Chasing the Prophet Page 16

  “Shit, shit, shit!” he hissed as he hung up. He raised both hands and clutched his head with despair as the cane noisily crashed against the sidewalk.

  33

  A Dead End

  Jackie spat an angry curse when he noticed David had seen them. That coward ran straight back to school, where he would be protected, making them lose another golden opportunity to catch him. Luckily, Thomas had used his brains for a change and waited to intercept him by the gate.

  David saw him, got scared, and ran in the opposite direction.

  All three now ran after him down the road, skipping over the puddles and quickly narrowing the distance. Jackie almost roared with pleasure. He finally had David all alone in an empty street, and without that damn dog of his to protect him. It was a matter of minutes before they got him.

  Jackie could already picture his father’s expression when he showed him how he could speak with the prophet himself. The power held by those who had direct communication with the prophet would be unimaginable! And his dad, the legendary businessman, would know how to appreciate that asset better than anyone else. He would open his eyes with surprise and look at Jackie like he’d never looked at anyone before.

  They ran as fast as they could and quickly narrowed the gap. David was slower than he had been the last time. Chasing him while he was tired after his gym class was a great idea.

  David ran to a narrow street, bound over a large puddle, and hurried past a “Dead End” sign. He realized what a grave mistake he had made a moment too late. The street in front of him ended with a brick wall, and locked apartment buildings were situated on both its sides.

  David was trapped. He turned back the moment Jackie had reached him.

  The slap hit his face with tremendous force, and he was thrown back viciously. His head slammed against the wall and he fell to the ground, holding the back of his neck and squirming with pain. He had landed in a puddle of cold and dirty rainwater. His eyes were closed, and through throbbing pain in his head he could hear the older teens, their laughter echoing in the alley. “Serves him right, that piece of shit. Come on, Jackie, teach him a lesson.”

  Jackie had dreamed of this moment for many days. All the anger pent up inside him, all the moments of humiliation he had to suffer because of this irritating boy—it all came out now. He shuddered with pleasure as he swiftly leaned toward David and grabbed his neck with both hands.

  The stunned David tried to resist as best he could, but he didn’t have a chance. Jackie raised him high in the air and pressed him hard with his back against the wall.

  David could hardly breathe. With desperate eyes, he looked at Jackie’s looming face. The air refused to enter his lungs, Jackie’s iron grip deprived him of oxygen. His heart beat wildly in his chest. His legs flailed in the air as he tried to release himself from the chokehold, and he hit his opponent’s chest with his fists. Black spots began to hover in front of his eyes; he became dizzy and realized he would soon lose consciousness.

  Someone, perhaps it was Thomas, shouted, “Hey, Jackie, careful not to kill him, we’ll get in trouble.”

  A faint memory rose to David’s mind, a sentence his grandma had once told him. “When you’re in a conflict, my dear boy, just stop for a moment and think about what the other side wants.”

  He realized what he should do.

  ***

  Jackie was ecstatic. That moment, he ceased being a seventeen-year-old high schooler and turned into a hungry predator, finally locking its jaws on its slippery prey. Drunk with triumph, he looked straight into the panicked eyes that had once dared to stand between him and his success. He felt a sense of elation. These eyes were no longer looking at him with defiance. Let’s see that boy disrespecting him now.

  “Hey, Jackie!” Something in Thomas’s voice made Jackie reluctantly look away from that satisfying image of the suffocating David.

  He looked back at Thomas. “What is it?” he grunted.

  Thomas didn’t say anything, just pointed at David.

  Jackie turned his head back and reexamined the sight in front of him. He suddenly realized David was holding his cell phone in the air, over the deep, filthy puddle.

  At that exact moment, David began to loosen his grip on the device, making it dangle between thumb and forefinger.

  “No,” Jackie muttered. He released his hold on David and the boy fell to the ground, coughing and gagging.

  With a swift movement, Jackie plucked the device from his hand and carefully examined it. It looked like the device wasn’t harmed. He turned to David, who sat in the dirty puddle, trying to regain his breath.

  “All right, the password. Now!” Jackie demanded. He looked at David with piercing eyes. He wasn’t about to give up. David wheezed and massaged his aching neck, then coughed for long moments and spat. He raised his head, looked at Jackie with concentration.

  Jackie leaned toward him menacingly. “I’m not playing games anymore. What’s the password?”

  David tried to speak. He coughed again, then whispered with a hoarse voice. “If I tell you, do you promise to leave me alone?”

  “I’ll think about it,” Jackie answered indifferently. When he saw David’s expression, he added, “All right, you have my word.”

  The other boys around them chuckled. David coughed and said something else, but his voice was swallowed up by the sudden clatter of a shutter opening above them.

  A neighbor from the nearby building, her head wrapped in a towel, peeked outside curiously.

  Jackie wasn’t sure he had heard right. He drew closer to David with a threatening expression. “What did you say?”

  David stood up, his pants dripping water. He straightened up, looked straight into Jackie’s eyes, and asked again, loud and clear this time, “Do you swear on your father’s life?”

  A tense silence settled. The two other teens looked at each other and one of them whispered, “That’s it, that idiot is dead now.”

