Survival Games (15 page)

“No!”

“Ty is also
bringing back a surprise for you. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do for him,
but first...”

He hit her again
and her head snapped back hitting the chair hard enough for blackness to drown
her senses.

Ty watched the
clouds pass by the window in silence. He hadn’t said much since they left and
he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, very wrong. He sighed
and glanced at Chris.

“What’s eating you,
bro?”

“Leaving her there
with Frank,” Ty said.

Chris raised an
eyebrow, studying his older brother. “Why?”

Ty didn’t answer
right away. He chewed on his bottom lip, returning his gaze to the clouds,
debating on how to broach the subject and decided head-on was the best route. “I
love her,” his cheeks warmed and he glanced sideways at Chris, his lips forming
a slight grin.

Chris’s perfect
posture slumped, his eyebrows shot high on his forehead and his jaw hung open
on its hinges, his body clearly registering the shock. A moment later, he
recomposed but his eyes never left Ty. “You on drugs?”

Ty laughed. “No,
no I’m not.”

“How’s that going
to work?”

“I have no fucking
clue.”

Chris shifted in
his seat. “You think grabbing this guy is going to give you a shot?”

He shook his head.
“She’ll never know about him. He’s a diversion for Frank.”

“Frank wants him
in videos with her.”

Ty studied his
hands before meeting Chris’s gaze. “Frank’s gonna have to find someone else for
that. I’m disappearing after this, Chris, and I’m taking her with me.”

“You know I love
you, bro, and I’ll do what I can to help, but are you sure you can just walk
away?”

“Chris, I haven’t
felt anything since Anna died. How do you think I could possibly do all this
shit? Sex is one thing, but Chris, I swear, if you ever saw the things Frank
did…” He made a point to keep Chris out of the violent videos. He didn’t want
his brother implicated if everything went to shit. “I purposely kept you out of
that side of the business.”

Chris’s eyebrows
furrowed.

“Where the hell do
you think all those people went?”

Chris shrugged.

Ty laughed. “Did
you think we just let them loose?”

“I don’t know. I never
really thought about it.”

“No one we ever
brought in left there alive.”

Chris blinked,
leaning back in the seat digesting the information, his face paled. “I, I
thought those were digitally enhanced or you did some fancy work with computer
graphics.”

“No, every single
video produced was real. Frank killed all those people and I filmed it and
cleaned up after him.” He inhaled. “I still can’t figure out if grabbing
Jessica was a good thing or a bad thing, but before her, kindness, happiness
and love were things that did not exist in my world; I didn’t think they were
possible.”

“You watched over
me.”

Ty nodded. “You’re
all I had, I needed to protect you,” he said and took a deep breath. “And
speaking of that, you’ll need to disappear too.”

“Why?”

“Frank will take
you down when I go. He’ll do it just to spite me and you know that.” He stared
hard at his brother and watched the reality of the situation set in.

“Then why are we
doing this? Why don’t we just take her and run?”

“I’ve got to have
something to distract him.”

“People are going
to die.” Chris said.

Ty lowered his
head and nodded. “I know. I put the plan together.”

Chris glanced out
the window, wringing his hands. “Is she worth it?”

He waited until
Chris swung his gaze back in his direction. “Yes, she is worth it.”
I’d walk
through a roaring inferno for her.
A slow smile spread over his lips,
touching his eyes.

“Is it mutual or
will we be running from the law the rest of our lives?”

Ty leaned back in
his seat, pulling his blackberry out of his pocket and flipping to the still he
captured of them dancing in the room. “You tell me.”

Chris whistled. “God
damn, Ty, she is beautiful, but does she feel the same?”

“I think so.” He
stared at her picture, betting his entire future on her. “She certainly kissed
me like she did.” He raised his gaze.

“Okay, when we get
back, I’ll help you get her out and we’ll disappear.”

“If Frank or Marian
is around, we’ll have to play it cool and wait for an opening.”

“Okay.” He inhaled
and looked out the window with a troubled expression.

The plane landed
in Vancouver and as Frank promised, there was a utility truck waiting for them.
Ty inspected the truck, making sure everything he needed was there, including
the sub floor holding area. Frank hadn’t disappointed him.

They headed off
toward the taping site and arrived late in the day, delivering the cables and
equipment to the crew just in time for sunset. They were scheduled to stay on
through the following day and transport the equipment back to New York.

The site director
brought them to their accommodations, one of the less luxurious travel trailers
was dwarfed by the utility truck they drove and Ty noted the luxury lines were
just on the opposite side of the lot. His target slept less than fifty yards
from where he stood.

Ty slipped away to
check out the terrain. He slipped to the luxury end unit and picked the lock
easily, sneaking inside and setting up his equipment, a small explosive charge,
a camera and a sensor that would trigger chloroform mist. Quietly shutting the
door behind him, he stepped out, unnoticed, shoving his work gloves in his
pocket.

