Chris had felt a lump forming in his throat as the judge had laid out the bare facts of his parent's death. Now he looked at the man and lifted his chin defiantly. “Almost fourteen. And I don't need anyone else. I can take care of myself.”
The judge didn't smile at this statement, to Chris' surprise. Instead he nodded and said seriously, “You don't need to convince me, young man.” He glanced around the room. “Your idea to rent this house through a fictitious third party, handling your finances online using lawyers who have never met you, avoiding capture by the police after Talon set them on you using a fake trail of evidence, and not being taken this morning; yes, you can indeed take care of yourself.”
Chris stared. “You know about the police chase?” he asked in amazement.
“I may be retired, young man, but I still have connections in law enforcement. And you may be relieved to know that the police are no longer looking for you. I've seen to that.”
“You have? Uh, thanks a lot.”
“Don't mention it. Now,” the judge glanced at his watch. “We have twenty-three minutes. I have a lot to talk to you about, Christopher, but we simply don't have the time right now.” He leaned forward and looked intently at Chris. “If you are wise, you will be gone from this house before Talon arrives.”
“Gone?” Chris was bewildered. “That quickly? But, this is my home. I can't just leave. I was going to take some time and pack. Besides, you said that those guys weren't going to hurt me this morning. So, if they come back, I'll just say no to them again and...” The judge was shaking his head. He looked a bit sad.
“You don't understand, young man. Tell me, what exactly did you do to those men this morning?”
“I...” Chris hesitated. “I doubt that you would believe me,” he said with a shrug. The judge tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow.
“You might be surprised, Christopher. Why not tell me what you did, or what you think you did and let me be the judge, if you'll pardon the pun.”
Chris saw the man smile slightly at his own joke and relaxed a tiny bit. “Okay but you won't...well, anyway, I...I stopped their hearts,” he said, almost whispering. He looked down at the floor but when the judge didn't reply he looked back at the man.
The judge was staring intently at him. “You stopped their hearts,” he repeated Chris' words flatly.
“Just for a few seconds,” Chris said hurriedly. “As soon as they passed out, I started them up again.”
“I see. Well, perhaps I asked the wrong question. Instead of what you did, I suppose I should have asked how you did it.”
Chris stared at the man in confusion. “Um, how I did it?”
The judge just nodded.
“I'm not sure exactly,” Chris said. “I just thought that it would be the best way to stop them without really hurting them, and then I just did it.” As he spoke, Chris realized how lame his answer sounded. But the judge nodded again.
“And have you ever done anything like this before?” the man asked.
“I was thinking about that same question, the first time some guys from Talon tried to get me to join.” Chris stared into space, thinking back. “I guess I did do something that caught their attention.” He glanced at the judge. “Nothing like what I did this morning though.”
He didn't speak for a moment, remembering, until the judge spoke up.
“What did you do?” he asked quietly.
“Oh, well. I spend a lot of time downtown. You know, going to movies, hanging out and stuff.” Chris looked at the man, who nodded encouragingly.
“Well, about a year ago, I met an old guy on the street and I...helped him.” Chris looked suspiciously at the judge. “What I did isn't really important. But I guess word got around.”
“I see,” the judge said. “But why do you think that this is the reason for Talon's interest in you?”
“Because they mentioned it, the first time they approached me. They said they liked what I had done and they could use someone like me.” Chris shrugged. “I guess that street guy talked to others about what he saw. And word on the street gets around pretty quickly.”
The judge sighed and then nodded. “How well I know, young man.” He glanced at his watch yet again. “Eighteen minutes. Well, now you have crossed a line, Christopher. Talon does not take kindly to assaults on their people. They have been publicly embarrassed and organizations like Talon survive by instilling respect and fear in others.” He glanced out of the window across the room, then looked back at Chris. “This time, they will simply take you with them. If you repeat the performance of this morning and incapacitate them, you will leave them no choice but to kill you.”
Chris sat back and stared at the judge in disbelief. “Just like that?” he whispered.
“Yes, Christopher, just like that. If I know Talon, they will have a shooter waiting outside. If you leave this house alone, he will assume that you have subdued his colleagues and he will take you out.” The judge looked compassionately at Chris. “I hate to put it as bluntly as that, but we have no time for niceties.” The man stood up abruptly and Chris jerked back in his chair. The judge glanced at his watch. “Fourteen minutes. Christopher, I have a lot to tell you and I'd like to make you an offer as well, but as I keep saying, we have no time. I'm leaving for Ottawa as soon as I'm done here. If you're interested in learning more, and if you want to hear my offer, then please listen closely.”
The judge slipped his device into an inside pocket and put on the long coat that had been draped beside him. He continued to speak as he prepared to leave.
“You have been to Ottawa several times, I believe?”
Chris just nodded, not even bothering to ask the man how he knew this.
