Out in the Dark Read online

  He scribbled in the book and took the towels and tiny soap, then grabbed Shelley by the elbow and marched out the door.

  He flung the towels in the back seat. Shelley managed to catch the soap before it disappeared in the back of the car. Jake didn’t settle down until they were safely in their motel room at the far side of the property. Someone would have to drive through the whole property, which was much larger than it looked, if they wanted to find them.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” Shelley announced and grabbed her bag, a towel and the tiny soap.

  “Whatever,” Jake mumbled, and sank down on one of the beds. He flopped back and rolled to the side, reaching for the TV remote on the nightstand between the two beds, but he’d underestimated the softness and bounce of the beds and ended up on the floor. “Shit.”

  While Shelley took her first shower in a couple of days Jake flipped through the TV channels. This motel had good reception but woefully few channels, especially channels of any substance. He did find four religious channels, three shopping channels and two sports channels, none of which appealed to him right then. He wanted to be entertained and distracted, not preached to in any way, not by religious fanatics, or salespeople, and least of all by coaches and sports jocks.

  He settled on some local news when he spotted a report of the accident Paul Thomson had caused. It briefly showed Paul and then focused on the goons and how their car had been totaled. In the background he saw the service station…slowly burning to the ground. A wave of nausea hit Jake. Why did the service station need to be destroyed and how did it all fit in? If it even fit in. But it had to; it was too much of a coincidence not to.

  “Hey, what you watching?” Shelley emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of clean-smelling steam. She looked so young, with her freshly scrubbed and rosy cheeks, her long wet hair, and a plain white T-shirt and jeans covering her slender frame. Her hair hung straight and wet down her back, leaving little drip marks where she stood.

  Pushing conflicting thoughts to the back of his mind he urged her to join him on the bed. “Take a look at that,” he said and pointed to the repeat of the news footage of the crash and the fire.

  “Whoa, we were just there.” Shelley lowered herself slowly onto the bed next to Jake and stared at the images of destruction. “I hope those guys got out all right. Hey, isn’t that Paul Thomson?”

  “Yep, alive and kicking.”

  “Weird. Totally weird.”

  “Yep.”

  Shelley got up and switched off the TV set.

  “Hey, what did you do that for?” Jake asked. Though he was glad she had. as he was having trouble pulling himself away from the repeat images. There was something surreal about them.

  “We need to focus on finding your father. We can’t afford to get distracted.” She didn’t seem so young now, standing with her arms crossed and one leg to the side, a very serious look on her face. She was right and she knew it. So did Jake.

  Jake slowly nodded. He had been dreading this moment. He was so close to his father, but he didn’t know where he was, or how to get him out.

  “How about something to eat first?” he suggested by way of procrastination.

  “You just ate. Come on, Jake, you need to concentrate on making contact with your father and getting directions. The sooner we get to him, the better. You said as much yourself.”

  Again this voice of reason coming from her.

  “Right…let’s get started then.” Jake moved farther back on the bed, propped up a pillow against the headboard and leaned against it. He crossed his legs in a lotus position and was preparing himself to contact his father when there was a knock at the door.

  He opened his eyes again and looked at Shelley who stared, frozen, at the door.

  “Who could that be?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know.” Jake slid off the bed and tiptoed over to the door. He put a finger to his lips to indicate that she should keep quiet.

  Inching up to the peephole he stared out. What he saw startled him more than the knock on the door had.

  Chapter 23

  “Friend or foe?” Jake said through the door. His voice was soft, but he knew the man on the other side could hear it. The doors were not that thick.

  “Friend,” the man said. “Friend, truly.”

  Jake looked back at Shelley who hadn’t moved. He mouthed the words, “It’s Paul.”

  “Jake, let me in. I can help you,” Paul pleaded.

  Jake shrugged and looked at Shelley again who seemed unsure about letting the man in.

  He slowly undid the chain on the door, all the while keeping an eye on the outside through the peephole, though Paul blocked the view. When Jake opened the door a crack, Paul pushed it open and rushed in, pushed Jake back and slammed the door behind him and locked it.

  “Close those drapes!” he ordered, and Shelley complied immediately, despite feeling annoyed. “Turn off all the lights!” was his next order.

  This time Jake rushed to turn off the lights by the beds.

  Soon they were huddled together in the dark, waiting for Paul to explain.

  Jake and Shelley sat on one bed and stared accusingly at the older man on the other bed.

  It did not seem to bother him at all that these two kids were furious with him. He had deceived them and was the reason Jake’s father was being held by whoever had him, and now he claimed to be a friend who wanted to help them, for real this time.

  He was going to have a tough time convincing them of that, though neither seemed in the least surprised that they’d let him in.

  “You two are going to have to trust me,” Paul said.

  “I see no reason why we should.” Jake was about to launch into a long accusatory diatribe, but Shelley elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Let him talk. Maybe he’ll hang himself with his own words,” she hissed, still glaring at Paul.

  “I see. I’ve really screwed up, haven’t I?”

  Shelley nodded her head emphatically. Jake continued to glare.

