To Part 19
Back to Story Menu
Caine sat quietly in a chair near Skalany's desk and watched his son striding back and forth like a caged animal. He frowned when he saw Peter bum a cigarette from Detective Morgan and try to light it with shaking hands. The Shaolin's heart longed to give comfort to his son. {He will accept nothing from me. He blocks my thoughts and resists my touch.}
Kermit took the lighter from Peter and held the flame steady in front of the wobbling cigarette. "Allow me. When did you take up smoking?"
Peter laughed mirthlessly. "About two minutes ago." Taking a long drag, he noisily blew the smoke out through his mouth. Raking a hand through his hair, he grasped a fistful of the dark mane. "You're sure everything's set up? Everything's working right?"
The simple fact that Peter was questioning Kermit's ability to run computer equipment was mute testimony to the younger man's distraught state of mind. "We're ready." Kermit removed his ever-present sunglasses, folding them up with very deliberate movements as he locked stares with Peter. "You and Kacie are family, Peter. I don't like it when someone messes with my family." His eyes were cold and hard. "Whoever did this will pay, Peter. One way or another, they will pay."
Peter took another draw from his cigarette, then held it in his hand and stared at it while speaking softly. "If Kacie knew I was smoking this, she'd kick my ass from here to next Sunday. I told her that I used to smoke back when I was in the police academy, and she really read me the riot act about it."
Sitting on the edge of his desk, he bowed his head briefly and swallowed hard. "Did I tell you Kacie felt the baby yesterday?" He swallowed again, facial features twitching. "I made her breakfast in bed. We were talking, and laughing, and-and-and she felt the baby kick." Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, he took a long, shaky breath. "I-I need a cup of coffee." He blinked away tears and snuffed his cigarette out in the nearest ashtray. Clearing his throat, he asked gruffly, "You want one, too?"
"Sure, Kid. Come on; I'll buy." Rarely one to openly display affection, Kermit wrapped his arm around Peter's neck and briefly hugged him close as they moved off toward the break area.
Skalany reached for Caine's hand that lay resting on the top of her desk. His fingers curled around hers and he gently rubbed his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand.
"You're worried, aren't you, Caine?"
He regarded her gravely. "Yes, I am concerned for both Kay Cee and Peter. There is an evil presence that threatens both their lives."
"You can sense this? Anything else? I mean, there have been times before, when you've known something was happening to either Peter or Kacie, and you knew exactly where to go."
Caine sighed deeply and shrugged. "This time, all I can sense is a great danger for them both." His voice grew husky. "All I can see is my son's heart breaking."
Kermit had moved his own computer to a desk near Peter's and jury-rigged the two machines together to run his trace simultaneously with Peter's communication with the as-yet-unknown kidnapper. Blake's computer was hooked up to Kermit's, and Skalany, Jody, Strenlich, and Caine were huddled around Blake at that monitor, to watch the video conference.
"All set, Peter. You keep whomever this is talking for as long as you can. I don't care what kind of bull you have to make up, just keep them talking."
Peter attempted a feeble laugh. "I like to talk."
Promptly at nine, the icon on Peter's screen started to flash: YOU HAVE MAIL. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, he clicked on his inbox.
A message flashed to the screen: GOOD MORNING. AND HOW ARE WE TODAY? GO TO URL: www.geoworldwildgoosechase.com
"Let the games begin," muttered Kermit, and his fingers started flying over his own keyboard.