He left the limousine and gazed about, seeing only the dead and dying, and after stepping over Agent Ross, who appeared dead, he headed for the basement.
“Here I come, Summer!”
Summer answered with a fear-filled shriek, and Numerical stepped through the hole.
***
Jessica sighed with relief as she saw her husband emerge through the aperture in the basement door and rush towards her, but then she heard the volley of shots, and the grunt that came from Agent Ross as he was either killed or wounded.
“Go!” her husband said, and she moved down the stairs and reached the open door of the safe room, as behind her, Summer, who was wearing spiked heels, fell down the final two steps to land flat on the floor.
Jessica went back to her, and was bending over to help, when her husband grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the safe room.
A lusty voice shouted, “Here I come, Summer!” and Jessica heard Summer make a cry of pure terror.
Then, her husband rushed by her with something clutched in his hand, as Summer let out a scream.
***
Numerical saw Dr. White being pulled into a lit basement room, and then noticed Summer sprawled out at the foot of the steps.
He almost unsheathed his knife from his belt, but knew he didn’t have time for a drawn-out kill, and so he rushed down the steps with the gun pointed at her and smiled when he heard her scream.
Before he could fire, he saw movement from the doorway of the lit room, and had just enough time to realize that something had been thrown at him before he felt it slam into the side of his head.
He sat down on a step, hard, as the gun fell. The stairs were old and wooden, the kind without risers, and after hitting a step, the gun bounced through the opening at the rear and landed on the floor under the stairs, where it clattered to rest beside a stack of cardboard boxes.
Numerical cursed, while blinking away the pain, and knowing that he’d have a lump on his head from whatever had hit him. He took out his knife, just as the man he had glimpsed before rushed towards him and grabbed his wrists.
And as they struggled over her prone form, Summer Gray screamed.
***
Jessica saw her husband hurl one of the cans of food at Numerical and knew his aim had been true when she heard the man grunt and stumble.
Before rushing out the door, he turned to her.
“Once Summer gets in here, lock the door,”
And then he was gone.
When Summer began to scream, Jessica rushed out to lend assistance, and was horrified to see her husband struggling with Numerical for possession of a long knife.
She rushed over to help, but was knocked to the floor as the two men tussled with their arms locked together.
From her vantage point on the floor, Jessica saw the gun laying beneath the stairs, and as she rose up on her knees, she saw her husband raise a leg up and kick Numerical into the safe room.
Jessica raced for the gun, and got a hand on it just as she heard the steel door of the safe room slam shut.
She spun around, saw only Summer, and charged at the woman with rage in her eyes.
“God damn you! Did you lock my husband in there with that monster?”
Summer was crying; her face streaked with makeup and fear.
Jessica grabbed Summer by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
“Why did you do it?”
Summer found her voice.
“I, I, I didn’t lock the door. Your husband did.”
CHAPTER 45
Alice was elated to find her purse laying on the seat of the ATV, and after reaching into it for her phone, she called Rob as she drove towards the tower.
There was no answer, and so she left a brief voice message telling him to call back immediately. She considered calling the police directly, but hesitated due to her fugitive status, although, in the back of her mind she realized that her time as Alice Johnson would likely come to an end, in the aftermath of the day’s events.
There was no time to get help anyway, but even if she managed to kill both June Chandler and Drake, she would still have to do so before they completed whatever they were doing, and Alice had no way of knowing if they were acting alone.
That last thought caused her to stop the ATV. What if Drake wasn’t alone at the tower?
Alice grabbed her gun from her purse, crept towards the tower on foot, and several minutes later, she neared the clearing where the tower sat.
After finding a gap through the branches that allowed a view of the top of the tower, Alice spotted Drake there, and in his hands was something that looked like a cross between a machine gun and a telescope.
What is that?
A moment later, she realized what it was and recalled the writing on the crate in the mine.
FIM-92H Stinger
Stinger! As in Stinger Missile, Good God, he’s planning to shoot a plane from the sky.
Alice knew that the Northridge Airfield was on the outer edge of the forest and had seen and heard several planes pass overhead whenever she was near the tower. In the distance were twin mountains, and to land at the airfield, a plane would have to fly between them. The old tower was the only spot in the area that was taller than the trees and also allowed a view of those mountains.
She gazed up at Drake and saw that he was watching the sky eagerly. Was he seeking to take down a particular plane, or would anything do? And how many people would die if the wounded plane crashed into a populated area?
Alice thought through her options. She likely couldn’t snipe Drake from the ground with the gun she had, and trying to climb the tower to reach him was suicide. She remembered the day she saw Drake turn a steel barrel into something that resembled a hunk of Swiss cheese, and was certain Drake had armor piercing rounds up in the tower to defend himself with, and if he wasn’t alone, he wouldn’t even have to lift a finger, but just let his partners take her out.
In the end, she could think of only one possible way to stop Drake, and minutes later, as she sped into the clearing at the wheel of the ATV, she looked up at the tower and saw Drake taking aim at something in the sky.
