Paradise Falls (34 page)

“Are you-“

“I’m fine. Keep going. Faster.”

She picked up speed, faster and faster, breathing hard.

“Come on. You can do better than that.”

Finally, she almost fell down, she was so exhausted. She dropped to her knees and leaned forward on her thighs, panting. Jacob stood there with his arms folded.

“Tomorrow, you’ll do more.”

“You do this every day?”

He shrugged, and immediately winced.

“Before I came here my routine was pretty regular. Up at four in the morning for training for four hours. Two hour nap, then schoolwork. I tested out of the beginner classes and sent assistants to take notes on lectures for the others so I could do a double class load. Finished that by four in the afternoon. The meditation, investigative work and study, another nap, evening cardio, more work, sleep around eleven.”

Jennifer stared at him.

“Oh. Wow.”

He offered a hand and pulled her to her feet. Scrubbing her hands back through her hair, she had to wipe them on her shirt to dry off the sweat. He handed her a towel, and then a bottle of water. She drank slowly and caught her breath before walking over to the computer to join him as he sat down. She rolled up a chair and spun it backwards to lean on the back.

Jacob took a pair of handcuffs and dropped it in front of her. The side plates were cut to reveal the internals. He held the handcuffs and she watched how the innards worked as he used a small, curved piece of metal to undo the lock, locked them again and popped them open by shimming a sliver of metal into the mechanism.

“Practice,” he said.

It took her five minutes to get the lock open the first time, and she had no idea how she did it. The second time took ten minutes, and this time she had a feel for it.

“Keep working on it. When you can do it in a minute I’ll have you start on a real set.”

‘Then what?”

“When you’re good enough I’ll have you practice with them behind your back.”

She nodded.

“What are you doing?”

He sat back from the computer, rubbing at his chest through his shirt. Jennifer reached over, grabbed his pinky and pulled his hand away. He gave her a look and put his hands flat on the desk, smirking.

“I’m going to find out where our phones are.”

She scooted her chair over, closer to his side. Her arm bumped him as she worked on the handcuffs, and and he glanced over at her. Dropping her hands down, she leaned over to look at the screen. A transparent circle blinked over a map of the town. With every blink, the circle grew smaller, and the map zoomed in.

“What’s it doing?”

“Triangulating the position of our phones from the nearby towers.”

“What if they’re turned off?

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

The circle blinked down and down until it turned into a dot over the police annex, next to City Hall. Jacob rubbed his hands together, tabbed out of the window and opened another program.

“I have tracking software installed on all my phones. It logs any calls and text messages sent out, video files, all of that,” he grinned, “and, I can activate the cameras and microphones remotely.”

The screen went black. The speakers on the desk let out a low droning sound.

“Lights must be off,” he said. “Or there’s something over the lens. I’ll keep them recording, see if it picks anything up.”

Jennifer rested the cutaway handcuffs on the desk.

“What are we going to do now?”

He leaned back. “What do you mean?”

“Ellison must be back with his father by now. What’s going to happen? How do we explain this? The last everybody saw of us, we were being arrested.”

Jacob rocked in the seat. “I’m thinking. I’m not worried about that just yet. We have other things to worry about. In order: That strip club. The Leviathans. The trucks.”

“You want to shut that place down,” said Jennifer.

“Yes. Get the girls out and shut it down.”

“How will you do that?”

“Scout first. Devise a plan. Attack.”

“If you tell me I’m staying here…”

“No,” said Jacob.

He turned to look at her and scooted his chair closer. Very slowly, watching her for approval, he reached out and cupped her wounded cheek in his hand.

“You saved my life yesterday. We’re a team, if you still want to be a part of this after what happened to you.”

His touch made her tremble but the warmth of his hand was inviting even if his skin was rough and scratchy. Pressing her cheek to his palm, she smiled.

“Go get some sleep. We’ll move in after dark and get an idea of what’s going on out there. I want to see them in operation and gather intel. We need to know where the girls are kept, what kind of security there is and who’s involved. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to get ready.”

“What about you?”

