Girl Takes Up Her Sword (11 page)

She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him. Then she whispered in his ear.

“Keep everyone in the back. Don’t let anyone follow. Okay?”

The electricity of the kiss coursed through his limbs, and his brain went numb. He nodded dumbly. By the time he regained full possession of his faculties, she was around the corner and out of sight.

Then it struck him, the handset in the pocket. He could send a text to Ethan, let him know what was happening. Maybe that’s what she was trying to tell him. He fished it out of her pocket and fumbled with the screen for a few seconds. No luck. It required a thumbprint scan before it would open, and it didn’t recognize his. Damn, this thing is high-tech. What did she want him to do, nothing? Then her words came back to him: “Don’t let anyone follow.” He knew what that meant.

“Wayne,” he cried out. “Stay here.”

He grabbed his shirttail and pulled him back from rounding the corner of the house.

“She doesn’t want us to get involved. Let’s respect her wishes.”

“So we’re just supposed to let some strangers take her away?”

“I’m with Wayne,” Steve said. “This doesn’t feel right. I don’t trust those guys.”

“Danny’s right,” Melanie said. “She’d want us to stay out of it.”

“But we don’t even know where they’re gonna take her.”

Melanie’s father ushered the boys over to the patio. Her mother pulled Melanie and Amanda aside.

“Isn’t this just the sort of thing Amanda’s talking about?”

“No, Mom. Amanda’s wrong about Emily. She doesn’t know her the way I do.”

“I’m just saying....”

~~~~~~~

The three of them traced a wide circle across the front lawn toward a large, black SUV with tinted windows. As they passed behind a large rhododendron in full flower, Emily slowed her gait.

“So, where we going, guys?” she asked glibly.

One of the men looked behind.

“No one’s following.”

While his partner grabbed her arm just above the elbow, he slipped his right arm around her neck to apply a choke hold. He was strong, and much heavier than Emily. The blood vessels in her neck were compressed. She would be unconscious in a few seconds. His partner released her arm and leaned over to scoop up her legs. They meant to load her body into the back of the SUV.

She didn’t appear to be resisting, not even to pull at his elbow. He wondered what the big fuss was about. She’s just a skinny girl. He noticed a slight shift of her hips, nothing significant. One foot moved behind the other, her heel touched the ground. Before he knew what happened, she’d already kicked his partner in the throat. He fell to the ground, struggling to breathe. The only thing to do was squeeze even harder. If he settled with her, it might still be possible to help him. The effort forced him to lean over her. She bent her knees, pulling him further in the same direction. A sudden backwards thrust of the hips and his feet left the ground. He was helpless, on top of her back, with no control of his balance as long as he kept his arms around her throat. She locked his arm in place, so he couldn’t release her if he wanted to. One last spring from her knees and he felt himself flipping over her shoulder. He landed hard on the back of his neck, with her on top of him. The impact bent his wrist into the ground with a sharp twinge and he was unable to hold her any longer.

An instant later, she stood looming over the two of them, glowering darkly. His partner clawed at the ground, gasping for air. He looked up at her and cringed. Then Walker was there, standing by the rhododendron, smirking at him.

“David,” she said, when she noticed him. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Walk with me,” he said to her. “Get him into the car,” he snarled to the man on the ground.

“I hit him pretty hard. You should take him to the emergency room. He probably needs medical attention.”

“You know what to do.”

He watched them walk down the middle of the lane as he struggled to load his partner into the passenger seat. He wouldn’t be going to any hospital.
His own wrist was numb, which confused his efforts. Maybe he’d broken it. Better not let Walker know, or he wouldn’t be going to the hospital either. “She’s on a first name basis with him,” he thought. An involuntary shudder rippled across his shoulders. “Nobody talks to him like that.” She seemed as creepy and ominous as his boss, maybe more so.

~~~~~~~

“You’re following me now?”

“I’m just checking up on my new favorite niece.”

“And the goons? Was that a test?”

