The Enigma Series Boxed Set

by Tierney James

  It was empty.

  Chapter 17

  T he wind rocked the small sedan as it came to a halt in front of the partially boarded up building. It looked like it may have been a garage in another life for city vehicles. The speaker sat motionless for a few minutes as did Amon, waiting for an impossible pause in the onslaught of wind and rain. With the car still running, Amon inched closer to the entrance. The metal door swung open, revealing a short man cringing in the wind. He appeared to force himself between it and the door frame as if it were giant jaws ready to snap shut.

  The speaker tried to get out of the car only to have the door knock him back into the front seat. Amon struggled as well but managed to pull himself around to the passenger side of the vehicle. Another man joined him from inside the building and pried the door back open so Amon could pull the speaker to shaky legs.

  It was no surprise the speaker allowed Amon to cover him with his own raincoat or that he leaned into the younger, stronger body for protection. The speaker had grown accustomed to being pampered and shielded from the ugliness of the world. Why would this be any different?

  Debris swirled around them like frantic dancers of destruction. With every step, the wind pushed them back two. Amon felt the pelting of something sharp against his face and heard the speaker yelp as they managed to shove him inside the building. Taking a deep breath of relief, Amon motioned for one of his men to pull the door shut. He sat aside his instinct to shake the water from his ebony hair at the sight of blood trickling down the speaker’s face.

  “You are hurt.” Amon turned to one of the men who had assisted moments before. He nodded back toward the rear of the room and the assistant scurried off. “Let me look. I was a nurse in Cairo during Arab Spring.” He gently touched the cut over the speaker’s left eye causing him to flinch.

  “This is your fault,” the speaker complained. “You should’ve driven me closer.” He threw off Amon’s coat to the oil stained floor, but kept his own on with a shiver.

  Amon withdrew his hands and frowned. “It is not deep. I will let you clean it. No stitches, I think.”

  “You think!” he barked. “Since you’re the nurse, you clean it.”

  “I am not one of your mindless interns that perform upon command, Mr. Speaker.” His voice was cool and calm considering the weather outside. “You’ll do it yourself if it is done.”

  One of his men returned with a first aid kit. Amon nodded toward the speaker. It was tossed so quickly the speaker missed. The sound of the small kit clattering to the floor created a wicked smile on Amon’s face. “I hope you are better at strategy than you are at receiving first aid.”

  When Amon pivoted to walk away the speaker retrieved the plastic box then hurled it at the Egyptian. As it caught the back of his neck, Amon stopped shortly and looked over his shoulder at the speaker. His men looked down and stepped back as Amon causally walked up to his co-conspirator. The speaker realized too late, he’d pushed his luck too far.

  Standing close enough to the speaker he could smell the liquor on the politician’s breath. He felt disgusted. With a swiftness that surprised the politician, Amon grabbed him by the throat using one hand and began to squeeze. The speaker pawed at the hand wildly, resulting in a tighter grip.

  “Listen to me old man. I do not like you and you clearly do not respect me. Let’s get through this night without killing each other.” Amon released the speaker and slid his hand down the lapel of the London Fog raincoat. His voice took on a softer tone. “You should get out of this. You will catch a cold. The next president of the United States needs to appear fit for duty when the time comes.”

  The speaker masked his fear by stepping back and jerking off his coat before throwing it to the concrete floor. “Watch yourself, Amon.” His voice sounded garbled as he rubbed his throat.

