Sealed In Lies (21 page)

He poured some of the alcohol on the wound and winced at Caroline’s sharp intake of breath. He took the scalpel and dipped it into the bottle of alcohol, reached and adjusted the mirror again and grasped Caroline’s wrist firmly in his hand. He looked up at her, scalpel poised and she nodded.

He made a tiny incision directly into the angry red bump. Blood immediately squirted out along the incision and was quickly followed by yellow oozing puss. He dipped a cotton ball in alcohol and dabbed at the incision. “Good God!” Caroline cried out but she managed to keep her arm still.

“
I know,” he said. “I’m sorry, but this is just the beginning. Do you want something to bite on?”

She laughed nervously. “I feel like I’m in an old western and you’re the Doc trying to get a bullet out of me. Do you have any whiskey? How about a knife handle for me to bite on?”

“
Actually,” Jack reached under his pant leg and pulled out the Gerber Trident knife. Caroline’s eyes went wide and she laughed again.

“
I couldn’t even get that thing in my mouth.”

“
Yes, it does seem a bit large.” He turned and rummaged with one hand in the medical kit. How about this?” He handed her a tongue depressor.

“
That should work,” she said biting down on the thin piece of wood. “Go ahead.”

“
Okay, I’ll try to do this as quickly as possible.”

He pulled the incision apart slightly, took a pair of sterilized tweezers, and began looking for the chip. Caroline groaned through the tongue depressor but she held perfectly still. Jack was impressed with her bravery. He had seen grown men faint under lesser circumstances. He reached over, adjusted the mirror, and probed a bit deeper. Sweat broke out on Caroline’s forehead but she held fast.

“
One more minute, I think I’ve got it… Yep, there it is.” Jack triumphantly pulled the tweezers out of the wound in them held a tiny cylindrical shape. It was smaller than Caroline’s pinky fingernail and there was a hair thin wire running through the middle of the cylinder. Jack rinsed it off with a little alcohol and carefully placed it in a small Ziploc bag he had in the medical case.

“
Let’s just sterilize this wound and then I can stitch it up.” Without warning, Jack poured a good dousing of alcohol directly on the open wound.

“
Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” Caroline screamed, spitting the tongue depressor right into Jack’s lap. Then she jerked her arm away from him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Trying not to smile, because he knew that had to burn like fire, he gently reached for her arm. “I know that must have stung a little.”

“
Stung a little? Feels like my arm is on fire.”

“
I know, Caroline, but I had to sterilize the wound before I stitch it up. Look, I told you this wasn’t going to be a picnic.”

Tears were forming in her eyes, but she blinked them back. “I know. I just wasn’t expecting it that’s all.”

“
You okay?”

“
Yes, I will be. Just get on with it. Nothing could hurt more than that did.”

“
All I need to do now is put a few stitches in it.” He began to sterilize and thread the surgical needle.

“
Hey,” Caroline said.

Jack looked up at her. “What?”

“
When this is done do I get to pour alcohol on that leg wound of yours?”

Jack chuckled. “I just might let you. Would it make you feel better?”

“
Hell, yes, it would make me feel better.”

Jack stitched up her arm as quickly as he could and she managed to get through it without even cursing once. He was quite proud of her. He slathered the sutured area with antibiotic cream and then put on a clean bandage. Gently he placed her arm back in her lap. “You okay?”

“
Sure, that wasn’t so bad.” She rolled her eyes.

Jack dampened a washcloth with cool water and handed it to her. She wiped her face and neck and gave it back to him. “Do you want me to help you clean up?” she asked.

“
No, take these and go lie down for a minute.” He handed her two aspirin. “I’ll clean this up then take the chip somewhere where Warren and his goons can find it.”

“
Oh good, I’ll write a little note to go along with it.”

“
You sure you want to antagonize him?”

Caroline looked Jack straight in the eye. “Why? Are you saying you can’t protect me if I do?”

Jack didn’t look away, but returned her hard stare. “I can protect you.”

“
Then I’ll get a pen.” Caroline walked out of the bathroom.

Man, that’s one gutsy woman, Jack thought, cleaning and putting away his instruments. He had never met a woman quite like her in his entire life. One thing was for sure; the next few months were going to be very interesting.

Caroline grabbed a few sheets of hotel stationary and sat down at the small round table to write her note. She folded the paper just below the motel insignia on the stationary and tore it off. Her arm was throbbing so badly she could hardly think, but she was not going to let Jack know that. She needed to be tough, regardless of how she really felt. If she couldn’t keep up, he would move on without her and now that she made up her mind to leave Warren, there was no going back. She wrote swiftly…

Warren,

When you find this I will be long gone. You are a cold and cruel man and I will no longer subject myself…

She read what she wrote and tore up the sheet of paper. That sounded entirely too nice. She started again.

Warren,

I know you can’t imagine that you would ever read what you are about to read. I know you also can’t imagine that I would be the one writing these words.

Let me start by saying I am not some pet animal that you can put on an electronic leash and track every move I make. I never gave you permission to put a global tracking chip in my arm and I resent it that you did. You have invaded my body many times without my permission but this is the final time.

You will not find me so do not bother wasting your resources looking for me. I will not be coming back. You can explain that to the press however you wish. You can tell them I died for all I care, because in truth, a piece of me died each day I was with you.

