He knew one thing. He had to make a move quickly. Clutching his Samsung Note 10 in his hand, he kept staring at the screen, waiting for a phone call. He was waiting to hear back from a guy who told him he could get him to another country under a false identity. At the right price of course. Brennan shelled out fifty grand for a new identity and a way out of the US.
"When I leave out of here, I'm never coming back. I hate this damn place!" Brennan whined. He looked out of his window to see if the front was cleared. He was going to just drive around until he received word to come pick up his documents. He couldn't risk being there and someone recognized him.
Brennan grabbed his bag and pulled his cap low to cover his eyes. He had his hood on from his hoodie to help camouflage his face. Leaving out, he heard the hotel clerks at the front desk watching the same news clip. One of them, an older woman, turned from the TV as soon as they saw him walk through the hallway.
"There he is! I told you I checked him in!" she yelled out and pointed with a shaky finger.
Brennan was about to run when an armed security guard yelled out.
"Hey you, get down! Do not move!" he ordered. Brennan held his arms up in surrender.
"No I won't get down," Brennan said calmly. His bookbag dangled from his hand in the air by the straps. "You see this bag? I have a bomb in here, so I suggest you put that gun down and you," he snarled, turning to the woman pointing at him, "You old bitch, put the fucking phone down!" he screamed.
Everyone in the lobby started screaming and running, including the hotel staff behind the counter. The woman who called the police tripped at the door, her glasses falling off her face. When she went to reach for them, someone crunched on them running out. She couldn't see without them.
Brennan snatched off his hood and marched up to the security guard. He laughed in his face.
"Oh, so you're a tough guy now innit?" Brennan easily snatched the gun from the whimpering security guard, who held his hands up in surrender.
"Please don't kill me, I have a new wife and baby daughter!" the guard begged, his eyes widening with fear. Brennan was about to shoot him, but he didn't need another body on his record. Instead, he took his fist and knocked him out cold, forcing him to land on the floor with a thud in a crumpled heap.
He turned to noise at the desk. It was another clerk, a young thin female around twenty, whispering on the phone.
Brennan wasted no time. "You, bitch, drop the damn phone!" he shouted, pointing the gun at her. She turned to him, frantically dropping the heavy receiver on the floor. She hit the floor and crawled under the desk to avoid looking at Brennan.
Rolling his eyes, Brennan stepped over the guy and marched to the back door. Just as he was about to leave out, he heard sirens.
"Dammit!" he hissed. He knew he was outnumbered and that he really didn't have a bomb. The security guard's gun was his only way out.
He took a deep breath, leaving out the door and stood in a mobster's stance. He started shooting at the police, hitting one of them. One of them fired back, hitting Brennan in his leg. Another shot hit him in the shoulder. He didn't let that stop him. Feeling faint from the shots, he hobbled back inside the hotel and into the lobby. What he didn't expect so fast were police in the front already making an appearance for his arrest.
"Drop your weapon, drop it now!" they all shouted and ordered at once. Brennan did as he was told.
Out of breath and barely holding on, Brennan held up his bag. "I have a bomb!" he growled, a homicidal look in his eyes.
There was chaos from the police as they took cover behind the lobby furniture.
Officer Stevens crept in from the hotel's stairway. He was on the floor above Brennan the entire time, waiting for his turn to get in on the action.
"I'm Officer Stevens, and you, Brennan Hill are under arrest for the murders of Miguel Ortega, Paul Hirsch and a slew of other charges including the kidnapping of Rodney Perkins and attempt murders of Nina Westbrook and Lily Harris," he roared angrily.
Brennan looked up at Stevens and chuckled. He leaned over and spit near Stevens' feet.
That was enough disrespect for Stevens.
"Everybody get down!" Stevens shouted. He emptied his clip in Brennan's torso, the blast knocking him backward. The bag toppled out of his hand.
Stevens quickly rushed over and apprehended Brennan who was wheezing from his mouth and bleeding out from his shoulder. He flipped him on his stomach and cuffed him. Looking around, he checked to make sure everyone was okay as the staff and a few guests were all screaming in a panic.