“Excellent,” the judge said as he walked toward the front hallway. Chris stood up and followed him. “I will be in front of the Parliament buildings tomorrow, close to the eternal flame in front of the Peace Tower. You know it, yes? Good. I will wait there from five o'clock until precisely five-fifteen. And then I will leave. If you want to speak to me again, that is your only chance to do so. If you don't show up, I will assume that you are not coming.”
The judge reached the front door and opened it.
“Well, that's no problem,” Chris said. “I can just hop on a local flight and be there in an hour or so.” He thought a moment. “I'm pretty sure I can still afford that.”
The man turned back and looked at Chris. “You've forgotten Talon, Christopher. Unless I am quite mistaken, they will have the airports, bus terminal and train station covered as soon as they learn that you have escaped. Getting out of the city may be more difficult than you think.”
Chris hadn't considered that. “But, I mean, no offense, but why should I meet with you anyway? I mean, can you protect me from Talon? And how do I know you aren't with them? Or else maybe you want to use me the same way they do?”
The judge smiled. “I can indeed protect you, young man. And I will leave it up to your instincts as to whether you should trust me or not. As to why you should meet with me?” The man turned and stepped outside. His voice drifted back to Chris as the judge walked toward a limousine that was pulling up in front of the house. “Perhaps to find out why your parents were murdered. You have ten minutes left.” And the judge opened the door of the car, got in and closed it behind him. The limo sped off leaving Chris standing in the doorway and staring after it in shock.
Chapter 3
The judge's final words were echoing inside Chris' mind. Perhaps to find out why your parents were murdered, the man had said. Chris slowly closed the front door and walked back to the living room. My parents weren't murdered, he thought. Dad died in a car accident and Mom was trapped in the house when the wiring shorted out.
He sat down and thought back to those days, back to a time he rarely let himself remember now. He had seen the police report on the accident and the fire marshal's report on the cause of the blaze. Both were tragic accidents, he was told. Chris shook his head. Th
at judge guy is crazy. And yet... A small part of him had always wondered about the timing of his parent's deaths. Two days between them. What were the odds?
Chris sat back with a sigh. It was too much to process right now, not after the day he had been having. First those two guys from Talon... He sat up with a jerk. Talon!
Chris jumped to his feet and rushed into the kitchen to check the clock on the stove. One-forty. If the judge was right, he only had about five minutes to get out of the house. He thought hard for a few seconds. There wasn't anything in the house that he was really attached to. He had money and a bank card to get more. All he needed was a jacket really..
He grabbed his old leather jacket from the hall closet, raced through the house and opened the back door. He looked around carefully but didn't see anyone, so he quickly locked the door, jumped over the loose dirt in front of it to avoid leaving footprints (how had the judge not left any?) and sprinted across the yard and through the hedge at the back.
Chris knew the neighborhood well. He had made sure to scout out the area when he had first moved in and, just in case the judge really was crazy, he decided to watch his house to see if Talon really did show up.
Tucked behind some bushes in a neighboring yard, Chris could see both the front and back of his house. Minutes ticked by and Chris saw nothing. Maybe, he thought with growing hope, maybe that judge guy was wrong. Maybe Talon doesn't know where I am. At least it would give me more time to get organized before I leave. But he was right about one thing; I definitely have to get out of here for a while.
He had almost decided to head back inside when Chris heard a vehicle driving slowly up the street in front of his house. He crouched down lower and watched through the brush as a van pulled up and stopped across the street from his front yard. Chris recognized it as a city van and wondered briefly if someone's power or sewers needed some repairs.
He quickly realized that something else was going on as two people, a man and a woman, dressed in overalls and work boots, stepped out of the front of the van, while two other men, also dressed as city workers, opened the back of the truck and jumped out as well.
Normally Chris wouldn't have given them a second look, but there was something about them that set off alarm bells in his head. For one thing, the four of them all wore the same grim, determined expression. Also, none of them were carrying tools. Instead, after a brief conversation, they split into two pairs and walked quickly toward his front and back doors.
Talon, he thought. Damn it, the judge was right. Chris watched as the two at the front door stood and waited for the other pair to reach the back.
But the judge said they would have someone else waiting outside in case I got away, Chris thought. Guess he was wrong. But no sooner had he thought that than a movement on the street caught his eye and Chris saw a fifth person exit the back of the van. It was another woman, also in coveralls, but this one was carrying a long narrow tool case. Chris watched her walk around the house to the far side and out of sight. Then both teams at the front and back doors glanced in that direction, apparently assuring themselves that the woman was in position and the couple at the front banged loudly on the door.
Chris backed slowly away into the neighbor's yard, staying low. I have to get out of here right now, he thought and a feeling of panic began to rise inside of him.
As soon as he was sure it was safe, he stood up and began to run.
The rest of that day passed in a nightmarish haze of fear. Chris caught the first bus that was heading downtown and made directly for the bus station. But he spotted several Talon thugs lingering near the ticket counter. They weren't even bothering to try to cover their tattoos. He watched them for several minutes from around a far corner. They were laughing and talking with each other and Chris felt a rush of anger. They might as well be on holiday!
