The Good Reaper (24 page)

Our group was also divided in two.
Atik would travel with
Gomeisa
and I would
travel with Chara. I watched from the balcony dining area as Atik and
Gomeisa
excitedly jumped up to greet the cab that had just pulled up in front of the
hotel lobby. A half hour later, Chara pulled her suitcase out the front door
and sat on the bench, waiting for our cab. I knew the cab would be there any
moment so I went outside and stood on the opposite side of the valet area.
Finally the cab pulled up. When the driver was putting
Chara’s
luggage in the trunk I hurried up behind him and asked him if he was going to
the airport. The driver turned around and took a long look at me and lifted my
bag into the trunk.

We were about half way to the airport when the driver asked
us what time our flights left. “Would you mind if I make a quick stop along the
way?” the driver asked. “I have this medical condition and I have to stop
often. I guess it’s the medication. It’s becoming a nuisance but I still need
to work.”

“No problem,” I said in my best New York accent.

There was a gas station and quick mart in the center island
so we didn’t need to exit the highway. The driver pulled the car around to the
truck parking lot and quickly jumped out. After about ten minutes I began to
wonder about him. “He’s been gone quite a while,” I said to Chara.

“Yes. If he’s not back in a few more minutes, maybe you
could go and see what happened to him.”

Another ten minutes passed without any sign of the driver.
“Okay. I’m going to see what happened to him.”

I was just pushing the door open when out of the corner of
my eye I saw the three men stepping around the side of one of the big rigs
parked toward the rear of the lot. They seemed to be approaching us. I was
immediately overcome with a feeling of fear. Something wasn’t right about the
whole thing. First the driver disappeared and then the three serious looking
men were approaching the car. When they got to within twenty feet from us the
mystery was over. All three pulled out large handguns and began firing at us.
There was no noise and I don’t think anyone at the service station even knew
what was happening as the windows of the car began to shatter.

Neither one of us actually had a driver’s license but I had
at least spent enough time on Earth to know what I was supposed to do. I leaped
headfirst into the driver’s seat and stepped on the gas. It’s funny how the
mind works when adrenalin begins to pump through your mind and body. My mind
flashed a fast-forward slide show and all I could see were people moving the
gear shift on the steering wheel. I kept my foot on the gas and moved the shift
lever from one letter to the next until I heard the wheels spinning. The car
jerked forward about twenty feet and came to a stop as I shifted my body around
so that I was sitting in the driver’s seat.

At that point, we were beginning to make a scene and
although I was focused on the three men, my subconscious registered a few
people watching us from the car parking lot. It was enough to make the men put
away their guns. I could see in the rear view mirror that they were running.
There was no doubt in my mind that they were going to get back in their car and
chase us. I had to learn to drive and I had to do it fast. I tested the brake
and gas a few times and floored it.

I had no idea how fast we were going but the more miles I
put between us and the three assassins, the more relaxed I felt. My breathing
and thinking finally slowed down to almost normal and I began to think more
clearly. For a split second I wondered why Chara was so quiet. “Chara, I think
we may have lost them. My biggest problem now is that I have no idea how to get
to the airport.”

There was no answer from Chara. I was driving too fast to
turn around and I was afraid to pull over and stop. “Chara,” I called out.
There was still no answer. I figured out how to adjust the rear view mirror and
I could see there was no one behind us for at least a mile so I pulled over and
stepped on the brakes. The car came to a full screeching stop just off the side
of the road. I was horrified when I turned my body around completely and looked
in the back seat. Chara appeared to be unconscious and there was blood
everywhere.

I was confused. I didn’t
understand. I wondered why someone would want to shoot at us. Why would someone
want to kill us? I could see that Chara was breathing but she was unconscious
and bleeding badly. I knew I had to get her to a hospital but I had no idea
where to go. As I started to drive away, I could see two vehicles slowing down
to pull over. They had their turn signals on and pulled off to the side of the
road about a half mile behind us. At first I hoped it was some Good Samaritan
who just wanted to help but I realized that if it was, they would have stopped
right behind us. I was sure it was the assassins. The assassins were only about
fifty yards behind us when all of a sudden they pulled onto the highway and
drove off. As they passed us by, I wondered if they were going to shoot at us
again but they just looked at us blankly as they drove by us.

I was content to let them drive
off away from us but I knew I had to get to a hospital. Just as I was wondering
why they drove off, I got my answer. A Virginia state trooper had pulled up
quickly and stopped right behind us. Finally our luck had changed. The
appearance of the trooper had scared off the assassins. I hoped the trooper
would be able to help us get to a hospital. I jumped out of the car as the tall
trooper walked toward me. He could see I was excited and put his hand on his
holster. “I need to get to a hospital,” I called out as he approached. “My
friend has been shot.”

