“What are you doing in here? It sounded like you were yelling. You need to rest that leg, or it’s never going to get better.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and softly guided him towards the bed where he reluctantly sat down. “Now let me take a look at that?” Jackson nodded.
“Let me guess…after your done housekeeping, managing and everything else you do around here you’re also a doctor?”
“Nope…I used to be a nurse before my sister and I took over this place. It’s been a few years, but I think I still remember a few things. Now put your leg up here.” She pointed at the bottom of the bed. Jackson raised his leg, still seething with anger that his family was in danger. How could he let that happen? It was his fault. He was so mad he didn’t even realize the bandage was off, and she was cleaning it. “Are you okay? I know it hurts.”
“I’m fine. I’m just trying to distract myself.”
“I understand. Are you sure this was done from a biking accident? Is there something you’re not telling me here?” Jackson wanted to shout but he kept his cool and smiled. “It looks like you landed on a knife or something.” She smiled.
“Something like that.” He muttered.
“I’m almost done. Just hold still for another minute.” He watched her wipe down the stitched area carefully with the medicated wipes the hospital had given him. She was careful not to press too hard. She seemed like a nice woman and he was thankful for her help, but he needed to get to Stephanie and Michelle. He couldn’t believe that monster had them. He forced himself not to think about what he could do to them after what he did to his ankle. How could he let that happen? He was so stupid. “So tell me, what’s your name?” She reached out her hand. “I’m Jessica, but everyone calls me Jessie.”
Jackson snapped his mind back to the present and reached out and grasped her hand. She had smooth soft hands. “Charles.” He instinctively responded.
“Nice to meet you Charles.” He watched her finish attaching the bandage then quickly stand up. “Now Charles I want you to rest, and I’ll be back later to get you some dinner.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Call it room service.” She quickly answered. Jackson watched her leave. She was dressed in jeans and a polo. Her brown hair was pulled back tightly behind her. She was attractive in a friendly kind of way. He slammed his foot down feeling the jolt of pain to remind himself of his awful mistake. He felt sick to his stomach and decided he needed to come with some kind of plan of action.
Dever stood back and watched Agent Mitchell describe the manhunt that they were forming to bring in Stewart. He wasn’t happy that Mitchell was taking away some of his control, but he knew he needed all the help he could get at this point. He snarled at the Chief to his left. It was his officers who had let this happen. He had given the Chief some harsh words before the press conference that caused some friction, but he didn’t care and he knew the Chief would get over it. He was a seasoned veteran just like himself. Mitchell answered questions about what kind of danger Stewart’s family was in. He was describing how he was probably holed up somewhere with his wife and small child. He held up a picture of all three of them. Dever couldn’t believe the amount of press that had gathered. It was a big story before, but now it was going viral. There were reporters from overseas as well. He recognized the call letters. He knew it was just a matter of time till someone spotted Jackson, and the tips had already started coming in. He knew most of them would lead to nothing, but each one had to be taken seriously so they wouldn’t miss anything. The Chief had promised all his resources would be available as well as those from DC and the other nearby jurisdictions. Dever tried to put himself in Stewart’s shoes again and wonder where he would go with his family in tow or against their will. He figured Mrs. Stewart would reluctantly go with him, but he wasn’t so sure after the little stunt they had played at the restaurant. He quickly stepped forward in front of the mic and hot lights when a small Asian woman in the front row started asking if the rumors were true that Stewart had used drugs to subdue the prison guards. He immediately corrected the woman and let her know his men were referred to as correctional officers. He went briefly into the training and qualifications of all his officers. It was always a pet peeve of his when people used that term, and he used every available forum to correct it. Dever explained briefly that a drug was used by Stewart in prison to immobilize the officer, but he didn’t give any more details. The woman began asking about how the drug was brought into the prison. Dever felt his temper begin to flare up as he contemplated his answer. He took a deep breath before answering and gave his standard answer that no contraband was allowed in the prison, and every available means was being used to stop it. He also explained that he would continue to monitor and figure out ways to stop anything else from entering his walls. The woman continued asking whether she thought Stewart had any more of the drug available. Dever had to give the answer that he didn’t know for sure but he doubted Stewart had that big of a supply, though Dever was unsure. He looked towards the back of the room at a tall and muscular man in a too small suit who was trying to get his attention. They were in the Chief’s cramped press room. It was way too small for the amount of people crammed into it and Dever couldn’t wait till it was over. The Chief’s PR man was not giving any indication of ending the conference anytime soon, so Dever pointed at the tall man.
“How was Jackson Stewart as a prisoner?” He had a loud booming voice that echoed off the walls of the small room.
Dever leaned into the mic. “He was a model prisoner. We housed him for five years and never had any problems. No infractions or write-ups as far as I know.”
“Will you make his file available?”
“No, I don’t think that is necessary.”
“Is it true he had total access to all the computers and prison guard…I mean correctional officer’s ones.”
Dever frowned to himself. “No, he had the same access as every other prisoner. He was allowed to use the library computers for legal research, but there was no outside access.”
