| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted July 2, 2020 | Chapters: |
...20 21 -22- 23... 
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Just when the brothers thought they were safe ...
A chapter in the book Looking for Orion - 2
Trouble Follows
by DeboraDyess
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
| Background See the chapter for details. What's not there: During their escape from the assassins, Jack was plagued by memories of Bible verses he learned as a child. He hasn't talked to God in two years. |
In previous chapters: Two years after the death of Cody McClellan's wife, his brother Jack decides it's time for him to have some fun. Convincing Cody that a camping trip would be the perfect men's getaway, Jack makes plans to go to the nearby state park. Once camp is set up, Cody wanders off to take photos while Jack naps. But Cody wanders into a botched-assassination and is shot. The intended victim runs into the woods and the hit men pursue him, leaving Cody for dead. Jack finds him and the two begin a horiffic escape through the woods. They come across a father & son as they're getting ready to set up their own tent, and the pair help them escape into the city and to the hospital.
The next day, Cody awakens to the news that the victim of the hit is a state senator. An FBI special agent records Cody's description of the men he saw at the state park. On his way out, he lets Jack and Cody know that they are not safe - that the men will likely come after their families.
"Then how do you know these are your guys?" Cody asked. He thought he saw Jack shoot Aulers a 'keep quiet' look from his perch on the end of the bed. Aulers missed it.
"Signature."
Cody knew, somewhere deep inside of him, that he didn't want to know, but asked, "What's their signature?"
"They practice the next hit after they finish each contract."
Cody swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "Practice?"
Aulers nodded, looking old and tired, although Cody guessed him to be about his own age. "Before they leave the city, they practice their next hit. Within about twelve hours of the contracted assassination, a kid gets snatched--usually a boy, twelve to sixteen years old. They ... practice." He paused, running his thick hand through thinning blond hair, looking less like a federal agent now and more like a man unable to find a way home after the longest work day of his life. "These guys seem to concentrate on prominent minorities, or on people working within the civil rights arena. Basically, they're killers with a cause. God help us all. Before Richard Arriaga, it was a civil rights lawyer in Seattle, shot to death waiting at a red light during morning rush hour. That afternoon, they grabbed a fifteen-year-old kid on his way home from football practice. They took him out into the woods and shot him once in the back of the head. Just like Arriaga, except no interruptions. There was no reason for that; this hit should have been a no brainer for these guys"
Cody frowned. "Jack and I both have boys," he told Aulers quietly. "Twelve year olds."
"Jack told me. Mine are thirteen and seventeen." The agent sighed deeply. "We've been after these guys for a long time. I can't tell you how many nights I've laid in bed, wondering what will happen to Karen and our kids if I start getting too close. I want 'em caught. More than you can even begin to imagine." Aulers walked to the door.
Jack took a long look at Cody and then stood, as well.
"Agent Aulers," Cody said as the agent opened the door, "Have there been any boys reported missing here?"
Aulers stood looking at Cody, a combination of too much information and not enough lining his face. "No. And they're overdue. We've informed the police that they should expect ... something. But, no. Nothing yet ..." He shook his head.
"Cody, our guys are safe. We already have officers watching them, and there are black and whites keeping an eye on the neighborhood. We're working on a plan for school, if it comes to that. Laine says she'll play home school for a week or so until we get these guys caught." He played with his wedding ring as he spoke. "Rudy's with Mom right now, and the feds are setting up here. We're covered, okay?"
"Every day? For the rest of our lives?" Cody examined Jack's face, looking for conviction that he couldn't find. He nodded anyway, less than certain. He was in no position to fight.
Jack watched[as a dozen different emotions trampled across his younger brother's battered face. He'd already had a full day to deal with this information and still found it impossible to grasp. He remembered the emotional earthquake that hit him during his first conversation with Aulers. He regretted his decision to let the agent into Cody's room, but it was too late now. "Can I get you something while I'm out?" It was a feeble attempt to change the subject, but it was all Jack could think of to try.
"My kids," Cody said softly, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.
"They're okay, Code. I promise." He waited until Cody looked up at him and repeated, "I promise."
Cody wondered how far he'd get if he tried to walk out of the hospital. Not far, he guessed. He felt exhausted, but the odds of him sleeping now were next to nothing. "Mom and Michael are on their way and Katie's got someone taking care of her, right? Someone that's not that teenaged girl down the street?"
"Yes. Not that teenaged girl down the street."
Cody nodded, but his apprehension was not quieted. He tried to breathe deeply, but that only made his chest ache. "I'll see you in a bit, then. Bring a Dr. Pepper for Michael when you come back. Mom will be bringing him up soon."
