In the Shadow of Love (22 page)

“We don’t have to kill her.  We just have to drug her and put her in a barrel.”

Morris heart almost stopped.  They were talking about Maggie.  He had to find out where she was and fast.  His pulse raced as he looked for a way out.  First he’d have to deal with the two men ordered to end Maggie’s life.

They worked their way to the far side of the room.  “Here, these are the empty ones.”  The older voice said.

The screeching sound of metal scrapping across the concrete floor made Morris cringe.

“Jones, look out!”  The older man screamed in alarm as one of the drums started to fall, but it was too late.  The steel drum fell on top of the younger man pinning the lower part of his body underneath it.  The older man rushed to his younger co-worker to see the extent of the damage.

“Jones, you okay?”

“No, man!” he said through teeth clenched in pain.   “It hurts like hell!”  The younger man referred to as Jones squirmed under the weight of the metal container.  “Get this thing off of me.

The two men struggled to free Jones from his painful trap.  The older man grunted as he strained against the metal obstacle.

“Hey, this thing’s leaking.”  Blue liquid seeped across the floor.

“Don’t worry, it’s just washer fluid.”

“Since when did washer fluid smell like – like alcohol!”  The younger man was now covered in blue liquid.

The older man touched the puddle of fluid and held the evidence to his nose.  “What the hell?”

“Stay there, I’ll get help.”

Morris knew he had to make a move and fast.  He couldn’t let the other man bring reinforcements.  He had to stop him.  Jumping in front of his path the man looked startled then fearful as Morris held his weapon directly at the other man’s face.

“Step back nice and easy.”  Morris’ voice was calm.  It always was in situations like these.  His heart was racing inside his chest as he worried about Maggie and her safety but his hands were steady as was his gaze.

The man on the floor looked up at Morris in total helplessness as his partner in crime backed up in his direction.

“Who the hell are you?”  The older man had regained some of his composure but still obeyed the persuasion of Morris’ weapon.

“The police and you’re going to help me.”  Morris’ tone was unforgiving and left no room for argument or negotiation.  Showing his badge he wanted the two men to fear
and
trust him.  He might need their cooperation later.

Retrieving his handcuffs Morris instructed the older man to get on the floor while he handcuffed the two together.  It didn’t take any further persuasion for them to talk, and talk they did, telling him exactly where Maggie could be found.

“If you’re smart you won’t make any noise.”  His eyes sought out those of the injured younger man.  “I’ll send help as soon as I can.”

Reluctant to call in on his police radio for fear of alerting the Lieutenant to his presence, he navigated the halls of the outer rim of the warehouse and found the room where Jones said Maggie was kept.  The younger man was only too eager to help the one man who could summons help for his injured body.

Listening at the door he waited for any kind of sound.  Silence.  Either he was given bad information or Maggie was alone.  He didn’t have time to second guess.

He opened the door to a room bathed in darkness and quickly entered, closed the door and hugged the wall behind him.  Allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness he heard the uneven tempo of shallow breathing across the room.  Flipping the light switch he saw her tied in a chair, her mouth duck-taped. She struggled to communicate through the barrier across her mouth, her eyes large with fear. A finger to his lips, Morris silently cautioned her to stay still as he slowly crossed the room.  He cleared his way past the furniture without detecting the presence of anyone else.

“This is going to hurt a little.”  His voice was apologetic as he crouched in front of her, his eyes asking her forgiveness as he gently tore the gray, sticky tape away from her mouth leaving red marks where the adhesive material had been.

“He’s a cop, Morris.  He’s a cop!”  Maggie spit the words out as fast as she could.

“I know.”  Morris’ voice was full of anguish, disappointment and rage.  “It’s Lieutenant Baxter, the Chief’s second in command.”

“What are we going to do?” her voice a whisper as he worked to free her from the ropes that bound her to the chair.  “What if he comes back – and those two men,” Maggie’s voice began to choke.  “Those two men were ordered to kill me.”

