Mark Young - Off the grid

One thing was for certain, Richard Kane was no longer a threat.

Gerrit heard a blast at their level. One of the doorways breached.

Willy.

“Alena, sounds like they blasted their way to where we left Willy. Keep Joe covered. I’ll check to see who’s coming our way.”

He dashed through the front until he came to the door separating him from where they left Willy. Reaching the doorway, his back pressed against the cinderblock wall to the left of the door, he reached down and quietly turned the knob with one hand. He slowly pulled on the door, opening it just a crack to allow him to see into the next room.

A man yelled across the room. “Gerrit. Hold your fire and stand down. Beck and Jack sent us to save your butt.”

Relief swept through him as he opened the door wider. “Show yourselves.”

A man in camouflage gear rose from behind one of the consoles and walked toward him. “The place is secure. All hostile fire has been dealt with. What’s your status?”

“Main target dead. One friendly in need of medical help. Half dozen of Kane’s technicians are cuffed and cornered in this room.” He pointed with his chin.

“Don’t shoot!” Willy shouted, rising from behind a computer console, hands held high.

“And that,” Gerrit said, “is our computer genius. Whatever you do, don’t shoot him.”

Gerrit propped the door open. He returned to where Joe still sat in the chair. His uncle seemed weak, badly shaken.

“How you feeling, Joe?” Gerrit’s chest tightened as concern broke through his resolve. How much pain and injury had Kane inflicted on his uncle? Anger gripped him like a steel vise.

Joe grimaced, his face even whiter under the harsh glare of a fluorescent bulb. “I’m breathing, Gerrit. That’s a whole lot better than what I thought might happen.”

Patting his uncle’s shoulder, Gerrit looked at Alena, standing next to them. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

She gave him a hard look, then shouldered her rifle, abruptly turning away without saying anything.

He started to follow, but Joe tugged on his sleeve. “Gerrit, wait. Hear me out. I heard what that creep said.”

“Is it true?” Gerrit asked, trying to mask his anger, staring down at his uncle. Only his hands shook. “Is my father’s blood on her hands?”

Footsteps could be heard drawing near. Several men approached with a stretcher. “These guys are going to check you out and then move you to the chopper.”

Grasping Gerrit’s wrist, Joe clung to him for a moment. “You have to hear the whole story, son. We all make mistakes. Alena has changed. Just give me a chance to explain.”

A medic appeared and began a cursory check of Joe’s medical condition.

“We’ll talk later. Just let these guys take care of you and I’ll see you topside.”

Joe tried to push them away. “I’m just fine. I don’t need to-”

“Do me a favor, Joe. Let them check you out and get you upstairs. You’ve been through a lot.” Gerrit backed away, allowing the men to cluster around Joe as they began to care for him. Seeing that his uncle’s needs were taken care of, he turned and retraced his steps through the building.

A few minutes later, he reached the front doorway and walked outside. Willy joined him. “Jack and Beck arrived at Sea-Tac and will chopper over as quick as they can. They asked for you to stay put.”

Alena stood on the helipad, staring out beyond the cliffs to the sea below. She seemed alone in the midst of all the activity. As he looked at her, Gerrit could not shake Kane’s last words. A few minutes later, she walked toward the cliff’s edge, never looking his way.

He heard men grunting behind him and turned to see two men carrying Joe on a stretcher. As they passed, Joe yelled out, “Put me down for a moment. I need to talk to my nephew.”

The man in the lead looked at Gerrit for direction. “Just give us a minute. Then he’s all yours.”

Joe tried to sit up as they laid the stretcher on the ground. Gerrit squatted and held him down. “Just relax. Let these guys do all the work.”

His uncle gave him an exasperated look but lay back, looking up. “We don’t have time to go into all the details, Gerrit, but you need to know that you can trust Alena. That everyone-including me-makes mistakes. She has more than made up for her past sins.”

“And the death of my father and mother,” he said, raising his voice. “Has she made up for that?”

Joe tried to raise himself again. “That’s what I am trying to tell you. Kane recruited her many years ago. She didn’t know what he and the others were all about. She thought they represented the U.S. at the time.”

“So he used her to kill my folks? Your brother?”

“Hear me out. At first, she thought your father was a threat. That Kane-through his government contacts-had been sanctioned to neutralize that threat.”

“Neutralize the threat? Give me a break. Dad was never-”

“I know that. And later, so did Alena.”

“What do you mean later? After my parents were killed?”

Joe shook his head vigorously. “That’s what I’m trying to get through your thick head. She came over to our side before your parents died. But by then, it was too late.”

Gerrit said nothing, waiting for his uncle to continue. One of the choppers lifted off and began heading toward Seattle.

Alena had moved closer to the cliffs, standing on the ridge looking down. Joe saw her standing in the distance and pointed toward her. “She was sent in by Kane to get close to Thomas. To find out where your father might be vulnerable so a second team could come in and take him out if need be.”

“So she spied on them? Betrayed Mom and Dad?”

“Would you put a cork in it for a minute and let me finish?” Frustration tightened his uncle’s features. “She got to know Thomas and your mom. They even invited her over for dinner. That’s where she first saw your photo and heard stories about you.”

Gerrit clenched his jaw, remembering the peace his parents’ home always seemed to bring when he visited. When he and dad weren’t arguing.

“She came to learn that your dad was not a threat to anyone, and that what Kane and the others were doing was actually a threat to our country. She warned your father about the danger, and he contacted me. Right after that, Kane’s men took me to that high-rise and had me do a midair dance.”

“So how did my father get lured into the garage? Why didn’t he have a security detail on him?”

“There was security. But he slipped away from the detail to be with your mother. He wanted to have a private dinner alone with his wife. It was a stupid mistake and it cost them their lives.”

Another thought came to Gerrit as he listened. “Does Alena know who triggered the bomb. Who actually killed my parents?”

Joe shook his head. “She was feeding information to Kane until she came to know and care for your folks. She cut off all communication with Kane and began her own preparations to live off the grid. Once she heard of the bombing, she hunted me down and helped me disappear. That’s when I contacted Travis, and he put me in contact with Beck Malloy.”

Gerrit’s shoulders sagged. His search for the actual killer would still continue. Sure, Kane called the shots, but Gerrit wanted to get his hands on the person who literally built and detonated the bomb. He wanted to find that person and put a bullet in his worthless brain. With Kane dead, he might never find out the truth. Or who, higher up, might have been involved.

He motioned to the medical team. “Can you guys get my uncle on the chopper? Need to have him checked out at a hospital.” Joe started to protest, but Gerrit waved him off. “I’ll come to visit you as soon as Beck and the colonel get here. Just relax and let these people take care of you.”