Escape (Chronicles of Hart) (11 page)

Ethan let him pass and fell in behind Chung. He kept up, hoping that he wouldn’t get lost in the endless woods. They intimidated him after the confines of the tunnels. Slick moss squished under his feet. Broken trees gave way on the forest floor as they were stepped on, collapsing into small plumes of pollen. Ethan sneezed, running to catch up. King was making good time. He had nearly walked into several trees before being pulled to the side at the last second by Chung. At this pace they would be there in moments. The cabin was still not visible from their vantage point. King looked up expecting to see it but instead he was met by a wall of trees and bushes. Somewhere in the thick of it sat the cabin. And somewhere nearby was Grace, “Grace?” Ethan called out in a hushed voice. He waited, expecting a rustle somewhere in the brush, indicating where she was hidden. Nothing happened.

“Well, start looking. Look for signs that she may have
left
too.” Chung took charge, walking to the other side of the small building.

Ethan walked closer until her could see the outside walls faintly through the brush and brambles that had taken it over. He peered through the bush towards the ground, poking leaves out
of his way hoping to see Grace’s golden orange hair tangled in the branches below. So far he was having no luck. He stooped down lower to see better into the undergrowth. Sneezing, his hand slipped toppling him over. He felt something soft brushing against his palm.

Ethan shifted to get a better look. A pair of cold glazed eyes stared back at him. He was dressed in camouflage and crumpled into the earth. This was one of Kings SWAT team. The position of his neck and the composure of his body sent Ethan reeling back, scrambling away from the dead man. He covered his mouth to stifle the shocked gasp that had escaped, him echoing deep into the woods. King came running up beside him. He could feel his face going white with shock. He pointed to the bush, “your, your...” King stepped closer to investigate.

“Shit.” Ethan heard him mutter under his breath. King backed away from the bushes taking Ethan by the hand and helping him up. “Go to the other side, I’ll keep looking here.” He gave Ethan a shove to the left, sending him around the corner to look through the foliage. Ethan paused once around the corner, catching his breath. He was afraid he had made too much noise in his shock of finding the body. He feared Hart would find them. Ethan jumped into his search with a vengeful hatred of Hart propelling him to search faster and faster. He overturned branches and debris, hoping to find Grace lodged somewhere in the tangle at the base of the cabin. Instead he found more moss, weeds, and dirt. His fingers were filthier now than they had been in the underground labyrinth of the tunnels. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, smearing a splotch of moss across his face as he did. She had to be here. She wouldn’t have moved and they surely would have heard if Hart had found her and tried to drag her off. She would have put up a fight.

Finally after a third patch of prickly brambles had scraped at Ethan’s arms, he heard Chung whistle from the opposite side of the shanty chalet. Ethan dusted his hands off as best as he could on his mud crusted pant legs, and climbed through the brush to reach Chung. He was stooped low, heaving something from under a large shrubbery. Orange tangles caught in the branches, Ethan stepped forward to help keep her hair from tangling further while Chung lifted her out. Grace was drowsy she was blinking slowly as though she had just woken up. Chung tipped her gently into a standing position, letting her feet touch-down slowly while being cautious of her still-bare footing. She clung to him for a moment longer, regaining her balance while swaying slightly from side to side. She let his arm go finally as she looked at Ethan groggily, wary of his reaction, “it was Hart...” she trailed off, catching herself on Ethan’s arm as he stepped closer. She whispered, “He used chloroform in the vents
.”

King had finally joined them. Covered in blood and dirt, he stayed back quietly wiping his hand before fumbling with his phone again. “There
,” he stated gruffly, walking towards the tree he had pointed towards. Ethan and Chung followed, supporting a lethargic Grace between them as they stumbled back through the dense trees towards the SWAT van that waited on the other side of the woods.

The trail to the van seemed longer than Ethan had expected. He was sure King was walking in circles, but in the mood he was in no one was brave enough to confront him. He would stop and glare back for them to do the same and then stand still as a statue for a moment or two listening to the trees. With a quick look at his palm he would start up again, not waiting for them to follow. The droning sound of their feet trudging through the trees was taking up a rhythm in Ethan’s head. He felt like the little engine that could, climbing further and further. Just as he was about to speak, to hear any other sound, they popped out of the trees into a clearing with a rarely used dirt road. Ethan stood looking for a van, while King scoured the site with a little more enthusiasm. He pulled a wet looking set of keys from his belt and pushed a button. A horn sounded behind them, startling them after the quiet of the woods. Ethan nearly dropped Grace in the surprise of it all.

King pounced at the noise, lunging into a cover of leaves and shrubs. He tugged at them like a lunatic, unveiling piece by piece, a covered black SWAT van. Opening the driver’s side door he slid across to start the ignition, and then quickly backed away leaving the door open. “Give it a few minutes, just in case,” he mumbled to Chung, obviously trying to make up for his earlier mistake by not making it a second time. They sat in the woods on a pile of leaves waiting while the engine warmed up. Far enough away that if anything did go wrong, they should still be safe.

Grace and Ethan l
ay back on the unfolded blanket looking to the upper foliage. Grace counted the leaves as they plunged from the trees, swiftly soaring in arcs and loops through the sky. Ethan watched her quietly taking in the differences in her face over the years away from him. She smiled at a leaf that brushed past her cheek, and Ethan smiled too glad that her smile hadn’t changed on him too.

