by Shawna Platt
“Taking her into custody is the best way to handle it, Sir.”
Hakon rubbed his hand under his chin. “Yeah, for now I’ll let the lovebirds have their little reunion, but it will be short lived.”
The guards exchanged glances again and stood at full attention, with hands on their weapons, when they heard footsteps coming down the hall.
Hakon stood and faced the door. “Looks like it’s show time.”
Keith and Brice paused outside Hakon’s door.
Keith whispered, “Follow my lead. Let’s try to keep things calm for as long as possible. The second he sees you, he’ll know something’s up.”
Brice nodded and Keith knocked on the door.
Keith entered first, with Brice close behind. The second Hakon saw Brice his face turned red.
“What the hell is this? Why isn’t he still in custody?”
Keith held up his hands. “Brice had nothing to do with Kinsey’s escape. There was no reason to lock him up.”
Hakon drew his gun and held it on Keith. “Are you questioning me?”
Keith stood perfectly still and didn’t respond. This infuriated Hakon more.
“Answer me!”
Brice took a step forward and Dr. Hartman stood and raised his gun at him. Brice followed suit by raising his.
Keith shook his head slightly. “Shit.” He raised his gun and held it on Hakon.
The two guards by the door braced their hands on their guns, but didn’t draw; their eyes darted back and forth between the four men waiting for someone to make a move.
Before any of the men could respond, the door to Hakon’s office flew open and Kinsey rushed in. Dr. Hartman aimed his weapon at Kinsey and fired. The security guard directly behind her tackled her from behind and took a shot in his arm. At that moment, all hell broke lose in the room.
Dr. Hartman aimed his gun at Keith and fired, hitting him in the gut. Keith fired back and shot Dr. Hartman in the head. Keith collapsed on the floor and Kinsey tried to wiggle her way out from under the security guard to get to him, but the guard held her steady. The second guard rushed to Keith’s side and started applying pressure to the wound.
Hakon and Brice were circling each other around Hakon’s desk. Hakon never took his eyes off his son.
“So, it comes down to this. You do realize one of us is about to die.”
Kinsey yelled from under the weight of the security guard, “No!”
Hakon laughed. “Looks like your sweetheart is a little concerned. I’ll make sure and take good care of her as soon as I’m done with you.”
Brice leaned forward and charged in low. Hakon fired at him, but missed. The window behind Brice shattered as he took his father to the floor. Hakon’s gun fell from his grip when they hit and the security guard holding Kinsey down jumped up to kick it out of his reach.
Kinsey crawled over to help care for Keith.
Hakon landed a solid punch to Brice’s face, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Brice struck him in the side of the head with the butt of his gun.
Hakon hissed, “You hit like a girl.”
Brice hit him again and watched Hakon’s eyes glaze over. It only took a moment for him to recover before he flipped Brice over and sat on him, struggling to get the gun out of his hand.
Kinsey rushed to Hakon’s desk and grabbed a statue sitting on the corner. She swung it and landed a solid blow to the side of Hakon’s head. He fell over, dazed, as Brice got out from under him and stood, holding him at gunpoint.
Hakon tried to stand, but fell against the wall. He tried again and succeeded. He swayed back and forth, trying to gain his balance. He pointed his finger at Brice.
“You wouldn’t shoot your own father.”
Brice didn’t even flinch. “Whatever it takes.”
Kinsey rushed to Brice and stood by his side.
Hakon smirked. “Oh, look at the two of you. How sweet.”
Hakon lunged forward and Brice fired the gun, hitting his dad in the forehead. Brice and Kinsey watched his eyes grow wide before they rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor.
A few moments later, the office door opened and a group of security guards, along with Sorina and Conrad Westcott, rushed in. They saw Hakon and Dr. Hartman on the floor, with the rest of the group leaned over Keith, who appeared unconscious.
Conrad rushed to help Brice attend to Keith.
Sorina helped Kinsey up and sat her in a chair. “Are you hurt?”
Kinsey shook her head and wiped tears from her face. “No, I’m fine, but Keith,” she looked at Sorina, “it’s bad. Really bad.” She buried her head in Sorina’s chest.
All the security guards stood grouped together in the corner. One of them stepped forward and addressed the doctors leaning over Keith.
“What do you need?”
Conrad looked up. “An ambulance. Fast.”
A few minutes later, Keith was being loaded into an ambulance and Hakon and Dr. Hartman’s bodies were being taken out in body bags.
The head security officer spoke to Brice and Conrad.
“I just got the whole story of what happened here from the two officers present in the room at the time of the shooting. You’ll have our full support if you need witnesses.”
Conrad shook his hand. “Thank you. There will definitely be an investigation and your help will be appreciated.”
“You’re welcome.”
The guard turned his attention to Brice. “You had to do it.”
Brice nodded. “I know.”
“If you need someone to talk to, we’ll make sure you get it. I mean professionally, whatever you need.”
