by B. D. Gates
"Oh, then that was totally my pleasure, ma'am," I replied, laughing. "And, by the way, you are delicious."
She laughed. "Will it ever be that good again?"
"If it is, I suggest you marry whomever it is immediately."
She laughed again as she pulled me closer. I loved hearing it.
I always had.
We fell asleep not too long after that, wrapped in each others' arms. The last thing I remember was the scent of her, knowing that it was real and not a dream.
Tess was now permanently infused in my brain.
57
Tess's phone was buzzing. Had been buzzing.
I woke up as she jumped out of the bed, hurrying over to the side table to answer it, pulling on the blouse I had liberated her from the night before.
"Hayes."
She listened briefly, sitting down on the chaise.
"No, we're, we're good here, I understand. Yes, we'll let you know if anything changes. Right. Thank you, sir."
Tess tapped off, then looked over at me.
"Looks like we're in a holding pattern right now. The Program just pulled a group out of Philadelphia and they're a little stretched for safe houses and deputies. As long as you're safe, you're staying here."
I nodded.
Tess moved to the bed, sat on the edge next to me. She looked into my eyes, smiling shyly. I smiled as well.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey."
"You don't mind staying with me for a little while longer, do you?"
"No, ma'am," I replied.
"Good, because I'm not ready to let you go." She leaned in and kissed my neck, just under my ear. I pressed back against her lips, returning her sentiment.
"Tess, are you looking for Krieger? Has anyone seen him?"
"We're canvassing the local hotels and motels, we've expanded the area to cover Whitmore. I talked with the State Troopers Office there, and we've got BOLOs out to all the local LEOs. So, I'd say we've done about as much as we can to intercept him."
I relaxed. There were a lot of officers looking for Krieger. He'd have a hard time getting through that net.
"So, all he really knows is that I'm here, somewhere, and that I play ball for the Pride. Tess, please tell me someone's in Biggs' office."
"Whyte and Fowler are there, inside, and there's a cruiser parked in the parking lot. We figured he wouldn't go near the place with police sitting right on the doorstep."
"Thank god. Well, it sounds like you've got it covered."
"We think so."
Except they'd forgotten one little detail.
58
Penny looked up from the stacks of proofs waiting to be picked up by their respective subjects as the two men walked into Bennetts Photography Studio. She'd never seen them before, and she was good with faces. One was fairly tall, about six-two, broad-shouldered, nice looking, while the other was built like a football tackle and had a face like someone who'd boxed for a living.
"May I help you?" she asked.
"I hope so," replied the 'nice-looking' fellow. "We're looking for the photographer who shot this photo, Penny Harris," he said, pulling the magazine picture of Baxter from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
Penny felt the floor drop out from under her. Everything fell into place. She knew that these men were looking for Baxter, that they were why Baxter had come to Tenley, and why Tess had taken her into hiding. Penny's instincts told her to be quiet, to not let them know that she was the photographer they were looking for.
"Well, I'm sorry, but she's not here right now."
"Do you know when she'll be back?" asked the tall man.
"Um, no, I sure don't," Penny replied. "She's gone to, ah, pick up some supplies, and then, there was something else, I don't remember what she said, maybe it was a dentist appointment. Can I take a message for her?"
"No, that's okay, we'll wait."
"She could be gone for hours."
"That's fine. We don't have anything else to do, do we?" the tall man said to the boxer.
"Nope."
"Okay, well, then, if you'll just have a seat over there," said Penny, motioning to the couch and chairs in the corner of the reception area. "Y'all help yourself to some coffee," she added.
As the two men turned and made their way to the coffee stand, Penny grabbed her bag out from under the counter and headed for the back door, moving fast to distance herself from them. As she made her escape through the studio, she pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial for Baxter's flip phone.
"Pick up, Baxter, please pick up," she said under her breath.
59
Tess and I were lying in her bed, just enjoying holding each other, when my phone chimed. I looked at her. She knew who it was.
"Why don't you just let that go to voice mail," she suggested.