Cody watched the heavy hospital door swing silently shut. He stared at it a minute, then looked up at the ceiling, horrified by the situation he'd dragged the entire family into. How much danger had he put them in by dashing into that clearing, not even looking ahead for the trouble that he already suspected? How long would the menace be there, lurking just out of reach? Aulers said he spent countless nights, lying awake, trying to work out this real-life puzzle, afraid for his children. How long, Cody wondered. Months? Years? How long until they could put this behind them, before he could send his kids to school without fear, or let his mom go to the store without counting the minutes until her return? Surely, not until the hit men were caught.
Weariness pulled at him, and he felt an exhausted amazement at how tired he could be after a full day's sleep. If Jack felt safe about the kids, he decided as he began to doze, then the kids were safe. Jack would never play games with that. Sleep pulled at his eyes and mind and he drifted ...
"Wake up now, McClellan. It's time for you to die."
Cody frowned, pulling out of sleep just as a nightmare began to take shape. He blinked, aware of someone in the room near him and looked, assuming it to be Jack or his mom. Or Aulers, Cody thought, looking at the person more closely.
The man stood between the bed and the window, examining his chart. The drapes had been thrown open, and the light from the window silhouetted what Cody realized was an orderly. He blinked against the brightness of the sunshine and looked up at him, waiting for the man to do whatever he had been sent into the room to do. The orderly remained silent.
Fear twisted in Cody's chest almost before he had a clear view of the man. His eyes adjusted slowly to the light as he stared up at the stranger--big ... blond. Cody involuntarily flinched away from the man and reached for the nurse call button. The monster above him laughed and buried a giant fist into his fractured ribs.
Cody cried out in pain and rolled onto his side, pulling his knees up, cradling his chest. The IV pole crashed to the ground beside the bed, dropping Cody's casted arm behind his back. The orderly grabbed his wounded shoulder, squeezed hard and repeated, "It's time for you to die."
He released his death grip. Cody tried to muster the strength to call for help, but his body wouldn't cooperate. He lay on the bed, gasping for air, trying to keep himself from blacking out.
The man reached into a large pocket of the stolen orderly uniform and withdrew a syringe. He smiled down at Cody. "This is goin' to change your life," he promised sarcastically. He took Cody's hand and inserted the hypodermic needle into the tubing port of the IV.
The blond leaned close to Cody's face. Cody breathed the stale smell of sweat and Italian food and Stetson, choking on the foul odor and the agony in his back. "You have no idea how bad I been wanting to meet you," the man hissed at him. "I'd a' had you out there in the woods if you hadn't fallen. Perfect shot. There wouldn't a' been enough left of you to drag out. But that's not what happened now, is it?" The hit man squeezed into the shoulder again.
Cody kicked his feet, gasping, trying desperately to reach up with his left hand, to catch hold of the blond-headed nightmare and alleviate some of the pain. He felt stitches and skin tear and darkness closed in on him. The pressure relaxed suddenly.
"Everybody else--all the others--they was professional; just business, nothing but work. But this ... you made this personal. That little booby trap your brother left on ya'lls trail ... my brother fell into it. Cut him up on the inside. I sat and held him while he died. And I'm real pissed off. He died slow, but not as slow as you're going to."
"One down," Cody breathed hoarsely, no idea what the madman was talking about.
The man's eyes narrowed. He pushed into the shoulder again, harder. "Not so good for you, though, huh? One thing about us Lehmanns; we're a bunch of vindictive bastards." His mouth turned up into an acidic snarl. "He died, you die. And it don't stop with you, either. I'll take out your whole damn family."
Cody writhed, only half-hearing; pushing against the bed, trying to sit up, trying to run away, trying to get a piece of the man above him; anything to escape the torturous hold. Lehmann laughed cruelly and threw Cody back down against the bed.
Darkness threatened to close in on Cody and he lay still, immobilized by incredible pain.
"Bye-bye, Blue-eyes."
The door opened. Michael stepped into the room, smiling tentatively. The smile froze as he realized that the man beside his dad couldn't possibly be an orderly. He yelled out the closing door, "Uncle Jack! Hurry!" and dove into the huge man, barely moving him. The giant swatted him away, into a wall across the room. Michael slid onto his knees, stunned.
Lehmann frowned at the boy. "You ruined it!" he accused. "Now there's no time!" He reached into the pocket again, this time producing a revolver. "So you die. Just like your daddy." Lehmann spoke as calmly as a librarian.
"Run!" Cody tried to yell, his voice ragged and frantic. He swung upward, hitting Lehmann's elbow as the big man pulled the trigger.
Characters
Jack McClellan - mid 30s, detective for the local PD. Husband and father. Angry at God since the death of his sister-in-law.
Cody McClellan - early 30s, widowed father of two. Was a cop when his wife, Pam, was murdered in the commission of a robbery. Now a PI.
