Valiant

by Bradley Carter

  Fearing not only for his son’s life but his own, once the van disappeared around the corner, Jace gathered what he could from his home and drove to a hotel.

  That night, he wouldn’t sleep.

  The next morning he would begin his journey of facing his fears. It would be a decision he would make that set him in motion, leading him in my direction.

  On that same next morning, miles away, I would be coming home and skip my favorite television reruns.

  No Dorothy. No Rose. No Sophia. No Blanche Devereaux.

  On that same next morning, Jace’s hurricane would begin from his butterfly wings.

  26. APATHY AND VALIANCE

  Before this night, I never knew of Jace.

  His loss, his desperation, like mine, led our paths toward each other at just the right moment.

  The Bull turns slowly and with the defibrillator pads stuck to him once again, realizing his predicament.

  My small gun, the one I had strapped to my ankle, sits next to Bull’s feet.

  Jace coughs and small drops of blood fly from between his lips.

  “Don’t kill him,” I say. “If he dies, my daughter dies with him.”

  Clouds come from his face with every breath he takes.

  Thick white flakes begin falling from the sky.

  The Bull kneels to pick up the gun and Jace takes a short step back as he stands again and presses the barrel against Jace’s forehead. Still, his cold gaze never leaves The Bull’s eyes, even with the cold metal pressing against his skin.

  The Bull’s trigger finger pulls back just enough to keep the gun from firing.

  Jace’s finger is still ready to press down and send 200 joules of electricity straight through El Toro’s heart.

  So here we are in this standoff.

  These two men with their eyes locked to each other, a hair’s press away from ending the other’s life.

  El Toro cares about nothing.

  He has no heart, no emotion, no compassion.

  Jace Marshall was once like him.

  He used to be the opposite.

  He once loved everything about life.

  He once had a family and friends.

  He cared about strangers and made it his mission to help those in need.

  El Toro’s biggest mistake, was stripping Jace of everything worth living for and making him careless about what happens to him.

  Making him brave.

  Freeing him from his pain.

  Drawing a thin line between apathy and valiance.

  The Bull can see in Jace’s empty eyes, that neither of them will back down. Whether or not Jace loses his life, he refuses to submit. He will still try and do what’s right.

  To face what you fear most, you can have nothing left to lose.

  “Jace,” I say, “I know you want revenge, but think of the children who need saving. Think of your son.”

  Jace turns to see me and his eyebrows scrunch with confusion.

  “This isn’t—”

  The Bull snickers.

  “You think you know things,” he says.

  With the single bang of a gunshot, all hope vanishes and blood splatters the two men’s faces.

  The sudden trauma from the bullet shooting through Jace’s brain causes his muscles to flex. Every one of them, including his finger as it presses the ’Ready’ button. With one tense twitch, The Bull’s arms fly to each side. His legs straighten, and both his and Jace’s lifeless bodies collapse.

  The screams raging from my lungs are so loud, I can’t hear it.

  I can’t hear anything except the ringing in my ears.

  My head leans back, and as every bit of hope leaves my body, I fall forward with my face to my knees.

  At least with Bull alive, my daughter still had a chance. Now that chance dissipates with the last cold breath of life from his dead body. Once word reaches whomever, the shipment goes out immediately. Those are the orders. If something happens to The Bull, the children disappear forever.

  Falling to my back, my fingers come lose from the zip tie. I can still breathe, and my blood still flows. Both things I’d give up if it meant saving my daughter.

  Out here, the lights of the city don’t outshine the stars.

  Out here, it’s easy to see the vastness of the star filled sky.

  Somewhere I hope Haylee sees what I see.

  Somewhere I hope she can hear my voice.

  “I’m so sorry, Haylee. I did everything I could.”

  The cold air stings my wet cheeks. My eyes are heavy. Then the stars seem to float down, landing on my face. Each one kisses my skin before melting away. My breathing slows.

  From around the corner of the wrecked ambulance, Dax’s large hands swing around gripping his gun. He peeks a few times to check for danger. A small bit of blood trickles from a cut on the side of his forehead. He breathes heavy. He rushes to my side, pulling a knife from his pocket.

  “Hang tight,” he says. “Hang tight.”

  To get through this, you have to keep your faith.

  Dax slips the knife under the tie and snaps it loose. His bulging arms slip under me and he helps me to my feet. The white stars fall heavy across the ground.

  “Snow,” he says. “I hate the winter.”

  27. GIVE HER TO ME

  Haylee was there the whole time, several yards away from me.

  I would have found her, had I only thought to look in such a place. At the time, I didn’t know.

  I had suspected to find a building to house The Hallway, where she was being held. A place that could never exist in an abandoned coal mine.

  Snow covers the ground and prevents cries for help from echoing.

  A trail of footprints comes through the trees.

  Only the yellow lights of a distant building shine from the other side of the hill.

  A mud covered and beaten Cherish is barely able to put one foot in front of the other.

  “Somebody help us!”

