Chapter 43
––––––––
Hallene’s heart lungedagainst her chest.
Sam was flying on a cable toward the opening.
The senator shouted, “Stop looking that way.”
She tried to get a word out, anything to help Sam, but it all happened like a slow-motion nightmare. He leaped away from a cable as it barely reached the building and hit the floor, rolling forward three times.
He came up with his weapon pointed at W.
“Don’t, Sam.He’ll kill Phoebe!” Hallene shouted, panicked at losing Phoebe and watching Sam die. “Please stop.”
The senator had a dumbfounded look on his face that would be hilarious in a different situation.
Sam sidestepped as if dizzy from that stunt. Sweat broke out on his forehead. His left arm hung loose. Had he broken his arm? He was breathing hard but said, “This ends now, Turner.”
“You’ll shoot me in cold-blooded murder?”
“Not when I can put you in prison for the rest of your miserable life and destroy your operation.”
“Did you not hear her?” Turner acted totally in control of his world. That was the face of insanity. “I hold Phoebe’s life in my hands as well as many other lives. Which will it be? Save Phoebe and the world or arrest me?”
“Sam?” Hallene pleaded.
He was heaving each breath. “Phoebe is safe. You know it’s true for me to be here.”
“Oh, thank God.” Hallene caught her breath, but her hands were shaking like an addict in need of a hit.
Turner grinned. “Once again, I am dealing with people who have no creative genius even if your minds were combined into one.”
Hallene had been watching Sam but pivoted her gaze to the senator. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you really think I would leave only one guard to watch my captives? Clearly, this one escaped and one of his people took Phoebe somewhere safe. Sounds like she will get a happy ending, right?” He smiled broadly. “But no. A second guard has remained outside every location we have to oversee that any operational glitch is fixed. I had a tracking device inserted into Phoebe’s clothes when she was first drugged. My second guard will find her and terminate that problem. She only had limited use for me once you stepped up. If I do not reply to a text when he has her, he’ll kill her right then.”
A tear ran down Hallene’s face. They couldn’t win, no matter what they did.
“Hallene?” Sam called out softly.
“Yes.”
“Trust me?”
No question about that. “Yes.”
Sam said, “It’s over, Turner. Your men have been neutralized.”
The senator didn’t appear sold. “Liar. You can’t get out of this. I would not put myself somewhere I could not get out.”
“You did this time.”
Hallene said, “He’s got a body double being lifted to hang next to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Once that goes up, he wants me to push this button and activate a submarine to shoot a missile at Philadelphia.”
