by H. L. Wegley
“I think so.”
“Then go ahead. I won’t drop you.” Somewhere Josh had found confidence.
Using the stirrup, Katie stood on his shoulders, holding Josh’s hands and teetering to gain her balance.
She let go with one hand and placed it on the roof. Then the other hand. But the roof was still chest high. She couldn’t climb onto it.
Katie peered up at the communication building on top of the Key. That was the only hiding spot for the man until he moved into the open on the east side of the building to start shooting down on the crowd. Hopefully, all his attention would be focused on the other side where the people were. If not…
She needed at least another foot to put her knee on the roof and gain enough leverage to lift her body onto it. “I need you to bend your legs, then jump and bounce me up. If I jump when you do, I’ll land on the roof.”
“How did I ever let you—” Josh grunted and took a deep breath. “Just do it, Kate. But keep your body aligned with the arch, just in case. If you fall, I want you to land on the arch, not the concrete below. We’ll go on three.”
“Wait. When you jump, make sure you jump toward the building. When I push off, I don’t want my feet pushing you over backward because—”
“Yeah, because…” Josh growled at her.
“I can see that you understand. You count. We’ll go on three.”
Josh drew a breath. “One, two, three.” He bent his knees and jumped.
She pushed off his shoulders, propelling her body three feet up into the air.
Katie landed spread-eagled on the steep slope at the roof’s edge and clung there, praying she wouldn’t slide backward.
Below her she heard a thud, then the raspy sound of sliding. She looked down. Josh had landed spread-eagled on his back, head downhill on the big arch. He had jumped too hard, but managed to stay on the arch and had stopped his slide.
Was he OK? She gave him thumbs up.
He returned it and was punished for his effort by sliding another foot head-first down the concrete and steel arch. In one quick movement, he swiveled his feet below his head and rolled onto his stomach. He looked up and waved her on.
Good. He was OK.
Katie turned and breathed a quiet prayer as she crept up the roof toward the communications facility. On the far side of the structure, somewhere amid the antennas and dishes, a movement caught her eye.
2
When Katie disappeared from view on the arena roof a sickening, sinking sensation dropped into Josh’s stomach. What had he just done? Had he really been so caught up in Kate’s desperation and the goal of getting her safely onto the roof that he forgot about what would come next? A determined young woman, unarmed, was about to engage an armed terrorist. And he had enabled her to do it.
Josh sprinted around the arena to the side where throngs of children milled about, interspersed by the taller figures of their chaperones.
Too close to the building. He backpedaled to gain visibility of the roof, aware that he could be making himself a target for the shooter. A target, yes. But nothing like Kate. And what would she try to do? And where did she get the…the experience to think she could take on a terrorist, anyway? He’d let the drama she’d used fuel the moment. He was a fool.
Josh sucked a sharp breath when, less than thirty yards away, a figure with both hands on an assault rifle stepped near the edge of the roof. She’s right…there is a terrorist on the roof…
The shooter pulled a lever on the gun. A metallic click sounded above the murmur of voices in Seattle Center.
High above the man, Kate’s blonde hair waved in the gentle breeze as she crept toward him.
The shooter intently scanned the crowd.
Josh shuddered as the gunmen’s gaze swept across him. Immediately, the barrel of the rifle swung upward.
Kate bounded with the speed and grace of a cheetah running down its prey.
Josh held his breath, waiting for the popping of the rifle.
“Please keep her safe,” he whispered. Who was he talking to?
The shooter’s body stiffened. The rifle moved away from the crowd. He had heard Kate.
Still five yards from the shooter, Kate launched her body into the air, legs retracted.
The man swiveled toward Kate.
She delivered a powerful kick to the shooter’s upper torso.
He flew off the roof.
His gun clattered down the arch to the concrete below.
The man’s body flipped end for end in the air, then bounced where the grass met the concrete around the arena.
