“His faith. He believed absolutely in the rightness of what he was doing,” Cindy said.
Martin shook his head. “I don’t doubt his devotion, but that’s just what helped him sleep at night, it’s not what made him great.”
“What made him great?”
“You can only train a man to do so much, go so far. For them to cross over and be able to do the kinds of things Jeremiah did it has to be in their blood. The Mossad didn’t turn him into a killer, they just gave him a target.”
“I think that is an incredibly pessimistic point of view,” Cindy said, struggling with a way to refute what he’d just said.
“You can think what you want, but I am on your side. I’m not like Jeremiah, although I have known one or two others like him.”
Cindy took a deep breath and lifted her chin in defiance. “You can think what you want, but I know the truth. And you should know that I will find a way to escape and I will go and help him.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.”
“You don’t think I can escape?” she asked.
“No, you’re clever and resourceful. If you put your mind to it you could probably find a way.”
“Then what?” she asked.
“Even if you do escape, you’ll never find him.”
“Of course, I will.”
Martin laughed out loud. “Cindy, Jeremiah’s off the grid. He ditched his phone back at the house. He’s gone completely dark which means I couldn’t even find him if I tried.”
“What are you saying?” she asked.
“I’m saying he’s gone and none of us can help him now.”
7
It felt like they had been driving forever when they finally stopped. Mark had lost track of the number of turns at some point, so he had absolutely no idea where they were. They could be in downtown Pine Springs or forty miles away for all he knew.
The wound in his shoulder ached. He had rebandaged it. Fortunately, it had only been a small tear in the skin that had been bleeding back at the precinct. Still, it was far from healed. Between him, Cindy, and Liam they were the walking wounded.
Liam. He had no idea what his partner was going to think or what Martin was going to tell him or the captain about Mark’s absence. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment so it was going to have to be tomorrow’s problem.
The car remained stopped. His door opened, and he saw that they were in an underground parking area. He motioned for Traci to stay put before he slowly got out of the car and looked around.
The two agents from their car were standing there, faces inscrutable.
“Where are the others?” Mark asked, noticing that theirs was the only car there.
“We are the first to arrive,” the driver said. “As per the plan.”
“Oh yeah? What’s next in the plan?” Mark asked.
“We wait.”
Mark was getting more and more agitated. All of this felt so wrong to him. Unfortunately, his gun was still back at the mansion, in the dresser drawer in his and Traci’s room where he had left it when he thought he was about to turn in for the night.
He took a deep breath. Even if he did have it this would be no time to engage in hostilities with these men. Traci and Ryan were in the car and he couldn’t risk them getting hurt.
“I want my daughter,” Mark growled.
“She’ll be here shortly,” the driver said.
Mark looked around, but could see no distinguishing markings. If they were in a public parking garage there would be signs for rows and exits, but he didn’t see any such thing.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“Underground.”
“Well, duh,” he said, letting the sarcasm drip from his words.
“That is all I’m authorized to tell you.”
“Great,” Mark muttered. “Well, if we’re waiting, I’m going to wait back in the car.
He got into the backseat again and closed the door.
“What’s going on?” Traci asked, her voice fearful.
“We’re the first ones here. Apparently, it was planned that way. We’re in an underground structure, but I have a feeling it’s private or government owned from the looks of it.
“What do we do?”
“Wait. That’s all we can do right now,” he said.
Ryan whimpered, and Mark thought he was waking up. A moment later, though, his son settled back down.
“It’s just a bad dream,” Traci reassured him.
“I wish I could say the same,” Mark said.
“We need to update our wills,” Traci said suddenly.
Mark felt his heart stutter. He grabbed her hand. “Honey, we’re going to be okay,” he said, although he knew it could be a lie.
“If something happens to us I want Joseph and Geanie to raise Ryan and Rachel,” Traci said.
Mark nodded. “I can live with that.”
More like I could die with that, he thought to himself, since if that happened he wouldn’t be around to see it.
“I think someone else is coming,” Traci said suddenly.
He listened, and he heard the hum of an engine. He knocked on the window and the driver opened his door again. Mark started to get out of the car, but then hastily rethought that when he saw that the other agent had brought his shotgun up to his shoulder and was training it on the black sedan driving slowly toward them.
“Should we be concerned?” Mark asked.
“No, we have this,” the driver said, pulling a gun from his shoulder holster.
Mark froze, half-in, half-out of the car as the sedan rolled to a gentle stop. It flashed its headlights four times then turned off the engine. The front doors opened, and two agents stepped carefully out of the vehicle. Mark recognized the one who had been inside the mansion when Jeremiah left.
“Bravo, one, one, three. Packages are secure. No footprints,” the driver said.
The agent with the shotgun immediately lowered it and Mark’s driver reholstered his gun. The agents from the other car opened the back doors and Geanie and Joseph stepped out quickly.
“It’s Geanie and Joseph,” Mark told Traci.