While watching the
taping from the wings, a man tapped Ty on the shoulder. He turned, getting a
good look at the secondary target. Same height and build as the primary, but
not a pretty boy,
Frank did get good intelligence.

They were having
an issue with the equipment and needed his help, just as planned. Their path
took them close to the primary’s trailer and Ty jabbed the small syringe in the
man’s back, depressing it and catching the dead weight as he fell. He was able
to roll him behind the wheel well, hiding him from view before returning to
give direction on the equipment. No one took notice of the man’s disappearance.

Ty and Chris
headed back to their trailer before the scene wrapped up. Darkness settled over
the lot and Ty opened his laptop, linking in to the surveillance frequency and
waited. He didn’t have to wait too long before the target entered his trailer,
saying goodnight to his co-workers. The door shut and Ty switched the feed to
the interior camera in time to see his target undress and crawl into bed. Ty
pushed a button and an invisible vapor streamed from above the bed settling
over him and dragging him into unconsciousness. Ty pressed the button again and
the vapor stopped.

“Our boy’s not a
night owl,” Ty said and looked at Chris. “That’s much better for us.”

Ty changed into a
black outfit and put a black cap over his head along with black gloves. Chris
did the same; they needed to be invisible tonight.

They crept through
the maze of trailers unseen. Ty picked the lock and pointed under the trailer. Silently,
they pulled the man Ty had curled up under the wheel well and carried him into
the trailer. They stripped him down to his underwear and put him on the bed, switching
him with the target. The return trip carrying two hundred pounds of dead weight
was more challenging, but they made it to the truck, pulled open the doors and
got in.

Ty opened the
floor and tossed him in to the space. He then removed the target’s wedding ring
and headed back to the trailer. He slipped it on the man lying on the bed,
covered him, and picked up the discarded clothing. He lifted the bed up to
reveal a small storage space and threw the clothes in after carefully removing
the wallet the man had in his pants. The small propane tanks he planted earlier
were still there. He turned them on and propane hissed out as he pushed the bed
back down.

Reaching up, he
plucked the chloroform mister that he had on the ceiling and placed it in his
pocket. He also removed the small camera before inspecting the room for anything
he may have left behind.

Next was the
stove. He reached under the stovetop and pulled the main propane connection,
severing it from the controls and more propane hissed into the room. He left
the trailer and headed back to the truck, stepping in to see Chris setting up
the IV drip that would keep the target unconscious for the remainder of the
trip. They covered him with a battery-operated electric blanket and closed the
flooring in the truck.

They slunk back in
their trailer and got undressed, packing away the night gear in their bags. Ty
slipped into sweats and looked at the clock, they had moved quicker than he
expected, it took them a little under an hour to make the switch. He waited and
watched as another hour passed. The man in the trailer was most likely dead by
now from CO2 poisoning, but Ty had been instructed to wait for something else.

The car pulled up
around 2 a.m., which was what Ty expected and a woman climbed out. She walked
up and unlocked the door, swinging it open. That was the last thing she ever
did because Ty pushed the button, the electronic device he had in the trailer
sparked, igniting the escaping propane and the entire trailer blew to bits.

Chris gasped. Ty
switched off the feeds and closed his computer. “Time to act.” He threw on his
work boots and messed his hair up and did the same to Chris. They went running
out of their trailers like all the others to see what happened. Flames had
transitioned from the target’s trailer to the one next door and Ty grabbed the
fire extinguisher off the wall, running toward the commotion with the crowd.

Screams came from
the burning trailer and Ty dropped the extinguisher, bolting to the door and
yanked. The door didn’t budge and he reached down, snatching the discarded
extinguisher and smashed the side window. More people had gathered and someone
hoisted him inside. The female star of the show was rolling around on the floor
screaming in pain as flames licked her hair and nightgown. Ty aimed the
extinguisher in her direction, and pulled the trigger. White foam covered the
woman, dousing the flames and he dropped the now empty canister. Sweeping her
into his arms, he kicked the door open, getting her out of the trailer before
the fire flashed in the small space.

The site became a
nightmare of fire fighters and a media circus that lasted throughout the night.
The ruling by the fire department was that it was a tragic accident, a propane
leak that was ignited when Mr. Whitman’s wife entered the trailer and flipped
the light on.

Several witnesses
were interviewed and footage of the rescue effort splashed the airwaves,
including footage of Ty saving the girl. Microphones were shoved in his face as
reporters attempted to interview him. He sheepishly rebuffed them all. He was
dubbed a hero by the media and it was splashed all over the news coast to
coast.

The truck was
loaded and ready to go before the sun came up. Both Ty and Chris begged off
offers of staying on site for the remainder of the day, telling the crew they
were a little gun shy with publicity and decided to head back home with all the
excitement still brewing.

