“Who were they, Eric?” she asked, pointing his face toward the bodies, then bringing his gaze back to her own. God she felt like one of the terrorists, subjecting him to yet another painful glance at the dead bodies of those he’d loved.Who were the people whose bodies lay butchered just a few feet away from us, little boy? Look upon their tortured corpses and tell me their story.
“Eric, were they your parents? Someone you knew? Tell me about them Eric. Please. I want to know who they were. I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
He remained quiet. Though his eyes fluttered a few times and Lisa could see tears welling up. A breakthrough?
Breakthrough or breakdown?
“That’s it, Eric,” Lisa whispered, wiping a tear with her thumb. “Feel. I need you to feel. Now come back to me, Eric. Talk to me. I’m here now. It’s me, Lisa. I’m not going to hurt you.”
His lips began to move but he made no sounds at first.
“What, Eric?” Lisa said, suddenly hopeful. “Talk to me. What is it, honey?”
A breathy whisper began to build but Lisa still couldn’t make any sense of it. He began to wrestle his face free from her hands. Tucking his arms around his legs yet again, Eric returned to the incessant rocking motion he had been doing when she found him. As his speech grew slightly louder, Lisa finally realized he was simply chanting nonsense again. It didn’t even sound like words.
“No!” Lisa screamed. Grabbing Eric’s face, Lisa forced him to look her in the eye. “Don’t you leave me, kid! Don’t you dare! You fight! Alright? You fight kid!”
“No!”
***
“I am inviting you to your death, Mr. Mendez.” The speaker on the other end declared. It was the man known to him as Agent Tucker. Of that much Alex was certain. Though he now possessed a thick accent, something in the quality was unmistakable.
“Just tell me where and when.”
“You will know the time and place soon enough, Mr. Mendez. We are preparing for your arrival. We will greet you with the hand of Allah. The hand that will bring the sword of Islam crashing down on your filthy infidel neck.”
Alex realized he was speaking to the voice on the tape. The very same man who now had his family. To Alex, it was no different than speaking to the devil himself.
“You mean like it came crashing down on the necks of those children?”
“So you enjoyed our little gift I see. And yet you dare sit in judgment. You and your crusading friends. Think you are so smart? Think you are smart enough to put the pieces of your wife back together when we are through with her?” Alex took comfort in knowing he’d pushed a major button with the guy. Still, the man was smart enough to press back. And the button was equally effective.
“Your infidel brothers have invaded our lands for centuries, killed our children, robbed Allah of His Glory.”
“And your terrorist brothers have stolen all the oil, jacked up the prices and bankrupted our masses. What’s your point? Look, man, nobody wants to rob Allah, Ali or Buddha of anything. You just tell me where to meet you and we’ll settle this the old fashioned way. No swords, no guns. Just me using my infidel fists to whip you and all your terrorist friends. Texas style, Son! Skin on skin. Sound good to you? Sounds good to me. Let’s go. Name the place, Jerk. Face me if you’ve got the guts!”
“Do you think you scare me, Mr. Mendez?”
“I think a mouse fart in the rain scares you, you coward. If you’re so brave,” Alex said, “why won’t you tell me where you are so we can settle this thing like a couple of men. Why all the secrecy? Why the game? You want me? You got me. I’m ready. You just have to tell me where and when? How hard is that? If you’re so brave, tell me where you are so that I can come find out how manly you are.”
Silence.
“You there?” Alex said. “What’s the matter? Desert rat got your tongue?”
“Daddy?”
Christina!
***
When he shouted the word, it was both empowering and frightening for Lisa. She’d broken through, or hadhesimply broken? Much louder and he might have shattered the windows out of the room.
When his arms flailed forward, pushing hard against Lisa, she felt sure that he was still lost in the memory of the horrors to which he’d been subjected.
“No!” he repeated again. With pounding fists, beating against Lisa’s shoulders, arms and chest, he repeated his confused objection over and over.
“That’s right, Eric,” Lisa said softly, backing away from his wrath. “Let it out.”