"I don't know if it has voice mail," I said, as I dug into my duffel to pull it out of the shorts I'd worn yesterday. I flipped it open. The screen read "Penny."
I showed it to Tess. She nodded 'okay,' giving me permission to take the call. I punched the button. "Hello."
"Baxter, listen, two men just came into the studio, looking for me. They had the magazine photo, but I think they're really looking for you and...hey!"
I could hear scuffling.
"Penny!"
"Well, Bishop, or should I say Baxter," said the voice. "Still in this world. Amazing, you're surviving that fire. Think your friend will be so lucky?"
"Krieger! You son-of-a-bitch!"
Tess looked at me, wide-eyed.
"I've got this pretty little girl here, Bishop, but she's not the one I want, so I'll tell you what...let's make a deal. You for her."
"Absolutely, Krieger. Where and when?"
"So, so brave, Bishop. Think I'll let you get away a second time? Whitmore Airport. Hangar Two. One hour. For this girl's sake, don't be late."
"I'll be there." I slapped the clam shell shut. "Krieger's here, and he's got Penny. We need to meet him at the Whitmore Airport, Hangar Two, in one hour and he'll trade Penny for me."
"Bishop, are you crazy?" Tess was already up and pulling clothes from her closet.
"No, Tess, he is. He'll kill Penny, he'll put a bullet through her head and he won't think twice about it. You don't know this guy. He's cold. Heartless. He's mad, maybe a little insane."
"Bishop, I'm calling my Captain, we can get a tactical team there ahead of him."
"Tess, I don't know where he's calling from, he could already be there. Besides, he's a cop, you think he won't smell a trap? He'll kill Penny for sure, he would do it just for spite. What he doesn't know is that you're with me, that I've got back-up."
"Bishop, again, that's crazy, going in by ourselves."
"So call Whyte and Fowler, tell them what's going on. But do it on the way, because we've only got an hour. Make that fifty-eight minutes. One minute late and Krieger will kill her, I swear. Tess, I know this guy. Please! Now, let's GO!"
I was pulling on my clothes as I talked.
"Bishop, I've just got a really bad feeling about this," she said in a low voice.
"Tess."
She looked into my eyes, held my gaze, then sighed. "Yeah, okay, Bishop."
I nodded. "Okay. Good. Give me your phone, I want to see a map of the airport."
Tess handed me her phone then moved into the bathroom as I called up the internet maps, entered the Whitmore airport and began looking at the layout. Thank you 'street views.' I memorized the information as I finished preparing myself for one last stand-off with Krieger.
60
Tess hit the gas, lights flashing blue as we exited the neighborhood and headed west toward Whitmore. She called Whyte and Fowler, talking with Fowler, who apparently nearly flipped when he heard what she was saying, that we were going in. He advised her to wait for them before engaging Krieger, that Whyte was already notifying the Captain, and that they'd establish contact with the Whitmore PD to inform them of the hostage situation.
I
was agitated, ready to fight. Krieger was going 'all-in.' He had nothing left to lose, he wanted me dead, this was end-game for him. He didn't care who he took down with us.
We could not go fast enough.
"Bishop, breathe."
"I am."
"You know, I think I'm getting a great insight into how you ended up here. You cannot go flying into this, blind with no back-up."
"I've got you..."
"Look, I am one police officer, trying to handle a hostage situation, and my back-up wants to go running in, guns blazing. I've never fired my gun at another human being and I don't want to start today. So, take a breath."
I tried. I really did.
The trip took thirty-two minutes, due to traffic jamming us when we got to Whitmore. We had less than ten minutes to spare when we drove onto the airport grounds.
Tess had cut the lights and siren about a minute or so before we got to the small airport. She turned down the service road that led to the hangars and pulled over, concealing us behind the small office building where the airport staff coordinated their projects for the day.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"We're waiting for Whyte and Fowler."
"Tess, come on...!"
"I am not going in there without back-up." She was firm.
Whyte radioed in. Tess gave him our location and their car pulled in about five minutes later. I was sweating. She got out to talk with the boys. I could hear the conversation through her open window.
