Intersection (52 page)

That day, as the sun was just beginning to set, a group of Americans were making their way to the bookstore for a dinner.
It was supposed to be a thank you from the locals for the assistance that the group had given the area merchants. Taylor, Toles, their colonel, and three other officers were just turning the corner when Alex stopped. Taylor didn’t see it, but Toles did. She saw everything. She just saw it too late. Awad pushed Sabeen through the front door of the shop. The young Iraqi woman had a look of terror on her face. The next thing Taylor remembered Toles was pushing him and their colonel down, screaming. Then it went black. He recalled Alex crawling, or trying to, and screaming for Sabeen. When Taylor managed to open his eyes he saw the carnage. Three of their friends were dead. The colonel was bleeding from his head and had something deeply embedded in his left leg. Toles was moving, but barely. He could see that her shirt was soaked in blood as she turned, and Taylor could not feel his lower extremities at all. All told seventeen Iraqi civilians and three American servicemen died that day. Alex blamed herself. She’d missed the signs on the pass through. She’d misjudged Awad as a friend. She never understood that her quick thinking saved countless lives. That didn’t matter to Alex Toles. The story stayed with Steven Brady. Alex didn’t want to leave Iraq, Taylor told the young agent. She didn’t want the children to think she had abandoned them, but her injuries were serious and she was sent to a German hospital before returning to the states to undergo surgery.

Over the years, Brady seldom heard Alex Toles talk about family or relationships. Alex was an extremely attractive woman and there were many men and women lined up to try and capture the agent. She was poised, had the body of an athlete and the face of a movie star. Yet, Alex Toles was not in the least bit conceited. She was confident and in command of her actions. She was intelligent and witty, but she was also quiet and humble. She was unique. Occasionally, she spoke of her brother and his family but that seemed to be where her personal attachments ended. That is until she showed up in New York. Brady looked through the scope and finally caught sight
of Cassidy. Even with the tape on her mouth and the stress of the situation, the small blonde’s eyes seemed to dance like flames. It was no wonder Alex had fallen for the woman. Brady admired Alex. He’d watched how she constantly put everyone else first and now he thought she deserved a chance; a chance to have something more than cases to solve and a never ending supply of Diet Coke in her refrigerator. Cassidy was that chance. Steven Brady was determined this time Alex would get a happy ending.

He watched as Fisher reached in the bag. The man paced back toward Cassidy. His hand was raised slightly and Brady strained to see what he was holding. One of Fisher’s hands started reaching forward. Brady saw it now from his angle. He was ripping Cassidy’s shirt and in his hand…Brady lined his shot up. “Not today you son of a bitch,” he said as he felt the metal squeeze between his fingers.

“Now…It’s my turn… Cassidy O’Brien… my turn,” his breath became uneven as his excitement mounted. Cassidy bit the inside of her lip and tried to maintain her composure. She couldn’t scream against the tape. Even if she could, no one would hear her. She felt his breath on her neck again and then felt him step back slightly to regard her as his prey. Fisher ran the knife along Cassidy’s leg and moaned. “I have waited… you don’t know…a long time… I watched you…with that agent….did you know?” He smiled. “I saw you…ummm…but now Cassidy…it’s my turn,” he pressed the knife a bit harder against her leg and Cassidy could feel the blade through her jeans. “She’s not coming…no one is coming…you know why?” Cassidy looked at him as stoically as she could manage. “I’ll tell you… No one can…no one knows…It’s MY turn.” He leaned over and breathed heavily on her and she felt the sting on the blade as it grazed her skin through her pants.

Cassidy saw his hand begin to rise slightly and his eyes become fixed on her chest. She closed her eyes but she could sense what was coming. She would fight him, but she knew he would overpower her. The bindings were still tight. She wouldn’t be able to run. ‘
Alex,’
she said in her private thoughts, ‘
I want to be with you. I am sorry. I don’t know how to fight him….I love you so much….God. Please….it’s crazy, I know it is….but please take care of Dylan….He loves you as much as I do….you know that…I’d give anything for you to tease me about my cereal....make me laugh…hold me. Tu es monmonde, mon amour
(You are my world, my love).
Je t’adore, Alex
.’

