Chapter 4: The Out
The moon shone brightly up in the vast, dark purple night sky with its light illuminating the trees and field below it. The sound of a train whooshing by interrupted the silent night. Its wheels chugged in circles across the iron rails as it sped towards Deer Harbor, Maine. Since it was fairly late, there weren't many people on the train; there were possibly less than twenty people per car. A sleeping woman cradled her daughter in her arms as the little girl read a book to herself. In the seat before them, a man coming home from the war slept soundly, but looked slightly uncomfortable in his army green uniform. A couple seats up, a man in a black suit and red tie read the daily newspaper while his blonde wife slept quietly against his shoulder.
Across from the man and wife, Jay rustled awake. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head as he yawned. The first thing his eyes noticed as they adjusted to the dim light was the mug shot of himself in the newspaper the man in front of him held up. Surprised, he immediately turned his head and looked back up the aisle of seats. Still awake, Tyler leaned against his right hand and looked back at Jay. Jay nodded at Tyler, who nodded back. The two boys climbed to their feet and grabbed their backpacks from the rack above their seats.
Tyler headed up the aisle to meet up with Jay, who was stopped by a woman sitting a few seats away from him. The woman reached for his hand and asked, "Excuse me, aren't you Maggie Hamilton's kid?"
"No, ma'am," Jay politely answered.
"It's uncanny. You could be twins," she replied, smiling.
Jay faked a chuckle and excused himself as Tyler followed him up the aisle. They passed by the man in the army uniform as the man awoke. The army man stared up at the two boys as they attempted to leave the car. Jay lowered the bill of his cap as he passed by, hoping the man wouldn't recognize him. Unfortunately, it was of no use. The army man jumped to his feet and shouted at them.
"Hey, stop! It's the guys from the Drexler!"
Their eyes growing wild, Jay and Tyler exchanged glances. Jay turned back around to see the army man grab at him. The man grabbed Jay by the shoulders, but he attempted to escape. He reached a hand out to Tyler, but an old man in the seat beside him stood up and blocked his way.
"Pull the cord!" Jay shouted at his friend, pointing at the cord labeled 'Emergency Brake'.
Tyler turned around and leaped at the cord. However, a man in a suit grabbed him by the waist and pulled him away. Tyler wrestled against the man, kicking and pushing just to get to the emergency brake. Another man stood up against him and tried to push him into a corner.
Jay, on the other hand, was fairing a little better. He managed to knock off the old man and was wrestling with the army man. The army man grabbed him by the neck in an attempt to choke him, but Jay blocked with his forearms and pushed him forward.
"Federal Marshall! Freeze!" a muscular man in a black suit ordered as he pulled out his handgun.
Ignoring him, Jay went for the emergency brake. Diving towards it, he tackled a man down and pulled the cord down. Immediately, the train began to skid against the rail, rocking the passengers' bodies left and right. Jay's body slammed into the corner as Tyler fell onto one of the seats. As the Federal Marshall fell to the ground, he accidentally pulled the trigger of his gun. A bullet shot out and headed straight for Jay. It slammed into his chest hard, causing him to fall over on his back. Everyone in the car suddenly stopped and stared at Jay's unmoving body.
"Jay! Jay!" Jay heard a familiar voice calling out to him. Grasping for air, he attempted to open his eyes. His lungs beginning to collapse, Jay's head fell back as Kim appeared out of nowhere. She grabbed him and lifted his head up to face her.
"Jay!" Tyler said as he slapped Jay across the chest. It was all a dream. Jay's eyes opened and he gasped for breath. Scanning the car, he realized he had been asleep dreaming. Shaking his head, he looked up at Tyler, who was attempting to look inconspicuous. He wore a gray nylon jacket with blue jeans and a black hat.
Jay blinked a couple times as he grabbed at his chest. He could have sworn he could still feel the bullet engraved in his chest. Fortunately, it was all just a dream. Jay looked back at the man in front of him. He held a newspaper, but it didn't show his mug shot like the one from his dream.
"It's time to go," Tyler told him.
"Next stop: Deer Harbor, Maine," the voice in the intercom announced.
Following Tyler down the aisle, he grabbed his brown leather jacket and put it on over the gray hoodie he was already wearing. Together, the two friends got off the train and walked across the platform as the train raced away.
"Get any sleep?" Tyler asked.
"Not enough."
"I've slept like five hours in the last two days," Tyler bitterly said. "If we don't start getting some sleep, we're not gonna be on the run for long."
Jay nodded in agreement as he reached for the train schedule in his pocket. Across from them was a ticket booth and waiting lobby marked 'Deer Harbor Train Station'. Jay started towards it and said, "I'm gonna check this out."
Inside the station, Jay walked up to an old man at the ticket booth. He showed the man the train schedule and the code written on it and asked if he knew what it was for. "It's a reservation code, son, from two weeks ago," the old man revealed.
"Any idea as to what it's for?" Jay asked.
"I can't tell you that," the old man retorted.
Smugly, Tyler pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and asked, "You sure?"
Less than five minutes later, Jay and Tyler were walking out of the train station with their answer. The old man had written on a piece of paper the name 'Daniel Taft'. Jay stared at the name for a second, constantly repeating it to himself.
"It's gotta mean somethin'," Tyler told him.
"Yeah, it means someone named Daniel Taft – not Will Traveler – took the train here two weeks ago."
"Yeah, or Will was using the name, Daniel Taft," Tyler suggested.
Breathing in and out, Jay looked around at the shimmering water beside the train station. It was still dusk so the sun had barely begun to rise and the sky was a mixture of colors ranging from violet to pink. Jay could barely make out the form of a town beyond a stretch of road before them. "C'mon, if Will was here, then maybe someone knew him."
About twenty minutes later, the two friends were walking down a small street in the little town of Deer Harbor. Deer Harbor was a small communal town with a down-home type of atmosphere that made anyone in the town feel comfortable and familiar. Prominent on the eastern side of town was a large harbor with hundreds of boats, yachts, and ferries docked there. Jay and Tyler strolled down a sunny, scarcely populated street. Feeling uncomfortable, Tyler looked back behind him to see if anyone suspicious was following.
"Can you feel it?" he asked.
"Feel what?" Jay replied.
"That someone's watching us!"
"No, you're paranoid."
"Maybe I'm right, Jay! Maybe we should leave!" Tyler hysterically retorted. "Will Traveler. Daniel Taft. We don't even know who we're looking for at this point!"