“Thank you, but I think I’ll be all right.” Brice walked away and sat next to Kinsey who was on the couch with her head lowered on her knees.
“You all right?”
She sat up and threw her arms around his neck. “Is Keith going to die?”
He sighed. “I hope not, Kinsey, but he took a direct shot to the stomach and lost a lot of blood before we could get him proper care.”
She sat back and wiped more tears. “He saved me, you know? After everything he did in the beginning, in the end, he saved me.”
“I know the story, and yes, he did. He wanted to make it right.”
She nodded.
He took her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. “It’s over now, Kinsey.” He kissed the tears from her cheeks. “It’s over. He can’t hurt anyone ever again.”
“What’s going to happen now?”
“Shhhhh, don’t worry about that. We’ll get it all worked out.”
“I have to get back to Ryker.”
“We’ll have Ryker brought here. We won’t be able to go anywhere until this is sorted out and we certainly can’t leave the state.”
She took a deep breath. “All right.” She looked around the room. “It’s really over, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I need to get in touch with my parents.”
“I’ll make sure that’s taken care of.”
She whispered, “I guess you were right.”
“How so?”
“You told me last night that by this time tomorrow night, it would be over.”
“That I did.” He pulled her up. “Let’s get to the hospital. I want to talk to the doctors about Keith.”
They walked out of Hakon’s office, stepping over the blood that still lay pooled on the floor.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Before Brice and Kinsey left for the hospital, Brice talked to the head of security and asked him to get a message to the officers at Curtis and Donna’s house. They no longer needed to be held captive in their own home. Brice gave him both their cell phone numbers and told him to have her parents call to talk to Kinsey as soon as they could.
The head of security told him to remain close. They would need to be available for questioning.
When they arrived at the hospital, Brice was able to get an update on Keith. He was still
in surgery and would be for two to three more hours. They’d lost him twice, but were able to bring him back. His injury was extensive and he’d lost a lot of blood. At this point, it was too early to tell. Brice left his number and asked to be called when he was out of surgery, and also be contacted if something else happened during surgery.
As they were walking through the parking lot, Brice received a call from an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Is this Brice Rayner?”
“It is.”
“Hello, Brice. This is Carlos Vento. I’m the direct supervisor of the security team at the compound and will be assisting in the investigation for the incident that took place today.”
“I’m assuming you want to talk to us.”
“You assumption is correct. I need to get your statements as soon as possible. I’d like to meet you at the compound in a hour.”
“No problem. We can meet at my office, which is located at the medical clinic.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you then.”
Brice disconnected the call and informed Kinsey, who became nervous.
“It’ll be all right. They have to get a statement from everyone who was there. Just tell him the truth, Kinsey. You were a participant in the program and they need to hear your story.”
Kinsey nodded and slid into the passenger seat. “I need to get a hold of Ted and Margaret, so I can get Ryker back, and we have to let them know what happened. I don’t want them to hear about it on the news, which I’m sure won’t take long.”
“Security is keeping a tight lid on this until they have more information. They like to have their ducks in a row, but I assume news will break on it by tomorrow.”
Kinsey pulled out her phone to make the call to Ted and Margaret. She explained everything that happened and asked if they could bring Ryker to Nevada since they wouldn’t be able to leave until everything was settled. Margaret told her they’d pack up and head that way; they’d talk more when they arrived.
Kinsey barely hung up from the call from Margaret when her phone rang. She immediately recognized her mom’s number.
“Mom?”
“Kinsey? Oh, honey, are you all right?”
“I’m okay, Mom. I’m so sorry for everything. I have a lot to explain to you.”
“Sheila’s filled us in on most of it.” She heard the tears in her mom’s voice. “Is it true you have a son? We have a grandson?”
Kinsey felt the lump grow in her throat. “Yes, Mom. His name is Ryker.”
For a moment, there was silence on the other end. “I wish you would have told us the truth before you left.”
“Mom, I couldn’t. I would have put you all in so much danger. I had to do it the way I did.”
“We want to see you immediately. Where are you?”
Kinsey explained everything that happened and that they had to return to the compound to make an official statement. She confirmed with Brice that they could meet them there and gave her mom the address. Her mom said they’d all be on the next flight.
“Kinsey, I was so worried, but everything’s okay now, right?”
“Yes, Mom, everything is fine now.”
“I love you, sweetheart. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I love you, too, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When they arrived at the compound, everything was organized chaos. Military police were everywhere and the administrative building had been evacuated and taped off.
When they walked into Brice’s office, they found Carlos Vento waiting for them. He stood and extended his hand to Brice, then Kinsey.
“Please, have a seat. I’m sorry to meet you both under these circumstances.”
They both agreed.
“The death of two major hitters in the program raises some questions. I’m sure you understand.”
Brice answered. “Of course.”
“I understand Hakon was your father?”
“That is correct.”
Carlos sat in silence for a moment and studied Brice. “I also understand that you delivered the shot that killed him. Is that correct?”