I knew the entire event would
cause a chain reaction of problems for us but the only thing that mattered was
getting Chara to a hospital. I opened the rear door so the trooper could get a
good look at Chara. The trooper seemed to be a seasoned professional. Instead
of getting excited, he seemed to switch into a higher mental state. He was
thinking, moving and talking quickly and efficiently. I felt safer with the
trooper there. He was still talking to the dispatcher when I heard the faint
sound of the siren. “Do you want to go in the ambulance with her?” the trooper
asked me while the ambulance screeched to a halt right next to the cab.

“Yes, if that’s okay,” I said.

“Just a couple
of quick questions while they are getting ready to transport her.
Is this where you were when she was shot? Did you see the
shooter? Is this your cab and is the woman a customer?”

“No, it isn’t my cab. The woman
and I are both customers. We were going to the airport when the cabbie said he
had a medical condition and he had to stop at a rest area. He stopped at the
rest area a few miles back and went inside to use the restroom. He went in and
never came back out. Several men attacked us in the rest area parking lot. I
jumped into the driver’s seat and headed for the highway while the shooters
followed us.”

“Do you have any idea why they
were shooting at you?” the trooper asked. “Deep inside, I knew it had to have
something to do with who and what we were. It wasn’t a robbery. But it wasn’t a
time for truthfulness. It was a time of urgency. As I talked to the trooper I
left out the most important details.

“I have no idea why they shot at
us.” I said.

“Okay, it looks like the EMTs are
getting ready to leave. May I see your driver’s license?”

I was wondering what I was going
to say when an unmarked police car pulled up. “I’ll fill you in as soon as I
get some contact information from this gentleman,” the trooper told the two
detectives.

The trooper turned back to me and
noticed I was just standing there. He expected me to be handing him a driver’s
license but I was just standing there looking at him. “I don’t have a driver’s
license,” I said. “After the shooting I jumped into the front seat and did the
best I could to get away from them. I only stopped here when I realized that my
friend had been shot.”

“I’m going to need a lot more information.
Please get in the police cruiser and I’ll take you to the hospital,” the
trooper said. I did as I was told and waited in the police cruiser while the
trooper shared everything he knew about the incident with the two detectives.

When he was finished talking to
the detectives, the officer jumped into the driver’s seat. “I’m Officer Flynn.
What’s your name?”

“Luke Riley.” I knew at some point
Officer Flynn would want to know everything. I wasn’t sure how much I should
tell him.

“So you and your friend were on
the way to the airport? Where were you going?”

I made a quick decision to tell a
stripped down version of the truth. I decided I would tell the truth but I
would leave things out. “Chile.”

“Vacation or
business?”
Officer Flynn asked.

“Vacation and business I guess. We
were meeting some friends there.”

Officer Flynn weaved in and out of
traffic to get to the hospital. He left his car a few feet from the valet entrance
and we hurried in. Chara had already been moved up to the surgical unit so
there wasn’t much to do except wait in the recovery area waiting room on the
third floor. I knew it was time. Officer Flynn pointed to a dining table and
chairs set apart from the sofa and soft chairs. Since I didn’t have a driver’s
license I showed Officer Flynn an expired NY State ID card and bank debit card
with my name on it.

“Both of these cards are expired
Luke. Do you have anything else?”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”

“Okay. This is all getting weird.
Someone tried to kill you out on the highway. It appears the cab driver may
have been in on it so it must have been planned which means there
is much more
going on here than a random robbery. To add to
the mystery, you have no current identification.” Officer Flynn paused for a
moment and continued, “I need to know right now, what exactly is going on.”

I looked around the room. A family
had just come in and sat on the sofas. “It’s a bit complicated and difficult to
explain Officer Flynn.”

“Try me!” Officer Flynn sounded a
bit annoyed.

My mind was racing. If I told him
the truth it would just make him angry. I had an idea. It was kind of desperate
but it was all I could think of. I reached into my wallet and looked for
Assistant Director Abbott’s business card. “I’m going to contact someone and I
hope he will be willing to explain it to you.”

I was relieved to hear Abbott’s
voice on the other end. He recognized my name and number which appeared as Luke
Riley on his phone. “Yes, what’s up Luke?” I wanted to put the phone on
“speaker” but I couldn’t because of the family sitting a few feet away.

“Something terrible has happened
and I need your help.” Officer Flynn sat listening to one side of the
conversation.

“Someone tried to kill me and
Chara on our way to the airport.”

“We took a cab. The driver said he
had to stop at a restroom. While he was in the restroom, three men attacked us
with silenced weapons. They hit Chara before I was able to jump into the
driver’s seat and escape.”

“No. We’re at the hospital now. I
don’t know her condition. She’s in surgery now.”

“I’m in the surgical recovery
waiting room with the officer who pretty much saved our lives. I’ll explain
that in more detail later. For now, I need some help or advice, explaining
everything to the officer. I don’t have any current identification. My old ID
card is from when I was here a few years ago.”

Assistant Director Abbott was
quiet for at least two minutes while I sat there awkwardly with Officer Flynn
staring at me. Finally, Assistant Director Abbott asked me to tell the officer
who was on the other end of the line and then hand him the phone.

