Jordan slowly dressed. Her shoulders and neck were stiff and visibly bruised. She didn't want to stay in the hospital overnight and she was just stubborn enough to go home despite everyone's objections.
Skalany and Powell entered the room, with a potted plant in hand. "So what's all this?" Mary- Margaret asked. "We were told you'd be here one more night at the minimum."
Jordan smiled. "You guys didn't have to come here." She said, hugging both women gingerly. "But I'm glad you did. Richard, this is Jody Powell and Mary-Margaret Skalany. They are from the 101st precinct over in Bayview. Ladies, this is Richard Cavenaugh. We're ahm… well… together."
Powell raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's great. We heard on the news that you two are partners. How does that work?"
"It doesn't. Which is why we're getting new partners when we go back to work." Richard said, offering his hand to each of the women to shake.
Skalany wasn't so easily distracted "So that doesn't explain why you're leaving the hospital early."
"And against medical advice." The nurse said as she came in with the paperwork for Jordan to sign.
"I just can't spend another night here. I want my own bed in my own home. Hospitals wig me out." Sure it was part of it. The rest of the story was that she didn't want to sleep somewhere she was being watched over by a cult member who had access to more drugs than any street corner dealer could hope to see.
The nurse went over the list of things to watch out for and things to help with the stiffness and pain. She gave her the prescription from the doctor for flexeril. "I'll have an orderly bring up a wheelchair for you."
"Thanks," Jordan said.
Jody noticed the pendant the nurse wore and gave her partner a look. "So does this mean we get to see your apartment?" She asked Jordan.
"Ahm… sure, but let's go have coffee first. I could use something hot to drink." She answered.
"Do you want me to go get this filled while you ladies talk?" Richard asked.
Jordan started to say no, but Jody spoke first. "That's probably a good idea. I bet she could use that muscle relaxer sooner rather than later."
Richard nodded. "Alright. I'll go do that if you wouldn't mind taking her over to the coffee shop. There's one not far from here." He looked to Jordan "That place you always get the sugared cream with a hint of coffee flavoring." He laughed "No one else from the precinct would touch that place with a ten-foot pole."
"Hey!" Jordan said and then had to clear her throat. "Tammy likes it too."
Richard shook his head "You never heard her complaining when you'd bring in cups for her."
"That's because I kept forgetting that she prefers Oolong tea," Jordan said.
He leaned in and kissed her gently. "I'll meet you there after I get this filled."
Soon the wheelchair arrived and Jordan was wheeled out to the curb where Skalany was waiting with her car. A few minutes later they were seated in a nice coffee shop waiting for their orders.
"He suggested this place because there isn't anyone here that can listen in," Jordan said. "As far as we know anyway."
"The nurse was why you wanted out of the hospital so fast wasn't she," Jody said. "Because she's part of the cult that kidnapped Peter."
"Technically so am I. Not that I've managed to infiltrate far. I've had the fake initiation ceremony. They're still feeling me out I think."
"And your boyfriend?" Mary-Margaret asked.
"He's Harold Cavanaugh's cousin. They were raised in the cult. According to Richard, Harold managed to kill the second in command … it's going to sound crazy but they all believe that their leaders are possessed by their snake gods. So he killed that guy and then I guess the cult retaliated and was killed because of it."
Jordan nodded "It sounds crazy but it's not. Peter confirmed it. They were trying to shove their so-called god into him. That's why he was taken."
"Why Peter?" Jordan asked.
"Because of who his father is. That's what I think anyway." Skalany said. "It's all tied in with Shaolin mysticism and bloodlines and a feud between the Shaolin and the Harbingers. Caine explained it to me before they left but I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all. Mayor Conlin was framed for Harold Cavenaugh's murder and sentenced to life in prison. We know he was framed but we haven't been able to prove it yet. If you have any way of proving what Richard had to say about his cousin's murder please get that to us. I may not like Conlin's politics but he doesn't deserve to be imprisoned."
"I don't know if there is proof or not but I'll talk to him about it," Jordan said. "He may be able to come up with something."
"Are you sure you can trust this guy?" Jody asked bluntly. "If he's been in this cult since birth can he even trust himself?"
"I believe I can trust him. I've been given no reason to think otherwise."
Jody wasn't so confident. She wasn't a trusting or open person when it came right down to it. "His saving your life probably didn't hurt your opinion of him."
"He knew by that point that I was here to infiltrate and make reports. If he was loyal to the cult he would have let Bellamy kill me. It would have been the perfect way out. No one would question it if I had died last night."
"Maybe," Jody said. "Just be careful."