He grabbed her into his arms.  “Shhhh.  I took care of those two.  They won’t hurt you.  Ever!”  He held her closer, tighter until there wasn’t any room or air left between them.

“I thought I’d never see you again.”  Tears fought for words as Maggie held onto him.

For a short while he had felt the same but he couldn’t say it, didn’t want to say it.  “Nobody’s ever going to hurt you again.”  He hugged her even closer.  “That’s a promise.”

She leaned her head back and looked up into his eyes.  Their green color glistened through the mist of her tears.  He gently stroked her face as he peered into the depth of her soul looking for the truth.  And he found it.  She loved him.  It took his breath away.

“I love you, Maggie.”  His voice was raw with emotion.  The thought of nearly losing her brought tears to his eyes.  “I want to be with you for the rest of my life.  If you’ll have me.”

Before she could answer, Morris lowered his head towards hers and kissed her with all the depth and passion of a man who was telling the truth.

Struggling to catch her breath, her cheek resting next to his as she clung to him she whispered, “I love you too.”

He didn’t want to lose the moment but getting Maggie to safety was his number one priority.  “Right now I have to get you out of here.”   He pulled her arms down from his neck and steadied her away from him, his body now aching from losing contact with hers.

Maggie pulled back even further.  “But what about Owen?”

“Owen?  We don’t even know where he is.”  Morris paused hating to say what came next.  “Or, if he’s even alive.”

“But he is.”

“How do you know?”

“I heard that Lieutenant Baxter talking in the hall telling those other two men that before they killed me,” she swallowed hard, “they were going to use me to get Owen to talk and tell them some kind of code they needed.”

Morris straightened.  “I’d prefer to get you out of here first and come back for Owen with proper back up.”

“I’m not leaving without him.”  She was as stubborn as ever, and he knew it wouldn’t do any good to try to reason with her.

“Okay, but first we have to come up with a plan.  Do you know where they’re keeping him?”

“Yes.  He’s in the foreman’s office.”

“All right, you stay here and–”

“Oh no, I’m coming with you.”  Maggie’s voice was unyielding, her stance defiant.

Morris knew that arguing with her would just waste time.  They needed to act and fast.

Maggie held onto Morris’ hand for dear life as he led her away from the room where she had been kept and expected to die.  They crept down the hallway as quietly as they could, searching for the foreman’s office and Owen, her heart beating frantically.

The silence was deafening, interrupted only by the continued pounding of her heart, and even though Morris had rescued her from a certain death, they weren’t out of danger yet.  The sudden cadence of heavily-booted feet running up the hall broke the silence and Morris quickly pulled her along with him.

They were in terrible danger and Maggie mustered the strength to keep up with him surprising even herself.  The image of her sons and the life they would have without her gave her the surge of adrenalin she needed to keep going.

Morris continued to test door handles looking for an unlocked door and a place to hide as they navigated the warehouse corridors to escape the din of running marauders – Lieutenant Baxter’s men, no doubt. They must have found the other two tied up and discovered that Maggie was no longer isolated.

After several locked doors one finally gave way to his demands and he pulled Maggie inside yet another darkened room.  He held her close as he struggled to lock the door, not letting go as he whispered in her ear, “Don’t say anything.”

Pulling a small flash light from his pocket he scanned the room with its pointed beam, inspecting every inch before satisfying himself that they were alone.  He guided Maggie away from the door and behind a desk that was across the room.  They huddled in silence, save the sound of their labored breathing, waiting for their pursuers to pass.

Then the inevitable sound of heavy footsteps sounded close by - too close as the rattling of the door knob made Maggie gasp.  Morris instinctively placed a hand across her mouth.

“Check all the exits.”  The voice was loud.  “Don’t let them escape!”  The last words were barked out as footsteps and voices faded down the long hallway.

After what seemed like an eternity Morris lifted his hand from her mouth.   Maggie didn’t dare speak.  Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding inside her chest.

“Stay down.”  She did as he commanded.