Rachel McClellan - Jack and Cody's mom
Laine McClellan _ Jack's wife, a kindergarten teacher
Michael and Katie McClellan - Cody's children, 12 and 5, respectively
Travis McClellan - Jack and Laine's 12-year-old son
Rudy Sotello - Cody's ex-partner
Joe Evans - African-American father who rescued Jack and Cody as gunmen drew near
Ashton Evans - Joe's teen aged son
Dr. Abby Kitman - the ER doctor who treated Cody upon their arrival at the hospital
Frank Aulers - an FBI special agent investigating the killings of prominent minority leaders or civil rights leaders
The next day, Cody awakens to the news that the victim of the hit is a state senator. An FBI special agent records Cody's description of the men he saw at the state park. On his way out, he lets Jack and Cody know that they are not safe - that the men will likely come after their families.
"Then how do you know these are your guys?" Cody asked. He thought he saw Jack shoot Aulers a 'keep quiet' look from his perch on the end of the bed. Aulers missed it.
"Signature."
Cody knew, somewhere deep inside of him, that he didn't want to know, but asked, "What's their signature?"
"They practice the next hit after they finish each contract."
Cody swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "Practice?"
Aulers nodded, looking old and tired, although Cody guessed him to be about his own age. "Before they leave the city, they practice their next hit. Within about twelve hours of the contracted assassination, a kid gets snatched--usually a boy, twelve to sixteen years old. They ... practice." He paused, running his thick hand through thinning blond hair, looking less like a federal agent now and more like a man unable to find a way home after the longest work day of his life. "These guys seem to concentrate on prominent minorities, or on people working within the civil rights arena. Basically, they're killers with a cause. God help us all. Before Richard Arriaga, it was a civil rights lawyer in Seattle, shot to death waiting at a red light during morning rush hour. That afternoon, they grabbed a fifteen-year-old kid on his way home from football practice. They took him out into the woods and shot him once in the back of the head. Just like Arriaga, except no interruptions. There was no reason for that; this hit should have been a no brainer for these guys"
Cody frowned. "Jack and I both have boys," he told Aulers quietly. "Twelve year olds."
"Jack told me. Mine are thirteen and seventeen." The agent sighed deeply. "We've been after these guys for a long time. I can't tell you how many nights I've laid in bed, wondering what will happen to Karen and our kids if I start getting too close. I want 'em caught. More than you can even begin to imagine." Aulers walked to the door.
Jack took a long look at Cody and then stood, as well.
"Agent Aulers," Cody said as the agent opened the door, "Have there been any boys reported missing here?"
Aulers stood looking at Cody, a combination of too much information and not enough lining his face. "No. And they're overdue. We've informed the police that they should expect ... something. But, no. Nothing yet ..." He shook his head.
"Cody, our guys are safe. We already have officers watching them, and there are black and whites keeping an eye on the neighborhood. We're working on a plan for school, if it comes to that. Laine says she'll play home school for a week or so until we get these guys caught." He played with his wedding ring as he spoke. "Rudy's with Mom right now, and the feds are setting up here. We're covered, okay?"
"Every day? For the rest of our lives?" Cody examined Jack's face, looking for conviction that he couldn't find. He nodded anyway, less than certain. He was in no position to fight.
Jack watched[as a dozen different emotions trampled across his younger brother's battered face. He'd already had a full day to deal with this information and still found it impossible to grasp. He remembered the emotional earthquake that hit him during his first conversation with Aulers. He regretted his decision to let the agent into Cody's room, but it was too late now. "Can I get you something while I'm out?" It was a feeble attempt to change the subject, but it was all Jack could think of to try.
"My kids," Cody said softly, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.
"They're okay, Code. I promise." He waited until Cody looked up at him and repeated, "I promise."
Cody wondered how far he'd get if he tried to walk out of the hospital. Not far, he guessed. He felt exhausted, but the odds of him sleeping now were next to nothing. "Mom and Michael are on their way and Katie's got someone taking care of her, right? Someone that's not that teenaged girl down the street?"
"Yes. Not that teenaged girl down the street."
Cody nodded, but his apprehension was not quieted. He tried to breathe deeply, but that only made his chest ache. "I'll see you in a bit, then. Bring a Dr. Pepper for Michael when you come back. Mom will be bringing him up soon."
Cody watched the heavy hospital door swing silently shut. He stared at it a minute, then looked up at the ceiling, horrified by the situation he'd dragged the entire family into. How much danger had he put them in by dashing into that clearing, not even looking ahead for the trouble that he already suspected? How long would the menace be there, lurking just out of reach? Aulers said he spent countless nights, lying awake, trying to work out this real-life puzzle, afraid for his children. How long, Cody wondered. Months? Years? How long until they could put this behind them, before he could send his kids to school without fear, or let his mom go to the store without counting the minutes until her return? Surely, not until the hit men were caught.
