BackTrek (7 page)

“Yeah. Go ahead.” He said, and then gestured
for Penelli to show him the way. Penelli walked towards the front
of the building and Ted began to follow, but stopped and turned
back to Jack.

"Thanks, Jack. I owe you one." He said. Then
he turned and followed Penelli into the building, and left Jack
alone on the sidewalk. Jack walked back over to the black and white
and slowly leaned against it. He stared back at the building that
Penelli and Ted had just disappeared into. His mind reeled with all
the emotions that he had just been through. The surprise that Ted
had shown up out of nowhere after all these years, and the
explosive anger that the bastard was back in his life again. Ted
had been the friend that had testified against him in the Army. He
had been his closest friend. At times, he had been more like a
brother than a friend. Ted had always seemed to work until all
hours of the night, on some top secret project or other. And the
last year, Jack had seen him rarely, but even when they did get
together Ted had been distant. He had been as preoccupied with his
work much like Jack was with his own. Jack never suspected a
problem between them, he just assumed it was a natural occurrence.
That all friends drifted apart as their interests changed. But when
he had been hauled before the C.O. on drug charges, he just
couldn’t believe that Ted had been the one. That he was framed was
mind boggling enough, but by his friend and confidant was just
impossible.

Even in the first set of hearings, Jack still
believed that it was all a mistake. Until the day that Ted gave his
testimony. Total lies about how Jack was a user. That he had asked
him to find a source where he could buy cocaine. Lies about how Ted
had tried to talk him into getting help for his addiction. More
lies about how Ted had warned him that it would come to this one
day. Just lie after lie. Jack’s world fell apart before his eyes,
and he’d tried his best to pick up the pieces ever since. He didn’t
know why Ted was here now, nor did he know who Ted really worked
for, but in a way he felt some relief. It was like he had crossed a
plateau in dealing with his past. That he finally had an
opportunity to confront Ted after all these years made him feel
better about himself, even if Ted had taken him down. He hated the
fact that Penelli had to see him lose his cool, but Penelli had
seen him go off on perps before. He had seen his anger, just never
in a situation like this.

Jack took a few more moments to gather
himself and straighten his clothes before he finally headed inside.
As he walked up towards the front of the building, he saw Ted’s
business card on the ground, hesitated, then stooped down to pick
it up. No business name was printed on the card, just Ted’s name,
email address, and a single toll free phone number. He pocketed the
card absentmindedly and then as he headed up the stairs, he passed
the two officers guarding the building without a word. If they had
seen the confrontation on the sidewalk outside, they kept silent.
As he entered the apartment, Ted came back into the living room
from the hallway. Jack couldn’t help but notice the white sheen
over his face.

“It’s as bad as I’ve seen.” Jack
commented.

“This is one sick perp, Jack.” Ted said, as
he shook his head.

“By the way, Jack, the E.T. said that you
were right again. The last kid on the end is the one that was shot
in the bedroom. He was sleeping over last night. He lives down the
street.” Penelli said.

“He wasn’t expected to be here. That’s why he
was killed back there. The others, they belonged here.”

“What are you saying, Jack?” Ted asked.

“This guy is a pro, but he wasn’t just after
Dad. He came in with the intention of executing the entire family.
He knew where they were, who they were, and how many there were.”
Jack replied.

“So he did his homework.” Penelli
interjected.

“No, I think it’s more like he had a shopping
list. Whoever wanted this guy dead, wanted to erase his whole
family, and probably gave our perp a list to check off as the job
was done.”

“This is the second one in a week, with the
same M.O., is that right? Any idea on a connection yet?” Ted
asked.

“None, but it’s too early to tell with this
one.” Penelli replied.

“The only real connection that we’ve got at
all is the lack of any DNA evidence on the perp, and the execution
style headshots. That, and the fact that it appears to be a
professional job.” Jack answered.

