The Hazing Tower (16 page)

He made a sharp left and the car slid sideways across an intersection. He was getting better at the shifting now and floored the accelerator in third gear, jumping back onto the sidewalk and heading for a bridge in the distance. He could hear the gunfire now, closer behind him. He could also hear police sirens. He figured everyone must be reporting a crazy driver. If what Rebecca had said was true, then the last place he wanted to go was the hospital. Whatever she had injected in him was the only thing that could save Jinny. He had to get to that house.

The bridge seemed to be fairly clear, he gave the car everything it had as he climbed up over the grade – straight toward the huge hole in the center of the bridge. “No!” he screamed. Maintenance workers looked at him like he was insane as he locked up the brakes, stopping feet from the edge of the hole. He forced the car into reverse. As he looked behind him, all he saw was black — a black truck.

• • •

He pulled Jinny across to his side where the window had been smashed. He couldn’t hold his breath much longer. His lungs could burst any second. Pushing his head up, he found the bottom of the car. A small pocket of air had been trapped as the car turned over. He exhaled and gasped for air. He ducked back under the water and pulled Jinny up with him to the air space. He felt her nose and mouth. No air, she wasn’t breathing.

He took a deep breath, pulled himself back down, and held tightly onto Jinny’s arm. He pulled himself through the window by feel and grabbed any part of Jinny he could to get her on the outside. He saw light, a tiny bit of light above him. He pushed as hard as he could with his feet and held onto Jinny like they were tied together. He didn’t think he could make it. He had to try. He would try. But the distance was so far.

With everything he had, he fought the urge to take a breath of water. Memories flashed before his eyes:  grass, trees, beaches, Jinny smiling.

He could feel someone grabbing him, or was it Jinny? He couldn’t tell. He kept kicking even though he couldn’t feel his legs anymore; he couldn’t feel anything, not even Jinny.

When it happened, there was no panic. He opened his mouth and sucked in the air that wasn’t there. A sharp pain shot through his head like a knife. Everything started to slow down, the visions slowed. The snapshots stopped on one memory, as vivid as if it was real life.

Jinny.

• • •

Hunter felt bad about this. The paramedics had saved them, helped him pull them out of the water and gave them both CPR. But he had no choice; they would never believe his story. He knew he needed to get them to the house; there was no other way.

He got behind the wheel and drove. “Is she breathing?”

“Barely. Listen, we need to get them to a hospital now, she’s going to die. She’s sick, and not just from the water.”

“Sorry, that’s not going to happen. I just need your help for a bit longer now.”

He had worked Paris for years when he was an active agent. He knew the streets like the back of his hand. And he knew what his training told him.

He pulled slowly into a parking garage, no need to attract attention. He pressed the button for the ticket just like any other person would, then pulled the van around the lot until he found his target: a nicer Mercedes with a powerful engine.

He jumped into the back of the van. “I have two children, please, don’t kill me, I don’t want to die,” the woman begged.

“You are not going to die. You will see your children very soon, I promise you. What’s your name?”

“Becky . . .” She trailed off at the end, realizing she probably shouldn’t have given him her name.

“Becky, you’ll be fine. Please check on them; we’re almost done here.”

He smashed the back door glass on the Mercedes and opened the doors. It didn’t take him long to override its security and get it started. He cleared the glass completely so it wouldn’t attract attention; it just looked like an open window.

Hunter opened the back of the van. Becky jumped back and started to cry. He motioned for Josh to come with him. Josh crawled out of the van while Hunter held Jinny and put her in the back of the car. He helped Josh into the back seat and tried to motion to him to stay down — head down — he clearly had lost his hearing in the accident. Hunter had been there before; it’s hard the first time. Josh actually was holding up amazingly well, considering what he had been through. Most people would have shut down by now, turned off the internal sanity switch.

Hunter went to the back of the van; Becky was sobbing now, head in her hands. “I’m leaving now,” Hunter told her. “I’m incredibly sorry for all of this. You saved their lives. Go see your children now. The keys are in the ignition.”

She looked up in disbelief that he wasn’t going to kill her, and he was already gone — just the sound of the car leaving.

Hunter knew the routine well. Keep a normal speed, smile, look like nothing is wrong. It was the same in a crowd. You have to walk calmly. Stupid criminals run, the worst thing you can do; everyone notices someone who is running. The same thing applied to escape driving. Try to keep it normal. If the traffic around you is going above the speed limit, then you go above the speed limit; never stand out.

He didn’t need a map, he had memorized these streets long ago.

• • •

“Oh, my dear Nikki, no — you’re not sick.” He tugged on her arm and pulled her to the couch. They sat next to each other. She stared off into the distance.

“I recall you used to be a runner. You jog?”

She wiped the tears off. “I did, a long time ago, I was on the track team on school. But, Alex, I can’t run anymore. Since I got sick, I’ve been too weak. I can’t make it a yard.” She looked at the floor.

He was pulling on her arm again. She liked it when he did that.

“Come with me, let me show you something.”