With one final shrill declaration of defiance, Eric burst into tears and launched himself toward Lisa. For a moment she thought he was attacking her. But as his arms wrapped around her, his sobs becoming more wails, Lisa realized he was doing what he needed to do to come back to her. He was grieving.
Wrapping her arms around him, Lisa winced as a stabbing pain shot through her gut. Every motion was timid. Her own strength was being tested and each pain was zapping it that much quicker.
Suddenly weak, Lisa let go of Eric. She tried to pull him back, encouraging him that it was okay. Tell him to look at her.
When he finally let go, she met his eyes. Though drowning in sorrows deeper than any ocean on earth, she saw something promising.
She saw something that had been missing before. For the first time, possibly since their first encounter, she looked in Eric’s eyes and saw life.
***
“Christina? Baby? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” A lump in Alex’s throat gagged him. He was almost afraid to say anymore. All he could do was try to meet Danny’s eyes in the hopes that he’d get the message.
“Daddy, I’m scared.”
“I know baby. Daddy’s coming to get you. Me and Uncle Danny are on our way okay? We’ll be there soon. Can you put the man back on the phone, Honey?”
More silence. A slight rustling. He could hear Christina’s soft voice but couldn’t make out what she said.
“Do I have your attention now?” his voice was dripping with evil.
“You’ve made your point,” Alex said. “Now let me make mine. If you harm her or anyone else in my family, I’m going to kill you. Get it? I’m going to kill you slowly and painfully. Then I’m going to steal all your seventy virgins and take them out for a pork chop dinner. Oh and while we’re on the subject you sick jerk, Brandy survived.”
“Daddy!”
A gunshot.
The horror in his daughter’s voice cut Alex deeper than any blade could have. Though it was in the background, drowned out by the screams of unknown others, he knew his child was in peril. When the phone went dead, Alex shattered into a million pieces.
No longer able to stand, he fell to the ground, weeping though not wailing. Inside a fire raged out of control. His head swam. Though the blood now surged nervously through his body, it seemed to be rushing everywhere but to the most vital organ, his brain. In real danger of passing out, Alex reached back and slapped the nape of his neck.
Balling his fists repeatedly, shrugging his shoulders, Alex felt more like a boxer prepping for the big fight. The difference being most boxers didn’t have to search for the ring before delivering their knockout blow.
“First you blow up my friends and family. Then you nearly cost me my son. Then you kidnap my wife,” Alex said, as if sending his thoughts through space and time, “Then you kidnap my family. You try to kill my dog. And now…”
“It’s on, Alex,” Danny said, bending down next to him. Taking Alex’s face, Danny moved his friend’s gaze to meet his own. There was determination in Danny’s eyes. He had not heard the man’s words.
Had not heard Christina’s screams. “Alex, do you hear me? Repeat after me. It’s on!”
“It’s on now!”
“It’s on,” Agent Sutton repeated, laying a hand on Alex’s shoulder.
“It’s on,” Agent Parker chimed in.
“You bet it’s on,” Tisha Warner finished off. “They want a fight?
Let’s bring ’em one!”
“Just one problem,” Alex said, his eyes tearing up.
“What’s that?” Tisha asked.
“We still don’t know where they are.”
***
They had been Eric Reid’s mother and father. Sam and Kim Reid.
Father and mother of four. Ages sixty-four and fifty-six respectively, Sam and Kim Reid had essentially had their family in two stages. First were his older sisters, Tonya and Barbara. Both were married. Eric said he didn’t see much of them. Tonya was 12 years older than Eric, Barbara just shy of ten years. Then there was his older brother Keith and Eric, the baby of the family.
“I always knew I’d have to bury my parents someday,” Eric said.
“I just didn’t think it would happen this way.” Amid his sobs, Lisa did her best to comfort Eric. She was trying not to push him but she figured if she could keep him talking, he might be able to work through enough grief to be helpful in their escape.
Patting him on the back, she said nothing. Merely tried to let her compassion show. As she patted him on the back, offering gentle comfort, her face remained somber.