“I have on the phone, the
assistant director of the FBI, Assistant Director Abbott. He wants to talk to
you.” Officer Flynn looked like a rabbit in the headlights when I handed him
the phone. I sat there quietly listening. I could hear Assistant Director
Abbott’s voice on the other end but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
Officer Flynn didn’t say a word until the conversation was over.

“I understand Director Abbott.
Whatever you say.
Thank you very much,” Officer Flynn said
before hanging up the phone and giving it back to me.

Officer Flynn looked stunned and
confused. “What did he tell you?” I asked quietly. I wondered how much of the
truth the assistant director had told him.

“He said you are a in the Witness
Protection Program and I should not ask you any questions. He told me what I
really needed to do was protect you and the woman. He verified his identity
through some security application using his voice. It was really the assistant
director.”

Officer Flynn waited there with me
until well after his shift had ended. Finally about 11:00 PM a doctor came out
into the waiting room to greet us. “I’m doctor Mulroy. We removed two bullets
from her neck and upper chest. She will make a full recovery but she will be
here for at least five days.”

“Five days is fine with me,” I
said. Office Flynn looked as happy as I did.

The doctor started to leave and
then suddenly stopped and turned around to face me. “When she gets assigned to
a room, can you help the staff with her information? We know nothing about her.
I was hoping she is your wife and maybe you can tell us something.”

“She’s not my wife. She is just a
friend and colleague. What is it you need to know?”

“She needed several units of
blood. We couldn’t ‘type’ her blood. It doesn’t fit any of the classifications.
I was wondering if you knew anything about that. I know it’s a longshot but do
you happen to know what type her blood is?”

“No. I don’t actually know her
that well,” I said. “Were you able to give her blood?”

“We gave her the universal blood
type ‘O’ but a few minutes after the infusion started, she started having an allergic
reaction. We were terrified for a few minutes but then as fast as the reaction
started, it just stopped and she was fine.” Doctor Mulroy paused and continued,
“What nationality is she?”

“I think she’s Scandinavian,
originally from Finland or Sweden.”

“It was the strangest thing I’ve
seen in almost thirty years. But everything is fine now so there’s nothing to
worry about. I’ll tell the nurse to come down and get you when she’s assigned
to a room.” The doctor left and I wondered if they would notice anything
unusual in her x-rays. I wondered if they would notice she was missing a few
digestive organs.

“I appreciate all you’ve done,” I
said to Officer Flynn. “You don’t need to hang around any longer. I’ll give you
my phone number if you want to give me a call in a few days.” Office Flynn had
switched off his police emergency mental state and seemed relaxed enough to let
his civilian emotions out. He gave me a quick hug and left. I sat there
thinking that eventually everything would work out. Chara would recover and we
had plenty of time to make it to the Azores. We would plan the announcement to
the human race and our mission would be completed.

“What then,” I mumbled quietly as
I was deep in thought. The situation with Chara had calmed down enough for me
to think about LeAnne. “LeAnne doesn’t even know I’m back here,” I thought.
“She has probably moved on with her life. Perhaps I should contact her,” I
wondered quietly.

I was stunned out of my deep
daydream by the sound of my phone. It was Assistant Director Abbott. I figured
he was calling to see how things went with Officer Flynn. “Luke, I have some
shocking bad news.”

“More bad news?”
I asked. “Well I do have some good news about Chara. She
will recover and be released in a few days.”

“Thank god. That’s a relief,”
Director Abbott said.

“So, what’s the bad news? What
else can go wrong?” I asked.

“It’s Atik. He’s been killed.”

I was speechless for a few
moments. I felt a mix of emotions. I felt anger and sadness but I also felt
violated. We came to Earth to help the human race and we were getting killed
for our efforts. I snapped out of my state of shock and anger as fast as I had
sunken into it. “But they left for the airport before us. We didn’t hear
anything so I figured they boarded their plane and they were well on their way
before we left for the airport. What happened?”

“They got to the airport okay and
they even checked in.
Gomeisa said that Atik went to the restroom just
before they started boarding and he didn’t return. They held the plane up for
twenty minutes while Gomeisa searched all the restrooms. They found his body
underneath the monorail bridge that goes from the terminal to the gates. He was
shot multiple times.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on Director Abbott. Why
would someone want to kill us?”

“Our suspicion is that there was a leak and some religious
fanatics got wind of it. This is going to be a big deal to the religious
fanatics. I expect that when the announcement is made, there will be
demonstrations and maybe even riots for a while. You know how we humans are.”

After
Assistant Director Abbott
hung up I began thinking that maybe humans weren’t ready for Phase III. They
still are violent and territorial, I thought. I didn’t really know Atik that
well but I knew he had a family back home. I thought it was such a terrible
waste. I imagined that the kind of people that would kill someone because they
were afraid of having their religious beliefs shaken up are the same people
that are probably opposed to assisted suicide. I thought they were hypocrites
and closed minded fools.