Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 (42 page)

“No, sir.” Covington’s tone changed from one
of fear to hopeful recklessness. “I can handle anything you need me
to do.”

“This is your one and only chance to prove
to me that you're the right man, soldier. But if you fail …”
Montgomery let the words trail off.

“I won't, sir. I'll do whatever you
need.”

“Okay, Neil, I'm trusting you. Where are you
now?”

“I'm in the car. I just left the base.”

“Good. We've gotten some pretty good intel
that Tyler and Phillips are heading to Apalachicola, Florida.”

BY THE TIME THEY WALKED
the two-plus
miles to the Best Western Apalach Inn, it was well past midnight.
The doors were locked and there was no sign of life. But inside the
vestibule at the lobby entrance they discovered a telephone with
instructions to call the night laundry attendant. The woman was
hesitant to let them in at first, but quickly changed her mind when
Rob flashed a one hundred dollar bill before her eyes.

After a shower and a raid on the hotel’s
vending machine, they got some much-needed sleep. The next morning
they were thrilled to discover that the hotel had a hot breakfast
bar. They drew some odd looks from the staff as they made repeated
trips to refill their plates, after going a day and a half without
food.

After breakfast, they walked into town. June
found a store where she bought a change of clothes. Rob used the
time that she spent shopping to visit several other stores where he
gathered a grocery list of needed supplies. They included bleach,
acetone, a pair of glass mixing bowls, a funnel, a plastic squeeze
bottle, some bottled water, and a backpack. He grabbed a bag of ice
at a convenience store as they walked back to the hotel.

When June asked what the materials were for,
he only said, “You'll see.”

They returned to the hotel room with their
bags just after one o'clock. Rob had no sooner closed the door when
June spoke. “Okay, Tyler. You've had some time. When are you gonna
let me in on what you're planning?”

Rob opened the room’s only window, closed
the drapes for privacy, and sat in one of two chairs flanking a
round wooden table in the corner. He took a moment before he spoke.
When he finally did, his expression was somewhere between amusement
and apprehension. “I'm going to take that plane and fly to the
Keys.”

“Fly to the Keys?”

“That's right.”

“Are you crazy? You're not a pilot!”

“Yes I am, actually.”

“Rob, we had a lot of conversations before
all of this happened and you never told me you were a pilot.”

“Maybe you didn’t ask.”

She thought about it for a moment and
conceded. “Maybe I didn’t. But that's a pretty big detail to leave
out.”

“I’m sure there's a lot of things I didn't
tell you about. Heck, there are things my wife doesn't know about
me.”

June wondered for a moment what other
secrets he had, but quickly dismissed the thought. “So, you're a
licensed pilot.”

“Didn't say I had a license.”

“You don't have a license?”

“I don't have a hunting license either, but
I know how to skin a deer.”

“Who taught you to fly?”

“Friends.”

“Friends?” June repeated.

“Navy friends, Army friends, Air Force
friends, Marine friends. I got a lotta friends,” Rob said. “Plus,
my dad’s a pilot. I actually have more time in helicopters than in
fixed wings, but I'm pretty sure I can fly the one at the
airport.”

“You're
pretty
sure?”

“There's something very familiar about it
ever since I saw what kind of airplane it is.”

June shook her head and sat on the edge of
the bed closest to him. “This is unbelievable. Okay, so you’re one
hot shot, Top Gun, Maverick of a pilot and can probably fly rings
around Tom Cruise. Why fly to the Keys?”

He sighed. “I need to get someplace where I
can think, and I can't do that if I have to keep looking over my
shoulder.”

“And you'll be able to think in the
Keys?”

“Probably not, but I can find transportation
from there to somewhere that I can.”

“Like where?”

“Like Belize. Or Brazil maybe.”

“Brazil? Like in South America?” she
scoffed.

“Last time I checked.” Suddenly, he was
distracted. He looked past June at the wall behind her. She turned
to see what had gotten his attention but there was nothing. “What
is it?”

