Distant Memory (38 page)

“Mommy!” The little girl screamed. “I want my mommy!”

“Shut up!” Massey pressed the gun harder into her head. The child cried out with pain.

Hobbs moved beyond fear into rage. Only his training and his concern for the girl restrained him.

“Here I am.” Lisa walked slowly toward the gunman.

The terror was gone now, the pain just a faint shadow of a time past. Her assailant, her stalker, stood staring at her as she approached. Peace fell upon her like the roaring cascade of a waterfall.

“Here I am,” Lisa repeated boldly.

The expression on Massey’s face was the antithesis of the peace that Lisa felt. His eyes were filled with demonic rage, his mouth pulled tight in anger.

“Lisa, get back,” Hobbs called.

Lisa ignored the detective, keeping her eyes fixed on Massey. “You don’t need the girl, Mr. Massey.” Her tone was firm but even, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the coughing and frightened mumbling of the crowd. “It’s me you want, not her.”

Massey fell silent, his eyes darting from Lisa to Hobbs to Tanner and then back to Lisa. The gun in his hand remained pressed against the child’s head.

“It’s been a long day, Mr. Massey,” Lisa said calmly. “You’ve been hunting me without rest. You’re tired. I’m tired. Let’s get this over with. Let the girl go.”

“Lisa, get back!” Hobbs shouted again.

“No,” she said. “I’m not going to let a child die because of me.”

“You have caused me a great deal of trouble, Ms. Keller,” Massey growled. “You have no idea how much trouble.”

Lisa walked toward him until she stood between him and the line of fire of Hobbs and Tanner. She imagined that her action was driving Hobbs mad, but she had to do it. “I’m here,” she said. “They can’t shoot
you with me standing in front of you. Let the girl go and use me as a hostage.”

Massey’s eyes flickered.

“Let’s not waste any more time, Mr. Massey,” she said forcefully. “In a few seconds, both the police and the fire department will be here. I know you don’t care about a bunch of firemen, but I’m sure you have some concerns about having an additional fifteen or twenty officers around. The longer you wait, the greater the danger.”

A police car rolled into the parking lot, bathing the area in red-and-blue light. The policeman exited the car, saw the situation, pulled his weapon, and leveled it at Massey.

“No!” Lisa shouted, raising her hand in the direction of the officer. To the gunman she said, “Time is gone. We have to do this now. This is between you and me. Let the girl go and take me.” Lisa took another step closer and reached for the girl. The child looked up at her, her cheeks wet with tears, her eyes wide as saucers. Her lower lip quivered. “Now, Mr. Massey. Give me the child now, and you can take me as your hostage.”

Massey hesitated for a moment, and Lisa took another step forward, slipping her hands under the girl’s arms.
Please God
, she prayed.
Please make him release her
. He loosened his grip, and Lisa took the child from him.

In a rapid move that was almost impossible to see, Massey reached forward with his free hand and grabbed Lisa by the hair. She dropped the child to the ground as he pulled her close to him. She felt the gun press into her cheekbone. A sharp stab of pain ran through her head and neck as he pressed the gun home. Lisa involuntarily closed her eyes and then forced them open again. She saw the little girl scamper - toward the crowd where a nurse grabbed her, picked her up, and disappeared into the mass of patients. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Don’t thank me, Ms. Keller,” Massey spat. “Nothing has changed between us. You still die tonight.”

I wasn’t talking to you
, she thought silently as he spun her around, placing his thick forearm around her throat. The gun was now mashed into her temple. The pain was nauseating.

“Giving your life for another might be noble, Ms. Keller, but it was also stupid. I’m impressed, but unmoved.”

“Someone did it for me a long time ago.”

“Let’s not do anything stupid,” Hobbs called out. “We can talk this over.”

“Right,” Massey spat out. “And while we talk, SWAT marksmen are planning on using my head for target practice.”

“Release her and no one will hurt you,” Hobbs said with authority.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Massey said. “I’m not afraid of being hurt.” Then to Lisa he said in a venomous whisper, “Let’s go.” He began to walk backward, keeping Lisa pressed against his body and interposed between him and the police.

More sirens, more lights.

Lisa offered no resistance; she wanted to be as far from the bystanders as possible. Step followed backward step. Suddenly the ground changed elevation, and Lisa stumbled slightly. They had stepped off the curb and onto the pavement of the front parking lot. Hobbs and Tanner followed, keeping the same distance between themselves and Massey. Hobbs was staring deep into Lisa’s eyes, as if trying to communicate with her.

She wondered how Massey was going to get into a car with her in front of him. At some point, he would have to release her or at least allow them to separate enough to open the car door.

An idea struck Lisa. It was risky, but no more so than what she faced if her captor found a way to escape with her as his hostage. He was smart enough to do it, so she had to assume that he had a plan for just such a contingency as this.

It was time to act.

As they continued moving backward through the parking lot, Lisa fixed her attention on Hobbs, staring into his eyes just as he had been doing to her. With only the slightest of motions she pointed at her chest with her right index finger, then pointed down to the ground. She repeated the sign several times. Hobbs nodded slightly. The concern on his face intensified. She watched his lips move and assumed that he had whispered something to Tanner. Tanner cut a quick look at Hobbs and then returned his gaze to Lisa and Massey. His face remained unchanged, as if it had been chiseled in stone, but he seemed to tense slightly.

Lisa swallowed hard. Then, using the same hand, held three fingers against her chest. She closed her eyes and folded one finger under leaving only two extended. She did the same with her middle finger as she continued the silent countdown.

Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it in her ears.