Tyler stopped walking and raised his arms in front of Jay. There was an agitated expression on his face as he began to turn red with anger. Jay, however, appeared quite calm and reserved as he stared up at something across the street.
"No, I think leaving would be a bad idea," Jay said, still looking across the street.
Tyler made a confused face at him and turned around. Scanning around for what Jay had been mesmerized by, he noticed a sign hanging above a small bookstore on the corner across the street. "Have Books, Will Travel," he read."
Just then, a white Volkswagen Beetle parked on the side of the bookstore next to a large black SUV. The sound of the alarm emanated from the car as a young woman stepped out and walked towards the store's entrance. The girl looked to be around the same age as Jay and Tyler and had long, curly, blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a thin, lean frame clothed in a white blouse, brown undershirt, dark green jacket, and blue denims. In her hand was a ring of keys, which she turned over with her fingers. Sticking one of the keys into the bookstore's doorknob, she turned the knob and pulled the door open.
"Alright, you stay here," Jay told Tyler as he started for the store.
Tyler put his hand out to stop him, though, and said, "I'm coming."
"No, we can't always walk around together. It's risky," Jay replied. Contemplating the plan for a second, Tyler turned away and sighed. He nodded back at Jay, signaling for him to make his move. As Tyler leaned back against the wall of the building beside them, Jay headed across the street to the bookstore.
Jay pulled open the door and began looking around the shop. There were books of all sorts organized into bookshelves lining the store. To the right of the entrance was an entire wall of children's books, while across the room were rows of shelves containing novels for young adults. No one seemed to be around the store, even though the blonde girl had just went inside. Jay thought maybe she had went into another part of the store for some apparent reason. Jay continued to look around and found a book on the small table in front of the register. He picked it up and looked at the title. On the Road it read. Shaking his head, he sighed, knowing it had been Will's favorite book.
"Can I help you find something?" a feminine voice asked from behind.
Jay dropped the novel back onto the table and spun around. Standing next to the front counter was the young blonde woman he saw enter the store. "No thanks. I'm just browsing."
"My name's Maya. Just let me know if you have any questions," the girl told Jay before turning to leave.
New York FBI Field Office
Borjes excitedly burst through the transparent door of a room as he shouted to Marlow, "You won't believe this!"
"Forensics find something else?" Marlow guessed.
"No but techs did. Turns out that stuff we found in New Haven – Burchell's manifesto, Fogs video – is already on the internet. It's up on twenty different websites ready for download," Borjes notified his partner. Turning to one of the agents seated in front of a computer, he nodded to him. The agent pressed a few keys on his computer and a video started playing on the gigantic monitor in front of them.
"It's 2006 and the America our parents knew is long gone," Tyler said in a mocking inflection. The video choppily jumped to a scene of Tyler with a razor in his hand and shaving cream across his face. "Democracy? What democracy? We don't even have elections anymore; we have options. President Shears has sold this country to the highest bidder!"
"Looks like the perfect way for Burchell and Fog to promote their hatred of President Shears and his administration," Borjes commented.
"Our generation needs to stand up for what is right! Take a stand! It's time to have a revolution! We need to wake up and take this country back! It's time for blood in the streets – blood in the streets," Tyler finished as he popped the cap off a beer bottle. The FBI agent stopped the video, causing the image of Tyler to separate into tiny, shaky pixels. He spun around in his chair to look back at Marlow and Borjes who glared at the monitor.
With a bewildered look on her face, Marlow said, "It doesn't make any sense."
"I know that look," Borjes replied, rubbing his chin.
"Why take the risk?"
"What? Going back to New Haven?"
"No, going back to destroy the evidence when it's already on the internet," Marlow said.
"Destroying the originals, covering the girl who had them, toying with us," Borjes listed off.
"Put yourself in the suspects' shoes. You're on the run, do you go back for evidence that's already out in the open?" Marlow hypothesized.
"I don't know, but that is their stuff," Borjes countered. "Hair fibers matched on the clothes that we salvaged, finger print samples were positive, and last night, we gave them the chance to come in and they still ran!"
Borjes shot Marlow a look like he had just won a big argument. Marlow, on the other hand, still refused to listen and wondered what the point of returning to New Haven was. She shook her head and sighed lightly as she stared back up at the video that was playing again on the monitor. The image of Tyler opening the bottle of beer looked almost iconic.
"It's time for blood on the streets – blood on the streets!"
Manhattan, NY
An African-American woman stood inside of a holding cell in Manhattan. Her hands grasped the grimy steel bars of the cell as the dim lights hanging above her barely illuminated her face. She took a few steps back as a police officer walked up to the cell with a ring of keys.
"You're in luck, Doherty. The photographer dropped the charges," the female officer said as she opened the cell door.
Sitting down in the corner was Kim Doherty. She had been there all night and looked rather tired. Her eyes were droopy and her makeup was beginning to crack. She hadn't slept at all. Standing up, she noticed Agent Chambers standing in the corner outside the cell.
Deer Harbor, Maine
Jay stood in the bookshop, still holding onto the copy of On the Road. He looked around for a moment then called out Maya's name. The beautiful blonde walked across the hardwood floor to answer Jay's call. Before she could even reach the room he was in, he asked, "Is this your store?"
"Yes it is."
"I like the name," Jay said.
"Thanks," Maya replied with a smile. She leaned over the counter and looked at the book Jay had set on the counter. "On the Road – good book. Nine forty-three, please."
Jay dug out his wallet from his back pocket and searched for a few dollar bills. He pulled out two fives and handed them to Maya as he said, "I had a friend who lived here. He used to talk about this place all the time."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, his name's Will Traveler."
Smiling, Maya opened the cash register and said, "Never heard of him." Jay could easily tell she was lying as she stuffed the two five-dollar bills into the register and grabbed Jay's change. The tone in her voice suddenly dropped and a worried expression took over his face. "I could see why he likes my store though."
"Are you sure you don't know him? He said he came here a lot," Jay replied.
"Yeah, I think I'd remember a name like that. Enjoy your book," Maya told him as she hurriedly turned to leave.
"How 'bout Daniel Taft?!" Jay shouted after her. "Ever heard of him?"
"Sorry, I can't help you."
"Can't or won't? It's important. We need to figure – "
"Look I would love to help you, but I don't know your friend! It's a small town. Maybe you should try city hall."
"That's okay. Thanks for your time," Jay replied, knowing Maya was definitely not going to cooperate.
"No problem," Maya said coldly as she left Jay's presence.
