Chapter 17
Hank swung his burly torso toward the cell door as the rough stomp of boots on concrete stopped outside. His cell opened with a hydraulic grating rush.
“Here’s your new roomie, Hankster,” the guard called out as a mean-faced, muscular young man covered in tattoos was shoved into the room, followed by the steely clang of the closing cell door.
Hank stood and fisted his meaty hands. His stance was met with one just as fierce. They stood face-to-face, measuring each other up. A standoff.
Hank nodded appraisingly. “Okay, boy, you’re tough, I’ll give you that, but I make the rules here, comprende, muchacho?”
Carlo shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I ain’t no boy.” He rolled his shoulders as if loosening his body for a fight.
Hank glared and raised a fist. “Go ahead… but I can promise you’ll regret it for the rest of what’s left of your life. Understand?”
Carlo wriggled his fingers in a come-on fashion. “Bring it, Grandpa.”
Hank had his hands around Carlo’s throat in an instant. “Rule number one. My name is Hank.” He threw Carlo onto the filthy concrete floor. “Rule number two. What I say goes.” He looked down at Carlo, who was gasping and massaging his throat.
“Rule number three. I get the top bunk and always remember to flush twice.” He snickered at his own joke.
Carlo raised himself to a squat and looked up. “Yes, sir.” He stood and crawled into his bunk.
A half hour passed before the announcement for dinner came over the loudspeakers and the cell doors automatically opened.
Hank swung down from the top bunk and stepped in front of Carlo with a smirk. “Age before beauty.”
Carlo swept his hand out before him as Hank passed. “Save me a seat.”
Hank returned the gesture by flipping him off, but when he got to the cafeteria, he kept the seat opposite him empty. Carlo sat down with a cautious expression.
“You’re okay,” Hank assured him in a gruff voice. “I told them you’re my girlfriend. They won’t touch you.”
Carlo’s face drained of color. Hank snorted.
“Don’t worry… You’re not my type. I prefer the female version.” Hank scrutinized his cellmate’s face tattoos. “You’ve got two teardrops, which I get, but what’s the one that’s not colored-in mean?”
“I just did that. It’s for the snitch I’m gonna get once I’m out of here.”
Interested, Hank leaned closer. “What happened?”
Carlo took one last bite of his dinner, then pushed his plate away in disgust. “This is worse than what they serve in juvie.”
“What’d you expect?” Hank smirked. “Prime rib?”
After a quick scan of the room, Carlo spoke in a harsh, rapid tone. “This one is for that skinny, white trash kid who turned me in for having a shiv—that he made for me. It’s going to be inked in when I get out of here and find him.”
“Snitches,” Hank spat. “I don’t blame you. I’m in here because of my no-good son.”
“Sorry, man. That sucks.”
“Yeah. Just wait till I get out of here. First, he ran his mother off, and since then he’s done nothing but make my life miserable.
” Hank proceeded to tell Carlo the story of the hit-and-run accident, and how, him being the good father that he was, he had only tried to help his kid, but now he was the one in the slammer.
Carlo’s forehead furrowed as the story unwound. “That sounds familiar. What’s your son’s name?”
“Jason. Jason Peterson.”
Shock passed over Carlo’s face as the speakers commanded the end of dinner. “Your son, Jason—was my roommate. He’s the snitch. I can’t wait to pay him back and fill in this tat.”
“We will both pay him back.” Hank spat with fury in his eyes. “He is no longer any son of mine.”
The pair spent the following weeks planning their strategy, which would be sprung into place when the opportunity arose. Both of them had become model inmates, and overtime were granted more privileges. Carlo was assigned a position as library aide, while Hank assisted in the weight room.
“Hey Hank. I got a break-through today on the computer in the library. They had me doing some inventory stuff, but I was able to do a search and found out your kid Jason is registered in 12th at Greystone High School.” It’s just over on the other side of Placer County.
Hank had slapped him on the back so hard that he almost dislocated a vertebra.