  In her arms, she carries a lifeless body. Its feet and arms hang limp, swaying back and forth with each of Cherish’s steps. Its long dark hair soaked in blood. It’s not until a few more paces when Cherish grows weak and stumbles to the ground. The body she carries falls face down in the snow. She sobs. She rolls the body to its back and runs her hands along its face. Between her sniffles, as she wipes her eyes, she says:

  “We might freeze to death, but at least we’re free.”

  She weeps heavy and buries her head on the chest of the body. Her cries filled with anguish, she looks up toward the sky and shouts, “You fucking bastard!”

  Through her whimpers, comes the faint sound of crunching footsteps.

  Cherish panics.

  She tries not to breathe.

  She tries to listen as the steps come closer.

  The swaying reflection of a flashlight shines its way toward her.

  Soon enough, the light blinds her eyes. Her body is beaten and bruised. The mud on her face has dried only to soften with her tears.

  The light moves to the body cuddled in her arms.

  Long strands of wet black hair stick to its face.

  Its eyes are barely open, staring up at the vast star-filled sky above, but there is no mist of breath.

  “Give her to me,” says a man’s voice.

  He falls to his knees, the flashlight on the ground facing the body.

  Cherish moves back as he leans the side of his head over the its face.

  Two of his fingers press the side of the neck and he waits.

  “She’s still alive,” he says. “Follow me.”

  Lifting the body, he tosses it over his shoulder. Its arms dangle to his back. With each step he takes, its hand swings and bumps into the gun holster on his belt. The other hand swings past a Velcro pouch with a set of handcuffs inside.

  The man reaches and takes Cherish by the arm, and they walk quickly through the trees.

  When they stop, the man opens the backdoor to a police cruiser. Only it’s amber
parking light are on, and the dull roaring engine emits a fog from the tailpipe.

  The man gently lays the body across the back seat and unfolds a blanket across its chest.

  He tells Cherish to get in the passenger seat, quickly, and to close the door.

  She turns to watch in the backseat as the body makes a soft groan.

  The man pushes the body’s hair from its face.

  “Haylee,” he says, “it’s going to be okay.”

  Cherish knits her eyebrows.

  She looks to the man, to his name badge.

  “Officer Cole,” she says.

  She’s hesitant with her words.

  “How did you find us?”

  Cole looks to her and then to Haylee who is still unconscious in the back seat.

  His head hangs and he sighs.

  28. NO CHOICE

  In a security guarded room of the hospital, my fingers caress the hair from Haylee’s forehead.

  Lying in bed, her face says she’s dreaming. Resting.

  “You’re safe now,” I whisper to her.

  The room is only lit from the hallway through the open door.

  The monitor beeps with each beat of her heart. She’s warm in her hospital gown, covered to her waist with a blanket. The doctors say she’ll wake up eventually. She’ll be fine. She needs to recover. A blow to the head caused a concussion. The scrapes and cuts have been cleaned and bandaged. The nurse says there’s no sign of sexual trauma. The thin line of bruising around her neck, the width of an industrial zip tie, its a temporary reminder of the evil threat to whom I nearly lost my sweet girl.

  Spencer stands leaned against the doorframe, watching me wipe away my tears. He comes over and puts his hand on my shoulder, leans down and kisses the top of my head.

  A soft knock at the door and we turn to see Officer Cole.

  I go to him and give him a grateful hug.

  “She’s going to be fine,” I tell him. “She was close to death but she’s too strong.”

  Cole hangs his head and nods with a small slant of his lips like a sad smile.

  The monitor beeps steady from beside Haylee’s bed.

  With my palm, I touch the side of his face.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  Spencer reaches to Cole and the two shake hands.

  “Good work,” he says. “We’re forever in your debt.”

  Cole chuckles.

  “No need for that,” he replies. “I’m glad it worked out.”

  Together, the three of us stand next to Haylee. After a moment, I take my seat again, holding her hand and gently rubbing my thumb against her forehead.

  “How are you?” ask Cole.

  “Trust me,” I say. “I look worse than I feel.”

  Spencer’s cell phone rings and he takes it to the hallway. On the other end is someone from the Coroner’s office telling him El Toro’s body is downstairs.

  Now that I’m here beside Haylee, now that she’s alive, I’m not going anywhere. Nothing in the world could pull me away from her. Nothing in this world except one thing; I want to see that bastard’s dead body.

  Cole offers to sit with Haylee. The monitor keeps beeping. Still, I’m hesitant to leave my daughter’s side.

  “It’s fine,” says Spencer. “She’s fine.”

  Standing in our way, in the door, is a bandaged Dax. He hugs me tight. Too tight in fact.

  “Okay,” I say. “Tough guys don’t know their own strength.”

  Dax smiles and says he’s glad I’m okay. He says he knew I could take care of myself. He says I didn’t need his help. He wants to see Haylee and I ask him if he would mind sitting with her until Spencer and I get back.

  “I’ve got this,” says Cole, already sitting in my chair next to Haylee. “If anything changes, I’ll come get you.”

  Haylee’s heart monitor beeps faster and faster.

  The numbers on the screen get higher. From 72 to 100 to 120 to 140.

  Lying there, still asleep, her breathing gets heavier and deeper. More repetitive. Sweat glistens on her cheeks. Cole steps away as the nurses run in to help. We all stand watching. And this is when Dax drops the big question.

