Liberation Day

by Dustin Stevens

  After a full half minute both stopped circling, each intent to move forward again.

  The man opposite him was just a bit quicker than Thorn, moving in for another heel kick, pivoting on his foot and swinging a leg up high. Once more Thorn dropped down, anticipating the move, waiting for the man’s knee to become exposed again.

  Halfway through the kick, just before his opening presented itself, the man paused and snapped his foot straight down. The heel of it connected square between Thorn’s eyebrows, lights erupting in front of his eyes as a stream of blood shot downward from his nostrils. It rolled straight down over his lips, the salty taste finding his tongue, as he rolled through the blow and came up on a knee, his hands at the ready in front of him.

  Standing ten feet away, the man studied Thorn for a long moment. His glare seemed to bore into Thorn, his face relaying he wanted nothing more than to continue, before he barked out a single command. From the darkness opposite them the two men Thorn had dispatched earlier appeared, both staggering past the man with their heads down.

  In a span of no more than ten seconds all three melted from sight, Thorn rising to give chase, arriving on the opposite side of the pier just in time to hear an engine roar to life. Twin rooster tails rose from the harbor, a thick white wake churned up behind them as the boat circled wide, heading south.

  “You alright, man?” Kelley asked, letting out a groan as he appeared beside Thorn, watching their intruders disappear into the night.

  “Yeah,” Thorn muttered, his voice low. He could feel Kelley’s gaze looking him over, but to the man’s credit he didn’t comment.

  “What the hell was all that?” Kelley wondered aloud.

  A handful of responses came to Thorn’s mind, though he let them all pass in silence.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Ling stared out the side of the boat as it worked up the shore, replaying the events of the evening in his head. No matter how many angles he looked at it from, he couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody had set them up. The dock workers showing up within minutes of their arrival, the coordinated two man effort, was too much for him to swallow as coincidence.

  The longer he dwelled on it, the angrier he became at the notion. Adding to his angst was the fact that his jaw throbbed and his knee was beginning to tighten.

  With a stony demeanor, Ling watched as their destination drew near. Perched atop a sheer rock wall, the mansion looked like little more than hundreds of tiny shimmering lights. Levitating high above the ocean, it gave the impression of a celestial chandelier suspended on high.

  Beside him the driver of the boat raised a radio to his lips, snapping out a short sequence of commands. The sound was just audible over the engine and the oncoming wind, Ling not bothering to try and decipher what was being said.

  Up ahead a large opening began to appear from the base of the rock wall, a gaping black hole in a vast gray wall. Painted and textured to fit seamlessly into the cliff, it looked like a giant piece of stone that opened straight up for them to enter and replaced itself as soon as they passed through.

  Once the awning was back into place, orange fluorescent bulbs lit up alongside the boat, illuminating a path through the hidden marina. The lights bathed everything in a tangerine hue as the boat nudged forward, the idling engine pushing them past a line of speedboats and skiffs.

  Less than two hours after departing the boat slid back into the same spot it had previously occupied, a pair of guards materializing to tie them up as Ling hopped off. With determined strides he made his way up the wooden walkway and on into the lower portion of the house, the scowl on his face earning him a wide berth from all who passed.

  Fighting the urge to burst directly into Gold’s office, he stopped just outside the heavy curtain and rapped against the wooden door frame. Pushing loud, angry breaths out through his nose he shuffled from side to side, waiting to be summoned.

  “Come in, Ling.”

  Ling pulled back the heavy curtain and stepped in to find Gold behind his desk, staring straight at him. “It didn’t go well,” Gold said, more of a statement than a question.

  “No.”

  “They were waiting for us?”

  Since leaving Ling hadn’t been able to decipher that part of the evening, choosing to sidestep it instead. “They definitely knew we were there.”

  Gold furrowed his brow and motioned to an armchair across from him. “Please, sit.” He waited for Ling to do so and said, “Explain to me the difference between waiting for us and knowing we were there.”

  “It wasn’t a complete ambush. They didn’t surround us the moment we pulled up, gave us a few minutes to begin unloading.”

  Gold nodded, his face revealing nothing. “So what makes you say they knew we were there?”

  “They knew how and when to show up. They waited until the men were busy, grabbed them while they were isolated.”

  Once more Gold nodded. “They?”

  The skin around Ling’s eyes tightened. He’d been dreading the question for a half hour now, knowing Gold would use the answer to bait him. “Two men. Same big guy as before, new lackey.”

  “So they showed up before the charges could be set?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where are they now?”

  Ling cast his eyes onto the desk beneath Gold. “We had to leave them behind.”

  A long moment of silence followed, Gold rocking his head back to peer at Ling. He raised his elbows to the arms of the chair and steepled his fingers, pursing his lips before him.

  “That’s twice now this guy has gotten away from you.”

  The sour taste of bile rose in the back of Ling’s throat, his teeth clamping down tight. His fingertips flashed white as he pressed them into his thighs, forcing himself not to lash out.

  “It won’t happen again.”

  Ling made no effort to hide the malevolence on his face or to mask the finality in his voice. For a long moment it appeared that Gold would go beyond the unspoken and poke a bit further, but he remained silent.

