The Forbidden Script

by Richard Brockwell

  “We’re all ready to leave, professor Shireberg. Shall we proceed downstairs?”

  He went over to Helen placing his hand on her shoulder.

  She turned around and asked him. “Will you keep your word after tonight? Will I be set free like you said?”

  “You will be set free. I give you my word,” he answered.

  Nearly an hour had gone by when Danny’s voice came over the two-way radio.

  “Jason! Have you spotted anything yet?”

  He picked up the handset.

  “Nope, nothing so far. How about you? Any luck?”

  Danny responded, “nothing either. I’m going to give it another hour and then call it quits.”

  With mike at the wheel, they continued at the same slow pace as before. Danny was on the verge of ending the search. Suddenly some jerk coming up from the rear starts to dip his headlights, indicating to Danny and Mike to get a move on or get out of the way.

  “They seem to be in a hurry,” said Mike waving them on so they can pass.

  The car overtakes them above the speed limit, sounding the horn as they pass. Danny took a quick look at the registration plate but didn’t get a chance to write it down. As the second vehicle began to overtake them, something caught Danny’s attention. The woman sitting in the rear seat seemed extremely familiar to him. Then it hit him like a brick.

  “My god! It can’t be!” Said Danny.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure! That woman in the back seat, did you see her?” Danny asked.

  “Yes! Who is she? Do you know her?” Said Mike.

  “That woman looks just like professor Helen Shireberg, who was kidnapped from Mexico last week. Agent Mallock and I have been trying to find her ever since we left Chichen Itza.”

  “Chichen what!” Said Mike. “What the hell is going on?”

  Danny contacted Jason through the radio.

  “Jason where are you?”

  “I’m nearly at the end of the search. I’m running out of beach,” he said.

  “Well, you better get your ass all the way back up here!” Danny said.

  “What is it? Have you spotted them?” Questioned Jason.

  “I don’t know if it’s them! But I do know who I spotted!”

  Jason asked impatiently, “who? Who did you see Danny? Spit it out will you!”

  “Helen! Professor Helen Shireberg. She just passed us by in the back of a pickup truck.”

  Jason stopped his mustang.

  “Are you sure it was her?”

  Danny said, “well, there’s only one way to find out. I’m going after that pickup!”

  The engine roared back to life as Jason spun his mustang around. He placed the FBI siren on the roof and slammed his foot down hard on the throttle. He had at least half an hour drive before catching up with Danny.

  The BMW and the pickup truck had no idea who they had overtaken. Helen was forced to sit in the back seat with her hands bound together, and the rear doors locked making it impossible for her to make a break for it. Both vehicles kept a few yards apart from each other not letting another car get between them.

  Danny was driving at full speed and could see the two cars ahead in the distance. He intended to switch his siren on when he was directly behind them. The gap was closing rapidly, one hundred yards, sixty yards, at fifteen yards behind them; he turned on the siren, lights flashing, and sound blaring out that startled both Carlos and Tony.

  Helen couldn’t believe her luck. She turned around facing the vehicle behind her. With her hands banging against the rear glass window, she had no idea it was Danny approaching them as his headlights were blinding her view. Carlos then flashed his lights, signaling Tony to put his foot down. All three cars are now involved in a high-speed chase. The BMW’s speed was tremendous as Tony accelerated, widening the gap by eighty yards in a few seconds. As for Carlos, his pickup was not so fast but was heavy and well armed with bull bars, making it difficult to be forced off the road. Danny was now just a few feet away from the pickup truck. He knew the driver had no intention of pulling over. Danny tried to overtake, but the single lane road made it difficult to get around, especially with the tight turns in the road blocking the view of oncoming traffic. He waited for a straight stretch of road, then powered his Chevy alongside the pickup. Carlos turned to face Danny recognizing him immediately. He then looked at Mike, expecting to see Jason instead. The next instant Carlos opened fire; bullets penetrated the closed windows of Danny’s Chevy, forcing him to pull back again.

  Mike knew they were in trouble, so he got hold of Jason on the two-way radio.

