Learning to Drive... Him Crazy (17 page)

Agent Reed held up his hand. "Whoa, one at a
time. I'm sure you have a ton of questions, and we'll try to answer
them for you. We don't have all the answers yet, but we hope to
soon, and when we do, we'll share everything with you."

"Thank you," John said. "I appreciate it.
Was anyone hurt tonight?"

Lieutenant Berry explained, "Apparently one
man was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off something else, but
he's going to be all right. He's at the hospital now. That was a
Detective Dan Moss."

John shook his head. "Are you sure all these
guys were in on this? Some of them, like Dan and Joe, I never would
have guessed would be involved."

Lieutenant Berry said, "It's too soon to get
confessions or much information from all of them yet, but I
understand Dan did ask if he would be recovering there in the
hospital or in the medical ward of the jail. I guess that's pretty
much a confession."

"Yeah, I guess so," John said with a bit of
a chuckle. "So did you guys get everyone?"

Lieutenant Berry looked down at his notes.
"Well, you said there were nine others besides yourself involved in
this, and we have seven. We'll have to find out which two we're
missing. If we're lucky, it'll be the two they arrested breaking
into your brother's house."

John sat straight up. "Someone broke into
Cal's? Are they all right?"

"They're all fine," Lieutenant Berry assured
him. "We sent two agents to Alana's apartment, but when they found
it trashed, we sent them to Cal's, since you said you told Joe
that's where she was. We were right, two guys showed up there.
They're bringing them in right now, so hopefully we'll soon know if
they're our two missing police officers."

"I've got to call Alana and let her know I'm
okay," John said. "She'll be worrying herself half sick until she
hears from me. Do you have any idea how soon I'll be able to go
home?"

Lieutenant Berry thought a moment and said,
"Actually, we'll probably be taking you and those three to a safe
house until we have all of the officers in custody."

John's eyebrows shot up. "Do they know
that?"

"I doubt it," the lieutenant said. "When you
call her why don't you tell them that. Maybe you can assure her
you'll be there, as well, just precautionary until this mess is all
wrapped up. As a mater of fact, now that you've told us how many
officers were there and we know we're missing a couple, we need to
do that soon. You go ahead and call her so she's not worrying, and
I'll go make the arrangements to have them taken to a safe house.
We'll send a couple more agents to lay back and follow them, make
sure they get there okay. I doubt any of the police officers know
where they are other than Joe, but better safe than sorry."

Lieutenant Berry got up and left the room,
phone in hand. John walked over to the corner of the room to have a
bit more privacy as he called Alana. He wasn't surprised when
Alana, sounding very relieved, said, "Oh, John, I'm so glad you
called. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, honey. How about you?"

"I'm okay. We're all okay. This is a lot
scarier in real life than when you watch it on television."

John chuckled. "Yes, it is. Maybe you watch
so many of them, they seem run of the mill to you now."

"Maybe," she conceded. "Are you coming here
to Cal's soon?"

"No, actually, I'm not, honey."

"Why not? You said you'd come here as soon
as you can."

"I know, but there's been a change of plans.
I'm not going there because you won't be there. I'm going where
you'll be. I'm anxious to hold you in my arms and see for myself
that you're okay."

"What are you talking about? Why won't I be
here?"

"Honey, put me on speaker a couple minutes,
please, so all three of you can hear me."

"Okay," she said hesitantly. He heard her
call Kelli and Cal over to listen, then said, "Okay, John, go
ahead. We're all here."

"Hi, guys. Are you all okay?"

"We're fine, John," Cal assured him. "Are
you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, the FBI caught most of
the officers that were there tonight, but two of them somehow
eluded capture. Until they find them, have all of them in custody
and have a chance to talk to them and make sure there wasn't anyone
else involved that knows about our involvement, they want to take
us all to an FBI safe house."

"What does that mean?" Kelli asked.