He laughed. “I just remembered the twin’s
fifth birthday. After church we took them to Carolina Ice Palace. I
wanted to teach them how to skate. But Carol,” he shook his head,
“she wasn't happy about it at all. See, Carol can't skate, so she
was worried they'd fall and hurt themselves.” He looked at June.
“You know how really over protective mothers can be when kids are
that age.”

June looked at him, dumbfounded. Nine years
of his memory were missing, but he was telling the story
matter-of-factly like anyone might. “How old did you say they
were?”

“It was their fifth birthday. Anyway, I told
her that it would be just like when I taught them to swim—” He
froze as his smile disappeared.

“Rob?”

Several minutes silently passed as he stared
into space, smiling occasionally. June gave him some time, hoping
his memory was indeed returning, until she finally broke the
silence. “Rob, are you alright?”

It was as if he was seeing June for the
first time. “I remember my kids. Christian and C. C. I remember
them skating at the Ice Palace.”

June was ecstatic. “That's great!” She
jumped up to give him a quick hug. “What else do to remember?”

He tried hard to recall other details. But
just like it had been in the car ride on their way to Florida, the
images were random, disjointed. Many had no meaning at all, no
context. Representations of people and places he didn't know. But
somehow, they felt familiar.

June saw his growing frustration and became
concerned. Taking him by the shoulders, she smiled. “Well, you're
making progress.”

He shook his head. “I'm trying, but …”

“Don't push it. Those memories of your kids
came back. Give it time and I bet it all comes back to you.” She
let go. “I was afraid I was going to have to start calling you
Jason Bourne.”

Rob frowned. “Who?”

“From the
Bourne
… never mind. What
are you doing?”

He ignored the question, stood up, and
gestured to the chair where he had been sitting. “You sit
here.”

June complied. For the next two hours she
watched as he carefully mixed the ingredients he had purchased,
using one of the glass bowls. As he worked, he would periodically
blurt out some detail from his life. Some June had heard in earlier
conversations. Most were events involving family. Birthdays,
anniversaries, vacations, and other scenes from his past. There
didn't seem to be any pattern or chronology to the order of the
memories, but they were only of people and places that he would be
very familiar with.

June was fighting her own battle as she
listened.
Do I go with him to the Keys, then South America, and
then who knows where? Or do I stay and try to figure all of this
out with … someone. But who can I trust? The local authorities? The
Air Force? NCIS? Whoever is after us can’t possibly have a hand in
every facet of law enforcement across the country. And I need to
get back to the babies. What about Don and Jimmy? They were in the
crash too. They may have been hurt. And then there’s Juan and the
professor. I can’t fly off with Rob to who-knows-where. But … can I
just leave him? 
Agonizingly, she made her decision.

“Rob,” she said, interrupting his
musings.

“Yeah?”

“I can’t go with you.”

“Huh?”

“To South America. I can't go to South
America with you.”

He smiled. “I don't want you to.”

“You don't?” she asked, surprised that his
words stung so much.

“No. It wouldn't be right. Me being married
and all.”

“Oh,” she said, suddenly understanding.

“Besides, you don't have a passport.”

“Oh,” she repeated. “I guess that would make
travel kinda difficult.”

“I want you to go to the cops. Tell them …
oh, you know what to tell them. It would probably be better if you
didn't give them a whole lotta details, though. Who do you think
you can trust that was inside the project?”

She thought for a moment. “Perez. Agent
Eddie Perez, the NCIS guy.”

Rob couldn't remember any of the players.
“Sure. He'll do. Just don't tell them where I'm going.”

She looked at him disappointingly.
“
Rob
.”

“Sorry,” he said, giving her a knowing look.
“But I am gonna need your help.”

Her heart lifted. “You do?”

“I need you to drive the car to the airport
tonight.”

“Where are you going to be?”

“I'll be plowing the road.”

June gave him a confused look.

“I'm gonna make sure there are no obstacles
between you and the plane.”

She went from confused to concerned in
nothing flat. “You mean like security guards?”

