Denver, Colorado, En Route, 2019
They risked driving the van as far as Denver, a city large enough to have a few cheap used car dealerships.
Luke left Noah and Leo hidden with the van in an underground car park, while he jogged the three blocks up the road to a vehicle lot called Great Little Cars.
The cheapest car on the lot was a 2007 silver Ford Focus ZX3 with 113,000 miles on the speedometer. Using his specialist knowledge on cars, honed from years working at the garage, Luke managed to talk the dealer down to $6,750.
He purchased the car in cash under the alias, Ryan Hall, just in case the van was discovered before they had a chance to meet Damian. Then picked up burgers, fries and soft drinks at a nearby McDonald's Drive-In, before returning to the garage to collect Noah and Leo.
"Yes!" his son exclaimed; hungrily eyeing the familiar white, yellow and red take-out bags. He climbed behind the passenger seat to the back of the two-door car; shifting up behind Luke to make room for his other longer-legged father to push the front passenger seat back.
Luke watched Noah in the rear view mirror transferring two large blue bags of supplies and other items from the van to the trunk of the car, before climbing in beside his husband.
"All set?" Luke asked.
"As ready as we'll ever be."
With a mouthful of burger, Leo muttered, "Couldn't you have found a cooler ride, Pop? This is like… a mom's car or somethin'!"
"Beggars can't be chooses, Leo," Noah stated, closing the door and surreptitiously slipping his handgun along with a box of bullets into the glove compartment.
"It was the best I could do with the money," Luke replied; a little disappointed.
"Awe, Pop," Leo soothed, slurping his cola. "I was only kiddin! You did good!"
"Thanks for that important vote of approval," Luke laughed.
As the car left the dark sanctuary of the underground garage and into the bright Denver sunlight, it became official. They'd chosen the path less traveled. It was dark and unknown and impossible to plan out. But, at the end the long stretch, if they squinted their eyes just so, they could make out a feint and faded circle of light; the possibility of freedom.
They followed Route 80 across central Nebraska, reaching Omaha at around 5:30 a.m. They stopped for a short break at a 24 hour roadside service station, where Leo ran inside to pay for their gas and pick up a few snacks and drinks for the road. Then they were off again; Noah taking over the driving.
As they crossed the border into Illinois, Luke peered over at Noah and their eyes met. They shared a quick squeeze of fingers; Luke tearing up at the familiar landscape of home.
Noah felt it too. He may not have spent his childhood in Illinois like Luke. But the Snyder family and the farm had begun to feel like home to him, even during the short time he'd stayed there.
They wound down the windows and breathed deeply the familiar smells of vast farmland; of their younger selves; of home.
When they reached the outer limits of Des Moines, Noah took the exit onto Route 35, following the road north where it would eventually meet Route 90 taking them further east toward Marshfield.
Noah estimated they'd reach the town sometime in the early hours of the morning.
…
Marshfield, Wisconsin, Dot's Diner, 2019
The black Mercedes drew up outside Dot's Diner around 9 a.m. Agent Adrian Williams sat in one of the surveillance vans with Police Chief Blythe. He'd brought Blythe along on the flight even though Blythe had no jurisdiction in Wisconsin.
The man had become a textbook on the case, earning Adrian's growing respect. Additionally, Adrian was beginning to enjoy Blythe's company. The older man reminded Adrian of his own father; himself a great and formidable police officer, who died two years before.
"Careful does it," Adrian instructed his team by radio. "Everybody hold their positions."
The diner and small parking lot was crawling with undercover FBI agents. Some impersonated customers on the inside, while others milled around outside doing mundane things like filling up on gas or buying the paper.
They'd had agents scoping the place ever since the location was discovered the day before. However, there'd been no reported sightings of anybody matching the description of either Luke Snyder or Noah Mayer entering or leaving the establishment.
Running the Mercedes' plates through the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles revealed the car was indeed registered to Grimaldi Shipping Lines.
As if to mock them, it sat outside the diner with its engine running for a full 15 minutes.
"I don't like it!" Adrian told Blythe. "Feels like they're stalling or something!"
Finally, the driver stepped out the car. He walked around to the opposite back door; and opened it so that none other than the impeccably-dressed Damian Grimadi himself, could step out into the sunshine.