The ATV lost speed as it climbed up the mound that held the tower, but Alice still slammed into the rickety structure at nearly forty miles an hour, causing one of the main support poles to break with a loud CRACK!, even as she was flung from the open vehicle.
***
After fashioning a crude tourniquet out of his shirt and part of a tree branch, Rob had taken his phone off his belt and made contact with the sheriff.
His tourniquet was adequate, but because of his injured left arm, he had trouble maintaining the necessary tension that would constrict the blood flow. He was losing blood at a slower pace, but he was still losing blood, and he knew that it was just a matter of time until he passed out and bled to death.
Help was on the way, but when he listened to his voicemail, he was shocked and anguished to discover that Alice was in the area. He tried calling her back, but she didn’t answer, and with his injuries, he couldn’t go look for her.
Fear gripped his heart until he remembered who Alice really was, and he realized that whatever she might be facing within the woods that surrounded them, that she would have a better than even chance at surviving it, for after all, she had beaten tougher odds before.
He whispered a prayer that help would arrive soon, winced at the ever expanding puddle of blood beneath his leg, and wondered if he would live long enough to see Alice’s sweet face again.
CHAPTER 46
Numerical was stunned.
Just seconds after he was about to fire a bullet into Summer Gray’s terrified face, he found himself locked in a room with an unarmed man who was staring at him with glee in his wolfish eyes, and looking like a little boy on Christmas morning.
Numerical held up his knife.
“Open that door or I’ll gut you.”
The man smiled, the bastard actually smiled at him, and
Numerical felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
“Who the fuck are you? What’s your name?”
The tall man ignored him, and without ever taking his eyes off of him, or losing that damn smile, he reached out with his left hand and grabbed a blue blanket off one of the shelves.
It was plain to Numerical what he planned to do; he was going to wrap his arm with the blanket for protection against the blade.
A good plan, Numerical thought. If he had the time to do it,
However, Numerical wasn’t about to give him that time, and so he rushed forward with the knife, aiming for the man’s torso, and began slicing away.
***
After thrusting Numerical into the safe room with a kick, he had followed the man inside and locked the door, knowing that it would keep Jessica safe.
He could have locked him in alone and been sure of his own safety as well, but he didn’t want safety, he wanted a challenge, one that didn’t involve putting on a funny white suit and spraying paint, but a life and death struggle between predators, where only one could survive.
Numerical regained his balance, held up the knife, and threatened him.
He smiled as he felt the adrenaline rush and the combat readiness energize his body and mind. He was on the hunt, had cornered his prey, and all that remained was to break through its defenses and kill it.
Joy filled him, joy so long denied, a jubilation that was only known among predators.
Numerical said something else, but he barely heard the man, as his entire being readied for the kill.
He reached for a blanket, not for defense, but to be used as a weapon, and as he expected, Numerical pounced.
He gave his wrists a hard flick, and the blanket unfurled as the outer edge caught Numerical in the face. Another flick of the wrists, and the blanket was draped over Numerical, who responded by slicing at it in an attempt to regain his field of vision.
He watched, and as the hand holding the knife emerged from a rip in the cloth, he gripped the wrist with one hand and used his other arm to pummel the head shape beneath the blanket with his elbow.
Numerical held on to the knife and tried to defend himself with his free hand, but with the blanket covering him, his blows were stunted and had little effect.
As the first splotch of red marked the light-blue blanket, he kicked Numerical’s feet out from under him and followed him down to the floor, where Numerical’s back slammed against metal shelving. The impact loosened Numerical’s grip on the knife, and he forced it from his white knuckles, moved it through the air in an arc, and plunged it into Numerical’s left side, while feeling the blade scrape against the man’s ribs, causing a scream to erupt from beneath the blanket.
He yanked the knife free as he stood, then, ripped the blanket away, to gaze down at a man who liked to number his victims, of which there had been many.
He too had killed many, but he would no more think of keeping track of the count than would a lion or a tiger. Prey was simply prey for him, not sport.
He watched Numerical lift his shirt and study the wound. With medical attention, the man might live, unfortunately for him, the next doctor to tend to his wounds would be a coroner.
He crouched down beside Numerical while resting on his haunches, pressed the edge of the knife against the man’s throat, and saw that the realization of approaching death was in his soulless eyes.
Numerical spoke to him.
“Prophet? Are you Prophet?”
He slowly shook his head no, and Numerical glared at him.
“Say something damn it.”
“Zero,”
“What’s zero?”
“It’s your number.”
The knife moved, and Numerical ceased to exist.
***
Outside the room, Jessica had been yanking on the door handle despite knowing it was useless, and finally gave it up in despair.
Summer sat on the floor beside her, wiping at tears.
“They’ll send help,” Summer said.
“That could be too late,” Jessica answered, but then she remembered that the two agents guarding them carried a type of emergency beacon.
She rushed up the stairs with the gun at her side, and nearly shot Jerry Schneider as he emerged from the limo.
“Dr. White? Where’s Numerical?”