Jack was finally relieved to be finished with
the crime scene investigation. Six hours he had spent, as he had
meticulously collected evidence and took notes. For six hours he
had been submersed in a world where entire families were executed.
And to make it even worse, he had found no real evidence that would
lead to a conviction. It was times like these that he questioned
his choice of professions. No one else had to live so close to the
insanity. He knew that to catch these animals meant that you had to
think like them, and at times that scared Jack. The last thing that
he would want ever to do was to really understand what made one
human being do something like this to another. There was just no
logic to deal with such subversion of the human mind, and
emotionally there was no place to file away the perversions that he
had seen in his career.

As he drove back to the precinct, he cursed
as he was caught up in the afternoon traffic, and then continued to
spend the better part of an hour at a virtual stand still, bumper
to bumper. The more he thought about the teenage girl and the two
boys whose lives had been taken, the more he missed his own kids.
His thoughts wandered to the day that Bella was born, and how small
and fragile she had been. And then he remembered the last time he
had seen her. She hadn’t known that he would leave the next day,
but she still had made a special trip over to the couch to give him
a good night kiss, before going to bed. Jack reached for his cell
phone and tapped Mike in his contact list.

“Hey, man, I know it’s been less than a day,
but if I call her now, is that harassment?” Jack asked.

“Hmm. Less than a day, huh. That’s pretty
borderline. Why don’t you come up with something good to ask her.
Like how’s the weather.” His brother replied.

“Come on, Mike. Be serious.”

“Actually Jack, I’m surprised that you
haven’t already called her. Why don’t you call and ask her and the
kids out for dinner. That’s a good solid reason, and she already
knows that you can’t cook.” Mike suggested.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Do you want to
come?”

“I’d love to, but I’ve got a consulting offer
and I’m meeting with the guy tonight. I’ll have to pass.”

“How’s the consulting business coming
anyway.”

“It’s always slow when you first start out,
but this client looks promising. As a matter of fact, he came
looking for me.”

“That’s great, Mike. Well wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Bro.” Jack hung up and quickly
tapped Tracey on his contact list before he lost his nerve.

“Hello?” She answered. Jack hesitated for a
moment as the sound of her voice permeated his thoughts. He had
planned to tell her that he had called to speak to the kids, but as
he heard her voice, it opened the void within him. He missed her so
much.

“Trace. How’s it going.”

“Hey, Jack. As well as can be expected. How
about you?” He knew that if he told her how he really felt, it
would be a waste of time. Less than a day had passed since their
separation had begun, and there would be no way that she would
believe that he had changed in that short period of time.

“I was just thinking about the kids. You
know. Wondering if they took it okay.” Jack said, as he had to slam
on his brakes to keep from hitting the car in front of him. He
mouthed a curse word, but was careful not let it become audible. He
flipped off the driver in front of him.

“It wasn’t easy, Jack. But then none of this
has been. They’re okay.” He thought that she sounded cold and
disconnected. He knew that it was probably exhaustion, but his
heart ached as he heard it. He could only imagine how hard the
conversation had been, as she led their children through the
explanation. It had to have been overwhelming.

“Can I see them?”

“Jack you’ve only been gone a day, for
Christ’s sake.” She said suddenly.

“I know, Trace. But I miss them.” As traffic
began to move again, he tried to change lanes, while Tracey
chattered in his ear. He needed to be in the next lane or he would
miss his turnoff and that would take him twenty minutes out of his
way. No one would let him over. He even began to reach to hit the
emergency light switch, but couldn’t get to it, with one hand on
the steering wheel, and the phone in the other. Finally he gave up
so that he could concentrate on the conversation at hand.

“Jack! Damn you, Jack! You haven’t heard a
word that I’ve said, have you.” This was not what he had had in
mind. He called to hear her voice. Not to hear her yell at him.

“I’m sorry honey, I’m in traffic, and I just
missed the turnoff.”

“So I guess that’s my fault now?” She asked
sarcastically.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” She sounded
exasperated. “Well are you going to meet us there or not?” She
said, obviously agitated at his lack of attention.