Rob nodded.

“You won't hurt anyone will you?”

“Trust me. I'm quitting …” He closed his
eyes in frustration. “I quit the SEALs because I didn’t want to
hurt people any more. I’m not gonna hurt anyone.” He turned back to
his mixing bowls. “I hope.”

He poured some of the contents of the first
bowl into the empty second container and stood back with a look of
profound satisfaction.

“Are you finished?”

“Just about.” He stepped into the bathroom
and poured the contents of the second bowl out.

“Are you gonna tell me what it is?”

He poured the remaining liquid into the
plastic bottle and quickly screwed the cap on. “Chloroform,” he
smiled triumphantly.

Later, they ordered some take-out from a
nearby restaurant and waited until nightfall before Rob called the
front desk to arrange for a taxi. Hanging up the phone, he felt
something tugging on his heartstrings from the inner recesses of
his mind that he was becoming more and more familiar with. He
needed to pray.

“Let's bow our heads,” he said.

June smiled and willingly complied.

“Heavenly Father. Please forgive us our
sins. Thank you for your many blessings. For those that we realize
and for the ones that we don't. Thank you for the gift of June's
companionship, for her wisdom, her patience … and Lord, especially
for her driving skills. Thank you for keeping us safe and forgive
me for not thanking you sooner for that. I ask that you place a
hedge of protection around us and the people we encounter as we do
what we must tonight. And I ask your forgiveness for it, too. Lord,
there is no plan except your plan, and I submit that I only want
your will to be done.”

He was about to finish when June spoke.
“Father God, thank you for Rob's friendship and I ask that you
bless him in his travels. I ask that you take him where you want
him to go and keep him safe. And God, please keep his family safe
as they suffer through this trial. Give them strength to endure. We
ask these things the most holy name of your son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.”

“Amen,” Rob repeated as he grabbed the
backpack.

When the cab arrived, they passed through
the lobby on their way out and the hairs on the back of Rob's neck
stood up. The hotel desk clerk tried, unsuccessfully, to look
nonchalant when she gave them a nervous smile. Once outside, Rob
checked up and down the street for prying eyes in the darkness. He
found none. He instructed the driver to take them to Bluff Road
Storage, but he continued to scan around for anything out of the
ordinary. As they started up the street, he didn't notice
the headlights of the Mercury as it pulled from the parking
lot two hundred yards behind them.

* * * * *

“
DO YOU WANT ME TO
wait?” the driver
asked, sticking his head out the window.

“I really don't know how long we're gonna be
so we'll call when we get finished.”

“Well, it's gettin' kinda late and I gotta
sit somewhere. I'll just turn the meter off and wait here till I
get my next call.”

He was a friendly old man, but it didn't fit
into the plan for him to remain there.

“No, really. We may be a few hours. I
appreciate it, but we'll call when we're ready.”

“Suit yourselves,” the driver replied as he
slowly drove away.

June was at the keypad near the gate. “What
was the code to get in?”

“Four, six, zero, two, four, zero.”

She punched in the numbers and the gate
began rolling out of the way.

Taking a more direct route to unit
forty-eight than the previous night, Rob continued to scan around
for anything unusual.

“Calm down. You're making me nervous,” June
chided.

But Rob’s sixth sense was speaking to him
now. Something gnawed at him like a Texas tick on a mangy hound
dog. When they reached the door, it was just as they had left
it.

“See, nothing’s changed,” she said
reassuringly.

But Rot wasn't listening. He was peering
into the darkness back the way they had come. “Something's not
right.”

“What is it?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Doctor Phillips?”

June looked in the direction of the
unfamiliar voice, but the voice in Rob's head told him to look in
the other. When he did, he barely caught a glimpse of the shadowy
form slipping back around the corner at the end of the row, sixty
yards away.

June, however, had her eyes fixed on the
silhouette approaching them. He was wearing a suit, but that was
about all she could tell.

“Doctor Phillips? Commander Tyler? Oh, I’m
so glad that I found you! Are you alright?”