“Wait. There’s more. I used to live in a foster home around there and went to Greystone High School for a couple of months. I remember the layout. It’s a small school and the middle and elementary schools are in the same complex.”
They strategized in the evening on how they would plan their attack. Carlo drew a schematic of the school’s layout, which Hank memorized, and plotted what time of day would be the best to grab Jason and get their vengeance. They could almost taste the sweet revenge.
Afew weeks after Noah’s casts were removed, Ashley started her new job as a school nurse for children who needed specialized health care.
It was more of a challenge than anticipated, but she found herself engaged and enthusiastic.
The children and their families had unbelievable resilience.
And it was great to be on the same schedule as her girls.
Greystone Schools were located in a small rural community and served elementary, middle, and high school aged kids. There were several special education classes for the various schools, all combined on one complex.
Ashley loved that their home in the Sierra Nevada Foothills was just a fifteen-minute commute. Much better than the one hour commute each way to Sacramento, which was notoriously foggy in the winter.
Now that Emma was in the sixth grade, Ashley frequently saw her on the middle school campus.
Katie’s elementary school was just around the corner, a quick five-minute walk from the front door to her office.
The girls often did their homework after school in her office, then shuttled to after-school dance or art classes.
Katie still had her bi-weekly horseback riding lessons while Emma had decided to focus on the dance lessons that she loved. Life was good. Ashley had time to work out at the gym, run errands, or have her nails done. A part of her that had gone missing for some time was slowly coming back.
They would arrive home most days by 5:00 p.m. This was a great improvement from Ashley rolling in dog tired after dark, only to turn around and make the long commute back the next morning.
Most evenings, Noah would have started dinner, or they would have cooked together.
He was an excellent cook, and more importantly, relished it.
She missed the action of the NICU and her co-workers, but the advantages of this position certainly compensated.
Now Noah was able to drive and was fully engaged with taking the girls to their activities and being an equal partner in running the household.
Their relationship was stronger than ever.
They found themselves enjoying each other’s company like they used to.
Noah was scheduled to return to work next month if all continued to go well. He had graduated from physical therapy and was working out daily with weights and even doing some slow jogging. With routine exercise, he had regained much of his lost muscle, endurance, and strength.
His position would be administrative at first, but his goal was to be back in the game as an Air Attack Officer.
He would never have the endurance again to fight a fire on the ground, but he looked forward to the strategical battle from the air.
He was scheduled to start the tactical training in two months and be in the plane when fire season started in late May.
Ashley touched her face with her fingertips where Noah’s three-day beard had reddened her skin.
Her lips turned up softly as she remembered their lovemaking last night.
He was so tender, yet didn’t try to hide his desire for her.
Yes. Life was good, and she was thankful after all the anguish of the recent years.
Poised at the computer keyboard, she was in the process of compiling documentation for a student’s annual health review report when her phone rang. Sue Hendricks’s name popped up on the screen.
“Ashley, I’ve got to talk to you.” Sue was tripping over her words in a staccato tone.
“What?” Her hands stopped typing, and her full attention focused on the tension in Sue’s tone as her mind swept through a dozen scenarios.
Felix had poked his head in her door a few minutes ago, so she knew he was fine. She would have been notified first if there were a problem with either of the girls. Was it Noah? Her pulse quickened. Jason? Sue’s husband, Jeff?
“We just got word that Jason’s father, Hank, escaped from jail. The police notified us,” Sue’s voice trembled. “They think he’s after Jason.”
Ashley sucked in a breath. “But how could he escape? Why would he come after Jason?”
“Captain Adams, the supervising detective, told us that Hank had served his sentence for the attempted assault on a police officer. He and his cellmate were being transferred to a lower security level Forestry Conservation Camp to serve his remaining time. Somehow, they overcame the guards and fled. The police suspect they’re together and armed. ”
Ashley sputtered, “But why would they come after Jason and not just hide somewhere or get out of the country? I don’t understand. He’s a kid, for crying out loud!”
