Amid the Shadows

by Michael C. Grumley

  43

  Natirar Park was a 411-acre park dedicated to the preservation of the farming and agricultural history of New York State’s Somerset County. Named after the Raritan River which ran through it, the park included trails and many farming and residential buildings from the late 18th century. The park was also a popular field trip destination for many of the surrounding elementary schools, and the early spring trips had begun the preceding week.

  Two large buses and a few dozen cars filled most of the large, shaded parking lot, and children and parents walked back and forth to the main building where the tour was about to begin.

  Avery let the engine idle quietly and drove around to the far end of the lot to avoid attracting attention. He found a large maple tree to park under and shifted the car into park before turning off the engine. Both Christine and Sarah emerged slowly from the floor behind him. They looked over his shoulder at the crowd gathering in the distance.

  “Is this a school?” asked Sarah, eyeing all the children.

  Avery shook his head. “No, Sarah, it’s a park. Do you like parks?”

  Sarah nodded and continued watching.

  “What do we do now?” asked Christine.

  “We need another car.” Avery eyed the large canopy of trees overhead. “They can see where we are, and no doubt where we just pulled into.” He turned and eyed Christine. “How’s your dexterity?”

  “Huh?”

  Christine watched the crowd, and followed one of the mothers who held the hands of two little boys as they stood in line waiting to buy tickets. She had followed the woman from the parking lot, noting the large, baggy purse she carried. It looked to Christine like the woman had simply tossed her car keys into her purse which she hoped meant they were sitting on top of everything else in the bag.

  Christine edged closer, trying to look casual. The woman was less than two feet away and had her purse slung over her right shoulder as she struggled to pull a small cooler chest behind her and the boys.

  Not far away, Avery and Sarah both waited under a shady tree, watching. As Christine nervously tried to get even closer to the woman, Sarah noticed a park ranger emerge from the large building. He was overweight with a balding head of thin hair, and he walked excitedly toward the children who were waiting.

  The man suddenly clapped his hands and said in a loud voice, “Hi kids!”. Most of the children just looked at him. “I said HI KIDS! Who’s here for the big tour?” This time several children answered and raised their hands.

  At the ticket booth, the woman in front of Christine stepped up to the small window and bought her tickets. She pulled her keys out and put them on the wooden counter to retrieve her wallet.

  “Mom,” one of her small boys whined, “it’s gonna start!” He pulled at his brother’s hand.

  “Hold on, hold on,” she snapped and fumbled with her tickets and wallet.

  “Okay,” called out the park ranger nearby. “I need some tickets!” He knelt down as the children surrounded him, holding out their paper tickets. The man smiled broadly at the children and patted the head of one of the boys. “And what’s your name?”

  The mother at the counter was pulled forward by both of her boys now. She frantically stuffed everything into her purse with a quick glance backward; then she trotted forward to catch up.

  Christine walked as fast as she could away from the group without looking back. She gripped the woman’s keys tightly in her hand. The sign on the ticket booth showed the tour to be a little over an hour long, and if those three were part of a larger group, it could buy them a little more time before the woman noticed her car was missing.

  She reached Avery and Sarah and motioned for them to get moving. But Sarah didn’t move.

  “Sarah!” Christine whispered loudly. “Come on!”

  Sarah turned slowly to Christine who was holding out a hand for her. “That man over there,” she said, looking back at the park ranger who was still kneeling down and was now resting his hand on another boy’s shoulder.

  “What about him?”

  Sarah looked back at her and Avery. “He’s a bad man.”

  Christine’s heart skipped. She looked back at the ranger. He continued to play with the children. “How bad?”

  Sarah had a look of forlorn on her face. “Very bad. He’s really, really red.”

  Christine watched him closely. Knowing something was wrong, she could see it now. It was very subtle, but he was being a little too friendly with the children. She noticed he kept his hand on the boy’s shoulders just a little too long. Christine felt her stomach turn.

  Avery saw it too, but they had no time. “We can’t do anything about it. We have to go.”

  She forced herself to turn away, pulling Sarah gently along with her. Sarah kept watching the man over her shoulder until they reached the parking lot.

  The car was a recent model Honda sedan, not too old but not too new either, which Avery explained would blend in well. They transferred the large bag as the girls climbed into the back seat and fastened their seat belts. They quietly pulled out of the parking lot and headed south again, but immediately pulled off at the next exit, following two other cars. Avery then followed an older road away from the highway where he reached a row of large trees and parked. He turned the car off and placed his shotgun on his lap.

  “Now what are we waiting for?” asked Sarah.

  Avery scanned the area around them. “Rand.”

  Fish was growing concerned. His team was tightening the circle, and they were going to be upon each other at any moment. They should have engaged the target by now, or at least found more tracks. What Fish didn’t know yet was that two of his men were missing. He slowly continued forward with his finger hovering just above the trigger.

