Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Harper
Not being able to hear the conversation between Roger and the two agents is driving me out of my mind, but Jessie and Elijah are doing their best to give me a play-by-play. While I pace around the open living space, Carter makes himself comfortable on the couch and plays a game on his phone.
“The good news is that Zurkowski and Ackerman don’t want to shoot Roger. They have their guns in the low-ready position and are chatting away like long-time friends,” Jessie informs me. She is using a monocular to monitor the situation since they are approximately half a mile away, give or take.
“Let’s try and get a little closer,” Elijah adds. “If anything were to go wrong, it would take us a full minute to provide any assistance.”
Carter adds, “Stay within comms range. Harper is wearing a path in the wood flooring as it is.”
Elijah laughs. “Duly noted.”
Several minutes pass by without any change in the situation except for a text that comes through from Ethan with an update. Agent Simms and Agent Monroe will be arriving shortly to confiscate the evidence we found.
“There’s another boat approaching, and Ackerman has started the motor,” Jessie says.
A few seconds later, Elijah yells, “Shots Fired! Shots Fired!” but it comes through my earpiece at a normal volume. The muted tones don’t stop me from panicking, though.
“What’s going on?” I shout.
Jessie and Elijah ignore me as they throttle up their engines and race to provide backup.
Carter is on his feet and now pacing right alongside me, biting his thumbnail in nervous anticipation.
“Oh my…The boat is obliterated!” Jessie exclaims.
“Roger went overboard! He’s been hit!” Elijah screams.
My legs buckle beneath me, and I fall to the floor, listening as the events unfold and not being able to do anything about it. Carter drops to his knees and pulls me into an embrace as I try to fight back the tears.
With the boat gone, the jammer ceases to function. I listen as gunfire erupts, and it sounds like a war is going on in the background. Then, there is another explosion before the battle comes to an end.
The last thing I hear before we lose communication is Jessie saying, “There’s so much blood. We need to get him out of the water.” The moment they dive into the depths of the ocean, there’s a crackle and pop as their earpieces short out.
I begin sobbing in earnest, unable to contain the desperation and anguish racking my body. Carter rocks me back and forth while he prays.
“Dear Jesus, please provide Your protection over our team and all those involved in the skirmish. I pray that You will calm our racing hearts and blanket us with peace while we wait to learn the outcome. Our minds often imagine the worst, but we know that You have a grand plan, and it’s Your will that is done.
We trust in You and You alone, for You are our strength and our shield. In Your name, we pray, Amen.”
I echo the “Amen,” but that’s the only word I manage to get out.
Carter continues to console me and whispers the words, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”
I let out one last hiccup and wipe my face with the tips of my fingers. “That was beautiful. What verses did you quote?”
“Psalm 121,” Carter tells me as he gets to his feet.
He holds out a hand to help me up. “I repeat that Psalm when I need a reminder that God is always with us, caring and watching out for us. Our path in life is often treacherous and wrought with danger, Harper, but He is our shelter and refuge. He will protect us until it’s time for us to go home. ”
“You’re right, Carter. I’m not one prone to giving in to my fear, but this is the first time I’ve ever been absolutely terrified.
We have no way of knowing if Roger is dead or alive, or Jessie and Elijah, for that matter.
After that last explosion, they could all be gone.
The only way to know for sure is to go out there ourselves and search for them. ”
I gather my strength and walk onto the small pier that leads from the deck. I stand on the edge and shield the sun from obscuring my vision. I see smoke rising off in the distance and a helicopter flying by. Carter stands beside me and says just above a whisper, “We’ll know soon enough.”
I sit on the edge of the pier and let my feet dangle off the side; Carter sitting beside me as we wait in silence for any news. Nearly an hour passes before a speedboat I recognize comes into view. Elijah and Jessie are at the helm, but I can’t see Roger from my vantage point.
Carter jumps to his feet to help tie the boat as soon as Elijah navigates the boat next to the dock. “Help us get Roger inside,” Jessie says, moving toward the back of the boat.
“Is he alive?” I ask, jumping in to assist. As soon as Jessie stops blocking my view, I see Roger holding a towel to a gash on his head.
His eyes meet mine, and he smiles grimly. “That didn’t go at all how I thought it would.”
We get Roger inside, and I immediately go into “mama bear” mode, pulling out a medical kit and cleaning his wound. “I thought I lost you,” I whisper so only he could hear. “Please tell me what happened.”
Roger opens his mouth to speak when there is a loud bang on the front door. Jessie, who is staring at the camera feeds on Roger’s laptop, sighs. “I’ll get it. Thing 1 and Thing 2 have arrived.”
Roger winces when I apply pressure to the gash near his temple to stem the bleeding. I wince when Agent Simms storms inside and asks, “Can someone please explain why there are half a dozen Demon Kings floating in the Atlantic?”