Kate landed on her back near the edge of the roof. Her body slid feet first. She wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Katie!” A woman’s voice yelled from the crowd.
Josh sprinted toward Kate.
She had stopped sliding and rolled onto her stomach, but her feet dangled over the edge. Kate planted her palms down on the roof. Her hands might delay her fall to the concrete fifteen feet below, but they couldn’t prevent it.
“Hang on, Kate! I’m almost there.”
“Josh! I’m sliding! I’m—”
He stopped underneath Kate. “I’ve got you!”
Kate’s legs swung inward as her body left the roof.
Josh extended his arms and braced himself.
Her body rotated, falling parallel to the ground.
He took her impact with his arms and chest. One arm cradled her head, the other took her thighs.
Kate’s momentum drove his back down.
Josh’s breath exploded from his mouth when his back slammed onto the concrete.
Kate’s head pounded against his biceps, causing the muscle to spasm and her head to remain intact.
Josh sucked hard. No air. Only an asthmatic wheeze. He tried again and wheezed in a bit of air. He had gotten his breath knocked out of him before. On the football field. But never by a beautiful blonde in his arms.
Kate bounced up to her feet.
She was OK.
Maybe he was, too.
Kate scurried to the arch and, as Josh sat up on the concrete, she grabbed the gun.
Josh fought for another breath, and then looked for the shooter.
The dark-skinned man struggled to his knees.
A small, Asian woman ran toward the man and delivered a powerful stomp.
The man’s body flew backward, thudding on the concrete.
As Josh stood checking his aching body for any serious injuries, ten yards away Kate knelt, set the gun down, and opened her arms wide.
Two small children ran to her. She wrapped them both in her arms. “Thank God you’re OK.”
“Did Kaykay get hurt?” The wide-eyed boy asked as he scanned Kate’s head.
“He was a bad man, huh, Kaykay?” the small girl said.
Kate released the two children and stood. “I’m OK, Grady. And yes, Gracie, he’s a bad man.”
A few feet away from Josh, the small woman, who had apparently put the shooter down and out with her kick, stood over his prone body, prepared for another assault.
Josh studied her. Her eyes were as intense as Kate’s and, like Kate, she was extraordinarily beautiful.
Kate walked up to Josh, the two kids trailing behind her, and slipped her arms around him. “Thanks, Josh. I’m so thankful you showed up at the lab when you did. Without you I would’ve—are you OK?” She pulled her head back and met his gaze.
Breathing a little easier now, Josh’s eyes surveyed the throng of people. All eyes seem to be on Kate and him. “Kate,” he croaked, “you scared me to death. I shouldn’t have let—”
“Yes, you should have. We did what we had to do.” She laid her head on his shoulder.
That sent his racing heart somewhere near the red line.
A group of uniformed men, weapons drawn, rounded one corner of the arena. Another group approached from the opposite side.
Kate raised her head, and then turned toward the group led by a tall slender man.
/> “The shooter’s under control,” the beautiful Asian woman called out to the men. An FBI SWAT team according to their uniforms.
“Peterson,” Kate yelled, “it’s about time you got here.”
“Katie Brandt.” The tall man frowned. “I ought to arrest you for—”
“No.” Josh cut him off. “You ought to hire her.” He surprised himself with his reaction.
Three men surrounded the shooter and took over for the woman.
She walked toward Kate and him.
“Mom, I tried to call and warn you, but you didn’t answer.” Kate’s eyes overflowed as she choked out her words.
So she was Kate’s mother? It didn’t compute.
“It’s OK, Kaykay,” the boy, who looked about three, tugged on Katie’s tank top.
“Yeah,” the little girl echoed. “Only the bad man got hurt. Mom kicked him to kingdom come.”
“Probably to the other place, Gracie.” The tall FBI agent stood shaking his head.
The boy frowned up at the FBI agent. “That’s a bad, bad place.”
