17

 

As Lee ran from his camouflaged hiding place on the saddle, the shouts and shrieks of the goons echoed between the two peaks. He turned his head towards the cave of destiny and spoke some encouragement.

“Eat’em alive, guys.”

The fleas, by their very nature, would do their best to comply. Now it was time to go plead his case with Jennifer.

When Lee broke into an all out sprint he let gravity share in the process. The joy of a mission completed and thoughts of the person waiting for him gave him a surge of energy.

Ninety seconds later Lee stood in front of house number two, hands on hips and out of breath. This had to be the place. It looked like center ring in a three-ring circus.

Jennifer seemed to stir things up wherever she went.

He scanned the array of vehicles and equipment around him for a few seconds. Thankfully, there were enough police cars to deter the gunmen even if they were miraculously delivered from the fleas.

The safety issue settled; he began looking for Jennifer. As he stood repaying his oxygen debt a middle-aged man approached.

“You must be Lee Brandt. Half the county and a certain young lady have been waiting for you. I know, because I’ve been watching it on TV. Hi. I’m Walt Benson.”

“Mr. Benson, you mean all those vans—”

“Yep. Media mania. All have cameras rolling right now. Probably trained on us.”

Lee cocked his head and frowned. “But why isn’t Jennifer here?”

Mr. Benson raised his fist and pointed his thumb behind him. “The police set up temporary headquarters out back in my shop out of reach of the media. I’ve heard some folks from the metropolitan area JTTF are on their way here now. You’ll be meeting with them in my shop.”

Lee heard a familiar voice. It wasn’t whispering.

“I don’t care. I’m going out there, anyway.”

He turned towards the voice.

Jennifer strode around the corner of the house. Her furious pace apparently reflected her mood.

He braced himself for the verbal barrage.

It came when she broke into a run fifteen yards away. “Lee Brandt, I’m going to kill you!” Jennifer yelled, causing every head within two hundred yards to turn towards her. She smashed into Lee, still yelling. “Don’t ever lie to me again!”

He stepped backward.

This is gonna be worse than I anticipated.

How could he defuse Jennifer?

Before he found an appropriate reply Jennifer drew her hand back. She was going to slap his face to the next county.

Her words stopped. She dropped her hand. Tears began to flow.

I hate it when women do that.

Mostly he hated the pain their tears inflicted. But this time the pain prompted an impulse. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he acted on his feelings, but whatever the price, holding Jennifer seemed worth it. If it required running to the next county to retrieve his face, so be it. He stepped forward wrapping his arms around her, embracing both her and the reality that they were together, alive, and safe.

As they stood on the Benson’s front lawn, a huddle of two, he wanted to console her. “Jenn I’ve got some good news, our—”

“There can’t be any good news now.” More tears streaked her face.

He pulled her head against his cheek and spoke softly. “What do you mean, can’t be any good news?”

She put her arms around him hiding her face in his chest. “I’ve just made a complete fool of myself in front of the entire world.”

He looked up at the five or six media vans along the street. Each video camera was pointed at Jennifer and him. He was afraid to agree with her statement, but he knew better than to disagree. “Oh, boy, we’re never going to live this down.”

“See what I mean?” Jennifer sobbed, looking up at him.

He looked down into her face. It was a perfect face and the perfect moment. “Do you really want me to tell you what I see?”

“No, Lee…not here.” Jennifer said the words, but she offered no resistance.

At the upturned face, he could think of nothing else to do but to kiss her—long and shamelessly—in front of the entire world. While he did, the cameras continued to roll.

When their lips separated he was the one who pulled back. “I thought you wanted to kill me.”

She rested her cheek on his shoulder. “I still do. But I can wait a few minutes.”