  “Agent Mallock! We need backup fast. How far behind are you?”

  Jason immediately responded, “I’m at least fifteen minutes behind you. Hold on, and tell Danny not to engage alone.”

  Just as Mike ended the transmission, Danny again attempted to overtake Carlos. He managed to get to the left side as before, but Carlos judged it perfectly, waiting until Danny was at the same speed as he was. He raised his weapon with Danny in his sights. All he had left to do was pull back on the trigger, and it would all be over.

  Carlos shouted out to Danny as he fired the shot, “I see you in hell my friend!”

  Mike then acted on instinct, as he leaned over onto Danny in an attempt to take hold of the wheel and pull as hard as he could, causing Danny to ram his vehicle into the pickup. Carlos held onto the steering with one hand. He could not manage to keep the truck on the road. He spun out of control and was forced off the road and into the side ditch. The pickup overturned a full 360 degrees, ending up in the sand. As for Danny, he too ended up on the sandy beach thirty yards away from Carlos.

  “Mike! Are you okay?” Said Danny, pulling his lifeless body from the dashboard.

  He didn’t answer. The shot from Carlos had penetrated the back of his head. He died instantly, saving Danny at the same time. Carlos was getting out of his pickup, blood streaming down his face. He was walking over to Danny, firing his weapon with each step he took. First the windscreen shattered. Then Mike’s dead body took a few shots. Danny still strapped to his seat couldn’t manage to get free; his seatbelt buckle was stuck. Danny knew he had to act fast. His firearm was thrown back onto the rear seat where he couldn’t reach it. Bullets whistled past him. It was just a matter of seconds before Carlos would find his target.

  Jason, only a few hundred yards behind them, saw the crash and was watching his best friend being shot at by the same man who nearly killed them back in the ancient cavern. Jason was in full rage. His mustang roared to full throttle as it quickly closed the gap between them.

  Carlos saw the fast approaching Mustang. He realized who was behind the wheel. Danny was still struggling to free himself as he saw Carlos approaching him. This is it. This is the end he said as he heard a shot being fired from the gun. He felt the bullet as it penetrated his chest. Danny looked down at his chest as blood oozed out from the bullet hole.

  Jason could not believe he had just witnessed his friend being shot.

  “No…! Danny hold on!” Shouted out Jason as his mustang flew off the road heading straight for Carlos at full speed over the sand.

  Carlos didn’t stand a chance as the vehicle hit him hard, knocking him across the sand more than twenty yards away.

  As Jason came to a halt, he leaped out of the mustang and ran over to Danny. His body lay still across the seat, and his hands clasped around the seatbelt buckle. Jason unbuckled his friend and dragged him out onto the sand. He opened his jacket where the bullet passed cleanly through, exposing the wound. Jason placed his ear up close to Danny’s mouth.

  “My god! He’s still alive!”

  Jason got up and immediately went over to the passenger side where Mike’s body fell out as he opened the car door. Jason pulled him out to get to the radio. He got through to dispatch requesting an ambulance as fast as possible. Jason went back over to Danny, making him as comfortable as he can.

  Remembering the reason
Danny was chasing the pickup, he quickly got up and ran over to the wrecked vehicle hoping to find Helen in the rear seat. To his amazement the truck was empty. Jason looked over to where his mustang was, and saw Carlos holding Helen at gun point.

  “You let me go Mr. Jason, and I let the woman go!” Said Carlos as he slowly moved towards Jason’s mustang.

  “I’m unarmed as you can see. Now let her go,” said Jason raising his hands in the air.

  “Very good. Now I let her go, but I not let her live,” said Carlos as he pulled the trigger, shooting Helen point blank in the head.

  Her body slumped to the ground, blood pumping out from the side of her forehead.

  Carlos then entered Jason’s mustang, spinning it around on the sand, heading directly at him. Sand spewed up into the air from the rear tires as Carlos approached him at full speed. Jason pulled out his magnum from his jeans he had hidden from view.

  “You managed to get away once! But not this time you big hairy son of a bitch!”

