Blink of an Eye

by Roy Johansen

  “Delilah!”

  Noah’s voice thundering somewhere behind them.

  Jessie and Dee ducked behind the wheel.

  “Delilah…I know you’re close. I know you can hear me.”

  Jessie glanced over her shoulder. Noah’s voice was definitely coming from behind them, maybe thirty yards away.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Delilah! I realize that’s what you might have thought. I swear that’s not what this is about.”

  Calderon was coming closer. Shit.

  Jessie pointed to the next row of parked aircraft, and Dee nodded. They sprinted into the shadows and found refuge behind a set of rusty jet stairs. They crouched and waited. After a few moments, Noah appeared and walked past the spot where they had just been.

  He was holding a semiautomatic rifle.

  “Delilah, I only did this because I love you. I know I went about it the wrong way.”

  “You think?” Dee whispered grimly.

  Jessie shushed her with a finger to her lips.

  “We just need some time together. Some time alone. I’ve built a beautiful place for you, Delilah. An island far from everything and everybody that pulled us apart.”

  Jessie lifted her head as she heard something. A plane, she realized. She turned and saw the twinkling red lights of a jet approaching from the east.

  “That’s Unicorn One,” Noah shouted. “You always loved that plane. It’s here to take us to our new home. We’ll have everything there. It’s what you need, Delilah. It’s what we both need.”

  The plane’s engine grew louder. Jessie gestured for Dee to follow her.

  They ducked low and crossed over to the next row of planes.

  * * *

  Kendra and Lynch pressed themselves against a 1970s-era People Express airliner as the small private jet circled overhead and landed on the airstrip. It taxied past the hangar.

  “That plane’s too nice to be stored here,” Kendra said.

  Lynch nodded. “You got that right. It’s a Bombardier BD-700. One of the most expensive private jets in the world.”

  “One guess who it belongs to.”

  “Unless Oprah’s out for an evening jaunt, I’d say it’s the property of Noah Calderon.”

  The plane taxied to a stop, then the front-loading door opened and slowly flipped down to reveal a short set of stairs.

  The plane sat on the landing strip for a long moment.

  “I’d like to storm that jet and throttle him,” Lynch said. “Want to cover me?”

  “Hell no. I want to be right there with you.” Kendra watched the plane for another long moment. “But what if he isn’t on it?”

  “You think he’s already here?”

  “Could be.”

  A man descended from the stairs. He was holding a walkie-talkie in one hand, an assault rifle in the other. His spoke into the walkie-talkie and placed it against his ear. He repeated the motion twice more before finally clipping the radio to his belt.

  BLAMM!

  BLAMM!

  Gunshots. From somewhere in the Boneyard.

  BLAMM!

  Kendra spun around, trying to get a better fix on the shots’ location.

  The gunman obviously heard them, too. He took off running between a row of parked planes.

  BLAMM!

  “Oh, God,” Kendra said. “You don’t think—?”

  “This way.” Lynch drew his gun and sped away.

  * * *

  Noah fired another round into the air.

  BLAMM!

  “Our plane is on the ground and waiting, Delilah.” Calderon’s pleading tone had crossed into annoyance. “I’m getting impatient. I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re coming with me.”

  “We’re boxed in,” Jessie whispered. She pointed to a row of identical small commuter planes. “Hide over there and lie flat on your stomach.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What I do best. Go.”

  Dee ran for the planes and rolled underneath.

  “Don’t make me hunt you down!” Calderon was on the move, stepping closer with each word. “I’ve put it all on the line. No one’s ever done more for you than I have.”

  Jessie ran from one landing gear to the next, trying to get a fix on Noah’s voice.

  “We understand each other. We always have.”

  Jessie peered over a stack of tires. There he was, holding that assault rifle and wearing a vest padded with ammo magazines. He’d look ridiculous under any other circumstances.

  But here, one lucky trigger squeeze could take her head off.

  She crept back a row, planning her attack.

  “I think I’m going to have to hurt you. You know I can’t let you leave. I’m sorry. One day you’ll understand this is all for the best.”