"Well… well… look who we have here…" Blythe muttered.
Damian seemed to make a show of being there. He even moved out from behind the car and hung around on the curb for a while.
"What the hell's he doing?" Adrian moaned.
Eventually, the Maltesian nodded at his driver and entered the diner alone.
The radio crackled into life. "This is Agent Tulley. We have a sighting on Grimadi. Please advise. Over."
"Maintain covert surveillance," Adrian instructed the agents inside the diner. "Hopefully we're just waiting for them to show. Over."
Internally he was beginning to doubt they would.
…
Marshfield, Wisconsin, Friendly Valley Chicken Farm, 2019
It was strange being back at the place where they'd been reunited after months of trial and separation. It was funny how the smell had stayed with Luke; a manifestation of how he'd felt that entire day back in 2009.
As their vehicle approached, two large men in suits opened the double doors of a nearby barn and guided them to park inside. But as they made their way out of the barn, one of the men stepped in front of Leo, placing a large palm on the boy's chest.
"What is this?" He asked flatly, staring down at Leo, who stood tiny compared to him.
Luke spun around and, seeing the man's hand on his son, reached over to push the thug's arm away.
"It's a boy," he sarcastically replied, pulling Leo protectively behind him. "One that you will neverlay a hand on again. Do I make myself clear?"
"We were not informed of any boy," the man replied, clearly not at all intimidated by Luke's glare.
"Yeah, well, there isone! Get over it!" Luke sharply replied.
Damian's man eyed Leo up and down with distinct annoyance, but finally decided he was of little threat and simply nodded. "So be it."
He indicated toward one of three large warehouses. Luke held out one of his hands for Noah and his other for Leo, surprised when his son actually took it. Keeping close, they followed Damian's men into the building.
This warehouse was actually an office complex for the Friendly Valley Chicken Distribution Company. It was a working day and the various office clerks went about their daily function without so much a raise of heads to their presence.
This must be one of Damian's many side operations.
Luke could tell Noah was thinking the same thing; he nodded when Luke looked his way.
They were led down a corridor of offices to a boardroom on the end, where Damian's men stood back; allowing them to enter alone.
A solitary man sat at the far end of a long boardroom table. He was older; much thinner and his light-brown hair longer. But Luke instantly recognized his best friend's uncle.
"Chris?"
"Hello, Luke."
"What are you doing here? Where's Damian?"
"The Feds were having him followed. It's too dangerous for your father to meet with you. He sent me instead."
"First of all, he's not my father. Not in any way that counts. And second of all… you?" Luke frowned. "I… I'm sorry… I don't understand..."
Chris sadly nodded. "I think you guys better take a seat. But before you do that…" Chris stood to approach them and extended his arm for Noah. "Hi, I'm Chris Hughes. We've never met but…"
Noah nodded in surprise, shaking the man's hand. "You're Casey's uncle? Dr. Bob's son?"
"That's right."
"Yes I remember Casey saying something about you working in Africa?"
Chris seemed to dodge that question by addressing Leo, who peered at Chris from behind Noah's back.
"And who might this be?"
"Um," Leo stepped out and extended his hand just as his fathers had taught him. "Leo… um… Suthe… um…"
Poor kid doesn't even know what to call himself anymore…
"This is Leo," Luke quickly stepped in, placing his hands on Leo's shoulders. "Our son."
Surprised, Chris considered the similarities between Leo and Noah for a moment. "I see."
"It's a really long story," Luke told him. "One we don't have the time to tell right now."
"No." Chris agreed. "Please, take a seat. I'll explain everything."
Chris returned to the head of the table while Luke and Noah sat beside each other close to him. Leo took a seat opposite his parents, nose buried in his GameBoy.
Chris began by directly addressing Noah. "You mentioned Africa?"
Noah nodded.
"The truth is… I was never in Africa."
"What?" Luke asked surprised.
"What my family didn't know… what they still don't know..." Chris took a deep breath. "…was that I worked on a secret project for the Army."
"You?" an astounded Luke asked. "You work for the Army?"
"I did."
"Okay…" Luke thoughtfully replied. "But… what has that got to do with us?"