“I know. It sounds like Hank is out for revenge. Sorry, but I need to hang up and pick up both boys. I wanted to give you a head up. There’s a good chance they’re headed for Greystone if they know he attends there.”
Tingles of apprehension traveled up and down Ashley’s spine as she tried to digest Sue’s warning.
“Detective Adams has arranged for us to stay in a safe house until this blows over. Suffice it to say, Hank was overheard threatening to kill his son on numerous occasions. I’m leaving now and wanted to warn you. Be careful.”
There was a click, and the call ended.
The hair on her arms prickled. Then heat flushed into her cheeks as her mother bear's instinct reared its head. She punched Noah’s name into her cell. He picked up on the third ring.
“What’s up, babe? It’s not like you to call during work. Are the girls okay?”Ashley raked her bangs back. “Noah, Sue Hendricks just called me. Jason’s father broke out of jail and is armed and dangerous.”
Noah gasped. “What?”
Gripping her cell, she spoke in a terse voice. “I need you to listen to me. I’ve got a feeling something bad is going to happen. This man is crazy and could go on a shooting rampage. You heard the Hendricks telling us the awful things he would do to Jason when he got out of jail.”
Noah had seen enough evidence over the years of Ashley’s uncanny intuition. “I’m listening.”
“I just don’t trust this guy. I want you and the girls in a safe place. Go pick them up immediately. Take them to your parents’ house until it's safe.
“But Ash! What about you?”
“I’m not leaving my students. They need me. I’m responsible for their medical procedures and medication.”
She looked up at the clock and saw the minutes ticking by.
“Noah, he’s not going to come after me. Jason is the target, but I don’t think he’ll let anyone get in the way.
I want you all to be out of harm’s way. Take the dogs, too.
Leave Trina extra food and water. Please…
Listen to me… and hurry. Once the administration gets wind of this, the schools will all go on lock down all the schools.
It’s just a matter of time. Get them out of harm's way!”
“But Ashley,” he pleaded.
“Noah.” She spoke in a firm, no-nonsense voice. “Do it. Now.” Her breathing became more rapid as the words flew out of her mouth. “There’s a very narrow window of time. Sue and Jeff are already on their way to pick up Jason and Felix. They’re going to be under police protection in a safe house.”
There was silence on his end. She knew what she was asking him went against his own instinct to protect.
“Okay,” he said in a resigned voice. After the call ended, Ashley reached down and unlocked her bottom desk drawer.
Last year, after being assaulted at the hospital and having a near miss with a drug-seeking addict, she had signed up for classes at the gun range and passed the course to carry a concealed weapon.
The recent siege of school shootings was another reason for having protection for herself and, more importantly, the students.
She carried a small derringer in her purse in a specially designed locked compartment.
The school administration had approved her to be the primary medical response leader, but she was also part of the security team if the need arose.
The school staff had drilled and trained until their skills and responses were honed.
Of course, the hope was this would never occur in their small town, but now that there was a possibility, they were ready.
Ashley would never leave the medically fragile students who needed her.
She would stay and care for them until all were safe.
As the minutes ticked slowly by, she checked her emergency supplies and plugged in her cell phone to charge.
Ashley let out a sigh of relief when she saw the text from Noah that the girls were picked up and they were on their way to Noah’s parents’ house several hours away in the Central California Valley.
The derringer was loaded and secured in a holster on her waist with extra ammunition in her fanny pack.
A backpack with a well-stocked first aid and trauma kit was at the ready.
She settled back into her chair and emailed the completed student health report to the Individual Education Team members when the loudspeaker blurted an alarm and announced the lockdown.
She lifted her eyes toward the heavens in a silent prayer for safety and protection.
She turned her phone to vibrate and tucked it into the fanny pack.
Flipping off the lights, she left her office, locking the door, then set a brisk pace down the school corridor to join the other members of the security team.
As planned and practiced many times, they strategically spread out to their assigned positions while checking classrooms to make sure they were locked and secure with the lights off.