Lethal Action

by Rachel Dylan

  That man had come after her twice now. With the clear intent to hurt her. But not only to hurt her. He’d kill her when she was no longer of use to him. A chill shot through her just thinking about it, and her head throbbed with pain. She’d hit the ground hard.

  Gabe groaned and opened his eyes. For a moment, she saw the confusion on his face as he narrowed his eyes.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “You had a tough fall. I have to apologize again.”

  “No you don’t. You’re the reason I’m here in the hospital bed right now and not already dead.”

  “If I wouldn’t have let you walk behind me, you wouldn’t be in either scenario.” He stood up from the chair and walked over to the bed.

  “The blame game won’t help either of us. We need to figure out what is going on before someone really gets hurt. I don’t think I’m the only one in danger here.”

  “I’m going to start calling you Agent Finch.”

  She smiled.

  “I knew I could get you to smile.”

  “What is Nola going to do when he finds out we were snooping around on the trails last night?”

  “I’ve got a cover story. Lee is setting it up. Saying that he wanted me to check out the security situation at night. And you were just with me because I didn’t want to let you be alone after what happened.”

  “Regardless, he’ll be skeptical. The fact that he cleaned out his office lets us know he’s worried about something.”

  He leaned in closer to her. “I see two issues at play here. The first is Nola’s crime ring. The second is the theft of the Cyber Future Chip and all that flows from it.”

  “And you think the two have to be connected.”

  “I think you do, too. The way I see it, we have a couple of issues of commonality. Nola being the obvious. The fact that they’re focused on you is giving me some pause. Maybe they think you’re involved with Nola. Since I thought it was a possibility, they might think the same thing. You could be helping with the legal work to cover up his illegal activity.”

  “That means they have found out somehow that I work with Nola and not just generally on this case. How would they have found that out?”

  “People talk in this town. That much I can say for sure. Could have even been an innocent comment about what you were working on. But once that information got into Cyber Future’s hands they went with it.”

  “And you’re comfortable with the notion that the actual company hired that man to come after me?”

  “It’s the only scenario that really makes sense. An individual wouldn’t have any incentive to do so. Why would a random man care about who has the chip? No, it has to be Cyber Future. Which gets us back to what Nola did and whether he has the chip.”

  “And what he plans to do with it,” she said quietly.

  “You don’t need to worry about all of that right now. You need to rest and get your strength back.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I’ve asked Caleb to station an officer outside your door. I need to leave for just a little bit to try to track some things down and to give my boss a full debrief.”

  “Are you sure I’ll be safe?”

  “Yes. That officer won’t let anyone in here that isn’t authorized. He has strict orders.”

  “All right,” she said reluctantly.

  He smiled at her. “Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”

  She nodded and realized how much her head still ached. Closing her eyes, she wondered how it had come to this. Now wasn’t the time to overanalyze, though. Gabe was right. She needed to rest.

  A loud buzzing sound awakened her from a deep sleep. What in the world? Then she realized it was the fire alarm. It had to be.

  She sat up in the bed and realized she had to move. Where was everyone?

  Thankfully, just when she was starting to feel abandoned, a nurse dressed in green scrubs came into the room. He would help her get out safely. But when she looked up into his eyes, her stomach dropped. Instant recognition. This was her attacker.

  “Screaming won’t do you any good.” He stepped toward her with a needle in his hand. What was he going to inject her with?

  “No,” she yelled.

  “Everyone is evacuating. The stupid cop is gone. He thought I was coming in here to get you, so he went to help others get out. It’s just you and me now, blondie. After last night do you really want to try and fight me? Just calm down and we can get out of here nice and easy.”

  “Why are you doing this? I already told you I don’t know anything.”

  “I don’t believe you. And even if I did, it doesn’t matter what I think. I’m just following orders. I don’t plan to get killed. So I need to bring you in. It’s as simple as that. You have proven to be a bit more fight than I expected, especially for a woman your size. But how difficult you want to make it on yourself is purely up to you. The end result will be the same.”

  She looked at the man. He could’ve just been your average guy walking down the street. He was tall with dark hair and brown eyes. Clean cut and pretty normal looking. But she knew better. He was a killer for hire. Or at the very least a hired gun of some sorts. His comments confirmed that.

  Making a split second decision, she knew what she needed to do.

  “But I will tell you that it will be much easier for you if you just hold still. I’m not trying to cause you more trouble than I have to.” He stepped closer to the bed and leaned down with the needle.

  Once he stuck her with that needle, she would be dead. Maybe not right that minute, but she couldn’t let him take her out of that hospital. Please, Lord, give me strength. Would He hear her prayer?

  One more step and the man’s hands were almost touching her. That’s when she made her move. With her left arm she went for his right hand holding the needle, and landed a direct blow. She heard the needle hit the floor.

  His dark eyes widened in shock, but he quickly recovered. Grabbing her off the bed. She started kicking and screaming. Trying her best to try to yell over the blaring fire alarm. Would anyone hear her?

