The Protector (31 page)

Jack removed his hand from my back and moved it in between our two bodies. A fire shot through me as he took his hand and lifted my face from his chest. He looked into my eyes and tried desperately to smile.  He slowly began to lower his head as if to kiss my lips. I desperately wanted to move mine to meet his, but I couldn’t. I was paralyzed.  I suddenly felt stupid, caught in a moment with him, when we should have been worrying about the man who had been tailing us.

I looked into his eyes, which had cooled to the golden brown I adored. I almost melted again.  But instead I pushed my hands into his chest and pushed him away right before his lips touched mine.  I could tell he was taken aback by my abrupt behavior “What are we going to do? Does this road lead out or is it one entrance in and out.”

Jack suddenly stepped back into reality. “I don’t know. But I think we should make a stand here.”

My head shot up in shock. “Make a stand? This isn’t  the last stand at the Alamo Jack. You are NOT Daniel Boone and I am NOT Annie Oakley.”  I walked toward the passenger door of the car.

He followed not far behind. I saw him reach behind his shirt and feel for his gun.  “Annie Oakley wasn’t at the Alamo Sonny.”   He had a smile on his face now. “Where are you going?”

I sighed in exasperation.  “I was clearly making a statement Jack. I am aware she was not there. Now what are we going to do?” I bent down to grab the gun and I felt his arm encircle my waist and drag me from the car. “What the hell Jack.” I yelled as he pulled me away from the car.  “He is coming , you said it yourself.”

He put me down on the ground and turned me around to look at him. “I need to find out what his plans are and stop him or he will keep following us Alison. We need to change our plans.”  Jack’s voice was stern and in charge. 

Jack’s cell phone rang and it startled us both.  Jack reached into the car and grabbed it from its place between the two seats. “Seth?”

“Why? “ Jack paused in mid conversation. “I see, great one more problem to add to the mix. Anyone else know where we are?” I watched Jack listened to his friend on the other end. I saw the shock return at the fact it was Seth who had sent these people. Jack continued to listen intently but he was also watching the road that led to where we were parked. His eyes furrowed together toward the end of the conversation. He looked almost betrayed and I felt sorry for him.

Jack flipped the phone closed and looked at me in utter dismay. “We have company.”

“Bad company?”

He nodded his head, “not sure yet. We are staying here, they will be here shortly.”  I understood his statement and worried at the same time. There was definitely something he wasn’t telling me, I just didn’t know what.

“They?” I stepped closer to Jack coming within inches of him. 

“The guy from the airport and someone else. It appears we have more trouble than I thought at first.”  There was distinct anger in his voice but I couldn’t tell who or what that anger was directed at.

“Confused, Jack.”

As we said this we heard a car driving through the campground slowly. Jack grabbed my arm and slammed the car door, “Run.”

“What? I thought you said.”

“I know but until I know this is all on the up and up, I want you to hide in the bushes.”

“The gun? It’s in the car.”

“You won’t need it.”

“Jack?”  We ran a short ways into the woods. It was dense enough that we could see the campground, but they would have a hard time finding us.  There was a faint sound behind us, I guessed it was the rush of water. But I wasn’t sure.

“I want you to stay here. If something goes wrong, I want you to run along the water down there. It runs right by a bunch of campsites back there.  Find one with people and tell them your husband was trying to hurt you.  Then get a hold of Seth.”  Jack handed me the cell phone which I shoved into my back pocket.

Panic overtook me as we waited for the mysterious black car to show up.  I could feel my pulse quicken and my body began to shake. I was overjoyed that I didn’t have the gun. I probably would have shot myself accidently anyway, complicating matters even more.

“Sonny,” I heard his sweet voice next to me. I was so concerned with watching for the car, I didn’t realize how close he truly was to me. I felt his hand on my arm and I turned to look at him. His eyes were still the sweet golden color.  “I promised you I would look out for you and I keep my promises.” 

