Orpheus: Homecoming (The Orpheus Trilogy Book 2) (25 page)

"Because the story is compelling and the visuals on this island are flat ridiculous. Am I right?"

Hedley nodded. "Some of the best footage of my life."

Thompson wagged his finger back and forth between him and his partner. "We're not against the idea of an Oscar in addition to the Pulitzer."

"Does Cameron know about this?"

"Cameron? Oh, Orpheus. No, not yet. But I won't do anything with it without his okay."

Jen looked across the table at the reporter. "Don't take this the wrong way, but that doesn't seem like you."

Thompson was about to answer when Hedley's phone rang.

Lena recognized the music. "I love that song."

"Seen 'em live three times. Excuse me, I have to take this. It's my old lady, so there might be yelling." Hedley walked away from the table and went outside.

"Where were we?" Jen asked.

"You were telling me what a scumbag weasel vulture I am." He jumped when Lena elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

She smiled. "Yes, now I remember. Why?"

He lowered his voice, and the likeable Thompson made an appearance. "When I first heard about this gig, I pulled every string I could to get it. Any decent reporter would kill for this gig. Dead people literally coming back to life? The story is that big, maybe the single biggest story ever. That's not an exaggeration."

"Agreed," Lena said.

"On the other hand, I saw this Orpheus guy. The man who beat the zombie apocalypse. Everybody's fucking hero."

Jen said, "I'm getting something from your tone of voice."

He laughed. Lena hadn't seen it much, but it really brightened his face. She couldn't wait until they were done on this island so Tim could laugh like that again. She forced herself back to the present.

"You were supposed to," he continued. "This may come as a big shock, but I'm pretty cynical."

"Nooo," they both said in unison.

"Ha, that's hilarious. Anyway, I've laid a lot of high and mighty people low. The more they look to be too good to be true, the easier it is. Do you remember the televangelist who was running the sex slave operation in Mississippi?"

"That was you?"

"It took me, I'm not kidding, three hours to dig up all the dirt on him. Four phone calls. That's it. It took me longer to write the article."

"What are you getting at?"

"Lena, the better they look, the worse they really are, and I enjoy bringing them down. I'm no prince, but I'm not hurting anybody. Except for them, and they deserve that shit."

"And you thought that Orpheus was just like them."

"Thought? Hell, I knew he was just like them. My experience said that he had to be."

"And now?"

Thompson paused long enough to take a bite of his sandwich. He took his time, wanting to get the answer right. "He's got his flaws. But he's the real deal. And I can't do anything but respect that." He took another bite. After he swallowed, he asked, "This'll sound stupid, but have you ever seen
Iron Eagle
?"

Jen said, "That fighter plane movie from the 80's?"

He laughed. "That's the one. I remember the first time I watched it with my dad. There's a part in there where someone asks Lou Gossett why he did something nice for someone. He said something like, 'He earned my respect, and I'll do a lot for people I respect.' That always stuck with me."

"That's actually kind of sweet," Lena said sincerely.

"Yeah, it's a nice sentiment. The problem is that I don't often run across people to respect in my line of work."

Jen said, "Well, now you have us."

He smirked. "I was talking about Holt. I never said anything about you two."

Trent was on his second cup of coffee when he received a text. It said, "MAKE THE CALL."

He clapped his hands together gleefully. "All right! Let's do this!"

The clap made Jackie sit straight up. She didn't like how happy he was. His happy was anyone else's creepy. "Let's do what?"

"It's your time to shine. Don't worry, you don't have to do much. I'll do the talking." He grabbed her phone and opened the video call app. He scrolled through until he found Holt's number. His finger hovered above the call button. "Before I make this call, be honest with me. Does your old man actually know how to use the app?"

"Yes."

"Nice to hear that he's staying current." Trent pressed call and waited for it to ring through on the other end.

O

"You guys hear that?" Ethan asked.

They listened more intently.

There it was again.

"I think it's coming from your pants, Captain," Hedley said.

Orpheus reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. Hedley was right. He was getting a video call from Jackie. This struck him as odd, seeing as she never called him, video or otherwise, during the work day. She always waited for him to make contact so she knew that she wouldn't be interrupting something that could literally be a life or death situation. That's why he didn't recognize the sound of an incoming call on his phone.

He hit a button, and her face filled the screen. "Hey, babe," he said.

"Hi, Cam, sorry to bother you at work."

He immediately knew that something was wrong. The angle of her camera seemed off, like she wasn't holding it. Her voice didn't have the same lighthearted quality that he knew like the back of his hand.

"What's wrong?" His first thought was that something had happened to one of her parents, but before she could answer, a strange face filled the screen

"What's wrong? That depends upon which side of the call you're on, I guess."

