Loe raamatut: «Countdown»

ONE

Rachel Cooper whipped the steering wheel to the left, maneuvered through the rush-hour traffic and entered her tree-lined subdivision. Her shoulders relaxed. Each time she made the turn it was as if she’d left the city behind.

Her stomach growled at the smell of the steak burrito and chile con queso sitting in the paper sack on the passenger seat. The night’s agenda included lounging on the couch and watching her favorite shows. The idea seemed like the perfect remedy to the physical strain of styling hair for twelve hours. After a couple hours of loafing, she’d make herself burn away the calories with her nightly kickboxing video...if she didn’t justify her way to an early bedtime instead.

Rachel guided the car around the maze of bends and curves within the subdivision. Not a single street lasted more than a couple of blocks before turning and changing names. The real-estate agent explained the layout was to prevent cars from speeding, but Rachel imagined it was more about fitting as many houses as possible on the amount of land.

Giant oak trees bordered her sky-blue house. To the rest of the neighborhood she owned the smallest house in the affluent subdivision, but to her, it represented the mark of how far she’d come in life. The other houses encircled the small home in the quiet cul-de-sac of the dead-end street.

Her neighbor, James McGuire, owned the house just past hers. His three-year old twin boys exited their garage on training-wheel bikes, racing each other down the driveway. Rachel pressed on the brake, even though she was still over a block away.

It had become habit to slow down at the sight of children. They rarely ever watched for cars within the subdivision, most likely due to the lack of traffic. In such a family-oriented place, everyone watched out for each other’s kids. If Rachel were the type to want kids, the neighborhood would’ve been ideal.

A white van took off from its parked position opposite her house, turned one hundred and eighty degrees and screeched to a stop in front of the twins. Her stomach fluttered. Odd, but maybe the driver hadn’t noticed the kids before.

The driver and a passenger jumped out of the van and ran for the boys. Each man grabbed a kid off the bikes. The boys kicked wildly, but their fight didn’t slow the men down. They threw the boys through the side door of the van.

Rachel slammed on her brakes and stared, unsure of what to do. Her stomach twisted. Was she really witnessing a kidnapping?

One man bounded into the van right after the kids as the driver jumped in behind the wheel and took off. The van screeched and barreled toward her vehicle. Lord, give me wisdom.

The van would pass her in less than five seconds. Rachel pressed the call button on her steering wheel and hit the gas. She swung the car around, positioning it diagonally across the road in hopes she could block the van. They couldn’t pick up enough speed this close to cause real damage, could they?

“Call 9-1-1.” Her voice shook, but the ringing through the speakers bolstered her courage as she tensed every muscle in her body, preparing for impact.

The van honked loudly. Thoughts of the boys bouncing around in the cargo area of the van made her question the decision until she thought of kids on the news...kidnapped and gone forever.

She’d risk the boys getting banged up a little if it meant saving their lives. Though, if the men tried to drive through her blockade, she’d be the one in for a world of pain. Rachel tucked her chin to her chest, cringing. She focused on the ringing. Come on. Answer the phone.

She dared a peek out of her right eye. The van drew close enough that she could see through the approaching windshield, and for the briefest moment, the driver’s glare met hers. He wasn’t slowing down.

She pressed back into the seat, in the worst game of chicken she’d ever imagined. The van bounced up and over the curve and clipped the front of her car. Her spine jolted to the left. A searing pain rushed up into her neck. The impact spun her car in the opposite direction of her house as the van drove over a set of lavender bushes and smashed into a mailbox.

An airbag deployed from her passenger side, and a light powder misted over everything. She turned her head to the side, but nothing came out of her steering wheel, most likely because she hadn’t been in motion when the van hit that side of the car.

The van pressed onward and back onto the street.

In the rearview mirror her neighbor—James—sprinted down the street, yelling. She couldn’t let those boys be separated from their father. Coughing away the powder, Rachel stomped on the gas pedal.

“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

“Two men kidnapped my neighbor’s boys.” Rachel rattled off the address as she pressed the gas pedal into the car’s flooring. If they took that long to answer the phone, could she really trust they’d stop the kidnappers in time? If she managed to get close enough to see the license plate, though, the likelihood the police would catch them increased.

Her fingers squeezed around the steering wheel, and she pressed her left heel into the car door for balance as she made the hairpin turn. Her heart seemed stuck in her throat, and her stomach lurched.

The dispatcher said something, but the words sounded like mumbling. It took all her focus to drive through the subdivision at as high of a speed as the turns allowed. She believed the real-estate agent about short streets stopping speeders now. The van’s left wheels lifted off the asphalt for the briefest of seconds on a sharp turn.

