Light of the Last

by Chuck Black

  Lewis held up his hand to stop Drew. “Why did you try to repeat the lab experiment?”

  “Because Ben believed that Dr. Waseem had successfully accelerated light and that his death was not accidental. We were trying to confirm his findings as proof.”

  “Proof of what?” Lewis asked.

  Drew hesitated. “Proof that Dr. Waseem and his research were the victims of industrial espionage and possibly sabotage.”

  Lewis glanced toward Reed. Reed just raised an eyebrow.

  “If you were convinced, why didn’t you take this to the police?” Reed asked.

  “Because we needed proof. No one was going to listen to a couple of college students about something this big. Besides, we were nervous that whoever was behind this may have been watching us. We were afraid for ourselves and our families.”

  “That’s quite the conspiracy theory, Carter. How does this have anything to do with the shooting at Drayle University?” Lewis sneered.

  “The accident burned Ben, and I went blind for a few months. During that time, Ben became paranoid. You see, Ben had helped Dr. Waseem conduct the research and was the only one who could re-create the experiment. He began to fear for his life, so he disappeared. When I recovered from my injuries, I knew I had to find him. That took me to Drayle, because I knew I had to disappear too, but I needed to say good-bye to someone first.”

  “Who?” Lewis prompted.

  “Sydney Carlyle. And for the record, I want you to know that whatever you think I’ve done and whatever charges you have against me, Sydney had nothing to do with any of it. The only thing she is guilty of is trying to help me find Benjamin Berg. She is innocent on all counts,” Drew pleaded.

  Lewis smirked. “We know better, Carter. Ms. Carlyle was an accomplice of yours from the day she set foot in Chicago. She was supposed to report any contact with you to us, and she didn’t. She’s given us her statement. I wouldn’t worry about trying to protect Carlyle, because she doesn’t appear to be worried about protecting you. Now what happened at Drayle? Why did you have weapons in your car on a college campus?” Lewis’s voice was strained.

  Drew shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking. I should have parked off campus. I had the gun and knives because I didn’t know who I might come across in my search for Ben. If these people had truly killed Dr. Waseem, I wanted to be prepared.”

  Lewis huffed. “Supposing your story to be true and Dr. Waseem had been killed by some questionable people, you think you would be able to defend yourself and Berg?” He smirked. “Against professionals?”

  Drew wasn’t sure how much he wanted the FBI to know about how skilled he was. “Well, I knew I’d have a better chance with weapons than without them.”

  Lewis glared at Drew. “What is your association with Duncan Terance McGruger?”

  Drew shook his head. “Who is he?”

  Lewis smirked again. “Don’t play dumb, Carter.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know that name.”

  “He’s the guy who killed nine students at Drayle. How can you not know his name?” Reed asked, leaning against the wall again.

  “I…I disappeared off the grid for months. No television, no computers, no technology for weeks. I guess I never heard his name.”

  Both agents just stared at Drew, expressionless. Reed pushed off from the wall and walked behind Drew. Lewis glanced up at his partner. Some message was exchanged.

  “How stupid do you think we are, Carter? You were there, you coordinated the attack with him, and now you want us to believe that you don’t even know his name?” Anger flushed Lewis’s cheeks as he struggled to keep control.

  Drew was getting angry too. This guy had had it in for him even before Drew had knocked him out. Now there was no hope.

  Lewis continued. “How was it that you were in the same building as McGruger when he started shooting students?”

  “Sydney had a class in that building. I walked her to her class, and as I was leaving—” Drew stopped as he remembered the shots ringing out, the students screaming and crying. People had been dying all around him and all he could think about was trying to save Sydney. He recovered himself. “As I was leaving, the shooting started.”

  Lewis’s eyes narrowed. “What did McGruger tell you to do then?”

  Drew clenched his teeth and reminded himself that this was a tactic to get him to trip up. “Nothing! I’d never seen the guy until that day.”

  Reed walked from behind Drew to his left side and gave Lewis a stern look. “What did you do next?” Reed asked.

  “I was on the stairs. I tried to pull some of the students to safety. One girl was shot in the leg, so I carried her back to Sydney’s class and got two guys to take her out the back way. We got some of the students out, but the gunman cut off our exit. That’s when he came into our room. The professor and I tried to keep the door shut, but he got shot and the gunman got in.”

  “The professor stated that you agreed to bar the door but then let the gunman into the room,” Lewis said flatly. “Was that part of your plan with McGruger?”

  “What? No! I told you I never knew that guy. Why would I let him in and then try to stop him?”

  Lewis leaned forward. “You tell me.”

  “I don’t know. I guess I was stunned for a moment. I remember thinking, what if this guy was connected with the people who killed Dr. Waseem? What if he was coming after me?”

  For a moment, no one said anything.

  “Is that what you believe?” Reed finally asked. “That they were coming after you?”

  Drew realized that he was starting to sound like a conspiracy nut. He shook his head. “No. I realized that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. This McGruger guy was just some nut job on a rampage. All I wanted to do was to keep Sydney safe and stop the killing.”

  Lewis scoffed. “Sure.”