“I know.” I whispered.  His face was once again close to mine. I could feel his breath on my face. 

“I’m not ready for you to be out of my life yet.”  He finished doing what he wanted to do earlier and gently kissed my lips.  An electric current shot through my body. It was stronger than the jolt I had felt before. It was only a brief kiss, but it was soft and tender.

Jack moved away from me and looked toward the car.  “If I want you to run, I am going to fire my gun at one of them, hopefully both of them. Run like hell.”

I nodded in agreement. “Be careful,” I said after him, but I was pretty sure he had not heard my words. They were soft. The current still pulsed through my veins as I watched him walk back up to the car.

             
I was about 100 yards way, but could see clearly the road and the car.  He walked to driver’s side and leaned up against the car, laying his arms and his gun on the top of it.  He was stiff in his stance, ready for whatever the black car brought.  He glanced briefly to where I stood and smiled. I know it took effort. This wasn’t a smiling situation.

The car we thought we heard earlier had never come this far down the road. But the car I heard now, I was pretty sure it was the car we were waiting for.

The black Camry drove very slowly up to where the BMW was parked.  I thought I noticed two people in the car but I wasn’t sure from where I stood. I watched as Jack tensed up as the car came to a complete stop a few yards away. 

The passenger door on the Camry opened and a tall dark haired man, emerged, carrying a weapon. He wore jeans like Jack, what looked like hiking boots, and a long sleeved tan shirt.  He stood holding the gun in his left hand and he held his right hand up, almost to what looked like a surrender posture.

I looked closer at the man and it looked, as best as I could tell to be the same man at the Tel Aviv Airport I had been talking to when Jack walked up.

“O’Brien?” I heard him call from his car.

“That’s me what do you want?”  Jack held his stance.  He was behind the car for what looked like protection, but he also had moved the gun to its side, but he still held on to it, in case he quickly needed to fire it. I could tell, that he had the advantage on this man.

“We’re not here to hurt her.”  Joed did not move from where he stood.

“She’s not going with you, Israeli.”

A quirky smile grew across Joed’s face. “Then you have spoken to your friend Seth.”

“Yep.”  Jack did not move as the words came out. He said nothing more, only confirming what this man already knew.

“Then you know we want Alison’s help.”

“Yep. But it’s not happening.”  Jack moved his feet a little farther apart and sank about an inch.

I strained as much as I could without the risk of being seen so I could hear the conversation. I was not one to sit still for any length of time, but this was a life and death moment I had to be as still and as quiet as I could. 

“They are looking for her too.  They are just searching in the wrong place. Eventually they will catch up with you.”  Jack’s face was full of confidence and it did not disappear as this man spoke.

“Not if I can help it!  Joed, wasn’t it?”

The Israeli man lowered his hand and gripped the car door.  “We want to help hide her. “

Jack nodded his head in disagreement.  A breeze had come up from the south moving the tree branches.
             
“Alison?” Joed yelled my name and looked around the campsite. “I know you can hear me.”

I froze where I stood.

“She’s not coming to talk with you.  I’m the one you need to be addressing.”

Joed turned his attention back to Jack.  “She can help us catch whoever arranged this. All she has to do is lead them to believe she will give them the right processor. Think of it as a good deed for her country.”

“She’s not doing it.” Jack again nodded his head. “I’m afraid you are barking up the wrong tree.” 

“We can keep her safe in exchange for the processor. That is all we want is her safe and the processor. And, I am afraid you have no choice.”

“I agreed to nothing. I am her caretaker and well frankly, I don’t give a flying fuck to what you and Seth agreed to. She is not a pawn.”

Joed slowly raised his right arm again and stepped away from the Black Camry.  “Let us help you keep her safe. They will come looking for her.”  Joed did not plead with Jack. He merely stated the fact. They would come looking for me and they would eventually catch up with us. Jack wasn’t buying it though. I could not see his eyes, but in the few short weeks we had been together, I knew his posture.

