The Warning

by Michelle E Lowe

  “And the computer is now hacked into the station’s broadcast system,” Stan added. He tapped on the ENTER key, and the screen showed Kevin Ray and Jen Washington. Twelve minutes remained before the station went over to sports and wrapped up broadcasting.

  “Okay, it’s now or never,” Sakura said. She hurried over to a stool she’d propped near a window overlooking the city, and faced the camera. After checking herself in a small vanity mirror, she snapped it shut and looked at Kenny.

  “Ready?” he asked from behind the camera.

  She glanced over to the monitor and saw only Kevin Ray. “Wait.”

  The room was quiet as they waited for her cue. Kenny stood in his usual place behind the camera, while Lee nervously held his finger over the ENTER button. Finally, the monitor switched to Jen Washington and Sakura smiled. “Now.”

  Lee pressed ENTER and the light to Kenny’s camera went on. Seconds later, Sakura’s face appeared on every screen in the station.

  “Good evening,” she began calmly and professionally. “I’m Sakura Yoko. For those of you at home, we at Channel Eight News have a special broadcast to show you. It cannot wait any longer…”

  In his office, Greene spoke with the Channel Eight News helicopter pilot. “No, no, stick around until they fish those jeeps out of the river. I want you right there with cameras ready when they recover the bodies.”

  “Sir!” his secretary called from the open doorway.

  “Jesus,” he shouted, startled. “What the hell is it, Tom?”

  “You oughta see who’s on right now.”

  “Call me back when the cops find something,” Greene said to the pilot before clicking off his headset. He snatched the remote off his desk and clicked on one of many screens in his office. He nearly fell over to see Sakura instead of sports.

  “What the hell is she doing,” he yelled, gripping what little hair he had left. “Where is this coming from?”

  “Somewhere in the building,” the secretary replied. “They’ve hacked into our broadcast system. Sir, what do you want us to do about this?”

  He remembered his last conversation with Sakura. She’d told him she had something important to show him, but he’d sent her away. If she was willing to risk her career for this story, the least he could do was watch. “We’ll listen. That’s what we’ll do.”

  “What you are about to see has been brought exclusively to us at Channel Eight,” Sakura said. “I had the privilege to view this material firsthand by the ones who brought it to our attention.” To elevate her audience’s interests, she added, “I must warn you that the footage is disturbing on many levels and will shock and amaze you.”

  Her eyes shifted to Lee, who tapped a few keys on his keyboard. Nikolai Crowe appeared on television screens across New York State. This time, it wasn’t just a story about him or another look at his mug shot, but actual footage of him speaking in his own words.

  “Hello, New York,” he said. “I’m Nikolai Crowe, accused killer of the mayor’s daughter, Jade Sho. I’m not here trying to convince you of my innocence, but to show you why Jade was murdered and who is really responsible for it. What you’re about to witness is the very thing she was killed for...”

  In his study, Sho sat slouched in his chair, alone in the dark. He shut off the sensor lights so no one could disturb the darkness. He was half drunk and utterly exasperated. He squinted when the light from the hallway came in through a widening crack between the double doors.

  “Hiroshi, are you watching the news?” his wife asked.

  “Does it look like I am?” he returned shortly.

  She hurried to the table beside the armchairs and picked up the remote. “You should be.”

  She clicked on the plasma screen embedded in the wall, and stood watching while he drained his glass of scotch and soda.

  He had no interest in what could be on the news anymore. He ignored it until hearing a familiar voice—his own—discussing an army of the Replicas with Dr. Linden. He slowly raised his chin and saw the very room he was sitting in on television. His chest tightened when his heart skipped. He knew where the conversation was going and where it would end.

  “What channel is this on?”

  Officer Sutherland drove through intersections with lights flashing and sirens blaring when Knox received a call from Rivera. “You need to see what’s on Channel Eight.”

  “Why?”

  “Trust me.”

  Knox lowered his phone and pressed the Tube button on, then eight on the keypad to change it from the current channel.

  Jean was glued to the screen. She didn’t know what to expect.

  “Jean?” came a voice off to her side.

  She jerked her head around to find her brother standing beside the couch. “Nikolai?” she gasped, jumping to her feet.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” she said tearfully, embracing him. “They said you were kidnapped by some terrorist?”

  He pried away. “The only terrorists are those on TV. Watch. Here comes the best part.”

  Jean held her breath and waited as the third man on television turned around.

  Greene couldn’t tear his eyes off the TV as he listened to an unbelievable plan to wage war against America.

  “Mr. Greene,” his secretary said, holding a phone in one hand.

  “Not now,” he said, waving him away.

  “But it’s the mayor. He wants to speak to you right now.”

  “The mayor? What does he want?” He took the phone from his secretary. “Yes?”

  “I demand that you take that off the air this minute,” Sho shouted.

  “But, Your Honor, we don’t know where it’s coming from.”

  * * * * *

  Sho paced back and forth with the phone pressed to his ear, his other hand clutching his hair. “What do you mean you don’t know where it’s coming from?” he said angrily. “It’s your goddamn station!”

