by Keith Hughes
“I love you, Ness,” she said, “and I always will. No matter what.”
She heard pent-up anxiety almost explode from him in a gusty sigh, and he relaxed beside her. His right arm came off the steering wheel to encircle her shoulders. For a few seconds, they silently enjoyed being together as the car bumped along the road.
“What now?” she asked.
“I'm tired of running from these bozos. I believe it's time for us to take the offensive.”
“How?” She sat a little straighter.
“Well, I imagine they have a way to track this car. GPS or something.”
“How likely is it?” The idea made Angie nervous.
“One thing Intellisys seems to have plenty of is technology, and it has been available as a theft deterrent since the nineties.”
Angie had to admit that it sounded reasonable and even a bit familiar. She must have read something about it at one time.
“What's the plan?”
“We can use this car as the bait in a trap.”
“Another ambush?”
Ness grinned at her. “It’s been that kind of day,” he said.
She returned the smile. It had indeed.
* * *
The rusty white van hurtled south, each bump in the road causing an incandescent pulsation in Karl's head. And with the poor state of Michigan's roads, they hit a lot of bumps. He pondered how long it would take for the aspirin to do its work and debated taking more pills. But with double the recommended dose already in his system, Karl refrained from ingesting any more.
When Karl glanced at his watch, he grimaced. It was nearly nine thirty, and he should have checked in with John half an hour ago. He did not like having to give John bad news but knew any more delay would only increase the CEO's rage, so he reluctantly pulled the cell phone from its holster and dialed.
“This is Karl,” he said when John answered. “The Relevonts got away.”
He pulled the phone away from his ear as his boss shouted an expletive. He winced when the sudden noise lacerated his gray matter with shards of agony. “He used the device to have a double take me from behind. Yes, I can find them.”
The CEO's reply was loud enough that the other men could most likely hear John's caustic comments regarding his security chief being thwarted by a measly photographer and a computer programmer.
“I will call you when I have found them,” Karl said, interrupting the tirade about his incompetence, and shut his phone. He wanted to growl. Ness and Angie Relevont were making him look inept, and he would not tolerate such damage to his reputation. He muttered curses in German and fought the urge to punch the dashboard. He already hurt enough and did not need to add to his tally of pain. Williams gave a quiet chuckle behind him, and Karl twisted in his seat to glare him into silence.
“They've stopped,” Reed announced. “The car is at Mound Road and M-59.”
Karl's gaze shifted to Reed, who was still sitting at the laptop computer. “What is there?”
Reed typed some more. “A freeway, a bus stop, and a Walmart.”
Williams grunted. “Maybe they've got some shopping to do.”
“Or perhaps they have taken the bus,” Karl snapped, all humor gone. “There are limitless possibilities.”
His men remained silent after his sudden burst of anger, and he was glad. He needed time to contemplate, and the quiet helped. Harrison turned the van toward the location Reed had indicated. They would be there in mere minutes.
For all his flippancy, Williams had a point. The Relevonts could be in the Walmart itself, trying to lose themselves in the crowd. Or they could have dumped the car and moved on.
Karl frowned as he considered the possible choices the couple could have made. His fingers itched to be at his computer, where he could be surfing the sea of video provided by his security camera network. That desire informed Karl of what his next move would be. He turned again to face Reed and Williams. “When we get to my car, I am returning to the lab to track them through surveillance videos. I want you to check out the Walmart and the surrounding area. Someone might have seen them, and they may not suspect we can track the car.”
“We're here,” Harrison said as he pulled into the store's parking lot.
“Thanks,” Williams said. “We didn’t see the big sign on the front of the building and would never have known if you hadn’t told us.”
Harrison glowered at him. Karl rolled his eyes but regretted it immediately as more pain lanced through his head.
Most of the vehicles were clustered near the doors, but one car sat in a spot all alone, close to the lot entrance. Karl grunted when he saw his isolated car. It was almost as if they had wanted him to find it. He frowned, awash in suspicion.
The van came to a stop next to the vehicle, and Karl got out. He punched the keypad to release the door's lock. Once he had access, he peered in and saw the keys dangling from the ignition. Scanning the interior, he did not see anything out of place or items the fugitives might have left behind. They had not had much time to booby trap the car, and he suspected the couple had made getting away from the vehicle a higher priority. Karl turned back to the van and opened the passenger door.
“Be careful,” he said. “The way they left the car here seems wrong, like a trap.”
Williams and Reed shared a look of one part bravado and one part amusement. It was the first time Karl had seen the two men react in a like manner without their personalities getting in the way. It is because they are inwardly laughing at me. Karl frowned.
“I believe we can handle the Relevonts,” Williams boasted.
Karl didn’t care for the subtle reminder of the pair besting him. “We will see. So far, they have been handling you.” Scowling, he shut the door.
He slid into the driver's seat of his car and turned the key. The engine came to life without incident, and he sat still, scanning the interior again. His instincts told him something was amiss, but he could not discern anything wrong or find any evidence of tampering other than its presence in the lot.