  Jason fired three shots all piercing the windshield, hitting Carlos directly in the chest. Carlos thought Jason missed his target as he did not feel any pain, but he did feel the warm liquid running down his chest. He placed his hand to where his heart was supposed to be, but instead all he felt was a hole the size of his fist. As the mustang passed Jason, it came to a halt a few yards away with Carlos slumped over the steering wheel.

  “Adios Mr. Carlos!” Said Jason as he spat on the sand.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Kate was about to enter her lab when she received a call from Jason. She was excited to hear how the search went last night, hoping Jason and Danny found new evidence. She answered her cell in a cheerful voice.

  “Hello Jason. How did it go last night?” She asked.

  Her cheerful mood soon deteriorated.

  “Danny’s been shot! He’s in the hospital. I watched him get shot right in front of my eyes and couldn’t stop it from happening. I should have been with him.”

  Kate felt the pain Jason was going through, and it sounded as though he had a few drinks.

  “Where are you Jason? Tell me where you are! I can be there in a few minutes, just tell me where you are?”

  “In my wrecked up mustang. I’m parked a corner away from my house. Sally soon leaves for school, and I don’t want her to see me like this,” said Jason.

  Danny was rushed into the hospital emergency ward last night. He had lost a lot of blood and was about to undergo surgery after the bullet penetrated his lung. The nurses wheeled Danny inside who was still unconscious. Surgeons proceeded with closing the punctured lung, which lasted more than three hours. His vitals were now stable and were out of danger. Patricia was waiting outside when the doctor in charge came to give her the good news.

  “He’s lucky to be alive! The bullet missed the heart by a few inches. He needs rest and care, but the worst is over.”

  Kate soon arrived next to Jason. She smelt alcohol on his breath as she helped him out of the car.

  “Has Sally left for school?” Asked Kate.

  “Yes, I saw her leave ten minutes ago,” said Jason.

  They entered through the unlocked garage door. Kate helped him up the stairs and onto his bed.

  She asked him, “what happened last night? Is Danny going to be alright?”

  Jason explained the whole ordeal they went through. Kate assured him there was nothing he could have done to prevent Danny from being shot.

  She then went down to the kitchen to make Jason a large mug of coffee. By the time she arrived with it upstairs, he was out cold. He apparently blames himself for the incident and is finding it hard to deal with.

  Tony was lucky to get away that night. He pulled his car over to the side of the road, hiding out of view while waiting for Carlos to pass him. He waited for a few minutes, but Carlos and the pursuing vehicle did not show up, so he turned around and made his way back the way he had come. He drove a few miles before slowing down when he saw the two cars crash into each other, then ending up in the sand. He saw the mustang approaching and hitting Carlos. After witnessing Carlos shoot Helen and Jason killing Carlos, he silently drove away. Jason had no idea he was being watched by the person responsible for the whole ordeal.

  Tony kept in mind that Jason was not the kind of man to mess around with. He clearly had to be extra careful from now on.

  After last night, Chief Berks had ordered Jason to take a couple of days off from the case. He knew Jason and Danny were close friends and have been FBI partners for a few years now. Matt wanted Jason to have a clear mind before carrying on with the case. He knew Jason would try and seek out revenge, which would greatly interfere with the investigation.

  After giving his full report to Chief Berks, Jason spent most of his free time next to his partner Danny, who was still in a mild coma. Kate accompanied Jason on the hospital visits, and also spent the afternoons with him having lunch and also shared some time in the evenings with his daughter Sally.

  It was then Sally mentioned Travis to her. She told her they had met while they were on campus at the university and enjoyed each others company very much. Sally asked Kate not to tell her father that Travis was more than just a friend. She wanted to wait for the right moment to come along before telling him. Kate agreed to keep it a secret between them.

  Sally was spending more and more time with Travis after school. They would drive up to Miami university where they would spend hours in his dorm sharing notes from their anthropology classes. Both students had deep feelings for each other, but Travis felt she was not yet ready to take the kissing and cuddling one step further. He respected her wishes, knowing Sally was a very special person to him and knew she would let him know when she was ready.