  Regardless, she refused to give up. She was thrashing and kicking with all of her might throwing him a little off balance. Yes, he was strong, but she was unwieldy.

  He tightened his grip on her and she yelped. But that only drove her to fight more. She dug her fingernails into his back. Desperate for any chance to get away.

  “Put her down,” a loud voice boomed. “I will shoot.”

  Gabe, she realized. Thank you, God.

  The man dropped her down unceremoniously onto the bed and turned around.

  “Hands in the air where I can see them.”

  The man raised his hands in the air. “I don’t think you’re really going to use that.”

  “Don’t test me. On your knees. Hands behind your head.”

  Hope watched as Gabe pulled out handcuffs from his jacket pocket and placed them on the man.

  “Hope, are you all right?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’m okay.”

  The fire alarm blaring stopped. They must have figured out it was a false alarm. No doubt set off by her attacker.

  Gabe pulled out his cell, and she heard him talking to Caleb. Within a few minutes, her attacker was escorted out by the Maxwell police. Caleb and Gabe were talking in hushed tones right outside her hospital door. A nurse was busy checking her out. Her head was pounding, but she insisted she was fine. She strained to try to listen to Gabe and Caleb’s conversation. She hated being kept in the dark. Especially when she was the exact topic of the conversation.

  “Hey, guys. Want to fill me in?” she asked loudly.

  Gabe frowned and walked into her room with Caleb right behind. It was Caleb who spoke first.

  “I am so sorry, Hope.” His light blue eyes seemed kind as he talked in a quiet voice. “My officer should have never left the door. Regardless of the circumstance. I will speak to him and make sure he understands the gravity
of what could’ve happened here today.”

  “He was tricked. I’m sure he thought that the attacker was a nurse who was going to get me out. He had no way of knowing it wasn’t a real fire. He was just trying to help.”

  “That’s no excuse,” Gabe said. “If I wouldn’t have come back when I did, you’d be gone by now and we’d have no way of finding you.”

  “Let’s not even think about that.”

  “Unfortunately, we have to, Hope.” Gabe sat down on the edge of her bed.

  “We’re going to fully interrogate this guy. But in my experience he’s either going to lawyer up or clam up. Or both. He’ll have the resources for a good lawyer that’s for sure. We’ll do our best though to get any information from him that could help.”

  “The bottom line is that just because he’s in custody doesn’t mean you’re safe.” Gabe reached over and touched her forearm. “Cyber Future thinks you’re the key here to whatever it is they need.”

  Hope looked up at the hospital door and saw Sam Upton. Uh oh, this wasn’t going to end well.

  “Hope,” he said. He rushed toward her but was stopped by Caleb. “Sir?”

  “It’s okay, it’s Sam Upton. The partner on the Wakefield litigation. My boss.”

  “I’m Chief of Police Caleb Winters and this is a private security consultant Gabe Marino.” Sam shook hands with both of them. He looked at Caleb, then Gabe, and then finally back to her. “Hope, what in the world is going on?”

  “It’s a long story, Sam.”

  “Are you all right?”

  Before she could answer, Gabe stood up. “Sam, your case has gotten a lot more complicated, even more so in the past few hours.”

  “How so? And how does Hope play into this?”

  “The man who attacked Hope claims that Wakefield stole a computer chip from them. A highly proprietary and cutting edge innovation.”

  “Yes, I heard about all of that already. What I don’t understand is why he keeps coming after Hope. That man made another attempt at her life just now in this hospital? How did that happen Chief Winters?”

  “He used the fire alarm as a diversion tactic, and my man guarding the door took the bait.”

  Sam started pacing back and forth around the hospital room. “I have been practicing law for thirty years, and I have never had anything like this ever happen. The life of one of my employees is in danger. I need to do something about that. No.” He paused. “I have to do something about that.”

  A chill shot down her arm. She’d never seen Sam even close to losing his cool. He was always the one who was the sturdy force even during the most trying cases. But right now the stress and concern filled the room. Sam clenched his fists and continued to pace.

  Caleb took a step toward Sam. “Mr. Upton, I know you are rightfully concerned about Hope’s safety. But you need to let us do our jobs on that front.”

  “Like you’ve been doing a good job at that? No. Hope, don’t you want to go back to New York?”

  She shook her head. “Trial starts Monday. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Sam walked over to her bedside. “Hope, if something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself. There’s not a single case that is more important than your life.”

  “We’ll be much more prepared for the threat now, sir,” Gabe said. “If Hope wants to stay, we will protect her. I will protect her.”

  Sam shook his head. “I have an awful feeling about this. Hope, given all that’s happened have you even had a chance to work with Nola?”

  “Yes, we did. I’m not too worried about his testimony.” At least not specific to the breach of contract. If opposing counsel was allowed to inquire about the chip, that would be a different story.

