Chapter 55

Finally something was going right! Nikolai, the team leader, had been completely frustrated as one thing after another kept one or more of his targets out of town. He had tried to see if two at a time wouldn't satisfy the client, but Viktor had been firm about it. All four of them in one place, bound, and in good condition - it was that or no payoff.

There was no way the client was spending all of this money just to have a chat with the four kids, so what was the big deal about good condition? The client would never know that they had had some fun with the girls, first. What was the difference, anyway? Personally, he liked them meatier, but there was no doubt they were lookers.

From what Viktor had said, the client had wanted them to be snatched at school and brought back. That was ridiculous, and Nikolai would have walked away from even the handsome payoff being offered rather than risk all of those complications.

Viktor had made a point that the one kid, the football player, was into martial arts. Shit, it seemed like every other kid nowadays was doing Tae Kwon Do or one of those chink things. Well, let's seem him handle eight tough guys with his chop suey tricks.

Nikolai was really pissed about all of the money he had had to spend on investigators to track where the kids were going to be, although he had to admit that they did a great job. It had just been cutting into his profits for way too long. At least he had not had to spend much on the crew of toughs he had hired. He just hoped they could follow instructions enough to get them the payoff. There was no way he could tell mugs like that not to pack heat, but he had tried. He had hammered on the fact that the kids had to be alive and in good condition. Just like him, they would only be paid on successful completion. Of course, he got expenses along the way, but he was anxious for the big bucks.

Well, this was it, and he could not have set it up more perfectly. The safe house had been ready for a couple of months. Now, the four targets were the last ones at the cemetery, and they were all in the same vehicle. There had been three days for him to prepare and he had decided that the cemetery was the best place for the snatch. There was no way he could have predicted the way the kids fell right into his hands.

He knew that they were couples, so he had been sure that he could grab them two at a time. With two vans and two crews, he was prepared to pull each couple out of a crowd separately. The vans were stolen, of course, and could not be traced. They had cell phones for communication and walky-talkies for short range.

The maintenance and office building for the cemetery were near the last intersection before the exit. The vans had been not looked suspicious parked beside a couple of cemetery trucks. From there, it was only about thirty yards to the intercept point.

Nikolai had chosen to drive the van that would pin them from behind. They would all jump out and surround the SUV. They had mallets in the vans if they needed to break windows to get the targets out. They also had handcuffs, blindfolds, and even chloroform, everything necessary to restrain the kids and get them to the safe house.

He had paid extra for an experienced driver for the other van, the one that would cut off the SUV from the front. That driver had done his job perfectly, and it was time to make some money.

As Nikolai opened the driver's door of the back van, his passenger swore. Nikolai looked over to the right and was surprised and angry to see three kids sprinting away down the road toward the exit with none of his men yet in pursuit. A foot chase? What a nuisance! How had they gotten out so quickly? They were supposed to be frightened and easily trapped in the SUV.

Vans! The unavoidable images of how THE DAY had started assaulted Cal's mind. His emotional response was not fear, but anger bordering on rage. Two of the three most important women in his life were threatened. He had no doubt about that fact. All of this went through his mind in a split second before his training kicked in.

Figure out the enemy's plan, than act to disrupt the plan. That was what he had been taught. His instantaneous assessment was that the occupants of the vans intended to either kill or capture one or more of his group. No, if killing had been the objective, they would have just opened fire, not boxed them in as they had. It must be a kidnapping. As far as tactics, they most likely intended to trap him and the others in the Suburban. Then, they could carry out their plan in a controlled manner.

The first defensive step was to try to destroy the attackers' initial advantage. They had to get out and run. Instinct told Cal that assailants would soon pour out of the vans, probably many of them. It was not much, but he could make sure that they had trouble getting out of the one in front of them.

"We've got big trouble! Out the right side, hurry! Run! Stay together! Run down the road and out of the cemetery! I'll be right behind you!" Cal yelled. The exit was nearly two hundred yards ahead. Cal assumed that the attackers wanted the relative isolation of the cemetery to make the snatch. Once again, disrupt and hope for more opportunities.

As he said it, while the girls were piling out of the car and Bobby was scrambling across the seat toward the passenger side door, Cal eased the Suburban ahead so it was tight against the side of the van. Before getting out himself, he set the parking brake, turned off the engine, and pocketed the key.

The driver in front had pulled his van into a perfectly centered position. The nose of the Suburban now prevented either the passenger door or the sliding rear door from opening. The only way out of the van was through the driver's door. It should take longer to get the occupants out and chasing them.