  Travis had almost forgotten about the last ritual they had together with Jackie and Tony, when one day she reminded him about her mother and asked him to set up another meeting with Tony.

  It seemed to Travis that everything was on hold. Tony hasn’t contacted him in the last couple of days, and Sally hasn’t mentioned her mother until now. He has been sleeping in his dorm and the last time he was at Tony’s house was at the ritual. He liked things how they were, and now things were stirring up again.

  “How come you want to contact your mother again Sally?” asked Travis as he took hold of her hand.

  “I don’t know. I’m getting this feeling she needs to tell me something. I saw her in one of my dreams where she seemed to be calling out to me.”

  “Are you sure about this? Shouldn’t we leave it for another time?” Said Travis, trying to change her mind.

  She looked at him and said, “okay, I can wait a few more days I guess.”

  Two days had passed by when Jason received a call from Patricia, Danny’s girlfriend.

  “Jason, he’s awake! Come quickly! He’s asking for you.”

  Jason was out of the house in a matter of minutes. He gave a call to Kate, who was to meet him at the hospital. As they entered the private room where Danny was being held, they saw him sitting up in bed.

  “Hey buddy! You’re back. How are you feeling?” Asked Jason.

  “I feel great except for this pain in my chest. Will be up in no time,” said Danny rubbing his hand over his bandages.

  “You take all the time you need. The Chief has given us a few days off from the case. As soon as you feel fit for work we can continue where we left off,” Jason said.

  After an hour or so of chatting, Kate and Patricia went down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. Danny said to Jason.

  “I’ve been waiting to tell you something Jason. I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Pat.”

  Jason moved closer to Danny.

  “What is it Danny?”

  “There were two vehicles that night. The first one was a black BMW. I’m positive the pickup truck was following it. I didn’t manage to see the driver, but I still remember the registration plate.”

  Jason looked for a pen and paper ready to write
it down.

  “You don’t need to write it down. I’m sure you won’t forget it,” said Danny.

  Jason looked down at Danny. “What is then?” He asked.

  “Clairvoyant,” said Danny.

  “You mean like in psychic?” Asked Jason.

  Danny tried to sit up straight, eager to tell Jason before Patricia and Kate came back.

  “I believe we’re dealing with the same person who had Helen abducted. I’m sure he is also responsible for the deaths of those two girls,” said Danny, now feeling the pain from his wound as he tried to move.

  Just then, Kate and Patricia entered the room. Pat sensed something was wrong by the looks on the guy’s faces.

  “Hey! Don’t strain yourself. You need to rest. Work will have to wait for now,” she said, looking at Jason.

  He got the message and thought it best to leave.

  “Hey Danny. Kate and I will be leaving now. You take it easy and get some rest.”

  Jason and Kate said their goodbyes, leaving Patricia and Danny alone. As they were walking down the hospital corridors, they passed Dr. Tony Barrette, who immediately recognized Jason. He took out his cell phone hiding his face from view while pretending to answer a call. Tony then realized Jason must be visiting the FBI agent brought in last night.

  At the office, Jason searched for the registration name of the BMW and soon found details to whom it was registered to. He explained to Kate what Danny had told him.

  “Kate, it’s me Jason. That number plate is registered to a Dr. Tony Barrette. His residence is a couple of hours drive from here. I’m going over there to take a look.”

  “Jason! Don’t go alone. Ask Chief Berks to send someone with you.”

  “I don’t need anyone with me. I work better when I’m alone. Don’t worry about me,” said Jason half way out the office.

  Back at the hospital, Tony decided to pay Danny a visit. He wanted to see if Danny recognized him from that night. As he approached the ward, he saw the room being guarded by a police officer who was standing outside the doorway. Tony unclipped his identification badge from his white coat, placing it in his pocket. He had no problem entering the room as the police officer assumed he was checking up on his patient. Patricia had just left, and Danny was about to fall asleep when he saw the doctor at the foot of his bed holding his medical chart.