by H. L. Wegley
“Yeah. Like nine ‘leven. Bigger thish time. But, Josh, you can kish me. Ish OK. Wone mind.” She tried to lift her head to his face, and then moaned. “Druuugs. Feel awful.”
He scooped Kate up in his arms and hurried to the hallway. No one in sight.
Josh carried her out of the building to his car, managed to open the passenger door with one hand, and plopped her onto the seat. He scrambled to the opposite side, slid in and hit the door lock.
With several hairpin turns and occasional straight-aways, the driving route across campus resembled a Grand Prix race course. Nevertheless, it was the quickest way to get help for Kate.
After pulling out on to Benton Lane Josh stopped at NE Stevens Way. Maybe he should call 911. He reached for his cell phone, but he glanced at Kate.
She was unconscious.
He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and shoved the accelerator to the floor. The car squealed around a long, sweeping turn as Josh worked his way across campus to 15th Avenue. He sped along 15th for several blocks before turning onto NE Pacific. With the hospital now a half mile straight ahead, he drove at double the speed limit towards the emergency entrance to the University of Washington Medical Center.
Halfway down the straight stretch, red and blue lights flashed at him in the rearview mirror. Josh punched the gas pedal. Only six blocks to get help for Kate. No cop was going to stop him from doing that.
When he turned into the emergency entrance, the police car was on his rear bumper.
Josh stopped at the emergency entrance, unlocked his doors, and ran around to Kate’s side. By the time he lifted her out of his car the policeman stood beside the patrol car with his hand near his weapon.
Josh gave the policeman a brief glance. “She was attacked by a terrorist who drugged her. If you want to do something useful, search the Computer Science Center for a Middle-Eastern looking guy who’s bleeding.”
“First, I’m following you inside.” The cop followed Josh toward the emergency entrance.
“You’re just going to let that guy get away?”
“Right now, you’re the guy. And you’re not getting away.”
Josh stepped through the emergency entrance.
“Who’s the girl?” the cop asked.
Josh headed toward the emergency room desk and yelled back over his shoulder, “She’s Kate Brandt, the girl who took out the shooter at Key Arena.” Josh turned his attention to the nurse at the desk. “A break-in at the Computer Science Center. She was attacked, injected with something. Was talking incoherently when I found her, then passed out two or three minutes ago.”
After the nurse made an announcement on the intercom, four people in scrubs emerged from a hallway, running toward Kate and him.
Please…don’t let anything happen to her.
18
Katie opened her eyes and tried to raise her head. But the shotput inside her skull pulled her head first one direction, then the other, causing her to drop her head back onto the pillow, sending disorienting pulsations through her balance system.
She caught a glimpse of someone in scrubs walking her way. How did she get inside a hospital?
Her recent past was a blurry video. A masked man and a hypodermic needle had something to do with her predicament. But somewhere in the muddle of puréed thoughts, Josh had been blended into the mix.
“So, you’re awake.” A middle-aged woman in blue scrubs leaned over her bed and examined her eyes.
“What did he inject me with?” Her words came, like her thoughts, slowly and slurred.
“Can you say barbiturates? Go ahead, give it a try.”
“Barbishurus…uh, barbiturates,” Katie smiled at her success.
“That’s right. The effects are wearing off. The doctor will be in soon to talk with you.”
“Is Joshua West here?”
“If you mean the tall, handsome young man who looks like he should be wearing a professional football uniform, yes…he’s right outside. He wouldn’t leave. But you have quite a lineup of people waiting to see you. And there are security guards watching this floor. Let me see if I can sneak Mr. West in first.”
“Thanks, ma’am.”
Katie caught herself arranging her hair, using her fingers as a hairbrush. However she looked, it couldn’t be as bad as when she got sick and barfed on Josh. If that didn’t discourage him, her current condition surely wouldn’t.
The nurse returned with Josh on her heels. “Only one visitor at a time, for now.”
Who was she talking to?
Josh stepped in and the nurse blocked the door behind him.
“I’m not a visitor.” Mom’s voice. “I’m her mom, and I’m going in now.” Mom’s head appeared in the doorway.
“Do I have to call security?” The nurse gave her a serious frown.
Mom gave the nurse her laser look. “That depends on whether you want to treat a security guard next.”
“She’s serious, you’d better let her in,” Josh said.
The nurse shook her head. “All right. But not too long, she needs to rest.”
“Josh, Mom.”
“Are you all right, Katie? Did he hurt you?” Jenn took Katie’s hand, a concerned frown on her face.
“I’m OK. I think I hurt him a lot worse than that needle in the foot hurt me. Is Peterson out there, Mom?”
“Yes. I saw him in the hallway.”
“Would you find out if they caught the guy, or have any leads?”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Jenn asked again.
“Yes. The drug is wearing off.”
“OK. I’ll talk to Peterson. And thanks, Josh, for bringing her here.” Her mom left.
Josh stepped to Katie’s bedside and stood looking at her. His sad brown eyes looked like a recently weaned puppy, alone in a changing world. “Kate, you scared me when you passed out. It’s good to see you awake again. How do you feel?”
