Messages

by John Michael Hileman

  “Are you coming up?”

  He swiveled in his chair. It was Karen.

  “Oh. Hey there.” He looked at the screen, then back at Karen. “I was just following up on something.”

  “You’ve had a busy day. Don’t you think it’s time to take a break? We’re telling stories about John, some of the stuff he use to do. You should come up.”

  He sprang to his feet and tried to smooth the tangled mess of red hair on the top of his head. “You’re wish is my command, Karen.” He snorted. “Don’t want to keep my fans waiting.”

  She smiled, and her eyes twinkled.

  That Brad was a lucky guy. Lucky for him he moved in when he did. She was Nerd’s kind of girl. The kind of girl who paid any attention to him at all.

  Chapter 53

  “LEAVE HER ALONE!” David sat up in bed, panting, covered in sweat. His alarm was going off. He reached over and hit the button. Silence filled the dark motel room.

  But he could still hear her screaming.

  A black shrouded figure had been dragging Emily by the hair into a gaping hole in the ground. David shuddered and tried to shake the image from his mind. He looked at the clock. 4:00 a.m. Where was Alex? He turned the light on and clutched his phone. No messages. He flipped it open and punched the number.

  Alex answered with a scratchy, “Hello?”

  “We’re you sleeping?”

  “Just for a couple of hours. I was up all night following leads.”

  “We have to get out of here, now.”

  “There’s plenty of time. The President doesn’t speak till eleven.”

  “But we should get there early. What if the car breaks down?”

  “Then we’ll get a cab. Don’t worry. We’ll get there.” The sound of squeaky bed springs came through the phone.

  “Where are you?”

  Alex groaned. “I’m at the police station. They’ve been following Jerry’s trail from Harvard, we’re waiting to see where it ends.”

  “How close are they?”

  “They’ve been saying any minute for the last six hours.”

  David ran his hands through his wavy hair. “We have to go. We can’t wait for them. How soon can you get here?”

  “I don’t know. Thirty minutes?”

  “Get here, or I’m going without you.”

  “Okay. Don’t snap at me. Wait, okay?”

  David closed the phone.

  Forty-five minutes passed, and David paced. Every passing minute meant one more opportunity for failure. This was not an appointment he could be late for. That’s it! I’m leaving. He gathered his few things and headed down to the office to leave his key. As he jogged through the dimly lit parking lot, Alex pulled up beside him. “Come on, get in. I just filled the tank so we won’t have to stop on the way.” David glared at his friend, then jumped in.

  Alex drove, and David stared out the window. Neither one felt the need to speak.

  And the road passed under them.

  For an eternity.

  Chapter 54

  Nerd flicked the switch, and his office filled with the green tint of florescent lighting. He set his coffee mug down next to his mouse pad and tapped the space bar; three flat screens came to life. In the lower corner of the center screen a number four blinked. He had four new messages. He clicked the icon, and his groggy eyes scanned down the page to the entry he’d been waiting for.

  Subject: You owe me big.

  It was from Canary. Did he find something? With a click, the email opened. The contents were exactly what he had requested. Canary had come through for him. In spades! “Hey, Nerd. This unit was sold to an American demalition company working in Egypt. Up til a few weeks ago it was being used for excavation work. Then was perchased by a company whose name came up defunct when I did a search for it. But that didn’t stop me and my superlative intillect! I accessed CIA docs, (thanks to Homeland Security’s new eforts to share info.) and uncovered the name of a suspected arms dealer...”

  Nerd’s mouth dropped open and his gangly fingers reached out and picked up his coffee mug. He drew it in and took a sip as his eyes peered through the steam at the name glowing on the monitor. Part of him was elated at uncovering what was sure to be big news. It would certainly impress Karen, and would virtually guarantee her taking him with her when she moved on to a larger market, maybe even to national. But a larger part of him wished he had never dug it up in the first place.

  He picked up the phone and began dialing, then placed it back in the cradle. He didn’t want to hear the reaction. He didn’t want to hear the agony as the inevitable questions came firing at him. He didn’t want to be the one to have to swear it was true, even though he wished it wasn’t. He ripped open the Velcro pouch on his belt and pulled out his cellphone. News like this was best delivered with text. That way, if there was a response, he didn’t have to deal with it. It would be a share of information. Nothing more. He thumbed down through his contacts to the one he was seeking, David Chance.

  Chapter 55

  David watched as the mile markers of the Maine Turnpike passed. His brain had finally shut down. It was no longer churning through all of the possible ways he would search for messages once they arrived at the airbase. It was no longer running through endless variations of the conversation he would have with Jerry.

  He simply stared. Too tired to think. Too tired to focus.

  And the landscape passed by.

  Rock music played on the radio. A cold breeze circled around from the driver’s side window. Alex yawned again and stretched over the steering wheel, arching his back like a cat. David turned his head. “You want me to take over?” he mumbled. “I’ve had more sleep than you.”

  “Nah. I’m all set. I’ve got my tunes to keep me awake. How are you holding up?”