"You brought her with you?" Fowler said, a little incredulous, looking through the open window at me.
"Tess, I'm not liking this," Whyte said. "We're out of our jurisdiction. We've got the Whitmore PD Tac Force and a hostage negotiator coming. We need to wait."
I slid across the bench seat to join the group discussion going on outside the car door. "Whyte, he will kill her. You don't know this guy. I do. He wants me. I'm it. He's so far under now, he doesn't care. Do you understand that? He doesn't care! This is vengeance. He's not going to negotiate for anything but me, and it's not going to be any other way because he's not going to prison. He's not going to be a cop in prison. So we've got to get Penny out, that's all that matters. Then Krieger and I will finish what we started."
Tess, hearing my words, looked at me, stunned. "Bishop, no..."
"Tess, there's no other way and we're running out of time." My phone chimed. I answered it, putting it on speaker and holding it out the window for the detectives to hear.
"Krieger, don't hurt her." My voice was flat, emotionless, as I felt the cold calm rush through my veins. I only wanted Penny released, alive and safe, now that I knew how this would end.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, you little bitch!" said Krieger, his voice more animated than mine, enjoying his ability to toy with me. "If you want to save her, you'd better get here. This is your 'two-minute warning', Bishop, get here, now, or I'll put a bullet right through her pretty little head."
I heard him cock the gun.
"You bastard!" I heard Penny exclaim.
I looked up at the detectives. They all looked at each other.
"Tick-tock, you sorry fuck." Krieger laughed as he hung up. I slapped the clamshell closed.
"Guys, please..." I begged the detectives.
They still stood looking at each other. I had to get them moving. I looked over at Tess.
"I'm sorry," I said to her, as I shifted her car into 'drive' and stomped the gas, watching the detectives in the rear view mirror as I floored it back onto the service road. They stared in disbelief as I pulled away, then scrambled and dove into their car. Holding the gas pedal to the floor, still gaining speed, I pushed the super-charged V-8 down the blacktop.
61
I pulled around the front of Hangar Two, sliding into the turn as I hit the brakes. The hangar was open and I looked in, seeing Krieger and his thug standing off to the far side of the open hanger door, Penny between them. I jammed the car in park, jumped out.
"I'm here, Krieger, now let her go!"
Krieger grinned a sick grin as he picked up Penny, held her against him like a child would a doll, putting the gun to her head. I walked towards him, hands open and empty.
"Let her go, Krieger," I repeated, yelling across the tarmac.
"Well, Bishop, you came," he said, as he walked towards me. "But I've changed my mind."
Penny was twisting against Krieger's hold on her, the anger apparent on her face. He stopped walking, tightened his grip, smiling as she tried to work herself free. There was maybe twenty, twenty-five yards between us.
"You really fucked it up for me, girl. I was finally making money as a cop, living a better-than-decent life, then you had to go sticking your nose where it didn't belong. You ruined it, you stupid dyke bitch, you turned my life into shit," declared Kreiger. "So, tell me now, this one here, this little 'hell-cat,' she's a hot fuck, isn't she? Quite an armful. I'd bet that if I torment her, make her mad enough, she'd be an oh-so-very-hot-fuck." He took on a smug grin."I'm taking her with us, Bishop. We're all going back to Baltimore, so you and I can have just a little more quality time together. I'll keep her as a pet. That would be fun, wouldn't it?" His face took on a snarl as his words grew hard and biting. "Then every time I think about what you did to me, I'll take her out and play with her, and I'll make you watch. What do you say, girl? That sound like a plan?" He laughed a sick, sadistic laugh.
"Well..." I shook my head. "I say you can do whatever you want with her, Krieger, I've had my fun. I'll warn you, though, she gets a little 'clingy' pretty quick, ya know what I mean?"
Penny stopped squirming and looked at me like I'd just slapped her.
Krieger's mouth had fallen open with my remark, then he laughed. "Well, damn, Bishop. Now I know why you were always so successful with the women."
