Girl Takes Up Her Sword (25 page)

Strangely, Walker didn’t follow through and finish her off. Instead, he let go of his sword and bent over to take hers. As if in some sort of trance, he wrapped his fingers around the sword handed down through Emily’s family for longer than anyone could remember, held it up over his head and gazed at it. He seemed to have forgotten all about her.

“It’s mine,” he cried out. “After all these years, it’s finally mine.”

In the fading light of the afternoon, the room grew dim and she looked for her chance. Walker glanced down at her, with a blissful smile plastered across his face, just as she managed to pull the little
wakizashi
Melanie’s father gave her out from under the collar of her jacket. One looping overhead stroke brought the blade slashing down across his chest, too dark for him to see what she’d hit him with. The gash was bloody, though not deep enough to disable him. With better leverage at the bottom of the stroke, she had enough hand strength to dig the blade more deeply into his thigh. He fell to one knee with a squeal.

“You bitch! What have you done?”

His face contorted in pain and rage, he swung the sword in his hand down onto her head. Light as the
wakizashi
was, blocking his stroke was easy, but the Kevlar and resin blade just wasn’t substantial enough to hold off the heavier blade of the
katana
. Emily felt it give way just above the handle, barely allowing her to deflect Walker’s stroke into the back of a chair. He struggled to yank it free, which gave her an opening to kick him in the ribs, slamming him into the edge of Burzynski’s desk. He sank to the floor, clutching his leg and cursing her.

“Let’s go,” Emily said to Valerie. “Out this way. It’s our only chance.” When they didn’t move, frozen by fear, she yelled: “Run.”

As they slid behind the couch, trying to stay as far from Walker as possible, Emily carefully drew his sword out of her side, blood oozing through her shirt. She shoved them through the doors out onto the back patio. A quick peek around the corner of the house showed her that the car she’d commandeered was on fire. They’d have to run for it.

“Hurry. This way,” she barked, leading them as close to the front drive as she dared. “There’s help in the woods. We just have to make it to the tree line.”

“Who are you?” Valerie cried out to her.

“Someone who’s trying to keep you alive,” she gasped out as she urged them forward.

“And you’re not with that man… your uncle?”

“No.”

“Then why are you helping us?”

“We don’t have time for this,” she moaned. “We have to make it to the trees. Hurry.”