“Okay,” Massey said. “This is how we’re going to do this. You’re going to open the door to the truck and—”

Lisa pulled the last finger in and went limp. She felt herself drop, and the gun barrel scraped along her head. Massey’s arm was still around her, but the unexpected dead weight of her body pulled it down. Lisa’s eyes were clamped shut as she waited for a bullet to enter her brain.

There was a popping and banging that sounded to her like cannons being fired. Lisa hit the pavement, and as she did, she curled into a ball, covering her head with her hands.

The shooting stopped, but Lisa remained still. She didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to open her eyes and see what carnage was there.

“Lisa? Lisa!” The voice was familiar.

There were more sirens, and she could hear footsteps around her.

“Come on, Lisa,” Hobbs was saying. “Let’s get you out of here.” He reached down and helped her to her feet.

Lisa opened her eyes. She was facing the hospital. The crowd was staring at her, many with their hands to their mouths. She started to
turn, but Hobbs restrained her. “No need to look back,” he said. “Massey’s dead. He’ll never bother you again.”

Hobbs walked her back toward the others, but she veered off. “Nick. I need to check on Nick.”

He was still on the ground, unmoving. Two people, a man and a woman, each wearing a doctor’s smock, were crouched over him. Fearing the worst, afraid that he might have died while she was away, Lisa felt a strong sense of remorse. She had been rough on him earlier, challenging everything he’d said, doubting every explanation, calling into question every statement. He was a man of mystery, but he had once again thrust himself into danger to save her life.

One of the doctors looked up. He smiled. “He’s conscious now. There’s a deep scalp wound, but that’s all. The bullet grazed his skull. He’s going to be all right.” Nick groaned and raised a hand to his head. “Lie still, sir,” the doctor said. “We’ll have you in an ambulance and on your way to a hospital in Ventura.”

“I’m going with him,” Lisa said as she knelt by his side. “I owe you so much. Thank you.”

“Who … who are you?” Nick said and then smiled a moment later. “Just kidding.” He laughed and then groaned loudly.

“What? I should hurt you for that.”

He chuckled. “Please don’t. I don’t think I have any parts left that haven’t been damaged.” He looked deep into her eyes. “Tell me that you’re all right.”

“I’m fine,” Lisa said. A tear ran down her face.

T
hat’s quite a story, Ms. Keller,” Senator Kilgallen said. “It’s almost too hard to believe.”

“Believe me, Senator, it is even harder to forget,” Lisa replied. Her tone was professional, diplomatic, and no-nonsense.

“This is a grave matter that you bring us, Ms. Keller. It not only involves at least one of our fellow senators, but also one of the richest and most influential men in the world.” Kilgallen leaned back in his leather chair and chewed on the end of his pen. There were six other senators with him in the private hearing, each a high-ranking member of the Senate, and each was sworn to secrecy. Lisa had been answering questions for two hours, and she knew that Nick had gone through the same thing. Next, the assistant director of NSA would enter the wood-paneled conference room to answer questions.

“How long did you work undercover at Moyer Communications?”

“Six months, Senator. I was hired as a security specialist charged with upgrading building security.”

“And it was in that capacity that you learned of Mr. Moyer’s … dealings?

The senator can’t bring himself to say it
, she thought. She could not blame him. “Yes sir.”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I must admit, I find this all very hard to comprehend.”

“And rightly so,” Lisa said. “I’m an expert in the field, and I have trouble believing it myself. But it is important that we start seeing and believing these things. Our country faces several crucial decisions in the future about these matters, and I think it is best that those charged with creating and maintaining the laws of this land be as fully informed as possible.”

“Your contentions seem so outlandish,” the senator rebutted.

“With all due respect, sir, everything in my report, as well as - everything I’ve said in testimony, is truth deeply rooted in fact.”

“But the satellite, Ms. Keller, what device could do that?”

Lisa knew that most of the senators on the panel would balk at that revelation, but she was surprised at Kilgallen’s disbelief. He sat on several key committees that dealt with military intelligence and operation. She cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Most of her injuries had healed in the intervening weeks between the culmination of events in Ojai and her appearance before the Senate panel, but her ribs were still tender and sitting for extended periods was uncomfortable. “Senator Kilgallen,” Lisa began, “technology has been a boon to society. In the last twenty-five years we have seen our technological prowess grow at an astounding rate. The general populace, the people we serve, are aware of only a small measure of it. You, as well as many of your colleagues, are more aware of that than most, but even you are left in the dark about many matters.

“It has always been assumed that the military leads the way in the creation of new intelligence operations and devices—”

“And the intelligence community,” Kilgallen interjected.

“Agreed,” Lisa responded quickly. “But such is not the case. Many, indeed most, of the significant advances in technology have come out of the private sector—a sector, I might add, which is much harder to police. Megacompanies can be as secretive as any foreign government.
They can also be as self-protective. This is understandable, and mega-corporations have the right to privacy, as do individuals. But at times the rights of the individual come in conflict with the rights of the corporation.”

“You’re saying that Moyer Communications crossed the line.”

“I am indeed. And there are other such companies that have done the same.”

“What are the specifics, Ms. Keller?” the senator asked. “What did Moyer Communications do that drew the keen interest of the NSA?”

“As you and your distinguished colleagues may know, Moyer Communications designed and built many of the electronic devices used by the military. Over the years, they have greatly enhanced radio communications between fighter aircraft and ground troops. But their real claim to fame, at least with the military and intelligence communities, is the network of spy satellites they have designed. Such satellites were used over Iraq during the Gulf War and the subsequent skirmishes that followed, as well as over Kosovo.