by David Boiani
Do not relay this message to Daniels. I want John Corbin, and John Corbin alone to meet me at a specified place. From there I will take him to where I am holding Michael. Yes, I call him Michael now. We have had some time to bond and really have become good friends! But I digress.
If John follows my rules I will free your chief. If anyone follows, I will know. To attempt to go off script will cost Mr. Johnson his life, and probably John’s as well, so I cannot stress this enough: HE MUST COME ALONE. If you refuse these demands, I will end Michael’s life. This all must be kept between us three: me, you and Mr. Corbin. Failure to do so will cause undue pain to Michael, and I really do not want to see him go through that.
Ricky reread the message a few times to make sure he understood every detail.
“Burton, any message?” Daniels asked from behind him. Ricky frantically minimized the message into his tray.
“No sir, he seems to have gone off structure. Maybe he’s evolving; changing his routine.”
Ricky felt Daniels search his face for any sign of deceit. This guy doesn’t trust anyone, he thought, as he did his best to look Daniels in the eyes with a cold, hard stare.
“Okay, well, let me know if anything changes.”
“Will do, sir.”
With that, Daniels was gone and Ricky was left alone to determine how he should handle the situation. After evaluating his position, he forwarded the email to John and sent him a text:
John, I’m sorry to bring you back into this, but I thought you would want to know. I forwarded you an email from our killer. He only wants you and me to know.
Ricky leaned back in his chair and put his hands on his head. He didn’t like this one bit, but he had no power. They were all at the mercy of this lunatic if they ever wanted to see the captain alive again. He felt the tension build in his neck and a steady ache began to throb in his temples.
11:45:03, 11:45:02, 11:45:01…
John put the scotch away. Drinking himself to oblivion wouldn’t help the situation at all and he needed to keep a somewhat clear head in case he was called upon for support. As he reached for the remote to change the television station, he heard his text tone on his phone go off. He picked up his phone and opened the text from Ricky. He typed in a response:
I’ll check the email now
John grabbed his laptop from the kitchen counter and opened his email. After reading the killer’s demands, John closed his eyes and threw his head back against the couch cushion. At first, he would not accept the situation. He kept coming up with scenarios that would save the captain without his involvement. After exhausting his mind John thought about Sarah. He could sense the pain she felt over the phone. He heard her pleading tone, felt her frantic agony. Sarah Johnson wasn’t a woman who was ever pleading or frantic, but that was with Michael in her life. John knew what he had to do. There was no other choice he could make. He couldn’t sit back and let Captain Johnson die. He would meet with Ricky and devise a plan. For the second time in six months, John Corbin would come out of retirement.
11:01:03, 11:01:02, 11:01:01…
Ricky felt his cell vibrate in his pocket as he waited for another email from the killer. He was starting to feel every second tick away, knowing with each moment that passes the chances of finding and saving the captain declined. He took out the phone and saw a notification of a new text:
Ricky, I’m in. We will have to meet in my office at the restaurant when you receive the next email. Forward whatever he sends you. I’ll be in touch.
Ricky put his phone away and checked his email. Nothing. He thought about a famous quote he heard a few times.
Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting…
“Fuck that,” he said out loud as a fed walked by and looked at him like he had three eyes. He waved and shook his head, pretending he was reading a disturbing article online.
10:45:03, 10:45:02, 10:45:01…
John slowly made his trek upstairs to inform Julie of his intent. He dreaded having this conversation with his wife for two reasons: The first was that he knew it would frighten her and cause her much stress. The second was that she was absolutely right, he shouldn’t do this. John knew he may not ever come home.
He entered the bedroom and sat on the bed next to Julie, who woke instantly. She knew, just by the look in his eyes. He could never hide emotions from her; his soul was permanently nude in front of her.
“John, no.”
He dropped his eyes in shame. “I have too. He is going to kill Michael if I don’t go.”
Julie jumped up and grabbed John by the arm. “Follow me,” she said and led him into Ryann’s room. “That is your son.” She then pulled him into Gianna’s room. “That is your daughter. Look at her. Do you ever want to see her again? Do you want to see your children graduate school, go to college, get married, have children of their own?”
“Of course I—”
“Then stay here. Do not go. John, you won’t make it back. You can’t leave us.”
John walked back into the bedroom and sat on his side of the bed. Julie followed right behind him. He rubbed the top of his head with his hand and looked up at his wife, who he loved intensely.
“This is what I am, Julie. This is what you married. I’m a cop. I will always be a cop. Sure, I can pretend to be a restaurant owner, maybe even find something else to occupy my time for a few years. But ultimately, I will always come back to being a cop, and cops save people. That is what I was put on this earth for.”
“You can’t save everyone, John, no matter how hard you try. There will always be more who die, whether you’re a cop or not. You need to move on. Your children need you. I need you!”
John dropped his head. “I’m sorry… I have to do this.”