“We’re going to die,” Eric announced suddenly.
“Don’t think like that,” Lisa said. “We may get out of here yet. My husband is a pretty smart guy.”
“He wasn’t smart enough to keep you from being kidnapped.”
Ouch, Lisa thought, but she resisted the temptation to snap back.
They’d all been through hell today and Eric Reid had every right to be angry.
“They wanted me to swear my allegiance to Islam,” he continued.
“Who?” Lisa asked.
“Who do you think?” he snapped. “The idiot that did that. Captain Quran and the Jihad Bunch. They told me I had to swear my allegiance to Allah. They said if I didn’t swear it they’d kill my mom and dad. Dad told me not to. He said we were Christians. I don’t know who he was kidding. I can’t remember the last time we were in a church. But Dad kept screaming at me not to do it. Then…” he trailed off. Tears welled up again.
“Then what?” Lisa asked, a sense of urgency filling her. God don’t let me lose him! “Eric, is that when they killed your dad?”
Choking back tears, he nodded.
“When they grabbed my mom, I did what I thought I had to. I screamed that I loved Allah. I screamed Allah was God. There was no God but Allah. All that crap you hear them say on the movies. On the tapes in the news. They were still holding my mom. Holding that huge blade to her neck. Screaming at me to keep saying it. Louder! More! The guy began to raise his arm and I screamed for him to stop. Everyone around him was goading him on. Laughing. I begged for my mother’s life. She never begged. She just kept telling me she loved me and she was sorry. Then she asked Jesus to forgive them. Those were her last words. After that there was screaming. There was this horrible screaming and—and there was blood. My dad had died fast compared to her. It was over in a heartbeat. They let her die slowly. They…” He closed his eyes tightly. His mind had had enough. He was fighting to erase the images that would probably remain fresh to his soul until the day he died. Clinching his fists, he rapped repeatedly on his forehead as if he could pound the memories right out of his skull.
He was done. Lisa wouldn’t get any more out of him but then she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear more. This wasn’t a police investigation after all. No matter what she heard, she didn’t need more evidence to convict Dr. Death. There would be no conviction, she promised herself. Every word sent indescribable revulsion pulsing through her. There would be no chance to reconcile. There would be blood today. Perhaps hers, perhaps not but there would be blood spilled by the time this ordeal was over.
“I’ll worship Larry the Love Sponge if these guys want me to. Allah, Akbar or Muhammad Ali.”
“No, you won’t,” Lisa growled. She was determined not to let guilt break this child any more than he was already broken.
“Whatever. No skin off my nose. Just so long as they don’t kill me.”
“Everybody dies, Eric,” Lisa’s voice was vacant, resolute. “It’s not up to us to choose the timing of our death. They just want to break you first. They want you to die spiritually, emotionally before you die physically. If you give in they’ve won. If you stay strong, you win. We all win.”
“It didn’t save my parents,” Eric said, angrily. “If we’re going to die anyway what difference does it make if we make them happy first? Maybe if we give them what they want they’ll kill us quickly. Maybe we won’t have to suffer like—”
Like your mom? Lisa knew that’s what he wanted to say. She knew because it’s what she was thinking, about Eric’s family and her own. Maybe they wouldn’t be made to suffer, like Eric’s family had been.
“Don’t think like that, Eric.”
“Like what? Reality?”
“Defeated.”
“We’re going to die! Newsflash, Lady! It doesn’t get more defeated! Why did I have to save you?”
Lisa felt the weight of the world suddenly crash down upon her.
Whyhadhe saved her? What did he do besides give her a ride? Take her away from someone who would seek to do her harm. Rescued her from death. And for that he was now going to die? Of course, she knew it was bigger than that, but how do you explain something so insane to a child?
And her? What had she done other than been in the building when it was attacked? She’d pinned on a badge and had become a target. That was somewhat easier to accept, but it didn’t remove the insanity that Eric Reid’s life was now in danger because of her. He was now irrevocably linked to Lisa. He’d been her savior, or at least tried to be, and he was going to die for destroying, or at the minimum, delaying the plans of these morons. His family had already suffered for it. And Lisa would suffer the most merciless sting of all.