  Jackie drew closer to David with a flushed face, and whispered, “Listen to me carefully, you son of a bitch.” He grabbed the back of David’s neck and pulled him up forcefully. He brought his face closer to his. The murderous look returned to his eyes. “I’m getting sick and tired of you. I won’t ask you again. What’s the password?”

  David realized he had overdone it. He groaned; the pain in his neck was unbearable. He lowered his eyes to the ground and spoke quietly. “The password is changed every day, according to a regular mathematical algorithm. If it’s so important to you, I can call someone who knows what the password is right now.”

  Jackie narrowed his eyes suspiciously and examined David’s pale face. For a moment, they both stood silently, an overgrown youth and a much smaller one, standing in the center of a dirty puddle.

  Finally, Jackie broke the silence. He emitted a dry laugh. “All right, Mr. Al Gorithm. Let’s get it over with. Call your friend.”

  He extended his device to David. “But be careful—don’t drop it!”

  David nodded and took the device. He typed the number and hoped he had been able to prepare the safety net in advance.

  His heart was beating hard when Jackie ordered, “Put it on speaker!”

  David obeyed and a dial tone came through. “Your call will be connected momentarily.” He closed his eyes and prayed his plan would work.

  Jackie frowned. That automated telephone message sounded very familiar. He opened his eyes wide when a feminine voice followed: “Richmond Group, how may I help you?”

  David gulped and tried to sound as self-assured as possible, still looking at Jackie. “How are you, Daphne? It’s David. Is Clive in?”

  “David, sweetheart!” came the cheerful reply. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your way here? Hold on, I’ll transfer you right away.”

  Jackie could hardly believe his ears. He wanted to snatch the device from David�
�s hands, but he just stood there motionless and continued to stare at the boy. There was another dial tone, and then Jackie heard a familiar voice, one that had accompanied him throughout his life.

  “David! How are you?” Clive Richmond sounded as if he was talking to an old friend. Then he spoke off the phone, explaining to someone near him, “A charming boy, Robertson, a friend of Jackie’s from school.”

  Jackie’s mouth opened with astonishment. His friends looked at each other, embarrassed.

  “Everything’s fine, Mr. Richmond. And how are you? How’s the leg?” David looked straight into Jackie’s face.

  “I think I told you to call me Clive,” came the answer. “My leg is fine. Actually, you and I are the only ones who know about it, I haven’t even told my wife. She’s definitely going to give it to me.” He laughed.

  Jackie could not move a muscle and did not believe this was happening to him.

  David joined Clive’s laughter while massaging his aching neck. “That’s all right, it happens to everyone. I banged my foot against the table leg and limped like a penguin for two weeks.”

  The laughter on the other end of the line intensified as David added, “And I bet that mine hurt more—it was the pinky.” They both laughed for a few more seconds, then Clive asked, “When are you dropping by again?”

  “Actually, Daphne scheduled an appointment for us in half an hour.”

  “What, really? I’m completely disoriented today,” Clive apologized. “I have a crazy day, but if we are scheduled then just come over.”

  David didn’t answer, just stared at Jackie for a long moment.

  “David, are you there?” Clive asked again.

  David brought his mouth closer to the receiver and said slowly, “Well, something happened. I’m being detained here…” he continued to look at Jackie pointedly, waiting for his reaction.

  Clive’s amused voice came through from the speaker. “Sounds serious. What happened?”

  Jackie stood with clenched fists and bit his lower lip. A moment later he nodded, slowly, silently.

  David turned off the speaker and placed the cell phone against his ear. “I think it’ll be all right, see you in a bit.”

  He listened some more, then laughed. “Yes, you know what it’s like.” Then a short moment later he added, “I’m on my way. Bye.”

  Jackie stared at David, red-faced and trembling, as the boy placed the cell phone back in his pocket.

  He still did not believe what he had just heard. His dad hardly spoke with anyone like that. Not even with him, God damn it! And yet, with David, he was laughing and chatting as if they were old friends. What was going on between them? He looked at David with confusion as the latter simply walked past him with a wide smile and continued up the alley.

  A moment later, David turned. “Should I say hi to your dad for you?”

  34

  Inside Information

  It was almost eight in the evening.

  Since noon, the skies had darkened with black clouds that gave the day a night-like appearance. Heavy rain began to fall. Paul stood in the living room and marveled at the sight of a thunderstorm so unusual for the season.

  The apartment was situated in the center of the new neighborhood, which allowed Paul to keep track of David and immediately reach him if needed. Assuming everything worked out, Kate and the girls would join him in a few weeks in a bigger apartment in the same neighborhood.

  “Assuming everything works out,” he muttered to himself.

  So much depended on him being successful in his new job, and now, today, he had screwed up. Big time. He had never heard Matthew sound so angry, not even during the time he had served under him in the police.

  “How did you let this happen? The boy was physically attacked. We’re lucky he’s managed to get away unharmed. I’m not even sure how… I’m surprised at you. You shouldn’t have let something like that happen!”

