Shattered Rules

by Allder, Reggi

  “No—No I don’t. But you can’t know who in the FBI to trust.” Pain and loss were painted in her expression. Her lips formed straight line.

  “Kelly that’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it?” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Agent Simmons said there were people in the Bureau that couldn’t be trusted and now he’s dead.”

  “Shit. What do you want to do?” he asked in frustration.

  “Get the drive and destroy it. Please don’t stop me from doing what has to be done.”

  If he did what she wanted he’d lose his job, everything he’d worked for over the last few years, gone. Still, her beseeching expression tugged at him. Maybe she was right. It was possible they should destroy it. That certainly would prevent it from getting into enemy hands.

  “Okay.” He gently touched her shoulder.

  She jumped and turned toward him. “What?”

  “We'll destroy it, you and me together.”

  “Do you mean it?”

  “Since I joined the FBI, I've seen too much information go missing. That can’t happen to the plan for the missile system if we destroy the flash drive.”

  He could imagine Don's angry reaction when his boss learned what they’d done. Better to explain it to Don after the deed complete, too late for anyone to stop it.

  “Can I trust you to do really do it?”

  The accusation hurt, but then what did he expect? Ever since they’d met again, he’d misled her. Of course she’d be suspicious. “Yeah you can.”

  She stared back at him her expression so cold it sent a shiver through him. He wanted to close his eyes against the chill. But he didn't, because she had to see he spoke the truth.

  “All right.” Her voice was tentative. “But don't betray me. I couldn't live with that.”

  “I won't,” he said vowing to never again betray the trust she put in him. Nor would he let anything or anyone hurt her, not as long as he was alive to stop it.

  “Let’s go.”

  “How far away is it?”

  “About twenty miles on Highway Eighty-Nine.”

  “Do you want some breakfast before we leave?”

  “My stomach’s so queasy I couldn't hold it down. I just want this to be over. Give me a minute, then we can go.”

  He watched her walk out of the kitchen knowing after today he might never see her again.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  In the cab of the black pick-up truck, Nickels sipped coffee from a thermos. His cell phone rang. He placed the thermos between his legs and reached the smart phone. “Yeah.”

  “The girl’s time is up. Get her and make her to tell you where she hid the damn drive. Then do whatever you want before you kill her. If the man is with her, get rid of him too. Be careful. He’s a tough bastard and he’ll fight you to the death. Take him out first.”

  “It will cost more,” Nickels said as he put the plastic lid back on the thermos.

  “How much?”

  “I'm easy. Let's say the same you're paying for the girl.”

  “You get your money when I get the drive and I want to see the bodies.” The phone disconnected.

  The asshole didn't trust him or the bloodthirsty jerk wanted to shoot a few bullets into their bodies just for his amusement.

  Nickels’ nerves flared. His hands itched. He took off the signet ring and scratched the reddened blisters that had formed under the ring.

  A rush of adrenaline pulsed through his veins. He’d get to do his job and finally go back to his homeland.

  ***

  The morning sun faded turning the day gunmetal gray. Kelly watched the Sierra Nevada winds come in angry gusts to tear green leaves from the twigs of the indigenous trees. Moisture filled the air and it was just a matter of time before it snowed.

  The tires of the Volvo wagon gripped the narrow winding road that was Highway Eighty-Nine. She gave Brick directions to the Thumb Dumb house. The turn off was located near D.L. Bliss State Park and Emerald Bay, away from the water on the hillside.

  From the car's window, she looked out at the awe inspiring view.

  How had her life come to this desperate point? In her desire to do good for Ted Simmons, she broke the rules by stealing from Johnny. So it’s true no good deed goes unpunished.

  A blast of wind hit the silver auto and she watched Brick jerk the steering wheel to keep the car on the correct side of the road.

  A snowflake hit the windshield. She stared as another one floated and landed on the hood.

