Cage Match (25 page)

surrounded the area—exotic trees, a jungle. Gravel crunched underfoot—a makeshift

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parking lot filled with expensive gliders, both land and jet. He glanced at the building

behind him—a long, low warehouse. Dark-suited guards were bursting through the

door, raising their weapons.

Andreas raised his injured arm and shot behind him. A hole smoked in the side of

the building, and the guards dived to the ground. Then Jabez was shoving him into his

own jet-glider and slamming the door behind him. He raced around to the other side

and slid behind the steering wheel.

Jabez can fly?
His thoughts were as fragmented as his impressions, and pain pulsed

through him with every heartbeat. Pain in his arm, pain in his eye. Confusion. Noise.

Fear. His head whirled. Andreas shook himself and gathered his scattered thoughts.

Jabez had turned the machine on and was cursing as he fought the controls. From

the corner of his eye, Andreas saw the guards back on their feet and running toward the

glider, firing their guns.

“Go! Go!” he yelled.

Jabez obeyed, guiding the jet off the ground. They flew up with dizzying speed

until the people, building, and parking lot became tiny specks that disappeared into the

massive green jungle.

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Chapter Fourteen

Andreas slumped in the seat beside him. Jabez glanced over, concerned by his

pale face as he clutched his hurt arm. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. I‟m good. Just drive.”

Jabez‟s stomach dropped as they continued to soar upward. He checked the

controls and leveled their course to head for the horizon, and he checked the sky behind

them for pursuers. It was clear.

“You can fly this now?” Andreas turned his head to look at Jabez through his one

good eye.

“Guess so.”

“Where are we? How did you find me?”

“Near Rio.” Jabez looked through his window at the mass of green jungle that

continued for mile after mile beneath them. “After you disappeared, I made Timon tell

me what he‟d done. It didn‟t take much to shake the story out of him. I asked your

father for help because I knew he had the power to get me in.”

“My father?”

“He invented an identity and gave me the papers and money I needed while I

grabbed Rabi and forced him to contact the organization. It took a few days, but I got

here in time.” He didn‟t mention how terrified he‟d been that he‟d never find Andreas

or wouldn‟t get to him in time.

“So are Timon and Rabi in jail?”

“Not yet. We locked ‟em up in your father‟s kitchen cooler. We didn‟t call the

cops, didn‟t want ‟em to do anything to wreck our plan or get you killed.”

“So me being kidnapped had nothing to do with Fortias?”

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“Oh, it did. Some board members paid Timon to hire a hit man, but your friends

didn‟t have the guts to kill you so they sold you.”

“My friends.” Andreas shook his head. He looked out his window and after

several silent minutes turned back toward Jabez. “We have to end this now. I‟m going

to the media and telling everything I know. Let the press put it out there for the public

to pick apart. No more secrets.”

“You think that‟s smart?”

“It‟s the only way to be safe. They can‟t erase me when the whole world‟s

watching.”

“First, I‟m taking you to a doctor, and we should call your father. He‟s worried

about you.”

“Worried about what my behavior will do to the corporation.”

“No. Worried about
you
.” Jabez had seen it in the old man‟s face over the past

couple of days and in the measures he took to find Andreas. “He‟s a prick, but he does

care about you.”

He took his phone from his pocket and handed it to Andreas. “Call him.”

Andreas sighed. “All right.” He put the device in his ear and a moment later was

speaking to his father. “Hey, it‟s me. Yeah, I‟m okay. We‟re both okay. I have a couple

of injuries. Jabez is taking me to the hospital.”

He paused, listening, then responded. “I guess that would be good. But, Dad, as

soon as they patch me up, I‟m holding a press conference. I‟m going to tell everything I

know about what happened to me, about the board‟s hand in it, and about the lab.”

There was another pause. “All right.” He ended the call and leaned back in his

seat with a sigh. “My father said he‟ll have security detail waiting for us at the

hospital.”

“Good. You‟re never going anywhere without bodyguards again.”
Or without me

right by your side
. “Your ass is too precious.”

Andreas offered the phone back to Jabez with a wan smile.

He took it and held Andreas‟s hand for a moment, appreciating the warmth and

the solid reality of him.
You’re safe, and I’m never going to let anything take you away from

me again.

“You look like crap. Maybe I should stop somewhere sooner.”

“No. I can make it. Just get us home.” Andreas held tight to his hand and closed

his eyes. He was silent for so long, Jabez thought he was asleep, but at last he spoke

again. “I can‟t relax. I keep thinking about the fight and that man I killed. I‟m going to

have to find his family and tell them what I did.”

Jabez didn‟t answer immediately. He knew Andreas‟s earnestness and

stubbornness usually went hand in hand. He chose his words carefully.

“It wasn‟t your fault. I think you should let the situation play out, turn your

friends over to the police, and see what happens. They‟ll plea-bargain to try to get their

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sentence reduced, finger some people. Hopefully, the corrupt board members, the lab,

and the gaming operation will all go down.”

Andreas sat up straight, turning to face him. “But meanwhile, Ankar‟s family is

wondering what happened to him. What if I‟d just disappeared and you hadn‟t found

me? His people are probably frantic about him. I have to do this. I should call right

now.”

“Call who?”

“He was from Scandinavia. Call the consulate or something. I don‟t know.”

“All right. Do it, but you don‟t have to take care of it right this minute. Wait until

after we land and get you checked out.” Jabez added as an afterthought, “Please.”

He released Andreas‟s hand to operate the glider. The computer navigated the

way and all he had to do was avoid other craft sharing airspace.