***

Hart had exhausted his time, Grace had escaped. How she had resisted the lull of the chloroform he was unsure. Knowing the agents and that putrid boy would be stirring soon, left him no choice but to leave post haste. He had no backup and they were well trained. He had weighed his options and decided that he would take another approach. Hart walked a straight line with a sense of dignity about him. His suit was soiled from patches of wet in the forest’s higher undergrowth. He held his head high, moving with a sense of purpose. He marched straight through the greens and burnt oranges onto the patch of wet gravel he had parked in earlier. He bowed down at the side of the car. Tucking his hand under the passenger wheel well he felt around briefly, locating a hide-a-key tucked away beneath. He pulled it out and sliding it open, he discarded the case after retrieving the key.

Hart circled to the driver’s side, disregarding the traffic swerving in the lanes beside him. He clicked the door opened, and slid in. Starting the engine he revved forward with a backwards glance to the forest beside him. He would return later to finish up some business here. For now he moved on to more important matters.

***

Grace stared at the branches weaving together above her. She pretended that beyond them were stars. Later at night, this forest would be beautiful she thought to herself smiling. She couldn’t help herself but to smile at every little thing out here back in the real world. Even if her father were to capture her again, she had made enough happy memories already to get her through to her next escape attempt. She still hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. She watched overhead as leaves plunged towards her, wiggling free of their secure holdings on their branches. She felt like a leaf floating away from captivity herself. She relished in the release of the spiralling leaf above her, smiling at its floating dance towards the ground. If only her own escape could be so poetic and graceful.

King stood, staying still for a moment before walking to the van. He inspected it again, trailing through every detail. Turning the car’s engine off again he lifted the hood to inspect each part. He crawled along the sides on his hands and knees peering under at the undercarriage. Finally he determined that it was safe enough for them to enter. Chung leapt at him, prying the keys from his hand. “Passenger side,” Chung muttered to him, loud enough for Grace to hear over the crinkling leaves. Grace and Ethan stood shaking the blanket out before entering the back of the spacious van. The trunk alone was nearly as big as her tower confines, and so much cleaner. She couldn’t help but smile again.

Grace crawled across to the padded bench in the back, sprawling lazily across nearly the entire thing. Ethan took up his post at her head, piling a lumpy first aid kit under her head like a pillow. She was asleep almost immediately. He tucked the damp blanket that she had dragged through the brush with her over her shaking shoulders. She was convulsing in her sleep from the cold and he worried how sick she may have gotten. The van pulled forward soon with a gentle rocking motion that soon had Ethan fighting to keep his eyes open himself.

Ethan and Grace slept while Chung drove to a motel. King was on his phone calling ahead for backup and reporting the cabin massacre of their last team. The road wound out of the thick forest and into a small town. The air was damp with an impending storm, as they pulled into a motel.

The building was decrepit. Something surely beneath the use of the FBI, which was exactly why Chung had chosen it. This place was far enough off the radar that it would be hard for Hart to track them in. The motel was two levels, a long narrow building that coiled back unevenly along a cracking pavement parking lot. Chung hopped down from the driver’s seat, dodging into the front lobby. He left the car running with King glancing anxiously across the plot, leaning to see around other parked cars suspiciously.

Soon Chung returned with a key. He pointed to King. They had a room up the stairs on the second floor. It would be hard to gain access to, save for a rickety set of stairs that would likely give an intruder away before they could reach the door. King nodded with approval, dialing his phone to notify the tech team on the other end.

“Team two arrives in twenty. Let’s order these kids some food,” Chung suggested as he lifted Grace gingerly from the back of the van. Ethan rose groggily, awake enough to make it up the steps and in the door before falling asleep again in a chair awkwardly. Chung placed Grace on the bed, covering her up with the fresh white bed linens while they waited. King nodded, reaching again for his phone as he locked the door and drew the curtains closed.

BLUFF

Mr. Hart remained calm. Plucking his cell from the breast pocket of his neat suit, he pressed one number and held it. Bringing the phone to his ear, he whispered, “phase two.” and hung up. That boy had looked too familiar, like a business partner he had grudgingly put down years ago. Hart presumed that filthy child was the same one that had penetrated his church by leaping over the wall and stirring this mess up. The others were obviously federal agents. This would require an amount of finesse to cover up that Hart had not had to exact in years. Not since he had kidnapped his own daughter and faked her death. As a breeze whistled through the open window, he frowned. He was going to miss the football game tonight.

Hart reached into the back seat, producing a duffle bag. He tugged it over onto the passenger seat and began to rifle through it while he sped down the interstate. Plucking out a stick of explosives he smiled, knowing that if he did this just right he could claim the insurance money for the accident. He pulled into the church lot, whipping across the lawn before screeching to a skittering halt outside the main doors. Hart exited the car, duffle bag in tow. He looked the great facade of the old church over one more time before entering. The worn wooden doors swung in the breeze, no longer locked in place by the pegs in the floor. He made his way to the basement to set his equipment up making quick time. He would soon have to turn around and take care of the cabin as well.

Hart ducked into the farthest corners of the cellar, crawling professionally over the rubble of previous excavations. He tethered sticks to each corner and lastly to the beam that supported the entrance to the tunnels.

Hart would have been happier taking the whole tunnel system out with the church, but would settle for this sacrifice. As he wound the coil back out the front door he glanced down at a twinkling in the nearby brush. He walked over cautiously, uncoiling the detonator as he walked. A leather briefcase sat in the bushes outside of the church doors,
Evans
was scrawled across a brass nameplate stamped across the top. Fire welled up in Harts eyes. H paused to look down at the case.
Evans
he thought;
then I suppose it is him.
Hart smiled smugly taking the briefcase with him as he rolled his way back into the car.