He then cautiously checked the bag. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but Stevens didn't know what else to do. Especially since the other cops were trying to calm everyone down.
Slowly unzipping the bag, he looked inside and saw there was only a laptop in there. It was handed over as evidence.
A short time later, EMT came to rush a cuffed Brennan Hill to the hospital. He was wearing a vest like Numbers was, too.
The police went up to Brennan's room to check for anything there. Stevens received pats on the back from his colleagues.
"Good job Stevens, that was some awesome shit you did back there!"
"We're all alive because of you man!"
Stevens nodded, leaning against a wall. He finally felt good about himself locking up his first criminal on his own.
"Don't sweat it guys," he said a tad bit cockily, offering a small smile. On the inside, he was really scared to death.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Naturally, I climbed in the ambulance with the EMTs when they took Rodney to the hospital. We were almost there when I called Mom and Dad who were overly ecstatic and shouting tears of joy.
"Mom! Dad! We found Rodney! He's alive and safe!" I shrieked. I held my balance as the EMT careened down the interstate. From the looks of it, I could see that my parents were waiting at the airport to get here still. The Nor'easter was still on full blast putting major cities across the country on hold for travelers.
"If anyone could do it, we knew you could Nina Belle," Mom said, beaming through FaceTime.
"I told you sweetheart, things were going to work out," Dad said reassuringly. I could've sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I moved my phone toward Rodney who waved at them weakly, as an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth. Waterfalls of tears fell from them both.
"Okay, Mom, Dad, I gotta go now, we're here at Oswego Mercy Hospital. I love you both and will definitely keep you posted!" I explained, feeling a bit wobbly as an EMT helped me out of the back. I disconnected the call.
They took Rodney in the back for observation. They took me to the back also. Just as a nurse was checking my vitals, my cell rang. I saw that it was Lieutenant Ben.
"Westbrook. See didn't I tell you not to go out there starting any trouble?" he said, with slight amusement in his voice.
"Well sir, I'll say it better than you. Trouble's my middle name," I said, trying not to laugh.
The nurse left out of the small makeshift room, leaving me sitting on the bed.
"All jokes aside, I'm glad your nephew is safe. When you get back we have lots to prep you on," he said in a serious tone.
I nodded although he couldn't see me. "Yes sir, I know. I'm ready for it," I said with an exasperated sigh.
"Good. Now get back to your family. I'll see you soon. And oh Westbrook?"
"Yes?"
"Next time, wait for the order to enter a crime scene. You know I had to hear a mouthful from the lieutenant out there. He is something, got a mouth on him," he said chuckling. "It's all good, I smoothed it over with him as best as possible. Just stay out of their way for now. They got this."
"Thank you sir. I'll be in touch," I said thankfully. We ended the call. I laid back on the bed and dozed off for a bit, ignoring my lit up phone. I just wanted to take a snooze, in which I did. My entire body was exhausted.
After another two hours, I was allowed to go see Rodney. Ironically, the same doctor who worked on me,
was the same doctor tending to Rodney.
"Well, what a surprise. Now that you're here, I can fill you in on your nephew and your discharge papers," the doctor joked.
"Thank you, I deserved that," I said smugly.
He took out a clipboard and went over some notes. "His pressure was low, so was his iron. He was pretty banged up in the head. We did a cat scan and that came back normal. He does have a couple of bruises that will need to heal on his mouth, lip and cheek area. Other than that, he just needs a hot meal and a good shower when he is up to it. Of course, we'll need to keep him overnight for observation." He turned to Rodney. "He's a strong kid." The doctor smiled warmly and left out of the room.
Rodney was half asleep in the bed when I walked over to him. I held his hand and smiled. He looked just like James when he was younger, minus the long hair of course. I let his hand go, turning to walk away.
"Aunt Nina," Rodney said, barely above a whisper.
"Yes, dear?"
Rodney's eyes fluttered open, landing on mine. "I'm so sorry I got dad killed. This is all my fault. What's going to happen to me now?" He started crying.