In a mysteriously shady room in a seemingly empty building, two men sat next to one another at a long, wooden table. On top of the table was a strange black device attached to a cord and headphones. One of the men wore one pair of headphones while the other held another pair up to his ears. Jay and Maya's voices came through them as the two men listened. The man holding the headphones up set it back on the table and got up. With a pair of black binoculars, he walked across the room to a small window. He stared through the binoculars to see the entrance of Have Books, Will Travel and watched as Jay exited the small shop.
Down the street from Maya's bookshop was a cafe. It was fairly empty; the only people inside were the cashier, two baristas, a woman in a business suit, and a couple sitting by themselves in a corner. Jay and Tyler entered the store and ordered two cups of coffee. Hopefully, the coffee would help keep them up a little longer. Once they got their drinks, they sat down at a table beside the entrance.
"So she knew the name Daniel Taft?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Then she was lying to you, Jay. We gotta go back!"
"And do what? Say please?"
"We follow her," Tyler pushed.
"Just give me a minute. I need time to think," Jay replied, taking a sip of his coffee.
Offended, Tyler leaned back in his chair and let out a dry chuckle as he rubbed his nose. "Since when did this become a one-man show?"
"Look, if you wanna make suggestions, make good ones," Jay retorted. "She mentioned city hall – that's where police are based in small towns like this. What if she recognized me?"
"Then we'd be sitting in the back of a cop car, Jay. Not at this table," Tyler snapped back. Gazing out the window, he angrily sighed and hopped up to his feet. He leaned over the table, his hands planted on top of it, and said, "You're not always right, Jay."
Still sitting, Jay watched as Tyler left the café to go out to the payphone booth outside. Shaking his head as he saw Tyler close the booth door behind him, Jay turned away to finish his coffee. However, he was drawn away by the mention of Tyler's name on the TV hanging from behind the cash register. Jay looked up to see a video of Tyler playing on the news.
New Haven, CT – 9 Months Ago
It was a Friday night so the boys had the entire weekend to look forward to. The three boys lazily sat around the living room of their house, watching the TV with beers glued to their hands. The table in the center of the room was already topped with over a dozen beer bottles. Jay laid on his side on the couch as Will leaned forward on the recliner next to him. In front of them, the news was playing the video of a news conference President Shears held earlier in the day.
"The guys a liar," Tyler said as he entered the living room. "He's never fully answered a question his whole life. Wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit him in the ass."
Tyler dropped down on the floor and planted himself in front of the TV. To his left, Will set up a laptop on the coffee table as he grabbed his video camera. "Well, I am shocked to learn that politicians lie," he sarcastically said. Pointing the camera at Tyler's face, he asked, "Any thoughts on where this country's headed, Mr. Fog?"
Tyler began to chuckle, but Jay didn't find it amusing. He always liked watching the news, whether it was good or bad. He waved his hand in front of Will's camera lens and urged, "Turn that off Will. I'm trying to watch this."
"America needs to hear from you! The future of this country is guys like us, not blowhards like Shears."
"Y'know, he's right, Jay. Besides, this guy's got more air than a Lindberg," Tyler interceded.
Jay shook his head and faced the TV to listen to Shears continuing speech. "And just because I'm leaving Washington doesn't mean Washington is leaving me," he uttered embarrassingly.
Jay, Tyler, and Will all burst into laughter at the banality of the statement. They shook their heads in embarrassment together as Shears went on. Suddenly, Tyler stood up and shouted, "Hey! Listen up!"
Will grabbed his camera and directed it at Tyler, who cleared his throat. Pressing the record button, Will began taping Tyler's seemingly harmless rant. "President Shears has sold this country to the highest bidder. I think it's time for blood in the streets – blood in the streets."
Pulled back into the present, Jay looked outside at Tyler and ran out to grab him. Dragging him into the restroom of the café, he looked around to make sure no one was around or in the stalls. Tyler watched Jay with confused eyes, wondering why he had been taken into the bathroom.
"Okay. What?" he asked.
"Will's video is on the news. The one that he's been shooting the past two years every place we go!" Jay alarmed his friend.
"His video blog?"
"Yeah, 'blood on the streets'. Do you remember that?"
"That was a joke," Tyler replied.
"Not anymore," Jay told him. "The video was part of the frame job. They're making it look like we're revolutionaries – like Che Guevara or somebody."
"Son of a bitch!" Tyler cursed, ready to punch a wall.
"Did you ever watch his blog other than on his computer?" Jay asked.
Tyler shook his head 'no', realizing Will's blog had been a lie. "Okay. So what do you wanna do?"
"Honestly, I wanna go to New York, find Kim, and disappear. But since that's not an option I guess we keep lookin' for Daniel Taft."
"Good 'cause I found a listing for Daniel Taft," Tyler said, "but it's not a house."
New York FBI Field Office
"Do we have the originating IP address for Fog's video?" Marlow asked Borjes as the two entered the bullpen. There were already dozens of agents running around with files of papers, checking documents, cross-referencing various pieces of information, among other things.
"We're tracing it back to the first computer it was uploaded from, but it won't be easy or quick," Borjes answered. "What about you? What's going on?"
"QD came back with the results of Burchell's manifesto. The handwriting analysis was inconclusive. Apparently the P's don't match up."
"The P's? That's just great," Borjes sighed.
"We need a handwriting exemplar to make a match so I'm going to the source – Mom," Marlow replied as she opened the door to the interrogation room they stood in front of. Borjes nodded his head and eyed Marlow as she stepped into the room and greeted Jay's mother, Felicia Cruz.
Felicia Cruz sat with her bag on one side of the metal table while Marlow took the seat across from her. She was a short, lean woman with long, dark red hair and brown eyes. It didn't look like she'd slept in quite some time by the look of her eyes. They appeared tired and restless. As Marlow sat down in front of her, Felicia reached into her bag for a red card. "Christmas card, 2002," Felicia said, handing the card to Marlow. "Jay's last communication with me. Happy holidays, Jay."
Marlow looked the card over and said, "Thank you. This'll help."
"To convict my son or exonerate him?" Felicia asked stoically.
"To understand him." Felicia scoffed at the idea of the Feds trying to understand her son. She knew all they were looking for was someone to pin the crime on. Marlow noted her uneasiness and asked, "So why don't you two talk? Something happen between you and Jay's father?"
"Jay thinks I betrayed him, that I left his father in his time of need, but I didn't. I was protecting my son," Felicia replied.