  Drew tried to ignore Lewis’s sarcasm. “Once the gunman made the room, I charged him. He slammed into the wall and was knocked out.” He shrugged. “That’s it. I had nothing to do with the shooting except trying to stop it. Look, there was an entire classroom of witnesses you must have questioned. What about the professor? Surely he told you.”

  Lewis just frowned. “Why did you run? Why did you leave your car there, a car with weapons inside it? Were those backup weapons for McGruger? If you were innocent, why run?” The agent leaned forward again. “Sure looks bad from where we’re sitting.”

  “Because I knew the campus would immediately go on lockdown. I would be detained and questioned for hours.”

  “So what?” Reed asked. “You waited eight months. What’s a few more hours?”

  Drew sighed. He felt manipulated, and Lewis was intent on making him look guilty. “My face would have been all over television for days, especially since I had stopped the gunman. I couldn’t take a chance on those responsible making the connection between me and the incident at the lab.”

  “Oh, I see; you were afraid of the secret assassin that killed Waseem.”

  Drew stared at Lewis, trying to control his anger. The agent had no clue what was happening. Drew was the only person on the planet who could see the global invasion of mankind, and he was stuck in an FBI interrogation chamber, trying to convince two skeptical dimwits that he was a good guy.

  “I don’t think you have any idea how significant Dr. Waseem’s discovery is. His work on light acceleration has the potential to revolutionize the technology industry. Telecommunications, data storage, weaponization. It would be the single most significant discovery in the last one hundred years, and it would be worth billions.” Drew leaned forward and stared right into Lewis’s eyes. “That’s why I ran. And that’s why Ben ran.”

  Lewis stared right back at him, anger seething in his eyes. “Carter, regardless of the evidence for or against you at Drayle University, you were in possession of illegal weapons in a school safety zone, you purposely evaded the FBI and impeded our investigation, and then subsequently assaulted two federa
l agents with deadly weapons.” Lewis leaned in close to Drew and lowered his voice. “Assault with a deadly weapon against a federal agent carries up to twenty years in prison…for each offense! Do you understand how serious these charges are against you?”

  Drew’s heart sank. He glared at Lewis. Honesty and humility weren’t going to gain him a thing. “Yeah, I get it,” he snapped, regretting his tone before he finished the comeback.

  Lewis stood up and leaned over the table. “I suggest you reconsider your story and start telling the truth!” He slammed the table with his fist.

  The room fell silent.

  Drew was frustrated, angry, and discouraged. It seemed so hopeless. He hung his head, resigned to finish out his life behind the bars of a prison cell.

  2

  A LIFE FOR A LIFE

  The door to the interrogation room opened and an older gentleman leaned in. Drew guessed him to be Lewis’s supervisor.

  “Agents Lewis, Reed. A word.”

  Lewis grabbed the recorder. “You’d better think this over, Carter.”

  The two agents left the room, and Drew put his head facedown on the table. How had he come to this? All he ever wanted to do was play football, find a pretty wife, and be a normal guy. Now the world was crashing down on him like a boot snuffing out the life of an insignificant ant.

  Even if he could by some miracle convince them he was telling the truth, it wouldn’t change the fact that both he and Sydney had serious charges against them. If only they really knew what was at stake. If only he could tell someone the whole truth!

  Drew waited until he was sure the agents were back in the observation room and then slowly turned his head away, placing his ear on the surface of the table.

  “—jerk is lying. And he coordinated the story with Carlyle. I’m going to keep at these two until one of them cracks and starts telling the truth.”

  “No, you’re not, Agent Lewis. Your line of questioning is coercive and has already jeopardized our ability to use this information in a court of law. As of now, consider yourself removed as the lead investigator on this case.”

  “Come on, Graham—”

  “Furthermore,” the supervisor continued, his voice firm and unyielding, “because of your inability to contain the suspect last night, coupled with your breach in FBI interrogation policy, I have no choice but to place you under review. Report to my office at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed!”

  There was a long pause; then a door slowly opened and closed.

  “Agent Reed. You’ve been on this case with Lewis from the beginning. I’m bringing Mathews in as senior investigator, and you’ll stay on as his assistant, but until then, this is your investigation. Finish up the interrogation, and get us something we can use.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “What’s your opinion of Mr. Carter, Agent Reed?” This was the soft voice of the mysterious Mr. Ross again.

  “Well, sir, I’m not sure what to think, but I know this—he could have killed us both last night if he’d wanted to. And…” There was a long pause. “I don’t know too many guys who could take on an entire gang and come out alive.”

  “I want you to find out where Berg is,” the supervisor said, “and I want you to bargain Sydney Carlyle’s freedom for his confession to the shooting at Drayle.”

  “What if he really wasn’t involved?”

  “Just do it.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The door closed and Drew pretended to continue to rest. When the door to the interrogation room opened, he slowly lifted his head. As Reed entered the room, Drew looked behind him as if he were expecting Agent Lewis to follow.

  Reed sat across the table from Drew. He placed the recorder on the table again and pressed Record. He looked at Drew, pursed his lips, and took a deep breath. “How are you doing, Carter? Can I get you anything?”