When the guns when silent, Emily knew they were out of time. The resistance from Burzynski’s people was the only thing preventing Walker’s men from chasing them down. Two men in tactical gear approached at a run from the right, one wing of the house now on fire.

~~~~~~~

“I don’t like the sound of all that gunfire,” Luther said. “It’s a war over there. Didn’t you tell her we don’t do gunplay?”

“I surely did,” Roxie replied.

“This is more than we bargained for. These guys ain’t prepared for this. We don’t even have a single gun among us.”

“Luther, you hold it right there,” Roxie growled low so the others couldn’t hear. “That girl needs us and we are
not
gonna let her down. We’ll wait right here until she shows. You understand me?”

“There she is,” Nate called out. “Over there, running across the lawn. And she’s not alone.”

The whole gang gathered around Nate to peer through the trees at the events unfolding in Burzynski’s estate. Three figures ran toward them across the lawn, still more than a hundred yards from the front gate, pursued by several armed men.

“She’s not gonna make it,” Oscar said. “It looks like she’s hurt. There’s blood all over her shirt.”

“Who’s that with her,” Luther asked.

“It looks like a little kid,” Nate said. “We can’t wait for her. Let’s go get her.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Luther said. “Those guys chasing her got guns.”

While they argued, a third man headed Emily off, blocking her path to the front gate. The gang watched, horrified as he leveled his rifle at her.

“We’ve got to do something,” Roxie cried out.

A shot rang out from somewhere in the distance, they couldn’t quite tell where, and the man in Emily’s path dropped to his knees and then pitched face forward, his head bursting into a puff of red mist. At least that’s how it looked from where the bikers stood.

“Holy Hell,” Nate exclaimed. “What was that?”

They heard a second shot and another man collapsed in a pool of blood on the lawn. The third man turned to run back to the main house, but didn’t make it more than a few steps before a bullet brought him down. Emily fell to one knee, looking to gather her strength for the last dash.

“That’s it,” Oscar said. “I’m going to get her.”

He ran to his bike, trailed by Nate and Chester.

“Get the rest of the bikes up,” Roxie shouted. “We need to be ready to roll as soon as they get back.”

Oscar covered the distance in a few interminable seconds, skidding to a halt a few feet from Emily. As soon as he stopped, she heaved herself up, waving her arms over his head as if to ward off an evil spirit. With one arm on his shoulder, she waved in earnest, but not to any of the bikers. Then she climbed on the back and wrapped herself around him.

Nate and Chester gathered up the other two, wasting no time to listen to any protests. In less than a minute, the boys returned with their charges. Emily slid off the back of Oscar’s bike and nearly collapsed on the ground. Luther caught her and carried her to his bike.

“She’s too weak to ride,” he barked over his shoulder to Roxie. “You ride her bike. Take the little girl. Shelley, you ride with this one on Roxie’s bike.”

“Wait,” Roxie shouted. “We need to bind her up first. I need some t-shirts, quick. Hand ‘em over, guys.”

While Roxie tended to Emily, and Luther put a couple of belts together to strap her onto his back, Valerie fussed a bit at the prospect of her daughter riding on the back of a motorcycle with a stranger. Emily managed to croak out a little encouragement.

“It’s not safe here. They’ll take good care of her, trust me.”

Emily’s plan had been to cut across to Skyline Drive and lose any pursuit in the winding hills of the Shenandoah Valley. But there didn’t seem to be any pursuit, since the sniper, whoever it was, kept Walker’s men from approaching the front gate. Luther preferred to race down the 340 to Elkton, cut across to Ruckersville on the 33 and follow the 231 down to Charlottesville. He meant to get Emily to safety as quickly as possible.

Back to Top

Chapter
28

Licking Their Wounds

When the convoy of bikers arrived at Michael’s estate, after encountering some brief resistance at the entrance drive, they found Dr. Janice Tarleton waiting by the front door, with Yuki and Andie standing fretfully behind her. Emily had called ahead to ask for her help, and Dr. Tarleton was glad for the chance to repay a debt, and to do whatever she could for the girl who kept her safe a few months earlier, when her world seemed to be coming apart at the seams.

Emily looked like a ragdoll in Ethan’s arms, head lolling barely conscious over the crook of his elbow as he bounded up the front steps. The bikers watched anxiously, not making eye contact with Yuki or Andie.

“We got her home as fast as we could,” Luther said, with his head bowed.

“Is she gonna be all right, Doc?” Roxie asked.

Yuki looked over to Andie, who nodded back.

“Thank you for returning my daughter,” she said, bowing as low as Luther. “Please, come inside. Is anyone else hurt?”

“She had these two with her,” Roxie offered, gesturing to Valerie and her daughter.

“Please, come in, all of you,” Andie said, graciously. “You must be frazzled to a nub.”

Upstairs, in Emily’s room, after the bikers had gone, the women went over the options with Dr. Tarleton.

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” she said to Yuki. “I can stitch her up here, or we can take her to the hospital. It’s up to you.”

Yuki looked down at her daughter, ghostly pale and unconscious, blood all over the bed, and wept, incapable of speech.