Peter was exhausted. Physically and emotionally. It seemed that every time he closed his eyes he saw that bend in the river. That place where his life would change yet again. His father wanted him to have faith or maybe it was hope that when he rounded that bend he'd be alive and able to return to a life of his choosing. Peter couldn't wrap his mind around that possibility.
He had faced this moment many times in his life. He'd charged into many situations as a police officer without giving a single thought to his survival. There were more important things than his coming through the other side in one piece. Other people surviving, and bad guys no longer able to hurt anyone else, those things were more important. It wasn't that he was suicidal, although he'd had a hard time convincing Paul of that on more than one occasion. It was just that it didn't matter if he came through it or not because other things were more important. It wasn't any different this time around.
His father and the Sakuras only saw two options. A. He survived, destroyed the artifact, and went on to lead a productive life. B. Was a variable scenario in that succeed or fail he wound up dead. Part of Peter's problem was that he could see a third option. C. He failed and lived. It was the worst option of all. Maybe Nag betrayed him and he lost control when the avatar was placed inside him and he never tried to destroy the artifact, he just watched helplessly as the people he cared about were killed one by one. Maybe he just failed to destroy the artifact and he and his avatar hitchhiker were trapped as prisoners of the cult. He could list possibilities all day that led to failure, captivity, slavery, torture… and living to witness the end of everything and everyone he cared about. He wasn't accepting death as the only option because he wanted to die. He accepted it because it was a better option than failing and living. He could not find the words to explain that to his father. Kwai Chang Caine had an answer for everything he could posit.
Instead of trying, Peter wrote in his journal. He'd started to work on it during their time in the temple. His hanzi was terrible but he managed well enough. He wrote down everything Miranda had hammered into his brain about the Harbingers. The Serpentes as they called themselves. Their history, Elapidae, the hierarchy as he understood it. He made references to his great-grandfather's journal entry about his encounter with them in the 1800s. This had been interspersed with the things he felt important from the time in the temple. He had been grateful that he'd picked up a thicker blank book than his ancestor's journals. He'd had a great deal to enter into it.
Now he entered the ritual for the destruction of an artifact into it, writing it first in the Japanese kanji, then again in hanzi, followed by how to say it and what it meant. He closed the journal and thought about taking a nap until dinner. Instead, he found paper and wrote a letter to his father, pouring his heart out onto the page. He folded it and put it into the journal. He hoped that the letter would never see the light of day. But if he died, well, there were things he wanted his father to know.
He lay down and then let the tension leave his body. He wasn't interested in meditating, just in being able to sleep. He had a few hours before he would be called to dinner and another round of preparations. He knew he should go back out there and get back to work but he was so tired though that he didn't think he could learn what he needed to learn if he didn't rest. He closed his eyes and slept.
Tyler entered Miranda's penthouse while his 'fearless leader' was being wined and dined over an expensive lunch at The Hanover. It was a pretentious restaurant on the top floor of the Bayview's tallest skyscraper. It was one of those restaurants where its patrons felt more sophisticated because there were no prices listed on the menu. If you had to ask you couldn't afford to eat there. Miranda was a regular patron.
Of course, Miss Sophistication had forgotten the papers she had wanted to disperse among the city council while she conned them out of money to clean up the mess she made with the bombing. That was just one of the many reasons he wanted to rescue Nagaina from that woman's clutches. She was using the order to further her personal agenda and she would destroy them if she wasn't stopped.
He entered her office and found the file exactly where she'd said it would be. He'd take it with him when he went but he had another task first. He went to her safe and entered the code to open it. Within there were two file folders. He set them on her desk and opened them one at a time. He reached into his pocket and removed the tiny camera he had been given by Dianne Reece. He took pictures of the contents of both folders and then replaced them in the safe, closing and locking it. He pocketed the camera and picked up the file he had been sent for.
He took the elevator to the floor where the corporate office was located. He smiled as he stepped off the elevator and walked to Victoria's desk. "Hey, Beautiful." He said leaning in to kiss his fiance.
"Hey." She answered in return. "I have that file Miss Gray wanted." She handed him not one but two and surreptitiously indicated the second of the two files.
"You have a way of making my life easier." He said. "Are we still on for dinner?"
"Absolutely." She said as she erased the security footage from Miranda's home office and replaced it with images from the previous day at that hour, altering the time stamp. "Good luck with the meeting."
"Oh I just have to stand there looking imposing. Miranda does all the work. I'll pick you up at seven." He said and walked out of the office. He got in his car and drove back to city hall. He left the file and the camera in his car, under his jacket, taking with him only those things that Miranda had requested.
Walking toward the parking garage elevator he passed by another of Dianne Reece's men. They passed by one another all but touching and Tyler passed his car key to the man, before getting into the elevator.