Cheryl, Rebecca, and Bobby were all good runners. It was a cold, dreary day, and all of the women had opted for warm shoes rather than dress heels for the time at the cemetery. Who would have thought how important that might become.

Cal was confident the girls could outrun most men for quite a while. Where they could run to and be safe was another problem, but at least they were not trapped inside as the attackers had planned. The attackers' task had just been made more difficult. It was all Cal could do to start with.

Cal had told the others to get out the right side feeling that he was best equipped to be the 'rear guard'. He chose to leave by his door rather than scrambling over the console. As he jumped out, he was planning to run around the back of the front van. Hopefully, he could do something to keep the attackers from getting out the driver's door and giving chase.

Glancing back as he stepped to the ground, he saw the driver's door of the rear van opening. Reacting instantly, thinking only of disruption, he charged with everything he had, ramming the opening door with as much force as he had ever used on the football field.

The driver, Nikolai, had just put one foot on the ground when the door slammed into him. The window glass hitting his head knocked him unconscious so he did not feel the extreme pain from the breaking of the wrist that was pushing the door open nor the massive trauma to the knee that was violently pinched by the closing door.

The impact hurt Cal, but he refused to let it slow him down. Just as he was about to dart away to protect the others, he had an inspiration. He yanked the unconscious man from the van and stepped up on the running board. The engine was still running, so he pulled the shift lever to 'reverse' and jumped out. He had noticed that the passenger's seat was empty, so there must have been at least one man on the road chasing his friends. There might have been more, including some from the front van.

As he was dashing back to the Suburban, he heard an oath coming from inside the van. Apparently, the sudden reverse had delayed one or more others from getting out. Every disruption helped. It took only a few seconds to release the park brake, start the engine of the SUV, and back up enough to clear the van in front of him.

Just as Cal drove past the front of the van, a man came onto the road after leaving that van. The man had no idea that the Subarban had gotten free and he ran right into it's path.

Whether it was rage and anger or the tactical need to decrease the odds, Cal would debate with himself later. He resisted the instinct to dodge around the man and accelerated right over him, feeling the 'thumps' as both driver's side wheels went over the body.

Cal had not had time to ponder what level of force he should be using. He decided that this was indeed a deadly force situation. Not knowing the odds, he knew that it was critical to get as many attackers as possible completely and permanently out of the chase. The best outcome, though, would be to pick up the others and drive away without any more contact with any of the attackers.

Aa Cal accelerated down the road, he was about to honk to let the others know he was coming, but he saw another pursuer not too far ahead. The man did not seem to have noticed Cal, so Cal headed right for him. At the very last second, the man noticed the Suburban bearing down on him, but he was too late to avoid it and was sent flying to the side of the road as Cal sideswiped him.

There were two more men ahead, one of them frightening close to Cheryl. As he bore down on the next man, the man heard the noise and darted off of the road. That would slow him down, and that was all Cal could do right then. He honked to alert the others that he was coming, rolling down the window and waving his arm so that they knew he was driving.

It was no surprise that a collection of toughs would have at least one former athlete. The passenger from the rear van had gotten out very quickly. He was much faster than Cal would have expected and he was gaining on Cheryl.

Cheryl heard honking behind her. Risking a quick look backward, she could never remember a sight as welcome as the Suburban coming her way with Cal's arm waving out the window. The sight revived the hope that had been turning to panic in her mind.

All was not good news, though. The closest man was very close to her, and would surely catch her before Cal reached her.

Something was wrong! She looked back again and saw that the man had stopped and was turning around while reaching behind his back. All she could think about was 'gun'. If that was true, Cal was in extreme danger - they all were.

At first, panic and horror almost overwhelmed her. It was fear for her lover that pulled her out of it. First rule, Master Jessie had hammered into them, was 'don't let them do what they plan. Any disruption helps.'

By the time she was in motion back toward the man, he did have a gun. It was clear and swinging toward the Suburban. Overcoming her shortness of breath from the sprint, she let out a blood-curdling scream. His right hand had the gun, so she kicked with all of her might at his right arm.

He had turned almost completely, but she still had a good shot at his arm. Her scream froze him momentarily and her foot connected solidly with his elbow.

The gun went off and the bullet tore through the upper branches of a nearby tree before whining off into the distance. The man had been turning counter-clockwise, and he continued around. As his face came into view, Cheryl could see what she knew instinctively was killing rage on his face. She had saved Cal, but she had no doubt that the man now intended to use the gun on her.

As he turned, the man was intent on bringing the gun to bear on Cheryl with his right hand while his left arm was extended to provide balance. Acting on her training, Cheryl planted her feet with the left foot forward and grabbed the gun arm with her left hand. Shifting her body weight as in her strongest kill shot, she put everything she had into a blow to the man's exposed throat.