“I’m not sure we have time for the hospital,” said Michael, who had just entered, with an urgency audible in his voice. “The estate isn’t defensible if Meacham comes for us. You need to stitch her up now.”

“What about damage to internal organs?” Andie asked. “Are you worried about that?”

“We’ll have to open her up a little bit to check,” Dr. Tarleton said as she tried to reassure them. “But the location of the wound is fortunate. It’s missed her lungs and diaphragm, and there’s no sign of leakage from her intestines. We should be able to handle it. I’ve got six units of blood in the cooler.”

“You’re sure we can do this here?”

“I’m gonna need your help, and Yuki, too.” Then turning to Michael, she continued. “Even if we take care of her here, we won’t be able to move her for a few days.”

Michael grumbled and covered his face with both hands, while he considered the options.

“We can protect her better here than at a hospital. It’s a risk either way, but maybe hunkering down here is slightly more manageable. I’ll talk it over with Ethan. In the meantime, do what you can for her… the sooner she’s stabilized, the better.”

Andie nodded and swallowed. The entire procedure took a little more than an hour. Afterwards, Dr. Tarleton sat with Emily, keeping an eye on every detail of her recovery. Yuki came in and out every few minutes, too anxious to settle down.

“Who is she?” Valerie asked in one of those moments when Andie and Yuki could no longer sit quietly in the room. In the few hours they’d been there, the crush of other worries left everyone too preoccupied to pay any attention to these unexpected guests. Tati had been left to entertain herself with Li Li and Stone, and Valerie just hovered on the edge of every conversation.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Dr. Tarleton replied.

“These men invaded my father’s house, like soldiers or something, and they shot up all the security people. And she was there, too. I assumed she was with them. But when they tried to kill my daughter and me, she stepped in front and fought them off.”

“Yeah,” Dr. Tarleton said. “That sounds like her.”

“I mean, she sacrificed herself for us, and I have no idea who she is. I even have this feeling that she’s one of my father’s enemies. But if she hadn’t been there, I’m sure we’d be dead.”

“All I know is that trouble seems to follow her. But if you get caught up in it too, the safest place to be is right behind her.”

“Mommy, look at this,” Tati said with a giggle as she ran into the room holding a sword, enormous in her hands, and still caked with Emily’s blood. “It’s so fancy.”

Li Li and Stone tumbled in right after her, faces flush with curiosity about the new toy.

“Omagod,” Valerie cried out. “Put that down. It’s too dangerous. Where did you get it?”

“Those men left it by the fireplace downstairs, Mommy,” Tati whimpered. “You know, the ones who brought us here on the motorcycles.”

“Where did this come from?” Yuki asked, as soon as she entered the room. “It’s certainly not Emily’s sword.” She picked it up, looked at the blade, examined the
hama
and
hada
, and rubbed her fingers over a chrysanthemum design etched into it near the handle, where some blood had crusted over. “Oh, no,” she gasped, and turned to look at her daughter, lying unconscious on the bed.

The sound of her mother weeping at the side of the bed must have roused her a few minutes later. She reached out a feeble hand and touched Yuki’s arm.

“Mom.”

“You’re awake,” Yuki whispered to her. “How do you feel?”

“Pretty crappy,” she croaked. “How are the others?”

“See for yourself,” Dr. Tarleton said, and pointed to the little girl standing by the window on the other side of the bed. Tati ducked her head behind the curtains. Valerie rushed over to see.

“Thank God,” she said. “You made it.”

Emily flashed her a pale, feeble smile.

“I’m glad you made it, too.”

“You saved us. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“There will be time for that later,” Dr. Tarleton said, trying to usher everyone out of the room. “She needs her rest.”

Emily noticed the sword in her mother’s hand and said “It’s okay, Mom. Don’t worry.”

“This isn’t your sword, sweetheart.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I took it from David after he stuck it in me.”

“And he has grandmother’s sword?”

Emily nodded.

“Michael’s worried he’s coming here next,” Andie said, over Yuki’s shoulder. “Maybe before you’re fully recovered.”

“He’s gonna need a few days to recover, too,” Emily said. “I managed to slash him across the thigh, and maybe a bit on the chest. He’ll be limping for a while.”

“Who are these two?” Andie asked in a whisper, tipping her head toward the door they just left through.

“Burzynski’s daughter and granddaughter. David was gonna kill them. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

“What were you even doing there?” Yuki asked.

“I just went to talk, Mom.”

“Thank goodness you made it out alive.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing left. David brought an army with him. The house was burning when we left. I think something’s changed for him. He was ready to kill me. But when he picked up my sword, he lost track of me and I was able to cut him with the
wakizashi
.”

Yuki faltered at hearing these words, and needed to sit on the bed to keep from falling over.

“And the bikers… who are they? How do you even know them?”

“That’s a long story. They were there because I asked them, you know, in case getting out turned out to be difficult. Also I think Connie must have followed me. And it was a good thing, too, because she covered our escape. She kept David’s people pinned down at the front gate. We wouldn’t have made it out without her. Is she back yet?”

Yuki shook her head.