  Paul shuddered. He knew he couldn’t screw up again. And especially now, he couldn’t lose this apartment. It was located in a new building which had a standard atomic shelter. It seemed like a necessity these days.

  The doorbell rang, waking Paul from his reverie. He limped as fast as he could toward the door and banged his healthy leg against the table. The pain was sharp. He groaned, leaned on the wall, and massaged his leg for a moment. “That’s the last thing I need right now—busting up my other leg.” Then he sighed. “Well, at least it’ll give my limp some balance.”

  He stretched, took a deep breath, put an optimistic smile on his face, and opened the door.

  “Here’s daddy!” Kate cried as the twins rushed inside.

  Holly and Cynthia ran and wrapped their arms around his legs. He bent and gave them both a long hug, closed his eyes, and sniffed their wet hair. Kate followed them quietly. She looked at the three of them, her eyes drinking in that delightful sight.

  “Daddy, you’re choking me!” uttered Holly and her sister joined her. “Yes, daddy. You’re choking me!”

  He laughed happily and Kate laughed with him. “Don’t I deserve a hug too?” she asked in an insulted voice.

  “Where’s mommy? Didn’t she come with you?” Paul asked his daughters and pretended to be searching for Kate.

  The twins laughed and Cynthia pointed at her mom who was still standing at the door. “Mommy’s right here. Can’t you see?”

  “Oh, right!” he said and released his grip of the two girls, who instantly began running around the apartment. When he went to give his wife a hug, she placed her hands on his shoulders and examined his face for a long moment. “Mommy missed daddy,” she finally said quietly and pressed her body against his.

  “And daddy missed mommy too. A lot.” He wrapped his arms around her.

  “Daddy looks tired. He’s been working too hard,” Kate muttered.

  She pushed him from her a little and reexamined his face closely. “Let me get a good look at you. It feels like—”

  He finished the sentence for her. “Like it’s been years.”

  She smiled for a moment, then turned serious again. “How’s the leg of the hardest working detective on the planet?”

  “It could have been worse,” he answered. “Besides, they gave me this fancy cane. Observe.”

  He took the cane and limped all over the living room with exaggerated movements, much to the joy of the two girls who immediately started chasing him while imitating his limp and shrieking with joy.

  “Don’t make fun of daddy!” Kate scolded, while stifling her own laughter.

  “Who wants to see the apartment?” Paul asked with a mysterious air.

  “Me! Me!”

  The twins took off their wet coats and Kate hurried to hang them by the door. She joined them for a tour of the new apartment.

  “I hope we can move to a larger apartment down the street real soon,” Paul whispered to Kate, while the girls ran to the balcony and stared at the spectacular view of the city.

  “Wow, it’s so high here! You can see the whole world!” they both cried.

  “Is everything really working out like you planned?” Kate asked him quietly.

  “Most of the time. Not always,” he admitted and briefly told her how he had lost sight of David earlier that day.

  She frowned. “I don’t understand. What were you supposed to do exactly? Run after him with your cane?”

  “But they’re right.” He sighed. “I should have been prepared to handle such a situation, it is my responsibility.”

  “Don’t worry.” She smiled encouragingly. “They know they have the best field guy in the country.”

  The twins had meanwhile discovered the bedroom and were doing a little high-jump competition on the bed while squealing excitedly. Paul looked at them with a smile and Kate recognized an opportunity to change the atmosphere.

  �
��So, what can a girl get to drink around here?” she asked, trying to overcome loud bouts of laughter still coming from the bedroom.

  ***

  They sat in the living room holding wine glasses.

  Paul turned on the television at the exact moment the evening news began with a dramatic headline: “Security forces have now taken over the factory—all hostages have been safely rescued.”

  Kate covered her mouth with her hand and exclaimed, “Turn it up!”

  The police reporter spoke over a backdrop of parents tearfully embracing their children: “A senior official has informed us that some quality intel has helped security forces successfully carry out the complicated operation and rescue nearly all hostages unharmed, the only exception being three people suffering from anxiety who are currently being evacuated to the hospital.”

  The image changed and now depicted ten people down on their knees with their heads lowered and their hands and feet cuffed. SWAT team police officers surrounded them with weapons drawn.

  The reporter continued. “The police chief has just informed us that the factory manager himself is involved in this terrorist attack. Not only that, but following the intel received by the security forces, he was arrested immediately, and the information he revealed during his investigation has led to this dramatic rescue operation.”

  The reporter put a hand to his earpiece. “Investigators are still trying to understand the motive for the factory manager’s actions, but, as said before, they were able to obtain valuable information from him about a service corridor the kidnappers weren’t familiar with. The rescuers have taken full advantage of that information and sneaked through the service route all the way to a point at which they were able to surprise the kidnappers.”

  The screens switched to a video clip, shot from a distance and with a poor quality camera. A bearded man wearing a suit stood on a stage while raising two fisted hands in front of an agitated crowd.

  The reporter explained the content they were seeing. “All right, now we see the leader of the terrorist organization. He claims that the prophet was the one who provided security forces with the intel, thus hindering the heroic act of his ‘brave warriors,’ that’s what he calls his fellow terrorists.”