"They're setting it up now. The agents that
are with you guys will move you to a house that's all set up with
enhanced security, and a couple officers will stay there with you.
I have some more I have to do here yet, but when I'm done an agent
will bring me there, as well. We'll all stay there, along with a
couple agents for added protection, until they have everyone in
custody and we won't have to worry about someone out there looking
for us."

John expected to hear some arguments, but no
one said a word. He figured they must all have been pretty upset
tonight. Finally Alana said, "You'll be there, too, right?"

"Yes, I will, as soon as I'm done here."

"Okay. I don't really care where I am, as
long as you're there, too. I need to be with you."

"I know, honey. Me, too."

Cal asked, "How long will we be there?"

"Until they get everyone in custody and are
sure there's no one else out there looking for us."

"So work tomorrow—"

"Will probably not happen," John
finished.

"What will I tell them?"

"The agents will explain all of that to us,
I'm sure," John said. "So you guys are all good with this, right?"
When they all seemed to agree, he said, "Okay, I'll go finish
answering all their questions, and I'll see you when I get there.
Oh, and one more thing."

"What's that?" Alana asked.

"I really want to thank you guys for
figuring out that Joe was involved, and calling the FBI."

"I think I can speak for all of us, big
brother, when I say we're glad we did, too, but it was mostly
Alana."

"Okay, let me talk to my special little lady
a minute again, and I'll see you soon," John said.

"Okay, it's just you and me again," Alana
said.

"Boy, I wish it were just you and me again
right now, honey, with no one else around. I'm looking forward to
that. I really need to feel you in my arms again."

"And I really need to feel your arms around
me, too."

"Soon, honey, soon. Listen to the agents now
and I'll see you as soon as I can. I miss you."

"I miss you, too."

John hung up, glad none of them seemed upset
about the safe house. He went back to the conference table, anxious
to answer all their questions so he could get back to the lady he'd
fallen in love with. He had not told her that yet, mostly because
he hadn't realized it before now, but he knew while he was talking
to her that he had indeed fallen in love with her. He smiled when
he thought back to how they'd met, and what a scary driver she had
been. Now he felt she was ready to take her driving test, as soon
as all this was over.

Lieutenant Berry brought him out of his
memories and back to the present. "Were they okay with the safe
house?"

"Actually, they were. Cal's not sure about
missing work, what they'll say about that, but none of them argued
a bit. I figured they must have been pretty shook up tonight."

"Could be. I'm glad they're not going to
fight it, though. That makes it much easier for everyone. Now,
let's get back to these men and anything you may know that could
help us find them."

It was another hour and a half before they
both felt they'd gone over everything John may be able to offer to
help with their case. He assured them, "You know where I'll be. Any
questions that come up, I'll be happy to help as much as I
can."

"Thank you, John, I appreciate that. Now,
let's get you to the safe house. I understand you and Alana are
rather good friends," Lieutenant Berry said with a grin.

"Yes, we are," he answered with a grin of
his own. "Nothing like a night like tonight to make you realize
just how special someone is to you."

"Make sure you let her know that," he said.
"I'm sorry. I mean, I don't have any right to tell you how to
handle your personal life. I just—"

"No apology necessary," John assured him. "I
appreciate the advice. I had decided the same thing."

The two men shook hands. "John, it was good
to meet you," Lieutenant Berry said. "I'm sure we'll be talking
again over the next few days. Agent Reed will take you over to the
safe house now. You can tell Alana how you feel."

Agent Reed took John to the safe house,
again zig zagging their way through the city several times to be
positive no one was following them before going to the house. It
was just past the edge of town, and didn't look like much on the
outside. It was pretty plain looking, not falling down, but
certainly not any kind of show place. There was a car sitting in
the lane, which he learned later was just for appearance. They
would occasionally move it, drive it to the gas station and park it
in a different place. That would make the house look more normal to
neighbors. He drove around to the back and into the garage.

Agent Reed knocked on the door and a man
answered. "Ryan," the man said, "and you must be John. I'm Agent
Brad Barstow."

Before he could say anything else Alana
slipped under Agent Barstow's arm and straight into John's arms.
She had tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're finally here."

