the company jet of the mother’s business. And I’d recognize that beautiful body and smooth black skin from a distance.” Valerie winked. “We just needed to be patient and bingo there you were this morning leaving the local airport. But I must ask. Who was that other lovely black woman you were with? I’m jealous.” Valerie smiled widely ignoring the rain.
“I should have been more careful,” replied Athena, ignoring the question. “It seems you’ve outsmarted me again.”
“Was there ever a doubt,” bragged Valerie. “All is good. You give us Adin and we walk away happy as a clam and you’ll live another day. Once we have him safely back where we want him, we’ll release Olivia and Hunter.”
Athena doubted that would be the case, knowing the history of her foes.
“Changing the plans again?” inquired Athena shaking the water out of her face.
Valerie gave a sideways leer. “We couldn’t be certain you’d bring him to us.”
“You thought I’d let Hunter and Olivia die?”
The rain was picking up, the sound of thunder in the background added to the drama of the moment.
“Hard to say. You might have turned the tables on us some way. Couldn’t take the chance your soft heart couldn’t turn over an innocent man. Not that he’s all that innocent. We’ll take him back and all is good.”
Athena shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. We were about to go to dinner and talk about options. Once we get that settled we’ll email you, just like you said. Maybe you’d like to join us. I hear the food at Dee’s is excellent.” Athena smiled, a hand wiping away the moisture on her face to keep her eyes cleared and focused.
“Normally I’d love to have dinner with a sweetheart like you,” declared Valerie. “But I have other plans.” The leather clad woman waved at the cowering man. “What do you say Adin? Are you ready to take a plane ride? You’re looking a little nervous standing there. I believe you’re even turning green. You really should breath before you pass out.”
Athena could sense the fear behind her. Smell the salty sweat on the wind, and it wasn’t from the Great Salt Lake. She hoped he didn’t panic and remained where he was.
“What’s going on here?” yelled out a man in a security guard outfit over on the side.
Athena saw he wasn’t armed. “Officer, I’d walk away. This is a dangerous situation sir. These people won’t hesitate to shoot you.”
The officer scanned back and forth between the group before him. Walking away wasn’t an option. It was his job to provide protection on campus.
“Police are on their way,” he announced. “You need to disperse right now or get arrested.”
He went to reach for his walkie-talkie to call for help. With the man’s movement Valerie waved at Travis, who shot the officer in the chest. He dropped to the ground, his body twitching, his life slowly ebbing out of him. There were a few screams from students who witnessed what happened, and panic as they ran away.
Athena looked at the man feeling sick about him being shot. Knowing the situation was getting out of hand, she whipped out her baton, extending to its maximum length of thirty-one inches. She stood ready for battle, though it wouldn’t be much against a 9mm handgun. But it was all she had. Magic bracelets to deflect bullets would have been nice to have right now. But they weren’t part of her superhero gear.
“Enough,” yelled Athena. “It’s time Valerie. You and me. One on one. What do you say? Best woman wins.”
Valerie snickered at the thought. “Sorry sister, not going to happen. No matter how much I’d love to kick that cute ass of yours.”
She started to wave again, when a shot rang out. From out of nowhere came Latoya, killing Travis with a round to the chest. When the second man, Jamaal, raised his gun she told him to stop, but he didn’t. Firing again, her aim precise, she put him down too. Both men were flat on their backs—dead—the rain rolling off in a puddle, their blood mixing in.
Athena took the advantage, jumping at Valerie, swinging the baton, striking the gun from her hand, as she tried to pull it out of her holster. Athena swung again, getting nothing but air, Valerie ducking quickly taking two steps to her left before driving a left-handed punch into Athena’s ribs, causing her to wince in pain. Another punch, this one a right, landed on the right shoulder, causing Athena’s arm to go numb, the baton hitting the ground. Backing up, Athena raised her left hand ready to fight, knowing she’d need to dance and weave to stall for time, to get the feeling back in her other arm. Valerie was ready to pounce when she stopped, a warning coming from behind her.
“Don’t move or your dead like your partners,” yelled Latoya, her gun ready to fire a third time.
Valerie glanced around, hearing sirens. She knew she didn’t stand a chance and put up her hands.
“On the ground,” ordered Latoya. “Hands out in front.”
Valerie did as she was told lying on the wet pavement, a wide grin on her face noticing the pain Athena was going through.
“If your friend hadn’t shown up to save you, you’d be dead,” bragged Valerie. “Maybe one day you’ll be as good a fighter as I am.”
Athena rubbed at her sore, wet shoulder, knowing she’d been bested, but she didn’t care. Valerie was in custody and that was all that mattered.
“I’m sure in jail you’ll find a good match for your skills.” Athena crouched down to glare at her. “It will be nice seeing y
ou in orange, Val. That color will look good on you.”
Valerie winced at the use of the shorted version of her name. After searching her and tossing a knife to the side, Latoya cuffed her hands behind her back, leaving her to be pelted by the rain that was getting heavier.
“Going to be hard to say you weren’t coerced into helping?” stated Athena, flexing her arm, the feeling slowly returning.
“What can I say. Weather delayed the flight and gave me time to think. I experienced this tingling on the back of my neck telling me you might need backup. And low and behold my senses were right.”
Athena put her left arm over her shoulder, giving her a quick squeeze. “Sister, I’m glad you came. Though I did have them right where I wanted them.”
Both ladies laughed for a split second, then realized all the carnage around them. They sobered up knowing there’s little to be jovial about. They would have a lot of explaining as the authorities descended on the crime scene.
***
Flashing her badge Latoya took control, the startled officers who arrived trying to understand what happened. Three dead, one a security man who worked on campus, bringing sorrow to those he worked with. Students mulling around, efforts taken to keep them out of the way. There was a lot of work to do; interviews of witnesses and those involved, measurements of the scene, photos from every possible angle. Over and over questions were asked, information gathered for the paperwork to be submitted, and for the charges to be considered for prosecution. It took a couple of hours just to sort through it all, exhaustion felt in the dampness of early evening, the rain continuing to fall.
Adin was taken into protective custody, Latoya getting a couple of local Salt Lake US Marshal agents to handle his protection. Strict instructions to keep him guarded back at the District of Utah U.S. Courthouse. After he was safe, she’d called her boss back in Denver, his anger evident on the phone. Her explanation of what happened not quelling his exasperation any.