  “Cole,” he says, “How did you know where to find her?”

  Spencer and I look to each other and then to the back of Cole’s head. He won’t turn around. He won’t face us. He keeps staring to Haylee with his back turned. He waits and says nothing.

  “Officer Cole?” asks Spencer.

  Cole’s shoulders rise and fall with a sigh. Still, he faces away.

  “They put me in a position,” he replies. “They gave me a decision to make.”

  Slowly turning around, he looks at everything but us. His head hangs to his chest.

  “Choosing between your daughter or my son,” he says. “It’s not a choice at all.”

  My lips separate and my eyebrows arc toward my temples.

  Spencer carefully rests his hand on his holstered gun. Cole doesn’t move except to weep. Real tears stream down his cheeks.

  The nurse in the background tells the other Haylee’s blood pressure is spiking.

  Her heart rate has stopped increasing but holds steady at 140.

  “They were going to take Austin,” says Cole. “Unless I gave them Haylee, they were going to take my son.”

  Despite his emotions, Spencer remains professional. He pulls his cuffs and steps behind Cole.

  “I thought,” Cole says, “if they had her and I knew where she was. I could get her back before they sent her away. I wasn’t going to let her go. I was on my way there when I heard Cherish’s cries for help.”

  As the cuffs click tight around his wrists, Cole sobs even more.

  “You knew where to go,” I say. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could have stopped the whole thing.”

  His head shakes.

  “It’s too big,” he replies. “Even with El Toro dead, the other one would have taken over.”

  Dax takes a step back, his mouth hanging open. He sees me sharing the same expression.

  “What other one?” he asks.

  Spencer waits, his fingers gripped around Cole’s arm.

  He waits for an answer.

  We all do.

  One of the nurses pushes a liquid from a syringe into Haylee’s IV.

  The beeping in the background begins to subside. Slower and slower. The numbers on the screen start to fall back to normal range. The nurse takes Haylee’s blood pressure again.

  “She’s calming down,” she says. “It’s just anxiety.”

  Cole’s wet eyes, they finally look to mine. A man’s face, careless of what his future holds, relieved to have a weight lifted from his shoulders.

  From his conscience.

  From his soul.

  “The blonde,” he says. “The one with the glasses.”

  My stomach weighs heavy from inside and the rest of my body tingles and goes numb.

  “He carries that sledgehammer everywhere he goes,” Cole adds. “You don’t understand. This operation employs tons of people to make it work. We never stood a chance against them.”

  That’s all I want to hear.

  Not another word.

  Not another sound.

  I rush from the room, running as fast as my legs will take me, down the hall to the stairwell.

  My sore legs and feet burn with each step I take to the floor above. Bursting through the door, the nurses at their station stand frightened.

  “Can I help you?” one of them asks.

  Looking to each end of the hall, it takes me a second to remember which room I need to go to. I remember the number on the door: 311.

  Running fast, the head nurse follows after me. When I come to the room, she stops behind me. My wide eyes see nothing but a clean empty bed made with clean linen.

  “Christopher,” I say. “John Doe, where did he go?”

  The head nurse says he’s been discharged.

  She says he left hours ago.

  29. T
HE BULL IS MARKED

  Christopher, the man they called ‘Craze,’ is long gone. Part of me believes he was sincere. That he no longer wanted to live his life in the shadows. Part of me believes he meant every word he said. That he wants to blend in to a normal society. That his past demons were put away in the former life he lost and a new life remained. A clean slate.

  Craze’s association with El Toro would have been a part of his old life. Somehow I know, deep down, I’ll never have to worry. Like the children held captive, Christopher wants nothing more than to escape. In order for him to do that, even I need to let him go.

  What’s saddening is that his old life still had an effect on the decisions Officer Cole had made. Even with The Bull’s death, Cole still feared repercussion from someone who was no longer there. The ghost of a former life turned good. Had he known before of Christopher’s intentions, had he had the same conversation with the blonde man in the hospital, we could have brought this whole thing down.

  Dax had told the Reverend where I had gone, where Spencer had taken me. Being the Chaplain for the hospital, Jonas can come find me for support, or maybe to gain the same closure I seek. More importantly, to see the Bull’s dead body.

  Spencer joins me in the morgue. He tells me Cole is talking to his lawyer. He says they’re making a deal to have him immune to any charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, criminal confinement, battery, child endangerment, to name a few.

  It’s not so much of a long shot. In the eyes of the law, if someone is forced into such a heinous crime, they’re often seen as a victim themselves. In exchange, Cole will tell us where to find the others. Where The Hallway is located. How to bring the children back home before it’s too late.

  Jace’s pale, lifeless body lay on the metal table in the morgue, covered to his waist in a white sheet.

  My hand takes ahold of his cold one. My thumb squeezes tight.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  Somehow I think he knew, by sacrificing his own life, even though at the time seemed to worsen the situation, it opened up the opportunity for me to find Haylee. It bought me time.

  Spencer’s hand slides up my shoulder behind my straight black hair.

  Reverend Jonas stands to his side, his eyes fighting their urge to fill with tears as he sees Jace’s body.