Note: This is the last completed chapter that I have for this story. There will only be two to three more chapters and a series epilogue (of sorts). I have started doing another exercise and also writing the next chapter of this story so I hope to have it up by next weekend. Please bear with me. It's been a while. Thank you for reading and for the feedback you've given. Lex
Chapter 8
The moment Aziza and Adam disappeared everyone fell completely silent.. The police and forensic team looked to Joe, the ranking detective at the scene, for guidance. Khari stood stock still filled with a white hot rage. How dare that little bastard hold a knife to Aziza!
Joe took advantage of the silence to step forward and examine the ground where Aziza and Adam had disappeared. He waved Khari over.
"Check it out," he said, pointing at the cement door. "No hinges. It opens inward," Joe looked up at a man in a white lab coat just beyond the police tape. "Where does this go?" One of the younger officers lifted the tape to allow the man a closer look at the door. The nametag on his white lab coat gave his name as "Dr. Sabino Anjou." Khari recognized him as the hospital's director.
"There's a tunnel between the hospital and parking structure that's only open when there's snow on the ground," the doctor responded. "Both exits are padlocked in good weather."
"So they're trapped down there?" Jeanne Ellen asked rhetorically. She turned to the doctor. "Where can we get a schematic of the tunnel?" He shrugged.
"It would take some time..." Dr. Anjou began.
"I can get it quicker," she said, flipping open her cell phone.
"In the meantime," Joe suggested. "We need to call in a hostage negotiator." He pointed to the young officer who had lifted the tape for Dr. Anjou. The officer nodded and walked away talking into his radio.
"We don't even know how to get in touch with him," Khari observed.
"Don't most places have an intercom loudspeaker sort of deal? And wouldn't they be able to hear it in the tunnel?" Stephanie asked.
"Well, yes. There are speakers in the tunnel," he confirmed. "It will take some time to change the system configuration but we can get a two way intercom up and running. I can get the security people right on it."
"Do it," Joe ordered. "For now we wait for the negotiator. We don't want to take too many steps until we have someone trained for this sort of thing. Under no circumstances do we want to risk Dr. Houdra's safety."
Khari prayed that Aziza was still alive as he followed the doctor, Joe, Jeanne Ellen and Stephanie into the hospital.
Aziza and her attacker fell into complete darkness. When their bodies hit the cement floor, pain flowed through her. Something soft brushed her leg and she stifled the urge to scream. She and the attacker had fallen apart and if she could just stay calm she might be able to get away from him in the darkness. Her hopes were dashed a moment later when she heard a soft click and was momentarily blinded by the light which flooded the area. A hand brushed her shoulder and she crab crawled away until she hit a wall.
"Are you okay?" asked a soft, male, voice with a light southern twang. Aziza blinked rapidly until her vision cleared. He was younger than she thought he'd be. His hair was a rich shade of brown and one wave fell into his eyes. He was an Eagle Scout type. She could see him helping old women across the street and romping with the neighborhood children...until she looked in his eyes. The strange light in his eyes scared her and told her that something within him just wasn't right. He extended a hand to help her up. The movement seemed so natural and his expression so sincere that she had to remind herself that this was the man who had threatened her life only moments earlier.
"W-who are you?" Aziza asked, she wished the wall that she was pressing herself against would open and swallow her. He smiled and knelt down.
"I'm Adam and you are my Eve. We are the parents of a new generation." Aziza couldn't stop the gasp that rushed from her lips. She'd known he was insane but to have it spelled out for her like that was completely unnerving.
'W-what?" she'd tried not to speak but the word slipped past her lips. Adam reached for her hand and she slid it behind her back. Aziza knew that her fragile hold on hysteria could only be maintained if he didn't touch her.
"I know that you must be overwhelmed. I have always known that my life served a higher purpose so I have had time to adjust. Don't be afraid, Eve, you're one of the honored few." Adam said. "God, in his wisdom, lead me on this mission to my true destiny."
"Your mission?" Aziza asked. Keep him talking, she thought. Adam smiled again. He looked like a freaking choir boy.
"To extinguish the red light of sin," he explained. That cleared up nothing for Aziza. Adam went on, "And to do that, I must kill Stephanie Plum."
Khari was going to blow a fuse. Everyone was running around...everyone except Jeanne Ellen who was still typing into her PDA...and no one was actually getting anything done. He was not the official presence here but this concerned him as much as anyone else. Though he hadn't spent a great deal of time with Aziza he cared for her in a way that he couldn't quite define. He cared for what they could be together and what he knew they could one day mean to each other. It was time to take charge. He pulled himself up to his full and impressive height and plowed his way over to Joe Morelli.
"So you're telling me that unless we take the very dangerous step of engaging heavy machinery we're not getting them out of that tunnel unless Holmes comes out?" Joe asked. The Security Manager considered his question and then nodded.