Jessica ignored him as she searched Agent Ross for the beacon, and with a shock, she realized that he still had a pulse. She checked his wounds, but saw that there was little she could do for him since his injuries were internal and required surgery.
Then she saw it in his left hand, the beacon. At some point, Agent Ross had activated his beacon.
Schneider shouted at her, with tears shining in his eyes.
“Is it safe?”
“Yes, it’s safe. Numerical is dead.”
Her words were true, Jessica knew. Her husband, unarmed or not, would not be bested, not by Numerical, not by any man. She grew calm, certain beyond all doubt that her husband was safe in the locked room beneath her feet.
The feeling of utter confidence wasn’t alien to her, just long absent.
She felt the helicopter’s vibration before she heard it, and soon saw Robyn and other agents land and head towards the house.
***
When the door opened, he saw Robyn Dyer enter. She was clad in a bulletproof vest and held a gun in her right hand.
Jessica followed behind four more agents, and flew into his arms.
“Are you injured?”
“Not a scratch,”
On the floor, against a line of shelves, lay Numerical’s body, and embedded into the top of his shaved head, was the man’s beloved antique knife. A weapon he had used to murder scores of women.
After checking for a pulse on the body, Robyn straightened up and stared at him.
“Thank you for stopping this monster.”
He sent her a nod, took Jessica’s hand, and together they went up the stairs.
CHAPTER 47
After somersaulting out of the ATV, Alice landed directly beneath the tower on her back, and realized that the structure was falling over like a tree that had been chopped on one side.
Then, there came four sounds in quick succession. There was a Whoosh!, as the missile flew, a scream from Drake of either frustration or fear, a surprisingly muted Thump!, as the missile struck a nearby hill, and then a tremendous crash, as the tower hit the ground, while crushing the ATV and ridding several trees of their branches.
Alice stood on shaky legs amid swirling dust and saw the pile of rubble that had been the tower, as well as the flattened ATV beneath it. Her purse was somewhere in that mess, along with her phone and the gun, and she didn’t even waste time trying to salvage them, because she had to find out if Drake survived the tower’s collapse.
She found him several yards away from what had been the top portion of the tower. Drake was unconscious, but breathing, and both legs and one arm were broken. The missile launcher and any other weapons he had were gone, either scattered or lost beneath the debris, but Alice took Drake’s phone from his belt and began walking.
As she was about to call Rob, she saw it, the fire that the errant missile had caused. The blaze was still small, and Alice thought that it likely wouldn’t get out of hand, since there had been so much recent rain.
She huddled behind a tree, wary, because she still didn’t know what had become of June Chandler, and then she used Drake’s phone to call Rob.
***
Alice was keeping tension on Rob’s tourniquet when they heard the faint rustle of leaves indicating that help was coming.
“Go,” Rob said, and his voice was weak from blood loss.
With his wounded arm, he had been unable to stanch the flow of blood, and when Alice reached him, she found him lying in a pool of red.
“I’m not going anywhere, if I don’t keep holding onto this tourniquet you could die.”
“You’ll be captured.”
“I... I kn
ow, but I can’t leave you, and I know that between you and my Aunt Dawn that Kimmy... that Chrissie will be all right.”
The sounds of approach were nearer, close enough to hear voices, as overhead, helicopters circled. Alice caught a glimpse of one through a gap in the trees and saw that it had camouflage colors, which meant military, and federal agents couldn’t be far behind.
“I love you, Alice,” Rob said.
Alice lowered her head and kissed him on the lips.
“I love you too, and call me Sandra,”
Another kiss, and then she called out to her rescuers, knowing that before long, they would also be her jailers.
CHAPTER 48
DAYS LATER
Jessica watched Violet kiss the twins goodbye, as she prepared to return home after visiting the PREY house.
Elena and Cassandra were also there, and they too leaned into Jessica’s SUV and kissed the children, who were fastened into their car seats.
When Jessica told Elena that Numerical had mentioned the name, Prophet, to her husband, she told Jessica what Violet had said about the mystery man, and informed her that the men who had attacked PREY’s former abode all had DNA that matched evidence found at various murder sites and abductions.
Prophet was someone that needed investigation, and the two doctors agreed to exchange any information they might come across.
As Jessica climbed behind the wheel, Violet sent her a smile.
“Thank you for bringing the children by,”
Jessica told her it was their pleasure, as the children had been spoiled with hugs and kisses since the moment of their arrival, and the three women had marveled that her son was already toddling about, just shy of his ninth month.
She left them to go home, having learned from her husband that guests awaited her.
***
Chrissie ran to her as soon as Jessica stepped out of her vehicle, and Jessica was shocked by how much the child had grown, and attempted to soothe her worries about her mother’s predicament.
Rob Bolan was nervous, but after Maggie led Chrissie away to the attic, to show the girl her childhood collection of dolls, Rob seemed calmer and spoke freely.
The TAKEN! Series - Books 13-16 (Taken! Box Set Book 4) Page 33