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Authors: Tierney James
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matter entirely.
The discussion quickly moved to strategy for extracting more information from Jamaal, the remaining terrorist. The four men had showed up at the Scott house to retrieve a bomb. Clearly they were not aware the vessel found in the backyard was a decoy. How had they known to look there? If that wasn’t the bomb where was it? Why had their equipment failed and given a false positive for radioactive matter?
“The equipment didn’t fail. Just came from the lab. The readout rang true.” Vernon took out his glasses from his shirt pocket and began twirling them in his left hand. “Which means…?”
“The bomb is still at her house.” Benjamin groaned as he ran his hand through his short grey hair. He had never looked more like an angry American eagle than at this moment. “Maybe Mrs. Scott can recap the last twenty four hours for us.”
“I doubt it,” Zoric said in his gravelly voice he’d acquired from years of smoking.
Benjamin straightened as if being challenged. He didn’t really trust Nicholas Zoric. Too dark. Too everything suspicious and creepy. “And why not?” he snapped.
Zoric nodded to the spot where he’d left the innocent housewife. “Because she’s gone.”
All eyes turned to the outside office where an empty chair sat with only a pair of handcuffs dangling down one side.
Chapter 6
The park ranger moved with stealthy silence through the trees until she reached the crystal blue lake. One hundred yards to the north she could see a large cabin bustling with activity. Kids skipped rocks across the waters that gently ebbed to shore. A rather good looking man in a red baseball cap sat nearby in a lawn chair with his hands locked behind his head. Sunglasses blocked the direction of where his eyes rested but the ranger guessed it focused on the children. From time to time he would smile and appeared to make a comment about their rock skips.
The little girl began to cry when the oldest boy let loose his rock too quickly and it flew back, hitting her. The man jumped from his chair and quickly scooped up the child as if he’d just saved her from stepping on a landmine. Dads could be so dramatic when it came to their little girls.
“There, there, Heather. Let Daddy see,” Robert coaxed as he tried to remove her chubby hands from the large red spot above her right eye. His pulse quickened at seeing the trickle of blood.
“Dad, I’m sorry!” Sean Patrick looked horrified and gently patted his sister’s leg. “Sorry, Pookie!” He often called his sister silly names that made her smile. She angrily pushed his hand away. “Let Daddy see, Heather. Please,” Sean Patrick begged.
Daniel joined them, concern showing on his young face. “Better get something on that, Dad.”
Robert frowned down at his sons. “You need to be more careful around your sister. She’s little!”
“Am not!” Heather protested as she pushed against Robert’s chest with both hands. “I’m a big girl!” she insisted.
“She sure is,” came an unknown feminine voice a few feet away.
Robert slightly flinched at the surprise intrusion. A park ranger dressed in a green uniform carried a faded camouflaged backpack which she slung down to rest on a tree stump. Her wide brimmed hat shaded her oval face, revealing only a hint of soft tan features. Light brown hair, the color of a baby fawn, strayed from her ponytail and framed her cheeks. Robert couldn’t help but notice in that instant that the top two buttons on her snug fitting shirt had been undone. The ranger nonchalantly wiped perspiration from her neck with a man’s handkerchief, and then stuffed it in her pants pocket.
“Let’s have a look, shall we?” The ranger squatted as Robert lowered Heather to the ground.
Heather pushed out her lower lip and wiped the last of the tears away before jerking up her chin in a show of bravery. She looked like her mother in that moment, Robert thought warmly. Tessa always put on a brave show when she
The discussion quickly moved to strategy for extracting more information from Jamaal, the remaining terrorist. The four men had showed up at the Scott house to retrieve a bomb. Clearly they were not aware the vessel found in the backyard was a decoy. How had they known to look there? If that wasn’t the bomb where was it? Why had their equipment failed and given a false positive for radioactive matter?
“The equipment didn’t fail. Just came from the lab. The readout rang true.” Vernon took out his glasses from his shirt pocket and began twirling them in his left hand. “Which means…?”
“The bomb is still at her house.” Benjamin groaned as he ran his hand through his short grey hair. He had never looked more like an angry American eagle than at this moment. “Maybe Mrs. Scott can recap the last twenty four hours for us.”
“I doubt it,” Zoric said in his gravelly voice he’d acquired from years of smoking.
Benjamin straightened as if being challenged. He didn’t really trust Nicholas Zoric. Too dark. Too everything suspicious and creepy. “And why not?” he snapped.
Zoric nodded to the spot where he’d left the innocent housewife. “Because she’s gone.”
All eyes turned to the outside office where an empty chair sat with only a pair of handcuffs dangling down one side.
Chapter 6
The park ranger moved with stealthy silence through the trees until she reached the crystal blue lake. One hundred yards to the north she could see a large cabin bustling with activity. Kids skipped rocks across the waters that gently ebbed to shore. A rather good looking man in a red baseball cap sat nearby in a lawn chair with his hands locked behind his head. Sunglasses blocked the direction of where his eyes rested but the ranger guessed it focused on the children. From time to time he would smile and appeared to make a comment about their rock skips.
The little girl began to cry when the oldest boy let loose his rock too quickly and it flew back, hitting her. The man jumped from his chair and quickly scooped up the child as if he’d just saved her from stepping on a landmine. Dads could be so dramatic when it came to their little girls.
“There, there, Heather. Let Daddy see,” Robert coaxed as he tried to remove her chubby hands from the large red spot above her right eye. His pulse quickened at seeing the trickle of blood.
“Dad, I’m sorry!” Sean Patrick looked horrified and gently patted his sister’s leg. “Sorry, Pookie!” He often called his sister silly names that made her smile. She angrily pushed his hand away. “Let Daddy see, Heather. Please,” Sean Patrick begged.
Daniel joined them, concern showing on his young face. “Better get something on that, Dad.”
Robert frowned down at his sons. “You need to be more careful around your sister. She’s little!”
“Am not!” Heather protested as she pushed against Robert’s chest with both hands. “I’m a big girl!” she insisted.
“She sure is,” came an unknown feminine voice a few feet away.
Robert slightly flinched at the surprise intrusion. A park ranger dressed in a green uniform carried a faded camouflaged backpack which she slung down to rest on a tree stump. Her wide brimmed hat shaded her oval face, revealing only a hint of soft tan features. Light brown hair, the color of a baby fawn, strayed from her ponytail and framed her cheeks. Robert couldn’t help but notice in that instant that the top two buttons on her snug fitting shirt had been undone. The ranger nonchalantly wiped perspiration from her neck with a man’s handkerchief, and then stuffed it in her pants pocket.
“Let’s have a look, shall we?” The ranger squatted as Robert lowered Heather to the ground.
Heather pushed out her lower lip and wiped the last of the tears away before jerking up her chin in a show of bravery. She looked like her mother in that moment, Robert thought warmly. Tessa always put on a brave show when she
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