“Promise me something, Eric,” Lisa asked.
“Promiseyousomething?” he snapped. “Lady, you’ve got some nerve after everything you put me through! My parents are dead because of you and you want me to makeyoua promise? The only promise I’ll make you is that if we do get out of here alive I’m going to—,” he stopped himself.
Trying her best to ignore his rant and the possible idle threat he was about to levy, Lisa continued. “Eric if you get out of here and I don’t, if they try to kill me and make you swear to Allah again, don’t. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you don’t swear to Allah. I’m telling you it won’t save me. I’m telling you that they are testing you. If you swear to Allah they’ll see you as weak and kill you too. But if you stay strong it may keep you alive longer. If they’re going to kill you, Eric, they’re going to kill you regardless of whether you swear to their God or not. Promise me you will not do it again. I know I have no right to ask you this, but I want you to think about your dad for a second Eric. He didn’t want you to do it right? So out of respect for your father, promise me now that you will hold true to what he asked of you. Do not swear to anything but God and His son Jesus Christ.”
“Jesus didn’t see fit to save my mother and father,” Eric said viciously.
“Eric, listen to me,” Lisa interrupted. “I do not understand The Bible. Honestly it wasn’t that long ago I didn’t know anything about it. I’m still learning. But I’ve learned one thing for sure. The Bible says that God’s ways are not our ways. We cannot understand his purpose because we are not him. God has a reason for your parents’ death. But one thing I believe is that he wants you to survive. Do you believe in Angels, Eric?”
“Angels?” he said. “What? Angels? I don’t… Heck I don’t know. What the heck do angels have to do with anything?”
“God needs angels,” Lisa said. “They’re like soldiers. Warriors. Protectors. Eric if you had seen what I’ve seen in my life you’d believe all too completely in angels. And sometimes God just needs a couple extra angels. But one thing I know for sure. When we lose somebody we love, they don’t really leave us. They just become an a
ngel in our corner. Another guardian angel resting on our shoulder, speaking in our ear, guiding our path. Eric if you listen right now you’ll hear your father’s voice. And you know as well as I do he’d be telling you not to swear to Allah. Not to give in to these maniacs. They can take your life, Eric. That much is true. But they can’t take your spirit. That’s in your hands. You either hold on to it or you give it up but no one can take it away from you.”
“Are you finished yet?” Eric asked.
Lisa sighed.
“Look,” Eric continued, “you want to know the truth? I wouldn’t swear to anything if it meant saving your life right now. I wish I’d never been at that lake. I wish I’d never seen you. I wish I’d never let you into my car. I wish I’d never been at work the day they blew it up. I wish that I could just go back in time and tell Jenny Anderson I’d go out with her. But most of all I just wish I’d wake up from this freaking nightmare and it will all be over! You’d be nothing but a bad memory.”
A popping sound, like a metal baseball bat smacking against a brick wall startled Lisa. Instantly behind the popping sound there was a small whooshing somewhat like a vacuum cleaner in reverse. The lights flickered as the sound reverberated through the room. Whatever it was, it was big, but it was far enough away so as not to bust her eardrums. The floor shimmied. The lights flickered again then steadied.
Seconds went by and Dr. Death was bursting into the room.
“Get up!” he said, grabbing Lisa roughly by the arm. A second man, one that looked familiar, grabbed Eric.
“Where are we going?” Lisa asked.
Her answer was a rap on the back of the head.
Darkness and silence.
CHAPTER 32
Invitation
Alex sat alone in the passenger side of Tisha Warner’s car, wearing the experimental bulletproof vest. He felt little if any comfort by the material covering his torso. The word “experimental” rang all too loudly within. He knew the forthcoming battle would be a horrendous one. The fight scared him, but the wait was what he feared most, the inaction. The helpless realization the fate of his entire family was out of his control. No amount of space age bulletproof protection could guard his heart against the growing agony inside it.
Mourning Reign Page 22