David pulled onto his street and rolled toward his house. He saw that Jerry and Alex were inside already. Alex’s cherry red Mustang convertible sat against the curb. Jerry’s Toyota Prius was parked behind it. David shook his head and muttered to himself, “You’d think a professor at the prestigious Harvard University could do better than a Prius.”
Everyone was in the living room when David entered. All eyes turned. Alex stood to greet him with a hug. “I missed you, man.”
David squeezed him firmly, ignoring the sensation of stubble on his neck and the smell of after shave. This was his closest confidant, his childhood friend. It was not a body he was hugging, but the soul within. He stepped back. “How was your trip?”
“Egypt is beautiful this time of year.” His eyes widened. “Oh, before I forget. I got the kids some things.” He went to his bag and pulled out an ornamental wooden dagger and an Egyptian doll. “What do you think?”
“I think you spoil my kids.”
“Well until I settle down and get a few of my own, yours are all I have.” He smiled. “I have to spoil somebody.”
David looked at Sharon sitting on the couch next to her brother. “Speaking of the kids, where are they?”
“I sent them up to their rooms to play quietly. They’re both having a really rough day.”
“I'll bet.”
“Ben’s exhausted, and he had an accident on his bike.”
“Poor kid.”
She nodded, and turned her eyes down.
David set the items on the end table and turned to Alex. “I’ll give these to them later. They’re probably better off in their rooms right now.”
“Your head must be spinning,” said Alex.
“What do you mean?”
“Losing Brandon and having those weird messages start all at the same time.”
David let out an ironic laugh.
“Have you had any more?”
“Only all morning.”
“Really? As intense as the first ones?”
“Well––this morning I read a message that said the President is going to be killed in two days, and I need to stop him. Is that intense enough for you?”
“Shut up.” He examined his friend’s face. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Wish I was.”
“The President?”
David nodded.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief. Seeing their reactions gave even more reality to the message. It was scary, and dangerous, and bigger than he could handle.
Alex shook his head. “If anyone else said it, I would have called ‘em a liar to their face. But not you, David. If you say it happened, it happened.”
Sharon stood abruptly. “I don’t like this, David. This is insanity.” Her voice shook. “You’re not trained to deal with something like this, and I won’t sit by while you go getting yourself killed. I’ve lost too much this week already.” She put her hand to her mouth.
David looked around the room. “I haven’t decided on anything yet.”
“But Sharon’s right,” Alex said, sitting on the arm of a recliner. “You have a family to think about. Don’t go getting yourself killed.”
Jerry cleared his throat. “This will probably be an unpopular statement, but, would it be such a bad thing if he did? I mean––die?”
They all turned a stunned look at Jerry.
“Not David! The President!”
The room filled with disgust.
Sharon’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“It bears mentioning,” said Jerry. “He’s running for a second term, and the war on terror is out of control!”
“We’re talking about the President of the United States!” David snapped. “Whether I agree with his policies or not, he is still the leader of the free world. We should honor that office.” He turned to Alex. “Help me out here.”
Alex put his hands up. “I got out of politics a long time ago.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Sharon. “You’re not doing it. Tell me you’re not doing it.”
“I don’t even know what it is.”
“Do you know who the killer is?” asked Alex.
“Nope.”
Alex grabbed a magazine from the recliner. “Find out right now. Ask the messages to tell you, then tell Homeland Security. You don’t need to be involved in this. Turn it over to someone who’s trained to handle this stuff.”
David stared at the magazine. “I’ve never tried asking the messages. I don’t even know if it would work.”
Alex stood. “Try. If it doesn’t work, you’re no worse for trying.”
David looked around, and could see they weren’t going to take no for an answer. He grunted, grabbed the magazine, and opened to the first page. “Okay, Messages, or whatever you are, what, is the name, of the assassin?” He looked at the page and bounced his eyes around. The sentences were gibberish. No words stood out. The second page was the same. He continued on, page after page.
“Anything?” asked Alex.
“No. Nothing. –Hold on. Wait a second.” His eyes fell on the word flash and he felt the familiar confirmation. He allowed his eyes to bounce around. Flash, one, two, three, drop. It was a message, he was sure of it, but it didn’t make any sense.
“What do you have?”
What did he have? “I don’t know. Just gibberish.”
Jerry leaned over the magazine. “Maybe the name’s not in there. Ask a more generic question.”
David shrugged. “Okay. Where is the killer?” Immediately his eyes stuck on one word. Near.
His blood ran cold.
“Do you see something?” asked Sharon.
David looked up from the page. “It says near. The killer is near.”
“Are you sure?” Sharon’s eyes were wide.
“Positive.”
They looked at each other with blank stares. Alex moved to the window and pushed the curtain aside. “Nothing out of the ordinary on the street.” He looked back at David. “Maybe the message means in Boston.”
Jerry got up and peered into the kitchen nervously. “The definition of near is a short distance. I would hardly call Boston a short distance.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “I don’t like this one bit.”
