The computer booted up with barely a hum. The screen came to life and I typed in the passwords I needed. It would take me a minute to get into a reverse proxy server. I needed to find one in Mexico or South America to make it look like we were there already. Although it wasn’t full proof, it would get what I needed accomplished.
As I typed in my passwords, a million thoughts went through my head. I wasn’t sure what my next step would be. I had emailed Seth with information I had, hoping I could trade it for Alison’s safety, but as of last night I still had not heard anything. That worried me. It wasn’t supposed to be that difficult. But there were problems. The Israeli’s desperately wanted the processor as it meant an even strong defense system against those who wished to destroy them. For the group that attempted to hijack the processor it meant large sums of money to finance their operations by selling it on the black market.
What I hadn’t realized throughout this whole ordeal until recently was how valuable Tom had been to the whole process and now how valuable Alison was. Tom was critical to the design of the processor and Alison to its manufacturing. Tom had been her mentor and shared much about the processor with her. Knowing what she did and having access to the information she did, made her a target.
I was no longer surprised at why Tom had brought her into the picture, but I was wondering why now? Why had he sent her in his place? I was pretty sure something had gone wrong on his end before he was scheduled to leave for Tel Aviv. And maybe just maybe he figured by sending Alison he could fix this situation, send her and no one would know any different. He would say it was his way of introducing her to the operation.
What I also realized was if this had been the case, Alison would have walked into my life anyway.
As I checked my inbox, there was still nothing from Seth, which concerned me. He was not the type to ignore me during the middle of an operation. We worked well together as a team and always had. Our lives had always depended on it. His last email had been a short one and strange. ‘Have a handle on the Israelis. No ill will toward A but they WANT the present. They understand as do I.”
I didn’t quite understand the last part about understanding. I was hoping he would explain later. But I quickly shut down the laptop as I heard Alison move in the bed. The sun was bright up in the sky and the sooner we moved on the better. The drive North to Oregon would not be a long nor a bad one, but I wasn’t looking forward to it.
17 Reflections and reality
I noticed him following us not long after we left the hotel. It was a dark black car, non-descript really but every turn I took, the car followed. I didn’t want to alarm Sonny but she knew something was up. We passed the McDonalds we were going to eat at. I needed to get out of Truckee and on to the open road. I didn’t know my way around Truckee but I was pretty confident that my BMW could out drive his car any day.
I wracked my brain on who it could be. The only one who had any idea of where we were was Seth and I trusted him with my life and our location. He had also let me know that our trail led out of the country and as far as anyone was concerned, including Conway we were long gone. And this was how I liked it.
Alison had been sitting in her seat quietly. But the silence was broken, when she spoke my name. “Jack what’s going on?” She turned to look out the rear window, “What’s wrong?”
Her mahogany hair was up in a ponytail and her pale pink shirt matched the pale colors of her lips. I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, but the consequences of hiding something from her would be even worse. She was stronger than I gave her credit for. “I think we are being followed. As I said this the color in her face drained. Her eyes grew more intense as she thought and processed the prospect of someone finding us.
“You think or we are?”
“We are.”
“Who?” She adjusted in her seat and glanced again out the rear window. “Which car is it?”
“Watch and see if you can see. Whoever it is, is not an amateur. He’s managed to stay back far enough, that I almost missed him.”
Alison watched for a few minutes trying to make out the vehicle. “It’s the black Camry.” She said it without hesitation and in total confidence.
“Why do you think it is that car?” I was curious on how she had come to that conclusion. It was outright hard to spot unless you had the well trained eye.
She continued to watch out the rear window, only briefly glancing at me. “I remember the car from the gas station. The guy driving filled up at the same time we did. I thought he looked like the man I talked to at the Tel Aviv airport the day we met.”
My mind rewound to that day at the Tel Aviv airport. I remembered walking up to her and this man she had been talking to. At the time I only knew he was not a mere passenger. He was sent to engage Alison in conversation and possibly keep her from getting on the flight. But his plans were interrupted when I walked up to them.
I quickly pushed the accelerator down and watched the speedometer jump in speed.
“Jack?”
My mind continued to race as I tried to weigh our options. I weaved in and out of traffic. I had a phone, I could call Seth and ask him to investigate but that would raise the flags within the agency. Our location was a need to know basis.
“Jack?” I felt her lay her arm on my shoulder. “Is it the same guy?”
I nodded my head in affirmation. I was pretty sure now that it was. I had learned that no matter how fidgety she was, there were certain things she was extremely observant about. If she said she saw him at the gas station, she was probably right.
“Who is he?”
“Not sure. He is not one of ours as Seth would have let me know someone was tailing us. I don’t know.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Go any ideas on what are we going to do?”
“Still processing Alison.” I continued my speed and prayed desperately that I could avoid local law enforcement. I reached down into the cup holder and pulled out the black cell phone and handed it to Alison. “Here, dial this number.” I gave her Seth’s number. “When he answers, tell him who you are.”
