Chapter 4: Terror in the Court

The Capitol Building

          Rachel glanced at her watch. "Jenny, don't you think it's time for us to leave?"          

          Jenny nodded. "Yeah, they should be out of sight by now."

          As they moved to leave the room, they were intercepted by two maintenance workers wheeling a large waste receptacle into the area. One of them glared at the two of them before saying, "Hey, you're not supposed to be in here."

          Jenny thought quickly and answered him, "My friend and I are with a school group and I thought I had lost an earring in here and she stayed to help me find it. Y'know, my mom gave me those earrings when I turned 13, but we couldn't find it and then I remembered that I didn't wear them today and well, we're just leaving to rejoin our group." One thing she had definitely inherited from her mother was the gift of gab.

          The man stared at her as she finished her story and scowled before pulling a small gun from his belt. "That's just too bad. We got ourselves a couple of hostages," he smirked to his cohort. "Cute ones, too." The other man also pulled a weapon on the two. Jenny's eyes widened and she stepped back, grabbing Rachel's arm and pulling her along. Rachel stumbled backward, lost her footing and fell to the floor.

          "Jenny?" Lee's voice echoed as he approached the entrance to the chamber.

          One of the men turned and flattened himself against the wall. The other grabbed Jenny and pushed her down to the ground next to Rachel. When Lee walked into the chamber the first man swung the butt of the gun hard and smacked him on the side of the head. Lee collapsed in a heap.

          "Daddy!" Jenny shrieked as she crawled to where he lay on the floor. He moaned and tried to sit up; instinctively reaching under his jacket for his gun before remembering that he was unarmed.

          "Stay down or I let you have it with the business end, and keep your hands in view."

          Lee crumpled back down onto the floor. Jenny reached him and cradled his head, wincing at the sight of blood oozing down the side of his face and the rapidly darkening bruise on his temple. "Are you OK, daddy?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

          Lee suppressed a groan of pain and answered her, "I'm fine, Jenny Bear. Don't worry about me. How's your friend?"

          Jenny looked over at Rachel who was now leaned up against the wall, holding her head, moaning. "Why don't you go check on her, Jenny? I'm OK," he told her.

          The man who had hit him kicked Lee hard in the side. "You're not gonna be OK for long. Seems you got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time." He turned to his accomplice. "Finish securing the room and then radio that we're set on this end. Tell 'em we got some hostages. I'll handcuff the old guy, but I don't think we need to worry about the girls. They look harmless to me." He leered at Jenny and Rachel, missing the flash of anger and hatred blazing in Lee's eyes.

          After forcing Lee to his feet, he handcuffed Lee's hands behind his back. He led the three hostages to a far wall where they would be out of the way.

          Lee wasn't sure what was going on, but he was damned if he was going to allow these men to hurt his daughter. He had tried to hear what the other man had said on the radio, but his voice hadn't carried. He quickly ran through the equipment he had on him. Although he wasn't carrying a gun, he made it a point never to go anywhere without a few gadgets secreted on his person.

          "Jenny," he whispered, keeping an eye on the two men. "I need you to do something for me."

          "What, daddy?" she replied, her voice wavering in fear, tears falling from her big brown eyes.

          Lee cursed under his breath. These men were going to pay for what they had done to his daughter. He tried to comfort her the best he could. "Shh, sweetie. Everything's going to be OK. If you just do what I say, we'll get out of this just fine. Now, I need you to get something out of my collar and give it to me. It's a thin piece of metal. Just try to act casual, because we don't want to attract their attention."

          It didn't take her long to find the lock pick in his collar and surreptitiously slip it behind his back to his waiting fingers, where he immediately began working on the lock of his handcuffs.

          She leaned in close to him. "Dad, what are you doing?" she whispered questioningly.

          "Trying to free myself from these cuffs so we have a better chance of escape," he murmured back to her. "Now, why don't you go and make Rachel comfortable?"