“If this is how a hangover feels, I’m never going to touch alcohol. I think my brain turned into a big fuzz ball.”
“Then you look a lot better than you feel.” He gave her a nervous smile. “If anything happened to you, I couldn’t—”
“I’m OK, Josh. So what happened? I remember calling you, and then you were holding me and…did I start asking you things?”
“Ask? Kate…you got a little demanding.”
She fought through the fuzziness and—her face grew hot. Probably glowing red.
Josh’s eyes lit up, and a smirk replaced his hangdog expression. “I see that you remember now.”
“Remember what?” Mom’s voice came from behind Josh.
Great. Katie would never hear the end of this if her mom knew. There would be one long endless lecture on relationships, appropriate behavior, and—
“They say that drug our friend used on you removes certain inhibitions. You know, so you reveal things that you might normally keep hidden.” Josh took her hand, the smirk grew smirkier.
Mom stepped beside Josh alongside Katie’s bed and her gaze darted between the two of them.
Suspecting her mom heard Josh’s veiled accusations, Katie tried to defuse the situation. “Time to change the subject. Is anyone going to tell me if they caught the guy?”
“He had better hope I don’t catch him,” Jenn said. “Anyone who hurts my daughter will answer to me.” She gave Josh a glaring glance.
Josh winced.
“I’m going to call your dad and let him know you’re all right, Katie.”
Josh breathed out a loud sigh after Jenn left the room. “I think your mom threatened me, Kate.”
“You don’t want to hear her real threats. That was just a friendly warning. Did I tell you that her temper is worse than mine?”
“Great. I’ve stepped between a mother grizzly and her cub, a ninja grizzly.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Did they catch him?”
“Not yet.” A deep voice boomed the words from behind Josh. Peterson.
&nb
sp; Maybe she would finally get some answers.
Josh made room at her bedside for the tall FBI agent.
“How are you doing, Katie?” The look in his eyes held a mixture of anger and concern.
“Pretty good for a druggie.” She looked from Peterson to Josh.
Josh’s smirk remained.
She would deal with that issue later. “So what did you find out about the guy?”
“The crime scene crew is still combing the lab. They’re getting a lot of evidence, but despite all the blood, the intruder got away. Katie…can you identify him?”
“He’s the Middle-Eastern guy from Whistler.”
“So you saw his face?”
“It was covered with a ski hood. When I hit him with the hard drive, it came off.”
Peterson’s eyebrows rose. “You went hand to hand with him?”
“No. I threw the drive at him. Don’t think I’ve ever thrown a baseball as hard as I threw that drive. It hit him in the forehead. There was a lot of blood.”
Josh’s eyes had widened when she mentioned throwing the hard drive.
Evidently Peterson noticed. “Her last year on the softball team,” Peterson glanced at Josh. “They stuck a baseball in Katie’s hand and clocked her with a radar gun. She hit ninety miles per hour on one throw.”
Josh’s head shook slowly. “Does it ever end with you?”
“What, Josh?”
“The ninja stuff just keeps—who are you really, Kate? A superhero’s daughter?”
Peterson chuckled. “They don’t make many like Katie Brandt. You’d better put your brand on her before some other guy does. If you do, you won’t ever be bored with life.” He chuckled again.
“I’m not some cow. I don’t like being referred to as a piece of property, marked as somebody’s possession.”
Peterson pointed a thumb at her. “See what I mean? Changing the subject—”
“You had better change it.” She shot Peterson a glaring glance.
“I want you two to restrict your activity for the next couple weeks. I’m going to have you watched for your protection.”
Peterson’s restriction concerned her. “We can still go to the computer lab, right?”
“Yes. But stay around town and when you’re in the lab…leave the terrorists alone. Do you hear me, Katie?”
“I hear you.” She lowered her gaze from Peterson to Josh’s hand, a huge hand that still enclosed hers.
Peterson started to leave, and then turned back toward them. “You two have been extremely lucky so far. You’ve escaped them twice and they didn’t get what they wanted from you this time. I’m sure they want to find out how much you actually know about their plans. They may try again. Since Katie gave them more than they could handle, they may try you, Josh.”
“Because I’m such a pushover?”
Peterson scanned Josh’s muscular physique. “I didn’t say that. But they’ll probably bring more than a hypodermic needle if they come after you. Do you get my drift, son?”
“Yeah. I understand.” He turned to Katie as Peterson left the room. “Kate, I’m sticking to you like glue until this is all over.”
She wouldn’t complain about that. Neither would she tell him how much she wanted him near her. But how long could her charade go on? At some point, Katie needed to be honest with Josh, honest with herself. And it would be so easy, if only…
“Kate?” Josh set down on the edge of her bed. “When you passed out…well, I’ve never been so scared in all my life. I outran a police car to get you to emergency.”
“Did that get you in any kind of trouble?”
“No. The FBI spoke up for me.”
“I…I felt the same way…when you nearly fell from the gondola. Thanks for saving me, Josh. He would have found me if you hadn’t come. But I don’t want to think about that right now. And…I would ask you to do something again, without the slurred speech, but between what that guy shot me up with, and what the doctors gave me, my mouth tastes like a chemical factory.”