  Jessie prepared to leap from her hiding place. She couldn’t wait to shut this psycho up.

  Three…Two…

  CLICK-CLACK!

  Jessie knew that sound. It was the slide being racked on an automatic handgun.

  Inches from her head.

  “Stay where you are, Jessie.”

  Dammit. Jessie slowly raised her hands. She recognized Charlotte’s cool, impassive voice.

  “Stand up. Slowly.”

  Jessie stood. Charlotte had moved a few feet back with her gun.

  “Step out into the open, where Noah can see you.”

  Jessie stepped forward.

  “Noah!” Charlotte yelled. “Back here!”

  Noah turned and walked toward them. “You shouldn’t have tried to run, Jessie. You’ve only made things harder for you and Delilah.”

  Jessie smiled. “Dee is long gone. She’s probably at the highway already. The first person she sees will call the police. It’s over.”

  Charlotte stiffened, definitely disturbed, but Noah clearly wasn’t buying it. He stepped closer to Jessie with his assault rifle. “Nice try, but you forget that I know you, Jessie. You wouldn’t let Delilah out of your sight.” He hefted his gun. “Particularly not with me waving this around.”

  “That’s why I stayed behind,” Jessie said. “To keep an eye on you. Ask your scary friend here. Dee isn’t with me.”

  “I didn’t see her,” Charlotte told him.

  “Oh, she’s nearby.” Noah turned in a circle and shouted in every direction. “Delilah, now you have to come out. Don’t be afraid. Come on, honey.”

  No response.

  “See?” Jessie said. “She’s sitting in the cab of a big rig talking on the phone to the local police. And you’re gonna have some serious ’splainin’ to do.”

  Noah turned and rammed the barrel of his assault rifle against Jessie’s throat. “Delilah, show yourself in the next ten seconds or I’ll kill your friend. You’ve always told me that you’ve never had anyone you trusted as you do Jessie. Is that something you want to live with?”

  “She isn’t here.” Jessie hoped she was speaking loud enough for Dee to hear. “You’re wasting your time.”

  “Five seconds!” Noah yelled. “I’ll have no problem pulling this trigger. You know I never liked Jessie.”

  Jessie half smiled. “I’m finding this out now?”

  “Stop!” Dee ran from her hiding place and stood in the clearing. “Noah, put down the gun. I’m here.”

  He smiled. “Of course you are.”

  Jessie’s shoulders slumped. Damn.

  Noah lowered the gun barrel from Jessie’s throat. “Come closer. Delilah.”

  Dee stepped from the shadows and stopped about ten feet away. “Noah…I didn’t understand. I’ve been thinking about it ever since we ran away and wondering if I hadn’t made a mistake. I didn’t know you felt this way about me.”

  “Of course I do. I never stopped loving you, Dee.”

  Her voice softened with wonder. “You actually fought the entire world for me? The FBI and everyone else? I feel like Helen of Troy or Cleopatra or some other vamp. And you really built a place for me where no one could ever
bother us?”

  “Yes. And it’s beautiful, Dee. You’ll love it.”

  She smiled. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me before. I know you know how people have always used me. My mother…the record companies…”

  “I’ll always take care of you from now on.” He took an impulsive step forward. “Think about what I’ve done for you already.”

  “I can see that now. I don’t know any other man who would do what you’ve done to prove how much you care about me. It’s incredible.”

  Noah stared at Dee for a long moment, as if trying to size her up. “You should realize by now I don’t do anything halfway.”

  Dee laughed and flipped back her red hair. Her gray-green eyes were glittering, and she stood there in the moonlight vibrantly alive and totally desirable. “That’s for sure. It made me remember all the good times we had when we were together.”

  Jessie looked between the two. Noah appeared totally bemused; he might actually be buying Dee’s abrupt change of heart. Maybe.

  Dee took another step toward him. “That’s why I’m willing to give it a chance, Noah,” she said softly. “I’m willing to give us a chance.”

  “Really?” He actually sounded as if he was getting a little choked up.

  “Don’t believe her,” Charlotte said. “The girl is lying. She’s trying to make a fool of you.”