“I’m glad to see you can handle yourself. A real fight is nothing like tournament sparring.”

“If your curiosity is satisfied, can I go back to my friends now?”

“I have a couple of questions. Like, how did Cardano get his boy back from Burzynski and the Koreans?”

A fire glowed inside her. He’d struck a nerve.

“You really don’t know? I mean, you’re not just asking to annoy me?”

“I really don’t know.”

She weighed his question with considerable care. He felt a cool calculation struggle against the fire as it worked itself out in her heart. Gauging the degree of concealment she was capable of was as interesting to him as whatever information she might give up.

“Michael didn’t get him back. I did.”

Those words caught him by surprise, even though on some level he must have expected to hear something like them. Of course, she must have been involved in some way, but it hadn’t occurred to him that she might have acted alone. He knew she was strong. Just not that strong. But how had she done it? Did she go to Chongjin, or wherever the Parks would have taken him, or did she intercept them somewhere in Virginia?

“What was Connie’s role?”

Her face was utterly impassive, her composure formidable. She betrayed nothing.

“You know who I mean, the assassin sent to kill you. How did Cardano turn her?”

“Your boss sends people to kill your own family, your ‘new favorite niece,’ and that’s all you’ve got to say about it?”

“Nice deflection. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Michael doesn’t employ assassins. He’s got a small security team to protect his family. That’s all.”

Impressive. He knew she was angry. The turmoil in her heart was palpable. No one else would detect it in her face. He smiled at the thought.

“You certainly are George’s daughter.”

By this time, they had made the full circuit of Melanie’s neighborhood and were approaching her house from the other side.

“Unless you have more questions, I think we’re done here,” she said.

He turned to look at her and was shocked by what he saw. The intensity, even ferocity, of her eyes—she didn’t get
that
from George.

“I hope you’ll leave me and my friends alone now, or is that too much to ask of my loving uncle?”

The moral charge of her request was plain, as well as the sarcasm, though it meant almost nothing to him. There was something else, too. She was probing him, exploring his heart. He knew she was open to him. But before this moment, he had no idea his heart could be open to anyone else, much less her. What did she see? It was a troubling question, since he didn’t know how to limit her access.

“How exactly did you know where to find me?” she asked, as he climbed into the backseat.