"Protecting him from what?"
"Jay's father was a soldier – ambitious, loyal, but when he was court marshaled, things changed. It wasn't safe for us to stay," Felicia explained.
"So how old was Jay when his father died?"
"Fifteen."
"His death must've been tough for both of you."
"You think that's why Jay would do this, don't you?" Felicia accused. "To avenge his father. That's what the press are saying."
"What do you say?"
Felicia shook her head and answered, "There were times when I questioned the goodness in my husband, never Jay."
Deer Harbor, ME
Jay and Tyler walked through the marina of Deer Harbor. It was a regular-sized marina with several types of boats docked above the water and a few more sitting on stilts on the docks themselves. Screwed onto the edges of the docks were gold plates with the names of the boats' owners inscribed on them alongside the boat number. Jay and Tyler moved from boat to boat, searching for Daniel Taft and #32.
"Number 32," Jay read off as he looked down at the gold plate at his feet.
"You sure this is it?" Tyler asked. He looked around and there was no boat lined up with the gold plate.
"This is the place," Jay affirmed, crouching down to read the gold plate.
"Then where's Taft's boat?"
Jay stood up and began searching the area with his eyes. The only other boats around were already lined up beside their respective owners' plates. Turning around, Jay and Tyler's eyes were caught by the sight of a large boat parked on the side of the dock. Painted on the bow of the boat was the name 'Maya'.
"The owner of the store was named Maya," Jay remembered. Patting Tyler on the back, he said, "C'mon."
The two boys headed over to the Maya and climbed up the wooden ladder leaning against its side. As they climbed up every rung of the ladder, they made sure to check if anyone was coming or near. Luckily, they saw no one around the marina save for themselves. However, as they were watching for any witnesses, someone else was watching them. Unbeknownst to the boys, sitting in a red Jeep on the other side of the marina was the Porter from the hotel. In his hands was a pair of binoculars, which he observed the boys through.
Manhattan, NY
A drove of motor vehicles sped down the same street in front of a pack of wild reporters snapping pictures. In one of them sat Agent Chambers with Kim Doherty in the back seat.
"Press has been having a field day since you took out that photographer," Chambers told her as the SUV they were in pulled up to the curb. The reporters ran quickly over to them in an attempt to take pictures or get any interviews. Luckily for Kim, the other agents with Chambers blocked the reporters' way.
Chambers stepped out of the car and opened the back door to pull Kim out. Even with the FBI agents blocking them, the cascade of reporters still shouted out to Kim. She ducked her head and tried to cover her face as Chambers put his arm around her shoulders and escorted her to her apartment.
Kim turned on the lights to her apartment and grabbed the door to close it. Chambers, however, slammed his hand against the door, keeping it from moving. As he entered Kim's room with keen eyes, she sighed as if she somehow expected it. Chambers crossed the foyer to check the living room as Kim noted, "This is the second time you've given me a ride home this week."
"You've been getting in a lot of trouble lately," Chambers replied. "Just wanted to make sure you got home safe."
Kim crossed her arms as she watched Chambers go through the stuff in her bookcase. "Your men went through my stuff already."
Chambers stopped what he was doing and turned to Kim. "Sorry. Old habits," he said. "You have family in the area, don't you?"
"Queens. My mom and dad," Kim answered.
"Maybe you should visit them," Chambers recommended. "Take a break from all this."
"I'll be fine."
"Ever heard of Occam's Razor? Given two choices – "
"The simplest theory is usually correct," Kim finished. "You learn that in FBI school?"
"The way I see it, there are two possibilities: either a massive conspiracy has created the persona of Will Traveler and manipulated events for the past two years to frame your boyfriend and his friend, or Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, two men with a bone to pick with President Shears, joined forces with a third individual to commit an act of terrorism."
"I told you, Jay's not involved," Kim pushed.
"Then why is he still running?"
"He's scared!"
"Of this vast conspiracy," Chambers sardonically added.
Kim looked up at Chambers with the eyes of a little child being scolded by her father. Her lips quivering, she replied, "Yes."
"Or maybe he's still on the run because he's now linked to a murder and the disappearance of a deputy in upstate New York."
Having enough of Chambers, Kim stood up and walked away. Her feet stopped moving, though, as Chambers suddenly said, "I have a daughter, Kim. A senior in college. I pretty much let her run her own life and she does a pretty good job of it, but when she's about to get hurt, I step in. Something's telling me you're gonna get hurt in this."
"Thanks for the concern."
"Take a break from this before you get into anymore trouble. I may not be there next time to bail you out." Chambers nodded at Kim before walking passed her and heading out the door. He shut the door behind him, leaving Kim by herself to contemplate his suggestion.
Deer Harbor, ME
From his jeep, the Porter surveyed the boat Jay and Tyler had just climbed into. They had disappeared a few moments ago and were still inside checking everything out. In the cabin of the boat, Jay and Tyler found a stash of military-type boxes in an army green color. Jay lifted one up and set it on the table before opening it. Inside were stacks of guns ranging from pistols to submachine guns and boxes of ammunition.
"Ty," Jay said, prompting Tyler to turn and look at Jay. He held up one of the black pistols from inside the box.
Tyler bent down and flipped the top open on another box like the one Jay had found. Instead of weapons this box contained military rations in light brown air-sealed packs. "Look at this," Tyler said.
"Somebody planned on being away a long time," Jay replied.
"And if Will was Daniel Taft…"
"This boat was his out," Jay realized.
"What kind of person would keep stuff like this around?" Tyler wondered as he looked through the cache of guns.
"A soldier?" Jay guessed.
"Y'know, if Will was planning a trip, maybe he made a record. Maybe he charted a course or something." Tyler moved aside a few items from the counter sticking out from the cabin wall. Laid out on it were rolled up maps. Tyler grabbed the nearest one and unrolled it to search for a route or something Daniel Taft might've written on them. Before he could find anything, though, Jay grabbed him and motioned for him to be quiet.
The two boys listened in and heard the sound of footsteps above them. "Someone's coming!" Jay whispered as he and Tyler frantically searched for somewhere to hide. Unfortunately, the cabin was already too small for them to even be standing in it. The door of the cabin lifted open and a tall man in a plaid shirt climbed in.
"Who the hell are you two?" he asked the boys with an alarmed expression.
"Look, we're really sorry. We didn't mean to intrude. We're lookin' for a friend," Jay replied.
"Yeah, are-are you Daniel Taft?" Tyler stuttered.