A
I caught the demand in his voice. This was definitely not a suggestion, but an order. I dialed the number he gave me and waited for the ring. I wasn’t sure how many times it had rang when a male voice picked up.
“Bout time. I got some news.”
“Seth this is Alison.”
I heard him take a deep breath in. “Where’s Jack?”
“Next to me driving. We think we’re being followed.”
I glanced over at Jack as I said this. “Put it on speaker phone,” I heard Jack say. All the while he kept up his speed. I fumbled with the buttons on the phone.
“Hang on Seth.” Finally, I managed to figure his fancy device out and suddenly he was loud enough for both Jack and I to hear.
“I think it is the same man you helped distract at the Tel Aviv Airport.” Jack said as I held the phone between us. “He told Sonny his name was Joed? Jewish name isn’t it?”
I could hear Seth breathing on the other end, but he did not speak. “He was packing that day. He has to be Israeli. That airport’s so secure no one would get in unless they knew they could breach it or they are one of them. I am voting one of them. I don’t think this group Alison gave the processor to is sophisticated enough.” Jack checked the rear view mirror. “I am not sure if I have lost him or not. Can you find out who this guy is?” Jack was not in panic mode. He seemed very calm. But I could tell he was worried. Every time I glanced at the speedometer we jumped up five miles an hour. We were now comfortably cruising at 105 mph.
Finally, Seth spoke up. “It’s ok Jack. I sent them.”
I could see the shock as it radiated though Jack. “What the hell Seth?”
“Look you can’t do this alone. I made a deal with the Israeli’s.” the man on the other end of the phone sounded so proud of himself. “They have sent someone to retrieve the processor. But they have agreed to help keep Alison s
afe.”
“Damn it Seth. I can do this.” There was frustration in Jack’s voice. “Look I will call you back. I need to get us off the road.”
“Jack, trust me on this one ok. You want the help!” I knew there was something more Seth wanted to tell Jack but he couldn’t with me in earshot. The phone disconnected as Seth hung up.
Jack continued to drive at an extremely fast speed. I wasn’t sure what his plan was, and I wasn’t going to ask. “Do you have an extra gun?”
Jack didn’t try and hide the shock on his face. “What do you mean? Do I have an extra gun?”
“You heard me do you have an extra gun. If this guy catches up with us, I want to be prepared.” I was serious. I knew how to fire a weapon. We had established that in Arizona a few days ago. “If we got separated I am not going without a fight.”
A smile appeared on his face. And I could feel my anger level rise. I was more than capable of defending myself. My mind raced with all the possibilities. What if he was injured while protecting me? What if we got separated? I needed to be able to run and have a way to protect myself.
“It’s under your seat and don’t worry, I am not leaving your side. “ His voice was confident enough that I didn’t have to worry about him leaving me, but I would. I would not so much worry about my life, but the man who was protecting me, someone he barely knew. I reached down underneath my seat to try and find the weapon. I put my hands on the cold metal and quickly removed my hand. I looked up at Jack. “What are we going to do next?”
“Not sure. I am going to keep heading West and then eventually I will head North. I have a feeling I can outrun him. But he’ll find us.”
Fear gripped me as I thought of Eric. What if someone was already up there watching him, waiting for me? My body grew numb with fear. “Eric,” I whispered under my breath. I wasn’t even sure Jack even heard me. I looked up and he was concentrating on the road periodically glancing into the rearview mirror.
He didn’t wear a baseball cap today. It was almost odd not seeing it on his head. I had wondered sometime back if he was losing his hair and that was the reason he always wore the hat. But as I looked as his thick hair, I realized this definitely wasn’t the case. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt. His concentration was intense. I knew he was in deep thought.
I too, occasionally looked in the rear window to see if I could spot the car that was following us. I couldn’t and I didn’t expect I would again. Jack’s speed was still above 100 and we were flying past cars. Jack weaved in and out of traffic effortlessly. And the BMW we rode in was smooth.
It remained quiet. We were out of Truckee and climbing into the mountains. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but it wasn’t West any longer. About five miles back, Jack had taken an off ramp off the main highway. We sped down a two lane highway climbing into the mountains around Truckee.
“Change of plans again? We aren’t heading West anymore?”
Jack didn’t take his eyes off the road. “I think I may have lost him. There should be a campground up here soon. I will pull into there and hide in the back. Unless he has a tracking device we should be fine.”
“Tracking device? You seriously think you have a tracking device stuck on this car?” I was having a hard time digesting this. Tracking devices were something out of James Bond movies, not my life. “And I thought you trusted Seth?”
“I don’t know, I need to look. If he or she is on the up and up, I would rather me find them, than them find us.” He was completely serious and that sent a shiver through me. As he finished his sentence he drove quickly past the sign for Donner Memorial campground, two miles ahead. Jack did not slow down the car until the last possible moment and as he took the turn into the campground, I was sure we were going to go flying off the road. Once we were off the main road, he did finally slow down. The speed limit was 15, he slowed to 25. The road began to curve as we continued up an incline. Periodically we would pass an RV campsite or a site with a pitched tent. But there were few people out.