Penny quickly found her voice, her eyes still wide. "I knew you were lying to me, Baxter, I knew it! You sorry bitch! You've been lying from the start! You asshole!"
I just shrugged my shoulders. "Well, yeah, Penny, whatever. But if you knew that you couldn't trust me to start with, then why the hell did you ever? Because I told you to? For fucksake, Penny, I'm a liar! I'm a LIAR! That was so stupid! I mean, damn, girl, seriously!"
"Shut up, Baxter, just shut the fuck up!" She was livid.
"But, Penny," I continued, "let me just thank you, thank you so much, because none of this would be happening if it weren't for you. If I had known what the hell you were doing, I'd have never given you permission to use that picture. You didn't even ask, though, HELL no, why would you? Because it's always been just 'all about YOU!"
"Wait, you're blaming this on me? Are you kidding me?" She continued to squirm against Krieger's hold, the anger burning in her eyes. "This is your shit, Baxter, not mine, so SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
"Wait, now, Penny, just, hear me out. I mean, I might as well put it all out there, right? Clear the air, ya know? So, that day in the bookstore, you remember that day, don't you, Penny, when I almost let you walk away? Almost. See, at that very last second, I thought, "whoa, what are you doing, you need to keep her around, she's a damn good fuck!"
I was laughing. "And, like you said, all I had to do was call so, I mean, who would be stupid enough to give that up? Seriously, Penny, why the hell would I?"
"Shut up, Baxter, just SHUT UP! YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE! YOU'RE A LYING, FUCKING BITCH!"
Krieger was still grinning, enjoying watching the heated exchange unfolding between us, no longer holding the gun to Penny's head. Penny had pulled her arms free, was bracing herself on Krieger's forearm, while Krieger still held her tight around her waist.
"One more thing, then we'll be done." I continued, raising my voice so that she would hear me clearly. "I never gave A DAMN ABOUT YOU, PENNY! Not one damn! I LIED! About EVERYTHING! YOU WERE NOTHING TO ME! I WAS USING YOU! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I WAS USING YOU! I DON'T LOVE YOU, PENNY! I NEVER DID!
Penny raised up in indignation, pure murder burning in her eyes as
she stared at me. She wanted at me, Krieger and his gun be damned. Perched on his arm, she leaned forward, then snapped her head backwards and slammed Krieger in the face. His nose gushed blood and he dropped her as he staggered back, off balance and blinded. Penny fell to the ground, away from him.
Krieger quickly righted himself, swinging his gun towards Penny, who was getting up, still intent on killing me.
"Krieger!"
He looked, saw that I had my Glock on him, and reversed, aimed at me. His barrel flashed as I squeezed the trigger.
I watched as, seemingly in slow motion, blood blasted from his chest, my bullets hitting their marks, as his bullets, finding theirs, threw me backwards, onto the ground.
"NOOOO!"
62
My eyes were open and I was staring up into the most beautiful blue sky I had ever seen. Tess and Penny leaned into my view.
"Where was she hit? I saw her get hit! Bishop, what the hell? There's no blood!"
"Oh, god, Baxter! Is she dead?"
Then Tess's hands were up under my shirt, tearing at the straps of the Kevlar vest she had given me that long-ago morning at breakfast, two slugs now embedded near the center.
"Bishop, c'mon, take a breath. You need to take a breath.You're okay, but you need to take a breath."
No, I'm good, I thought. The stillness was rather nice.
Suddenly, I was air hungry and I tried to breathe, I really did, but I'd been slammed in the chest with a sledgehammer. In a matter of seconds, I was struggling, smothering, as I rolled over onto my side, trying to find air, and finally managing a breath. Tess pulled me over onto my back.
I looked into her eyes. "That was the best present anyone's ever given me, Tess, and I ruined it," I whispered, hoarse and gasping.
"Oh, Bishop," she replied with a small smile, shaking her head. "I'll get you another one, I promise. C'mon now, sit up."
Tess and Penny both took an arm and pulled me up into a sitting position. I took a breath as they did.
"Ohh, shit, that hurts," I said. I tried to lie down again, to turn back onto my side.