Double-Back (Jake Waters Book 3) (36 page)

Monday, May 16

The hospital room where Jake rested was clearly well above the norm.  He had been in more than one hospital room over the years, and this one was large enough for several people and had amenities that he had never seen in a sick room before.  Clearly he was being given special treatment, and being kept in an area where no one might overhear anything that was discussed in the room.  He was thinking about this when Susan Carlson and Jim Laney made their way into the room that morning.  Jim was on crutches, but Jake knew from the brief discussions he'd had with Susan the evening before that his wound had been patched up and he'd been released the evening before.

"Natalie?" Jake asked.  He'd been wondering about the young woman who he believed was his counterpart since Susan had informed him she didn't appear to be dead as initially thought.  The night before she had disappeared, yet surprisingly nothing had happened to change the events of the previous afternoon.  Even if they were wrong and she wasn't the Back-Tracker, someone else had to be, and they should have acted once they learned of the shootout.  Jake was certain none of the others killed during the firefight was the person they sought.

"She's dead," Susan said bluntly.

"They found her and a young man shot to death in a car down by the river," Jim Laney explained.  "It looks like a good Samaritan tried to help her out, and ended up getting killed for his trouble."

That would explain why there had been no Back-Tracking by the other side Jake realized.

"Who killed them?" he asked.

"That's a good question, for which we don't have any answers just yet," Susan said.  "My guess is that the Mob had her killed after discovering Paul had been killed and she might have been the reason.  We still don't know what her full role in all this really is."

"I think you can safely conclude that she is the reason all of this got started in the first place," Jake  said.

Susan looked at him sharply.

"You know something?" she asked.

Jake nodded. 

"You'd be discovering the link in another day or two.  I didn't want to distract our efforts with the information prematurely, but now it doesn't matter.  Natalie worked at a place called
East Coast Pharmaceuticals
."

Susan made the connection immediately.

"I have an old friend who works there.  She called me with a request to see her about some irregularity with one of the employees.  That was Natalie, wasn't it?"

Jake nodded.

"I need to warn you.  Anne was killed in an auto accident a few days ago.  It's almost certain that Natalie and her friends were responsible.  Shaun discovered Natalie's employment there, and when he told you, you went to visit.  We never found out what the problem was, although you would have dispatched Lester and Solly to Natalie's old hometown to investigate.  That is something that still needs to be done.  Hopefully some answers can be found now that we know some of the connections."

Susan had paled at the information.

"Anne's dead?" she asked uncertainly.

Jake nodded.

"Our plan was to determine who their Back-Tracker was, then I'd go back and deal with that person, and at the same time prevent the accident that killed her.  It made no sense to take action until we knew, because that would alert them of what we knew, and they'd just find another way to attack her."

"And now?" Susan asked.

"I don't know," Jake replied honestly.  "I can't Back-Track at the moment.  I have no sense of my former self.  It could be weeks before this clears up, and it may never come back.  If it doesn't come back soon enough, the event will be out of my reach.  I'm not certain how safe it would be to make a long jump back so soon after such a major trauma."

"Is it wise even if you could?" Jim asked.  He'd heard what Paul had said before he died.  "They said they beat us.  If you go back, Natalie Rineri would still be alive.  This could start over, and from what we've seen, the outcome is somewhat uncertain."

"There would certainly be risks," Jake admitted.  "Hopefully we could move before Miss Rineri was expecting any trouble.  But it's all academic until I regain my ability."

"What did the doctor tell you?" Susan asked.  "Did he have anything new this morning when he checked on you?"

"He says I have a concussion, but near as he can tell no internal bleeding.  At least not yet.  I got smacked pretty hard, and he wants to watch me for a day or two.  He can see no serious damage or swelling based on the MRIs.  Of course he doesn't know about my Back-Tracking, so he can't comment on that."

"So we might be in a situation where none of this can be cleaned up any?" Susan asked.

"I suspect that is going to be the case," Jake agreed.  "Where are Norm and Tony?" he asked, something he wanted to question the moment she'd come into the room.  There had been no sign of Tony the evening before, and so far his name hadn't come up.

"Norm's dealing with the two prisoners we took the other day," she explained.  "They have refused to say anything, and given the extent of the warfare from yesterday, the news has been taking a strong interest in what might have happened.  Tony contacted me last night.  He dealt with the two men he went after, then decided it was best he disappeared.  The rest of us were official FBI, but in his line of work, the less exposure the better.  Once he was certain there was nothing he could do, he slipped away."

"That's good," Jake said relieved.

"We still have a bit of a mess on our hands," Jim said.  "There are approaching a dozen dead as a result of the ambush we set up.  The NYPD is not at all happy we didn't inform them of what we were doing."

"The Director is not particularly pleased about the publicity the Bureau is getting on this.  The methods used were not standard procedure."

