Chapter 1

The crosshairs of the rifle scope were steady on the side of the man's head. Jonas couldn't take the shot because the man was walking and holding the 15 year old girl tight against his chest. The man's head was pressed against the side of her head and if Jonas pulled the trigger there was a high probability that the girl would be killed too. The man was walking along one of the many forest trails that bordered the river in the Shawnee Mission Park in Kansas City. The sun had just set and it was nearing dusk. The light would be fading in moments. Jonas was a little over 100 yards away on a little rise. He was right where Joe had told him that he needed to be to save the girl.

Jonas Gianni had been one of the top Mafia hit men in the country. That changed a few days ago when Jonas, his wife and daughter were killed. God, or Joe, or whatever name you wanted to call the caretaker of that strange garden Jonas had seen, gave Jonas another chance. His choices had been eternal damnation or a chance at Redemption. Jonas had a chance to spend eternity with his wife and daughter. It was a no brainer for Jonas. He became one of Joe's, or God's Protectors and his job was to protect the innocents of the world.

Jonas could see the man's aura through the scope. It was such a putrid dark yellow-black color that it would have turned most men's stomachs. Seeing an aura was one of the many advantages Joe was able to give Jonas. Joe called it an advantage. Jonas wasn't so sure. It could be very disconcerting when he walked into a crowd.

"I could use a little help here," Jonas muttered.

"Take your shot in three more steps," the voice in his head said.

Jonas's time sense stretched. It always did at times like this. The man's fast walk changed to a slow motion crawl from Jonas's perspective. One step and the man looked over his left shoulder. The cross hairs seemed locked on the man's head. Two steps and the man looked back over his other shoulder. Jonas took up the trigger slack. The man's foot came up for the third step. Jonas's finger started squeezing the trigger. The trigger was calibrated to an exact four pound pull and Jonas had just over two pounds pressure on it. A covey of quail flew from bushes to the man's left. At the same moment a siren from a police car shrieked from the road about a quarter mile away to the man's left. The man didn't hesitate. The man pivoted in mid step and he turned right to leave the trail. At the same time a knife appeared in his hand and it was moving towards the girl's throat. The man had turned directly towards Jonas. The remainder of the four pounds of pressure was applied as the man's foot struck the ground on the third step. The rifle bucked gently against Jonas's shoulder. Jonas thought he could almost see the bullet in flight as it traveled over 3000 feet per second to its target. The red dot that appeared on the man's forehead was almost an afterthought. His head snapped back. His arms went slack and the girl staggered away. She fell to her knees screaming. The man didn't even stagger under the impact of the bullet. He simply lay back onto a thicket of blackberry brambles and didn't move again. Jonas had the added proof that he was dead when the sickly yellow aura winked out.

Time snapped back to normal speed and Jonas heard the sound of the shot echoing over the gentle woodlands that surrounded the area. Police erupted from a tree line about 500 feet from where the girl was kneeling and crying hysterically. Most were uniformed police but they were led by a man in a suit coat. Jonas looked through the scope and had to smile to himself. The round shouldered figure with a paunch in a rumpled suit was an unlikely sight running across the field. The fact that he was outdistancing the younger men was even more astonishing.

Detective Cleves Jordan was racing across the field because Jonas had called him about two hours before. Jonas smiled at the memory.

"Detective Jordan speaking," the detective had answered the phone on his cluttered desk. His voice sounded rushed and harassed.

"Cleves, it's me, Jonas. There's a girl that's been kidnapped. I don't have her name but I've, ah, I've been ordered to protect her," Jonas had told the detective.

"How the hell," Cleves started then stopped what he was saying. He knew how Jonas knew. As improbable as it was, he knew that Jonas had a direct line to the guy upstairs. "This isn't even on the wire yet. It was just reported. We haven't even had time to post an Amber Alert," Cleves said lamely.

"Yeah, well, I guess I have a faster mode of communication," Jonas said. "Anyway, I've got to go. There isn't much time but I could use your help after I take the kidnapper down."

"What kind of help?" Cleves asked.

"Well, Joe said someone would need to calm the girl after I'm done. He, ah, he suggested you," Jonas replied hesitantly.

"Me?" Cleves yelled in shock.

Jonas heard his voice drop to a whisper on the phone.

"God, ah, Joe suggested me specifically?" Cleves asked.

"Yeah," Jonas said with a little laugh. "I thought he knew what he was doing but maybe I was wrong. Look, I need to go now. Go to the south end of the river road in Shawnee Mission Park. All that I know right now is that I will be near one of the forest trails in the south end of the park. Come running when you hear my shot."