Josh’s eyes had that warm, hopeful look, like a puppy looking for affection. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
She slipped her arms around him. “What are we going to do?”
“Like Peterson said, we leave the bad guys alone, let the FBI watch us for a while, and we work on our dissertations.”
“No. I mean what do we do about you and me. We have a lot of issues, and—”
He pressed a finger over her lips. “And like your mouth, we have a whole chemical factory.”
It was true. But it was also something she’d never before experienced. “But it’s kind of scary.” Though it was, she couldn’t hide her smile.
He returned it. “Like I said, you’re a beautiful, scary woman, Kate.”
Josh stayed and held her hand until, two hours later, the doctor came to tell her she would soon be discharged.
She was going home. Home. Where was that for her? Ultimately, with her Lord and Savior in heaven. But on earth, home seemed more and more like a place where her heart came alive. Not a physical place. Any place where Josh and Katie were together felt like home. And it felt like Josh had tossed a burning match into the chemical factory. Or was it a fireworks plant?
“You seem deep in thought.” Mom’s voice.
Katie jumped at her words. “I guess I was.”
“Worried?”
“A little.”
“You will be safe at home. Lee and I have got you covered.”
“I know. But that’s not what worries me.”
“Oh…I see.”
“How was it when you met Lee? You two were in a lot of danger. A little like Josh and me.”
“It was an emotional roller coaster. Certainly not boring.”
Waiting for a burning fireworks factory to explode certainly isn’t boring.
19
When Katie drove into the parking garage Tuesday morning, Josh’s car sat by the exit nearest the computer science building. A few spaces away, a man sat in a mid-sized sedan with the window down. Something about him was familiar—the Seattle Field Office. That’s where she had seen him. One of Peterson’s men.
Katie had slept in much later than normal. Maybe it was the lingering effect of the drugs.
After hacking the laptop in Whistler and the attempted abduction, how much longer would the conspirators wait before lighting the fuse on their terror bomb? It was time to bring Josh up to speed, all the way up. Then they needed to do some serious brainstorming and pray they found some evidence to support her conjecture.
Pray. Would Josh ever rely on God enough to do that? That was something she needed to pray about, harder than she had ever prayed about anything.
Please help me with this. And don’t let me walk off a cliff.
When she reached her desk, Katie slid her laptop out of her pack and fired it up. She pulled out her flash drive and noticed Josh walking toward her. She inserted the flash drive in the USB port.
“Is that your backup database?” His tone was accusing and he hovered, looking over her shoulder.
“That it is, and good morning to you too, Josh.”
“But Kate, you told Peterson—”
“No. I didn’t tell him. He told me.”
“So, you’re not backing off?”
She didn’t answer.
He sat beside her. “Then give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call Peterson right now and tell him what you’re doing.”
“Because I would never let you kiss me again for as long as I live.” Katie looked at Josh, studying his eyes.
“Kate.” The eyes of a hurt puppy, abused by its beloved master, looked back at her.
Josh’s expression almost brought tears to her eyes.
Then one eye overflowed. Darn it! She quickly wiped her cheek. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, Josh.”
“As long as you live? That might not be very long, Kate.”
She turned toward him, took one of his large hands in both o
f hers. And met his gaze. She would plead with her eyes, and with her words, that he would understand. “Josh…I’ve done some thinking about the other parts of this conspiracy. A lot of people might not live very long if we just drop it. By the time the FBI gets as far into the investigation as we are—”
“You mean as far as you are, don’t you?”
“No. As of today, it’s we, Josh.”
He smiled a warm, capitulating smile.
She had won. Katie looked into his warm, brown eyes. She had lost. It was we. No matter what she chose to do with Joshua West, in her heart she would always think of them as we.
She squeezed Josh’s hand. “This isn’t Katie’s little game of counterespionage. Hack and see if you can catch the bad guys. What we’re seeing here is big, bold, and bad. Very, very bad.”
“Would you care to elaborate?”
“I’ll tell you everything I know—everything, Josh—if you’ll promise to help me. If we don’t figure this out soon, a lot of Americans are going to die.”
“You’re not just saying that to get me to give my word to help, are you?”
“I’m saying it because I believe it’s the truth. But if it’s not enough, maybe I’m willing to bribe you.”
He raised his eyebrows and the corners of his mouth turned up. “Oh? This is getting interesting. But you know something, Kate? Anything you would bribe me with, well, I believe you’d be getting just as much out of it as me…a freebie.” He smiled and slowly shook his head. “Either way, you’re going to win.” He threw up his hands. “OK. I surrender.”
“You won’t regret it. You’ll see.”
“The only thing I regret is that I should’ve accepted the bribe before I caved.”
“If things…uh…go well, maybe we won’t miss out on anything.” Why had she added that? It was true, but…
“We, Kate?”
This verbal sparring before the knockout punch, or kiss, or whatever, was getting out of hand. “I need…we need to change the subject.”
“Time to get serious, again?”
She was serious. All of it was serious. Confusing, but serious. “Let’s deal with a terrorist conspiracy now and the we stuff later.”
“I won’t let you forget, Kate.”