  She was reminded of the sunny day she and her sister and her parents drove this road to the Thumb Dumb House. It had been one of the last days they were all together.

  The death of her parents had taught her how tenuous life could be. After they were gone she’d forced herself to go on living, determined to have a more exciting life than the boring one her parents had led. Without a care for the result, she’d taken any dare if it meant she’d experience the exhilaration of life and proved she was alive. Now the consequences of those actions had come to roost.

  If only she’d realized sooner that her choices could spill over and put Carrie in danger. If she had, different choices might have been made. She hadn’t considered anyone but herself. Shit. It didn’t matter now. She couldn’t change anything. Even so, the thought that she’d hurt the two people she loved sent a jab of misery through her.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I just have a sense of foreboding and I can’t shake it.” She exhaled and rubbed her temples.

  “After the last few days you’ve had I’m not surprised. Don’t worry. In a few minutes it will all be over.” Brick glanced at her and then back to the road. “How much further to the turn off?”

  “A mile or two I think. On the right side there’s a gravel road.”

  “Good.”

  A myriad of emotions swirled in her. After the berating she gave Brick yesterday, he was helping her. If only she hadn't said all those terrible things to him. She watched his profile. She loved him but it was too late. There was too much hurt between them. The chance of a relationship was over.

  “There hasn't been another vehicle on the road for miles. Now a pick-up truck is following us. The truck’s holding its distance. Whether I slow down or speed up, the truck maintains the same distance between the vehicles,” he said.

  She started to turn around to look out the rear window.

  “Don’t look. I don’t want the driver to know we’re on to him.”

  “Sorry.” Her back crawled with anxiety. Was the truck following them or was it a tourist on his way to his next destination?

  It was snowing hard now and visibility decreased with every flake. She almost didn't see the gravel road. “There it is on the right.”

  Brick swerved and quickly pulled off the highway onto narrow road heading toward the Thumb Dumb house. He stopped the vehicle and waited. The pickup truck went by the turnoff without slowing.

  Relieved, she sighed and leaned back in the seat.

  Brick drove the Volvo up the graveled road. The snow continued and soon the wagon’s tires slipped on the ice. “Without chains the car can’t go any further.” He turned off the engine. “We'll have to walk the rest of the way.”

  She jumped out of the car and followed him, slipping on the snow as they went. The running shoes she wore weren’t designed for this kind of weather. The wet snow soaked her into the fabric of the runners and her feet became numb from the cold.

  They hiked in silence. She watched her warm breath mingle with the flakes. With difficulty, she tried to keep her balance. She glanced up to see an impatient expression spread over Brick features.

  “I didn't think it was so far.” Her chest heaved with the effort. “I guess I'm not used to this altitude anymore,” she said breathlessly.

  “Too many years at sea level.”

  “Yeah.”

  She brushed snow from her eyes and squinted to see Brick just ahead of her. Only the sounds of their labored
breathing broke the silence. As they reached the top of a knoll, the pine and granite mansion appeared before them, looming as a dark shadow.

  She prayed the flash drive was still were Carrie had hidden it.

  “It must have been a grand house in its day,” he said.

  “It was beautiful when I was a kid. I thought of it as my castle.”

  “Let’s grab the drive and get out of here.”

  Snow had covered the granite stairs to the mansion’s porch when they got there. So they had to tread carefully.

  Brick pushed on the impressive oak paneled doors. One squeaked and opened. Motioning for her to wait, he entered the house alone.

  Her sense of foreboding increased and she trembled.

  Shaking from the cold, Kelly rubbed her arms as she paced in front of the huge double doors of the old mansion. What was Brick doing? She listened but couldn’t hear any sounds coming from inside the house.

  Her hand was on the metal door handle ready to turn it when she heard him shout. “It's okay. Come in.”

  In the grand foyer a massive wooden staircase curved up to the second floor. Covered in dust, it didn't look as if anyone had used the stairs recently.