“What about the staff computers?”
“Of course not…only the staff is allowed to use those.” He knew he needed to find out what he was referring to. He looked around the room for someone else. He happily pointed at a small woman with bright-red hair seated in the middle. She looked to be in her late teens.
“Warden Dever, as a young woman like myself should I be scared?”
Dever looked at Mitchell and the Chief. “No, I don’t think you should be scared, but I think you should be aware of your surroundings and if you see anything suspicious you should call us.” He pointed at the pictures and Mitchell held them up again.
“Do you think he’s still in the area?”
“I do and that is why we need everyone’s help. If you see anyone that looks like him or his family, please call us right away.” Dever felt the sweat forming on his brow.
Chapter 38
Jackson woke up to the soft knock on the door and knew right away it was Jessie. He was used to her soft ways. He stumbled to the door and confirmed his suspicion seeing her outside the tiny hole in the top of the door. He slowly opened the door and smiled feeling her strong hand guide him back towards the bed again.
“So how are we feeling?” He watched her set down a large bag on the dresser.
“Not bad.” He slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed and looked at the clock and saw it was almost 6:00 PM. These painkillers were making him tired.
“I hope you got a lot of rest while I was gone. I brought you some dinner from your favorite restaurant.” She reached back for the bag and Jackson noticed two large plastic soft drinks. He smiled. “Before you say anything, I’m working tonight at the front desk, so I have to be here anyway, so I need to eat, so I figured why not get my favorite guest some dinner too.”
“Your favorite guest?”
“Of course. I told you we take care of our guests, and you are in need of care.” He wat
ched her look down at his bandage. “We’ll change it again after we eat and I’m right down the hall if you need anything the rest of the night.” Jackson saw her reach for the TV remote next to him. He quickly grabbed it before she got it. “What?”
“I just don’t want to watch anything right now.”
“No problem.” She grunted out. Jackson could tell she was a little confused.
“It’s just that I never watch TV when I eat, just a thing with me. I guess I like to enjoy the food and the company or something…I’m weird like that.”
She smiled. She had a nice smile. It was like Michelle’s…warm and friendly. He missed her so much. “I like that. I think I’ll try doing that too. I’m guilty of watching TV while eating a microwaved cooked dinner.” She placed the bag on the bed. “I hope you like cheeseburgers. Manny makes the best ones in town.” She placed a wrapped burger in foil in front of Jackson. He felt his senses immediately awaken. He carefully un-wrapped the foil and watched as the thick steam and tasty aroma poured out and entered his system. He didn’t realize how hungry he was. She passed him a small bag of fries that he immediately dug into as well. “So tell me who you’re hiding from?” Jackson took a big swallow and began to cough. “Oops…sorry I’m just kidding. I mean it’s just you seem like a good guy but you’re holed up in my motel.”
“I just needed a place to recover and this seemed like a great place and I guess I was correct.” He pointed at the burger.
“Like I said, we just try and please. I’ll have to introduce you to my sister. She should be here tomorrow.” She lowered her voice and Jackson leaned forward. “She’s not as nice as I am though, so don’t get any ideas.” Jackson laughed. It felt good to laugh. He hadn’t laughed or even smiled in five years. He felt like a human again, not some caged animal. He took another bite and savored the delicious taste. “They are good aren’t they?”
“Great, best burger in town right?”
“So where are you from?” Jackson took another bite. “I know…why is this lady asking me all these questions right?” Jackson laughed.
“No…no. I’m from around here, just down the road.”
“Really me too. I’m a local girl. Born and raised in Arlington. Used to work at the Virginia Hospital Center…you know the Arlington Hospital.” Jackson nodded. “I miss that. It was so much fun helping people.”
“You must have been good at it.”
“I tried. That was all I ever wanted to be even as little girl. I always wanted to be a nurse. I used to dress up every year for Halloween, as long as I remember. I couldn’t wait to put on the real thing after I finished nursing school.” She took another bite. “So what do you do?”
“I’m in technology.” Jackson knew he had to be careful how much information he divulged, but he was sick of just plain lying. It felt so good to share something with someone. He hadn’t even had a real conversation in over five years.
“I love technology. You know we have free Wi-Fi in our rooms. It’s even high-speed…whatever that means. It was my idea to add it. I think our guests love it.” She looked all around the room. ‘You don’t have a computer with you?”
“No, I figured I need to just recover and not let anything get in the way. I came here directly from the hospital.”
“Don’t be silly. We have several laptops in the office you can borrow.”
“Really, you don’t have to do all this.”
“I know, but as I told you I’m the nice sister, so I have to keep a certain reputation. I’ll bring it by later. I can’t have a techie staying in my motel without a computer and plus I need someone to test my Wi-Fi and see what they think. I don’t think it has any security on it. Would you mind checking it out?”
“Sure. I would be happy to. IT security is my specialty.” She began to laugh.
“What?”