She held onto his hand as he led her outside.

“This view is amazing!” The moon was full, and she could see a long path along the ocean cliff.

“It’s your backyard now,” he smiled. “Let’s just say I’ve purchased a lot of land over the years.”

It looked like a painting; if she weren’t standing right there, she would never believe it was real.

“Ready?” Alex asked.

“Ready for what?”

“Let’s go for a run. I bet you can beat me.”

“Alex, I told you. I can’t.”

“Do you trust me, Nikki?”

“Yes, I do trust you. I’m not sure why, but I do.” She smiled a bit.

“For me? Try? I’ll be right behind you.”

This was going to be so embarrassing. She thought back to when she was an awesome runner. She used to live for her morning jogs, but those ended soon after the pain started. If only she could have that feeling back again. She remembered the last time she tried to run; she fell hard. That was the end of it.

She looked over to Alex. Why was he always so patient?
Oh, damn. Whatever.
She started to run, slowly at first. She didn’t fall. She kept moving. She looked down and realized she had already made it several yards, not just one.

She picked up her pace. She could feel the wind in her hair, her skin felt alive; she felt alive. Faster, faster. She broke into a full run, faster now than she had ever run.

“Alex! I’m running!”

She could hear him running right next to her.

“Want to race?” he challenged her.

“Hell, yes!” She felt like nothing she could describe. The rush she felt was beyond any drug she had ever tried. She ran faster now, impossibly fast. The grass was a blur. The sky was a blur of white moon and stars.

She reached the top of a hill and spun around, “I win!” she screamed out. Alex ran up close to her and laughed.

She looked back to the windmill. It was a dot. A tiny dot.

“How did I get this far?”

She hugged him and felt herself blush.

“Thank you, Alex.”

“Any time. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a running buddy.”

She sat down and tugged on his arm this time. He sat next to her. She looked up at the sky. “I used to love watching the stars when I was a kid. I would wait a long time sometimes, waiting for a shooting star.”

“Did you see many?”

She laughed. “Not really, I got cold and ran back inside every time.” She playfully pushed his arm.

Suddenly, she was aware of how close they were. Her hair was touching his arm. Her whole body felt so alive.

She felt that unmistakable electricity that runs through you just before it happens – that kiss you’ve longed for, that you’ve been waiting for your entire life. Nikki turned to look at him.

He kissed her. It seemed like time slowed down, the same feeling she felt when she first looked into his eyes that day on the ledge. Those eyes, kind and strong, mysterious.

Her mind stopped racing. She saw only him now; she felt only his kiss. It was perfect, like sunshine and warm beaches. She begged that it never end.

He softly held her. “Nikki, I will explain everything. It’s not fair, what you are going through.”

She didn’t hear a word he said. She pulled her hand through his thick hair. They were touching ever so slightly. She felt her lips brush against his, and this time she kissed him. Time seemed to stop completely.

A daze. That’s how she felt as they walked hand in hand back to the windmill. She could feel the energy, like nothing she had ever felt before. As they reached the door, she realized her hands were shaking again.

“Alex. I—”

They went crashing through the door and almost broke the table. She had never felt any feeling so urgent and powerful; it seemed like a thousand years had passed since he had last kissed her. They stumbled into his bedroom and both ended up on the floor. She looked up. “Hey! Your bed is bigger than mine!” He laughed and picked her up. It was like he was holding a feather.

“Don’t drop me.” She threw her hands around his neck as he swung her around. She started to giggle like a kid.

She ended up tumbling down with him onto the bed. “And it’s softer!” She laughed.

“You’re soft,” he smiled, “and beautiful.”

She pulled him close. They were one now. Her memories had come full circle, almost as if they all had led to this moment. To this kiss. She finally knew what love felt like. It was better than she had imagined.

• • •

He just kept staring at her.

“I don’t want to sleep in my bed again. I don’t want to be apart from you. I know I must sound crazy.”

“You’re not crazy. And you forget, I kidnapped you, so officially you are my prisoner.”

“Yeah, about that. I don’t think I will press charges after all.” She kissed him hard and they both laughed.

“Probably not the best idea though, kidnapping a police officer.” She smiled again.

He nodded, “Duly noted.” His eyes were driving her wild.

“I guess I like travel more than I thought. You know I have always wanted to go to Paris,” she smiled. “Maybe we could squeeze that into your busy schedule.”

He froze. It hit him like a tidal wave. It had been in front of him the whole time.

He had never been to Paris with Rebecca. The cafe. She touched his hand, how could he be so stupid? The machine, he had to get to the machine.

Nikki saw his face freeze. She had never seen him look this way before. His eyes drifted away.

“What’s wrong? Alex, you all right? I was just joking, we don’t need to go anywhere.”

“No, it’s not you. It’s something I just remembered. I’m not sure. I need to make a call to Godfried.”

He pulled his sat phone from the luggage and grabbed a pen and paper. His heart was racing.

Nikki sat next to him, wondering. What had she said? She had a very bad feeling about this.