Julie walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
Before leaving, John wrote “I LOVE YOU ALL” on a piece of paper and left it on the counter. He petted Simba who looked up at him with eyes filled with sorrow, as if the Malamute knew the stakes in this game. John gave his dog one last pet on the top of his head and walked out.
10:38:03, 10:38:02, 10:38:01…
The email finally appeared. Ricky opened it and read:
In four hours from now, John Corbin will meet me at a small dock on Pine Lake in Olympic Forest. He will come alone, or I will kill your captain, no questions asked. I will know if he is unaccompanied or not and if you think otherwise, try me. From the lake, I will escort Detective Corbin to where Michael is being held. There we will all work out our differences. If everyone does as I say, we all may live.
Ricky forwarded the message to John, the whole time keeping an eye out for Daniels and his cronies.
10:28:03, 10:28:02, 10:28:01…
On the way to the restaurant, John dialed Mrs. Johnson’s number.
“Hello?”
“Hi Sarah, I’m going to him. I will do everything I can to save him.”
“John, I didn’t want you to get involved in this way. Where is he? How do you know you will be safe?”
“We never do know that. Surely you understand that as much as anyone. This is part of the deal; true cops accept the dangers. That’s what we sign up for when we put our signatures on the contract. I have to go now, I’ll update you as soon as I can.”
“John, please be careful.”
“I will.”
John pulled into the lot and parked. Before going in, he checked his phone for any messages and saw a new email from Ricky. He opened it up and absorbed it. He put his head back and contemplated the situation. Moments later he sent a text to Ricky:
At the restaurant, meet me here asap
He put his phone away and headed inside.
10:15:03, 10:15:02, 10:15:01…
Julie heard John leave and she now had to face the reality that she may never see him again. A large part of being a cop’s wife is accepting the fact that any night he may not come home alive. This case obviously c
arried much more risk, as Captain Johnson was being used as bait to get to John. Was the lunatic’s end game to kill her husband? She buried her face in her hands and wept. How would she tell her children? How would she live without him? She hated him for his decision, but in an ironic, twisted contradiction, she loved him because of it as well. The man she fell in love with is the man who would put his life on the line to save someone else. He was correct, she knew who he was when she married him. She had to accept that now, just as she always had. We can’t change the flames that ignite our souls. We can’t change who we are or what our passions burn for. She married a cop, she married a hero and that is exactly what she got.
10:02:03, 10:02:02, 10:02:01…
Ricky walked into John’s office and sat down across the desk from his partner.
“I’m going, Ricky. I’ll drive myself out there and meet that son of a bitch. You go back to the station and keep Daniels off guard until the five-hour mark. Tell him what is going down and send out a party for us. By then I’ll have gotten to the bottom of what this psycho wants.
“John, are you sure this is the right decision?”
“No, of course not, but this is the only way we may save the captain.”
Ricky shook his head and looked away.
“Hey, don’t do that. Don’t for a second hold yourself responsible for whatever happens. You did the right thing. If he had asked for you, you would have gone. That’s what we do. That’s who we are.”
“I know.”
“Now, go back to the station and keep that dickhead busy until I can do what needs to be done.”
Ricky stood up and John shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder. Ricky turned and walked out without looking back.
9:30:03, 9:30:02, 9:30:01…
John headed west on Interstate 5 South. It would be a three-hour drive to arrive at his destination, and he planned to use the long ride to organize his thoughts and play out every scenario in his head. The problem was, he didn’t understand the killer’s motive, so any scenario he created would be based on a false, crumbling foundation. This would be a purely reactionary situation, which meant he needed to be ready for anything. He had one of his guns in the glove compartment, but, he couldn’t kill this nut-job until he knew the captain was safe. The killer might have rigged a fail-safe method to kill Johnson if he himself died. He also knew he wouldn’t be able to sneak it past the killer. He was going in bare. The killer would have all the power and leverage and John knew for both he and Captain Johnson to make it through this alive, he needed to handle the situation perfectly. But even then, it may not matter.
John Corbin may already be a dead-man.
8:23:03, 8:23:02, 8:23:01…
“Burton, where the fuck have you been?” Daniels yelled as Ricky walked into the station.
“Sorry, sir. I got tied up.”
“Tied up doing what? Please don’t let us interrupt your personal time, it’s only your captain’s life at stake here. Have you received any new info? We have yet to obtain any emails. This is a major breakdown in his M.O.”
“Nothing has come, sir.”
“I had my men study the weather pattern and I think you may have been onto something with your Olympic Forest theory. It will be like finding a needle in a haystack, but I have no other statistical analysis or data to follow. I’m sending four search parties out there… copters, snipers, the whole nine yards.”
“Good call, sir.” Ricky knew that the copters would get to the region much quicker than John. He just hoped they would search the wrong areas. Daniels’ men could ruin the whole operation if they find the killer, and that would be the end for Captain Johnson.
