Sidney Sheldon - The sky is falling

Roger Hudson's voice said quietly, «We've been looking for you, Dana. I have Kemal here.»

Dana stood there, unable to move, unable to talk. She whispered at last, «Roger—»

«I'm afraid I can't control the men here much more. They want to cut off Kemal's good arm. Shall I let them?»

«No!» It was a scream. «What—what do you want?»

«I just want to talk to you,» Roger Hudson said reasonably. «I want you to come to the house, and I want you to come alone. If you bring anyone, I won't be responsible for what happens to Kemal.»

«Roger—»

«I'll expect you in thirty minutes.» The line went dead.

Dana stood there, numb with fear. Nothing must happen to Kemal. Nothing must happen to Kemal. With trembling fingers, Dana punched in Matt Baker's phone number. Matt's recorded voice came on.

«You have reached the office of Matt Baker. I'm not in right now, but leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible.»

There was the sound of a beep. Dana took a deep breath and spoke into the phone. «Matt, I—I just got a call from Roger Hudson. He's holding Kemal at his house. I'm going there now. Please hurry before something happens to Kemal. Bring the police. Hurry! »

Dana turned off her cell phone and headed for the door.

Abbe Lasmann was putting some letters on Matt Baker's desk when she saw the message display flashing on Matt's telephone. She dialed Matt's password and played Dana's recording. She stood there a moment, listening to it. Then she smiled and pressed the erase button.

The moment Jeff's plane landed at Dulles airport, he called Dana. All through the flight, he had thought of that strange note in her voice, that disturbing «If anything should happen to me.» Her cell phone kept ringing. Next Jeff tried her apartment. There was no answer. He got into a taxi and gave the address of WTN.

When Jeff walked into Matt's reception office, Abbe said, «Well, Jeff! It's good to see you.»

«Thanks, Abbe.» He walked into Matt Baker's office.

Matt said, «So, you're back. How's Rachel?»

The question threw Jeff for an instant. «She's fine,» he said tonelessly. «Where's Dana? She's not answering her phone.»

Matt said, «My God, you don't know what's been going on, do you?»

«Tell me,» Jeff said tightly.

In the reception office, Abbe pressed her ear against the closed door. She could only hear snatches of the conversation. «…attempts on her life…Sasha Shdanoff…Krasnoyarsk-26…Kemal…Roger Hudson…»

Abbe had heard enough. She hurried to her desk and picked up the telephone. A minute later she was talking to Roger Hudson.

Inside the office, Jeff was listening to Matt, stunned. «I can't believe it.»

«It's all true,» Matt Baker assured him. «Dana's at Abbe's. I'll have Abbe try her apartment again.» He pressed down the intercom, but before he could speak, he heard Abbe's voice.

«…and Jeff Connors is here. He's looking for Dana. I think you'd better get her out of there. They're going to be coming over there…Right. I'll take care of it, Mr. Hudson. If—»

Abbe heard a sound and turned. Jeff Connors and Matt Baker were standing in the doorway, staring at her.

Matt said, «You bitch.»

Jeff turned to Matt, frantic. «I have to get to the Hudson house. I need a car.»

Matt Baker glanced out the window. «You'll never get there in time. The traffic is bumper-to-bumper.»

From the heliport on the roof, they heard the sound of the WTN helicopter landing. The two men looked at each other.

DANA MANAGED TO FLAG down a taxi in front of Abbe Lasmann's apartment building, but the ride to the Hudsons' home seemed to take forever. The traffic on the slippery streets was horrendous. Dana was terrified she would be too late.

«Hurry,» she pleaded with the driver.

He looked at her in the rearview mirror. «Lady, I'm not an airplane.»

Dana sat back, filled with anxiety, thinking about what lay ahead. Matt would have gotten her message by now and called the police. By the time I get there, the police will be there. If they're not there yet, I can stall until they arrive. Dana opened her purse. She still had the can of pepper spray. Good. She did not intend to make it easy for Roger or Pamela.

As the taxi approached the Hudson house, Dana looked out the window for some sign of police activity. There was none. When they went up the driveway, it was deserted. She felt choked with fear.

Dana recalled the first time she had come here. How wonderful Roger and Pamela had seemed to be. And they were Judases, murderous monsters. They had Kemal. Dana was filled with an overpowering hatred.

«You want me to wait?» the taxi driver was asking.

«No.» Dana paid him and walked up the steps to the front door and rang the bell, her heart racing.

Cesar opened the door. When he saw Dana, his face lit up. «Miss Evans.»

And with a rush of excitement, Dana suddenly realized that she had an ally. She held out her hand. «Cesar.»

He took it in his huge hand. «I'm glad to see you, Miss Evans,» Cesar said.

«I'm glad to seeyou. » And Dana meant it. She was sure that Cesar would help her. The only question was when she should approach him. She looked around. «Cesar—»

«Mr. Hudson is waiting for you in the study, Miss Evans.»

«Right.» This was not the time.

Dana followed Cesar down the long hallway, remembering the incredible things that had happened since she first walked down this hall. They reached the study. Roger was at his desk packing some papers.

«Miss Evans,» Cesar said.

Roger looked up. Dana watched Cesar walk away. She was tempted to call him back.

«Well, Dana. Come in.»

Dana walked into the room. She looked at Roger, and she was filled with a blinding rage. «Where is Kemal?»

Roger Hudson said, «Ah, that dear boy.»

«The police are on their way here, Roger. If you do anything to either of us—»

«Oh, I don't think we have to worry about the police, Dana.» He walked over to her, and before Dana knew what he was doing, he had grabbed her purse and was starting to search through it. «Pamela told me you have pepper spray. You've been busy, haven't you, Dana?» He took out the can of pepper spray, raised it, and sprayed the contents into Dana's face. She screamed out with the stinging pain.

«Oh, you don't know what pain is yet, my dear, but I assure you, you're going to find out.»

Tears were streaming down Dana's face. She tried to wipe the liquid away. Roger politely waited until she had finished, then sprayed her in the face again.

Dana was sobbing. «I want to see Kemal.»

«Of course you do. And Kemal wants to see you. The boy is terrified, Dana. I've never seen anyone so terrified. He knows he's going to die, and I told him you're going to die, too. You think you've been clever, don't you, Dana? The truth is that you've been very naive. We've been using you. We knew that someone in the Russian government was aware of what we were doing and was about to expose us. But we couldn't find out who it was. But you found out for us, didn't you?»

The memory of the bloody bodies of Sasha Shdanoff and his friend flashed through Dana's mind.

«Sasha Shdanoff and his brother, Boris, were very clever. We haven't found Boris yet, but we will.»

«Roger, Kemal has nothing to do with any of this. Let him—»

«I think not, Dana. I first began to worry about you when you met poor ill-fated Joan Sinisi. She overheard Taylor talking about the Russian plan. He was afraid to have her killed because she was associated with him. So he fired her. When she sued for unfair dismissal, he made a settlement, on the condition that she never discuss the matter.» Roger Hudson sighed. «So I'm afraid that you were really responsible for Joan Sinisi's “accident.”»