“Yes, sir.”
“And take Larry with you.”
Karen looked somewhat baffled, and completely disgusted. “Why? I have a camera operator.” She looked back at Larry.
He gave her a chocolate covered grin.
“You’re stepping into some serious waters, Karen. You need someone strong to back you up.”
“You’re talking about a man who can hardly climb a set of stairs without getting winded! And he has an ankle brace for crying out loud.”
“S’cuse me,” said Larry, “in the room here.”
She snapped a threatening glare at him.
Jim slapped his hand on the desk. “Enough. This is not up for discussion. You’re assigned to each other. Now get to work.”
Karen stood, smoothed her skirt, and exited the room in a poised rage, nearly smashing Larry in the face with the door.
The Texan wiped the chocolate frosting from his mustache and peered out into the newsroom. “I gotta give it to her, that gal’s got class. She can even storm out of a room with style.
David interjected. “Do you need anything more from me? I have a crisis at home I need to deal with.”
Jim looked at him. “No. You’re all set, David. I only needed to find out if this document was tied to the Mosque piece. You can go.”
“Thank you, sir.” David joined Nerd and Larry, and the three filed out of the office.
Larry laughed. “Hoo-eee. Today’s gonna be like workin’ with the gators.”
Nerd snorted. “Or like Kirk in Star Trek Two: The Wrath of Khan.” He shook his fists at the ceiling. “KHAN!”
Larry shot David a comical expression and slapped Nerd on the shoulder. “On that note, wish me luck. I’m goin’ in!”
David and Nerd watched as Larry strutted off through the desks amidst the frenzy of activity––king of the newsroom––larger than life. With all of his obvious shortcomings, David decided he liked him. Larry was the quintessential alpha male, personable, strong, confident, and besides the gut and a complete absence of buttocks to hold his pants up, not a bad looking guy.
Nerd turned and spoke in a low voice. “What was that all about?”
“He was just having fun with you.”
“No. In the office. Why didn’t you tell them?”
David pulled Nerd over to a large bulletin board that stretched from the news director’s door to the six o’clock anchor’s room. He glanced over his shoulder. “Look, man, you can’t say anything.”
“You can’t sit on this!” Nerd spoke in a tense whisper. “This is galactic! You’re withholding evidence from an official investigation! You’re breaking laws here!”
“I know, I know! I’m going to tell them. But my family is in danger. I need to figure some stuff out first.”
“David. John is dead! We have to...”
“Listen. They know I’m here. And they know I know about the cases!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Someone sent me a text message. They know about me. I don’t know how, but they do. For all I know, they could be watching us right now!”
Nerd’s eyes widened.
“My family is in danger. I can’t say anything until my family is safe, not to anyone.”
“But people are going to die. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few––or the one.”
“You’re quoting Star Trek? Nerd! I need you here in reality! This isn’t a space opera!” He looked around and brought his voice to a forceful whisper. “I’m dealing with something real, and complex, and right now I need you to work with me.”
Nerd responded, but David didn’t hear.
His eyes fell on a paper above Nerd’s shoulder on the cork board. Two words stood out to him. Read carefully.
Oh great! He looked at the ceiling. Read WHAT carefully? He stepped back and focused on the board. Was there a message here?
Nerd’s voice crackled in his ear. “Are you listening?”
David brought his hand up and stared intently at the board.
Nerd turned and scanned the wall. “Are you okay?”
“Nerd, please!” David touched his fingertips to the board and trolled slowly to the right, his eyes darting randomly from posting to posting with a fierce intensity.
Nerd watched, mouth gaping.
From station memos, to want ads, to posted news clippings, David’s eyes bounced and scanned. His mind drew in the message, one, word, at a time. At the end he stopped and took a step back.
“That was total creepsville.” Nerd gave a snort.
David turned, as if noticing him for the first time. He brought Nerd’s vexed expression into focus.
“Earth to David. Come in David.”
David blinked. “Sorry. I––I have to go.” He pushed past Nerd and headed for the staircase.
“Where you going?” Nerd said, tagging close behind.
“If I’m right, I know where the bomb is.” David pushed through the door and bolted up the stairs.
Chapter 17
Sharon and Emily sat huddled together on the cold cellar floor, Sharon’s back against the hard wall, Emily’s back against her mother. Ben was playing with some trucks he’d found in a box under the workbench, and Alex sat on the stairs, looking frustrated.
Sharon hadn’t seen Alex like this in years. Since his conversation with David, he’d been in quite a mood. Normally it took a lot more to ruffle Alex’s feathers. Maybe it’s Emily, Sharon thought. He’d always been very attached to Emily. Maybe her being threatened was putting him on edge.
Emily rested her cheek on her mother’s arm. “How long are we going to be in the laundry room, Mama?”
“Until it’s safe, honey.”
Alex looked at his watch and scowled. “David better call soon. I have to get to my appointment at six. It’s almost five now, I can’t just leave you guys here.”
Sharon looked shocked. “You’re still going into the city? With everything that’s going on?”
“I deal with danger all the time in my work.”