I started crying, too, almost forgetting about going to see James. "Oh sweetheart, your father is not dead. He's in stable condition. The last they told me, he was under medication so he is basically under so he won't have to endure so much pain. You thought he was dead?"
Rodney nodded, tears really falling down his face now. "Yes, Numbers told me that he killed him. He really was a lying sack of shit wasn't he?"
I laughed. "Hey there, watch your mouth young man. And yes, Numbers is a lying sack of shit and then some." I thought back on the struggling fight I had with Numbers.
I pulled up a chair and sat down. "Tell me about your hacking adventures Rodney. I need to know what I can do to help you. You're not totally off the hook either you know."
He looked over at me and nodded. "Yeah, I figured that. On the way here, all I kept thinking about was Dad being gone and me going to jail."
He gives me a quick story of how he got started, got to know Brennan and Numbers and how he was in too deep with them.
"The money was so good. Now I know how Kevin Mitnick felt," Rodney said, his voice cracking.
He was referring to a world-renowned hacker who got busted and did some time back in the mid-nineties for a laundry list of charges, first one being illegal hacking. He seems to be an expert at hacking. Joya actually schooled me about him.
"Go on."
He let out a breath and started crying. "I was so vexed after seeing how Miguel was killed. He was a good homie. Always cracking jokes. Yes, we were caught drinking behind the store together," he said, shifting his eyes away from mine.
My lips were drawn in a thin line. "Oh yes, I heard," I said, cocking an eyebrow.
He nodded. "Well when I saw how they killed Miguel, I knew it was the right thing to do to tell the police. So I hacked into Numbers' files to get the video clips. I honestly didn't think they'd catch on to me so fast. But now I see they really were top-grade hackers." He paused then looked up at me. "I didn't want to tell you because I was so afraid of what you'd think of me. Also, Dad. I didn't want him to think I was such a loser."
I thought about what Numbers said. How James made him out to be a loser just like his father said he would. I guess words really did matter.
He continued to tell me about his friend Jessica and how with his earnings, he wanted to help her out. We were silent for a moment until Rodney spoke up again.
"Aunt Nina, I have to get my life together. I promise I will," he said with confidence. I gave his hand a light squeeze. He sounded so much like my brother Matt. I prayed silently that Rodney did indeed turn his life around and not get lost in the source like Matt has.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The medicine had Rodney dozing off again. I took a short snooze, too. After about an hour, we received a visitor.
"Hillary! What a pleasant surprise!" I said, stretching. She rushed over to me, giving me a hug. She was in tears.
"Hillary, I can't thank you enough for what you did. If it weren't for you, we would've never found Rodney," I said truthfully.
"Yes, I know," she laughed a little in between crying. She pulled up a chair and looked over at Rodney. "I'm so glad he's alive. When he told me about you, I honestly didn't even know how I was going to reach you. I guess all the dots connected and fell in place to save him." She wiped the tears from her eyes again.
I scooted closer to her. "Hillary, again, I'm so sorry about Paul. I know he would be so proud of you. Your quick thinking was superb," I complimented her, brushing her hair out of her face.
She chuckled. "Yeah, I learned from being born in a war-torn country. Sometimes, I can still hear the rapid gunfire, see the smoke, bodies flying everywhere, it's a lot. Coming here to Oswego was supposed to be a breath of fresh air away from that." She paused. "Well I guess there really is crime just about everywhere," she said, shrugging.
"The fact that you have all that under your belt, you should consider becoming a police officer," I offered.
"Really? Wow. I like art and wanted to go into fashion. Helping people is my passion, too," she pondered.
"Well if you think about it, let me know. I could help you out. You have your whole life ahead of you. You'll see."
We chatted for a bit more until another light knock came on the door. It was Hillary's mother. Hillary introduced us and we hugged. She thanked me for everything, too, before they left out.
A nurse came in to check in on Rodney. She was the same nurse who took care of me when I was in the hospital just days ago.
"Well, small world, isn't it?" she said, giving me a warm smile. She looked up at my head where it should've been wrapped up.