  “I’m going to meet with Lee again. I saw him last night, but I want to make sure everything is taken care of. When are you they releasing you?”

  “Hopefully today.”

  “Okay. I’ll be at either Wakefield or the Trent firm if you need me.” Then he turned to Gabe and Caleb, his face red. “You two better keep to your word about keeping her safe. A lawsuit brought by my firm would only be the beginning of your problems.”

  The room fell silent after Sam left. She couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted to break it. “So what now?” she asked. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready for that?” Gabe asked. “You’ve been through a lot.”

  “Yes. I can do more to help if I’m out of this hospital.”

  “Hope, you should be focusing on your job and let us focus on ours,” Caleb said.

  “No. My job is tied up in your job. And I was brought into this from day one by the FBI. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that.”

  “That was before you were a target,” Gabe said.

  “What? You also want me to step back and run away? The guy is in custody.”

  “There are a million more hit men that Cyber Future could hire.”

  Hit men. The enormity of the situation hit her. But she couldn’t back down. “If that’s true, then you know as well as I do that I’m not safe. They’ll track me down wherever I am. This is the safest place for me. Returning to New York right now isn’t even an option in my mind.”

  “I can see this is a complex and messy situation. I’m headed back to the station to interrogate our guy. I’ll be in touch.” Caleb walked out leaving her alone with Gabe.

  “You know I’m right,” she said.

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. That was far too much of a close call earlier.”

  She let out a breath. “I know, but thankfully you showed up.”

  “By the grace of God. I can’t even fathom the alternative.”

  A doctor walked into the room. “Ms. Finch, are you ready for your exit exam?”

  She nodded and felt a shred of relief that she was getting out of there.

  ***

  Gabe said a prayer feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He’d almost lost Hope again today. He didn’t want to admit it, but he thought he might have started to develop some feelings for her. It was probably just a function of his protective instincts. But it bothered him the same.

  His mission was clear, though. He had to not only protect her, but find answers, or there would be no way to keep her safe.

  As they sat at Mel’s regrouping and getting some solid food into her, his mind went through a million different scenarios.

  “I’m glad you’re eating.” He watched as she took a huge bite out of her barbeque sandwich.

  “I’m actually ravenous.” She picked up a fry slathered in ketchup.

  “You need your strength, so eat up.”

  At least a bit of color was coming back to her cheeks. He hated seeing the bandage that was still above her right eye. She’d hit the ground hard. It could’ve been much worse. That’s what he had to keep reminding himself.

  She sighed and put down her sandwich. “You know when that guy came into my room today at first I didn’t know it was him. Then I looked into those eyes, and I really thought it was all over. I prayed for a burst of strength.”

  “And what happened?”

  “I was able to knock the needle out of his hand. I just knew that if he drugged me and took me out of the hospital it was only a matter of time before they killed me.” She looked down and then back up at him, her brown eyes glistening with tears.

  “But you didn’t die.” He reached over the table and grabbed her hand. “You’re here and you’re here for a reason. We may not understand exactly how God works, Hope. But I’m sure that He was watching over you today.”

  “I feel that way too. I don’t have a rational explanation for it, but I just sense His presence.”

  He reluctantly let go of her hand. “We need to talk about how we move forward.”

  “Do you think the man who attacked me is going to talk to the police?”

  “I could lie to you and say yes to try to make you feel better, but I�
��d rather just tell you the truth. I think the chances are slim to none.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “Don’t let that thought spoil your appetite.”

  “Think about it, though. Most normal corporations may engage in shady or even illegal business practices—tax evasion, corporate loopholes, even white collar crime. But ordering hits on people is on a different level. That means that Cyber Future may be operating in tandem with a criminal enterprise.”

  “You’re thinking ties to organized crime?” he asked.

  “Aren’t you?”

  He took a bite of his jumbo barbeque sandwich and gave it some thought. If Hope was right, then the situation could be even more dangerous than he’d envisioned. Corporate espionage gone too far is one thing. But if this was all tied up to the mob, that was something else. “It’s a viable theory.”

  “This could be a battle between two organized crime factions,” she said.

  “Nola has managed to get Wakefield involved probably unbeknownst to anyone else on the Board of Directors. And we really have no concept about what is happening over at Cyber Future.”

  “Except that they’re willing to kill over that chip.”

  “And they think you’re involved with Nola.”

  Silence fell between them as he looked into her eyes. It really hit him that he not only felt the need to protect her but something more. An ever growing feeling. One that wouldn’t subside.

  She broke the silence. “Where does that leave me?”

  “For one, I’m not leaving you alone. I’ll get an adjoining room at the inn and make sure you’re safe. I’ll be your constant shadow. I will not fail you again.”

  “Gabe, you didn’t fail me. So don’t even say that. I will tell you that these two near misses have led me to re-examine some things.”

  “What type of things?”

  “My relationship with God.”

  “The complicated one.” He smiled.