“Rachel is with them, right?” she asked, her voice tight.
Geanie leaned back into the car and a few seconds later pulled Rachel out.
“Yes,” Mark said, relief flooding him.
Traci climbed out of the car and pushed past him as she rushed toward Geanie and Rachel. A moment later she was hugging both of them. Geanie was crying as she hugged Traci back.
“This is insane,” Mark muttered to himself.
He could swear he saw the driver smirk slightly.
He climbed back into the car and freed Ryan from his car seat. The baby yawned but kept his eyes tight shut.
“Wish I could do that,” Mark said.
He walked over to the others and reassured himself that Rachel was okay as he looked down at her sleeping form. Geanie was clinging to her as fiercely as if she were her own child. He realized that she and Joseph would make fantastic parents some day and that any child would be lucky to have them.
A distant rumble caught his attention and he turned to see that all four agents were now training weapons on a car approaching from the far side of the complex. Mark felt his mouth go dry as he wondered if the car held friend or foe.
It stopped several yards away and flashed its lights twice before turning them off. He remembered the other car had flashed its lights four times.
“Is that good?” he asked anxiously.
“So far so good,” the driver of his car said.
The doors opened, and the two agents got out of the third car. “Charlie, one, one, three,” the driver announced.
Everyone lowered their weapons.
“This is getting nerve wracking,” Mark confided in the others.
Agents opened the back doors and Don, Carol, and Kyle exited.
Mark w
inced slightly. He’d been hoping to see Cindy come out of the car. Instead he was stuck with her obnoxious brother and clueless Mom. Don exited like a man who had experience being in similar situations. He looked around and then focused his eyes on Mark.
“Where’s Cindy?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Apparently, they’ve staggered our arrivals on purpose.”
Don didn’t look any more pleased by that than Mark was.
“This is an outrage,” Carol said.
“Mom, be quiet,” Kyle said as he took in the men with guns.
Mark gave him points for that. At least he was learning when he needed to button up and let others do the talking.
Carol looked outraged, but did as her son said.
“Where are we?” Joseph asked.
“Underground,” Mark said, offering up the only piece of information he had. It wasn’t much, but sometimes even a tiny shard of information could help.
They all fell silent, standing, waiting. It reminded him of a play Traci had dragged him to years and years before when they were still dating. He leaned toward her, “What was that play-”
“Waiting for Godot,” she said before he could finish asking her the question.
“That’s the one,” he said.
Another couple of minutes passed as they waited. Finally, a fourth car came into sight.
Guns up, Mark thought. Almost comical at this point.
The sedan rolled to a stop, flashed its lights three times, and turned off its engine. Two agents got out of the car. “Alpha, one, one, three,” the driver called out.
Everyone lowered their guns and Mark held his breath as the agents opened the back doors of the latest arrival.
Cindy and Martin stepped out and everyone surged forward to greet her.
“Everyone with me,” Martin said, turning and leading the way to one of the walls.
The agents managed to surround them so that they had no choice but to move forward. They reached a door and Martin pressed his hand against a plate on the wall next to it. The door opened and they all began moving down a long corridor behind it.
The farther away from the cars they walked the more trapped Mark felt. Apparently he wasn’t the only one.
“Does anyone have a cell?” Joseph murmured under his breath.
Cindy and Mark shook their heads.
“What did he say?” Carol asked loudly.
Cindy visibly cringed.
“He wanted to know if any of you had a cell,” Martin said without turning around. “The answer is ‘no’. We can’t risk you contacting the outside world and exposing yourselves to danger.”
“We can’t just disappear off the face of the earth,” Mark protested. “We have jobs, people that will notice if we’re suddenly missing.”
“Geanie and I are supposed to be at church in the morning to help handle things in the wake of the pastor’s murder,” Cindy said.
“Your absences will be handled,” Martin said confidently. “It’s not like we’ve never done something like this before.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Geanie murmured.
“What about our pets? You hustled us out of the mansion before we could get them. We’ll need to call a sitter,” Joseph said worriedly. “We’ll need a phone to do that.”
“No need to worry about them. We got them all out first,” Martin said.
“You did?” Joseph asked.
Martin opened the door and in the room beyond they saw Captain, Buster, Clarice, and Blackie. Traci ran forward and threw her arms around Buster who went crazy licking her face.
“Always save the cat, or the dog, as the case may be,” Martin said with a smile.
“It makes your prisoners more compliant,” Cindy said bitterly.
“Not prisoners. Recalcitrant guests,” Martin said, his expression unwavering. “After you.”
They all filed into the room. Martin and one of the agents came with them and the rest stayed in the corridor. Martin closed the door and Mark felt even more trapped as they were sealed into the room.
It was a large space, comfortable looking with chairs scattered around a living area in the center. There were beds around the perimeter of the room, including two cribs, and what looked like a couple of small bathrooms. There was a refrigerator, a sink, and a microwave. On a dining table were stacks of books and games.