  “Yes, Your Honor. But they’ve hacked into our main system and they’re …” His voice trailed off to a whisper. “Holy shit.”

  Sho looked back at his own face on the television screen. He threw the phone across the room. “Damn it!”

  His wife sat motionless. She said nothing as he dropped into a chair and planted his face in his hand.

  Sho lowered his hand when he heard Jade’s voice. A sudden grief weighed on him. His throat swelled and his breath became short. The feeling was so strong he nearly broke into tears at the sight of his daughter’s face on screen.

  Nikolai reappeared once more, holding up the hardcopy file. “This is the record of everyone involved and how much money they’ve invested in helping to buy weapons for this war. Our mayor has used his charity organization as a front to accumulate most of that cash.” Nikolai opened the thick file. “Let’s see who’s in here. Oh, this is interesting; the governor of Georgia donated three million dollars. Only two percent went toward the kids. Hell of a tax cut, wouldn’t you say?” He flipped through a few more pages. “Ah, our very own Chief of Police, Howard Osborn, from the 18th Precinct, shelled out only twenty grand. That should earn him a place at the end of the line. Cheap bastard.”

  He flipped to the pink pages of business listings and said, “Unfortunately, those of us who dropped money in any of the Health is Golden donation boxes were unknowingly guilty of contributing as well.” He closed the file and looked directly into the camera. “This was the real reason Jade Sho was killed. And it was an elaborate plot to frame me as the murderer. Jade gave her life for this information. It was her gift to you. As she said, it’s now up to all of you to do something about it.”

  The screen went blank for a moment before Sakura came back on.

  “And there you have it, New York and America, words of truth spoken to you from beyond the grave. Jade Sho and her boyfriend, Nikolai Crowe risked a lot to bring us this warning. I commend these two brave heroes. I’m Sakura Yoko. Good night.”

  On cue, Kenny shut off the camera. Jen Washington appe
ared back on the air, sitting motionless with her mouth agape. Someone from the control booth informed her through her earpiece that she was on live and she turned back to the camera. “Um, that’s the news for now. Good night.”

  Nikolai sighed and leaned back on the couch. He couldn’t believe it was over; at least, his part.

  “What happens now?” Jean asked.

  “It’s up to the people. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

  “I mean, what’ll happen to you?”

  “We’ll have to wait and see,” he repeated. “What else can we do?”

  He got to his feet and began heading for the door. Jean jumped up and cut him off before he made it to the hallway. “Where are you going?”

  “I shouldn’t be here,” he answered tiredly. “I need to go.”

  “Go where? How will you get there? Look at you. You can barely stand as it is.” She guided him back to the couch and sat him down. “Stay here and get some sleep. We’ll think of what to do tomorrow, ’kay?” She sat next to him, took him by the hand, and held it tight. “It’s over. No need to run anymore.”

  Chapter 30

  Kay heard a hard knock at the door and answered it. No surprise to her, it was the police. She led them to the study where Sho sat alone in the dark.

  “Mayor Hiroshi Sho,” the officer said, turning on the light and entering the room with the others following him. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Jade Sho and conspiracy to commit treason.”

  Sho finished his drink, set the empty glass down, and stood up. They took him into custody and led him out of the building in handcuffs.

  Kay left for the bedroom and found Mrs. Sho standing by the window, looking down at reporters trying to ask her husband questions. “Claudia, are you all right?”

  “No. I’m anything but all right,” she answered with more anger than sorrow.

  Kay entered the room and came up behind her. She wrapped her arms around her. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. You’ve lost so much tonight.”

  “Yes,” Claudia said bitterly. “I have.”

  The Channel Eight News station scanned the information on the hardcopy file and sent it out to other news stations across the country, along with the video. Things collapsed for everyone involved in the conspiracy. At the police station, Osborn’s own officers took him into custody, along with Officers Geiger, Cooper, and Detective Shaw. Chris Lloyd was found in his home, packing to leave the country. Linden allowed the authorities to take him away from his laboratory without a fight.

  When authorities from each state received their own copy of the file, they went after judges, governors, police, and mayors. Even a few members of Congress were discovered. After tedious planning and millions of dollars, everything crumbled like dry clay in a single night.

  “Knox, are you watching the news?” Rivera asked over the phone. “They’re arresting the mayor!”

  “Yeah,” he said, sitting in the passenger side of the police car parked down the street from Sho’s apartment. “I’m watching the whole thing.”

  Sho was brought out of the building, herded through reporters, and placed in the backseat of a police car. In that moment, Knox wished he could be there to witness the arrest of everyone else involved.

  “Should I keep the witnesses here?”

  “No,” he replied. “Transport them to Judge Becker’s house. He’s waiting for them with his people.”

  “What about Crowe? Did you find him?”

  “No. I’ve sent officers out to look for him, but it looks pretty grim.”

  When he’d reached the prison, he’d found nothing but the stolen police car. He feared Crowe was dead. He only hoped he’d find his body to give his sister closure. “I’m going to the hospital. Call me if you need anything. Oh, and Alfonso?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Good work tonight. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “It’s my job.”