“Maybe they wanted to snorkel and didn’t know how to swim?” Jessie replies acerbically.
“Sure, and their boat just happened to explode in the process? That makes perfect sense!” Simms shouts back. “What did you do?”
Jessie points to herself. “Me? I didn’t do anything. None of us did! Everyone was minding their own business when The Demon Kings just came up and launched an RPG and destroyed Zurkowski and Ackerman’s boat!”
“Zurkowski and Ackerman?” Monroe asks. “Our sources tell us that there were only six bodies, all associated with the Demon Kings. There hasn’t been a report of any others in the vicinity. Why were you there, and why were you talking to them in the first place?”
Roger shrugs. “They invited me.”
“If your team wasn’t behind the destruction, then who is?” Simms asks.
Roger shrugs. “I have no idea. I was knocked unconscious. I saw Ackerman and Zurkowski dive into the water just before their boat exploded. After that, I’m as blown away as you are by what went down.”
Jessie mimics playing the drums. “Ba-dum-shh! Dad jokes are in the house!”
Monroe scowls at Jessie. “Do you ever take anything seriously?”
“Do you ever lighten up?” she retorts. “A little humor goes a long way after a near-death experience. Pardon me for smiling in the face of adversity! You should try it sometime! Turn that frown upside down!” She stands toe-to-toe with Monroe and uses her thumbs to lift the corners of his mouth.
“See? That’s better. Maybe if you make it permanent, Melanie from the tech department will finally go out with you! ”
Monroe smacks her hands away. “Melanie is my wife.”
Jessie falls silent, and her jaw drops in surprise. The moment she closes it to say something in response, Simms steps in before the two of them have a playground scuffle. He points to Elijah. “What can you tell me?”
Elijah glances at Roger, silently asking whether or not he should share.
Roger nods. “Roger’s account is correct.
Zurkowski and Ackerman dove into the water just before their boat exploded.
The rest of their team came up behind The Demon Kings and took them by surprise.
We were busy trying to rescue Roger—who was hit with shrapnel—when the fuel tanks ignited on the vessel carrying The Demon Kings.
Zurkowski and Ackerman swam over and helped us get Roger out of the water.
We performed CPR while they took our jet skis and rendezvoused with Henrickson and Walsh.
None of us waited around to deal with the authorities. ”
I stop applying the second butterfly bandage to Roger’s forehead once Elijah finishes. “Wait. What? I thought The Demon Kings and my father were supposedly working together. Does that mean the agents we suspected of working for my father are working alone?”
Roger shakes his head and winces. “No, Zurkowski, Ackerman, Henrickson, and Walsh are all working for your father, and apparently, there are more agents working with him that we don’t know about.
Zurkowski said as much. We assumed they were all working together with The Demon Kings, but that was all supposition because of the blood found here in the cabana.
After today’s events, I can say with the utmost confidence that is not the case. ”
“What else did they tell you?” Simms asks stoically, arms folded and feet spread a few feet apart.
Roger grimaces and then looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Deputy Director Finnegan wants his daughter as far away from this as possible. He doesn’t want her wrapped up in whatever he’s got going on.”
I use the tips of my fingers to nudge Roger to look at me. “I’m not leaving you, and I’m not walking away from this case, no matter what my father wants.”
“I know,” Roger replies. Our eyes lock, and a silent understanding is shared between us. We’re in this together.
“That’s all?” Monroe asks.
“No.” Roger fidgets in his seat before continuing.
“Finnegan planned to bring me ‘into the fold,’ but as long as Harper is here, I don’t think he’ll do it.
He doesn’t want her caught in the crossfire, and because she’s married to me and is his daughter, there will be no way for her to escape it if things don’t go according to their plan. ”
“A plan they didn’t share with you,” Simms says. It’s not a question but a statement of fact.
“They were going to—if only to get us to back off—but that’s when The Demon Kings showed up.
I’m not sure how they knew when and where we would be, but they managed to locate us.
” Roger stands up, and I move out of his way, watching as he walks over to retrieve the tube containing the plans to build a nuclear bomb.
“This is why you’re here,” he says, handing the tube to Simms and then heading to the front door to open it.
He bows slightly and gestures for the two men to leave.
“We have more questions,” Agent Monroe says, but Simms holds up a hand.
“We can ask our questions later if we need to. Let’s let everyone get some rest and reattack tomorrow.”
Carter, who has been quietly sitting on the couch, gets up and stretches. “That sounds like a grand plan. We’ll see you later!”
Monroe huffs and is out the door, but Simms stops in front of Roger. “Finnegan trusts you beyond reproach. If you can dissuade Harper from pursuing this, then maybe you can learn the truth.”