Karl shook his head, struggling to ignore the coiled tension in his gut. He put the car into gear and drove away from the Walmart. He would find them, or his men would. The Relevonts can only run for so long, and when they pause for breath, we will have them.
He tried to reassure himself with those words, but a part of him kept reacting with a sensation that reminded him of fear. He had not experienced it for many years, and as he drove back toward Intellisys, he considered the cause. He couldn’t discern whether it spawned from the placement of the car, the anger in the woman's eyes, or Relevont’s tension when the photographer had held the gun to his head. For the first time, he considered that the whole affair might not end well for him, and he suffered a surprising stab of dread. He doubted the sensation would leave him until the Relevont situation was resolved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: The Best Defense
Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 9:29 a.m.
The van filled with heavy silence as its occupants mulled over Karl’s parting recrimination. None of them could deny the truth of Karl’s words. The Relevonts made us all look like pushovers, Chris Harrison grumbled.
Karl switched on the car, and the brake lights flared to life. Chris waited until he safely pulled away before putting the van in gear.
“The boss is kinda jumpy,” Williams said to no one in particular as Chris navigated toward the front of the store.
Reed didn’t respond, but Chris shook his head.
“You got something to say, driver?”
Chris smirked. “I’ve noticed you seem most comfortable when your lips are moving.”
A small snort of amusement from Reed interrupted Williams’s chance at a retort. He glared at the older man. “Just drive, man.”
They arrived at the front of the store, and Chris stopped the van. “I'll be waiting in the back,” he said and watched as Williams and Reed exited the vehicle.
When the door slid shut, he progressed slowly
through the clog of pedestrians and cars moving through the parking lot to the end of the store then brought the van to a halt at the stop sign as he waited for cross traffic to clear. Just before he lifted his foot from the brake, a flash of movement in the passenger mirror caught his attention. The door opened, and he stared at the barrel of a gun. He gulped down panic as Ness Relevont slid into the seat and shut the door, the deadly aim of the pistol never wavering.
“Drive around back.” Ness waved the gun. “And keep both hands on the wheel.”
Chris turned the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator slowly. As he maneuvered the vehicle around the building, he sneaked a peek at his captor.
Relevont gazed directly at him. “Park by the dumpsters,” he ordered.
Though Chris followed instructions, years of training told him to angle the vehicle in such a way that it could either go straight ahead or make a quick U-turn to return the way it had come. Relevont leaned forward, turned the engine off, and took the keys.
Ness Relevont appeared tired, his expression haggard. His face bore a day’s worth of stubble, which did nothing to hide the photographer's grim determination. His captor looked like he had been pushed a bit too much, and Chris questioned just how far he would go to survive the situation.
Chris did not know what to do in situations like this. He had been trained as a performance driver, specializing in high-speed maneuvers and evasion. He wore a gun because he sometimes had to play the tough guy or stand guard duty, but he did not have the martial arts training Reed did, nor could he claim to be a street fighter like Williams. Maybe he would have to fix his lack of violent instruction, if Relevont let him live. He shuddered, remembering what had happened to his coworkers the last time they tangled with Relevont.
“I didn't kill him,” Relevont said. “Thing One. It wasn't me.”
It took Chris a long beat before realizing his captor must be referring to his former colleague, the one who had died the last time they tangled with the photographer.
“Mays,” Chris supplied. “That was his name.”
“Mays,” Relevont repeated. “I didn’t cause his death. Glenn killed him.”
Chris nodded then jerked as Angie appeared in the passenger window. After a quick glance inside, she opened the sliding door and climbed in. She had a plastic bag in her hand with the Walmart logo, which she set on the floor as she slid the door shut again. She saw her husband holding the gun on Chris and gave him a proud smile.
“And what's your name?” Relevont asked.
“Harrison. Chris Harrison.” For the first time, he noticed the heat in the van, but he knew his fear was making him sweat. He clutched the steering wheel as if it were a life preserver and had the power to save him from the situation.
“All right, Chris Harrison,” Relevont said, “I want you to take one of your hands off the wheel and pull out your weapon.”
Chris carefully released his grip on the steering wheel with his right hand.
“If I see more than two fingers holding the gun when it comes out of your jacket, I'm firing,” Relevont warned, shifting the gun higher to aim at the side of Chris's head.
Perspiration slid down his back as he carefully gripped the gun with his thumb and index finger before pulling it from its holster. He slowly brought his hand into view with the gun dangling from the two fingers and held the weapon in the space between him and Relevont, but a feminine hand took it from his grasp. His tension increased as she held the gun in firing position, chambered a round, and pressed the barrel against the back of his head. As he slowly returned his hand to its spot on the steering wheel, he swallowed as he remembered Karl’s treatment. Did the husband inflict that damage or the woman with the gun to my head?
“I'm going to check you for other weapons,” Relevont said, “and if you so much as twitch, my wife will put one of your bullets in your head. I hope you're not ticklish.”
