The Burning (11 page)
“Forget it,” Rod said and turned back to the door.
“Wait. You can’t just walk away. If you do, you’re no better than the shooter.”
“I may not be, but I’ll be smarter.”
“How do you figure?”
“Letting you out of this facility means you’ll escape. I can’t keep trying to lock you down. Believe it or not, that takes a lot of effort.”
Sarah stood too fast, the back of her knees knocking the chair over. “Rod, an innocent man will die this afternoon if you don’t act. I will show you how my gift works. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that why you brought me here and expended all that effort? Come on, work with me.”
He turned around to fully face her, crossing his arms again. “Then keep talking. Sell me on this idea of yours.”
“There are going to be questions you’ll have to answer, Rod.”
“Like what?”
“There were people who were supposed to meet me at the airport in Toronto. After two days they’ll be going ballistic trying to figure out where I am. It won’t take them long to come snooping for you.”
“By people, you mean Parkman. And that doesn’t matter because officially, I don’t exist. There’s nothing that a cop like Parkman could ever do that’ll get through the layers of bullshit my organization remains protected under.”
“Then what is the purpose? You tell me. If you brought me here to examine my talents, why aren’t we doing just that? Otherwise, this is nothing better than glorified kidnapping.”
Neither spoke. They stared at each other. Sarah waited. She wasn’t going to break the silence first.
Rod uncrossed his arms and walked back to the table.
“I’m listening.”
“Drake is supposed to be at a baseball game this afternoon. The hit should happen near the end of the game. He is to be shot in the face for exposing people who were in the immigration ring. Some of those people, along with a few innocents, were killed in Toronto recently. I got this from Vivian. I always try to do what Vivian tells me to do. That’s why I’m still alive.”
Rod placed his hands on the wooden table. “Okay, thank you. Now we can see if your prophecy comes true and we don’t have to go anywhere. Thanks, Sarah.” He stepped away and opened the door to leave.
“Wait!” Sarah shouted. “Fuck, are you ever a hard man to deal with. Are you saying you’ll let the shooting happen just to prove that I knew about it?”
Rod faced her. Two men stood in the hallway behind him. From where she sat she could see they were heavily armed.
“No, I’m going to alert the Canadian authorities and tell them everything you just said. That’ll give them,” he paused and looked at his watch. “About three hours to locate Drake in the ballpark and remove him. That will save his life. I’ll have them look for a shooter. In the meantime, start giving me more prophecies to work with.”
“What if they don’t find the shooter?” Sarah asked. “They’ll detain Drake and nothing will happen. Then, two days later the shooter catches Drake at a delicatessen buying a
fucking
sandwich and shoots him in the face spilling lettuce and ham all over the fucking place. You’re still the murderer in that case because you had a chance to stop it yourself by finding Drake and staying close to him and having me there. If you don’t catch the shooter today, he’ll try again tomorrow. You know that and I know that.”
Rod looked at each man flanking him and then turned back to Sarah. She tapped her hand on the table, frustrated by his inability to see it her way.
“Look,” Sarah continued for her last try. “The information I receive is quite accurate. You
know
where the shooter will be. The chances of nailing him today are much greater than on any other day. If we do exactly as Vivian says, everything will work out.”
Rod shook his head again in that irritating way, his forehead lowered, his eyes looking up at her.
“Everything will work out? Like how it all worked out with Gert four years ago. You almost got yourself killed. Like how it worked out with those guys who kept you prisoner in a small shed. You were shot a couple times. In the temple at the compound you were about to be raped and murdered, but Parkman had trailed you and walked in just at the right time. But, everything will work out, right Sarah? And I work for NASA and take routine flights to Mars to negotiate territorial rights for oil in their tar pits.” He stepped into the corridor. “No go. No lies. No deceptions. No more bullshit. Just prophecies. Do that and maybe we’ll feed you today.”
“Rod, wait,” Sarah said, her arm extended. “You can’t seriously do this.”
“Just did.”
He pulled the door shut. The lock clicked.
She righted the chair, sat on it and lowered her head to the table. “I’m sorry, Drake. I tried. I fucking tried.”
The door burst open and Sarah jumped in her seat. She’d almost nodded off.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Rod stood there with at least six men behind him.
“We’re going,” he said. “I’ve changed my mind. Get up.”
“Going where?” she asked.
“The stadium in Toronto. A plane is ready to take us.”
Her head spun in circles as she loosened her neck. “What are you saying? We may be too late already.”
“We will be if you keep hesitating.”
She didn’t need any more prompting. Sarah got up and ran to them.
Rod held something out. “Here, put this on first.”
“What’s that?”
“A GPS tracking bracelet. Whenever you leave this facility you will wear one of these the whole time. I will never have you out of my sight again.”
“Okay, fair enough,” Sarah nodded. “But you stay out of my way at the stadium. I do it on my terms.”
“Agreed.”
Sarah extended her hand and Rod secured the bracelet on her wrist. She wondered why he had the change of heart.
“The tracking bracelet beams a signal to a van that I’ll have parked outside the stadium. Even if you manage to escape our clutches, we’ll know where you are at all times. Are we clear?”
Sarah nodded.
“You’re not giving me much time to organize this. There’s paperwork whenever you enter another country. While I made you wait, I got the plane ready and organized everything as much as I could.”
All seven men, with Sarah running in the midst of the group, headed down the corridor and up two flights of cement stairs. A door led them outside where Sarah had to close her eyes at the bright sun and blink rapidly to see where to go. A waiting Lear Jet sat, its engines already running.
“We’re landing at the Toronto Island airport,” Rod shouted to be heard over the noise of the jets. “Do you realize how hard this was on such short notice?”
“You managed to rearrange the flight plan of a major airliner and have it land in Chicago. I’m sure a little ball game in Toronto isn’t too hard for a man of your talents. Come on, it couldn’t be that hard. They’re Canadians.”
“What does that mean?”
“They’re nice people up there. They’re pushovers.”
They got to the plane’s door. Two men jumped in and waited for Sarah. She looked at Rod. “Just remember. Stay out of my way. This is my gig. Get me to the stadium. I’ll handle the rest.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
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About Jonas Saul
Jonas Saul is the author of the Sarah Roberts Series and The Mafia Trilogy. Visit his website,
www.jonassaul.com
for upcoming release dates. Jonas lives in Washington, USA with his wife, Romance author Brenda Grate.
Contact Jonas Saul
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http://www.jonassaul.com
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Email:
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Jonas Saul Titles
The Sarah Roberts Series
1. Dark Visions
2. The Warning
3. The Crypt
4. The Hostage
The Mafia Trilogy
1. The Kill
2. The Blade
The Threat
The Specter
Short Stories
Visitations - A Book of Short Stories
The Burning
The Numbers Game
Trapped
The Witching Hour
The Elements
Hatred
The Reaper
The Ruse
Bound
Vengeance
PUBLISHED BY:
Imagine Press
ISBN: 978-1-927404-06-5
The Burning
Copyright © 2012 by Jonas Saul
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
About the Author
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