  There was no need to comment on the extra men that had been sent with Ling, no bother pointing out the limp he now walked with or the lump he could feel forming on his face.

  “So the container, it remains in place?” Gold asked, moving on.

  To this Ling said nothing, feeling the animosity grow even larger. “Let me go after them. Right now. I will take care of this.”

  He shifted his gaze from the desk up to Gold, imploring him to give the directive. The old man met his focus for a long moment before shaking his head, his face solemn.

  “We can’t afford the unnecessary attention right now. You know that.”

  “There won’t be any attention,” Ling vowed. In his mind he could already envision how he would approach, employing many of the same tactics he’d used just a week before, leaving their bodies silent on the asphalt behind him.

  “I’m sorry,” Gold repeated. “Right now, we can’t run the risk of it happening again.”

  This time Ling didn’t bother pointing out that it wouldn’t happen again. Instead he rose and exited the room, neither side saying another word.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “We had just about given up on you.”

  The words were said without condemnation, just a simple declarative sentence from Nio. He was positioned in the corner of the coffee shop, his back pressed against the wall. Just inches from his hand was a paper cup, the lid off and a red stirring straw lying across a napkin beside it.

  Slouched in the chair to his right was Iggy, red lines striping her face. Coupled with crust encased in the corners of her eyes it was clear she had been asleep, blinking in rapid sequence to wake herself up.

  “What time is it?” she asked.

  “Almost nine,” Thorn muttered, pulling out the chair opposite them and falling down into it. He raised his chin towards the barista walking his way and said, “Iced tea, please.”

  The young girl accepted the order with a nod,
stopping halfway to the table and turning back for the counter.

  “I thought you get off at seven?” Iggy asked, the insinuation in her voice clear.

  “I do,” Thorn said, his voice relaying the exhaustion and frustration both roiling within. “Just spent the last two hours going over every detail of what happened last night.”

  “Ugly?” Nio asked.

  “Even worse,” Thorn said. “They acted like I was some sort of damn hero. Kept praising me for what happened.”

  Iggy let out a low snort. “You? A hero?”

  “And that’s bad?” Nio asked, cutting off the banter before it could go any further.

  Turning to glance through the window at the morning foot traffic passing by, Thorn shook his head in disgust. “Getting patted on the back for having my ass handed to me? Yeah, that’s bad.”

  The waitress appeared as Nio and Iggy exchanged a glance, dropping down a napkin and a clear glass of iced tea in front of Thorn.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, taking up the sugar dispenser from the middle of the table and upending it, a steady stream of white granules falling into his drink.

  “You know, we saw most of the fight,” Nio said. “Looked pretty damn even to us.”

  Thorn swirled his drink twice to disseminate the sugar before taking a swig, the jolt of sugary caffeine sliding down easy. When he was done he stared each of them in the eye for a long moment, letting them see the small purple lump protruding beneath his left eye and the swollen rims of his nostrils. He waited as they took in his busted lip.

  “Jesus,” Iggy whispered, for a moment appearing as if she might reach out and touch his face.

  Just as fast Thorn turned away, the look of sympathy on her face only heightening his mood. “Everybody got away,” he finally said, not bothering to point out the obvious. “That’s all that matters.”

  Silence fell over the table for a long moment, Thorn again shifting to focus out the window. He was exhausted and his body ached, but the venom within him was too strong to allow him to simply return home to bed. The next step was for him to circle back with Ingram, determine where the tracking device had led them.

  From there he would ascertain his next steps.

  Thorn took another long pull on the tea before leaning back in his chair and extracting Nio’s phone. He slid the implement across the table, the top of it already crusted with dried sea water.

  “I’m sorry, but it got damaged when I went into the ocean last night. I’ll see to it we get you a new one straight away.”

  Nio looked down at the item, though his face showed no display of being too upset about it. Instead he arched an eyebrow, an unspoken question on his face.

  “I’ll tell them I busted the company phone and need to replace it,” Thorn said. “They won’t put up too much fight about a cell phone.”

  Seeming to accept the explanation Nio nodded, extracting Thorn’s phone out and pushing it across the table.

  “Thanks for trusting us to ride shotgun last night. Anything else we can do to help, let us know.”

  Thorn took up the phone with one hand, lifting the glass and finishing the tea with the other. When the ice inside it fell against his lips he paused for a long moment, drawing in the cool relief, before standing and placing a five on the table.

  “You guys have my number if anything else comes up, right?”

  Nio and Iggy both nodded, saying nothing.

  “Alright,” Thorn said, looking at each of them in turn. “Sorry to run off like this. I don’t mean to be a dick, but...”

  “Long night, lot happened,” Nio said, raising a hand. “We get it. Thanks for saving those people. That could have been nasty.”

  Beside him Iggy stifled an eye roll, remaining silent.

  A sour expression passed over Thorn’s face as he nodded again, turning for the door without another word.

  Once he was gone Iggy shifted her attention to her brother. “Thanks for letting us ride shotgun? What was that all about?”