Because he had not finished his turn, the man's larynx was perfectly exposed and Cheryl could feel the sickening sensation of tissues tearing at impact. There was no danger of her being sick right then, however. There was still the gun.

Risking his left hand being able to strike or grab her, she got both hands around the forearm of his gun hand. Turning her body, she slammed the gun hand into her knee and the gun fell to the ground. Missing on the first attempt, she kicked the gun as far away as she could.

When she could finally look at the would-be attacker, she could see his eyes bulging and his left hand grabbing for his throat. She had to quell a brief, instinctive urge to try to help him, but the Suburban had shot squealed to a stop. Turning away, she dashed to the few stops to the road, forcing the encroaching nausea down by sheer will power.

When he honked and waved, Cal had seen all three glance back at him. Rebecca was first, Bobby next, and Cheryl last. Cal knew that Cheryl could have easily outrun the other two, just as he knew that she would take the protective rear guard position.

He also saw the man who had been catching up with Cheryl turn, but he did not just glance back. Instead, he spun toward Cal with a gun in his hand. At that point, Cal was mere yards away, almost point blank distance for an automatic.

As he ducked his head so he could just see over the dash, Cal saw Cheryl turn, rush the man, and kick him from behind. There was a gunshot but no impact. Just as he hit the brakes to stop beside Cheryl, he was horrified to see the man swing the gun toward her.

Of all the wonderful memories of his lover, the next three seconds would be imprinted more clearly than a video. If he had not urged her to take up martial arts, she would most probably have been the one dying on the ground of that cemetery, rather than the attacker.

At just that instant, Cal screeched to a halt beside her. Jamming it into park, he scrambled over the console and opened both passenger side doors before moving back. Bobby and Rebecca had stopped and come back toward where Cal stopped, and they all jumped in. Before the door was even closed, Cal took off at full acceleration.

Cheryl turned in her seat, looking back at her victim. The man was thrashing around, clutching at his throat. Even as they turned out of the cemetery onto the public street, she saw has thrashing stop.

"They're not following," she said to Cal as she turned to face forward.

Cal was concerned for his lover. He knew how having to kill could affect a person, and he was certain that she had killed the man. He watched her carefully as they drove down the street and turned onto a main road to head for his house.

He had another big concern as well. He had been about to call 911 when it occurred to him what would happen if he did. "Listen, Guys. I think we had better act as if nothing happened here."

"What?" Rebecca almost shouted. "We have to call the police!"

Cal slowed to make sure they did not attract the attention of the police. "Think about this," he said, still watching watching Cheryl for any signs of shock. "If we get the police involved, we will probably be forbidden to leave town. Cheryl is going to the national championship next weekend and she cannot afford to miss practice."

"Ohhhhh!" Rebecca said. "I hadn't thought of that. It could screw up my grades. Bobby's, too."

"Mine, too!" Cheryl chimed in. "But what about that man?" Cal was thrilled that she was able to respond.

"That makes it a problem," Cal said. "Two men, actually. I ran right over one. We don't know if they are dead, but I think so. One of the men I hit could also be critically hurt, but I doubt it.

"Here's what I think will happen. Those men will want to cover up the deaths, too. They will not want it known that they were even here. Remember, if a death occurs during the commission of a crime, all of the perpetrators are considered guilty of murder. Unless I miss my guess, they will dispose of the body or bodies."

"Is that true even if it's one of the bad guys that dies?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes."

"I guess I had heard that," Bobby said. "Why do you think they were after us? Will they try again?"

Having recovered remarkably well, Cheryl snarled "Penelope Overland! She believes we're responsible for Greg's death, and she wants revenge."

"What was she going to do?" Rebecca asked in shock.

"Probably have us all brought to some place where she could kill us herself," Cal answered.

"On, my God! Would she really do that?"

"I suspect she is clinically insane," Cheryl answered Rebecca. "With all of her money, she could buy anything."

"But we didn't kill him!" Rebecca insisted. "He's the one who caused all of the problems!"

"If she's crazy, she won't see it that way," Cheryl explained.

"If that's what she's trying to do," Rebecca insisted, "then we have to call the police."

"Sis, I hate to tell you this, but the kind of people Penelope could hire, the police couldn't protect us from."

"So what do we do? How do we protect ourselves?"

"Penelope probably paid a lot of money to have us kidnapped. The only way to fix it is to pay more money to have them forget about us," Cal said.

"Genevieve?" Cheryl guessed.