Cassidy felt the material tear way from her. Her eyes were closed. Suddenly the feel of the knife on her leg stopped. She felt a weight replace it briefly. It was heavy. What was he doing? She couldn’t open her eyes. There was a crash. She tried to force her eyes to open. They would not obey her commands. “Alex,” she tried to speak as her tears began to choke her behind the tape. “Alex….”

lowly Cassidy opened her eyes and lowered them. There was a small splatter of blood on her shirt, but it was not her own. Carl Fisher was in a heap on the floor. She looked about and heard the sound of the front door opening with force. “Down…Left,” is all she heard. She could see out into the back yard. Something or someone was moving behind the oak tree. She nudged Fisher with her foot. He did not move and she felt hot tears stream down her cheeks. She tried to swallow against the dryness in her throat. ‘
Alex,’
she thought as she closed her eyes again, ‘
not even here and protecting me
.’ There was no doubt in the teacher’s mind that the agent had somehow figured out a way to save her. “Mrs. O’Brien…..Mrs. O’Brien,” Detective Pete Ferro tried to coax the woman tied in the chair to open her eyes again. “This might sting,” the voice said as the detective swiftly removed the duct tape from the teacher’s mouth. She flinched slightly and felt her eyes continue to water. Reluctantly, Cassidy steadily allowed her eyes to flutter open. She saw strong but compassionate blue eyes looking at her. “It’s all right, Mrs. O’Brien. Agent Toles is on her way.” At the sound of Alex’s name Cassidy released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Cut this off!” He demanded and she felt the ropes loosen on her hands. She brought them around to her lap and rubbed her wrists. They were a deep red and just the slightest touch made them throb even more.

“We need to get you checked out,” Pete Ferro said. “Can you stand?” Cassidy nodded and Ferro wrapped a blanket around
her to cover her. She was surprised at how unsteady she was as she attempted to maintain her balance. He escorted her to the couch just as the paramedics were walking in. She couldn’t speak, not yet. “Did he hurt you?” Ferro asked. Cassidy shook her head ‘no’. He saw the blood on her jeans and sighed as he moved aside for the young paramedic.

The young man looked at Cassidy and smiled timidly. “Hello, Mrs. O’Brien,” he said softly. Cassidy forced a smile. “I just want to take a look, okay? Then we’ll get you to the ER… just to be…”

“No,” Cassidy said.

“Mrs. O’Brien,” the young man urged.

“Not until Alex gets here.”

Detective Ferro nodded at the young man and stepped back in for a moment. “I can have Agent Toles meet you there.” Cassidy shook her head. She had no intention of moving until Alex arrived. The detective sighed. “All right,” he nodded to the paramedic.

The young man looked at her wrists and grimaced at the sight. Cassidy again forced a smile noticing his concern. “I need to look at your leg,” he explained, ready to cut her jeans. The teacher nodded her understanding and looked forward. It felt to Cassidy as though she were in a tunnel, all these sounds swirling around her. She could hear voices in the kitchen, the clicking of cameras and footsteps thundering up and down the hallway.

She couldn’t make out any of the words. They seemed foreign somehow. She closed her eyes and put her face in her hands. “Mrs. O’Brien,” the detective called her softly. Cassidy swallowed her tears and opened her eyes. She slowly took the phone from his hands.

“It’s done.”

“Are you certain?” Merrow asked.

Krause looked into the kitchen and saw Cassidy’s foot kick Fisher. “He’s dead.”

“Get out of there.” Krause was frozen. He watched her and shook his head. “Krause!”

“Yeah, I need to wait… NSA is on the move.”

“Did he shoot?” The president asked.

“I think so.”

“Jon, that means…”

Jon Krause sighed his understanding. “I know, two shots… P.D. is entering. Toles must’ve had that in place. Shit, she’s good.”

Merrow chuckled. “You didn’t believe me?”

“No, I know she’s good. You need to control the investigation,” Krause said.

“We’re talking about Toles here. She is one loyal woman. Don’t count on control, Krause. We need cover stories. She’s going to want to know every detail even with Cassidy safe.”

Krause disassembled his rifle and put it in the bag. “Well, I did my part. You’re the politician, that’s up to you.”

The president paused. “Are you certain that Cassidy was not hurt?”

“She’ll be all right,” Krause looked on as Ferro reached the woman. “She’s pretty tough.”

“Is that admiration I hear?”

“I have my job. I never said Cassidy wasn’t a friend, John.”

The president nodded to himself. Merrow had to admit it was easy to be won over by the teacher. Krause, Toles, they were hard sells. He was relieved and not just because of the risks the situation posed. This was the worst part of John Merrow’s reality. People got hurt. Sometimes people he cared about. That didn’t change what he had to do. “I’ll start on my end. I need you to deal with something else, though.”

“What’s that?” Krause asked.

“Claire Brackett.”

Krause put his bag on his shoulder, “fine,” he answered. “I will see her when I get back to D.C., but that won’t be for a few days.”

“What?”

“I have meeting in Paris.” The president sighed as Krause continued. “I hope you persuaded the congressman.”

“So do I,” Merrow answered.