The moment they
hit the highway, Ty blew a stream of air out of his lungs. “Jesus.” He glanced
over at Chris and the shakes began. He pulled over to the side of the road and
put the truck in park until the shakes stopped. He stepped out on the side of
the road and leaned over, his hands on his thighs, and his eyes squeezed shut,
wondering if he was going to throw up this time.

Chris waited until
he got back in the truck. “You okay?”

Ty nodded. “Thank
God that’s the last time I have to do that.” He put the truck in gear and headed
home.

Eric wandered into
the kitchen and mumbled good morning to his father and climbing up on the
island stool to dig into the cereal waiting for him. As always, his father had
the news on instead of cartoons and Eric sighed, focusing on his meal.

Jess would be so
devastated.

His father’s
thought invaded his mind and Eric looked up at the television and froze with a
spoonful of cereal part way to his mouth. Footage from the rescue scene rolled
across the screen, including a reluctant interview with the on-site hero. Eric
dropped his spoon and ran to the upstairs bathroom.

“Mom! Mom, where
are you? Mom!” he screamed at the glass but only his reflection stared back. Eric’s
vision clouded, blurring, but he couldn’t reach her, he couldn’t see her and
more terrifying, he couldn’t feel her. “Mom!” his voice hoarse from the choking
tears.

* *
* *

The coffee cup
slipped out of Daniel’s hand, smashing on the tile floor, but he paid no
attention to it as he ran toward his son’s frantic screams. Sliding into the
bathroom and falling to his knees, he grabbed Eric’s arms, turning the flailing
boy toward him.

“I can’t see Mom
anymore!” Tears streaked his face, his chin trembling and there was fear, fear
deeper than Daniel had ever seen in anyone’s eyes.

The pain of
Jessica’s death shot through him yet again, knocking the wind out of him and he
wrapped his arms around Eric, pulling him against his chest, holding the child
as he fought to break his grasp.

Eric wiggled,
screaming ‘You don’t understand’ over and over and over.

“Don’t understand
what?” Daniel asked once Eric stopped moving. His heart, pounding double time
in his chest, nearly shattered at the look on his son’s face when he met his
gaze.

“You don’t
understand, he left. He didn’t stay and now I can’t see her!” Eric pointed
toward the hall.

“Who left?”

“The man on the
TV. He was supposed to protect Mom. Now the bad man has her and I can’t see
her.”

“You mean Clark?” They
had shown the actor’s face on the TV and both the kids knew the show was one of
their mother’s favorite. It made sense that Eric’s fantasy included Superman.

“No, Dad, the one
who saved Lois, he was supposed to protect Mom.”

Daniel was
dumbfounded. He pulled Eric to his chest again. “It’s okay,” he said.

Eric pulled away. “No
it’s not, Dad.” He yanked out of his father’s grip and disappeared downstairs
to finish his breakfast, glaring at the television as the news cycled around
again.

With the front
door open and kids congregating on the corner for the school bus, Daniel handed
Eric his coat. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Eric offered
a half-hearted smile.

Daniel watched him
get on the bus and closed the door heading straight to the phone. His hand
shook as he punched the number he had gotten so used to calling when the grief
overwhelmed him. This time, when LeAnn answered, his voice uncharacteristically
trembled. The aguish clear in every word as he walked through the morning
episode.

“I’m on my way,” she
said and hung up the phone.

Daniel sat at the
table staring into his coffee when the doorbell rang. He crossed to the door
and held it open for her. Her green eyes searched his and he shook his head,
waving toward the kitchen where a hot cup of coffee sat on the table waiting
for her.

Daniel slumped in
the chair next to her, his eyes filling with tears. “I know you said the
fantasy was normal, but it’s hard. I thought by now he would have accepted her
death. I can cope with a lot, but this,” he laughed a little to himself, “I
don’t know how to deal with this.”

LeAnn took his
hand and squeezed it.

He squeezed back
and held it sending her a sideways glance. They had grown very close over the
past few months. She was easy to talk to and he was so lonely without Jessica. On
impulse, he pulled LeAnn toward him and kissed her. Her lips soft and inviting,
kissed back, leaving a slight berry taste under the coffee. He licked his lips
and leaned back in his chair for a moment staring at her. “I’m sorry,” he said
after a moment’s hesitation.

“Don’t be,” LeAnn
replied and reached out to touch his face.

Her fingers wiped
the stray tear off his cheek, the light touch igniting him, making him forget
his dead wife for an instant and he closed his eyes. The maelstrom inside
created jitters in his stomach, a feeling he hadn’t had for close to twenty
years and he opened his eyes. The depth of her green eyes pierced his,
reflecting the same raw need flowing through his veins.

“Think six months
is too soon?”

“Probably,” she
responded but she didn’t stop him when he leaned in to kiss her again.