The Sky Is Falling (30 page)

“You’re under arrest, ma’am.”

He pulled Dana back to the sidewalk and held on to her while he talked into his radio. “I need a black-and-white.”

The two men stood there looking at each other, uncertain what to do.

Dana looked across at them and smiled. There was the sound of an approaching siren and a few seconds later a police car came to a stop in front of them.

The two men watched helplessly as Dana was put into the backseat of the patrol car and driven away.

At the police station, Dana said, “I’m entitled to one phone call, right?”

The sergeant said, “Right.”

He handed Dana a phone. She made her call.

A dozen blocks away the man holding Kemal by his shirt collar was pulling him toward a limousine waiting at the curb, its motor running.

“Please! Please let me go,” Kemal pleaded.

“Shut up, kid.”

Four uniformed marines were passing by.

“I don’t want to go in the alley with you,” Kemal yelled.

The man looked at Kemal puzzled. “What?”

“Please don’t make me go in the alley.” Kemal turned to the marines. “He wants to pay me five dollars to go in the alley with him. I don’t want to.”

The marines stopped, staring at the man. “Why, you dirty pervert…”

The man backed away. “No, no. Wait a minute. You don’t understand…”

One of the marines said grimly, “Yes, we do, buddy. Get your hands off the kid.” They surrounded the man. He put his hands up to defend himself, and Kemal quickly slipped away.

A delivery boy with a package was getting off a bicycle and starting toward a house. Kemal jumped onto the bicycle and pedaled furiously away. The man watched, frustrated, as Kemal rounded the corner and disappeared. The marines were closing in on him.

At the police station, Dana’s cell door clanged open.

“You’re free to go, Miss Evans. You’re out on bail.”

Matt! The phone call worked
, Dana thought happily.
He didn’t lose any time
.

As Dana started toward the exit, she stopped in shock. One of the men was standing there, waiting for her.

He smiled at Dana and said, “You’re free, sis. Let’s go.” He gripped Dana’s arm tightly and started herding her out to the street. As they stepped outside, the man stopped in astonishment. A full television crew from WTN was waiting in front.

“Look this way, Dana…”

“Dana, is it true that you slapped a policeman?”

“Can you tell us what happened?”

“Did he harass you?”

“Are you going to press charges?”

The man was shying away, covering his face.

“What’s the matter?” Dana called. “Don’t you want your picture taken?”

He fled.

Matt Baker appeared at Dana’s side. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

They were in Matt Baker’s office at the WTE building. Elliot Cromwell, Matt Baker, and Abbe Lasmann had been listening to Dana for the last half hour in shocked silence.

“…and the FRA is involved, too. That’s why General Booster tried to stop me from investigating.”

Elliot Cromwell said, “I’m stunned. How could we all have been so wrong about Taylor Winthrop? I think we should inform the White House about what’s happening. Let them call in the attorney general and the FBI.”

Dana said, “Elliot, so far we only have my word against Roger Hudson’s. Who do you think they’re going to believe?”

Abbe Lasmann said, “Don’t we have any proof?”

“Sasha Shdanoff’s brother is alive. I’m sure he’ll talk. Once we pull a single thread, the whole story is going to unravel.”

Matt Baker took a deep breath and looked at Dana admiringly. “When you go after a story, you go after a story.”

Dana said, “Matt, what are we going to do about Kemal? I don’t know where to look.”

Matt said firmly, “Don’t worry. We’ll find him. Meanwhile, we have to get a place for you to hide where no one can find
you
.”

Abbe Lasmann spoke up. “You can use my apartment. No one will think of looking for you there.”

“Thank you.” Dana turned to Matt. “About Kemal…”

“We’ll get the FBI on it right away. I’ll have a driver take you to Abbe’s apartment. It’s in our hands now, Dana. Everything’s going to be fine. I’ll call you the minute I hear something.”

Kemal pedaled along the icy streets, anxiously looking behind him every few moments. There was no sign of the man who had grabbed him.
I’ve got to get to Dana
, Kemal thought, desperately.
I can’t let them hurt her
. The problem was that the WTN studio was at the other end of downtown Washington.

When Kemal came to a bus stop, he got off the bicycle and pushed it onto the grass. As a bus approached, Kemal felt in his pockets and realized he had no money.