  Through the front windows Nio watched as Thorn crossed the street, heading towards the parking lot at the end of the docks. Once he was gone a thin smile crossed Nio’s lips, just barely lifting the corner of his mouth.

  “A half hour ago somebody texted his phone a set of coordinates. Remember last night when we saw him plant something on that first victim?”

  Iggy stared at him a long moment before a look of realization passed over her features, her head rocking upward just a bit. “He was tracking them.”

  “Yep.”

  “Any idea where they lead to?”

  “Not yet,” Nio said, “but it should be easy enough to figure out.”

  In her seat Iggy leaned forward, folding her arms on the table in front of her. “And when we do?”

  “Wouldn’t hurt to go take a look around, right?”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  After four years together, Abby knew Thorn’s moods better than anybody. Her head rose from her seat on the couch and her backside quivered as he entered, both falling right back into place instantly.

  “Hey girl,” Thorn mumbled, walking straight to the island in the kitchen and booting his computer to life. Choosing to stand, he rested both hands against the edge of the counter on either side of it, leaning forward as the video conference system came to life.

  “Pick up, pick up,” he muttered, waiting as a second ring sounded out, followed by a third.

  Just thirty seconds after arriving home he was connected, Ingram’s face staring back at him on the screen.

  “Jesus. I thought you said it was a little altercation?”

  No preamble, no introduction of any kind.

  “It was,” Thorn said, lowering his face to look at the ground, offering Ingram a view of the top of his scalp.

  “I’d hate to see the other guy right now.”

  “He looks a helluva lot better than I do,” Thorn intoned, remaining bent over before raising his attention to look at Ingram. “So, what do you have?”

  Ingram’s eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch, but he left it alone. “Did you get the coordinates I sent you this morning?”

  Thorn glanced down to his phone still tucked into the front pocket of his jeans. He hadn’t bothered to open it since leaving the coffee shop, his mind too preoccupied on the drive home.

  “I saw them,” he lied. “Where do they go?”

  “I tracked them from the docks up the coastline to a point just south of Salem,” Ingram said, holding a sheaf of papers up in his hand, the profile of his face visible onscreen. “They stayed in the water the entire time, just off the shore. Traveled that way for the better part of an hour before the signal blinked out.”

  “Blinked out?” Thorn asked, allowing his face to show his confusion.

  “Blinked out,” Ingram repeated. “Meaning either they found the bug and destroyed it or they went somewhere where it could no longer transmit.”

  A moment passed as Thorn considered the information, chewing at the inside of his cheek. “No way they just found it. I buried it in that guy’s scalp. They’d have to know it was there and go in after it.”

  “That’s what I figured,” Ingram agreed.

  “You said before it was pretty powerful. What does it take to block the signal?”

  Ingram rifled through the papers, settling on one towards the back and pausing a moment to read from it. “The model is too powerful to be thrown off by a scrambler or EMF signal. They would have to be deep underground or somewhere that a signal couldn’t penetrate.”

  “Such as?” Thorn asked.

  “Something lined with lead, granite, or marble. That’s about it,” Ingram replied, dropping the papers onto his desk and turning to face forward.

  Thorn ran a hand along the back of his head, feeling the bristles of his short hair against his palm. His head ached and his eyes were beginning to burn from exhaustion, though he forced the feelings aside.

  “So we can either sit tight and hope the signal r
esurfaces...“ Thorn began.

  “Or we can go check it out,” Ingram finished.

  Thorn cast a look up at the screen, nodding in agreement. “Do we know anything about the place it disappeared? Is there anything there?”

  Pushing the previous stack of papers aside Ingram took up a legal pad, a splash of blue ink strewn across. Onscreen Thorn couldn’t make out what it said, but could see it covered most of the page.

  “I’ve been digging for a couple of hours now, will continue to do so. A property exists there, though it seems to be tied up under a mountain of false identities and corporate holdings.”

  “Doesn’t exactly sound like something on the up and up,” Thorn said.

  “Agreed.”

  Both sides fell silent for a long moment, each processing the new information.

  “What about satellite imagery?” Thorn asked. “While you do that I can take a look around, see what I find?”

  “I thought about that,” Ingram said, nodding. “This all came on so fast we haven’t entered you into our visualization system yet. I sent it over to them first thing this morning, told them to fast track it.”

  A deep scowl crossed Thorn’s face, the right half of his nose pulling up into a snarl. “And how long will that take?”

  “Couple of hours,” Ingram said. “Once you’re active a man named Steubin will call and walk you through everything.”

  “And in the meantime?” Thorn asked. “Should I head up there and see what I find?”

  “No,” Ingram said, pushing the directive out quickly. “We know they don’t move much during the day. Let’s wait until I figure some things out and you’ve had a chance to look around from the air.

  “We’ll regroup this afternoon and decide then.”

  There was a simple logic to the plan Thorn couldn’t argue with, no matter how much he wanted to. Already he could feel his stamina flagging, the sustained burn of adrenaline starting to wear off. He wasn’t sure if there was any way his racing mind would allow for sleep, but at the very least his body could gain some much needed rest.