He continued for about two miles before he chose a site surrounded by trees. He pulled in and parked the car and stopped the engine. I looked at him in wonder. “What now? We sit here and wait for the guy to show up?”
Jack ignored my comment and opened the door of the car to get out. He left it open as I reached under the seat for the gun. If we were going to sit here, I was going to have a gun. As I took the cold metal tool into my hand, I cringed at the thought of having to fire it. I turned it around in my hand.
“Damn it!” I heard Jack yell from the front of the car. I looked out the window and he held something in his hands. I put the gun down and opened the car door and quickly got out.
He was pacing back and forth holding it in his hand. “I should have checked the damn car. I know better than this.” He dropped the device and stomped on it several times. It broke into several pieces all over the ground. He muttered several words that were vulgar enough to not repeat. I watched as he stomped around the campsite causing puffs of dirt to shoot up from under his shoes.
I chuckled under my breath. He looked like a little two year old throwing a temper tantrum. I was sure he was going to throw himself on the ground and pound his legs and arms down. He turned and glared at me. His eyes were a dark brown now, intense with anger. I really hadn’t realized I had laughed that loud.
“This isn’t a laughing matter Alison. This guy knows where we are. I don’t know who he is.” He took the three steps to reach me and put his hands on my arms. He shook me hard. “Do you realize they could kill you?”
Shock and pain radiated through my body. His hands were hot and his face was red with rage. “I, Jack. Seth?” I stuttered.
He moved his face within an inch of mine. “Seth? Alison, I don’t know who I can trust at the moment?” I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me and that frightened me. If he couldn’t trust the man he worked with there was something more going on.
I tried to break free of his grip, but it was useless. I was staying put and there wasn’t much I could do about it. He wasn’t hurting me but I knew he wanted my attention. Anger welled up inside of me and if I could have I would have slapped him.
“I, you, I am not laughing,” I again tried to struggle free. This time he pulled me closer to him.
“Seth would never betray me but still I don’t know who this guy is that is following us. And frankly if it is the same guy from Tel Aviv, I don’t trust him, despite what Seth says. My job is to protect you. And I take that job seriously.”
Jack removed his hand from my back and moved it in between our two bodies. A fire shot through me as he took his hand and lifted my face from his chest. He looked into my eyes and tried desperately to smile. He slowly began to lower his head as if to kiss my lips. I desperately wanted to move mine to meet his, but I couldn’t. I was paralyzed. I suddenly felt stupid, caught in a moment with him, when we should have been worrying about the man who had been tailing us.
I looked into his eyes, which had cooled to the golden brown I adored. I almost melted again. But instead I pushed my hands into his chest and pushed him away right before his lips touched mine. I could tell he was taken aback by my abrupt behavior “What are we going to do? Does this road lead out or is it one entrance in and out.”
Jack suddenly stepped back into reality. “I don’t know. But I think we should make a stand here.”
My head shot up in shock. “Make a stand? This isn’t the last stand at the Alamo Jack. You are NOT Daniel Boone and I am NOT Annie Oakley.” I walked toward the passenger door of the car.
He followed not far behind. I saw him reach behind his shirt and feel for his gun. “Annie Oakley wasn’t at the Alamo Sonny.” He had a smile on his face now. “Where are you going?”
I sighed in exasperation. “I was clearly making a statement Jack. I am aware she was not there. Now what are we going to do?” I bent down to grab the gun and I felt his arm encircle my waist and drag me from the car. “What the he
ll Jack.” I yelled as he pulled me away from the car. “He is coming , you said it yourself.”
He put me down on the ground and turned me around to look at him. “I need to find out what his plans are and stop him or he will keep following us Alison. We need to change our plans.” Jack’s voice was stern and in charge.
Jack’s cell phone rang and it startled us both. Jack reached into the car and grabbed it from its place between the two seats. “Seth?”
“Why? “ Jack paused in mid conversation. “I see, great one more problem to add to the mix. Anyone else know where we are?” I watched Jack listened to his friend on the other end. I saw the shock return at the fact it was Seth who had sent these people. Jack continued to listen intently but he was also watching the road that led to where we were parked. His eyes furrowed together toward the end of the conversation. He looked almost betrayed and I felt sorry for him.
Jack flipped the phone closed and looked at me in utter dismay. “We have company.”
“Bad company?”
He nodded his head, “not sure yet. We are staying here, they will be here shortly.” I understood his statement and worried at the same time. There was definitely something he wasn’t telling me, I just didn’t know what.
“They?” I stepped closer to Jack coming within inches of him.
“The guy from the airport and someone else. It appears we have more trouble than I thought at first.” There was distinct anger in his voice but I couldn’t tell who or what that anger was directed at.
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