Sharon moved next to David and put her hand on his arm. “Ask another question. Ask what the killer looks like.”
He looked down at the page and bounced his eyes around. The message he got shocked him.
“What is it?” said Alex.
He looked up with a stunned look on his face.
“David. What is it? Tell us.” Sharon squeezed his arm.
“It says,” David spoke slowly. ‘Won’t tell you, ever.’”
“What?”
David looked at Sharon. “Apparently it doesn’t play by our rules.”
She stepped back. “Then you don’t play at all! How can you stop a killer if you don’t even know who it is?
David put his head in his hand and hovered over the page. What was he supposed to tell her? The messages came on their own terms. His eyes focused on the open magazine. “Wait a second. There’s more.”
They all moved in closer.
“It says, ‘Too dangerous.’” He looked up. “It won’t tell me because it’s too dangerous.” David paused. “To protect us maybe?”
“Protect us from who? That’s hardly reassuring,” said Sharon.
“Yes, but it’s already protected me.” He looked her in the eye. “It saved me from a fatal car accident. It rescued Frank from a heart attack. It hasn’t lead me wrong yet.”
Unbelievable. He was defending the messages!
Alex grimaced. “I don’t see how keeping the identity of the killer from you could protect you. It only leaves you vulnerable. He could walk right up to you and you wouldn’t even know it.”
Sharon started backing up. “I’m getting the kids. We’re not staying here.”
David took her wrist. “Hold on. There
’s no need to get rash.”
“If that killer is ‘near,’ I want to be as far away from here as possible.”
“Just because he’s near doesn’t mean he knows we know. It only means he’s close. That’s probably why the messages chose me, because of proximity. Maybe I’m in a position to stop him.”
Jerry spoke up. “Putting aside the concept of a TV intern chasing a killer being a ludicrous idea, you’re putting everyone you know in danger. And for what, for some war mongering crusader who’s dragged the country into a ridiculous holy war against the will of its people?”
“Now it’s a holy war? I thought it was about greed and oil.”
“It’s both! Don’t you read the news? They hate us over there! Every second we stay, we bolster their hatred for us and unify them in their aspirations of global Jihad! This President is stirring up a snake pit!”
David shook his head. “These extremists already aspire to dominate the world with their religion. Nothing we do is going to change that. What we have the ability to do, and what I believe this President is doing, is rooting them out of the crevices they’re hiding in.”
“Afghanistan! Not Iraq! Why are we in Iraq?”
“What would happen if the terrorists got their hands on nuclear weapons? Huh? What then?”
“Iraq didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction!”
Sharon got between them. “This isn’t helping anything!”
“It’s helping quite a bit.” David sneered. He looked past her at Jerry. “I’m learning who I can trust.”
Jerry whipped his jacket off the side of the couch. “If you pursue this,” he said, pointing his finger, “you are inviting horrible consequences, and I don’t want to be anywhere near you!” He looked at Sharon. “You and the kids should come with me. If you stay here, you’re likely to get yourself killed.”
Sharon turned to David with pleading eyes.
The anger on his face melted. “If you would feel safer there, I’ll understand,” he told her.
“Do you believe we’re safe here? Do you, David?”
He looked at her. “Yes, for the moment. Somehow I feel sure.”
She narrowed her eyes at him––then sighed. “I’ll wait, I trust your judgment.”
“I’ll leave the house key for you, Sharon,” Jerry said, putting his coat on. “You know where it is.”
“Thanks, Jerry. Sorry about all this.”
“For what its worth,” he said, “I don’t want to see anyone hurt. I just want peace. And I don’t think we’re heading in that direction.” He turned and walked out the door.
“Wow,” said Alex. “Check that magazine again and see if the killer is still near.”
David gave a small chuckle and pointed at him. “That’s not funny.”
Alex opened his eyes wide. “Maybe he’s the killer and just doesn’t know it yet.”
Sharon folded her arms. “Stop it, this is serious.”
A smile creased Alex’s lips. “I know he wouldn’t harm a fly, Sharon. I’m just teasing.”
“Dad?”
All three turned to see Ben perched on the stairs.
David walked over to the banister. “What is it, son?”
“I heard you guys talking, and I- I know something.”
“What do you mean?”
“I saw something this morning down the street, at the house on the corner.”
“Which one.”
“The one with that guy who never smiles at you.”
“Oh? The Arab man?”
“Yeah.”
When you fell off your bike?” asked Sharon.
“Yeah. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to lock me up in the house.”
She shook her head. “I knew something hap...”
David held his hand up. “What did you see, Ben?”
“The man had a gun in his pants, and I saw two boxes in the back of his van. One said Hazardous M-a- t- something. It was all metal. It looked like something important.”
“Hazardous Materials,” said Alex.
“You saw this in the back of his van?” The Arab made David nervous, but he never would have imagined this.
“Yep. The other man stepped in front of it so I couldn’t see. What does it mean?”
“Well, we don’t know...”