  He also didn’t know that Rand was gone. Fish was not his priority, Sarah was. Rand merely needed an exit and made one. While Fish and his team were crawling through the thicket, Rand was running south at full steam.

  Avery heard a noise and had his gun trained on Rand by the time he emerged from a group of tall, wild ferns. He ducked down and peered in the back seat again.

  “Everyone alright?”

  They both nodded. Rand opened the front door and got in.

  “We don’t have much time with this car,” Avery said, and slowly pulled out from under the trees. He drifted back toward the highway and joined in behind another car.

  Christine leaned forward in the back seat. “We’re heading back to New York aren’t we?”

  Rand turned around to face them. “Yes. With overhead surveillance, it’s too easy for them to see us now. We have another safe place to go but we need to lose them first or they’ll track us the entire way.”

  “And how do we lose them in New York?”

  Rand shrugged. “We find a large crowd.”

  44

  Dario Burk burst into the small, private cabin aboard the Airbus A320, where Pope Pius sat surrounded by several of his cardinals. The Pope looked up at him as he approached.

  “Forgive me, Your Holiness,” he said with a bow, “but we must abandon our plans immediately.”

  The Pope was a slight man, humble, but very sharp. He looked up at Burk from under his white eyebrows, unsurprised.

  Burk continued. “We have received a credible threat to your presence in New York.”

  “How credible is it?” asked the Pope in a quieted voice.

  “Very credible.” Burk’s expression was respectful but intense. “From Israeli intelligence.”

  The Pope looked at his aide sitting across from him and then to the other cardinals. He turned and peered out the window to his left. The sun was beginning its ascent over the Atlantic Ocean. The bright sunlight was glistening off the deep, blue water far below.

  There were always threats, and the Israelis were known for the best intelligence in the world, but even they were not perfect. Was this another false alarm or was it real? The Pope leaned back in his seat. Did it even matter? The wo
rld was frozen in a grip of terror from the attacks. Participation in their Catholic churches had plummeted around the world as the public feared the attacks would spread, and their church could be next.

  The Pope took a deep breath. He was the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the one that hundreds of millions looked to for spiritual guidance in a difficult world. And what was more difficult than this? If there was one thing that everyone needed, beyond the cars, the televisions, the expensive vacations, beyond all materialism, was safety. Safety from all that was dark and evil in the world. What would happen when they no longer felt safe in the house of God? And what message would it send if he were to turn around and run because someone thought he was in danger? Wasn’t everyone in danger now?

  The Pope slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said to Burk. “We cannot.”

  Burk’s eyes widened in surprise. He was refusing? Burk stood motionless. His priority was the safety of the Pope above all else. All else.

  “Pardon me, Your Holiness?”

  The Pope smiled warmly. “My son, you have sworn to protect me,” he said. “I understand this. But you must understand that I have sworn to something much greater, and to someone much more important.”

  Burk had no reply. He stood looking respectfully at him. In a single sentence, the rug had been pulled out from under him. He sighed, and quietly turned around. Before reaching the door, he quickly turned back. “May I at least assume the threat is valid and take all appropriate precautions?”

  The Pope nodded. “Of course.”

  Burk left the room and closed the door gently behind him. Please let this be another false alarm.

  Zahn picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

  “Zahn,” came Benecke’s voice, “we’ve lost them.”

  “You lost them?” Zahn was incredulous.

  “Only for the moment,” replied Benecke. “We think they switched cars, and we’re trying to verify, but we’re 90% sure. If we’re right, then it looks like they’re headed for the city.” He was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to tell me what they did?”

  “They’re involved in a plan to assassinate one of our diplomats.”

  “Isn’t that under the jurisdiction of the CIA?” Benecke asked calmly. “Because I spoke with Mr. Ha at the CIA and he knows nothing about this.”

  “No,” Zahn raised his voice. “This is State Department jurisdiction!”

  Zahn wanted them, and he wanted them without interference from any other agency. They would all know soon enough, but if someone else picked up the girl and she talked…he couldn’t afford any cracks, not this close.

  Benecke sighed. “I don’t suppose you have anything resembling a warrant?”

  “When was the last time any of us used a warrant?” Zahn answered sarcastically. “Besides, they fired on, and brought down, one of our helicopters!”

  “I don’t believe all of the details have been confirmed yet.”

  “Just tell me when you’re sure of their location. My team will be ready.” He ended the call.

  On the other end, Benecke hung up the phone and shook his head. Zahn was not someone to be screwed with, everyone knew that. But where on earth did he get all of that power?

  Zahn pounded the desk with his fist. He hadn’t spent years carefully forming alliances with other department heads and politicians to allow some new boy scout to start asking questions now. He thought about what Benecke had said. If they were headed back to the city, it must be for a reason. What were they planning? He leaned back in his chair. If they were able to bring down a helicopter all by themselves, then he had a pretty good idea.