"Seems like that's healing," she said, examining my face.
Lance came inside of Rodney's room. He held a couple of cartons of food and some flowers and a balloon. "Surprise!" he called out. I turned to him and surprising myself, I ran to him, giving him a big hug.
The scent of his Givenchy cologne was mesmerizing. I needed to let him go before I regret doing something like taking him home. We pulled away from our embrace.
"You are one tough cookie, Nina," he said, looking over at Rodney. He looked back over at me and sat down.
"Really? What about you? You never told me you knew how to report from in the sky. Impressive, I might say." We shared a laugh. He handed me the flowers to sit on the table next to Rodney, who was still asleep. I told him about Hillary stopping by and what the next steps were for Rodney. We were about to start digging in the food, Chinese takeout when the doctor came in.
"Pardon me, but I think you'd like to know that your brother James Perkins woke up," he said with a smile.
As soon as we approached James' room, he started crying when he saw me. We must have cried for about ten minutes until I finally sat down. Lance was there with me, smiling sheepishly.
"James, this is Lance Steele. He is a crime reporter for Oswego. And the only one who believed in my story," I said, in a low whisper.
Lance gave me a sly wink and went to shake James' hand.
"How's my boy?" James asked weakly. I sat down in a chair, holding his hand. I explained everything, even filling in the blanks when he encountered Numbers.
"I still can't believe he held onto all that hate for all those years. It wasn't even me who found the evidence," James admitted.
I thought back on the confrontation I had with Numbers and how he was dressed in his old dress blues uniform. "Honestly, I think Numbers wanted to be you."
We chatted with James some more about what the pending charges could possibly be against Rodney. It was obvious that he was hurt about the whole ordeal, but he was cheerful in a way.
"At least Rodney took out an entire hacker ring," he said proudly.
"Yes, a murderous one at that. We are digging deeper into the life and crimes of both parties involved. If the charges are proven and they stick, the
y will never get their hands on another computer for a very long time," Lance explained.
"Good. Thank you." James said looking up at him and then me. "And thank you Sis for saving my son's life. I will always love you for that," he said, tears forming in his eyes.
"Well, I'd hope you'd love me regardless now dear brother," I teased.
We all broke out into laughter. After a few more minutes, James drifted off to sleep. Me and Lance left his room, talking in the hallway.
"I have to figure out Rodney's next move. Perhaps he needs to be somewhere like the facility my mother put Matt in," I said sadly.
"Nah, he's good. Just a good ole detox, therapy for all that trauma he endured and back to school he goes," Lance said, chuckling. He walked with his hands in his coat pockets as we made our way toward the elevators back to Rodney's room.
"You sound so old school, Lance," I joked.
He winked at me and smiled. "That I am at age thirty-five. Besides, he doesn't need any hand-holding. He'll be alright."
Chapter Fifty-Eight
After it was found out from the authorities and Brennan, that Numbers, better known as Warren Squires, Jr., was on the same ship as Lieutenant Commander James Perkins in the mid-2000s, the police put it all together. Warren was still refusing to name who his hacker plug was so he was going to prison for life. The police dug up the bodies of his parents, Pablo, Miguel and the body in the basement who was ID'd as a teen named Reagan. He was also going down for the murders of Polly Ortega, Bly and his wife, the attempted murder of James, Rodney, Hillary, Ms. Lily and myself. Included in his criminal activities were wire fraud, illegal corporate hacking and the list went on. Warren had no empathy whatsoever and didn't care. He still wouldn't snitch.
Brennan Hill was also in trouble but decided to testify against Numbers for a lesser sentence of twenty years to life instead of life. However, he still had Paul's murder looming over his head, so he wouldn't see daylight any time soon, either. As Brennan sat alone in his cell, he thought about making it out alive since he snitched. Still, he had one more lifeline to use. His uncle. Perhaps he would have mercy on him once again and help him. Maybe even help get him deported if he turned others in. Yes, he would ask his attorney that.
I Know What I Saw Page 24