“Yes, it is. I fired in self-defense.”
Carlos nodded. “That’s what I was told, but I have to have your side of the story. I hope you understand.”
“Yes.”
He continued to question Brice on everything that had happened over the past couple months. He wanted every detail that led to his father’s death. He even went into detail about Brice’s childhood, and Kinsey sat in silence while listening to the details she’d yet been told. More than once, she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She had no idea his childhood had been so horrible.
After Carlos finished with Brice, he turned his attention to Kinsey.
“You’re Kinsey Garrick, correct?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And you were a participant in Operation Vala?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to need all the details of your story and what led to your desire to escape the compound with your son.”
“I’ll tell you everything.”
She told Carlos her story. From her first encounters with Keith, to the current moment, every detail spilled from her. Now it was Brice’s turn to sit and listen to her ordeal. He shook his head and kept apologizing.
When Carlos finished his questioning, he stood and shook their hands again.
“Thank you both for your cooperation. I have some additional statements to gather and then we’ll put together information for a press conference.”
Kinsey asked, “What will happen to the program?”
“It’s being discussed by the higher ups in the military, but it looks like the program will be shut down.”
“What about all the babies and children who are still here?”
“That is yet to be determined, but believe me, everything will be worked out in the end.”
Brice and Kinsey exchanged a look as Carlos walked out.
Kinsey let out a breath. “This is crazy!” She looked over at Brice as he sat in the chair beside her. “How many kids are here, in all? I assume not all are babies anymore?”
Brice ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not even sure. The program was started about three years ago. By the time babies were actually being delivered,” he paused, “none of them can be older than toddlers.”
“What’s going to happen to all of them?” Kinsey sat forward suddenly. “Tessa! I need to call Tessa!”
She pulled out her phone and when Tessa answered, Kinsey spilled her guts on everything that had happened since she left. Tessa told her she would be on the next flight. If they were taking statements on the inner workings of Operation Vala, she wanted hers to be included. They finished their call and Kinsey turned to Brice.
“It looks like tomorrow will be a day of reunions.”
“Looks like.”
“Are we staying here tonight?”
He shook his head. “No need. I live close by, so we can stay there tonight and be back early in the morning. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”
“Oh, any word on Keith?”
“No, nothing yet.”
She sighed and took his hand as they headed out of his office.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The next morning, Brice and Kinsey arrived at the clinic with Ted and Margaret, who arrived the night before with Ryker. They found Carlos Vento sitting at Brice’s desk speaking to some of the security team. He acknowledged them as they walked in.
“Good morning, Brice, Kinsey.” He glanced at Ted, Margaret, and then Ryker, who Kinsey was holding. “I was just going over some details with the security team for the press conference this morning. I’ve already talked to Sorina Westcott and her father, Conrad, but I need to fill you both in on what’s going to take place.”
Brice sent him a look. “How bad is it?”
Carlos shrugged. “The facts are the facts and we’re going to be honest with what took place. It’s a g
overnment run program and we need to accept responsibility where things went wrong. There won’t be an easy way out of this one.”
He stood and walked to Kinsey. “This must be Ryker?”
Kinsey glanced down at the sleeping baby. “Yes.”
Carlos nodded and rubbed his finger against the small forehead. “He’s a cutie.” He looked at Kinsey. “It took a lot of guts for you to do what you did.”
“I did it for him,” she said, glancing down at Ryker’s face and back to Carlos. “They weren’t going to take him from me. I wasn’t a voluntary participant.”
Carlos held up his hand. “I understand, Kinsey, and I’m sorry for everything you and the other participants had to endure.”
“Another participant, Tessa Sloane, will be arriving today. She wants her story to be heard as well.”
“We appreciate that. I’ve already spoken to other participants who wanted to come forward as well. Their stories are similar to yours.”
Kinsey’s cell phone rang and she took an empty chair by the wall before answering it. From her end of the conversation, Brice could tell she was talking to her mom. She finished the call and told him they were almost to the compound.
Brice addressed Carlos. “Kinsey’s family is here, so we’re going to go meet them at the main housing compound. If you need us, that’s where we’ll be.”
“No worries, but I do need to talk to you about some things before the press conference.”
“Give me some time to meet with her family and I’ll come back so we can talk.”
“I appreciate it.” Carlos looked at Kinsey. “I hope you enjoy your reunion with your family.”
“I will, thank you.”
On their way out, Brice stopped and turned back to Carlos. “I heard from the hospital last night. Keith is in recovery. Believe it or not, they think he’s going to make it.”
Carlos shook his head. “He’s a tough bastard. I’m happy to hear it, thank you.”
Brice, Kinsey, Ted, and Margaret stood in front of the main entrance waiting for Kinsey’s family to arrive. When Kinsey saw the car pulling up, she noticed Stella was driving. She pulled Ryker in closer and waited for them to exit the car.