“Can’t you meet with your client outside of Boston?”
“It’s complicated.” He rubbed his hand through his hair. “If there was any other way, I would. I don’t like...”
A distant knock sounded. Emily sat up. Ben stopped playing.
“That’s our door, Mom,” said Emily, standing up.
Sharon remained still. Listening.
“Aren’t we going to answer it?”
Sharon shushed her gently. “We don’t know if it’s the bad people.”
Emily’s eyes grew wide. She hadn’t thought of that.
There was another knock. This one louder and more urgent. Alex got up from the stairs. “Are you expecting anyone?”
Sharon swallowed and shook her head. There was a good chance it was just one of her neighbors checking in on them, but she didn’t dare go up and find out.
The doorknob rattled.
Sharon pulled Emily to her. Her little body was shivering. “Mama, I’m scared.”
“It’ll be okay,” Sharon whispered.
Ben came over, crouched down, and put a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Em.”
He made a pretty good pretense of coming over to comfort his sister, but Sharon wasn’t fooled. His pensive stare towards the cellar door revealed his real reason for coming. He was scared too, and he needed his mother.
Footsteps creaked in the kitchen. “They must have come in through the back door,” Sharon whispered.
Alex put his finger to his lips, slipped his pistol from his work bag, and motioned for them to get under the stairs. They stood and moved silently across the floor. The footsteps moved through the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. They waited in silence, barely breathing. The footsteps returned to the stairs, and slowly descended. Very slowly they came back into the kitchen––then stopped next to the cellar door. The knob twisted. Emily let out a squeak, and Sharon clamped a hand on her mouth.
<
br /> Click. The door opened.
Alex looked back at Sharon with reassurance, the gun gripped tightly in his hands. From the top of the stairs came one slow creak, then another...
Sharon desperately tried to control her anxious breaths. Emily dug her fingers into her mother’s arm, making Sharon realize that her daughter couldn’t breathe. She loosened her grip, and the little girl panted quietly, frozen in fear.
Another creak, and another. Ben burrowed in next to his mother. Alex brought the pistol up. More creaks. The footsteps reached the bottom. A shadow quivered on the basement wall. Sharon’s eyes locked onto it in silent terror. The figure rounded the corner. Alex brought the pistol up.
Sharon looked left and saw his reflection in the mirror on the wall. She sucked in a breath. “ALEX! NO!”
Jerry’s hands flailed as he screamed and fell back against the cement wall. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”
Alex jerked the gun up and shook with annoyance. “Stupid fool!”
The family scurried out from under the stairs. “You scared us half to death! Why didn’t you call out and let us know it was you?”
Jerry composed himself. “I saw both of your cars out front, but the door was locked. With all the talk about killers...” He looked from Sharon to Alex. “I thought something bad was going on.”
“Were you trying to sneak up on the killers?” Sharon said. “We could hear you going through every part of the house. Not exactly a ninja.”
Jerry glared. “Very funny.”
That brought a slight smile to Alex’s face.
Jerry surveyed the room. “What are you guys doing down here?”
“Hiding, what does it look like?”
Alex picked up his work bag. “David got a message from the terrorists. They know he’s onto them. We think they might have the technology to listen into the house from a distance. Maybe with lasers. We don’t know. But none of us are safe here. I’ve been waiting for David to call back, and this is the only place we know we can talk safely. You know what, it’s actually good you showed up. I have to go. Can you take everyone to your house?”
“My house? Wh- what if they see us leave?”
Alex put his hand up. “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”
Jerry furrowed his brow.
“They won’t follow you if you leave by yourself, because they aren’t after you.” Alex grabbed a notepad out of his bag and moved over to the laundry table. In the light of the fluorescent lamp, amid a pile of socks and folded clothes, he drew a map. “This is the house.” He made an X on the paper. “Beyond the back gate is a stone walkway leading through the neighbor’s yard to the road. Take your car, Jerry, drive around to the next street and park here.” He pointed. “Sharon and the kids can go out the back and meet you. Hopefully they’re only watching the front of the house.”
“Seems like it might work,” said Sharon.
“I’m scared,” said Emily, gripping her mother’s hand tightly.
“It’s okay, honey, we just need to get to Uncle Jerry’s car. Then we’ll be safe.”
Emily’s little face was flushed. In her seven years of life, the most traumatic event she’d had to deal with so far, was the flu.
Ben looked like someone about to leap off a cliff. Sharon reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. “It’s okay kids. This will all be over soon.”
Chapter 18
David ran down the second floor hallway toward a door marked, Computer Lab. Nerd followed in breathy pursuit. He had given up calling out. Clearly, David wasn’t listening. With a twist and a thrust on the door handle David burst into the lab. The eight computer stations were unoccupied. Good! No one to ask questions.
Nerd pushed in behind him, gasping for air, rubbing his knees.
David sat down and swiped his access card, the computer monitor came to life.
“Could you- please- tell me...” Nerd panted, “what you’re talking about? How do you- know where the bomb is?”
“If I told you, you’d think I was crazy.”