Kemal turned to a passerby. “Excuse me, could I have a—”

“Get lost, kid.”

Kemal tried a woman who was approaching. “Excuse me, I need bus fare to—” The woman hurried by.

Kemal stood in the cold, without a coat, shivering. No one seemed to care.
I’ve got to get bus fare
, Kemal thought.

He yanked off his artificial arm and laid it on the grass. When the next man passed by, Kemal held out his stump and said, “Excuse me, sir. Could you give me enough money for bus fare?”

The man stopped. “Of course, son,” he said, and handed Kemal a dollar.

“Thank you.”

When the man walked away, Kemal quickly put his arm back on. A bus was approaching, just a block away.
I’ve made it
, Kemal thought jubilantly. And at that moment, he felt a sting in the back of his neck. As he started to turn, everything grew faint. Inside his head a voice was screaming,
No! No
! Kemal slumped to the ground, unconscious. Passersby began to gather.

“What happened?”

“Did he faint?”

“Is he all right?”

“My son is diabetic,” a man said. “I’ll take care of him.” He lifted Kemal up and carried him into a waiting limousine.

Abbe Lasmann’s apartment was in northwest Washington. It was large and comfortably decorated with contemporary furniture and white rugs. Dana was in the apartment alone, pacing back and forth, panicky, waiting for the phone to ring.
Kemal must be all right. They have no reason to harm him. He’ll be fine. Where is he? Why can’t they find him
?

When the phone rang, it startled Dana. She snatched it up. “Hello.” The line was dead. It rang again, and Dana realized it was her cell phone. She felt a sudden sense of relief. She pressed the button. “Jeff?”

Roger Hudson’s voice said quietly, “We’ve been looking for you, Dana. I have Kemal here.”

Dana stood there, unable to move, unable to talk. She whispered at last, “Roger—”

“I’m afraid I can’t control the men here much more. They want to cut off Kemal’s good arm. Shall I let them?”

“No!” It was a scream. “What — what do you want?”

“I just want to talk to you,” Roger Hudson said reasonably. “I want you to come to the house, and I want you to come alone. If you bring anyone, I won’t be responsible for what happens to Kemal.”

“Roger—”

“I’ll expect you in thirty minutes.” The line went dead.

Dana stood there, numb with fear.
Nothing must happen to Kemal. Nothing must happen to Kemal
. With trembling fingers, Dana punched in Matt Baker’s phone number. Matt’s recorded voice came on.

“You have reached the office of Matt Baker. I’m not in right now, but leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible.”

There was the sound of a beep. Dana took a deep breath and spoke into the phone. “Matt, I — I just got a call from Roger Hudson. He’s holding Kemal at his house. I’m going there now. Please hurry before something happens to Kemal. Bring the police.
Hurry
!”

Dana turned off her cell phone and headed for the door.

Abbe Lasmann was putting some letters on Matt Baker’s desk when she saw the message display flashing on Matt’s telephone. She dialed Matt’s password and played Dana’s recording. She stood there a moment, listening to it. Then she smiled and pressed the erase button.

The moment Jeff’s plane landed at Dulles airport, he called Dana. All through the flight, he had thought of that strange note in her voice, that disturbing “If anything should happen to me.” Her cell phone kept ringing. Next Jeff tried her apartment. There was no answer. He got into a taxi and gave the address of WTN.

When Jeff walked into Matt’s reception office, Abbe said, “Well, Jeff! It’s good to see you.”

“Thanks, Abbe.” He walked into Matt Baker’s office.

Matt said, “So, you’re back. How’s Rachel?”

The question threw Jeff for an instant. “She’s fine,” he said tonelessly. “Where’s Dana? She’s not answering her phone.”

Matt said, “My God, you don’t know what’s been going on, do you?”

“Tell me,” Jeff said tightly.

In the reception office, Abbe pressed her ear against the closed door. She could only hear snatches of the conversation. “…attempts on her life… Sasha Shdanoff… Krasnoyarsk-26… Kemal… Roger Hudson…”

Abbe had heard enough. She hurried to her desk and picked up the telephone. A minute later she was talking to Roger Hudson.

Inside the office, Jeff was listening to Matt, stunned. “I can’t believe it.”