  “Shut up!” Noah shouted. He stared at Dee for a moment longer. “She’s right, you know. How do I know I can trust you?”

  “Let me prove it.”

  “How?”

  She stepped closer to him. “I’ll go with you, Noah. Willingly. No force. Tonight. Right now.”

  “You’ll do that?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I just wish I’d known before what you felt for me.”

  “I tried to tell you,” he said, frustrated. “I knew we were meant to be together. You wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “My life just got crazy, Noah. I couldn’t focus on the things that really mattered. You know how that is, don’t you? Like you said, we’re the same type of people.”

  “Yes. I do.”

  Charlotte clicked her tongue. “Don’t be an idiot, Noah.”

  Noah turned. “I told you to be quiet. I want this. You never understood. I know what I’m doing.” He turned back to Dee. “I’d like to believe you.” He paused. “But I don’t. I’m not a fool, Delilah. This is too fast, and what I did you’d instinctively find horrible. You’d have trouble forgiving me.” He smiled wryly. “Yet I stand here looking at you and I know that someday you will. Because I won’t accept anything else.”

  “You’re wrong,” Dee said quickly. “Let me show you.”

  He shook his head. “Tempting. But I know that the next thing you’re going to demand is that I let Jessie go. That’s not possible. She’ll tell. She’ll ruin everything.”

  “She won’t if I ask her to keep quiet. It would spoil how I feel about you now if you hurt her.” Her voice was soft, pleading. “You’ve convinced me we have a chance for something wonderful. Let her go. Jessie always does what I tell her to do. Isn’t that right, Jessie?”

  “Whatever you want. It wouldn’t be the first secret I’ve kept for you.” Jessie wasn’t sure if she was quite as convincing as Dee. Any more than she was sure that no matter what Noah said, he’d actually give Dee what she asked. Dee had never been more beguiling, and Noah wanted to believe her. Not only was he convinced he was always right, but the bastard had already proved to be a psychopath. His attitude could change in a heartbeat.

  “See?” Dee stepped closer to him and looked up at him. “And do you really need that gun?”

  “I’m afraid so. Be for real, Delilah. At least until we get into the air.”

  Dee moistened her lips. “I understand. But you’ll let Jessie go?”

  “I’m thinking about it.” He was silent a moment. “It’s a big risk. But it might be a way that I can give you final proof that I really do care about you. That’s important to me.”

  “And proof that you don’t if you kill her,” Dee said.

  “Then I’d better make the grand gesture, hadn’t I?”

  Noah turned back to Charlotte. “Let Jessie go after Delilah and I are on the plane. We’ll wait for you there.”

  Charlotte hesitated. “You’re sure this is what you want?”

  “I said it, didn’t I?” Noah motioned for Dee to walk in front of him. “The plane is this way.”

  Dee hesitated after glancing at Jessie and then hurried ahead of him. “Thank you, Noah.”

  Jessie watched Dee and Calderon disappear into the darkness and turn to the right, in the direction of his still-idling private jet. After a few moments, Jessie turned to Charlotte. “You’re not going to let me go, are you?”

  Charlotte smiled. “Why on earth would I do that? Since we’re being honest with each other. There’s no way you would keep quiet about all this. You and I both know that, even if Noah doesn’t.”

  “I think he knows. And he also knows you’ll clean up his mess. He never would have taken that chance if he didn’t.”

  “I’ve been cleaning up his messes since he was a boy. This is a particularly nasty one. But once he’s over this temporary insanity, he’ll stop believing the bullshit she’s handing him. Then he’ll let me step in and take care of her, too. I almost had him persuaded before we left you before.” Charlotte raised the gun. “Just another minute or two. It wouldn’t do for me to ruin his play if I let his beloved Delilah hear a gunshot right now, would it?”

  “Depends.”

  Charlotte’s eyes narrowed on her. “Depends on what?”

  “If you really believe Dee was fooled by either one of you. Personally, I think that up to the last minute she was working at getting him away to the plane to give me my chance.”