  She listened for any sounds that could help her find Brick and then entered a room that jutted off the entry. It had no furniture and no Brick. She went back into the entry.

  “Brick where are you?”

  “At the back of the house.”

  She followed the sound of his voice and entered a room dominated by floor ceiling mahogany bookcases. The shelves were empty. She glanced from the bookcases to a beautifully carved support beam that held up the library's loft. That too was empty of books.

  “What a magnificent room. I can only imagine the volumes that must have lined these selves.”

  Brick leaned against the imposing granite mantle of the fireplace. “Yeah, a few first additions I bet.”

  There’d been a recent fire and embers glowed in the grate. The smell of burnt ashes and beer filled the room. “Smells like someone had a party.” She wrinkled her nose. “I wonder who started the fire.”

  “Local teens most likely.” He stood away from the fireplace. “I didn't find anyone in the house, but there are plenty of empty beer cans and bottles strewn around.”

  I wish there was still a roaring fire. She stomped the ice from her shoes and shook the snow from her fleece top.

  “Take my jacket.”

  “No. You need it.”

  “Take it.” He took if off and put over her shoulders.

  “Thanks.” She rolled up the long selves and put her arms in the jacket still warm from his body heat. Sadness that she’d never know the feel of his arms around her again shot through her.

  “Let's get it and leave before the storm gets worse,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  She whirled toward the sound of the stranger’s voice and faced the intruder who had burst into her house. He stood filling the doorway of the room, a sinister smile on his lips, and a nine-millimeter pistol in his hand.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The signet ring was still on the man’s finger. Now Kelly knew the initial “N” on the ring, stood for Nickels. She froze and her eyes focused on the weapon. He pointed the gun at her chest.

  “Get the flash drive.”

  “No.” The word barely squeezed from her tightened throat.

  “Now.”

  His gun never wavered from her. She was going to die and never get a chance tell Brick she still loved him or ask for his forgiveness for all the horrible things she’d said.

  “Move bitch.”

  Brick moved.

  Nickels spun toward him. “Take your gun out of the holster. Put it on the floor and kick it to me or I'll kill the girl where she stands.”

  Adrenaline shot through her and her heart beat erratically.

  “If you kill her, you’ll never get the drive.” Brick's voice sounded calm. How could he sound so relaxed?

  “I can shoot both of you and search the place later. Lose your gun.”

  Unbidden thoughts of Agents Simmons lying dead on the cold garage floor of the bungalow, his blood draining from his body, sparked in her mind. Her heart thumped hard and her knees started to buckle.

  “I said drop the gun,” Nickels said to Brick.

  “Brick don’t.”

  She watched him take his gun out. “No,”

  He kicked it toward Nickels.

  Nickels grabbed her arm. “Bitch, pick it up.”

  Brick lunged at Nickels and sent a disabling blow to the man’s solar plexus. He grunted, and grabbed his rib cage, releasing her.

  Brick kicked the gun from the man’s hand. It went flying across the room.

  He twisted the guy’s arm behind him.

  She gasped as he slammed Nickels’ face into a wall. Still holding the man's arm behind his back, Brick griped his throat

  “Who hired you?”

  She saw him give Nickels just enough air to speak.

  The man coughed but didn’t answer.

  “If you want to live, talk now. Who hired you?”

  As Nickels opened his mouth to speak, a shot rang out. His eyes widened and blood dripped from a hole in his forehead. He dropped to the floor.

  A tall stranger, light brown hair and icy blue eyes and dressed in blue jeans and a tan windbreaker stood in the room. A very average man looking man, but he’d just killed in cold blood. He stood with both hands on his weapon, positioned to shoot again.

  “Don! Are you crazy? He was about to talk,” Brick shouted.

  “No buddy, he was about to kill you.”

  She had trouble processing what was happening. Brick’s boss was pointing a gun at him.

  “Don, the man was under my control.”

  “No, he had a gun.” Don waved his pistol and smiled.