Everyone had stopped to look at Orpheus, and no one spoke.

"Who are you? So I know what to put on the tombstone?"

"Oh, we'll get to that in a moment."

Rachel and Ethan exchanged a look.
This can't be happening.

"You know, I met you once. Maybe not met, but I saw you in person. You wouldn't remember it. We were at the hospital, and you'd just come back from one of your night missions. I remember seeing you and thinking, 'I honestly wouldn't want to fuck with that guy.' But you just don't seem as scary when I have your wife tied to a chair."

Rage and near-paralyzing fear were fighting for control inside of Orpheus. He recognized that he had no leverage, and asked, as calmly as he could, "Have you hurt her?"

The man turned the camera toward Jackie. "Take a look. She's fine." Orpheus got a long enough look to see that she was bound to a chair, then the caller's face was back. "I even made her a sandwich. The mayo was a few days past the expiration date, but YOLO, right?"

"You have my gratitude. Please keep it that way."

The caller laughed. "I recognize that this shit must be torture for you. I've seen you in action, and diplomacy isn't your thing. But you're doing great. Keep it up and you and your little lady here will see each other again." Then an unmistakable darkness descended into his voice. The effect was chilling. "Maybe."

Hearing this broke whatever spell Orpheus was under. "You hurt her and you're a dead man.
A dead man
. You can't run far or fast enough."

Trent mock yawned. "Don't cross me, Orpheus. You're not holding any cards, and you know it. If you fuck with me, she's dead. And I won't be satisfied with just her, if you catch my drift. If you even attempt to leave that island, believe me, I'll know about it, and I'll kill her. You have a different job to do, anyway. Do you understand me?"

Orpheus nodded.

The caller adopted a condescending tone. "Say it. Say that you understand."

"I understand."

"Good."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Give me the cure."

"The cure? That's what this is about?"

"I know you have it. It has to be somewhere in this house."

"No, I have it on me."

"You have it? Like in your pocket?"

Orpheus held up the pouch. "Right here. I wasn't going to leave it lying around. It's yours. Leave my wife alone and it's yours."

"Why would you give it up?"

Orpheus lied. "It's only a matter of time before someone figures it out, and I'd like to keep my wife alive."

This seemed to throw Trent. "Well, give it to me!"

"As soon as I can arrange a ride, I'll hand it to you. We can meet anywhere you want."

Trent composed himself and said, "No, I want Ethan to bring it to me. Put him on."

"Ethan? Why do you want to speak to him?"

"Don't make me ask again. Your wife currently still has all of her fingers."

Orpheus reluctantly handed the phone to his son, who looked terrified.

"Ethan! Long time, no tie a motherfucker up and leave him for dead, buddy!"

Ethan was speechless.

Trent was in his house. Threatening his mother.

"I should've killed you," was all he could say.

"Yup. I'll give you a moment to let it sink in. Let me know when you're ready."

Ethan blinked rapidly. "What do you want?"

"Right to the point. I like it. I want you. I want you to get your happy ass back to Ohio, go where I tell you, and hand me the cure. You do that, your mom lives. Simple as that."

Everyone heard Jackie screaming in the background, imploring Ethan to not do it. Everyone reacted in some way ... a gasp, a curse ... except for Orpheus. He was a statue.

Rachel closed the gap between her and Ethan and gripped his arm. Ethan found his voice again. "How do I know that you'll leave my mother alone?"

"Because I don't fucking care about her!" Trent screamed. He regained control of himself and said, "I care about the money the cure will bring me. And ..." There was menace in what Trent didn't say. He wanted to revenge against Ethan and his father. Ethan, for leaving him for dead, and Orpheus, for killing his brother in self-defense. In Trent's twisted mind, that made him the aggrieved party.

Ethan knew what he was going to say. What else could he say? "Okay. I'll do it."

His mother's scream came through the phone loud and clear. "Ethan, no!"

Trent turned to Jackie and said, "You shut the fuck up or I may decide to start with you, after all."

"Whoa, whoa," Ethan said. "I already said that I'm on my way."

"I expected no less. You also have a deadline."

"I'm coming, I swear. But I'm on an island halfway across the country, and we're quarantined by the U.S. fucking government. I can't just leave."

"Who are you kidding? I know how resourceful you are. You'll figure it out."

"Trent, listen ...”

"No more listening, kid. Get here, or I'll just cap her and get moving."

Ethan was about to beg him for more time when Trent's head turned rapidly away, as if he heard something that surprised him. Then he yelled and disappeared from view as Jackie's phone hit the floor camera side down. All they could hear was the sounds of struggle, screams, and a gunshot.

The Orpheus men yelled for her at the same time.