Sharon gripped his arm. “Call the police. Let them check it out. This is big stuff, David.”
“Wow,” said Alex, “a terrorist, right down the street. That’s going to drop the property values.”
David put his hand on Sharon’s. “I don’t think calling the police is the right move. They might not believe it as a credible lead and just call a car in. Terrorists would at least have a scanner, and more likely something greater. No. We should call the FBI, or Homeland Security.”
“What if they have moles in the government?” said Alex. “If they’re organized enough to be able to take out a President, they most likely have connections in high places.”
David threw up his hands. “This is all conjecture. We have no idea who these people are, or how deep their organization runs, if there is even an organization at all!”
“And,” said Alex, looking out the window again, “we don’t know how they’ll react if they find out you’re involved.”
“We need to make sure they don’t find out.”
“How do you do that, when you don’t have any idea what they’re doing? Every call you make could lead them to your doorstep.”
David paced. “We have to find out more.”
“Daddy, what’s going on?” That was Emily’s voice. She stood on the stairs with her eyes wide, peering at all the concerned adults.
David opened his arms, and she came down and gave him a hug. “It’s okay, honey. We’re trying to figure something out. Big people stuff.”
“Oh.” She pulled away and turned to Alex. “Hi, Uncle Alex.”
He went down on one knee, and she walked into his embrace. “How’s my favorite girl?”
“Are you sure you want us to stay here?” asked Sharon.
“I’m going down to the station to see if Nerd can call up any information on this guy. At least there I won’t have to worry about any terrorist moles. You’ll be safe here, no one knows anything about this. Just keep working out the funeral arrangements, and don’t tell anyone about what’s going on.”
Her eyes pleaded with him.
He didn’t want to leave her any more than she wanted to stay, but he had to get some answers, and he believed it would be safer for her and the children to stay put.
“I can stay with them awhile,” said Alex. “I have to meet with a new client at six, but I could stay until then.”
“Would you?”
“Sure.”
David was relieved. His family would be safe with Alex. Alex was a precious cargo courier. The job required him to have a concealed weapons permit and a hand gun, which he was quite adept at using. He had bested David at the firing range on more than one occasion.
David gave Sharon a kiss. “I won’t be long. I promise.”
Chapter 12
The sign on the door said, CLOSED. The television station was never closed. Especially on a Friday. David peered through the glass. There was activity deep inside, but they would never hear him pounding. He turned and looked down the long brick face of the building, and remembered the service entrance out back. He made his way around the building, and found a black box hanging next to a gray metal door. In the open-faced wooden box was a phone and a sign reading, For Emergencies: Press 0. For the Receptionist: Press 2. For News: Press 3. David picked up the receiver, pressed 3, and looked up at the tiny black camera lens.
“Hi, David,” said the voice on the phone.
“Hi, Janet. Let me in.”
“Make sure no one else goes through. Only you, okay?”
David looked around. He was alone, except for a handful of news cars parked under the overhang. “Okay.”
Buzz. Cli
ck. The door unlocked.
He put the phone back in the cradle, and entered.
To his right, beyond glass and girders, was the newsroom, where stories were processed and teleprompter script was written. The nerve center of the station, here field reporters contacted leads, filed reports, and cataloged finished pieces. David could tell by the flurry of activity that something big was going on, he could almost feel the tension through the glass. Another intern, a woman named Jenny, emerged from the newsroom carrying a handful of papers. David leaned in her path. “Has Brad returned with the crew yet?”
She looked at him like he had globs of Jello on his face. “Nerd’s in the newsroom.” She turned and walked away. “Where’ve you been?”
David shrugged off the comment and entered the newsroom. Nerd sat beside a desk. Crouched in front of him, gently sponging a nasty cut on his forehead, was Cindy Coulter, the six o’clock co-anchor.
David began making his way toward them, but something caught his eye, a poster for a new television show titled Worth the Wait. His eyes rested on the word Wait, and he came to a stop. He looked down at a pile of papers on the desk nearest him. One paper dangling from the side stood out from the rest. He reached down and grabbed it. It was nothing special, a hard copy of a story that ran a week ago. Is there something you want me to know? He bounced his eyes from top to bottom, side to side––and his mind formed a sentence. Write page forty-nine on Post-it.
David squinted at the page. –What? He looked down. On the far corner of the desk was a bright pink square of Post-its, alone and conspicuous. He set the page down and rounded the desk. He wanted to believe it was a fluke, but he recognized the familiar sense, a sense he was beginning to trust, if only slightly. He glanced around. Was anyone going to care if he used one Post-it? Quickly he grabbed a pen and wrote, “page 49” on the little pink sheet and peeled it off. Okay. Now what am I supposed to do with it?
“David, is that you?” It was Cindy.
He peeled the note from his finger and stuck it to a Federal Express envelope sitting on the desk.
“I thought you had the day off.”
David walked toward her. She was still crouching in front of Nerd. “Yeah. I came in to check on a couple things. Is everything okay?”
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