7:48:03, 7:48:02, 7:48:01…
Agent Phillips led a search team over the Olympic Forest. The powerful spotlight illuminated the dense woods below, but he couldn’t make out anything that looked anomalous. His copter was responsible for the southern section and the other two the central and northern. His directive was to search until he found the victim or the remaining eight hours ran out, whichever came first. He detested failing and incompetence, so he was determined to find their man. However, success in this mission would require an unusual amount of luck. Brian Phillips was not a man who liked to rely on luck in anything in life. In a frustrated mood, he called back to base.
“Agent Daniels, sir, I have nothing yet, over.”
“Keep looking, Phillips.”
“Will do, sir,” he answered. With the wave of his hand, he motioned for the pilot to start another pass. As the moon starting to break out from behind the clouds, the pair knew they had a long night ahead of them.
6:25:03, 6:25:02, 6:25:01…
John turned onto NF-2370 and drove the two and a half miles until he reached Pine Lake. He parked his truck on the side of the road and walked south around the edge of the pond. The darkness engulfed him as he made his way, carefully measuring each step, as a twisted ankle or knee wouldn’t serve him well. He reached the southernmost point and turned north, keeping his eyes open for a dock. His blood hammered through his veins with every step and his senses were on high alert. He heard something scurry through the brush to the left and he turned, expecting to be greeted by The Seattle Slayer himself. Whatever it was hurried away, obviously frightened by the large human invading its territory.
Next time it may be something bigger he thought, as he noticed an opening in the shrubbery straight ahead. He quickened his pace and found himself standing on an overgrown path leading to the water’s edge. He followed it out, his eyes opened wide taking in every detail in case he needed to communicate his location in the future. The dock came into sight; a small wooden jetty painted white. He stepped onto the plank and immediately felt the barrel of a gun in his back.
“Hi there, John Corbin, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the legend.”
“Who are you?” John said as the man patted him down.
“In time, Johnny boy, in time. First you need to go save your captain.”
6:12:03, 6:12:02, 6:12:01…
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Keep walking, straight ahead,” the man replied as he pushed the tip of his gun deeper into John’s back.
The moon’s glowing rays shone down which brightened the terrain enough for John to see directly in front of him. Strangely, John’s mind wandered to the moon as he glanced up and watched the branches of the thick canopy pass through the brightness. He remembered reading somewhere that the moon glowed simply because the sun’s rays reflected off its surface. Strange, the thoughts that take over our minds in times of crisis and strife he thought as an opening appeared ahead.
As they came upon the break in the brush, John thought he heard the faint hum of a copter in the distance. He stopped in the center of the small clearing. Straight ahead, nailed to a cross and suspended off the ground, was Captain Johnson.
5:58:03, 5:58:02, 5:58:01…
“Captain, are you alr—”
John felt the butt of the gun connect to the back of his head and he went down face first. He felt a trickle of blood flow through his hair and dizziness overtook him, but he remained coherent.
On his knees from the blow, he said, “Okay, I did what you wanted. Let him go and tell me what this is about.”
“Oh, no, your chief will not be leaving us just yet, Mr. Corbin. He is my collateral. You obviously were stupid enough to come here to save him, so I will keep him around for a bit longer.”
Even engulfed in darkness, in one of the densest forests in North America, John could see the man’s grotesque smile. A vision popped into his mind of his hands around the man’s throat, squeezing the life out of him.
“My name is Gabriel Crimson. I believe you knew one of my relatives. I didn’t know I had a half-brother until he tracked me down. I was euphoric. You see, I didn’t have much of a family. My father was a priest, but I never knew him. He impregnated my mother who spent every Sunday worshipping God in his church. She gave me up for adoption and I was
abused, physically, emotionally, and sexually by my foster father. It went on for years, but I finally broke free of him and lived my own life. But, I never had a family, a real family, until my half-brother came into my life. My mother’s name was Tracy. Tracy Alvah. Her other son was named Silas. Silas Alvah was my brother, the brother you took from me.”
5:32:03, 5:32:02, 5:32:01…
Captain Johnson, who had been quietly taking it all in, suddenly understood everything.
“John, get out of here. Run…”
Gabriel Crimson turned to the captain and screamed, “You shut the fuck up! You let him get away with murdering my brother! You let him off free, without paying at all for what he did!”
“Your brother was a murdering psychopath. He deserved what John did to him,” The captain growled in response.
“That wasn’t for either of you to decide! Now you both will pay for your sins, just the way my brother did!”
Gabriel walked over to the counterweight and picked two bricks off and threw them on the ground. The pulleys cracked against the captain’s joints and he let out a pain-filled scream.
“Stop, I will kill you!” John yelled as he started toward Gabriel, who raised his gun and pointed it at his forehead.
The captain gasped out, “No, John, this is what he wants! It’s all being recorded!”
“Go ahead, Corbin. Do it,” Gabriel said as he knocked off another brick.
A grotesque popping sound came from the captain’s right shoulder as bone, tendon, and flesh let go, followed by another scream.