At last the white cityscape of New Englandia shone in the distance. The jet

swooped toward it with breathtaking speed, and Jabez took over manual control as

they dropped altitude and cruised closer to the ground.

As Fortias had promised, a security team and medics waited at the emergency

entrance of N.E. Hospital. As soon as Jabez landed, the staff rushed out to take Andreas

inside and guards closed ranks around them. Jabez expected to have to fight for the

right to stay with Andreas, but evidently Fortias had told them to expect him too. He

was swept along with the group through the crowded emergency room straight to a

private room that had been reserved for Andreas. It helped when your family had paid

for a wing of the hospital.

Jabez waited with four guards just outside the room where hospital personnel

tended to Andreas. He took the phone from his pocket and called Quentin. “We‟re at

the hospital. Where are you? Andreas expected to see you here.”

“I had work to do. I‟ll come now.” In his usual succinct style, Quentin

disconnected with no good-bye. He was hardly warm and caring, but he‟d been

concerned enough about his son to trust a criminal with wads of cash just for the chance

of getting him back safely

Jabez leaned against the wall, arms folded, watching the dark-suited guards

arrayed by Andreas‟s room and the activity of hospital personnel coming and going.

A nurse approached him. “Sir, you might be more comfortable sitting in the

waiting area. This could take a while.”

“I‟ll wait here, thank you.” Jabez met her gaze. Seeing there was no moving him,

she nodded and continued on her way.

The minutes of waiting seemed like hours, but he‟d had plenty of practice killing

empty hours. He drifted into a trance as he stared at the polished floor and thought

about Andreas. Praying had never been a part of his life, but he came close to it now,

sending a wish for healing to whatever energy made things happen in the universe.

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Over the past couple of days and sleepless nights, he‟d blocked his fear for

Andreas so he could accomplish what needed to be done. But now that the rescue was

over, the realization he might‟ve lost Andreas hit him like a sucker punch. The idea of

never seeing him, hearing his voice, or holding him was impossible. Now that he‟d

known real affection, maybe love, he couldn‟t face being alone again. He wished he

could be with Andreas right now with all this mess behind them, just the two of them

lying together and resting at last.

Quentin Fortias and his entourage arrived, further blocking the corridor and

upsetting the medical staff, but no one dared reprimand the man who‟d financed their

building. He strode past the guards and into the room, his imperious voice demanding

answers and barking orders. Jabez was getting used to the sound. He‟d spent more time

than he ever wanted to around Quentin Fortias over the past two days, but had to

admit the man knew how to get things done.

A moment later, Fortias appeared in the doorway of Andreas‟s room and

beckoned him. “You. In here.”

Jabez obeyed. He entered the room, and his gaze instantly went to Andreas lying

in a hospital bed, bandaged, with an IV drip in his arm. His color had improved,

although he was still very pale. Below the gauze covering his eye, the bruising of his

eye socket showed red and purple.

“Talk to him. Tell him we need to discuss this thing before he makes another rash

decision,” Quentin commanded; then he addressed Andreas. “After you‟re feeling

better, we‟ll come up with a solution. Right now you need to rest and heal.”

“No. I need you to call a press conference, right here, right now in the hospital

lobby. All the secrecy must end. We‟ve got to stop what some members of the board

have been doing, and the only way we can do it is if we present a united front. Between

the two of us, we still have some control in the corporation.”

Quentin was already shaking his head. “I won‟t support you. I‟ll deny—”

“Deny me for the sake of business? Father, you said yourself Fortias is suffering

from bad public image. This is our chance to come clean, take responsibility for what

we‟ve allowed to happen, and try to salvage something worthwhile. This is a pivotal

moment. We can make a change.” Andreas‟s eyes were alight with passion as he gazed

at his father. “Please, help me.”

Jabez brushed past a doctor to stand beside Andreas and take his hand. Ignoring

everyone else in the room, he leaned over him and smoothed the tangled locks of hair

from his sweaty forehead. “Tell me who to call. I‟ll make it happen.”

Quentin Fortias gave an annoyed click of his tongue. “You‟re useless. A thug like

you couldn‟t get the media to come here unless you took hostages. I‟ll arrange it.

Pierson!” His personal secretary sprang to attention. “Call a conference and get my

fucking speechwriter over here to help prepare a statement.”

“We don‟t need a speechwriter. We just need to tell the truth.”

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Fortias held up a finger. “Concessions, Andreas. The first rule of business is to

learn to negotiate. Maybe if I‟d spent more time teaching you how to function in the

corporate world, we wouldn‟t be in this mess.”

Jabez straightened and turned toward him. “What can I do?”

“Stay out of the way and keep your mouth shut.”

Fortias paused and stared at Jabez. “Actually, you could be useful. You can help

spin this—the new face of Fortias giving hope to the ghetto dwellers, helping the

disenfranchised achieve their potential. I‟ll let my writer figure it out. Stick around, but

still keep your mouth shut.”

* * * * *

exhausted. He could barely stand in his position between Andreas, seated in a

wheelchair, and Quentin Fortias, who appeared as fresh as if he‟d just started the day.

“You got what you wanted.” The old man addressed his son. “Now go home and

get some rest. Both of you look ready to collapse. My driver will take you.”

Jabez was glad to collapse in the backseat of Fortias‟s lavish vehicle, which was

almost as large as his old cell. He sat close to Andreas on the wide seat and put his arm

around him.

Andreas rested his head on his shoulder. “Wish I could say it‟s over, but our