"Yup, this is my boat," the mysterious man answered. Jay shot him a look as if he didn't believe him. He was so sure Daniel Taft was Will Traveler that it actually shocked him to learn otherwise. He turned to Tyler who had the same exact expression on his face.
New York FBI Field Office
"So, this means what exactly?" Marlow asked as she gawked at a computer monitor in one of the labs at the Field Office. Standing beside her were Agent Borjes and a lab technician explaining the chart on the monitor.
"The chemical residue on the box found in New Haven matches the compounds found in the Drexler Bombing," the lab tech said.
"So these guys definitely did it?" Borjes interjected.
"It's not my job to speculate," the lab tech replied.
"But it is mine so spit it out," Marlow told him.
Sighing, the lab tech asked, "Your suspects are students, right?"
"Yale grads. One with military training."
"This is an exotic mixture even for the military," the lab tech said.
"Camp Pendleton and Fort Hood both have small quantities," Borjes shrugged.
"But we checked those out and they're not missing any. So this is homemade."
"One of our suspects was studying chemistry."
"Right, but you don't learn this kind of thing in Chem. 101," the lab tech replied, shaking his head. "I don't care where you went to school."
"But it's not impossible," Borjes said as he walked over to the monitor.
"No, if you can put your hands on the right ingredients, most times nut jobs like this it's forty pounds of fertilizer, a few blasting caps, and boom – you're on the eleven o'clock news. I'm not saying your guys aren't the doers, but this isn't the work of amateurs."
Borjes and Marlow sighed at almost the same time. Exchanging questioning looks with one another, they contemplated their next move. Seconds later, Marlow saw Chambers passing by and exited the room to inform him of what they just discovered.
"Lab says the chemicals at the Drexler are a close match with the New Haven boxes," Marlow imparted.
"Evidence aside, what do you think?" Chambers asked as he entered his office. He took off his jacket, loosened his tie, and bore into Marlow's eyes with his own piercing pair.
"Fog and Burchell are developing a profile like I've never seen before. There are variables to the evidence. I'm not sure what to think," Marlow honestly answered.
"What about the manifesto?"
"Much more typical of this kind of perp – political, aggrieved," Marlow replied.
"Would you take it to court?"
"Not without better confirmation on the handwriting. I need to explore the evidence more fully."
Chambers sifted through a thick folder full of documents and files. Without looking up from them, he said, "Nonetheless Burchell and Fog remain our best and only suspects."
"Yes, sir," Marlow replied. She then added, "I spoke with Burchell's mother."
"So has half the Bureau. She's a dead-end."
"Jay's father stood his ground till the end. He lost his family, his name – he died proclaiming his innocence," Marlow said.
"You believe Burchell would do the same thing."
"He will not stop running."
"Until we catch him," Chambers doggedly added.
Deer Harbor, ME
Daniel Taft sat on one of his boxes across from Jay and Tyler, who sat on the floor. They appeared quite comfortable with one another. One would expect everyone in the room to be uneasy or frightened, but everything was quiet and calm.
"I've never heard of him. You sure he lived around here?" Daniel Taft asked. Jay and Tyler had just finished telling him about Will.
"Well, this is where he's from," Jay answered.
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Two days ago," Tyler replied.
"Look, we're really sorry about breaking into your boat," Jay said. "We really need to find him and we thought this was his boat."
Daniel Taft nodded and raised his hand up to signal to Jay he accepted their apology. "Well, people know each other in a small town like this. Maybe your friend Traveler's from another spot," Taft suggested.
Tyler somewhat agreed and nodded. He remembered the cache of guns he and Jay found before and asked, "Hey, are you planning on some kind of invasion?"
Taft burst out laughing and said, "Old habits die hard, even harder for old Marines."
"Oh really?" Jay asked, slightly amused to meet a former Marine like his father. "Where'd you serve? My dad was in the Marines."
"You name it, I probably helped it."
Jay smiled and noticed the tiny tattoo marked on Taft's hand. It was a familiar tattoo he remembered seeing on his own father's hand. "First Recon – that's the same as my dad."
Taft tilted his head a little and smiled. "You don't say."
New Haven, CT – 9 Months Ago
Tyler exited the living room as Jay leaned back to listen to Will speak some more. Cupping his hands together in front of him, Will started, "Ask yourself this: do you think the government lied to you about your father."
As he reentered the room, Tyler shook his head in disagreement. He didn't think Will should be bringing something like this up now. It was a bit rude and insensitive to ask Jay a question like that. Jay shook his head and said, "That's different."
"Different how?" Will questioned. "He takes the fall for some friendly fire incident so some general somewhere doesn't have to lose his star? He died for a lie."
Jay breathed in and looked away. The sorrowful expression on his face suggested he wasn't in the mood to talk about this at the moment. Luckily, Tyler defended him. "What are you doin', Will?! You're bein' a jerk."
Rubbing his tired eyes, Will continued, "Anyway, one way or another, one time or another, we all lie – all of us."
Back in the present, Jay wondered whether Taft was lying right now. He stepped over to Taft and asked, "Have you ever been to New Haven, maybe in the last couple weeks?"
Chuckling, Taft replied, "You guys don't give up" Jay and Tyler both shrugged back. "No, I stay pretty busy right here."
"Fishing?" Tyler guessed.
"That's how you make a living in this town," Taft answered. Sticking his hand down his pocket, he said, "Hey, listen, I have to make a call. There's beer in the fridge if you promise to stay out of my stuff."
"Thanks a lot, man," Jay said as Taft exited the cabin. "Sorry again."
Once Taft left the cabin and shut the hatch, Jay and Tyler glanced at one another. "This is not a fishing boat!" Tyler exclaimed.
"Yeah no kidding," Jay replied. "Let's skip the beer and get outta here."
"First time that's ever sounded like a good idea," Tyler muttered as he picked up his backpack.
Jay walked over to the hatch and pushed it open. However, the hatch only opened for maybe an inch before stopping. There seemed to be something in the way. Jay slammed his hand against it several times, but it still wouldn't open. "It's locked, man!"
"No. No. No. Hey!" Tyler screamed as he looked out the window for Taft.
Above, Daniel Taft, or whoever he really was, walked over to the bow of the ship. In his hand was a small, silver, metallic device that he planted on the front of the ship near the captain's booth. He pressed one of the buttons on the top of the circular device, starting a countdown from sixty seconds. From inside the cabin, Tyler could see Taft get into his car. He continually cursed under his breath as he watched the man drive away in his blue truck.