"Right," Cal answered.

"But why would she do that?" Rebecca asked.

"Family reputation means everything to her," Cheryl answered. "I once hated her guts and I still can't say I like her. She has proven to be honorable, though. I think she respects us."

"What a mess!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Look at it this way," Cal said thoughtfully. "If we give Genevieve the chance to clean this up herself, we will have a powerful friend for as long as she lives."

"Genevieve, a friend?" Cheryl asked with a note of sarcasm.

"I know there's a lot of history for you to get past, Honey. I am sure that she respects you, though. Probably more than she respects anyone in her family," Cal said.

"Yeah, I picked that up the last time we saw her." After a deep sigh, Cheryl said "I don't see another alternative."

"This will be hard - pretending it never happened," Bobby interjected. "There will be people all over the house, you know."

"We'll be in real trouble if it ever comes out, won't we?" Cheryl asked.

"It never happened," Cal said firmly. "We didn't do anything wrong! I don't want any of our lives disrupted because of those scumbags."

When the conversation died down, Cheryl started to show the signs the Cal had feared. He pulled into a parking lot and pulled her to himself as much as he could. "Bobby, will you drive the rest of the way, please?"

Once in the back seat, snuggled against Cal, Cheryl's tears came. He did not try to say anything - nothing really needed to be said. After all of their discussions about Cal's violent episodes and the men he had killed, they both knew the feelings and the rational arguments that justified her actions. They also knew that rational arguments could not wipe out the very human revulsion at taking a life.

It was indeed very difficult to enter the house and act like normal mourners.

They all managed an admirably calm entrance. Cheryl's eyes were red and her face was a bit of mess, but everyone attributed that to a delayed grief reaction. She was expected to be somber because of the occasion, and Bobby and Rebecca were not in the 'limelight', so no one was suspicious.

As soon as they had all been seen, Cal pulled Cheryl aside and said "I want you on the phone with me," and they went into his room with an extra hand-held phone.

When the phone rang at Genevieve's mansion, the servant who answered had been through the dance with Cal before. When he identified himself, she summoned Genevieve without having to be threatened.

"Hello, Cal," Genevieve said. "I was saddened to hear about Cheryl's..."

"I don't mean to be rude, Mrs. Overland, but I have something very serious to talk about. Two vans full of men attacked me, Cheryl, my sister Rebecca, and her boyfriend Bobby. We believe they intended to kidnap us. The attack took place at the cemetery, just after Cheryl's father's funeral."

"My God!" Genevieve exclaimed with a totally uncharacteristic oath. "I have had people trying to find out if she was up to something." The probability of Penelope's involvement was so strong that she did not need to say the name openly.

"The four of us are due to fly back to school this evening. We have not reported this to the police because they might have detained us. Between grades and sports events, none of us could afford to be detained," Cal explained.

"The threat of a repeat of this attack will be stopped, Mrs. Overland," Cal said in a very firm voice. "I have friends who can see that it is done by force. I am offering you the chance to solve it yourself and perhaps keep the family name from being damaged.

"Just so you understand just what is at stake, I am going to tell you something that only the four of us know," Cal said solemnly. "We are quite certain that two of the attackers were killed. I think you know the legal ramifications of that - for the four of us, and for her."

There was a lenghty pause before Genevieve responded "I will take care of it. You have my word."

"I was sure that you would agree. I probably don't have to tell you that it may take a good deal of money to buy some people off. You may also have to get, uh, forceful to get the necessary information. If you cannot handle that, I will stay and take care of that part."

"Young man, I am more than ever in your debt," Genevieve said. "That goes for all of you. I realize the risk you take in not reporting this. You have acted more honorably than my family deserves. I no longer have any compassion that would prevent me from getting the information. As soon as you hang up, I will make the necessary calls to get things in motion. You can all return to school and continue to succeed. If there is anything you need to help you get past this, please let me know."

Viktor could not believe what he was hearing. His plant at police dispatch had just relayed a call 911 from the cemetery's caretaker. There had been a commotion involving three vehicles and some people chasing others. A probable gunshot was also mentioned. That meant that the snatch had been attempted, but he had not heard from Nikolai about the outcome. Nikolai was the only one who knew about Viktor.

This simple snatch job was going to be Viktor's biggest personal payoff ever. Had Nikolai managed to bungle it? He had used the man before and considered him reliable. They had waited so long for a chance at the four kids together. Who knew when they could make another try?

Knowing that it was not a wise move, Viktor could not restrain himself and dialed Nikolai's cell number. A groggy sounding voice, identifiable as Nikolai's, said "Yeah?"