  “Your advice, as always, is invaluable, Mr. Speaker.” He turned to walk away. “Clean yourself up. It is past time for prayers.”

  ~~~

  Covering her nose, Tessa hoped to avoid breathing in the faint smell of stale food. Her stomach ached. The tension disagreed with her digestive system. Squirming, she felt the dumb waiter bounce gently as if it’d caught on something. The thought of being stuck in such a confined space with her knees practically under her chin compelled Tessa to spread out her arms and push against the side. Something gave way under her finger tips, causing the door to fly open.

  For a moment she wondered if she’d reached the bottom floor, but saw a walkway lined with what looked to be electrical service for the hotel. Several light bulbs dangled precariously, glowing with a faded voltage.

  When she reached out to grab the handle her awkward position toppled her out. Bracing the fall with her right hand drove a sharp pain up her weak shoulder. Her uncle hadn’t dislocated it, but yanked hard enough to make it tender. Struggling to get up, she heard the dumb waiter door slam like a tennis ball against wood. At the sound of its descent, Tessa rose and stared at a shadow holding a rifle.

  His silence comforted her knowing Jake was thinking. She used to ask him as a small child why he was such a quiet man. He would gather her up in his arms and give her a piece of peppermint from his pocket before saying he was thinking about how to make the world a better place. Could he have been devising this night’s rendezvous with death even back then?

  “Uncle Jake?” No reply. “Uncle Jake, I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t,” she swallowed hard as she took a timid step forward as she rubbed her shoulder. “Just don’t hurt me. Okay, Uncle Jake?”

  A slow movement into the light revealed a man she hardly recognized. Gone was the uncle who took her hunting, wore a crown at her tea parties and read to her when he filled in as a babysitter so her parents could have a date night. The lines around his eyes and mouth had deepened. His thinning gray hair looked white in the eco-friendly light. The funny colored eyes she’d once loved to stare into were now rimmed in dark circles and puffy skin.

  “You’ll help me get my friends back?” It was a question that sounded like an order.

  “Yes. Just, please don’t shoot the…”

  “No! You help me. No questions.” A threatening step forward caused Tessa to freeze.

  “Okay. Just tell me what the plan is so I know how to help.”

  “First tell me who those men were I saw with you. The dark one first. The one in the picture.”

  “He’s Serbian. He works for the government, just like the man you took down.”

  “And the last one? The big one who helped you.”

  “The captain. He’s in charge. He asked for my help.”

  Jake narrowed his eyes to focus better. “Who are they? FBI?”

  Reaching out to him Tessa shook her head. “Homeland is all I know, Uncle Jake.” Lying to her uncle wasn’t easy. He knew her as well as anyone. “It’s a secret agency that works for the president.”

  The sound of applause could be heard again drifting upward. She guessed they were over the stage.

  “Do you work for them?”

  “Yes, as of last night. It’s temporary. It’s a long story, Uncle Jake. Robert knows nothing about this. I’ll explain later. But now we need to go to the captain and explain before you get killed.”

  He shook his stubborn head, inching forward. “I’ve got a job to do, Tessie. I can’t let my friends down.” His voice took on urgency. “How can you help me?”

  “Do you even know who did this or where they are being held?

  “Not yet, but” a grin started to appear on his lips, “I hog tied the one they sent to make sure I did my job.” A sniffle laugh escaped him as he looked over the metal railing where more applause drifted upwards.

  “Why did you tie him up?” Tessa hoped he was having second thoughts about shooting the president. “Can’t he tell you where the men are? You could’ve brought him to us to help.”

  “Doesn’t speak much English and I kinda knocked him out with a broken pot I found behind a dumpster about two blocks a
way. I figured there was more than one of them watching me. Where you see one cockroach there’s lots more hiding.”

  “Where is he now, Uncle Jake?”

  “The weather was looking ugly by the time he came to. Since he couldn’t tell me anything I could understand, I gagged him. After that I helped him get in the dumpster to ride out the storm. Didn’t figure on it getting this bad though. He may have flown that puppy down to Pennsylvania Avenue and straight into the White House.” A chuckle escaped him as he took another step closer. He almost sounded carefree.

  Between security cameras and the Secret Service, chances of them getting out were slim to none. If she could usher him from the building maybe he’d survive. “Let’s go get him. Maybe I can understand him. Your hearing isn’t what it used to be. Do you know how to get us out of this area? They’ll be looking for me any minute.”

  Jake nodded and reached out to touch Tessa’s arm. “Sorry I tried to hurt you. Levi said…”

  “Gilad Levi? He told you about my arm? How did he know?”

  He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. He’s a shifty SOB, I’ll tell ya that. Those Israelis haven’t changed one bit.”

  Tessa could see that this line of communication would only get him agitated. “Okay.” She could now lay a hand on the arm that cradled the rifle. “How do we get to a lower level?” Forcing a weak smile Tessa watched her uncle tilt his head and adore her with his eyes. “I love you, Uncle Jake. Let’s get out of here.”

  A rattling of metal against hurried footsteps jerked the two back to reality as their eyes peered into the darkness.

  “Uncle Jake?” Tessa watched as her uncle smiled lovingly at her. “Ready?”

  He nodded.