Nerd snorted and extended his gangly arms. “News flash, David. Already do.”
He didn’t have time for this, his family was in danger. And now he had to crawl through four weeks of emails, looking for a needle in a haystack.
Nerd folded his arms. “Either you tell me, or I’m telling the FBI what your son saw.”
“You wouldn’t do that.” David’s eyes stayed fixed on the screen.
“Of course I would! Thousands of lives could be in danger! I saw one man killed today, I don’t want to see any more!”
David’s hand slid off the computer mouse; Nerd had him. There was no way around it. David sighed. “Alright. Okay. You want to know? I’ll tell you, but you’re just going to think I’m nuts.”
“Try me.”
David looked Nerd in the eye. “I’ve been seeing messages in words around me. I string random words together and they make sentences. They tell me the future, and they tell me to do stuff. So far they’ve saved my life and the life of my neighbor. There. You happy?”
Years of addiction to science fiction and fantasy had, no doubt, prepared Nerd for this moment. Immediately he grasped the concept and accepted it as truth. “You saw a message on the bulletin board! Your brain decoded it?”
“Yes. I know how crazy it sounds, so don’t bother telling me.”
Nerd matted his fluffy red hair with his hands. “This is awesome!”
David raised an eyebrow. “You believe me?”
“Absolutely! My brother Craig smells stuff, then weeks later he’ll go somewhere and the smell is there! Wild, huh?”
“Yeah. Can I get back to this?”
Nerd shot his hands straight out. “Wait. Wait. What did the message say?”
“It said...”
Music Music Music filled the computer lab. David shot a startled hand into his pocket, pulled his phone out, and looked at the caller ID. Not the terrorists. Just Alex. He held his hand up toward Nerd. “I have to take this.”
Nerd looked around awkwardly, then sat down in one of the computer chairs.
David brought the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”
“You’re not here yet.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“My appointment’s coming up fast and I want to make sure your family is safe. I’ve come up with a plan.”
“Good. What are you thinking?”
“Jerry came back. He’s going to take Sharon and the kids to his house.”
“No. No. That’s not good enough. They should be somewhere unpredictable.” A dark thought crept into David’s mind. What if they go after my extended family? Is Mom safe? He’d have to warn her soon. David shuddered. “No. Have Jerry take them to a friend’s, or to a hotel, or somewhere else. Okay? I need to know they’re safe.”
“Alright. That’s fine. I can do that.”
“Wait! What if they follow him?”
“It’s okay. He’s going to leave first, by himself, then Sharon and the kids are going to run out the back and meet him on the other street. That way the terrorists will think he left alone and will keep watching the house.”
“Alright. Good plan. Thanks, buddy.”
“Sure thing, man. I wish I could stay with them, but I’ve been working on this meeting for months. I’d miss it if I had to, I mean, you and the family are more important than anything, but if I can make it...”
“I know. You don’t have to explain.”
Alex let out a subdued laugh. “I also wouldn’t be braving a potential nuclear blast if it wasn’t so important.”
“Do you have to go? Is it really worth it?”
“It never is. –Anyway, when it’s over, I’ll catch up with you. It shouldn’t take too long.”
David furrowed his brow. “Just be careful, okay?”
“I always am. It’s what I do.”
“Okay, well I’m going down to the Industrial Park by the bay.”
“The Industrial Park? A news as
signment, or more messages?”
“A message. It said, ‘Danger at the West Downs Industrial Park.’”
“You’re kidding me. You’re not going. –Are you?”
“You think I want to go? I know my family needs me. But I’m afraid not to do what they say.”
“It said, ‘danger’ it didn’t say go.”
“Actually, it did.”
Alex let out a long frustrated breath. “I could strangle you! If you get yourself blown up, I’m going to kill you. Got it?”
David’s tone was sarcastic. “Got it. Don’t get killed or you’ll kill me.”
“Okay, mouth. Man! When did you get so mouthy?”
“I’m as frustrated as you are!” David snapped.
“Well at least wait for me. I’ll get my meeting done and head over to you as fast as I can, then we can go together.”
“The message said...”
“The message! The message! I’m sick of this! They’ve got you thinking you’re some kind of secret agent. You’re a television intern, with friends and family, and might I add, not a shred of combat training. I mean for crying out loud, Emily could take you!”
David took in a controlled breath. “Sharon and the kids will be safe. Jerry will take care of them, and I’m... Well, I believe I’m going to be fine too.”
Alex’s tone relaxed, slightly. “You really believe these messages will protect you?”
“I have no reason not to trust them.”
“You don’t even know what they are.”
“–Okay. Alex, I have to go. Tell Sharon I’ll call soon.”
Alex sighed. “Do you at least have a firearm, or can you get your hands on one?”
“Sorry. Not that I can think of.”
“I’ll get my backup handgun and bring it with me. If you’re going to go head-to-head with terrorists, you’ll need something.”
“Thanks. Okay. I have to go. Call me when your meeting gets over.”
“Promise me something.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t try to be a hero.”
“If I become a hero, it won’t be intentional.”
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