  Over the next half hour Paul proceeded to tell them little they didn’t already know. He went over his friendship with Jake’s dad and how they both worked at the remote viewing institute. He glossed over the business he had started and what it actually did, and when he finally came to the betrayal, he stopped.

  Jake punched the bed in frustration, but said nothing.

  “Is that all you’re going to tell us?” Shelley said, holding in her anger.

  Paul got up and walked over to the small bar area where a little, gleaming white coffee maker stood ready. “Mind if I make some coffee?”

  “Whatever, so long as they don’t charge me for it,” Jake snapped. He found it odd that there would be supplies to make coffee in the room, when they had to sign for towels and soap. Weren’t they worried he might steal the coffee maker?

  Paul was obviously stalling and it made Jake nervous. What was he waiting for?

  Shelley silently fumed on the bed, her hands balled into fists. She stared straight ahead and refused to look at Paul as he busied himself with the coffee maker, while Jake stared at him and followed his every move. He was trying to read the older man, but found him closed off.

  “No dice, Jake.” Paul had noticed. “I can’t let you loose in there.”

  “Why not? Afraid I might find out some secrets? Or maybe find where my dad is?” Jake could barely contain his anger, but he knew he had to if he wanted to get information out of Paul.

  “Afraid you might.”

  Jake snorted. “All I care about is getting my dad back.” He shifted on the bed to get a better look at the older man. He looked disheveled and tired. Jake noted the mud splatters on the pants legs as well as dust on the knees. If the limited light coming in through the drapes hit his pants a certain way, Jake could see a small tear, as if he had fallen. Paul walked back over to the bed now that the coffee maker was doing its thing. Jake noticed he was favoring one leg.

  “You did get hit by
that car, didn’t you?” Jake asked, remembering the sickening thud they’d heard that night they first got shot at.

  Paul nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Yes, I did. Luckily I saw it coming and was able to break my fall somewhat. Not enough to avoid injury, but at least it’s nothing more serious than some bruises. Nothing I haven’t experienced before.” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at them as if trying to decide what to say next, if he should open up to them or not.

  Paul Thomson was a man with many secrets and he had kept those to himself for a very long time, but now he felt tired and wanted to confess, ease his burden somewhat. It hadn’t been easy these past twenty years, especially without a wife and family to back him up, to bring him comfort. He envied Kevin, especially since he had won Lori’s heart. And he had Jake.

  “Your dad and I got into many tight spots on our missions. Shot down a few times, imprisoned, but we always got out all right again, with only a few cuts and bruises. We looked out for each other. We had a pact. Neither one of us would be left behind, no matter what. Guess I screwed up that one when I sent him on this mission. When I introduced him to this unit.”

  He fell silent again and glanced at the coffee maker. Suddenly the fifteen paces to that counter seemed like fifteen too many.

  Shelley reluctantly got up and poured Paul a cup of coffee. She could see how tired he was and her anger relaxed enough to show him compassion, however reluctantly.

  “Here,” she said, handing him his coffee.

  He smiled up at her and wished he could pull her close and hug her. If Melvin had been her stepfather then life without him must have been terribly hard. He knew Melvin and knew he had a heart bigger than the planet, and the financial sense of a pebble. He knew Melvin would have loved this girl and placed her in a protective bubble of love, but he also knew Melvin could have left the girl and her mother without a cent and he could sense how hard her life had been.

  The tension in the room was palpable, and only Paul could diffuse it, but he was hesitating. It was hard for him to admit what he had gotten his friend into.

  Jake continued to stare at him.

  “Can you get me some coffee too?” he asked Shelley, without looking at her, and in as neutral a voice as he could muster.

  “Only if you’ll share with me, there is only one extra cup.”

  “Sure.”

  Paul sighed and let his shoulders slump. His posture indicated defeat. These two kids showed a tight bond like nothing he could have forged at that age. His bond with Kevin came close, but was not the same.

  “Right, where was I?” He stalled for time.

  “No one left behind,” Jake prompted.

  “Yes, that’s right.” Paul knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. “My company specialized in counter-terrorism and in helping multinational corporations assess risks in foreign countries. We would ‘see’ if there were any threats against CEOs, and if there were, who was making them or who might make them. Often that was all we did, but a year or so ago, I was approached by a group of military, a special, off-the-books type of group, who wanted to work with me. They explained they wanted to prevent a recurrence of 9/11. A way of ensuring lasting peace and security. Do away with the need for wars, or preemptive strikes; make the world safe for kids and puppy dogs and baseball and Mom’s apple pie.”

  “A bit naive, isn’t it?” Jake said, and he could see Shelley nodding. She took the mug from him and took a sip of the coffee, then handed it back.

  “Yes, but you must understand that to a battle-hardened man like myself, that sounded like heaven. A Norman Rockwell picture of what our country could be. Oh, I’ll admit, deep down I knew it wasn’t realistic, I knew the world could never be that perfect. It never was. But I ignored my doubts and went into business with them. If they could reduce danger by even ten percent that would be worth it.