“I just can’t believe you volunteered something without my asking.” Jackson smiled and shook his head. He was having fun, though he kept thinking about what was happening to his family. He hoped they weren’t being tortured. He still couldn’t believe he had let that happen. “You need some more ketchup?...Charles…Charles?”
“Ah…yes…sorry about that.”
“I know it’s just the pain killers and antibiotics messing with your mind, seen it a million times before. Just take it easy and we’ll have you better in no time?”
“How long do you think it will take till I can walk on it without crutches?”
She looked down at the bandage. “I would say a few more days. It will still be sore but you should be able to get around. We’ll have to get those stitches out though before you get too far along.” Jackson nodded. “Are you thinking about staying here for a while?”
“Hmmmm…let me think.” He placed his hand under his chin and began to laugh. “It has good service, Wi-Fi and a qualified nurse…that would be a yes.”
“Ha… I knew it.”
“What?”
“You have a sense of humor too?”
“You’re something you know that?”
“So I have been told?” Jackson took the last bite of his burger and rolled up the foil wrapper and threw it into the small garbage can. “You ready for the real surprise?”
“I can’t wait.” He watched her reach back into the bag and pull out two thick pieces of apple-pie. Jackson grabbed a fork and bit into the most delicious apple-pie he had ever had.
“Another Manny special.”
“I’m starting to appreciate this Manny.”
“Wait till you try his tuna special.” Jackson rubbed his stomach. “Okay, let’s see about changing that bandage again.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do this. I can do it.” He finally gave in, and five minutes later she was cleaning off the wound and rebandaging it. Afterwards, she left, but said she might be back later since she was working. Jackson powered on the TV as soon as she was gone and began flipping through the channels till he saw the Warden holding up his picture.
Chapter 39
The group of stoned-faced men was seated at the long steel table, their elbows resting coldly on the steel. Each of them were lifting pieces of plastic cutlery up to their mouths and swallowing the plain nondescript food. It was the same thing every day, so they were used to it and just went through the motions of moving their arms and their hands together like a well-trained orchestra. There were other men walking about watching their actions with the same grim expressions on their face. Everything was routine and they were used to routine. In fact, they lived for routine. It was what made their days pleasant. One of them was usually tucked behind a thick wall seated in a comfortable chair, but today he was out and about taking in the mundane daily routine. It had been a long week, and the effects had taken a toll on both his job and his family, but he had to keep going that was just the way it was. He pledged to do a better job in all aspects of his life and he was starting this morning by paying closer attention to the boring routines. Tonight he had a special dinner planned to break the news to his wife. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on her face when she heard the news. He loved her so much. As he walked by the countless tables, something caught his eyes. There was a sharp movement and there were never sharp movements, something didn’t mesh in his peripheral vision. He quickly swung himself around and found himself lunging for the table. Three feet away a large man was shielding a long sheath, and he plunged into the chest area of the two nearest men seated next to him. They both fell to the floor clutching their bleeding chests. He reached for the man, but he was too far away and he watched him sink the knife into the groin area of a third man and blood began to spray in every direction blinding him momentarily. He quickly lost his balance and fell to the hard floor then he felt a sharp pain in his neck and then there was no more movement.
Chapter 40
Dever slowly exited the Crown Vic and made his way into the Sheraton when his phone began to ring. He wanted to ignore it. He needed a Scotch. He finally answered it
and as soon as he heard the voice on the other end began to speak he slammed the hotel’s front door shut so hard a few of the nearby guests jumped back, but he didn’t care. His little world was falling apart. He needed to find Stewart, and he needed to find him now. He shot Timmons a menacing look as the elevator doors closed, and they begin their ascent. A minute later, Timmons phone began to ring, and Dever watched him react to the news. They both kept their eyes downward and didn’t say a word for the rest of the ride and into their adjacent rooms. Dever quickly opened a small bottle of scotch and began drinking it straight from the bottle. After he finished he felt no better, so he opened another one and did the same. He couldn’t believe it, Sergeant Harris was dead. He tried to stop Carlos the Thomas from his killing spree back at The Conduit. Apparently, inmates had been teasing Thomas about getting beat up by Stewart and he just snapped. He knew he had to get back to the Conduit but he had to get Stewart first. He emptied the small bottle and threw it against the wall smashing it into a thousand small pieces. He opened another one. He knew it wasn’t healthy what he was doing but he didn’t like losing control. He loathed it. It was the reason he had joined the Marines where everything just made sense. Everything was done for a reason. Where else could he instantly be in charge of a platoon of type-A personalities just like himself. He closed his eyes and remembered marching his troop’s right across the desert. The Iraqi’s never had a chance. He could still smell the dust and gunpowder. It felt like he was right back there. Everything always made sense there. He didn’t always agree with the mission but he always knew what to do, find the enemy and destroy them. It was never like this where everything was gray and he had to share control with others. He decided he needed to take back control. He quickly stood up and ran out of the room. A moment later, he was knocking on Timmon’s door. He continued banging till Timmons opened up the door. He was already changed into his nightclothes.
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