  Charlotte’s smile was a sneer. “Your chance to do what?”

  Jessie’s left hand flew to a lightning underchop of Charlotte’s wrist! Her right hand caught the barrel of the gun and twisted it.

  BLAMM! BLAMM!

  Charlotte squeezed off two more shots as they fought over the gun. Jessie elbowed her in the face three times, brutally breaking her nose. Blood spurted from her nostrils.

  Jessie finally wrestled the gun from Charlotte’s grip and struck her head with it repeatedly.

  Charlotte collapsed onto the ground, blood from her nose and head oozing onto the desert floor.

  Jessie cocked her head. Someone was coming. One of Noah’s men?

  She gripped the gun and whirled toward the sound, preparing to fire.

  “Jessie!”

  It was Kendra and Lynch.

  Then Kendra was next to her, giving her a quick hug. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine.” She was already whirling away from them and running toward the jet. “But Noah is taking Dee to his plane. We’ll have to hurry.”

  “Right.” Kendra started at a run back toward the row of planes from which she and Lynch had just come. “We saw it land. This way.”

  The moon had now risen full in the night sky, casting the entire Boneyard in a bluish glow. Noah’s idling jet still roared in the distance, echoing through and around the rows of old airliners.

  “Noah’s totally lost it,” Jessie said jerkily. “Dee’s trying to use his feelings for her, but he’s not buying it. She’s playing a dangerous game.”

  Lynch nodded grimly. “There’s no way we can let that plane take off with her.”

  They rounded a corner and were met with a volley of gunfire! Kendra and Jessie dove behind a row of barrels and Lynch hit the ground just beside them.

  The gunman was twenty yards ahead, crouched beside a small TWA jet.

  “That’s the guy we saw leaving Noah’s plane,” Lynch whispered.

  Kendra peered around the edge of the barrel. “He’s giving cover to Noah. He and Dee are just a few feet away.”

  “I don’t see them,” Lynch said.

  “Their shadows are just over the gu
nman’s left shoulder.”

  “Got it.” Lynch shimmied back a few feet. “I’m going to try and get between them and the plane. Keep them here for as long as you can.” He stood up and sped away.

  Kendra shouted, “Let Dee go, Noah. You’re making a mistake. The FBI knows all about you. As long as you have Dee, they’ll never stop looking for you.”

  “You’re lying. I have contacts. I can handle anything you throw at me,” Noah yelled. They still could only see his shadow. “Where’s Charlotte?”

  “No use you calling out for her expecting her to save you,” Jessie answered. “I made sure that she won’t be helping you ever again.”

  Noah cursed. “You bitch. Do you know how valuable she was to me? I may make you pay for that one day when you least expect it.”

  “Let Dee go,” Kendra said. “Let her go and we won’t stop you from getting on that plane. You’ll be the FBI’s problem, not ours.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding, Kendra. We’ve all come too far for me to just give up now. Delilah is what this is all about. It’s not as if I can’t still win. With all the money I’ve got, I can still find a way to have anything I want. All I have to do is—”

  The gunman cut loose with another barrage from his assault weapon!

  Kendra and Jessie ducked. When they looked up again, the gunman was gone and there was no sign of the shadow that had been Noah.

  Kendra jumped to her feet. “They’re on the move. Come on.”

  * * *

  Noah pushed Dee ahead of him as they neared his jet. “I remodeled my plane’s interior, Dee. I even hired that Italian designer you like so much. Storaro?”

  She just stared at him in disbelief.

  “Nice man, even though he doesn’t speak a word of English. He appreciated the honor I did him. And it was all for you.”

  “Stop this,” she hissed. “You were right not to have believed those lies I told you. I never wanted this, Noah.”

  “Sometimes we don’t know what we want. Or what we need. I’m sorry the past few days have been so uncomfortable for you. We needed to be in position to hop aboard my jet as soon as my arrangements were finalized. But when you see the place I built for you, I think you’ll agree the wait was worth it.” He spoke to his pilot, who was leading them down the row of planes. “You’ve fueled the jet for the trip, Chester?”