I put up with your abuse of both my body and my spirit for a long time, but it stops today. You are an evil, cruel man and I am glad to be free of you. I am returning your little chip and I suggest you shove it directly up your own tight little ass, as I will not need it any longer.

Caroline

She folded the letter and placed it in the small Ziploc bag that held the chip. She handed it to Jack. “Leave this somewhere that will send a message.”

Jack hesitated. “Are you sure this is what you want to do? He will never give up looking for you. You said he threatened to kill you if he ever tried to leave him. Caroline I must warn you, Warren is involved with some very bad people. This little statement you are making, and staying with me is a very dangerous idea. You can still change your mind, it is not too late.”

“
I am not changing my mind, Jack. I’m counting on you to keep me safe.”

“
That’s a tall order, Mrs. Walters.”

“
Please, do not call me that ever again. I want to begin a new life with a new name. I want to look different and be different. How can we do that, Jack?”

“
Well, I’m glad you brought that up, because I was going to talk to you about it. I have a friend that I can count on to create new identities for us, but you are going to need to drastically change your appearance. You will need a different hairstyle and color. If I can get colored contact lenses that will fit you I will, but you are so easily recognizable that it must be drastic.”

“
I don’t mind doing that. I will make a list of what you can get from the nearest store and I will begin work on it right away. I will also need some clothes. I'll write down my sizes here as well.” She hurried back to the table and wrote down a list of items that she would need. She handed it to him.

“
I think I saw a Wal-Mart down the street. I will dispose of this,” he held up the little plastic bag with the chip and her note inside. “Then I will get the things you need. I shouldn’t be gone longer than an hour. Keep the door locked and stay out of sight. I will knock three times when I come back and say ‘Louise, it’s me.’ If someone else knocks on the door, go to the bathroom, lock the door, and climb out the back window.

“
There is a parking lot in the back of the hotel. Walk calmly across that parking lot to the Barnes & Noble next door. Go to the women’s restroom and wait there. I will come for you.”

Caroline nodded and locked the door behind him. She pulled the metal locking bolt across the pin and then turned out all the lights. Holding her throbbing arm in her lap she waited for Jack to return.

Chapter 24

Warren waited patiently in his stately Virginia mansion for word of Caroline’s rescue. He still fumed that the Emperor insisted on sending his own men instead of Warren’s. It made him feel like a little boy in grade school. He knew what he was doing, damn it, and no one was going to make him feel less of a man because of one little mistake. Weaver was trouble. He was always trouble from the first day they met.

Warren joined the SEAL team a year later than Jack. They were both close to the same age but Warren spent a few extra weeks in bomb school in order to prepare him for the upcoming missions. He smiled when he remembered that school. God, how he enjoyed watching things go up in flames. He blew doors off of rooms, blew up cars, and even blew up entire buildings with pinpoint precision. He loved the smell of the explosives and it aroused him to set the charges. When the buildings blew it was as good as the best orgasm he had ever had.

Fire was good. Fire was cleansing and reduced things to ashes in order to begin anew. Warren looked down at his expensive Armani suit trousers. He was aroused now. It was a damn shame Caroline was not here to resolve that problem. He would need her back and soon. Of course in the interim, he could always seduce one of the young pages or one of the interns in his service. A smile spread slowly across his face and he shivered just slightly with anticipation.

Thinking of Caroline reminded him that she was currently with Jack. Warren rose and began to pace the elegant study. The painting was removed and the safe where Jack had stolen the discs gaped open, a dark black mouth. Weaver was going to suffer badly for this. What happened in Iraq so many years ago was going to seem like a walk in the park compared to what Warren planned for Jack once the Emperor brought him in. He would see to it that Jack Weaver suffered as never before.

Iraq… He remembered joining the unit that hot summer day and being briefed on his mission. Their team was to go into the palace and find an Iraqi servant who worked personally for Saddam Hussein. It was said that she had personal knowledge of everything that took place inside the private office. She supposedly had knowledge of a large weapons store and once Warren got the information out of her he was to blow it all to hell. He was really looking forward to that part.

The Fantastic 4 entered the palace through a basement delivery entrance and made their way into the upper levels. They found the woman with no trouble at all, drugged her and took her back to their base encampment. After questioning her for hours they were getting nowhere. She continually denied knowing anything about weapons and Warren was getting impatient. He knew she was lying and he was determined to get her to confess. He laughed to himself remembering how that electric probe had made her scream.

That was when Weaver got in the way. Warren twisted his hands together as he thought about how Jack interfered and tried to convince the group that this woman was not a servant and did not know anything. He kept looking at a photograph of her and insisting they had the wrong woman.

Warren knew Jack was wrong. This woman knew where the weapons were and was highly trained to resist all efforts of interrogation. Warren smiled again and walked over to the small bar in his study. He poured himself a drink and downed it in one swallow. He’d had to bash Weaver in the head and tie him up in a corner to get him to shut up. Once that was done he continued to torture the woman. When she died without revealing anything Warren just chalked it up to her stubbornness.

Warren poured another drink and downed it. Because of Jack, everything went wrong that night. Warren never meant to kill the woman, especially before they got information from her, but Weaver had made him so mad. With his righteous holier than thou attitude, insisting he was right. Jack was wrong and Warren maintained that story to this day. It didn’t stop Larsen from giving him a rash of shit though. He’d almost lost his commission in the Navy. Larsen had helped him take care of what everyone perceived as his mistake. He loathed Jack Weaver after that.