"You have to understand, Luke," Chris was using his professional voice; the one Luke remembered Dr. Bob using during routine medical checkups. "I was unconscious for weeks. When I woke up I was… everything was confusion and… I was… I was disorientated… I was a mental mess really…"
"Wait, wait, wait…" Noah interrupted in staccato, holding out both hands. "When you woke up?"
Chris took a deep breath and pursed his lips before dropping his bombshell. "I was there."
Luke stared at Chris, as the implications of what he was saying began to sink in. The revelation even had Leo neglecting his game to listen with interest.
"There… as in…?" Noah breathed.
Chris swallowed hard. "My specialty is Micro Biology. In 2006, I was recruited by the army to work secretly on a joint project with the FBI… studying certain biological weaponry. My involvement was extremely top secret." He looked directly at Noah. "In 2008, I was working under your father in the lab at Patton."
"Oh my God," Luke whispered under his breath, mouth agape. "So… when you say you were there… you mean… you mean…"
Chris nodded, looking pained at having to relive his memories. "I lived and worked on the base. I was in the lab the day of the shooting. I was shot in the back. I never saw a thing… I mean… I didn't see the gunmen."
A loaded silence fell. Leo sat nervously fiddling with his belt buckle.
"We didn't do it…" Luke abruptly interrupted the tension. "You didn't ask so… in case you think…"
Chris smiled and shook his head, holding up one hand. "It's okay, Luke. I never really thought you did…"
"What?" Noah spoke up this time, growing angrier by the second. He shot up from his chair. "You neverbelieved it was us?"
"Well… no," Chris confirmed. "I knowLuke… maybe not well, but enough to know he's no killer. And… I did briefly consider that perhaps it was all on you, Noah, but… after talking to the Snyders and hearing all about you… the way they spoke about you… I realized something was wrong."
"Why have you waited until now to tell us?" Noah accused. "Why didn't you come forward at the time?"
"I should have done that. You're right." He conceded. "I was going to. After you were sentenced, I made up my mind to speak out… But then… you vanished… and…"
"And what?" Noah bitterly asked. "You thought perfect, right? Everything's nicely swept under the rug? You didn't have to get involved?"
"Noah," Chris was calm in the face of Noah's anger. "You have every right to hate me for the choice I made. But really, all I could tell the authorities was that I didn't believe you did it. That's it! I couldn't prove anything. Besides, I was sworn to secrecy by federal law. As far as anybody was concerned, I was never even there!"
"But you were there!" Noah insisted.
"My only defense, Noah, is… It was clearly suggested to me what would happen if I ever admitted to being there that day. I was shot in the back… you know? And just like you and Luke… I wasn't supposed to live. It's a weak excuse, I know, but… I was scared."
"Noah…" Luke said quietly, with unusual composure, indicating with his head that Noah should take a seat.
Noah hesitated a moment but then dropped back down, arms crossed.
"Okay." Luke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "We can't worry about the past now. What's done is done! We can only deal with the future. We need to lay everything down. We need to know what you know, Chris. And come up with a plan."
Chris nodded and placed both his hands flat on the table, as though offering himself up to them in some way. "All I know, is that something happened between Senator Marsden and the colonel."
Noah looked up with interest. "Senator Charles Marsden?"
Chris nodded. "A few days leading up to the shooting, the two of them had a major argument over something. I couldn't hear what they were saying. But from where I was working, I could see them going at it in the colonel's office. Your father was pretty pissed off about something, Noah."
"I knew it!" Luke exclaimed. "I knew that creep had something to do with it!"
Noah shook his head, "No. I can't believe that! Charles and my father were like brothers! My father saved his life in 'Nam for God's sakes! Charles was my father's best man at his wedding and visa-versa! He wouldn't have hurt the colonel. I'm sure of it!"
Luke previously tried several times to argue this point with Noah. But Noah held fast to his belief that the senator would never deliberately harm them; that there had to be some other explanation. Even when their lawyers looked into their story, and were able confirm that Marsden wasn't at the base but in New York on a business emergency, Noah still couldn't accept it.
"Have you seen the news over the past day at all?" Chris asked.
Luke and Noah shook their heads.
"Damian leaked information to the press suggesting that in 2007, Senator Marsden sat on the board of a major weapons manufacturer while also strong arming the military into using a specific product. There are reports of bio-weapons being used in the Ghazni province in Afghanistan; a small town called Moqori. Hundreds of innocent villagers died… But the US Army denies it was them that who set off the devices."
