The Twelve Stones (44 page)

Christina whimpered and
withdr
ew
her hand guiltily from her pocket.

“No reason for not behaving civilly.” Kline turned back to Emily, “You knew a young man named Alexander McCray
,
did you not?”

Emily’s stomach dropped like a rock, the dark man smiling at her reaction.

“Who?” Emily asked
,
her voice cracking.

Kline tilted his head
.
“Come now
,
Miss Harper
.
Alexander McCray
;
you two dated for a time, did you not?”

“That was a long time ago,” she replied, her voice hardening. “He’s been dead for six years.”

Kline considered her response for a moment, and then took out his PDA from his waistband.

“It seems as if you two did not have an especially trusting relationship.”

Kline punched a few buttons
,
bringing up
Alex’s
picture from the Sheriff station’s shootout video. He maximized the picture on the screen and slid the PDA across the desk towards Emily.

She refused to look down, staring into the billionaire’s eyes. Kline spoke gently, coaxing her to look down at the picture below her.

“Haven’t you always wondered?” Kline hissed, “Why he never called? How he died? If he left you, why
there
was
no explanation?”

Emily’s heart sank into her throat. Her eyes began to water as Kline’s sinister voice filled the room around her.

“He promised you everything
,
didn’t he? He promised to love and care for you, and he betrayed all that didn’t he?” Kline’s voice became silky smooth. “And now, I come to you, telling you he’s alive. Don’t you want to know? Don’t you want to see if it’s really him?”

Emily’s eyes began to wander, darting down towards the PDA in front of her.

“That’s it.” Kline whispered, “Look at him and tell me that’s Alexander McCray.”

Y
es, as the dangerous man had promised, there was Alex, holding a gun, which he appeared to be firing towards the interior of the police station.

“That’s a trick.” She hissed, tossing the PDA back to him. “Alexander McCray died six years ago in some sort of accident on an Army base. Christina…” She whipped her head around, turning towards her frightened assistant. “Call security and get this man out of my office.”

Kline rose, frowning as he did so. “I’m afraid we don’t have time for this
,
”
h
e
said,
calmly reaching for the needle gun.

He fired
it twice before the two of them even had a chance to react
.
T
he
two aerodynamic needles locked themselves into the two ladies’ necks.

Christina fell forward, her body stiff as a board. Emily made a move to catch her
,
but didn’t make it quick enough as the second needle from Kline’s gun stung her neck. She couldn’t react as her body revolted on her and froze instantly.

The neurotoxin burned like fire as it wound its way through her veins and nervous system. She tried to scream, but to her horror, she found herself on
ly barely able to gasp out loud.
T
he muscles in her diaphragm and throat locked up tightly, making any attempt to
cry for help
fruitless.

As
Kline watched Emily topple to the ground like a
log
falling in the forest
,
Geoffrey poked his head into the room
.

“The security wipe is complete. There’s no evidence anyone was here
,
other than our little parking lot cleanup…” Geoffrey trailed off as he looked to the two women on the ground, “Who are they?”

“That
,
my bald friend
,
is our insurance policy. Grab them both and take them to the helicopter.” Kline put the needle gun back into his coat pocket.

Geoffrey looked around at the two women. They were small; both were barely taller than 5’6”. Hoisting the brunette over his shoulder, he leaned down to pick up the Chinese girl when Emily fell off his back, landing unceremoniously with a thud on the ground.

“All righty
,
” Geoffrey said to himself as Kline rolled his eyes. “Let’s try that again.”

Geoffrey leaned down and picked up Christina this time first, holding her stiffly under his left arm. He pointed towards Emily, “Sir, do you think you could…” Geoffrey used all his strength to hold onto Christina. She was a small woman, but it was harder than you think to carry dead weight.

Kline just shook his head. “I’ll take this one
,
Mr. Tate. You hang onto her.”

Kline leaned over close to Emily’s eyes
,
smiling maliciously into them. Emily was frozen in terror.

“Don’t worry
,
little one
,
” Kline said
,
smoothing her hair down, “
t
his will all be over soon.”

The two men hauled the ladies out of the NASA complex like an armful of cord wood. Kline and Geoffrey stepped outside back into the parking lot
,
where the helicopter was still idling on the ground, the blades spinning up as the helicopter prepared to take off.

Kline leaned Emily’s stiff body inside the helicopter and began looking around the parking lot. A smile began spreading across his face. He motioned to the helicopter
,
shouting over the engine.

“Strap our passengers in, Mr. Tate. I want to leave a message for our young friend.”

Geoffrey nodded and Kline turned to the parking lot, rubbing his hands.

With the grace and poise of an Olympic bodybuilder, Kline hefted the nearest SUV up on its end, twirling the large automobile as he tossed it up into the air.

The Chevy Blazer crashed as it landed upside down on top of an old Prius. Kline cackled at the sound of breaking glass and screeching metal.

Kline whistled while he worked, tossing the cars that
w
ere
left into a towering pile in the middle of the parking lot. Stepping back to admire his handiwork, he heard Geoffrey calling over the rushing wind from the helicopter’s blades.