Agent Barstow smiled. "You two know each
other, do you?"

They went inside, and John hugged Kelli and
Cal, as well. Agent Reed said, "Once you guys have all said your
hellos, let's sit down. We need to talk a little about staying in a
safe house."

Agent Barstow and Agent Kline, the two that
were already at the safe house, roamed the house, looking out the
corners of windows and watching screens hooked up to security
cameras, while Agent Reed talked with the 'motel guests', as he
referred to them.

He gave them several instructions, like be
sure to stay away from the windows, don't go outside without and
agent escort and went over the procedure to follow if someone came
to the door. After going over a few more procedures and
precautions, he showed them to their rooms. The girls quickly
claimed the room with two beds in one room, neither one wanting to
be alone. The guys shared a look, but quickly approved, taking the
single rooms themselves.

Cal had brought a few changes of clothes
along with him, knowing John was about the same size and could wear
them, as well. They were surprised to find that the house was
stocked with a few clothes of various sizes, and both girls were
able to find not only nightgowns, but clothes to wear the next
day.

They were too wound up to sleep, so the four
spent the next hour in the living room, John and Cal holding the
girls on their laps, cocooned securely in their arms. They talked
about what had taken place, and what made Alana realize Joe was
involved. John told them how the FBI rescued him, and admitted he
was very relieved when everything went as planned and Agent Reed
opened the car door for him and they left.

After an hour of holding, talking, cuddling,
and seeing for themselves that they were all okay, they went to
bed.

John was up early the next morning. He
showered and dressed, and went to the kitchen, where he found a pot
of coffee.

Agent Barstow handed him a cup. "Are you
always up this early, or is something on your mind?"

"Thanks for the coffee," John said. "To
answer your question, I guess a little of both. I do have a few
questions about last night that I can't seem to get worked out in
my head.

Leaning against the counter, the agent
asked, "Anything you want to talk about? I may be able to answer
one or two things. If not we can ask the lieutenant."

"Actually, yes, I would appreciate
that."

"I'll do what I can. What's bothering
you?"

"Well, for starters, do we know yet what the
gunshots were all about last night?"

The agent looked over at the kitchen door
before saying quietly, "Yes, we do, and I'll tell you, but I'm not
sure you'll want everyone hearing it, especially Alana."

"I agree. If it's what I'm assuming, she
doesn't need to hear it."

He got on his radio and told the other agent
he was going in the office to answer questions for John. He led
John inside and shut the door behind them. "This room is
soundproofed," Agent Barstow explained. "We use it for just such
occasions. We don't make it known to everyone in the house, but the
lieutenant is likely to have some questions for you as this
investigation goes on, and this is where he'll talk to you. If you
have anything you think of that you want to let one of us know,
just ask if we can go to the office, and we will do so."

"Okay, good to know," John said. "Now, the
gunshots. They were shooting at me, I take it?"

"For all intents and purposes, yes. Some of
it was officers placing random shots so their story afterward would
be believable. There were some shots fired toward the store loading
dock so they could say there was a true shoot out between the
police and the thieves, and sadly, one of their own was killed
during that shoot out. But something else intervened."

"What was that?" John asked.

"We're not sure exactly what happened, but
there were several pieces of cardboard in the area when they
searched for the shell casings for evidence. Newjangles recycles
their boxes. They disassemble them after they empty them and stack
them in a bin out behind the store. The bin was full and people had
stacked some beside the bin. Apparently the wind had been blowing
some of them around out back because there were several pieces
scattered around. What the agents at the scene think happened is
right at about the time you were to come out from behind the
dumpster and run toward the loading dock and meet up with the other
officers, a piece of this cardboard blew up from the same general
area. Our men saw something and were upset, afraid you hadn't
gotten our message and it was indeed you. Anyway, apparently the
police officers, who were all expecting you to come running from
that direction, thought it was you and shot." He shook his head and
said, "Sorry to have to tell you that, John."