wrath of the Sea Queen (186 page)

Jeremy
had been
assisting with a forced roundup of patrons at a bar
a mile
and a half
down the road from
the
hotel.  They had
refused to leave when instructed by emergency crews.  As he moved through the bar,
Jeremy
overheard the
dark-haired l
ady
he knew to
typically le
a
d the
protestor
s
.  Her
mention
of
Dr. Erickson
by name
caught the young guardsman's attention
.  Jeremy was curious, so he
eavesdropped
from around the corner as she discussed an abduction plot with two men
sitting at he
r
table
. 
The redheaded man at the table did not join in the conversation. 
Neither she nor the men saw
Jeremy
when they
all stood up to
leave. 

Once they were gone, Jeremy immediately called in a report to his fathe
r and
arranged to meet
him
at the hotel
.  He left the bar only minutes behind the two men.
  Jeremy did not see which direction the lady
and the redhead
went.

Upon
their
arrival
at the hotel
, t
he
colonel and his
s
even
men
, including
Jeremy
,
caught sight of
the men
from the bar
exiting
the
hotel
with Dr. Erickson
.  They immediately spread out
,
cutting off the escape route of the would-be abductors.

"
Jeremy
, you
take three men
to the left and work your way around and behind them
.  Nathan, I'll leave you and Roger
here
at the
street in case they get by us
. 
Make sure n
obody
escapes
.  Nobody
!
 
Stop everyone
," Colonel Franks quickly issued orders for the few men
who were with him
. 

Scott turned away a
s the military vehicle arrived
.  He had seen
enough
.  The two
abductors
would
not g
e
t far, but they
had
accomplished much more than
anticipated
.  It was encouraging, and Scott could
adjust
his
plan based on what he learned
. 
As
the guardsmen
were getting
out of their vehicle, Scott
and Lorrie crept away unnoticed, leaving the two men to face the consequences of their
botch
ed kidnapping attempt.  In the distance b
ehind them, they heard a single
gunshot
echo in
the wind
.

He and Lorrie
trudged through the pouring rain as they
walked
the mile
to
her
house.  After allowing Scott to indulge
in
an intimate celebration of their success
,
Lorrie
sat
alone in the living room
finalizing
plans of her own.
  Wh
en
she
finally returned to her bed, she and Scott
dis
cussed the
last
details of their plan for the next day.  Scott would
be
set up in the cave,
gaining entry
through a little-known
opening
on the other side of the road. 
The cave
would be
an easy getaway as well.  It was nearby, full of branching passages, and it was easily defended.  Scott would use all of
tho
se features to his full advantage.
 
He would have the Book of Elements with him and
use Salma to
initially
access it for him.  With that power, Scott could
then
take
out
Vin and Dr. Erickson
's husband, leaving C
a
eli to be dealt with at
his
leisure
.
 
After delivering Dr. Erickson to Scott,
Lorrie would
then
handle
the matter of
getting blood from C
a
eli. 
This was the true goal of their mission. 
C
a
eli's
blood would be the icing on the cake. 
It would require a bit more work, but Lorrie
assured him
that she could accomplish it.  She
told Scott that she had a special card t
o
play
with
C
a
eli
to
get the job done
. 
Of course, i
t would
take a little longer than forcing a middle-aged lady to place her hand on a book.
 
Lorrie
was confident
that her plan was fail-proof.

"
I'll meet you in the cave when I'm done,
"
Lorrie said.

"
R
emember, we need C
a
eli alive
at the outset
.  Don't do anything stupid.
  Don't get over ambitious like you did at the
seminar
,
"
Scott cautioned her.

Ben and Vin
rushed outside in time to see two men already moving up the beach, pulling Salma along with them.  They also saw Colonel Franks and some of his men
move to intercept them
.
 

"Vin, I seem to have plenty of help.  These men aren't getting away.  Go and check on C
a
eli," Ben suggested.

"
C
a
eli
,
are you all right?  Do you need me?
"

"
Please help Salma.  I'm fine.
"

"I'm coming with you, Ben.  C
a
eli is fine."  Vin trotted up the beach alongside Ben.  As they neared the two men holding Salma captive, they
realized
that Colonel Franks had already
taken charge of the situation
and
was
exchanging words with the men
. 
As they drew nearer
, Ben's heart nearly stopped. 
The sound
of a
gunshot rang
out
, making
Ben
fear
he
was
too late.

"Salma!"  Ben shouted.

She turned her head at the sound of her name and
, with great relief,
saw Ben c
o
me running up beside her
as
Colonel Franks
arrest
ed
the assailant he
had
just
shot in the leg
. 
Jeremy
took
the second man into custody.  The situation appeared to be safely under control.

"Salma, are you all right?"  Ben asked as he carefully removed the duct tape
covering
her mouth
and
binding her hands
.

"
A little
unnerved
, but
I'm
not hurt
.  Thank you, Ben.  How did you get Colonel Franks here so quickly?"  Salma asked
as she
clung tightly to
Ben
.

"I didn't.  They must
ha
ve been nearby.  We'll ask him after I get you inside.  Come on, Love.  Are you sure you're all right?"

Vin exchanged a few words with Ben and Colonel Franks and then turned toward his own room. 
Now h
e
could
check on C
a
eli.  He had learned over the years that her polite
I'm fine
response
never gave an accurate account of her condition.  It was
merely
her way of expressing that she did not have an immediate need. 
It, by no means, meant
that she was fine.