  He craned his neck over to the officer at the wheel. Without a word, Sutherland cranked up the engine and pulled away from the curb. On the way, Knox’s phone rang.

  “Detective,” a relieved voice on the other end said. “Thank God I finally tracked you down.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Oh, sorry, this is Aaron Goodall.”

  “This is unexpected. I’m sorry for what happened to your family.”

  “I am, too. But I’m afraid there’s more to this twisted story.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. Is there some place where you and I can meet?”

  “I’m on my way to Mount Sinai Hospital.”

  “That’s fine. I’m leaving right now.”

  “I’ll have an officer escort you to where I’ll be when you arrive.” Again, he pressed END and looked at Sutherland. “Wonder what he wants?”

  “Maybe he wants to ask for leniency on the mayor’s behalf.”

  “I highly doubt it.” He groaned as the pain in his arm grew worse. “I wouldn’t be the one to ask for something like that.”

  After a thorough search in the pitch-black water of the East River, divers found the two jeeps. Using tow trucks for towing bus-sized vehicles, the jeeps were pulled from the river. No bodies were found.

  Knox arrived at the hospital, where a nurse set his arm. Sutherland entered the room followed by Aaron Goodall. Knox noticed him fidgeting.

  Both Sutherland and the nurse left. When the door closed, Knox waited for Aaron to speak.

  Aaron slowly approached him and bowed his head. “I saw my step-father’s arrest on the news.”

  “I imagine you have. And again, I’m sorry for your loss. But if you’re here to ask for leniency, I can tell you that I’m not the one you should be—”

  “I’m not here for my step-father,” Aaron cut in. “He deserves to pay for what he wanted to do to this country.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  Aaron raised his head. “Jade was almost killed by a car when she was three. She’d been playing in the front yard and had lost her ball. Without looking, she ran into the road. She was almost hit when her father saved her. The accident nearly killed him. He suffered a broken arm, shoulder, four ribs, and a leg. He underwent months of surgeries and rehab.

  “I remembered him and Mom arguing after he’d come home from the hospital. She was angry because he didn’t want to bring up what had happened during his campaign for deputy mayor. He said he hadn’t saved Jade for sympathy votes. He’d done it to save his daughter, and if he had to do it again, he would—even if it killed him.

  “Hiroshi was a good man, but I suppose the years in politics made him put his family aside for other goals. When I was accused of having sex with my student, he felt disgraced. He wanted me out of his life. Jade disagreed with his point of view and left. He didn’t try to stop her, but he loved her. He risked his life to save hers once. I’m sure he would’ve taken that knife in the back for her if he could have.”

  “You don’t think he killed her?”

  “No. I can honestly say I don’t. But I don’t think Nikolai did, either.”

  “Do you have anyone else in mind that could have?”

  “No, but a year and half ago, Jade called me and told me Hiroshi was planning something terrible.”

  “How would she have known anything Hiroshi was doing a year and a half ago? Wasn’t she living in California then?”

  Aaron shrugged. “She never told me. I thought she was fucking with me, at first. But Jade was never one to kid around like that. She asked me to keep my ears and eyes open. I did something more. I went straight to Mother and asked her point blank.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She acted like I was insane. She got upset and kept asking who told me this, but I didn’t tell her. She and Jade had never gotten along in the first place, and I didn’t want things to get worse between them. I had my teaching job to concentrate on, so I let the whole thing drop. Then Jade e-mai
led me over Christmas break about her father’s plans. She mentioned Linden and the army of Replicas. She wanted me to snoop around, but I approached Mother again instead. This time, she assured me nothing was going on. I again dropped the matter and enjoyed the rest of the holiday. Shortly after I went back to teaching, I was accused of having sex with one of my students.”

  What he said right there, perked Knox’s ears.

  “Go on.”

  “The accusation put a strain on my marriage. I spoke to Jade. She was always there when I needed her. She said she’d move back in with our parents to stand by me. I offered to let her live with me instead, but she declined, saying she was going to do more than just come for moral support. As a cover, she lied to Hiroshi about wanting to come home because she’d fallen on hard times.”

  “Your step-sister wasn’t asked to come back?” Knox asked.

  “No. Who told you she was?”

  Knox’s stew of suspicion bubbled to the brim. He reached inside his pocket and brought out his phone.

  “Mr. Goodall, I need to make a call. Thank you for coming here to tell me this.”

  “I just hope I was of some help,” he choked out. He suddenly became very upset.

  Aaron left the room, whimpering. Knox had no time to ask if he was alright. Knox called Rivera’s phone. “Have you dropped them off yet?”

  “Just about,” Rivera said. “I’m minutes away from the judge’s house.”

  “Okay. I need you to do something.” He explained what he needed, then waited.

  In a moment, Novak came on the phone. “H-h-hello?”

  “I have a sinking suspicion that you know what Crawford doesn’t about the mayor. Now I want to know, once and for all, who paid you for Crawford’s surgery? Someone didn’t just pick your name out of a hat. You were chosen because someone knew you. Who was it?”