He smiled at her and rolled up the window. The SUV pulled away from the curb.

~~~~~~~

Danny rubbed his eyes when he saw her rounding the corner of the house. The others hadn’t noticed yet. Melanie was holding Wayne, still trying to keep him from going out to the front. Her parents were huddled in a deep, heated conversation in the kitchen. Raised voices were audible on the patio.

“Oh, my God, that scared the crap out of me,” Danny said. “Who were those guys, really?”

“You’re back,” Wayne said, catching a glimpse over Melanie’s shoulder.

“I knew it was nothing,” cried Melanie. “Mom, Dad, she’s back.”

“What did those guys want?” Steve asked. Amanda rolled her eyes at him.

“They wanted to know about the Koreans.”

“You mean the guys from the parking lot at school?” asked Wayne.

“What did you tell ‘em?”

“I told ‘em what they needed to know, about Anthony, the kidnapping, nothing more to tell.” Then, in a quieter voice, just for Melanie and Wayne: “You guys don’t know anything about it, right? In case anyone asks.”

Danny knew how cautious she could be. There’s no way she told them anything she didn’t want them to know. She wasn’t telling him everything either, that was clear enough. He found her guardedness mysterious and enthralling, even if a barely heard voice in the back of his mind wanted him to admit it spelled trouble for his romantic dreams. He felt safe around her, but didn’t think he had anything to contribute to her safety.

Melanie’s parents came outside.

“Oh. Emily. You’re back. Is everything okay?” asked Mrs. Birdwell.

“What was that all about?” asked Melanie’s father.

“Oh, it was nothing,” Emily said. “Something about the Koreans who made some trouble here a few weeks ago. You remember, that incident in the high school parking lot, you know, when Wayne got stabbed?”

“That’s was seriously cool, you know,” Steve said. “In case I haven’t told you already, Wayne, I’m seriously impressed. Everyone at school is.”

Melanie got a huge grin on her face at these words.

“Yeah, that was really brave,” Amanda said.

Danny nudged Wayne, and the two of them caught Melanie’s attention. She nodded. Emily spun out this version of her conversation for a few more minutes.

“I’m getting tired, guys,” said Danny. “And we have school tomorrow.”

They said their goodbyes, and Emily thanked Melanie’s father one more time.

“Thanks for stepping in,” she said, once they were in the truck.

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Chapter
14

A Trip to the Mall

“There she is, on the dirt bike. And you’re not gonna like this,” said Ethan.

“What is she thinking?” Connie growled in exasperation.

“I’ll leave you to discuss it with her.”

Emily pulled the bike up behind the SUV and stowed her gear. Danny stood off to the side nervously.

“What’d you bring him for?” Connie whispered in her ear. “We don’t know how safe this is gonna be.”

“He’s coming with me,” she replied firmly. “He’ll never understand me if I exclude him from everything.”

“This isn’t a good moment for relationship management.”

“Luther is asking for help. He’s not gonna try anything.”

“Maybe. But how do you know he wasn’t followed here, or maybe even cut some sort of deal?”

Emily didn’t answer, which spoke volumes.

“Fine,” Connie said. “But he’s wearing a vest.”

Ethan was already fitting one on Danny to wear under his sweatshirt.

“This thing is heavy.”

Ethan motioned to him not to make a fuss, and gestured with his head to the conversation going on a few feet away.

“We managed to get a satellite image of the roadhouse,” Connie said. “It’s still smoking, so this is probably within twelve hours of the attack.”

“It’s completely leveled,” Emily said. “What do you think did that?”

“Two or three rocket propelled grenades would have been enough. Anything much heavier and you’d probably see impact craters.”

“Any idea who did it?”

“Could be Burzynski. Maybe even Meacham, though this isn’t exactly his style. But it wouldn’t take a large organization. A couple of guys with enough malice and a few RPGs could do it.”

“You can see a lot of bike wreckage in this area. Was anyone killed?”

“There’s no sign of bodies in this image. They could be buried in the rubble. But if they were removed before this image was taken, that points to a sizable organization, some one with manpower and a need for secrecy.”

Connie pulled her over to the other side of the SUV.

“You met with Walker again.”

“You’re following me, too?” Emily squawked.

“No. I’ve been tracking Walker. And I can’t do it much longer without him getting wise to me.”

Emily seemed mollified by this clarification.

“But you can bet I’ll be following you now, since it’s clear he’s taken an unhealthy interest in you.”

“Why doesn’t that feel all that comforting?”

“Here’s one reason why it probably shouldn’t.”

Connie pulled out another photo. It showed an old man, gray pallor, dead eyes. Emily was caught completely by surprise.

“It’s Kuznetsov, that good old man. Without his help we wouldn’t have made it out of Kamchatka. What happened to him?”

“He was found floating off the Coast Guard pier on Attu yesterday. There are signs he’d been tortured. That sounds like a message, or a warning.”

Connie watched Emily’s face closely, looking for any sign of emotion. But there was none. “She’s tough,” Connie thought. No tears, no sobbing, not even a breath out of order.

“Rhee Sung,” was all she said.

“If whoever did this finds him, you can imagine what he’s in for. We could do him a favor and, you know, put a bullet in him before they get to him. That would protect his family, and save him from a nastier end.”

“We are definitely not doing that,” said Emily, in an absolute tone of voice.

“Then you’re leaving him in an impossible position. Can’t you see how irresponsible that is?”

“I should go see him, maybe bring him back here for now. Ethan can arrange the flights with Michael. If we leave Thursday afternoon, I can be back for school Monday.”

“You don’t have to go, you know. I can handle this.”

“How’s he gonna trust you?”

Her analysis seemed more or less reasonable, even if it introduced what Connie considered an unnecessary risk. And by now she was so used to the central incongruity—Emily’s insistence on getting back in time for school—that she hardly noticed it. But what followed caught her completely by surprise.

“And if Danny doesn’t have a passport, Michael may have to pull some strings to get him one in time.”

“You’re kidding,” Connie blurted out. “There’s no good reason to bring him along on something like this.”

The look in Emily’s eyes told her this argument would go nowhere, so she let it drop. They walked back around to where Ethan and Danny were waiting.

“We have confirmation Luther’s arrived. He’s driving an old pickup,” Ethan reported. “Looks like he’s alone. No other bikers, at any rate.”

“Do we have any other company?” Connie asked.

“No sign of anyone nastier than us, so far.”

“Okay. We’ll have three two man teams, including Ethan and I. Don’t make eye contact, if you see us. Take your bike to that entrance, where Jerry can keep an eye on it.”