The voice coming through her speakers repeated something. Although Rachel’s listening skills sometimes proved lacking when she was focused, her mouth never failed to operate. She could always talk while she worked. Knowing the streets in the neighborhood by heart, she shouted out the name of each one at each turn.

So far all the trees and the green front yards were empty of little feet. Please keep the rest of the kids in the neighborhood inside, Lord. Hopefully most of them were at their after-school activities or already at home eating dinner.

Rachel gritted her teeth on the only straight stretch before the subdivision ended. If the kidnappers reached Overland Drive, a main city road, they’d only need to go a few blocks before hitting the freeway.

If they succeeded, the van could easily hide in the traffic or take one of the many exits available to escape. The odds of bringing the boys back home would drop, and she couldn’t bear to tell James, who had already lost his wife tragically, that his sons might not ever come home.

The whir of her engine grew louder at the increased speed. Ten feet away. She pressed her toe harder into the pedal. She pulled close enough only to see...nothing. No license plate. A weight dropped into her gut. “No, no, no.”

She should’ve known.

Sirens wailed, growing louder. Rachel braced herself for the final turn out of the subdivision. The white van squealed to a halt, sliding sideways. She gasped as she flew at high speed toward it. She slammed her foot on the brake, her body thrown back into her seat. Please don’t let me hit the boys.

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the brake to the floor. A high-pitched squeal preceded a sudden stop. The momentum flung her torso toward the steering wheel. Searing pain rushed up through her ribs from the impact. She opened one eye and judged the remaining distance between her bumper and the white van—eight feet to spare. The car choked and died.

She exhaled.

A man with shaggy brown hair shot out of the passenger door and scowled at her. Her heart stopped as he ran toward her, his hands in fists. She slapped the lock button three times—just to be sure. The car locks clicked each time, as if attempting to reassure her.

The man slammed a fist into the hood and pulled out a gun from his jacket. She flinched. Her eyes flitted around the car for a possible weapon. She could throw the nacho dip in his face, but how much time would that buy? Why weren’t the cops running around the van to help her?

The back of one cruiser and the top of another were barely visible due to the dip in the road at the front of the subdivision. More “speed control” at work. The driver still sat in the white van. The officers probably had their sights and, hopefully, their weapons, trained on him. So they were clueless about this guy on the loose.

The man walked around the front of her car. He stared at her with calculating eyes. He pointed the weapon at her and made a come-hither hand signal. Rachel gasped. He wasn’t looking to exact revenge. He wanted to use her as a hostage. To get away or to get the boys again? Or both? She inhaled sharply. The dispatcher. “Are you still there?” Her voice squeaked.

No one responded. She turned the ignition. It released an awful grinding noise as if telling her it wouldn’t take any more of her abuse today. With one hand, she flipped open the console between the seats and felt for the hard plastic handle of her emergency escape tool.

On one end, the pointed steel hammer ensured she’d be able to shatter the vehicle windows if needed. She imagined it’d pack a potent punch against an attacker, as well. She shoved it into her jacket pocket on the remote chance she was put in a hostage situation.

Lord, bring help. She forced a façade of bravery and returned the man’s glare. The kidnapper seemed unfazed as he approached. She needed to get the police’s attention before he succeeded, but how?

* * *

James McGuire slapped the steering wheel. He’d lost sight of the back of Rachel’s maroon SUV. He couldn’t see where they’d gone. “Don’t take them away from me, too. I can’t—” The words stuck in his throat. The unbidden memory of being told his wife had been killed rushed to the forefront of his mind.

He gritted his teeth and didn’t let up as the Dodge Charger jumped over a curb. He took each curve at a diagonal. He jerked his gaze from north to south at each side street as he barreled toward the east exit of the subdivision.

Caleb and Ethan... His eyes stung from pent-up anguish and rage. A horn in the distance blared and didn’t let up. He sped closer and closer to the exit. The horn grew louder. “Please,” he groaned aloud. If ever he needed the Lord to hear his cry...

He shot past the final corner. The white van sat parked across the subdivision entrance. His mouth went dry at the sight. They’d been stopped? His boys...were they? The horn continued to blare, the noise coming from Rachel’s SUV. Had she crashed? A man at her driver’s door lifted a gun toward her window while his other hand gestured for her to get out. His car windows muffled shouted words from a police officer’s megaphone. They wouldn’t get to her in time. Had they already pulled his boys to safety?