  ~~~

  Chase wished the metal didn’t echo. He could hear voices as he lifted Carter’s Beretta to a readied position. Hearing a woman’s scream accelerated his cautious approach as he topped the narrow stairs.

  Outlined in dim light he saw Tessa bending over a body on the floor. “Tessa.” He rushed forward as she jumped up. Trembling with fear, her eyes went to the man convulsing on the floor.

  “He’s having a seizure!” Tessa pushed the hand down that carried his weapon. “Do something!”

  Foam poured out of the old man’s mouth as Tessa fell back to her knees to restrain him. “Make sure he doesn’t hit his head. I’ll get help.” Chase took several steps and turned away as he touched his earwig to speak. “Get the paramedics up here.” He gave the location. “Looks like a seizure. Yes. Agent Scott is here too. Move it.”

  Pivoting on his heels, he found Tessa standing less than two feet from him. She looked pained. Those blue eyes that made him feel like he was drowning were batting with a nervous anticipation. Never a good sign.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  The moment he underestimated the situation, Chase looked down to see that Jake’s body was gone. “What the…”

  Before he could finish the sentence, something slammed into the back of his knees, pitching him forward. He rolled to his back in time to see the butt of a rifle make contact with his nose. The pain forced him flat on the floor. Blood ran over his lips as he tried unsuccessfully to rally. Tessa fell down beside him. In that fleeting moment when she brought her lips to his ear, he felt the pain in his chest that came with her touch.

  “I quit.”

  Chapter 18

  S taggering to his feet Chase wiped his nose against the sleeve of his suit jacket. Someone tried to take a look at his injury, but he shoved them off so hard the paramedic staggered backwards. Blinking back the sharp pain under his eyes, he tried mentally to clear the cobwebs. His forehead felt like it collided with a hammer. After discovering his earwig was missing, he searched on the floor. Hoping he’d see it in the proximity of Carter’s gun dropped during the scuffle, the captain realized that too was gone.

  Pulling back his shoulders, Chase reached inside his jacket and pulled out his own weapon. The image of the old man jamming the butt of his rifle into his face forced him to admit the woman tricked him yet again.

  Standing still for only seconds, he recalled Tessa’s soft hair touching his cheek as she relieved him of his earwig. He remembered how she ran her fingers along his bloody cheekbone before shouting at her uncle to stop.

  Stop what, he wondered. He looked around him as Secret Service agents began looking for signs of the two. Tessa threw an arm across him and nearly landed in his lap. Squinting his eyes, Chase visualized the old man, foam around his mouth with the butt of his gun ready to land another blow. She’d protected him from further attack. Maybe she knew if he rallied the old man’s neck would be snapped like a twig. Either way Chase needed to get to her before the Secret Service.