~~~~~~~

“Does this seem like overkill to you?” asked Danny, as they walked out of a department store and onto the upper walkway of the mall.

“You remember what I said about Ethan bringing the cavalry? It can get a little, well, smothering.”

“What do they expect to happen here?”

“Hey. You’re the one who thought I shouldn’t even meet this guy. Now you’re getting squeamish about our precautions.”

“I guess you got me there.”

“Oh, by the way, do you have a passport?” she asked as they turned into the food court.

He was sitting by himself in the far corner, perched on furniture designed with a more diminutive clientele in mind. Emily insisted on stopping at the ice cream stand. When they got to his table, she handed a cone to Luther.

“I figure you for a butter pecan guy,” she said.

He smiled and took the cone. Emily’s was coffee fudge. Danny preferred orange sorbet, thought butter flavored ice cream was too sweet, and a little creepy. And Luther struck him as more creepy than threatening, even though he was roughly twice Danny’s size. A large, red scrape across his cheek and temple was the only visible sign there’d been any trouble.

“So, they came for you.”

Luther nodded. She showed him Connie’s satellite photo. He shuddered noticeably as he looked at it.

“Was anyone killed?”

“Yeah. At least twenty. Some in the initial blast, some later. And the bikes... They must’ve come back for the bodies later, ‘cause they’re all gone.”

“Do you know who they were?”

“Said they were FBI, flashed IDs. They wanted to know about you. Where you are. How’d we find you? That kinda thing.”

“What’d you tell ‘em?”

“What could we tell ‘em? Don’t know nothing, and don’t like to cooperate with law enforcement, even when we do.”

Emily laughed. This was an ironic intersection of their habits. She didn’t have much use for police either.

“Then they torched the place, with us in it.”

“What’d they look like, suits or tactical gear?”

“Both. Four guys in suits, they asked the questions. A dozen or more in military gear.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure they weren’t FBI. How many of you are left?”

“I’m not sure. Ten, maybe a few more. Some may have left town or gone into hiding. But all the bikes are toast. We lost everything in the fire. Without the bikes, there’s no gang left.”

“What about your boss?

“You mean Daryl? He was crushed in the explosion. I don’t think he coulda made it out of there.”

“Does that make you the boss?”

“Maybe, if there’s anything to be the boss of.”

“If I help you rebuild the bikes and the roadhouse, can you put what’s left of the gang back together?”

“Yeah, probably. But why would you do that?”

“I can always use more friends. But there would be conditions, like no drug-dealing or prostitution.”

He looked at her for a moment, then at Danny, and shook his head.

“You trying to turn us into a church choir? ‘Cause I don’t think that’ll fly.”

“I don’t care about your ‘recreational activities,’ stomping guys in bars, or getting stomped. But I can’t be involved with a criminal organization. Are we clear on that?”

“You have got to be the strangest little person I have ever met. You must have some powerful friends already.”