"That's about it," he agreed. Joe said something that sounded a lot like cursing in another language. Jeanne Ellen strode over still typing into her PDA.
"My people have yet to find any structural weakness in the tunnel. We're working on a location for Holmes and Dr. Houdra. We'll have a heat read shortly," she said. Khari considered smashing something.
"Thanks, Jeanne Ellen," Joe said. Stephanie approached on his other side bearing a cup of coffee.
"It's time to bring my people in, Joe," Khari said. He kept his voice even but knew that his expression relayed how serious this matter was for him.
"MY people are doing a damn good job. We don't need you bringing in your cowboys," Jeanne Ellen said, bristling.
"I didn't suggest that your people were incompetent but I'm betting my people can have this wrapped up in..." Khari began. Jeanne Ellen cut him off.
"Would that be the murderous blonde or the guy who liked to cut people up? Oh wait, maybe you were figuring on calling in the horndog who liked to..." Jeanne Ellen said. It was Khari's turn to stop the verbal train.
"I would suggest that you stop right there," he warned.
"Both of you stop," Stephanie interjected. "This is just wasting time. The best way we're going to get this done is to work as a team. Jeanne Ellen, you use whatever resources you have and, Khari, if you think that your men can help, bring them on." She turned to her husband, "What about air vents? That tunnel has to have some sort of ventilation, right?"
"None we can traverse without shredding our people or suffocating Holmes and Aziza," Joe said.
"Excuse me," Dr. Anjou appeared at Joe's elbow. " The intercom is online and ready for you and your hostage negotiator has arrived." Establishing contact with Holmes was the priority. They all followed Dr. Anjou to the reception area, all of them formulating their own plans to free Aziza.
"You must think I'm insane," Adam said sheepishly. He couldn't help but notice how his Eve winced when he spoke. Poor girl. How could she know he'd never hurt her? He sat cross-legged on the dirty cement floor, as close to her as he dared. He understood her fear but knew that once she understood she'd be fine. He pushed the lock of hair off his forehead again. After they were free she would shave his head as his mother used to do when she was alive. Maybe if she knew about his mission. He reached a hand out to her and she shrank back again. Adam didn't mind. She needed time. They would have ample time before the cop saw that he was without options and turned over Stephanie Plum. Surely he would know that Eve's life was much more valuable.
"Eve..." he began. She jumped slightly as he broke the silence.
"My name is Aziza," she said softly. He smiled in the way that his doctor had so many times. A comforting and indulgent smile as though they were speaking to a small child rather than one of God's chosen.
"May I call you Eve?" he asked politely. She nodded. Easy acceptance, she was truly a treasure.
"Eve, would you like to know how I came to know my calling?" he asked. "It may bring you to understand your true purpose." Adam took her motionlessness as acceptance.
"I was lucky," he began. "My grandmother tells me that she knew that I was meant for greater things while in the womb. My mother was an unprincipled whore and my birth nearly killed her. She was only spared because of her willingness to bring one of God's chosen to earth. If only I had known that she was meant to live..." recalling his mistake was too much. He stopped himself.
"What happened to her?" Eve asked.
"I was young and unsure. I believed my grandmother when she told me that my mother carried the red light. I didn't realize until later..." Adam stopped again and he watched as understanding dawned.
"You killed her," his Eve said flatly.
"My grandmother has since paid for the mistake," he added. He didn't have to elaborate. A loud doorbell like chime sounded in the tunnel causing Adam and Aziza to jump.
"This is the police," a voice that Adam recognized as the cop's boomed. "We want to help you but we have to know that Dr. Houdra is unharmed. Use the intercom. We will hear your demands once we've spoken with Dr. Houdra."
"Time to end this," Adam said as he stood and brushed the dirt from his slacks.
Just above Adam and Aziza, Jeanne Ellen was hatching a plan.
"I want them here and the job done before Rangeman shows or Morelli gets a clue," she typed. She glanced up to see the police in the reception area playing with the intercom. Waste of time. What they needed was action. She glanced at the screen and couldn't help but smile as she read.
"They're as good as there, Boss."
Jeanne Ellen rushed into the hospital and found Stephanie. The body outside had been taken away and people were milling around collecting evidence. Everyone else was gathered around the reception desk listening to the dialogue between Joe and the suspect. Stephanie glanced at Jeanne Ellen and the bounty hunter waved her over.
"I need to talk to you," Jeanne Ellen mouthed. She watched as Stephanie whispered in Joe's ear. He nodded and she walked over to the bounty hunter. Stephanie wasn't able to get a word out before Jeanne Ellen pulled her into the ladies restroom.
"You've figured something out," Stephanie said, leaning against the sink.
"I think the best thing we can do is to give him what he wants," Jeanne Ellen said watching as shock rolled across Stephanie's features.
"How do you propose to do that?" Stephanie asked calmly.
"Give him what he wants," Jeanne Ellen said blithely. "I'm going to kill you."