“What until they catch up with us. Then you ask her to hand over the processor and she dies as you have a shootout with the nut who wants it for a nuclear bomb? Not going to happen my esteemed colleague.”

Joed took a step toward Qui and he didn’t flinch.  “You need us, if they come looking for her?”

Jack only nodded his head. “I need a lot of things, but I can protect her without you.”

I listened to the exchange, but I tried desperately to focus my eyes on the driver of the car.  I couldn’t see who it was, male or female.  Whoever it was turned the ignition to the car off and opened the driver side door to get out.  A woman with long red hair who looked to be in her thirties got out of the car. 

“You do need us.” Her voice was feminine and her tone assertive. “We are not dealing with a small time group. They are angry they were deceived and they want the processor.”

Jack smiled. “Noor, how good of you to join us. Haven’t seen you since,” he paused and thought about his words,” Afghanistan. Thought the Taliban had gotten you.”  His words were sharp and curt.

This exchange was getting tiresome. I watched as the woman closed her car door and slowly walked to the front of the car. It didn’t look like she carried a weapon of any kind.  “No you weren’t that lucky.”  Obviously these two had a history. A history I was pretty sure Jack would tell me nothing about. I continued to watch as she walked even closer to the BMW.  Jack didn’t move at all as she approached him. His weapon, was still pointed toward Joed.

“I don’t want to be here Jack. I have better things, bigger people to contend with than your little girl.  But Seth asked me to help and well, you know I can’t refuse Seth. So let us get this over with and we all go on with our lives.”

Little girl, I repeated with anger in my voice. Ok, so I was young and happened to get caught up in something highly beyond me, but little girl? Who the hell was this woman? I was twenty five, a college graduate with a
Master
s
Degree and she was calling me a little girl?  Her arrogance or was it ignorance infuriated me.

“Give it up Noor. Did Seth honestly think that if he sent you I would agree to this?” Jack watched the woman carefully. “You know my love for you! Have I not always made that obvious?”  Jack continued to look back and forth from the woman he now spoke to, to the man still standing by the other car.  He finally, lightened up his stance a little, He appeared less tense but his aim was still on Joed.

“I volunteered to come. I wanted to confirm the fact you have gone mad! Now put the gun down and let’s all talk. Where is the girl? In the car? Or hiding in the woods?”

The red headed woman looked around the campground. She looked in my direction, but I don’t think she actually saw where I was. Jack stood still not glancing in my direction, not glancing in any direction for that matter. He just stood there with his mouth shut.  I wondered what I should do?  My heart was racing in anticipation of everyone’s next move but the fear was gone. I wasn’t afraid of these people. Something about them, their calm, the way they talked to Jack, like they were colleagues, even if he did not like them.  I shifted my feet quietly and continued to watch the exchange.

“Alison is safe and that is all that matters. Now, thank you for your concern.  Israel will get the correct processor, when everyone can guarantee me that Alison is safe.”

“You can’t negotiate what is not yours Jack.  The processor NOR Alison.  You know Conway wants you brought up on kidnapping charges?” 

I listened in horror as Noor said this. Kidnapping charges? Jack hadn’t kidnapped me.  I went on my own good will after someone tried to kill me. Twice in a day, I reminded myself.  My instinct was to stop the conversation right then and let them know that wasn’t going to happen.  I wasn’t going to let Jack get into trouble because I was an idiot.  I could hear the thump of my heart as I contemplated what she said.   My legs ached from standing in the same location for so long. I shifted again my weight and looked toward Jack. He was expressionless.

J

“I didn’t kidnap her and you know it Noor.  Leaving her in Albuquerque was signing her death warrant. Tom’s dead and it wasn’t some Islamic terrorist organization that killed him.”  Jack pulled his hands and the gun away from the car. “Maybe we should tell Alison the truth? Tell her, that someone within this country wants her dead.”