  “You sent him!” Brick gasped. “He was bought and paid for by you.”

  His boss didn't deny it.

  Rage shone in Brick’s eyes. “He's your man. It all makes sense now. You always called me late at night or on the weekends and you told me not to alert the CIA.”

  Don shrugged.

  “There was no case, no file on Kelly. It was all a lie. The FBI didn't want her. You did.”

  His boss was silent.

  “It was a ruse to get me to use Kelly and find the flash drive. You knew she’d taken it and I was your only chance to get it back. You even sent the intruders, so I’d stay and protect her, giving you a conduit to her.”

  “I didn't have to put a tracer on her Honda. You were my tracer and like the good agent you are, you kept me informed of all your moves.” Don smiled.

  “And the information I sent to the FBI, never went any further than your desk.” Bitterness crept into Brick’s voice. “It was you all along, sending us out to find the guidance system for you. So you could turn against the US for a buck.”

  “I warned you to watch your back.”

  “Don’t do this. Not against your own country.”

  “Mr. Yi is at Johnny Vega's penthouse right now waiting for the plans. Look buddy, the North Koreans won't use the guidance system, they could send a missile to Alaska right now, but they don't. The long range guidance system will just give them more power at the negotiating table. And if I can make a few dollars on the deal, why not?”

  “You're betraying your country. No matter what you tell yourself, that's what you're doing.”

  “Brick you're an idealist. Your family’s rich. You’ve never had to worry about how you were going to pay your bills. Never had to face your kids and tell them there wasn't enough money.”

  “Don't use your kids as an excuse. I know your kids. They deserve better than that.”

  “Shut up!” Don stepped closer. “I didn't want you involved in this, but I didn't have a choice. Blame Kelly. If she hadn't stolen Johnny’s flash drive, none of this would be happening.”

  “Yeah, you could’ve sold it and no one would ha
ve been the wiser. How many other copies were you going to make and sell?” Brick hissed.

  “With one impulsive act the bitch nearly destroyed all my years of planning.” Don said. “I had to find her. Then I got an idea. You used to be engaged to her sister. I knew when you saw Kelly hurt and in trouble you wouldn’t leave her. You’d do anything to help her. That’s the kind of guard dog you are.”

  Kelly gasped.

  “Just like a dog on the hunt, you didn't stop until you found the drive. Thanks. I couldn’t have found it without you. You're good, but you’ve always been too damned trusting.” Don laughed.

  “And Ted Simmons was he a good and trusting agent?”

  “Ted was a hell of a nice guy. Too bad he stumbled onto information he wasn’t supposed to have. I couldn't let him live. I'd come too far. I was too close to succeeding.”

  “You bastard!” Brick said through tightened teeth.

  “I didn't kill him. He did.” Don pointed to Nickels, dead on the floor.

  “That makes it okay. Your hands are clean?”

  His boss shrugged.

  “You had my house ransacked and nearly killed Amanda,” Kelly shouted.

  He looked as if he’d forgotten she was there.

  “None of this is personal. I only did what I had to do,” he said.

  “So here we are, just a couple of buddies, trying to get by?” Brick’s blue eyes darkened to sapphire and then narrowed.

  “I'm going to get the plan one way or the other. You might as well give it to me now.” Don brought his gun back into firing position, again pointing it at Brick.

  Kelly rushed Don, hitting him with all her strength.

  He knocked her to the floor as his weapon fired at Brick.

  But she had pushed him hard enough to put off his aim and he missed hitting Brick square in the chest. Instead, the bullet tore through his left shoulder. Blood gushed from it.

  But before Don could fire again, Brick tackled him. Intertwined, they rolled on the floor, a trail of Brick’s blood left in their wake.

  She saw his pained expression and heard him moan. Still, he held onto Don with his left hand and punched him with his right. His strength had to be draining with every drop of blood he lost. How much longer could he hold on to Don?