"Get back!" Jay warned Tyler as he grabbed a handgun from the box. Pointing it at the hatch, he pulled the trigger three times. Startled, Tyler fell back onto some boxes. Jay helped him back up, though, and together they climbed out of the cabin.
Tyler came up from the cabin and headed over to the ladder. On his way there he noticed the bomb planted on the bow of the boat. "Bomb! Bomb!" he shouted to Jay. Without a second thought, the two boys tossed their backpacks to the ground below and hopped over the side of the boat. They recklessly ran from the boat as it burst into flames behind them. The sides of the boat flew off like bullets and the glass windows completely shattered. Whatever was left of the boat tipped over and fell on its side, fire still blazing within it. Breathing heavily, Jay and Tyler began to climb to their feet as they watched the boat burn.
"Let's get out of here," Tyler quickly said. However, Jay grabbed him and pulled him back down. The two boys crouched behind some boxes on the dock.
"We want Taft to think he finished us off," Jay told his friend, pointing in the direction of a blue pickup truck. Taft was standing outside of it staring back at the burning wreckage. Nodding to himself, he stepped back into his truck and sped off. At the same time, the Porter lowered the binoculars from his hand and set his car to Drive. "He's gone."
"Then let's get the hell outta here," Tyler said as he stood up and raced away from the docks.
New York FBI Field Office
The lobby of the Field Office was set up for a news conference. There were a few rows of seats lined up in front of a metal podium that had several microphones connected to it. Pinned to the wall behind the podium was a blue plaque displaying the insignia of the FBI. Behind the rows of seats were cameramen prepared to videotape the upcoming news update. There was a slight commotion of voices in the lobby until Fred Chambers entered the room and everyone quieted down.
He walked over to the podium and stood poised in front of the microphones. "This is merely an update; there will be no questions taken at this time. I am Special Agent-In-Charge Fred Chambers of the New York Field Office of the FBI. Our two suspects in the Drexler Bombing, Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, have been positively IDed in the New Haven area. Our investigation has recently uncovered facts that we believe further implicate Burchell and Fog. Chemical evidence found in New Haven matches evidence found at the site of the Drexler Bombing."
In the above floor, Marlow exited her office to watch the news conference from the TV in the bullpen. Standing in front of it already were Borjes and several other agents. Listening to Chambers, she wondered why he would give out this evidence already. "Who cleared this?" she asked.
"We also found possessions that preach a message of hate towards President Shears and the current administration," Chambers continued.
"He knows we're working that evidence," Marlow said to Borjes.
Shrugging his shoulders, Borjes replied resignedly, "It's his call, Marlow."
"He's putting conjecture out as fact!" Marlow retorted.
"C'mon! He's the boss! He needs to give the public something; people wanna see progress."
"Don't approve of this, Mo. This is not how it's done!"
"We can't just investigate evidence all day. We should get out there, find these guys!" Borjes replied.
"You're siding with Chambers on this?" Marlow asked. Borjes shrugged and looked away. He didn't want to say more in fear of hurting his partner's feelings even more. He simply sighed and stirred his coffee with a tiny red stick. Marlow shook her head in disgust and told Borjes, "Go work those leads."
In the lobby, Chambers continued his speech. "We appreciate your vigilance and we encourage you to continue to call our hotline as we take every tip seriously. Thank you very much."
As soon as Chambers reentered the above floors, Marlow came to speak to him about sending out misleading information. She seemed infuriated, but there was obviously nothing she could do. "I can disseminate information as I see fit. Chain of command, you remember?"
"My concern is that I think we're making a mistake releasing this to the public!" Marlow replied.
"Is that all?"
"This is not my opinion alone, sir!" Marlow said, causing Chambers to stop in his tracks. He turned around to face Marlow then looked over to the side to see Borjes standing in one of the rooms. Borjes looked up to see Chambers staring back at him, but he quickly turned his attention to whatever was on the table before him. Chambers pursed his lips and turned towards Marlow. With his head, he motioned for her to follow him into an empty corner of the room.
"Repeating your history with me would not be in your best interest," Chambers said.
"I was cleared for what happened in Trenton."
"You went around the chain of command, got soft on a suspect, and an agent died!" Chambers scolded.
"We can't just release evidence to the public to give an illusion of progress," Marlow stated. "It can compromise my investigation and in creates an unnecessary fear."
"Fear is a great motivator, Marlow," Chambers told her. "One of those tips leads to Burchell and Fog's capture then all your questions will be answered. Find then and then ask the questions."
Deer Harbor, ME
For being a staple in the neighborhood, Have Books, Will Travel wasn't a rather popular store. There was no one in the shop except for Maya who was in the back putting things in order and packing up her belongings. She picked up her bag, slung it around her shoulder, and headed towards the front door. Along the way, she walked over to her window to check if anybody was outside awaiting her. Seeing there was no one out there, she went to the front counter and crouched down beside a small cabinet. She pulled it open, but was startled at the sound of the bell hanging above the door clanging as the door opened.
"Glad to see us?!" Jay asked as he burst into the shop with Tyler in tow.
"What are you doing here?!" Maya shouted back.
"Daniel Taft – you know him! He just tried to kill us at his boat, or was that Will's boat?!" Tyler furiously snapped.
Maya immediately raised a finger to her lips, motioning for the boys to silence themselves. They stared at her quizzically as she went to the front door and opened it. Pointing outside, she ordered Jay and Tyler to exit the store with her. Outside the shop, Maya divulged, "They're listening. They listen to everything."
"Who's listening?" Tyler asked.
"We have to go!" Maya said, ignoring the question.
"No, you lied to us once. How do we know you're not lying to us again?" Jay questioned.
"You're name's Jay Burchell, you got a one-seven on your LSAT, your favorite team's the Chicago Cubs," Maya listed. "You wanna know about Will, come with me. You wanna die, stay here."
In the empty building across the street, bald man laid on the ground covered in blood. The headphones he was wearing were still on his head as his body slept silently on the hardwood floor. The door to the room opened behind him and in walked the so-called Daniel Taft. He hurried over to the corpse of his partner and stood over it. Suddenly, the sound of a gun cocking alarmed him.
"Don't move," the Porter said as he came out from the shadows. He held a silver pistol in his hand with an attached silencer. He shoved the door closed with his shoulder and stepped closer to Taft.
"You're treading in some deep waters, pal," Taft said threateningly. Once the Porter walked around Taft, revealing his identity to him, Taft's face contorted into a disgusted grimace. "You?"