Relevont put his gun on the passenger seat as he moved over to quickly check him for other weapons. He found only a cell phone and a roll of mints. “What, only one gun?” He returned to the passenger’s seat.
Chris wanted to shrug but stopped himself in case even such a common movement would cause Angie to shoot. He froze awkwardly with his shoulder halfway raised.
“I'm a driver, mostly,” he said. He enjoyed playing the heavy and waving his gun around when needed, but he was merely a big boy playing soldier. Not like the rest of his team.
Relevont rolled his window down. With a quick movement, his captor threw his cell phone out the window. The sound of the plastic casing as it bounced off the concrete surface left a sense of dread, and his instincts told him he had lost his last chance to survive. Relevont rolled the window shut and turned to face him again.
“OK, Chris, we need to know some things. Where are the rest of your compatriots? Does this van have a tracking device on it? And where is John Fletcher's research located?”
Chris opened his mouth but paused when Relevont raised his gun again. The hard pressure of his own weapon against the back of his head provided a constant reminder of his predicament.
“And I want you to be very, very honest,” Relevont said gravely. “Otherwise...”
Chris took a deep breath and swallowed. Panic and despondency pushed the truth out of him like the last dregs of toothpaste from a battered tube. “Karl has returned to Intellisys. Williams and Reed are in the Walmart, looking for the two of you.”
“Williams and Reed,” Relevont murmured. “Williams was involved last time? Big black guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Hello, Thing Two and Thing Four,” Ness murmured and turned to his wife. “Why don't you take a look back there and see if there is anything useful?”
“OK.”
Chris let out a small sigh when the gun barrel left his head. Rustling sounds came from the rear of the van as she worked her way through a small cabinet that contained restraints, bullets, and duct tape. And also...
He winced when the gun returned with a solid thump to the back of his head. The woman's other hand had been extended into his line of sight. She was clutching a red plastic cylinder with a black rubber tip on one end.
“What's this?” she demanded.
“S-something Karl brought with him,” Chris stammered.
Damn, this woman sounds really angry. For some reason, her rage scared him almost as much as the gun. “It was for you, I think.”
Relevont glanced at his wife, and Chris held a crazy hope that he would intercede. The gun thumping against the back of his head once more drew his attention to the livid woman behind him.
“What's in it?” she hissed.
Chris swallowed again. His mouth had suddenly gone unbelievably dry.
“A-a p-poison,” he said, cursing his childhood speech impediment. Since he’d become an adult, it only reasserted itself during moments of extreme stress.
“You son of a bitch,” she hissed in his ear, her sudden proximity surprising him. “I've heard what having this crap in your veins can do to a person. Let's see what it does to you.”
Chris heard a clicking noise before the hand reappeared. A cap had been removed from one end of the pen. Did she activate it? His panic rose. He had no idea about such things. Karl had not seen fit to brief him on the injection device.
He watched in horror when the Relevont woman drove the black tip of the pen toward his thigh. His hands might as well have been glued to the steering wheel. Nothing he could do would save him. His throat seemed to constrict as he anticipated the sting of the needle the black rubber tip was concealing. Chris closed his eyes as he contemplated a painful death, but when he heard the slap of flesh against flesh, he opened them to see that salvation had come from an unexpected source. Relevont's fingers were wrapped around his wife's wrist, preventing her from driving the needle into his thigh. The pen quivered mere inches above his leg as the wife fought her husband's strength.
“Angie, he's just the driver,” Relevont said qui
etly.
She struggled for a second longer before pulling her arm back. He experienced an odd sensation in his pants and discovered he had peed himself a little bit.
“Fine,” she said flatly.
Chris shot Relevont a grateful look, but his captor gazed at him without compassion or sympathy.
“You didn't answer some of my questions,” Relevont said. “Does this van have a tracking device?”
“N-no. It's my van, so there are no links to the lab.”
“And Fletcher's research?”
“W-we were once called to a lab on the third floor to get orders from Karl,” Chris answered quickly. He didn't want to anger them any further, especially her. “This little scientist was there, going on about some old guy's research.”
“Which lab?”
“I, uh... I don't recall. But I remember the name sounded smelly.”
Relevont asked, “The PU lab?”
Chris nodded.
Turning his head a bit, Relevont smiled at his wife. “Dr. Bertrand's old space,” he said then reverted his attention to Harrison. “All right, Chris, I guess that ends your usefulness to us.”
Chris's heart rate tripled as those words struck home.
“Can I inject him now?” Angie’s contralto growl would have sounded sexy in any other situation.
Is he going to let her kill me? And will she do it anyway, even if her husband says no?
His bladder threatened to release the rest of its contents, but with supreme effort, he kept from embarrassing himself further.
Relevont appeared to consider it before giving a quick shake of his head. He brought his gun down hard on Harrison's skull. Chris felt a blast of pain as metal impacted his cranium.
“Save it,” Relevont said. “We might need it later.”
Chris fell forward, but blackness engulfed him before he slumped senseless atop the steering wheel.