On the wall next to the door that they had come through was another hand scanner. They were going to be locked in. Above it was what looked like an intercom.
“This is kidnapping,” Mark said quietly.
“Protective custody. As a cop you should be familiar with that concept,” Martin said, smiling at him.
Mark wanted to punch the man right in the face. He was still holding Ryan, though, so there was nothing he could do at the moment.
“Hopefully this won’t be necessary for very long,” Martin said. “Frankly, I don’t anticipate it will be. I suggest you view this as a safe place and enjoy a little vacation from the outside world. There are activities and food available to you. I or another agent will check on you at least once a day to see how you are, restock the food, etc. Any questions?”
“What if there’s an emergency?” Geanie asked.
Martin pointed to the intercom above the hand scanner. “You can use this at any time to speak with agents on guard duty. If there is a legitimate emergency they will help.” He stared directly at Cindy as he emphasized the word “legitimate”. She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a defiant look.
“How will we walk the dogs?” Joseph asked.
Martin pointed to a far corner of the room. “Litter box for the cat and those fake lawn things for the dogs. There’s deodorizer and the air filtration system is top notch. And before you ask, there’s a diaper disposal machine over by the baby stuff,” he said, pointing to another section of the room.
Mark had to hand it to him, the man was prepared.
“Right now, I suggest you all try and get some sleep,” Martin said.
He turned, placed his hand on the scanner, and Mark could hear the door unlock. Both agents went out the door and closed it and they were sealed in again.
There was a second of silence and then pandemonium broke out. Ryan began to cry as Cindy slammed her fist down on the dining room table.
“What is going on here?” Carol shouted as Kyle ran to the door and tried to open it. He continued yanking on the door until he was red in the face.
Hearing her brother woke up Rachel and soon she was crying as well. The dogs began to bark in agitation and the noise became deafening.
Joseph sat down heavily on one of the chairs at the table and put his head in his hands as Geanie tried to shush Rachel. Mark stood, bouncing Ryan gently up and down, but his son just cried harder and harder.
Carol was still shouting, and no one was answering her. Kyle had switched to beating the door with his fists, a lot of good that would do. Traci was vainly trying to calm down the dogs.
“Quiet!” Don roared unexpectedly.
Everyone stopped talking and when they did the dogs stopped barking. Even Rachel and Ryan quieted down as though heeding the older man’s command.
“Now is not the time to fall apart,” Don said. “We’ve got to think through this clearly and rationally. We’re safe for the moment and we’re all together. That’s important.”
Cindy turned to him. “No, we’re not all together. Jeremiah is out there somewhere, risking his life right now.”
“I know, honey, but there’s nothing we can do about that,” Don said.
“That’s where you’re wrong. There is something we can do about it.”
“What?” Mark asked.
Cindy looked at him and there was fire blazing in her eyes. “We’re going to escape.”
8
“How?” Kyle asked.
Cindy turned to look at her brother. “We fake an emergency
, and when someone comes in we hit them over the head with something, like that lamp,” she said pointing to one on a stand between two of the beds.
“Great,” Kyle said, starting toward the lamp.
“Not great,” Mark said.
“Why?” Cindy asked.
“Because your plan only takes care of one guard and gets us out of this room. There are probably other guards and security measures between us and the outside world,” Don said. “Getting into and out of a government installation like this is never as easy as it seems.”
“How would you know that?” Joseph asked.
“I work for a contractor that helps rebuild infrastructure in recovering war zones. I’ve seen more than my fair share of military bases in the middle east,” Don said.
Her father was right. He had a much better idea of what they might be dealing with than she did. “Dad, how would you get out of here?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t. I’d sit tight and pray for it all to end quickly and well,” he said bluntly.
She shook her head. “Not an option.”
“It might have to be,” Mark said. “It’s not just us. We’ve got babies, and dogs, and a cat with us.”
“Mark is right. There’s no way we’re all making it out of here safely,” Don said.
As much as she didn’t want to admit it, they had a point. Cindy took a deep breath. “Okay, so how do I get out of here?” she asked.
Her dad looked like he was about to say something, then hesitated.
“What?” she pushed.
He shook his head. “The best thing all of us can do right now is get some sleep, like the man said.”
“There’s no way I can sleep right now,” Cindy said.
“Trust me, the adrenaline’s going to wear off any minute now and then you’re going to drop. You want to get out of here? Fine. I’ll help you figure it out, but not until we’ve all had some sleep and can think more clearly. We’re no good to Jeremiah or even ourselves if we collapse from exhaustion.”
She knew her father was right. Something had been scratching at the corners of her mind for the last couple of minutes and her eyelids were starting to feel incredibly heavy. She was tired. She was certainly not capable of thinking straight at the moment and she would just manage to get herself caught or even injured if she attempted something rash in the state that she was in.
In the Presence of Mine Enemies Page 6