"What about Traveler?" the Porter demanded to know.
"We're just supposed to watch the bookstore. Keep an eye on the girl, that's it."
"Is Traveler coming here?"
"You're not the only one after him. Look, I don't know about Traveler," Taft said. "I swear."
"You're lying," the Porter callously stated as he pointed the gun at Taft's head and pulled the trigger.
Washington, DC
The mysterious blonde man was in his office signing a piece of paper brought to him by his secretary. He quickly signed it with his fancy signature and told his secretary, "Hold all my calls for the next hour."
The secretary nodded her head as she left the room. The blonde-haired man waited for the woman to close his door before sitting down in front of his computer. He moved the mouse, causing the Department of Homeland Security emblem to disappear from his monitor. The screen changed into a simple blue background with the Department's emblem shrunk above a small entry box. The man typed in a password as he picked up the phone to make a call.
"Yes, sir?" a man answered on the other line.
"What's your twenty?" the blonde man asked.
"We're ten minutes from Deer Harbor," the man said.
The computer screen showed a green map taken from a satellite. The screen zoomed in on one spot of the map and focused on two black vehicles moving along an empty, winding road on their way to Deer Harbor.
Deer Harbor, ME
Jay and Tyler followed Maya up a cobblestone path that led to the front door of her house. The house was a quaint, fairly comfortable home with two floors and a basement. It was surrounded by a garden on one side and trees on another. Maya unlocked the front mahogany door and waved for Jay and Tyler to come inside. They looked at one another then behind them before entering the house.
"Tell me about the man on the boat," Maya said as soon as the door was closed.
"We told you already," Tyler replied, sounding annoyed. "He said his name was Daniel Taft and he tried to blow up the boat with us in it."
"Well whoever you saw wasn't Daniel Taft!" Maya revealed.
"How do you know?" Jay asked.
"Because Will was Daniel Taft! At least that was his name when I met him," Maya informed them. "Will wanted us to take that boat away together."
"You and Will were – "
"Yes," Maya answered without letting Tyler finish the question. She started to blush when she said, "He told me about you. He showed me videos of you guys. That's how I recognized you."
"But you lied to us anyway," Jay interceded.
"I was hoping you'd just go away for both of our sakes."
"Yeah, she's a terrorist too!" Tyler nodded. "We gotta get outta here."
"I'm not a terrorist!" Maya shouted. "And neither is Will!"
"Well then who are you people?!" Tyler wanted to know. He and Jay crossed the room and followed Maya into the kitchen.
"Look, five years ago, my brother was charged on drug trafficking. Turns out he was keeping half of his stash in my store and I got run up on charges. A few days later, this lawyer comes to me and says he can make it all disappear if I start working for his bosses. I wasn't in a position to refuse."
"What about Will? Is he some kind of spy?" Jay wondered.
"He wouldn't tell me anything when he came here. All I know is that he believed he was serving his country," Maya answered. "It was my job to help him work on his cover. He was gonna be a student and say he was from here."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Two weeks ago."
Deer Harbor, ME – 2 Weeks Ago
Maya walked down the stairs of her home. It was almost six o'clock and she was hearing some noise from downstairs. She headed down to check on it and found Will breaking into her house. He quietly shut the door behind him as Maya appeared.
"Will?" she said. "Are you okay? We don't have a meet scheduled."
Will walked over to a door behind the stairs with Maya following him. "I just got my directive," he told her.
"And?"
"It's time to get out."
Maya followed Will down the stairwell to the basement and asked, "What's the order?" Will refused to answer, though; he just kept walking down the stairs. "What is going on? Will! The room's secure! Answer me!"
"Job's in two weeks, boat will be ready by then. When I come back here we take off and we're out. No looking back okay?" Maya stepped closer to Will with a somber look on her face. She so dearly wanted to know what was happening, but she knew Will wasn't able to tell her. Will put his hands on her elbows and caressed her arms. "Maya, we're ready for this."
"If you say so," Maya replied.
"You have to trust me."
"And what if you don't come back?"
"Then you take the boat and you go on your own," Will answered, letting go of her.
Shaking her head, Maya looked at Jay and told him, "He never came back. He's not answering any of my calls."
"The Drexler was his last job. He died in the bombing," Jay broke it to her.
"I wouldn't be talking to you otherwise," Maya replied. "Despite what you may think, Will liked you. The way he talked about you – the rich boy and the soldier's son. I don't think he understood the friendship himself."
"Friendship?" Tyler asked. "He framed us for a terrorist attack!"
"He was following orders," Maya defended Will. Suddenly, her pocket began ringing. She reached for her cellphone and looked at the caller ID. "It's a friend who watches the store," she told Jay and Tyler. "Yeah? Okay." She hung up the phone immediately and headed out of the kitchen. "They're coming!"
"Um… who?" Tyler asked as he traced Maya's footsteps out the room.
"How do we know you're telling us the truth?" Jay questioned. He looked down at Maya who was already inside the basement.
"Because I'm done with this life. The people who used Will – they used me too," Maya answered. "They're the ones responsible for the Drexler and Will's death. And even if I can't do anything about it, maybe you can."
Jay started down the stairs, but Tyler tried to stop him. He was still unsure about the girl and didn't trust her one bit. However, Jay thought this was their only option. He headed down the stairs and followed Maya into the back of the basement. At the top of the stairs, Tyler angrily sighed at himself and climbed down the steps. In the back of the basement there was a part of a stone wall that was cracked. Maya grabbed a piece of the wall and pulled out a slab of rock. Inside was something wrapped in cloth. She pulled it out and walked it over to Jay and Tyler.
"Will asked me to hold onto this for him," she said.
Jay unwrapped the cloth to find an old skeleton key inside. He fingered the key and checked it for any insignias that might lead them somewhere. The only thing he could make out about the old key was the B carved into the head. "What's it for?" he asked Maya.
"I don't know, but it's important. Will said if we ever had to, it could help us fight back."
As the three of them climbed up the staircase, the sound of tires screeching emanated from outside. Maya looked out the window to see two black cars pull up into her driveway. Tyler came up from behind and leaned over the counter to see as well.
"Who are they?!"
"Just take the key and go!" Maya ordered.
"What about you?"
"They're not after me. Just go! I'll be fine!" Maya urged, pushing Jay out the back door.