The beam from his flashlight shown like a beacon in the dark.  Pulling away from Maggie, he followed the path of his light to the other side of the room.  A chill ran through her body without the warmth of his protective hold.  Shoving aside the fear that gripped her, she quietly crossed the room, blindly but carefully avoiding any of the sparse furniture in her path.

Peering down the length of the only light in the room, Maggie was horrified by the strips of familiar gray tape and shortened ropes that littered the floor around a chair in the corner.  Blood stains told a story of torture and pain.   She now feared for Owen’s life, wondering if her escape accelerated her captor’s plan to get what he wanted.  Her mind whirled with all the horrible things that might have happened to him.

But Morris had come to save her.  She braced herself and sought the strength to do whatever it took to get out of this mess alive.

Turning off his flashlight Morris grabbed her by the shoulders.  Pulling her close he whispered in her ear, “We don’t have much time.”

Maggie’s instinct was to hold onto him even tighter.

“I want you to stay here.”

Tensing at his words, she tried to pull back but he held onto her.  When she tried to resist, he held on even tighter.

“I’m going to find Owen and get us out of here.”  Tracing his hand down her arm her took her hand in the dark and placed the cold metal of his gun in her hand.

“If anyone comes in here besides me, I want you to–, “she tensed, “–I want you to do whatever you have to do to protect yourself.”

Her heart froze.  She’d never fired a weapon before let alone at someone.  She didn’t know if she ever could, a shiver cursing through her body at what he was asking her to do.

“Trust me, Maggie, when your life is being threatened you’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive.”  He read her thoughts.  He was good at that.

Reluctantly taking the full weight of metal into both her hands, she took a deep breath and felt Morris do the same.

Feeling him turn away she sensed him hesitate before slowly opening the door allowing the light form the outer hall to spill through the narrow crack.  Looking from side to side he closed the door and turned, giving Maggie one last hug that threatened to take her breath away.  Then he ushered her behind one of the few pieces of furniture in the room – a desk and pulled her down until they were both on their knees.  She held onto his arms to steady herself in the dark, amazed at his prowess in complete blackness.

“I want you to stay here and don’t leave for any reason.  Not till I get back with Owen.”

She felt him leave, then saw the thin ray of light through the door as he walked stealthily away from her.

The silence surrounding her was more ominous than the darkness that kept her from seeing her own hands in front of her, the heaviness of Morris’ weapon reminding her of the danger they both faced.  She felt her blood course through her body as she waited for him to return.  The agony of time passing slowly was more pronounced by the uncertainty of the situation.

Squirming under the desk she bumped her knee against its sharp edge.  Pain shot up her leg and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.  She held her breath waited for it to subside.

Morris words,
“When your life is being threatened you’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive
,” gave her confidence.  She prayed he was okay and that he’d find Owen alive.

The sound of the door knob turning made her jump.  She anxiously pulled herself from her hiding place under the desk and limped over to the door through the darkness.

Then the sound of metal against metal interrupted her journey as she realized a key was being turned in the lock.  Morris didn’t have a key.  Stepping back, she braced herself against the desk that once served as her refuge.

Light from the hallway spilled slowly into the room as the door opened, the contrast almost blinding her while her eyes tried to adjust from total darkness.

Raising her arms, Morris’ weapon firmly held in both hands, she readied herself to do the one thing she never thought she’d ever do - take the life of another human being.

Her eyes still burned from the sudden light in her face but she could see the silhouette of a male figure filling the doorway - too tall to be Morris.  She felt the gun shake in her hands and willed herself to steady her aim.

“Hello, Maggie.”  That voice!  A shiver ran up her spine.  The memory of the first time she saw him in a doorway – her doorway – made her grab the weapon more firmly and with a determination she’d never known before.

“Now, that would be a mistake, Maggie.  You wouldn’t want to hurt Owen, now would you?”

“Where is he,” her voice was assertive, her eyes still adjusting to the light.

“Put the gun down Maggie and we’ll talk.”  He advanced further into the room, his face still in the shadows.  If she could just see his face, maybe she’d know what to do.