O

Jackie did everything she could to stay calm, but knowing what the intruder Trent had in mind for Ethan had pushed her over the edge into outright panic. She had no doubt her son would come for her, and she had no doubt that he would end up dead. He was nearly as capable as his father was, but he was at every possible disadvantage. She didn't see how her son could make it out alive.

Her mind raced, looking for something, anything that she could use against Trent. She was mostly unbound, only her right arm was tethered to the chair. This was a nod to Trent's assessment of her, that she was more dangerous than she looked. However, that was balanced by his desire to not be saddled by her complaints of limbs that had fallen asleep, probably. So he moved anything that she could use as a weapon and just kind of kept an eye on her.

The truth was that she had no intention of being the aggressor until he'd brought up Ethan.

There was no way that she'd let this man hurt her boy. The coward would never admit it, but he was a bit afraid of her, if only because of who her husband was. That made her angrier.

She barely paid any attention to what he was saying on the phone. She was only looking for a weapon. He was sitting so close to her to make it easier to swing the phone back and forth between them. If she had even a nail file, she could jam it in his eye. But the table was empty and she had just gotten out of the shower.

Then it clicked.
Look where he's sitting.

It would have to be soon. It sounded like the call was winding down.

She wished that he would stop paying attention to her. Although his face was turned toward the phone, his eyes kept darting back to her. She willed her husband or Ethan or anybody to keep him talking.

Then the doorbell rang.

Her eyes flicked to the clock.
Right on time
.

This definitely caught Trent by surprise. He whipped his head to the front door, but Jackie didn't have to. She knew who it was. Her leg acted on her behalf, and in the split-second before it connected, she hoped for the first time in her life that her husband hadn't kept a promise to her.

Her heel connected with the leg of the chair, and she knew in an instant that it was still broken. It gave with little resistance and the chair collapsed under Trent's weight. He yelled as he fell backwards, but Jackie was already pressing her advantage. She stood up, grabbed her chair back and whipped it over her head like she was trying to ring the bell and win a prize. The chair connected with his shoulder and exploded into fragments. The only piece that didn't go flying was the spindle that Jackie was tied to. She got a grip on it, intending to send this bastard to Hell.

Trent was already recovering, and Jackie couldn't get the fatal wound that she wanted.

He managed to spit out, "You fuckin' bitch!" Before she struck again. She swung the spindle sideways at his gun hand and only managed to dig a deep furrow in Trent's cheek. His face absorbed most of the force of the blow and it was ineffectual by the time it reached the gun. He held it tight and raised it in her direction.

Jackie knew that if he got a bead on her, she was dead. Then he would go after her family. She had no choice but to throw herself top of him and pin his arm with all of her weight. This left her completely exposed to his other hand. He grabbed a fistful of wet hair and yanked her head back, trying to get his hand free. It was agony.

The doorbell rang again. Jackie screamed, "GRACIE!!!" while she tried to drive the spindle into Trent's stomach. She wanted to feel that sharp piece of wood slide through him until it scraped tile, but she had no leverage, and couldn't cause enough damage. She fought like a demon to stay on his arm. He realized that he wasn't going to get the gun free anytime soon, so he changed tactics. Instead of pulling her head back, he put a palm on the back of her head and drove it forward.

Jackie realized what was going to happen too late. She felt her face smash into the bottom of the cabinet, then again. Stars exploded in her eyes and she tasted blood. All of the strength left her and she nearly went limp. Trent got his gun out and pressed it to her temple. "Let's see how your boys feel about watching your execution on camera, bitch."

Jackie couldn't be sure, but she thought that she heard a bottle breaking followed by Trent shrieking like a gutted animal.

O

A lifetime in banking (as much as a lifetime can be for a twenty-nine-year-old, that is) had taught Gracie Treadwell several good habits: a respect for money, the value of proper wardrobe, and that everyone loves a punctual person. When she was off the clock, the first two definitely suffered from time to time. She had been known to splurge on something completely fleeting and useless, and her knockaround clothes were often a disaster, but she was always on time.

She wouldn't know it for a few more moments, but that particular habit would save a life.

She and Jackie Holt had spent an increasing amount of time together in her husband's absence. What began as an awkward meeting about the extensive savings that he'd been hiding had evolved into a friendship. Gracie had few friends in this town, and Jackie had fewer (even though it was her hometown, her friends from school had either moved away or they'd grown apart), so it was a stroke of luck that they just happened to enjoy each other's company.

This was their weekly movie date night. Gracie had swung by a Redbox for a rom-com and picked up some snacks and the makings of boneless buffalo wings. She had a lot that she wanted to talk about, including a recent disastrous conversation on match.com. She got to the door precisely at the top of the hour and rang the doorbell. Jackie had already told her that she was welcome to just walk in, but Gracie had never been comfortable doing that with anyone, including close family.