~~~~~~~

“No! That can’t be true,” Valerie insisted in an urgent whisper. Pride and shame conspired to make her refuse to believe what she was hearing about her father.

“It absolutely
is
true,” Andie replied. “We found his lieutenants on the scene. That’s
why
she went to his house.”

“I can’t believe my father would do something like that.”

“Believe what you like,” Yuki said, only hearing the last bit of what they were arguing about as she stepped onto the landing outside Emily’s room. “But why didn’t
he
protect you? Why did Emily have to put herself in danger for you?”

“He tried to protect us. Everything was happening so fast, and that man was there with the sword. There was no time. It was horrible. And Tati had to see it all.”

“My daughter had to see it, too,” Yuki said, eyes brightening with each syllable. “It wasn’t too horrible for her to do the right thing, even if you’re father couldn’t.”

These last words gave each of them some pause. Valerie rocked back on her heels, and reached for the banister to keep from tumbling down the stairs.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. There’s so much I don’t understand. I know Tati and I would be dead if your daughter hadn’t stepped in. That man’s eyes were so… crazed. Like he was some sort of wild animal. But if my father did what you say, why did she save us?”

“It’s who she is,” Dr. Tarleton said, coming out of Emily’s room. “She did something similar for me. Men pretending to be federal agents tried to get her medical records from my nurse, and when she resisted they killed her and burned down my office. I was so frightened, I couldn’t think straight, and I didn’t know what to do. I drove around in a haze, until I found Emily, and then I felt safe. Can’t you feel it when you’re around her? She’s so calm, even when it’s dangerous.”

The other women were speechless after her outburst, and she even seemed a little surprised by the vehemence of her words. After a breath, she was able to speak in calmer tones.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have this conversation right outside her door. She really needs her rest,” she said and led them down the stairs.

Raised voices coming from the kitchen drew their attention in that direction.

“She took a foolish chance going there,” a deep voice resounded through the open doorway. “And what did it accomplish? Nothing, and it almost got her killed.”

“You think I could have stopped her?” a woman’s voice replied. “Then you don’t know her very well.”

“Connie,” Yuki cried out. “Thank God you’re back. She’s been asking for you.”

“Theo, here, seems to think I, or any of us for that matter, could have prevented your daughter from going up there,” Connie replied.

“She’s just like her father that way,” Yuki said, with a laugh. “He always preferred to face things head on.”

“We learned one useful thing up there,” Connie said rather pointedly in Theo’s direction. “Meacham’s declared all-out war on Burzynski. I don’t know if any of his people got out of there alive. The house was on fire the last I saw. That certainly changes our plans, I think.”

Valerie gasped at these words. Had her father managed to escape? Yuki’s suggestion that he’d abandoned them still rang in her ears, but not as loudly as the thought that he might already be dead. Lingering in the doorway behind the others, she saw that Connie had noticed her, felt her cold, cruel eyes probing her.

“And her,” Connie continued, pointing at Valerie. “Emily brought her out of the house. Who are you, anyway? And what were you doing there?”

All eyes turned to her, waiting to see how she would respond. She dug deep inside to muster every bit of grit and family pride she could manage.

“My name is Valerie Semyonova. Emily saved Tatiana and me. My father is Peter Burzynski.” She was shaking, the words trembling in her throat, hollow in her own ears. “I feel like I’m in an enemy camp, and I don’t know where else to go.”

Connie stared at her in amazement, eyes burning, brow furrowed, as if two competing instincts struggled for ascendancy in her. Finally, she spoke in a soft voice as the others hung on her every word.

“I would not have hesitated to kill your father, if I saw an opportunity. And he’d have done the same for me. But if Emily protected you… if that was her judgment of you, then I will respect it. You and your daughter are safe here.”

“Which may not be very safe,” Michael said, sticking his head through the doorway and breaking the mood. “Connie, I’m glad you’re here. We’ve got work to do to get ready. Ethan’s in the study looking at plans.”

“Mommy, I’m bored,” Tati announced from behind Michael.

“Oh, honey, I forgot all about you,” Valerie said.

“Weren’t you playing with Li Li and Stone?” Andie asked. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “They wandered off a while ago.”

“Oh, no,” Yuki said. “Not again.”

“Better tell the guys at the gate to keep an eye out for Stone,” Andie said.

“We really don’t need this now,” Michael growled as he pulled out a phone.

“Don’t bother,” Theo said. “I know where he is.”

Andie and Yuki went upstairs to confirm his theory.

“Yup,” Andie announced when they returned a moment later. “They’re up there in the bed, sound asleep, one on either side of her.”

“Tell me I don’t know her,” Theo snorted. Connie laughed.

~~~~~~~

The forest felt different this time, warmer, more humid. No breeze moved the air. The foliage had crept all the way across her path, huge leathery leaves, palm fronds, enormous ferns, tropical in it’s excess. Everything about the scene oppressed her.