"Sorry," Jake said.  "I was supposed to be able to loop back so none of this happened.  I guess we might be stuck with a somewhat unorthodox operation."

"The things that were done that no longer have happened make our ambush hard to justify, but the number of deaths we are accumulating that will be attributed to the Mob will help put some of the questions to rest," Susan said.  "If we can find out what motivated Miss Rineri to start this it will probably help as well."

"What are your immediate plans?" Jake asked.

"Norm and I are going back to Washington today.  I got permission for Jim to stay here in New York until you are discharged.  Once you are better, we'll see where we stand.  Do you want me to contact Karin for you?"

"I'll take care of that once I'm out," Jake replied.  "For now, see if Solly and Lester can follow up on Natalie.  I think what they find might help a lot."

"Okay then," Susan said as she stood.  "The NYPD might come with questions, but refer them to your badge, and have them contact the Director.  I've made certain you won't have any trouble with them.  And Jake, thanks.  It's good not to have to be looking over my shoulder all the time."

Saturday, May 21

Livoron, Italy

Jake scrambled to make his way aboard the ship before it sailed.  He had arrived late, barely before the ship was scheduled to sail, and he'd had some trouble convincing the officer to allow him to board, as it was unusual for someone to join the passengers this late in the week-long trip.  The ship would be leaving in a few minutes for its next port of call in Nice, France.  Now he was finally aboard, and he was making his way toward the cabin where Karin and Janna were assigned.  Next door would be their German cousins who were spending the week with them on the Disney Cruise ship.  Karin had brought them to Germany to hide out while Jake was occupied with Susan and Jim in Washington, and they had booked this trip with the cousins.  After a couple of mistaken turns down passageways resulting in his asking directions of the crew he encountered scattered around the deck, Jake was finally closing on his destination.

There!  He spotted the sought-after number on the stateroom door.  Smiling in anticipation, he stepped up and knocked on the door.  He heard a familiar voice inside, and then the door opened to a sight he'd missed so long.

"Jake," Karin said excitedly as she recognized him. 

Jake took a moment to savor the beautiful face and long blond hair of his wife.  He was always amazed that he'd been so lucky to have married her.

"Daddy," squealed a young bundle of energy, who flew across the room to wrap herself around his legs. 

Jake picked his daughter up and hugged her fiercely.

"Hi, princess," he said as she hugged him back happily.

"Are you coming with us?" Janna asked hopefully.

"I am," Jake agreed.

Satisfied her father would be staying around, Janna indicated she wanted to be set down, and then scurried back into the room to fetch some new toy that she wanted to share with him.

"What happened?" Karin asked, spotting the small bandage that still covered the slash along the side of his head.  He also had a bandage around his rib where the bullet chipped the bone before bouncing off.

"Close call," Jake admitted.  He learned a long time ago not to lie to Karin.  "A bullet nearly caught me."

"Jake!" Karin exclaimed.  "You could have been killed.  You couldn't change what happened?  Is everyone alright?"

Jake could see no reason to reveal the suspicion he had about what had happened, but fortunately reversed.

"I can't Back-Track at the moment," he told her.  "I had a mild concussion, and like before when I was hit on the head, my Back-Tracking ability is gone."

"Will it return?" she asked.

"The doctor says physically I'm fine.  He can see no lasting damage, but who knows.  Maybe it will, and maybe it won't.  Time will tell."

"What if it doesn't return?"

"Would that be so bad?" Jake asked.  He'd done a lot of thinking about the close calls he'd had the past couple of years and what Paul Martin had said before he died, and Jake wasn't so certain he cared.  He'd been foolishly overconfident this time out.  Tony had been right about the risks.

Karin simply shook her head.

"Come, Janna has something to share.  I'll tell you all about what happened when she's asleep."

The End

This book is a work of fiction.  All names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. 

Copyrigh
t
2016 by Robert Blink

All rights reserved.  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

Proof Release:                                          April

First Edition Release:                            May 2016

Books by the Author:

Timelines

Split Creek

EndRun

Dirty Money

Crossover

Battle for Earth

The Second Compound

Reversal

Wizard's Blood Series

Wizard's Blood [Part One]

Wizard's Blood [Part Two]

Ancient Magic Saga

Ancient Magic

Into The Ruins

The Baldari

KalaBhoot [Limited Release]

Jake Waters Series

Corrector

Back-Tracker

Double-Back

The Protector Saga

The Barbarian/The Protector

The Sor'ee

Acknowledgements

Bill Maggiora and Doug Burr once again were in the front lines, reading and sending back comments as the chapters first saw light of day.  A number of useful suggestions were incorporated into the initial draft as a result of their early review.   Among the helpful proofreaders of the completed manuscript I have to thank are my wife Evelina, Connie Goshgarian, Jim Spiva, Norm Hardy, and Dianna Hunter.