“
Sir, it’s probably best that we leave now
,
before any authorities can get down here.”

“
I’m an artist
,
Mr. Tate. You can’t rush these things
,
” Kline called back to Geoffrey. Sticking his thumb out, getting a perspective, he walked over to one of the few cars not yet destroyed by his art. Grasping the rear bumper firmly, he tossed the small vehicle on top of the pile.

“
Fin!” Kline cried out in satisfaction. He twirled
,
humming to himself as he made his way back to the helicopter. Smiling, Kline looked at his sculpture in triumph. This was some of his finest work
,
he
decided.

Geoffrey Tate extended his hand out the helicopter door
,
ready to assist his boss. He stared at the road leading into the complex.

“
Sir…” Geoffrey warned,
and
pointed for his boss’
s
benefit.

A strange vehicle was hurtling its way down the unpaved dirt road that led into the Allen Telescope Array complex. Crashing through the gate, it sped its way towards the helicopter.

Kline’s eyes narrowed. This was an unwelcome intrusion.

“
Critics?” Geoffrey asked
,
needling his boss.

Kline shot his underling a look, shutting Geoffrey up instantly.

The tires screeched to a halt in front of the wreckage and Kline’s art project. Stepping out of the car holding the MP4 he had taken from the commandos back at JPL, he aimed it directly at Kline’s head.

“
Get off the helicopter!” Alex shouted forcefully. He was in warrior mode; the Alex McCray Scott knew had disappeared, the same way he did back at the firefight at JPL. Scott wasn’t sure he liked this version of his friend. But for now, he was glad Alex could play the badass.

Kline looked at the man holding the muzzle of a gun to his face. He removed his sunglasses and stepped down from the helicopter’s running board.

“
Ahh, Mr. McCray. I was hoping we would meet. Rupert Kline
,
at your service.” Kline extended his hand
,
a glint in his eye.

“
Get down on the ground!” Alex yelled at Kline, ignoring the proffered hand.

Scott
,
cowering behind the steering wheel
,
darted his eyes at his friend. There was something wrong. This had become personal.

“
Or what
,
Mr. McCray? You’ll shoot me?” Kline extended his arms in a Jesus Christ pose. “What is it you Americans say? Go ahead…make my day.”

“
I’m warning you!”

Kline sighed
,
lowered his arms and began walking towards Alex. “Mr. McCray, I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time right now….”

Alex fired the MP4 purely on instinct. Kline had dropped his hands and began advancing. It was all the provocati
on Alex needed. Aim center mass.
D
ouble tap
.
Squeeze the trigger;
don’t pull
.
N
o need to put more effort than necessary. The five and a half millimeter rounds sped through the air
at
over
an
incredible
900
miles an hour
,
aimed at their target.

Kline’s body spun as the rounds hit his body.
He
fell to the ground with an audible thump. Geoffrey Tate withdrew his sidearm, grabbed Emily
—
who was still paralyzed
—
and dragged her out of the helicopter and onto the ground in front of him, using her body as a human shield. Pointing the gun at her temple, he whistled loudly to get Alex’s attention.

“
Hey
,
lover boy! Put it down!” Geoffrey screamed at Alex. “I don’t have a problem taking this chick’s head off!”

“
Drop your weapon or I’ll drop you too!” Alex shout
ed back. “I’ve killed your boss.
T
his is already ended
;
the only difference in the story will be the body
count
. This is your only warning. I said drop it!”

Geoffrey cocked the hammer back on his nine millimeter. “You know those gnats you always try to squash but you never quite get? You’re one of those gnats
,
and you're due for some bug spray up your ass.” He wrenched Emily’s neck and pressed the muzzle deeper into her temple, which began to draw blood.

“
Now
,
now
,
Mr. Tate, don’t be rude.” Kline stood, brushing himself off. Alex and Geoffrey watched in amazement as he began brushing down his chest, the metal bullets clinking audibly as they hit the parking lot.

“
I’ll be feeling these bruises for a week.” Kline complained as he checked the rest of his body. He began walking towards Alex
,
who again raised his rifle.

“
Stay back
,
or we’ll find out how long it hurts when your balls get bruised!” Alex warned
,
pointing the muzzle downward towards Kline’s crotch.

Th
at
stopped Kline.

“
All right
,
Mr. McCray.” Kline raised his hands in an act of conciliation. “What do you want?”

“
Let Emily go
.
S
he’s
got nothing to do with this!”

“
Neither do you
,
Mr. McCray.” Kline hissed back, composing himself
.
He then
continued, the smile returning to his face. “I’m curious to know how you knew I had one of the twelve
.
”

“
I didn’t.” Alex replied, somewhat confused
.
“I didn’t even know you existed before today.”

Kline’s eyes searched Alex, his keen sense of human behavior searching for any signs of deception. His mouth broke into a smirk, and he nodded. Kline moved towards one of the few cars he hadn’t upended in the parking lot for his masterpiece and dropped the tailgate
,
hopping up and sitting peacefully on the bed of the truck.