“And even more powerful enemies, too. But you found that out the hard way.”

Luther nodded grimly. Then he turned to Danny.

“You’ve got a tiger by the tail with this one, boy. I hope you realize that.”

Danny smiled, perplexed. What could he say, after all, especially since he knew how right Luther was?

~~~~~~~

Emily saw him before Danny had any notion there was a problem. Halfway back to the department store, he was probably just relieved Luther hadn’t caused any trouble, and he could take off that heavy vest soon.

“I’m gonna have a word with the man in the black suit. You need to walk on past. Don’t stop, don’t make eye contact. Go straight to the bike. Wait for me there. Okay?”

All that was casual, even friendly, in the tone of voice she used with Luther was gone. The suddenness of the transformation caught him by surprise. All of his muscles seemed to go tense. He began to walk almost robotically, as if he’d just learned to put one foot in front of the other a few days ago.

“I suppose you can’t tell me who he is.”

“Not now.”

Danny nodded placidly, though her instructions should have been alarming. Maybe he was beginning get used to her ways.

“Is that your young man? Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Walker asked in a menacingly innocent tone of voice.

Emily said nothing. As soon as Danny was out of sight, she turned to face him.

“I thought we had an understanding. I live my life and you stay away.”

“You know I can’t do that, not with the dangerous types who seem to be attracted to you.”

“Why do I have the feeling you’re the most dangerous ‘type’ of all?”

Walker smiled.

“You’re pretty dangerous yourself, young lady. Meacham showed me a video feed scraped out of a server in West Virginia. It’s you versus a motorcycle gang, pretty nasty stuff.”

“Is that why you’re here? Because of the bikers?”

“No. That’s why you’re here. I’m just looking for an old acquaintance.”

“You mean Connie? I already told you, she doesn’t work for Michael.”

“You know, if you stand right here and look at the reflection in that shop window over there... Humor me. Stand here and look there. What do you see?”

When Emily looked, she saw Connie’s face reflected in profile, at least fifty feet away. “Man, he’s sharp,” she thought.

“If she’s not working for Cardano, what’s she doing here with his security people?”

“She’s here as a favor to me, not Michael. She’s my friend.”

“Your friend,” he snorted in contempt. “She doesn’t
have
friends. That’s a luxury she can’t permit herself. And neither can you.”

For the first time since Kamchatka, she felt the familiar fear grip her with full intensity. Could she really not have any friends? The thought was always there, in the background, gnawing away at whatever fleeting joys she might experience.

“You sound like one of Sensei’s sword mystics—‘the true master knows no friends.’” She said the last bit in a resentful tone. His unexpected intimacy irritated her.

“It’s the truth for you and me. I’d say ‘for people like you and me,’ but we both know there are no other people like us. You may not realize it yet, but I’m the
only
person you can really trust.”

“My father is the only person I’m like. You may think you’re just like him,” Emily cried out. “But you’re not. You’re nothing like him.”

Her eyes began to tear up. The sudden outburst caught the attention of one or two other shoppers who hurried on by. Walker put his hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down. She could see him wince as he tried to hold it there. She grabbed his hand and reached out with the other hand to touch his cheek. He tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him.

“What’s the matter, Uncle David? Am I too hot to touch? I know who you are. I’ve seen you curled up in that cave like some lizard, afraid of the light.”

A sudden move, a sharp twist, and his hand was on her throat, pressing her against the wall. It happened so fast, and looked so innocuous, none of the passersby seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. His thumb pushed down on the soft spot at the base of her neck, her arms went numb and fell helpless at her sides.

“What happened to your father? Where is George? You know, don’t you?”

She went cold all over, as if the sun inside her went behind a cloud. A shiver she couldn’t hold back, he surely felt that. In the window opposite, she caught a glimpse of Connie and Ethan rushing toward her. She held out a hand to warn them off, and hoped Walker didn’t notice. A deep breath helped her gather herself for what had to follow.