“It’s all true,” Matt Baker assured him. “Dana’s at Abbe’s. I’ll have Abbe try her apartment again.” He pressed down the intercom, but before he could speak, he heard Abbe’s voice.

“…and Jeff Connors is here. He’s looking for Dana. I think you’d better get her out of there. They’re going to be coming over there… Right. I’ll take care of it, Mr. Hudson. If—”

Abbe heard a sound and turned. Jeff Connors and Matt Baker were standing in the doorway, staring at her.

Matt said, “You bitch.”

Jeff turned to Matt, frantic. “I have to get to the Hudson house. I need a car.”

Matt Baker glanced out the window. “You’ll never get there in time. The traffic is bumper-to-bumper.”

From the heliport on the roof, they heard the sound of the WTN helicopter landing. The two men looked at each other.

DANA MANAGED TO FLAG down a taxi in front of Abbe Lasmann’s apartment building, but the ride to the Hudsons’ home seemed to take forever. The traffic on the slippery streets was horrendous. Dana was terrified she would be too late.

“Hurry,” she pleaded with the driver.

He looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Lady, I’m not an airplane.”

Dana sat back, filled with anxiety, thinking about what lay ahead. Matt would have gotten her message by now and called the police.
By the time I get there, the police will be there. If they’re not there yet, I can stall until they arrive
. Dana opened her purse. She still had the can of pepper spray.
Good
. She did not intend to make it easy for Roger or Pamela.

As the taxi approached the Hudson house, Dana looked out the window for some sign of police activity. There was none. When they went up the driveway, it was deserted. She felt choked with fear.

Dana recalled the first time she had come here. How wonderful Roger and Pamela had seemed to be. And they were Judases, murderous monsters. They had Kemal. Dana was filled with an overpowering hatred.

“You want me to wait?” the taxi driver was asking.

“No.” Dana paid him and walked up the steps to the front door and rang the bell, her heart racing.

Cesar opened the door. When he saw Dana, his face lit up. “Miss Evans.”

And with a rush of excitement, Dana suddenly realized that she had an ally. She held out her hand. “Cesar.”

He took it in his huge hand. “I’m glad to see you, Miss Evans,” Cesar said.

“I’m glad to see
you
.” And Dana meant it. She was sure that Cesar would help her. The only question was when she should approach him. She looked around. “Cesar—”

“Mr. Hudson is waiting for you in the study, Miss Evans.”

“Right.” This was not the time.

Dana followed Cesar down the long hallway, remembering the incredible things that had happened since she first walked down this hall. They reached the study. Roger was at his desk packing some papers.

“Miss Evans,” Cesar said.

Roger looked up. Dana watched Cesar walk away. She was tempted to call him back.

“Well, Dana. Come in.”

Dana walked into the room. She looked at Roger, and she was filled with a blinding rage. “Where is Kemal?”

Roger Hudson said, “Ah, that dear boy.”

“The police are on their way here, Roger. If you do anything to either of us—”

“Oh, I don’t think we have to worry about the police, Dana.” He walked over to her, and before Dana knew what he was doing, he had grabbed her purse and was starting to search through it. “Pamela told me you have pepper spray. You’ve been busy, haven’t you, Dana?” He took out the can of pepper spray, raised it, and sprayed the contents into Dana’s face. She screamed out with the stinging pain.

“Oh, you don’t know what pain is yet, my dear, but I assure you, you’re going to find out.”

Tears were streaming down Dana’s face. She tried to wipe the liquid away. Roger politely waited until she had finished, then sprayed her in the face again.

Dana was sobbing. “I want to see Kemal.”

“Of course you do. And Kemal wants to see you. The boy is terrified, Dana. I’ve never seen anyone so terrified. He knows he’s going to die, and I told him you’re going to die, too. You think you’ve been clever, don’t you, Dana? The truth is that you’ve been very naive. We’ve been using you. We knew that someone in the Russian government was aware of what we were doing and was about to expose us. But we couldn’t find out who it was. But you found out for us, didn’t you?”

The memory of the bloody bodies of Sasha Shdanoff and his friend flashed through Dana’s mind.

“Sasha Shdanoff and his brother, Boris, were very clever. We haven’t found Boris yet, but we will.”

“Roger, Kemal has nothing to do with any of this. Let him—”