“Yeah. Where exactly is it?” He hoped that
she hadn’t already told him.

“Pappa Louigi’s, Jack. You do know where that
is, don’t you?” She replied sarcastically.

“Yes I do, Trace. What time?”

“Seven. The same time that I told you a few
minutes ago. Do you have it, or do I need to go over it again.”

“I’ve got it, Trace. I’ll be there at
seven.”

“Fine. We’ll see you there.” She hung up
without a goodbye. Jack could kick himself. This was exactly what
her complaint had been all along. Even when he did pay attention to
her, his mind was elsewhere. Granted, he was in traffic when he
called this time, but that would make little difference to her. To
her it was simply the same thing as always. He was ignoring her. He
looked down at his watch, and realized that it was already
five-thirty. He put the phone down and activated the emergency
lights. As the blue lights began to flash, he engaged the siren as
well, and waited for the traffic to give him a clear shot to the
emergency lane. If he didn’t hurry, he’d never get his report done
in time to meet Trace and the kids for dinner. He wished now that
he hadn’t volunteered to do the report, but Penelli had needed the
time with his own kids.

The car in front of him pulled forward, and
he forced his way into the lane to his left. He rolled his window
down, and motioned for the car in that lane to stop. The driver
threw his hands up in frustration, as his bumper was nearly
touching the car in front of him. That car moved forward, just
enough for Jack to shift across that lane into the far left
emergency lane. He accelerated past the stopped traffic until he
reached a break in the guard rail, and turned through it as he
u-turned into the traffic that sped in the opposite direction. The
oncoming cars honked, and slowed, as he crossed the three lanes of
traffic and shot off of the expressway onto the exit. A few more
intersections, and a couple of close calls, he was back at the
precinct, and soon was back at his desk.

Jack furiously typed away on his computer
console, and intentionally ignored the other officers as they
hurried about the office. As he referenced his notes, and filled in
the blanks in his report, he knew that there was no way that he’d
ever be finished in time. The traffic jam had put him behind, and
even though he had used his emergency lights, it had only helped
slightly. He had never been particularly fond of the paperwork that
his job required, but it was in fact part of his duties, and so he
always attempted to do the best that he could. Rarely would he make
a mistake in a written report, and would often type it more than
once. Then he would print it out and edit it for the final draft.
Jack wasn’t so much a perfectionist as he was attentive to details.
Little things like a missing comma, or unclear statements irked him
to no end. He took pride in his work, and refused to cut corners
just to save time. As he typed the last few words, he knew that
he’d have to make an exception this time, or he would miss his
meeting with Tracey and the kids.

He saved his work, and began to print the
first draft. He intended to edit it only once and then turn it in.
One edit meant that he’d have to pay close attention to all
details, ensure that all the facts were correct, and that it
contained no typographical errors. As the paper began to ease out
of the laser printer beside his desk, he sharpened a pencil and
went right to work. In his mind he ran through the time that was
left. He had to meet them at seven, and allow thirty minutes to get
there. That meant having to leave by six-thirty. He had four pages
to edit and correct at five minutes a piece. That was twenty
minutes. So he had to start on the final edit at no later than ten
after six. His heart sunk as he looked at the clock on the wall. It
was six-twenty-five already.

Dr. Morgan watched the computer monitor
intently as he gradually varied the frequency harmonics. His eyes
were red rimmed from exhaustion. This was their fifth trial run
today. They were all tired. The high pitched whine of the machine
in the inner lab seemed to vibrate his very bones, he thought, as
he continued to sweep the frequency higher. Phillips monitored his
station intently, carefully watching for any signs of disturbance.
With the machine armature spinning at such a high RPM, a single out
of phase vibration would cause it to tear itself apart in moments,
and bring their entire experiment to its end. Ted watched the
machine through the glass that separated the inner lab. Then
suddenly, Morgan saw the frequency wave form flatline, even though
the machine still spun madly.