  “Never better.” It wasn’t true, of course, but it wasn’t a lie either. It was denial, a trait he had learned from Alex. Men deny pain. The stronger the man, the greater the denial. In David’s mind, there was no greater proof of strength than to have a bone sticking out of your arm and to say ‘What? That? Oh it’s nothing.’ So to David, it wasn’t really a lie. It was a demonstration of toughness. Alex had taught him many such lessons growing up on the streets of Boston.

  David’s phone vibrated in his pocket; his body jerked.

  Alex laughed. “You okay?”

  “Phone,” muttered David as he shoved his hand into his pocket. There was a text message.

  “Thought you should know. The detonator was purchased by Alex Blackstone. Sorry. I know he’s your friend. Nerd.”

  The text burrowed through layers of drowsiness and embedded itself into David’s weary mind. What? He squeezed his eyes shut, then reopened. Am I dreaming? He looked over at Alex, then back at the message. That’s not possible.

  Alex?

  He stared straight ahead at a spot on the windshield. No. I don’t bel... It’s a mistake. It HAS to be. David stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Text message?”

  “Yeah. Just a co-worker. I’ll deal with it later.”

  Alex knew David better than anyone, even better than Sharon. He knew all the tactics David used to avoid lying.

  He was using one of them now.

  “What did it say, David?”

  “Nosey much?” said David, trying to muster as much nonchalance as he could.

  Alex lifted a brow. “So we’re keeping secrets now?”

  David glanced at Alex with a casual expression, then listened in horror as the words slipped from his lips. “You tell me.” The words dripped with suspicion.

  Alex slammed on the brakes and jerked the car into the breakdown lane.

  David slapped his hand to the dashboard. “What are you doing?”

  “You tell me?” Alex parroted the comment. The car slid to a stop. Alex turned a fierce expression toward David. “Are you implying that I’m keeping secrets?”

 
Was he? Maybe the name Nerd found was a different Alex Blackstone. But why did he react so violently? David’s mind raced. The terrorists spared him and his family. Why? Because someone among them cared what happened to them. He had thought it was Jerry, but that still didn’t add up. He just wasn’t capable of such things. But Alex? He was more than capable.

  “Well?” Alex glared at him.

  The magnitude of the betrayal seized David, and rational thought departed. He shoved his hand in his pocket, yanked the phone back out, and yelled at his friend. “I just got this!” He thrust it at Alex. “You want to talk about secrets?”

  Alex looked at the message, then out his window.

  The silence was deafening.

  “Is this you? Has my best friend betrayed me?”

  Alex turned. His eyes grew cold. “You figured it out.” His voice sent a chill down David’s back. “How fortunate for you.” His hand came up from between the seat and the door. He was holding his pistol.

  David’s hands flew up. “Are you kidding me!”

  “Get out.”

  “What...”

  “GET OUT OF THE CAR!”

  David fumbled the door open and climbed out onto the grassy slope. Alex climbed out the other side.

  David put his palms up. “Come on, man, this is crazy! Whatever you’re caught up in, I’ll understand. We can work through this.”

  “Shut up!” Alex looked up the highway at the sparse early morning traffic. “Head down to the tree line.”

  “What are you...”

  “Now!”

  David stumbled down the embankment to the tree line and turned. Alex shoved him around and into the trees. He forced him deep into the pines, until the traffic was barely audible. And still they continued on. Stumbling through the branches. Tripping over roots.

  Finally David spoke. “So this is it? Years of friendship coming to an end when you put a bullet through my head in the mid...”

  Alex shoved him to the ground.

  “If I was going to put a bullet in your head, you’d be dead already! Man! Take a hint! I’ve been trying to keep you alive for the past two days!” He waved the gun through the air. “I protected you! They wanted to kill you and I protected you!” A look of hopelessness crossed his features. “You should have backed off! But you wouldn’t listen! I thought if I pretended to be the Arabs, you’d lose your nerve. I thought if I put your family in danger, you’d give in. But NO! You had to keep on sticking your nose where it didn’t belong! I threatened your life, and the life of your son! BUT YOU JUST KEPT COMING!” He began pacing wildly.

  “You could have just- talked to me. We could have dealt with...”

  “YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO KNOW!” He rubbed his face with a heavy hand. “It was my burden to carry. I was going to make one big score, and we’d be set for life! I could finally have the family I’ve always wanted! And you wouldn’t have to work at that stupid station editing tapes. You deserve better than that!”

  “So this is about––money?”

  Alex glared at him. “It’s about not letting life pass me by! I feel like I’m on a treadmill that never stops. In a few years I’ll be forty, and my life hasn’t even started yet! This was my chance to break free of the cycle. To have the family. To have the kids.”

  “By killing thousands of innocent people?”

  He stood with his mouth open and his eyebrows raised. “No one was supposed to die, David. It was all political posturing, a planned event that would smear the President’s no terrorism on American soil record. But you’ve more than sufficiently ruined everything.” He started pacing again. “They wanted an evacuation of Boston, and thanks to you, I gave them a successful Homeland Security sting operation. They wanted the authorities to look like they had been caught with their pants down, and I made them look like heroes! So NOW, because of YOU, I have to do something terrible!” He stopped. David could see tears in his eyes. “Why, David? Why did you have to keep coming?”