“I need to do a little research. I’ll tell you about it before we go. Get some rest.”

Jennifer stood up, nodded. Jacob turned back to the computer, but she knew he was watching her head up the stairs.

7.

Jacob was sitting on the bed when she woke up. He had his legs tucked under himself in the lotus position and he was staring down at his feet, but he stirred when he saw her. She pulled the blankets up to her chin and looked over her shoulder. Not dark yet, but getting close. Jacob’s breathing was slow and labored, the patchwork of bandages over his chest and stomach pulling at his skin.

“I’ve been doing some work,” said Jacob. “That Cerulean Shipping company that Ellison mentioned is tied up with the petroleum interest that’s going to bring fracking to Paradise Falls. They provide all the logistics and tanker trucks. It’s a privately held company, so I can’t get any information about the owners. Right now, anyway.”

“So thats’ a connection between the drugs and the fracking operation where Hunter told his girlfriend he was going to get a job. Isn’t that a strange coincidence?”

Jacob made a motion with his hands, lacing his fingers together.

“There’s something bigger going on here. We’re seeing bits and pieces of it, but from the wrong angle. This town is the middle of something huge, and once we find out what that is, all this will make sense.”

“That’s a little paranoid.”

“It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you. Time to suit up. You ready?”

“I’m not sure we should do this.”

“Why not?”

She sat up. “You’re a mess. You’re going to rip open your stitches.”

“I’ll be fine. You ready?”

“I’m as ready as I’m going to get. Are you sure about this? Why don’t we call somebody? Report it?”

“Who? The cops?”

“Not the Paradise Falls police,” said Jennifer. “I could call Brock Edwards. He knows people in the state police. He’s a good man, he’s not beholden to the Katzenbergs. At the very least he could help us.”

Jacob considered that, his jaw working as if he were chewing on the idea.

“The police will take time. There will be paperwork, surveillance, warrants, court orders. Somebody involved will tip off Elliot or someone else and word will get to the Leviathans through them. The girls will be gone and nothing will happen. We’ve waited too long already. I don’t expect Ellison to do anything but spill his guts. They’ll know we’re coming. The faster we move, the better a chance we have of getting those girls out before they’re split up and shipped God knows where.”

“Okay,” said Jennifer. “Then let’s do it.”

He nodded.

“Yeah,” said Jennifer. “do you mind?”

“Oh. Sorry.”

He stepped out while Jennifer put up her hair and slipped into the black fatigue pants, boots, and compression shirt he’d left on the bed. He was waiting for her when she emerged from the bedroom.

“I have more gear for you down in the basement.”

Katie was in the kitchen. She looked at Jennifer and hugged herself, pulling her shoulders in.

“Jenn? Where are you going?”

Her throat was tight. “We have work to do, Katie.”

“This is nuts.”

“Yes,” said Jennifer. “Yes it is, but we have to do it.”

“We’re going to need your help,” said Jacob.

Katie eyed him. “Me? Why?”

“Keep this,” he handed her a phone, “wait for us to call and give you instructions. Stay with Faisal.”

“If you say so.”

“I say so,” said Jenn, smiling weakly. “We’re going to be fine.”

“This is crazy,” said Katie, “but okay. If you say so.”

Jennifer had to tear herself away to head down to the basement with Jacob. On his work table, he’d laid out a whole setup. There was a pair of vests made of interwoven, rigid plates of rubbery material. Jennifer picked up the smaller one, assuming it was for her. Shockingly light, she could barely feel it hanging in her hands.

“What is this?”

“The exterior is made of overlapped plates of layered ceramics and composites sandwiched together under extreme pressure and heat. The inside is a twi-weave material, a combination of Kevlar fire-retardant Nomex and a proprietary fiber that’s derived from the silk of a South American orb weaver that’s fifty times stronger than steel, by weight.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“Very.”

“Is it bullet proof?”

“No, bullet resistant. Take a bullet in this and you’ll get a horrendous bruise and maybe a broken bone, but it beats dying. This stuff is in between the heaviest body armor and the suits bomb disposal guys wear in durability. I have arm and shin guards made of the same. Let me help you with it.”