  45

  Hundreds of thousands of people surrounded the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the largest cathedral in New York City covering an area of over 121,000 square feet and towering over 232 feet tall. It was here that both the President and Vice President were set to appear with the Pope, along with several other dignitaries from around the world. The Pope’s speech would be short, but he hoped it would show the world that his message was for all faiths and on all continents.

  Dario Burk stood next to Carolina Flores, the head of the Secret Service. The crowd was enormous and spread nearly half a mile in every direction. What they wanted, what they needed, was to see and hear their Pope.

  He looked up and scanned the nearby buildings. Every rooftop was either manned or watched by the Secret Service, FBI, or New York Police Department, including swat teams from all three. Overhead, dozens of helicopters watched from the air, while on the ground thousands of police officers milled through the crowds, watching for anything out of the ordinary. As if there was such a thing as ordinary in a crowd this large.

  There would be absolutely no physical contact of any kind with the Pope. He would appear on the large platform constructed outside the cathedral, wave, and speak to the world. He would end with a long prayer and be quickly swept away as soon as he was out of sight. The Swiss Guard had every member of their team present, and they would surround the Pope as a veritable wall, both on his way to the platform and away from it.

  The only time the Pope would not be completely covered by security was when he was safely inside the cathedral, relaxing before his appearance, and that was only when he was far away from windows. Burk and his team were taking absolutely no chances.

  Fish and his team had found their missing members. They were alive, but just barely, and had been airlifted to the nearest hospital. Just minutes after the evacuation chopper had left, another Blackhawk landed to retrieve them.

  Once Fish and the rest of his team were aboard, the pilot lifted into the air and dipped the craft forward, heading East. Intelligence had confirmed the targets were headed toward Manhattan Island, and Fish now wanted them more than ever.

  Avery pulled away from the toll booth leading into the Holland Tunnel and watched through his rearview mirror. Rand did the same out of his side mirror while he pulled his rifle back out from under his legs.

  They listened to the car’s radio as the newscaster spoke about the thick traffic headed into New York to see the President and the Pope. Once out of the tunnel, they turned south on highway 9A, away from the giant crowd amassing near Central Park.

  Suddenly, the small radio on the dashboard came to life. It was the radio Rand had taken from one of the attackers. He turned it up as a loud voice came through the speaker.

  “Alpha Bravo Team pursuing East. Over.”

  “Confirmed Alpha Bravo,” came a reply. “Vehicle is a silver sedan.”

  Rand and Avery looked at each other. The leader of the attack group had just made a mistake. Surely he was aware one of the radios was missing. And if he were, he had forgotten to change to the backup frequency before using it to broadcast again.

  Rand looked at Avery. “Head north instead.”

  Avery frowned. “You realize with that size of a crowd it will be packed with police.”

  “I know. But judging from that message, they can probably see us, and with everyone gathering north, it will make it even harder to hide anywhere but there. Besides, the majority of security is likely to be concentrated closer to the Pope and the President.” He watched a car speed past. “We can skirt the outside of the crowd and continue north on foot until we can get back out of the city.”

  Rand looked at the assault rifle laying across his lap. They certainly wouldn’t be able to bring the rifles, which meant concealed handguns only. Not what he was hoping for as it meant they would have to move very quickly. They wouldn’t be a position to fight back.

  He turned and looked at Sarah in the back seat. She was sitting up straight, looking out the left rear window at the Hudson River. “Sarah, we’re going to need you to stay very close to us okay?”

  Sarah nodded calmly. “I know.”

  He then looked at Christine who smiled back at him over Sarah’s response.

  The crowd was bigger than anything Christine had ever seen. Columbus Avenue, which eventually turn
ed into Morningside Drive near the church, was simply a wall of people. They were packed in much tighter than she expected. Incredulous, she walked behind Rand and Avery, holding Sarah’s hand tightly.

  “My god,” she whispered as they entered the very outskirts of the crowd. They walked their next block; the crowd quickly grew dense, prompting Christine to reach out and hold the back of Rand’s jacket.

  He felt her behind him and glanced back. He slowed and took Sarah’s other hand as Avery forced his way through the crowd, where everyone was pushing to get any kind of view. As they continued walking, Christine watched some people trying to scamper up onto the small roof of a bus stop. Rand and Avery continuously scanned the crowd as they pushed forward.

  Between them, Sarah looked back and forth with wide eyes. She had never seen so many people in one place, nor had she seen so many shadows. It was incredible.

  Christine watched her expression. “What does it look like, Sarah?”

  She shook her head in disbelief. “Colors, everywhere!”

  Ahead of them, Avery turned a corner and continued down a side street, when Sarah tripped and lost both Christine’s and Rand’s hands.

  An older Asian woman behind them reached down to help Sarah up. As she stood, the woman’s gaze fell onto Christine who was reaching back for Sarah. Something looked familiar about them. The woman continued watching them and suddenly remembered, they were the two she had seen on the news program.

  “Hey!” she said, with a trailing voice. “HEY!”