  “I called your father and told him about this outfit and what they wanted. I’d already told them about his extraordinary abilities. They far exceed mine, and I suspect yours do too, Jake.”

  Jake ignored the compliment. He wasn’t in the mood for flattery.

  Paul seemed to understand and lowered his eyes. He cradled his coffee mug in his hands and sighed again. He was losing ground with these kids.

  “Your father took some convincing, but finally agreed to join me for a short-term contract. I offered him a lot of money for only a few months of work. He said he’d do it so he could fund your college.”

  Jake shivered involuntarily. He hadn’t known there was any money for college for him.

  “He flew down to San Francisco and we met at a big chain hotel. He told me then he had misgivings as the readings he got off the team were not in agreement with what they claimed they were doing. He also had trouble believing them when they said they would merely put surveillance on the targets—which included people—he identified as threatening or under threat.”

  “And he still went ahead with it?” Shelley asked.

  “I’m afraid I may have pushed him into it,” Paul said, looking directly at her. He felt the stab of her accusation as sharply as if she had stuck a knife in-between his ribs. “I sweetened the pot with more money and an almost guaranteed acceptance at a good college for you, Jake.” Without being prompted he added, “I have some connections at various colleges, some work my company did for them in reviewing some of the foreign students.”

  “Thanks, I’m sure, but I don’t want your lousy connections.” Jake’s anger rose to the surface again. Who was this man who thought he could just buy people and bribe them into doing things he knew were wrong?

  Paul nodded. He could understand how Jake might be feeling. “I had to, Jake. These people were starting to put a lot of pressure on me to bring results. The other agencies weren’t sharing information fast enough with them; they wanted action. So I gave them action. We set up remote viewing teams and worked them hard. Your father gave some excellent information that the team acted on quickly.

  “However, your father didn’t shut down his viewing after business hours. He kept tabs on what the teams were doing. And he didn’t like what he was seeing.”

  “What was he seeing?” Jake asked, as Paul hesitated.

  “They were killing the people we were identifying as threats. They were executing people who had not done anything yet. They might have been planning terrorist attacks, but most likely they could have been stopped well before those attacks were carried out. People were being killed without trial, without hard evidence, without due process. It was horrifying to learn that, truly horrifying.”

  “Why didn’t you stop?” Shelley looked pale. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “Money,” Jake snapped. He felt a wave of nausea rising from his gut.

  “Yes, money is a very powerful motivator,” Paul sighed. “I confronted them, but they brushed me off in their superior way. They made it sound like I didn’t understand, that I was just some New Age nut they were using. I told them what Kevin had seen and how wrong it was, that Kevin was going to quit and would probably go to the media.”

  Shelley brought her hand to her mouth anticipating what might come next.

  Jake clenched his jaw. Too many emotions were rising for him to deal with at once. Disgust, anger, fear; he pushed them all back for the moment.

  “That’s when they took him,” Paul said, his voice a whisper now as he felt the release of pent-up frustration and held-back information. “They were going to keep him locked away and working for them for as long as they needed him. They knew his value, but also the danger he posed.”

  “Then why are they beating him?” Jake managed to say through the pain in his stomach.

  “To get him to keep working.”

  “He won’t if they do that.”

  “No, they’ll have to break his spirit first, and with Kevin that may mean they’ll end up killing him.”

  Chapter 24

  Jake moved back against the headboard
and took up the meditation position he had been in before Paul had knocked on the door. He tried to calm himself enough to “see,” but was having trouble. Panic kept rising and gripping his throat. He knew his dad was tough but he had been a prisoner for many months now.

  The last time he’d made contact his father had seemed weaker.

  No one spoke. Each in their own way was digesting the information they’d just received. Shelley, in particular, was stunned by this underground world of warfare and spycraft. She would never have guessed at it, and though these unidentified people were on a mission to make the world safe—by their standards—she felt far from safe knowing they were running around unchecked.

  She sank into thoughts of her own, reaching back to the security of Melvin. It felt as if he was in this nondescript motel room with her. She could almost feel his warm arms around her, his breath in her ear as he told some story of exotic places and wild animals.

  Paul watched her closely. He could sense what she was feeling and he knew at some point he would have to bring her back to harsh reality. Decisions needed to be made, and much as he wanted her free from it all, he knew she would have to stay with them. She knew too much now for him to let her go. A slip of the tongue in front of the wrong person could cause trouble.

  He was torn. He wanted these kids to be free but he also knew none of the information Kevin had—and now Jake and Shelley had too—could be made public, which was exactly what Kevin would do.

  Looking at Jake he caught a glimpse of the man he would become and could see this was a deciding moment in his life. He had grown up since they had met two days ago at that rest stop on I-90. He was no longer a boy, but not quite a man yet.

  Paul brought his head down and rested it in his hands. He used to know exactly what to do at all times, but that was in the military, where the lines were clearly defined. Out here they were very blurred, and a wrong move had severe consequences. He sighed and straightened up. He lowered his hands from his face and saw the kids staring at him.