  Drew squinted. He looked over at the one-way mirror. “Is this the good-cop–bad-cop play now?”

  Reed forced a quick smile. “Listen, Carter. You may have fooled the students in that classroom and even the professor. But no one brings weapons like you had in your vehicle onto a college campus without serious ill intentions. We know you were plotting something. Your presence with those weapons on the same day as the shooting at Drayle is too coincidental. You’re in deep, Carter, and your assault against federal agents has already bought you a one-way ticket to the pen.”

  Drew knew what was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier. The shame for his mother would be the worst to bear. She and Jake would have to believe he had gone insane. The thick black cloud of an unfair life strangled him once more. His head hung low.

  “I’m prepared to make you a deal,” Reed said. Drew detected the slightest hint of regret in his tone. “Give me your confession to the shooting at Drayle, and we’ll drop all the charges against Sydney Carlyle.”

  Drew slowly lifted his head and glared at Reed. His whole body felt twice as heavy as it had just a few moments ago.

  “I’ll give you my confession, but you have to drop the charges against Sydney Carlyle, Jake Blanchard, and Benjamin Berg, and you stop all investigation on each of them.”

  Reed glared back, brows furrowed. He closed the file in front of him. “Carter, you’re in no position to bargain.”

  “And I want five minutes alone with Sydney, no one listening. Those are my terms. Without my confession, you’ve got nothing to tie me to that shooting, and I have a room full of witnesses against it.”

  Reed frowned, then stood and left the room. Before Drew had a chance to listen in again, Reed returned.

  “Okay, Carter. You’ve got a deal. But I will be present when you talk with Carlyle, and we still want to talk to Berg. No exceptions.” Reed put his index finger on the table between them. “You’d better take it, Carter. It’s as good as it’s going to get for you.” He actually looked sympathetic.

  Drew slowly nodded.

  Reed left the file closed but turned on the recorder and looked at Drew, waiting.

  Drew took a deep breath. “McGruger and I planned the whole thing out the week before. When I got to campus, I realized I couldn’t do it, so I tried to stop him, but I was too late. I ran ’cause I figured the FBI would know I was in on it. The students thought I was a hero, but actually I was part of the whole thing.”

  Reed crossed his arms and glared at Drew. “If that’s true, then why do we have surveillance footage of you every day in Rivercrest for two weeks prior to the shooting? Grocery store, fitness center, bank.”

  “We planned it out online in a chat room,” Drew replied.

  “We pulled all your phone and Internet records—no McGruger. You’re not a very good liar.”

  Drew shook his head in confused frustration. “What do you want from me, Agent Reed? I’m giving you a confession. That was the deal. Now I have to prove that I did it?”

  Reed just stared at him, and Drew knew he was struggling. The agent ran his hand through his hair. “We’re going to go over that part of the story in detail. Right now I want you to tell me what happened after the shooting at Drayle. Where did you go?”

  “After Drayle?” Drew asked.

  Reed nodded.

  “Do you want the story based on me being involved in the shooting at Drayle or the story based on me not being involved in the shooting?”

  Reed fidgeted and quickly glanced toward the mirror. “Don’t get smart, Carter. Just tell me the truth.”

  Drew backed off. He didn’t want to turn Reed into a real enemy. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I’m just a little tense here.” He shrugged. “I’m going to give you the truth, and you can do with it as you please.” Drew thought back to his decision to divert north to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. “I was nervous that I might be tracked by whoever was responsible for Dr. Waseem’s death, so I decided to go off-grid and disappear in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota until I could verify that no one was following me. I stayed there for six weeks and then ma
de my way to Chicago.”

  “Did you hide out in a cabin?”

  Drew shook his head. “No, I just camped.”

  “But we found most of your supplies still in your car,” Reed said.

  “I’ve had some training in survival. Besides, it was only six weeks.”

  Reed grunted. “Go on.”

  “Once I hit Chicago I started looking for Ben. He had given me a clue that he would be there, so I methodically started searching all the computer tech companies until I found him. That’s when Sydney came into the picture.”

  “Did you ask her to come help you?”

  Drew hesitated, wishing she had listened to him when he asked her to stay away. He would have to choose his words carefully so as not to incriminate her. “We met accidentally at Reverend Branson’s church. She was on a mission trip. When she found out I was in Chicago looking for Ben, I enlisted her help.”

  Agent Reed leaned forward. “She said she came to Chicago to help you—insisted on helping you—and you tried to stop her. Is that true, Carter?”

  Drew was sick at heart. He sensed that Reed might actually be for him. How could he lie, but how could he not save Sydney?

  “Sydney Carlyle truly is innocent…innocent of everything! I convinced her that Dr. Waseem’s death was a murder, that Ben’s life was in danger, and that these same people were after me. She just wanted to help find Ben and keep him safe.”

  Reed seemed to think about this for a moment. “So you found Berg, then what? Why did you stay in Chicago?”

  “Ben and I realized we needed proof that Dr. Waseem’s research was legitimate. We decided to attempt to rebuild the lab and conduct the experiment on our own.”