  “Are––you going to try to kill the President?”

  He wiped his arm across his wet face, and his wild eyes pierced David’s heart. “I got the idea from you actually.”

  Me? The thought bent David’s mind. “You’ll never get close enough to him, not with all that’s going on.”

  “The people I work for have it all set up.” He chuckled. “They’re more powerful than you can possibly imagine. These people get what they want. All I need to do is execute my part of the plan, and I get what I want. If I don’t––I’m dead.”

  “Alex...”

  “This was supposed to be for all of us.” He hung his head. “I could have lived with the guilt. It would have been my secret. But knowing that you know...” He looked up. “Knowing that you will always look at me like you’re looking at me right now––that I can’t live with.” He cocked the gun.

  “Alex! Please! We’ll work something out!”

  Alex circled. “You know the weird thing? The thing I can’t for the life of me figure out?” He pressed the cold hard barrel into David’s head. “Do you know, David?”

  “Wh- What?”

  “Why your messages hid this from you.”

  “Please. Don’t do this.” David’s body shuddered.

  “You should have listened. You should have stopped. I gave you every chance. And all you had to do was listen. All you had to do was stop!”

  David squeezed his eyelids.

  “And you know what else, David?” The words were cold and filled with bitterness.

  “Wh- What, Alex?”

  He pressed the barrel harder against his head. “You killed our friendship.”

  He pulled the gun away.

  There was a bright light.

  And then darkness.

  Chapter 56

  David’s eyes fluttered open, then shut tight. The light was unbearable, the pain swelled in response. He rolled onto his back and gripped his head with both hands. There was a damp spot on his hair, pine needles clung to the wetness.

  He let me live.

  He rolled to his side and opened his eyes a slit.

  He’s risking his life to let me live. He’s not a heartless monster. Maybe there’s hope. With one hand on the ground, he pushed up to his knees. The pain was excruciating, and he almost passed out again. How long have I been out? He looked at his watch.

  It was gone.

  Slowly he tried to rise up, but fell back again. I HAVE to get up. He crawled to a birch, pulled himself up, and held tightly to the trunk. He let go and teetered to the next tree. The world pulsated in rhythm to the pain in his head, but he ignored it, and stumbled forward like a drunk, shoving himself from one tree to the next.

  After awhile, he stopped and listened. I must be nearing the Interstate. But all he could hear was the whispering wind, the chattering birds, and the pounding in his head. Did he move me deeper into the woods? Why can’t I hear the cars? In every direction there was nothing but trees, no paths, nothing to indicate where he was. Even if I started off in the right direction, I could go in circles––or walk parallel to the highway for hours.

  He collapsed to his knees and held onto his head. His friend was making the biggest mistake of his life. The life of the President was hanging in the balance. There was too much at stake to rely on dumb luck. There had to be a way. Were there any messages he hadn’t used? He clutched his head harder and slowly went back over the events of the last two days. Suddenly he looked up. Remember north! That one hadn’t been used yet! Okay, which way is north? He looked up at the clouds. Clouds? HOW am I supposed to know which way NORTH is? He hung his head in defeat––then looked up again, remembering something––something Alex had taught him when they were kids. Moss grows thicker on the north side of trees! He struggled to his feet, examined the trees, then turned and stumbled back the way he had come.

  It wasn’t long before he heard the cars, then soon after he emerged from the tree line. His brain rolled in his head as he struggled up the bank to the
side of the Interstate. The sun was peeking out from about a nine o’clock position in the sky. David’s heart sank. Even if I can catch a ride, I’ll never get there in time! The message pushed its way back into his mind. Remember north. YES. I did that. NOW what?

  Above the noise of the cars racing by and the pounding in his head, David heard a distinct and familiar sound. At first he thought it was his imagination, but as it grew louder there was no mistaking it. He looked at the tree line on the other side of the Interstate, and a plane appeared, not far above the tips of the trees. Apparently it had just taken off.

  David waited for a break in the traffic, then sprinted northward, to the other side.

  Chapter 57

  The airport was small compared to what he was used to, but inside the terminal was spacious, and appeared even more so by the complete lack of activity. David rushed across the large hollow room to the ticket counter. A stout dark haired attendant sat with her head in her hands and her cheeks squished into her eyes.

  “Excuse me, miss.” He panted. “I need to––get to Bangor immediately. I need––whatever is taking off right now. Please––it’s a matter of life and death.”

  She sat up and eyed him, then wheeled her chair over to the computer terminal. “I’ll see what I can find, but I don’t think anything is leaving within the hour.” Her fingers tapped the keys as her brows descended. She squinted at the screen. “I can put you on a flight at twelve-thirty.”

  David shook his head. “No. That’s too late. Is there a charter flight? A sight seeing flight? Anything?”

  “I don’t handle those at this counter.”

  “Who does?”

  “Various companies operating around the airport.” She gestured here and there with her hand.