  “Stop,” he shouted. He looked around at the men speaking to others throughout the building with annoyed expressions. They knew the woman worked for Enigma. “She’s listening to you. Everything you say lets her know where you are so shut the hell up!” He stormed into the darkness. “Get the president off the stage now!”

  ~~~

  Tessa watched her uncle wipe the remaining foam from his face as he peered out through a small crack between the door frame and door. Luckily, she’d picked up some Alka Seltzer in the hotel store. Developing an upset stomach earlier in the evening, Tessa knew it would only get worse before the night ended. With the sound of footsteps, she forced her uncle to pop one in his mouth. Seconds later, fizzy foam poured from his lips.

  Tricking Chase would be her undoing. He hated insubordination, especially from her. Putting the moves on her meant nothing more than enjoying the bare skin exposed in a rather revealing dress. How many times had she seen him turn the charm on and off? Whatever innocent charade she’d try now would be wasted. He wasn’t anything like her husband Robert, who could be manipulated with a little remorse.

  The image of the two men in her life almost made her laugh out loud. Robert’s picture would probably be next the word predictable in the dictionary, whereas Chase’s would be looming next to lethal. Robert obeyed the letter of the law, like the professional lawyer he strived to be. Chase used the law to break others, sometimes with his bare hands.

  Robert believed her to be plagued with indecision and clumsiness, which he said could be endearing at times. The man who dragged her into an alley and forced himself on her believed Tessa to be a dangerous manipulator who couldn’t be trusted. His intentions felt wild and brutish when he’d crushed her against his chest the night before. Promises of protection through gritted teeth would now turn to revenge. Robert was safe. Captain Hunter resembled quicksand.

  Tessa listened to dead silence on the earwig. “We need to move, Uncle Jake.”

  With the help of the earwig Tessa knew people were on the move with the president. She touched the door as Jake stepped aside to check his rifle. Leaving a smear of blood, she’d taken from Chase’s face she made a small arrow pointing down and out the hall. She pushed Jake back when several men rushed by toward the stage door. Secret Service.

  How many were left to guard the exterior door? Two more? Three? She knew enough to understand they didn’t abandon their post without orders. The door would still be covered by more armed Secret Service waiting for her or the president.

  Leaving traces of blood on her escape route was a last second decision. Would Chase be able to follow? She feared the vulnerability she now faced. Would Chase kill her too, in order to take down her uncle?

  Unexpectedly she recognized Chase’s voice, causing her hand to touch her ear. He’d secured another earwig. Imagining him ripping it out of someone else’s ear made her flinch. Now she realized his warning drove the guards forward for extra protection. That meant more agents outside protecting the door. At first, she thought a dog was growling before the hair started to stand on the back of her neck.

  “Tessa, if you’re listening to me, I’m coming for you. And when I catch you, and I will catch you, I’m going to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.” There was a paus
e. “Provided you survive long enough to remember it.”

  The lights flickered. The roar of the storm sounded like an angry giant pounding on the exterior. The smells from the kitchen mingled with the sickening sweet smell of rotting garbage as the exit door sucked open. Gingerly the two slipped out into the corridor. If they could get to the kitchen they might find a way out.

  The wind sounded like a roar as it forced itself into a space which acted like a wind tunnel. Even though they were at the opposite end, blowing rain reached in like sharp icy fingers. Jake nearly lost his balance as he moved out onto the wet floor near the kitchen doors.

  Tessa cringed for only a second as rain blew in to sting her bare skin above her breasts. Her eyes were drawn to something red washing into the corridor. Blood.

  In the time it took to touch her earwig she knew the large lumps sprawled across the loading dock were bodies, not trash bags blown from containment areas.

  “Officers down!” She screamed. “Repeat! Officers down. Do not bring the president into the exit corridor! Chase! Somebody! Listen to me!”

  There was a moment in time which would later haunt her in the middle of the night. The nightmare began to unfold. Although it occurred at warp speed, Tessa would experience it in slow motion over and over again until she jerked awake drenched in sweat with a pounding heart.

  Jake swung around toward the door bringing up his rifle. He’d seen the bodies too. The stage doors opened vehemently with agents coming through two deep before Tessa spied the president. She stole a glance back at the exit as masked men with some kind of automatic weapon burst in and stopped short for a couple of seconds. Their bodies hunched with anticipation in what would follow. Weapons lowered toward them.

  Without hesitation, Jake shot one in the chest, sprawling him in front of two others who tripped and fell. Their guns discharged into the overhead lights, leaving the corridor in darkness. Only the light from the exit sign remained. The escape route, now bathed in a pool of pale light revealed a floor glistening with a mixture of rain and blood.