Weariness pulled at him, and he felt an exhausted amazement at how tired he could be after a full day's sleep. If Jack felt safe about the kids, he decided as he began to doze, then the kids were safe. Jack would never play games with that. Sleep pulled at his eyes and mind and he drifted ...
"Wake up now, McClellan. It's time for you to die."
Cody frowned, pulling out of sleep just as a nightmare began to take shape. He blinked, aware of someone in the room near him and looked, assuming it to be Jack or his mom. Or Aulers, Cody thought, looking at the person more closely.
The man stood between the bed and the window, examining his chart. The drapes had been thrown open, and the light from the window silhouetted what Cody realized was an orderly. He blinked against the brightness of the sunshine and looked up at him, waiting for the man to do whatever he had been sent into the room to do. The orderly remained silent.
Fear twisted in Cody's chest almost before he had a clear view of the man. His eyes adjusted slowly to the light as he stared up at the stranger--big ... blond. Cody involuntarily flinched away from the man and reached for the nurse call button. The monster above him laughed and buried a giant fist into his fractured ribs.
Cody cried out in pain and rolled onto his side, pulling his knees up, cradling his chest. The IV pole crashed to the ground beside the bed, dropping Cody's casted arm behind his back. The orderly grabbed his wounded shoulder, squeezed hard and repeated, "It's time for you to die."
He released his death grip. Cody tried to muster the strength to call for help, but his body wouldn't cooperate. He lay on the bed, gasping for air, trying to keep himself from blacking out.
The man reached into a large pocket of the stolen orderly uniform and withdrew a syringe. He smiled down at Cody. "This is goin' to change your life," he promised sarcastically. He took Cody's hand and inserted the hypodermic needle into the tubing port of the IV.
The blond leaned close to Cody's face. Cody breathed the stale smell of sweat and Italian food and Stetson, choking on the foul odor and the agony in his back. "You have no idea how bad I been wanting to meet you," the man hissed at him. "I'd a' had you out there in the woods if you hadn't fallen. Perfect shot. There wouldn't a' been enough left of you to drag out. But that's not what happened now, is it?" The hit man squeezed into the shoulder again.
Cody kicked his feet, gasping, trying desperately to reach up with his left hand, to catch hold of the blond-headed nightmare and alleviate some of the pain. He felt stitches and skin tear and darkness closed in on him. The pressure relaxed suddenly.
"Everybody else--all the others--they was professional; just business, nothing but work. But this ... you made this personal. That little booby trap your brother left on ya'lls trail ... my brother fell into it. Cut him up on the inside. I sat and held him while he died. And I'm real pissed off. He died slow, but not as slow as you're going to."
"One down," Cody breathed hoarsely, no idea what the madman was talking about.
The man's eyes narrowed. He pushed into the shoulder again, harder. "Not so good for you, though, huh? One thing about us Lehmanns; we're a bunch of vindictive bastards." His mouth turned up into an acidic snarl. "He died, you die. And it don't stop with you, either. I'll take out your whole damn family."
Cody writhed, only half-hearing; pushing against the bed, trying to sit up, trying to run away, trying to get a piece of the man above him; anything to escape the torturous hold. Lehmann laughed cruelly and threw Cody back down against the bed.
Darkness threatened to close in on Cody and he lay still, immobilized by incredible pain.
"Bye-bye, Blue-eyes."
The door opened. Michael stepped into the room, smiling tentatively. The smile froze as he realized that the man beside his dad couldn't possibly be an orderly. He yelled out the closing door, "Uncle Jack! Hurry!" and dove into the huge man, barely moving him. The giant swatted him away, into a wall across the room. Michael slid onto his knees, stunned.
Lehmann frowned at the boy. "You ruined it!" he accused. "Now there's no time!" He reached into the pocket again, this time producing a revolver. "So you die. Just like your daddy." Lehmann spoke as calmly as a librarian.
"Run!" Cody tried to yell, his voice ragged and frantic. He swung upward, hitting Lehmann's elbow as the big man pulled the trigger.
Characters
Jack McClellan - mid 30s, detective for the local PD. Husband and father. Angry at God since the death of his sister-in-law.
Cody McClellan - early 30s, widowed father of two. Was a cop when his wife, Pam, was murdered in the commission of a robbery. Now a PI.
Rachel McClellan - Jack and Cody's mom
Laine McClellan _ Jack's wife, a kindergarten teacher
Michael and Katie McClellan - Cody's children, 12 and 5, respectively
Travis McClellan - Jack and Laine's 12-year-old son
Rudy Sotello - Cody's ex-partner
Joe Evans - African-American father who rescued Jack and Cody as gunmen drew near
Ashton Evans - Joe's teen aged son
Dr. Abby Kitman - the ER doctor who treated Cody upon their arrival at the hospital
Frank Aulers - an FBI special agent investigating the killings of prominent minority leaders or civil rights leaders
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