After the bus station, he caught another bus and headed to the train station. His apprehension mounted as he entered the building through a side entrance. And again, just like the bus station, Talon was there. Why weren't they hiding? he wondered. Did they think he was just going to walk up to them and surrender?
As he left the train yard, the answer occurred to him. Arrogance. They were confident that they had him trapped in the city and arrogant in their superior numbers and the Talon organization.
Time was passing quickly. By the time he got to the airport, it was getting dark and Chris was becoming frantic. If the airport was covered as well, how was he going to leave town? He knew that if he didn't leave soon, Talon would track him down. There were too many of them and they had a lot of contacts on the street. There was nowhere he could go in town that they wouldn't find him.
His heart was in his mouth as he sidled in a door as far away from the main entrance as possible. He stood there looking around fearfully but felt a quick stab of hope as he spotted no one with a tattoo on their cheek. He took a few tentative steps toward the ticket counter across the wide space of the waiting area and suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Chris turned quickly with a gasp but instead of a Talon thug, an older security guard with a kind face was looking down at him.
“Are you lost, son?” he asked with a gentle smile.
Chris stared at him for a moment then took a deep breath as his shock passed. “Um, no sir. I was just...just looking for my Dad. He's supposed to be landing soon and I thought I'd surprise him.” Chris was thinking fast. “He doesn't expect anyone to meet him, you see.”
The man chuckled and nodded. “I see. Okay then. I'll leave you alone to prepare your surprise. I wouldn't want to spoil it.” With that, the man patted Chris on the shoulder and walked away.
Chris took a deep breath. He looked around again but still didn't see anyone suspicious looking. Was it possible they'd overlooked the airport? Maybe they assumed that he wouldn't dare to try to board a plane? It's possible, Chris thought.
He was about to start out again for the ticket counter and had taken half a step when he spotted something that set off his internal alarms.
There was a man leaning against the far end of the counter. Chris hadn't spotted him until one of the people serving at the counter had bent over to pick up something they had dropped.
Chris backed up quickly against the wall and tried to look casual as he lowered his head and stared through the hair that had fallen over his face at the suspicious man. He squinted, trying to see the man's cheek, willing him to move. Finally, the man shifted and slowly turned his head as he glanced around the area. And then Chris saw the mark on his face.
Talon! I knew it, he thought. But why only one? There must be more. Although he looked around for several minutes, Chris couldn't spot another member of the gang. But he knew they were there. He was sure these guys never worked alone. He retreated back down the hall and went outside. After looking around carefully, he slumped against the wall to think.
Why two gangs of them at the train station and the bus depot but, apparently, only one person here at the airport? It took a few minutes but Chris finally thought he had the solution.
He wasn't meant to be caught at either of the other places. The gang had let themselves be seen on purpose to scare him off, to herd him here to the airport. Once he arrived and saw that the place was free of watchers, they expected him to rush over and buy a ticket. And then they would have him.
Chris shook his head ruefully. It had almost worked, he thought. If he hadn't stopped for a minute to talk to that old guard, it could have been all over. Taking a deep breath, Chris thought about his remaining options.
It was past eight o'clock now. He certainly couldn't walk to Ottawa and even though he had money, no one was going to rent a car to a thirteen year old kid. Chris left the airport parking lot and walked to a bus stop several kilometers away. Then he caught a bus heading back downtown. He found a small dingy restaurant and grabbed a burger, all the while trying to decide what to do.
How do you get out of a city without transportation? And was it eve
n worth bothering trying to meet this judge guy anyway? Maybe his best bet was to lay low for a few days, wait for Talon to relax their guard and grab a train or bus heading west. He'd never seen the Rockies before and had always wanted to. Maybe Vancouver? He had heard it was a nice place, good weather, maybe big enough to get lost in.
As he finished a second cup of coffee, Chris glanced at the clock over the door to the kitchen area. Eleven. He sat back with a sigh. The time was passing rapidly and his head felt like it was full of fuzz. He couldn't think of a solution. His sense of urgency was fading as he began to feel that the whole thing was hopeless. What am I going to do?
He stared out of the window. A few people were still passing by, probably on their way home to their families. Living safe, uncomplicated lives. They didn't know about and probably wouldn't care about some kid whose life was hanging by a thread.
For a moment, Chris gave in to despair. What did I do to deserve this? Help some street guy? Lose my parents? None of this is my fault! He felt crushed by the unfairness of it all.
But after a few minutes, he sat up and tried to clear his head of doubts. His father had told him more that once that life truly wasn't fair. But you made the best of it, come what may. Chris grimaced. His dad was a man of faith, even if he had been agnostic. Trust in God, he'd say. Then Chris smiled. He could almost hear Mom's whisper, after Dad had had his say. She'd wink and say quietly 'And always trust in yourself, Chris'.
Chris left some money on the table, stood up, nodded to the waitress and left the restaurant. He took a deep breath. Okay, folks. Time to trust in both, I guess.
Confronting the Fallen Page 2