Jacob tugged the vest into place as she wriggled into it. It was tight, but it moved when she breathed and flexed along with her. She put the arm and shin guards on, and wound her hair into a bun and put her black face mask in her pocket. She helped Jacob into his and he put his utility harness on, then offered one to her.

His was festooned with his usual gear- a lot of knives and electronic gadgets in pouches, but with the addition of a slick black automatic pistol carried at the small of his back.

Hers was dominated by magazine pouches on either side, riding over her hips, and a shoulder holster. He slipped her father’s gun into it and opened a long rifle case on the table. Jennifer recognized the design of the weapon, like the one she’d practiced with, but it was sleeker looking and had a collapsible stock and a scope mounted on the top. Gingerly, she picked it up and looked through the optic. The crosshairs glowed, and there was a tiny number along the bottom.

“What’s that?”

“Rangefinder. I’ll go through it with you another time. You probably won’t need it tonight.”

The rife suddenly felt heavy in her hands and she put it down, drawing back too quickly, with a step.

“You want me to shoot somebody?”

“I want you to be ready if you have to.”

“Jacob,” Jennifer said, swallowing. “Practicing is one thing, but… God.”

“If everything goes right you won’t have to, but you need to be prepared.”

“I don’t know if I can do that. Who am I to decide if somebody lives or dies?”

He took her by the arms and looked her in the eye.

“I don’t have an answer for you. This is dangerous. We’re breaking the law. We’re putting ourselves in danger. We’re going to be outnumbered by people who will not hesitate to kill us. If you’re not ready, stay home. I’m not going to tell you stay behind, but if you’re not fully committed I can’t take you with me. I can’t babysit you and if I give you orders I need you to follow them.”

Jennifer chewed her lip.

“I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“Fine. Here’s the plan. We observe the target structure until we know where the girls are kept when they’re not working. Then we go there, kick ass, get them out.”

“Kick ass? That’s the plan?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. Ready?”

Jennifer nodded, gravely.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m ready.”

Jacob carried the rifle in the case and went up first, Jennifer right behind him. Faisal waited in the kitchen with Katie.

“You two, go down there and lock the reinforced door. We’ll be in touch.”

“Sir?” said Faisal.

“Assume someone is going to attack the house. I want full coverage on the perimeter with regular check-ins from our people.”

“Yes, sir.”

Katie hugged herself and stared at Jennifer.

With a sigh, Jennifer hugged her.

“We’ll be okay.”

“Have I mentioned that this is crazy?” said Katie.

“Yes. Now go down in the basement.”

Katie rolled her eyes, but her jaw was trembling. Faisal locked the big steel door and Jacob led the way out from the back door and over to the carriage house and a battered old Plymouth waiting inside. He put the rifle in the back seat and Jennifer got in. When he started the car the engine purred.

He rolled his shoulders and turned his neck until it popped softly. Jennifer glanced at his chest, hoping those bandages were going to hold.

“You know,” he said, shooting her a look, “You look good in black.”

“Uh, thanks,” she said. “Look, if this turns you on it’s going to get a bit weird.”

“Right,” he said, and put the car in gear.

 
The wheel creaked under his grip as he threaded the car down the curvy road to the base of the hill and headed away from town. Jennifer sat back and stared out the windows. The cornfields and the lights of the town in the distance felt strange, fake somehow. Paradise Falls both did and didn’t live up to its name. For the young, poverty and pregnancy and drugs meant her town was more of a place to escape than anything else, especially for the young, but she never imagined it could be this bad.

Other people could just pass through, she realized. Drive through the sad little town with all the empty stores in the blink of an eye and pass by, if they drove through at all. Most people probably just took the bypass, these days. It was like the town was never there at all.

Once, when she was a little girl and her father worked up enough courage to defy Jennifer’s mother, he took his girls to see Centralia, the town abandoned after the coal vein underneath caught fire and the toxic fumes made the place uninhabitable. In its own way, Paradise Falls was like that. The poison was hidden under the town, beneath the quaint decay.