Chapter 10

A Waiting Game

Waiting was the hardest part for General Larry Johnson, who was unsure what the future would hold for himself and for Carl. He was sure that his life wasn't worth living knowing that his son was in prison awaiting execution. He also knew that Mrs. Watson felt the same as he did. Therefore, he periodically glanced through the blinds of the window hoping and praying that nothing went wrong. It was 5:30 a.m. when the young men had left to acquire Lewis and it was now 10:00 a.m. "What could have happened," he thought quietly to himself. His pacing wasn't helping, but it did keep him busy. Minutes seemed like hours and the hours seemed like days, but somehow he knew their goal was near and that Lewis would be arriving soon.

Dr. Mary Smith sat at her desk just relieved that young Johnson was out of her hair. Since he had arrived at the hospital, he'd been nothing but trouble. He'd also caused unrest among the doctors, staff, and the other patients at the hospital. She was overjoyed to have that young man out of her hair and away from her hospital, forever.

Glancing at the clock on her desk, she smiled to herself, "An hour, and thirty minutes free." Things could not be better for her. She sat there reviewing Johnson's case file. Shaking her head, "What a waste, he had so many good things going his way. He had such a wonderful future ahead of him. Just to throw it away, the way he did."

Her phone rang and she smiled once more, "Dr. Smith."

"Well hello, Anthony. How are you today? I'm fine. What can I help you with?"

"I wanted to let you in on the details of Johnson's transfer," he said.

"Details? I am already aware of the details. Your men have come in and left," Dr. Smith said confused.

"What men!" Jasper screamed.

Dr. Smith stuttered trying to get the words out, "You didn't send anyone to get Johnson?"

"No, I did not. I was calling to let you know that the Marshal is coming tomorrow morning to get him. What is going on there?"

"Anthony, two men in prison uniforms came in here about an hour and a half ago. They had transfer order to move Johnson. I thought you sent them, so I let Johnson go with those men," Smith said slowly. "I'm sorry, Anthony. I really thought those were your men."

"You're a stupid woman, how could you have let those men get away? Now I'll have another mess to clean up. I'll figure out what to do with you later," Jasper said then hung up the phone.

Dr. Mary Smith sat at her desk horrified. This was the worst thing that could have happened. Johnson escaped from her custody, right under her nose, and she had no idea that that was what was happening. This was the end of her career and the end of her life. Jasper was not in the habit of letting people off the hook for this kind of mess up.

The only choice she had was to avoid her punishment was to end her life herself. She put her face in her hands and cried. After a few minutes, she composed herself and quietly walked to the pharmacy. She soon found what she was seeking. Looking around carefully to ensure that no one was looking, she placed a syringe and a small vial of the drug she needed in her pocket and then walked out of the room. The doctor walked back to her office, locked the door behind her, and then sat at her desk for the final time to write a letter.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have come to end of my career and found that despite my best efforts to help my patients I have failed miserably. I have done nothing but hurt my family, friends, and my country for which I am truly sorry. I am ending my life to save the people that I love the embarrassment that will follow. Please forgive me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Smith

Dr. Smith took the small vile out of her pocket and gently placed it on the desk, as well as the syringe. Taking the syringe, she filled it as full as she could get it. Next, she wrapped a rubber band around her arm to find a vein. After taking a deep breath, she stuck the vein with the syringe and started squeezing it as fast as she could. She felt the burning as the drug raced through her veins, and she felt her heart racing faster and faster. Moments later, the woman fell forward onto her desktop and breathed her last breath.

Two hours later Stanley and Charles came to the door escorting her one o'clock patient. They were worried when she didn't answer the door. The two orderlies broke in to find her dead and a note on her desk. They were the only ones who even cared.

Jasper was on the phone calling every cop, state trooper, and federal agency that he could think of in an all out effort to locate the escaped prisoner. But nothing had turned up. He yelled to himself angrily, knocking everything off the top of his desk. He knew who was responsible for Lewis's escape, oh yes, he knew. His most trusted associate and closest friend, General Larry Johnson.

The first place the cops went was to Larry's house. They found that the filing cabinet empty of all the material that Johnson had been working on, and his clothing was missing. Johnson was on the run with his son in tow. The only place left to go was to Farmington Mo, and they already had a head start of about an hour and a half. It would take a lot of luck to find them before they hit the neutral half of the state. Was luck on their side? That was the question now.

Lewis was not asleep, but he was in a daze and could hear what was going on around him. It just didn't make sense to him. Who were the men that were in the van? They kept looking out the back window and seemed very nervous. "Hey, man. You have to wake up," the black man said.

Lewis just gave him a blank look, and looked at the other man sitting in the front passenger seat. "Lewis, snap out of it would you?" Then turned to the other man, "I'm going to get him out of those restraints and help him change clothes."

Lewis just stared at this tall man and suddenly realized who they were, Carl and Sam, his two best friends in the world. "Carl?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me and Sam. About time, you realized who we are. Glad to have you back, buddy, we were starting to get worried."

Looking at his hands and ankles, he gave his friend a puzzled look, "Why am I still shackled?"

"Oh, we kept you in those so that if we got pulled over it wouldn't look quite as suspicious, but we're off the main road now, so I'm going free you."

Lewis changed into the clothing they had brought for him as fast as he could. His apparel consisted of a faded pair of blue jeans, a black T-shirt that had a picture of Darth Vader on it, his white new balance tennis shoes, and his favorite baseball cap that said Vader. He was so glad to have his own clothes on again. As corny as they might be, they were still his clothes, and for the moment he had his freedom.

"So where are we going?" asked Lewis.

"To get your father and Carl's mother, and then we are getting the heck out of Dodge. Your uncle had a hand in your rescue. He sent Sam here to help. The only condition was your father's surrender and mine once we get to the neutral part of Missouri. We agreed to the condition. Sorry, but it had to be done this way," said Carl as he slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Besides, I'd rather spend the rest of my life in one of their prisons than be tortured and executed by Jasper's people."

Back at the cabin, Larry was worried and getting sick to his stomach, when the van pulled into the drive. He ran out the door as fast as he could. He just wanted to see Lewis and to make certain that he was all right. The hug he got from his son brought a smile to his face. "Son, are you all right?"

"Yes, Dad, I'm fine."

"Guys, I don't mean to be rude by any means, but we should get out of here," prompted Carl. "The longer we wait to leave, the less of a head start we'll have. That is once Jasper and his men find out we tricked that shrink into letting us take Lewis."

"I think it would be better if we took Ms. Watson's SUV. That way, if we are pulled over for some reason they won't have any idea who we are,'' said Larry. They piled into the Saturn Vue and drove off.

It seemed to Larry that they were making good time on their journey and that the Lord was with them. He kept to the speed limit as much as possible with only the occasional slow poke to pass. He and everyone else kept looking behind them. They were watching for police, military police, the marshals or anyone who might be following them. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But then Larry got a cell phone call that, he couldn't ignore. He mumbled something under his breath quietly, unsure what to do. "It's Jasper," he announced, then answered. "Hello, Anthony."