In her driveway, the black cars emptied out with men in black clothing armed with pistols. One of them ran up to the front door and tried to turn the doorknob. It wouldn't budge so the man began kicking it. Inside the house, Maya leaned back against the back door she had just slammed shut. Jay and Tyler were already running away from her house. She put her hands up to her face to cover the tears as she listened to the door being kicked down and the sound of giants rushing into her home.
Washington, DC
"We got the girl," a raspy voice said. "Burchell and Fog got out and Traveler's nowhere to be found. You want us to pursue?"
"No, stay put. I have other elements in play. I'll get back to you," the blonde-haired man replied. He hung up the phone and set it down on his desk. The TV beside him was playing. He turned to it to see the news displaying Jay and Tyler's pictures once again.
Manhattan, NY
In her apartment, Kim stood with her father, a tough-as-nails man with a beer belly and brown hair. He stood in front of her window staring down at the hounds on the street. "Day and night?"
"My neighbors no longer speak to me," Kim replied as she packed some of her things into a box.
"Whole country's goin' to hell," her father stated.
"Dad, please!"
"I mean, what kind of a man calls that work?" he wondered, pointing a stiff finger out at the press. "Harassing innocent people!"
"Thank you, Dad."
"When I say innocent, I mean you – not your boyfriend!" Kim's father obviously held some animosity towards Jay. After all, it was his fault his daughter was in this mess in the first place.
Kim, however, disagreed and snapped at her father, "Dad! You promised!"
Her father raised his hands up in defense and said, "Alright. Have you got everything?"
"Just give me a second." Kim turned around and grabbed some more of her valuables while her father lifted some of her stuff up and headed out to the car. As Kim picked up her things, she found a photo of her and Jay. She looked at and tears began to well up in her eyes. Setting the photo down, she looked up at the ceiling and pursed her lips. The whole while, doubt and worry filled her face.
Deer Harbor, ME
At the train station they started this part of their journey, Tyler stood beside a group of kids sitting by the rails. Tyler pulled out his leather wallet and handed one of the boys ten dollars in exchange for his cellphone. The boy's friend stared at Tyler with a confused look on his face. Tyler walked over to Jay who leaned against the side of a metal column.
"You sure we should make this call?" Jay asked as Tyler handed him the cellphone.
"You've been dying to do it all day, and frankly, I want the FBI up here to look around. They're bound to find something. So make the call and make it fast before these guys recognize us and try to make some real money."
Jay nodded and began to dial Kim's number. "Who is this?" she asked.
"Kim."
"Jay?" Kim replied, suddenly stopping everything she was doing.
"It's good to hear your voice," Jay commented, smiling widely.
"Where are you?"
"I can't say. Are you okay?"
"Jay, why are you still running?" The tone in Kim's voice suggested she was tired of the situation she was in. It sounded as if she wanted Jay and Tyler to turn themselves in already.
"It's complicated."
"What happened with that man at the airstrip? People are saying you killed him."
"No, he tried to kill us! We left him alive," Jay retorted. "I can't tell you anymore."
"I wanna help you, but when you're out there, people keep dying," Kim stuttered. She sounded as if she was going to burst out into tears.
"No, it's not like what you think, what they're saying on the news! Believe me, it's different!" Jay pleaded for her to understand.
"Jay, just tell me things are gonna be okay."
"You're gonna be fine."
"You don't think this phone is tapped?!" a masculine voice shouted into the phone.
Jay was startled by the voice, but he realized it was Kim's father. A second later, he heard the phone hang up and shouted, "Kim! Kim!"
Angrily, Jay kicked the metal column and stomped over to the boys. He handed them back their phone and walked over to Tyler. "Her dad was there, he hung up."
"Her dad? I thought they didn't get along," Tyler said.
"Yeah, that's exactly why I'm worried!"
"Hey, Jay, Kim's tough; she'll be alright," Tyler tried to console him. He sounded sincere and soothing for once. Although he and Will were never that close to Kim, he knew she meant the world to Jay and so he felt he should care about her as well. He looked at Jay, trying to convince him Kim would be alright.
Jay nodded back and said, "I think I hear the train."
Tyler checked his watch, but his eyes were caught by something else. He looked across the railroad tracks to the parking lot. Parked by the fence was a red SUV, much like the one he drove. "Jay! Jay! That's-That's my car."
Jay stepped forward to get a closer look. The car looked very much like Tyler's, but it was in a different color. "That's not your car. It's a different color."
"No, that's my car!" Tyler claimed. "Look at the front, the grill is broken!"
"We're tired man. You're seeing things," Jay told him in an attempt to calm him down.
Blinking his eyes, Tyler nodded and turned to Jay. "Yeah, you're right. I'm probably just imagining it."
Jay nodded and looked back at the red SUV. The driver side door opened and a young man stepped out. Jay's eyes began to widen and his jaw slackened as he watched the person walk around the back of the car. It was Will sporting a new look – his dark brown hair was shorter as if sheared off by a pair of scissors and there were stubbles running across his face. He was also wearing a dark gray t-shirt with matching jeans and a black jacket and had a black backpack slung around his shoulder.
"It's Will," Jay mumbled to Tyler. Startled, Tyler got off the metal column he was leaning up against and stared out at the parking lot. "Will!" Jay called out.
Will suddenly stopped walking and turned to the left. A stunned expression came over his face as he watched Jay and Tyler wave their arms at him. His heart pounding, he thought a way to escape them. As a train sped by, separating him from Jay and Tyler, he turned around and headed back to the red car. On his way back, though, he saw a white van careening towards him. When he realized the van wasn't gonna stop, he turned back around and sprinted away. However, across from him, beside the station was the Porter. He pointed a black gun at him and pulled the trigger. Something got Will right in the leg, causing him to fall over. He tried to get back up and run, but a man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him.
"Traveler, stay down!" the Porter shouted as he switched back to his signature silver pistol.
The man punched Will across the face and grabbed him by the shoulders as the van came to a screeching stop right in front of them. The Porter opened fire, but he missed every shot. The man tossed Will's body into the back of the van and hopped in with him. The van sped away as the Porter stopped firing.
Across the railroad tracks, Jay and Tyler waited for the train to pass by. Their hair fell across their faces as the wind pushed aside by the speeding train drifted away. Lowering his arms, Jay looked over at the train station to see Will gone. In his place, though, was the Porter. Surprised to see the man from the hotel yet again, Jay and Tyler's eyes went wide and their jaws dropped. Feelings eyes set on him, the Porter turned to his right to see Jay and Tyler staring right back at him.