A weak smile tweaked the corners of the agent’s mouth. “A bad, bad place for a bad, bad man, Grady.”
Josh heard the arrest being made over the din of the crowd, a crowd being pushed away from the scene by members of the SWAT team.
“Katie,” Kate’s mom looked from Kate to him. “Are you going to introduce me to whomever it is you had your arms around?”
Kate’s face turned pink. “Mom, this is Joshua West, the man who just saved my life.”
“After I put you at risk.” Josh gave her a quick glance.
“Josh, meet my mom, Jennifer Brandt.”
Jennifer Brandt? He had never made the connection. “Glad to meet you, ma’am. I’ve heard a lot about you at the U.”
“Don’t believe it all, Joshua.” She gave him a thin-lipped smile.
“Are you gonna introduce us too, Kaykay?” The boy, Grady, according to the FBI agent, tugged on Kate’s arm.
“Yeah, us too, Kaykay,” the girl echoed.
The twins’ eyes were big, brown and so bright looking. They seem to take in everything, digest it, and file it away. The two looked about three, but their eyes appeared much older, all seeing, all-knowing.
Kate’s family was…unusual. Weird. But a wonderful sort of weird.
Kate pulled Josh down to his knees as she knelt in front of the twins. “This is Josh. Without him, this might have been a really bad day. Josh, meet Grace and Grady, my little brother and sister.”
He took their tiny hands in his. “Hello, Grace. Hi, Grady.”
“You’re a good man, Josh.” Grady’s big brown eyes studied his face.
“Well, I hope so, Grady.”
“I know you are. Kaykay hugged you. She never does that, ‘cept with Dad and Grampa.”
Josh glanced at Kate and, for the second time, saw her tan cheeks turn pink.
The tall FBI agent cleared his throat.
Kate stood, pulling Josh with her. “And this is Special Agent Peterson…but he’s not always so special.”
“I would watch what I say if I were you, young lady. You’re not out of the woods, yet.”
“Peterson, this is Joshua West. He’s the guy—”
“I’ve already heard about him, courtesy of the Seattle Police Department. He’s the reckless driver.”
“But I’m the one who made him drive that way. And I told him I’d pay for any fines.”
“And do his jail time?” Peterson raised his eyebrows.
“Told you, Kate. I get locked up along with the shooter, not you.”
The FBI agent folded his arms and looked from Kate to Josh. “Before I decide what to do with you both—”
“You mean with us three.” Jennifer interjected.
“You, too? What about the twins?” Peterson glanced down at them, dropping his arms to his side.
“We can come, too.” Grady took Peterson’s hand.
Grace took his other hand. “Yeah. You our Godfather. You gotta take us too when you ask all dose questions.”
“OK.” Peterson nodded. “You five follow me to the van. The team can stay and secure the area for the crime scene guys and ride herd on the crowd. We’re going over to the field office, where you, Katie, have one heck of a lot of explaining to do.”
3
Grace and Grady ran into the arms of Agent Davidson. It wouldn’t be the first time the young woman had babysat the twins at the field office.
With Josh at Katie’s side, she followed Peterson down the hallway to a conference room.
“You seem almost at home here, Kate. Like this is sort of…family?”
She looked down at Josh’s big hand and took it in hers. “This is the place where I found my home and, yes, some of these people are almost family. Even though we argue a lot and threaten each other. That includes Peterson.”
Peterson swung the door of the conference room open. “After you.”
Katie pulled Josh to one side, allowing her mom to enter first. “Brace yourself, Josh. Things might get a little…interesting.”
When she led Josh into the room, Agent Ruska, Peterson’s partner, was seated on the far side of the long table.
“Have a seat.” Peterson motioned for the three to sit on the other side.
An adversarial seating arrangement.
She had hoped for something better than this.
Katie sat between Josh and her mom and waited for Peterson to show his hand.