He found Paul Blaisdell and Michael Gray waiting in the outer office. They were sharing war stories as only former soldiers and cops can. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Gentlemen. It's only. She should be back shortly."
Michael offered his hand to Tyler. "How are you? Enjoying the promotion?"
"Absolutely," Tyler said shaking the man's hand. Michael was going to be a problem once Miranda went down. Brothers tended to be protective of their little sisters. A shame really. He liked Michael. "I need to go get this ready for when she returns. I'll catch you later."
"Beer after work?" Michael asked.
"How about we make it later this evening? I'm having dinner with my fiance at seven. Shall we say nine-ish?"
"I was told about this place called Chandlers. Shall we meet there?"
Tyler laughed as he headed toward the mayor's office door. "Why am I not surprised you want to meet at a cop bar? Sure I'll meet you there."
Kellie Blaine was tired. She'd been called in to a homicide scene at 2 am and she hadn't been home since. She had barely managed to get away from work in time to head home for dinner. By the time she entered her sister's home, she had talked herself out of eating and into a hot shower and straight to bed.
She put her key in the lock but found that the door was already unlocked. "Rachel, come on. It's important. You need to keep the front door locked." She said, too tired to be gentle about it. She frowned receiving no answer. "Rachel?" She drew her service revolver. "If you're in the shower with the door unlocked I'm going to strangle you."
"That won't be necessary." Adam Cross said, "Come into the living room Detective Blaine."
"I knew you were trouble the first time I met you." She said as she cautiously made her way toward the living room. "If you've hurt my sister-"
"You'll what, Detective? Keep coming. It's not that far from the door to the living room."
Kellie reluctantly stepped into view. Rachel was on the sofa. She wasn't moving and her eyes were closed. Kellie took two steps toward her sister but came to a halt as Cross pointed his gun at Rachel.
"No no no. You put the gun on the floor and kick it away." He said.
Kellie did as he said.
"Now the purse."
"What? You think I'm going to attack you with my compact?" She asked as she tossed her purse onto the easy chair.
"Alright, now you can come over and see for yourself that she's alive."
Kellie moved quickly, checking her vitals, and looking for wounds. She found none and her pulse and respiration looked normal enough as far as she could tell. "What did you do to her?"
"Sedative in the coffee creamer." He said. "She'll wake up in an hour or so. You were supposed to be here too."
"I got called into work. What do you want?" She demanded.
"The pleasure of your company back to Bayview."
"Yeah? I'm lousy company on road trips and that is one hell of a long road trip."
"Who said anything about a road trip." He said.
"You're going to take a hostage on an airplane? Sure why not, let's go." She said sarcastically.
Adam Cross laughed. "If you try anything, there won't be anywhere in the world that you or your sister can hide. Head for the door."
Peter woke with a start, covered in sweat. "Kellie." He got out of bed and walked out into the living room. He was shaken by the vision he'd just had. He had often had nightmares in the past involving terrible things happening to his loved ones, but this was no nightmare. This had actually happened. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name.
Caine looked up, his expression going from content to concerned in an instance "What's wrong, Peter?"
"They have Kellie." He said, "I have to go back." He had known it was coming soon, but he hadn't thought it would be this soon. He wasn't ready. He just wasn't. Neither did he have a choice. There was no way he could allow her to be harmed just to keep himself safe.
"We will go back with you." Caine said and Ken and Nori nodded their agreement.
"No… No, I'm not getting anyone else hurt." Peter said shaking his head.
"We can take that responsibility on ourselves," Ken said. "I haven't spent my entire life training so that I can liberate stolen antiques from criminals."
"We don't know how many Serpentes there are. Even if we wiped out every single one of them and walked out alive there is no guarantee that will be the end of it. In fact, you can pretty much bet that it won't be the end. This could come back to haunt you for the rest of your life."
"Then I will have the pleasure of removing evil from the world for the rest of my life," Ken said. " So now that we have this settled, we better work on that scroll this evening."
Peter nodded. "Can I use your computer?" He asked. "I need to let Paul and Kermit know what's going on. Email is probably the safest way. Fort Knox isn't as secure as Kermit's computer."
"I will get you logged on," Nori said, leading the way to the household office.
Peter waited until she was through before he took her place behind the desk. "Thanks." He said. He logged onto the internet using the instructions Kermit had given him for a secure line of communication. His email was brief and to the point.
* They have Kellie Blaine. I will be coming back to Bayview within the next 24 hours. I'll do what they want. But I know how to take them down, have faith.*
He hit send and turned off the computer. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Now if I could just be sure of that."