"And how's that linked to us?" Luke asked, a sinking feeling building in his gut.
"They were biological agents similar to the ones we were studying in Oakdale."
"Holy shit!" Luke whispered under his breath.
Leo's eyes widened. He'd never heard either father swear so much before now.
"So…" Luke began, scratching his chin. "Let's assume the colonel discovers that his good friend, Charlie, has somehow authorized this illegal testing… and he… he…"
"…he threatens to expose the senator," Chris finished.
Luke nodded. "So… the colonel basically boxes the senator in. He leaves Marsden with no choice but to eliminate him. And…" Luke's eyes connected with Noah's. He could see a tiny light of understanding flicking on inside the blue despite Noah's reluctance to believe it. "Who better to blame it on than the colonel's recently estranged gay son and his lover?"
"That's bullshit!" Leo angrily exclaimed.
Both Luke and Noah glared a warning at him.
"Watch your mouth!" Luke ordered.
"What?" Leo asked with a shrug. "I was just saying!"
Noah seemed to grow smaller in his seat as the truth he'd denied for so long dawned and became real.
"Bubby," Luke softly continued. "The moment he found out you were gay, the senator wrote you off. You became nothing to him… Wewere nothing to him…"
"You and all the people working in the lab that day..." Chris agreed, "...were just collateral damage in Marsden's private war."
Noah rubbed his face in both hands. "Fuck… I thought the reason he chose not to stand up for us, was because of his position in government. I never wanted to think he set us up on purpose."
Luke shook his head; massaged the back of Noah's neck and whispered, "I'm so sorry…"
Noah looked back up. "So… that would explain why they couldn't find the shooting range. When we tried to explain the gunshot residue… and the fingerprints and…"
Chris nodded. "It was all set up... covered up... all of it. Marsden denied even being there that day."
"Deep down…" Noah told Chris. "I guess I always knew it was the only thing that made sense… I just wanted to believe..." Noah leant his elbows on the table; and ran his fingers through his hair. "I needed to believe he cared."
"So what now?" Luke asked, still softly rubbing Noah's neck. "How do we prove it?""
We need to get back into the military base," Chris replied. "We need to find the colonel's old files, assuming Marsden didn't destroy them all. We also need to locate this shooting range you say exists. If we can find those two things, along with my testimony, we may just have enough to prove somebody elsehad motive to kill that day."
...
Marshfield, Wisconsin, Dot's Diner, 2019
Hours past as Grimaldi sat alone at a table reading the morning paper; drinking coffee; seemingly relaxed and carefree.
Eventually, he slowly folded the paper, laid it down on the table, rose and left the diner. His car was still waiting outside.
"Shit!" Adrian exclaimed quickly pressing the broadcast button. "Move in! Don't let him leave!"
As Adrian approached the scene, it was obvious Grimaldi wasn't in the least bit surprised by the sudden federal enforcement approach on his person.
"Damian Grimaldi?" Adrian asked; realizing only afterward how stupid the question was, since the answer was obvious.
"That is correct," the man replied with a slight all-knowing smirk.
"Agent Williams, FBI." Adrian flashed his badge.
"Good day, Agent Williams. What seems to be the problem?"
"We have reason to believe you are aiding two escaped fugitives!"
"Since when is an innocent cup of coffee a crime, Agent Williams?" Grimaldi simply asked.
"Who were you here to meet?"
"I don't really see how that's any of your business, but seeing as it's of no consequence… I was due to meet an old friend of mine from Oakdale. However, it seems we may have had our wires crossed, since she never turned up."
"Name?"
"Jade." Grimaldi smiled just like a jackel. "Jade Taylor."
Adrian narrowed his eyes at the man.
"Now…" Grimaldi continued. "…unless you have good reason to keep delaying me from my business, I suggest you tell your men to stand down."
Fuck! He's used himself as a decoy!
Realizing he had no option, Adrian reluctantly waved his hand and his men pulled back.
"Have a nice day." The Maltesian grinned before entering his vehicle. They watched the car drive away into the distance.
"Set up roadblocks!" Adrian yelled. "I want fucking roadblocks at every exit! They're here somewhere! I can feel it!"
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