The Charger revved and responded immediately the moment he shifted into high gear. James aimed the nose of the car for the man. The squeal of the tires finally got the man’s attention, his eyes wide, but the gun remained trained on Rachel. The man’s face contorted as if trying to make sense of where the car planned to go.

James squinted and blocked out the rest of his surroundings. He would not lose another woman in his life to senseless violence. For half a second he questioned whether he should spare the man that laid a hand on his children. His heart squeezed, his neck tingled, and James exhaled as he slammed on the brake. The car skidded to a stop a centimeter away from the man’s legs.

The kidnapper jumped backward, as if trying to get out of the way, at the sound of squealing brakes. His face paled as if he was unsure James had actually stopped. The man’s arms flailed. He fought for balance and lost. The gun slipped from his fingertips as he fell to the pavement.

James thrust the car into Park and jumped out. He stepped toward the kidnapper, prepared to fight him if necessary to keep the gun from his reach. The man had already jumped to a crouched position and glanced between the gun and James. Most likely he was trying to judge if he could make it to the weapon before James pounced.

James balled his hands into fists in response. The kidnapper snarled and sprinted past the nose of Rachel’s car, disappearing behind the closest house.

The police fanned around the van, guns drawn, but pointed their weapons at the driver who had his hands up in the air. They didn’t run after the other man. Had they not known there were two of them? James couldn’t allow him to escape.

Police cars screeched to a stop behind them. One cruiser squeezed past Rachel’s car and ramped up a driveway before two officers jumped out and pursued the kidnapper on the run. James relaxed his hands.

Rachel stepped onto the pavement. The slight breeze moved her glossy, thick hair away from her pale face and wide eyes. James ran to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking for signs of shock. “Are you okay?”

She trembled underneath his fingers but nodded rapidly. His gaze jerked back to the van swarmed with officers. He fought back the urge to run over and wrench the van door open, but he watched everyone on high alert. The last thing he wanted was to escalate the situation and to give them any reason to delay opening the door to his boys.

He pulled Rachel to his chest, his chin grazing the top of her head. Her body shook, and he held her tight. Please let my boys be okay.

An officer near the white van ran toward them. The cop spoke into his radio and waved his hand, indicating Rachel and James should stay back. Other officers pulled the driver out of the van. They pressed the man against the hood and proceeded to handcuff him.

Rachel pulled away from James but grabbed for his hand. Any other moment and he would’ve felt uncomfortable with her touch for reasons he’d take days to analyze. But now, at this moment, it was as if they stood together in prayer, in unity, during the most excruciating wait of his life.

The side door of the van slid open. Inside the cargo area, on the floor of the van, the twins clung to each other. His eyes burned, his throat tightened, and a wretched bark of relief escaped.

The boys were safe. Thank You, Lord.

He jolted forward, but the officer held a hand out. “Those are my sons.” It wasn’t a request, and he didn’t wait to hear the officer’s response. He ran at a full sprint to the van.

“Daddy,” Caleb screamed. The twins let go of each other and held their arms out. They didn’t seem injured as the officers on either side of the door stepped back.

James kneeled down. Caleb and Ethan hurdled into his open arms. His hands splayed across their small backs. Their soft cheeks, wet with tears, pressed into his temples.

“Daddy.” Ethan’s cry mixed with a laugh broke his heart.

“Guess what, Dad? I put on my seat belt all by self,” Caleb said, his little voice shaking. “Ethan needed help.”

James opened his eyes enough to look into the van. A ripped-up bench seat in the back of the van held three seat belts. The middle of the van had holes on the floor where rows of seats used to reside. He choked back a sob at the provision of safety. “That was very smart of you boys. You’re not hurt? Are you sure?”

They shook their heads. Their blond hair brushed against his hair. “Daddy, you saved us, huh?” Ethan nodded his head while he asked. His son’s long eyelashes held tiny teardrops.

James closed his eyes. His entire body shook with emotion. He fisted the backs of their shirts, wishing he could hug them tighter but careful to be gentle. “God did, buddy.” The words barely escaped his swollen throat. “And He used our neighbor to help.”

James twisted to look over his shoulder at the woman in question. She stood with a hand cupped over her mouth, her head bent. She’d always been attractive, but at the moment, she looked a thousand times more beautiful than he’d ever noticed.

He fought back the habitual onslaught of questions and theories flooding his mind whenever a problem arose. It made him an asset to his company, but as a parent he didn’t want to face what his analytical mind shouted: this was too bizarre to be random.

The events of the last week shifted together in his memory, a puzzle begging to be solved. The blood in his veins ran cold. Bottom line: it had to be his fault, and he had no guarantee they wouldn’t try again.