After Peterson sat down and leaned forward on his forearms, he slung his cards onto the table. “I want to know everything you know about the shooter and how you learned it.” He paused, glaring into her eyes. “You’re not leaving here until you’ve spilled it all, Katie. So I would suggest you start right now. Who is our shooter?”
While she didn’t mind getting grilled for her research findings, Katie would not knowingly tread on classified sod. If she did that, even Peterson’s father-like protection might not be able to save her from serious repercussions.
“How long do I have to wait, Katie?”
Time to get focused. “The man is an African.”
Peterson stared at her, his eyebrows raised. “You could’ve fooled me.” The sarcastic tone of his voice said Peterson wanted the salient stuff, and he wanted it now.
“OK. He’s Nigerian and I suspect he’s a member of Boko Haram, who was funded and manipulated into the suicide shooting attempt by Al Qaeda.”
Ruska whistled through his teeth. “We’ve only had suspicions, but this could confirm that—”
“Ruska, need I remind you that these two students do not have security clearances? They can tell us everything they know, but we cannot reciprocate.”
“Yes, sir.” Ruska slumped in his chair.
Peterson slapped his palm on the table. “While we’re on the subject of clearances, and your lack of one, how did you identify the terrorist groups without access to some classified database?”
She wouldn’t lie to Peterson, but she wasn’t going to allow him to end her dissertation research. “When I needed to, I hacked email servers.”
“That’s illegal—”
She cut him off. “No. It depends on who you’re spying on and where they are. You know that no one is going to sign a treaty to stop cyber espionage. Everybody who can do it, does do it, and they’re not about to stop.”
“Katie—”
She talked over Peterson. “If I hack a terrorist organization’s mail server in a terrorist country, who’s going to prosecute me?” As Katie stared into her mentor’s eyes, she saw something she had never seen before…fear.
“Katie, you are incredibly gifted. You are poised to advance the state of the art in several important areas. Just because the United States will not prosecute you, does not mean you won’t be tried, convicted, and executed by the terrorists’ own justice system. If they see what a threat you are, they will kill you. Jennifer knows that danger all too well.”
P
eterson’s concern and the tone of his voice pricked Katie’s heart. “I didn’t intend to endanger anyone.” She turned to Josh. “I’m sorry for involving you, Josh. But this guy would’ve shot Jennifer and the twins, and I was the only one who knew about it and could respond quickly enough. Even the Seattle police wouldn’t have been able to stop him before the shooting began.”
“Peterson,” Josh stole Peterson’s gaze. “She’s right,” he said forcefully. “And she was the right person at the right time. If anyone else had tried…” Josh shook his head as he stared Peterson down. Josh hadn’t said it.
But they all obviously knew. Anyone else, a few seconds later—the outcome was unthinkable.
Josh had passionately defended her. With a few words, in the blink of an eye, he had stolen her heart. No other guy had ever done that, and she wasn’t at all sure what to think about that, or the strange new emotions that warmed her heart, excited her, yet frightened her. Her cheeks grew hot. “Thanks, Josh. Somehow you got us there on time, got me on the roof, and caught me when I fell off.”
Peterson’s brow furled. “You fell off Key Arena?”
She took Josh’s hand. “I got a little carried away with my kick. Slid off the roof and…”
Peterson cleared his throat and focused on the interlaced fingers of her and Josh’s hands. “I see…but you still need to tell me how you knew which email server to hack.”
A shrewdly worded question. Once on a trail, Peterson was hard to shake. How could she explain this without giving away too much information? She wouldn’t lie to him, but the whole truth could shut down her research at this critical juncture. “It’s not hard to look up IP addresses associated with some terrorist organizations. You can obtain quite a few from their online magazines, blogs, and blog comments. I followed the communication chain until one link led me to Nigeria, Boko Haram, and then to a motel in Seattle.” She took a deep breath and waited, hoping she would not have to disclose her database until the time was right, when NSA, or the FBI, could benefit from the data and the software that used it.