Jessie, the bombshell television reporter, was now Jay’s kid sister again. The last time Jay sat in a hospital with her, she was seven and had broken her ankle jumping off a swing set. But, it was different this time. The doctors said she would have phantom feelings and wouldn’t know her leg was gone. They also said Jay was the best person to break the news to her.
Jessie began to wake up. Then, after a brief visit from a nurse to check her vital signs, she said, “What’s going on? What happened to my leg? It feels weird.”
“Hey, Jess,” Jay said. “Do you remember what happened?”
“No, I was outside Saint Patrick’s with Roger. I saw some type of seagull drone. The bomb squad guy said it was clear, and they were bringing the seagull drone to their van. It’s a blur after that.”
“The drone exploded. It killed Victor and injured a dozen other people.”
“Where’s Roger?”
“Roger’s okay. Pretty messed up from the shrapnel. He’s here at the hospital on another floor.”
“Jay, my leg feels weird. There’s a sharp pain in the sole of my foot. Can you take a look?”
Jay froze. He didn’t know what to say or do.
“What’s the matter? Can you look at my leg?”
“Jessie, you suffered several major injuries last night. You had internal bleeding and a bad infection. Unfortunately, they had to do major surgery to save your life.”
“Do you mean it’s in a cast? Can you lift my blanket so I can see it?”
“No, it’s not in a cast.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Jay? What’s going on?”
Jay couldn’t put his feelings into words, so he pulled the blanket off her leg. A bloody gauze bandage wrapped the stump of her leg above the knee.
Jessie peered at her leg without saying a word. Instead, she squeezed Jay’s hand as she processed her new reality.
“Where is it, Jay? Who took my leg? Are they going to put it back on?”
“No, Jess, they couldn’t save it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The leg was too damaged to save. The doctors gave me no choice.”
“You mean you gave them permission to cut off my leg?”
“Yes, I had to,” Jay said. “You were dying.”
Jessie stared at her stump for a long moment. “Can I touch it?” she said. “Why does my ankle hurt? It’s not there. Oh God, why did this happen to me?”
Jay sat on the bed next to Jessie, holding her as she mourned for her leg. She cried until her tears ran dry.
Doctor Chin watched from the doorway. When Jay stood up, she stepped into the room. A nurse followed her.
“How are you doing, Jessie? My name is Doctor Silvie Chin. I operated on you last night.”
“I’m okay, I guess,” Jessie said wiping the tears from her cheek with a tissue. “Shocked and scared. I don’t understand why my foot hurts even though it isn’t there anymore.”
“Your brain plays tricks on you. We call it phantom pain. It’s common with amputees. Do you feel any pain from the amputation?”
“No, it throbs a little bit, but otherwise, it seems okay.”
“The bomb damaged your leg beyond repair. We focused on your internal bleeding to keep you alive. By the time we focused on your leg, it was too late. It developed a bad infection.”
“What do I do now?” Jessie said. “How long do I have to stay in the hospital?”
“We’re fighting the infection with antibiotics. Tomorrow you will meet with people from physical therapy and prosthetics. Then, when you can travel, we will transfer you to Cape Cod.”
“Oh dear,” a woman’s voice said in the doorway. “What happened to my baby?”
“Momma,” Jessie said. “When did you get here?”
Jay’s mother, Maria, walked into the room. Marty Hernandes followed her in.
Jay stood up and hugged the sixty-seven-year-old family matriarch. Then, he moved out of the way so his mother could hug Jessie.
“Jay, are you doing okay?” Marty said. “The press is going wild. They’re demanding your arrest for the shooting in Boston.”
“I saw the earlier reports, but I turned it off. The FBI cleared me. It’s Kathleen. She’s generating the hype to drive ratings. Where’s Gia?”
Marty pointed to the door. Gia slept in a chair across the hallway from the private room.
“Heck of a security guard,” Jay said. “She let you walk right in.”
“Yea, I’m a real threat,” Marty said, laughing. “She’s had a long night fending off reporters.”
“What do you know about the bomb?”
“It was a weird bird drone. Jessie found it in a pile of debris. But we don’t know anything else. Her friend Roger is here in the hospital. He might be able to shed some light.”
Jay and Marty stepped out of the room.
Jay knelt next to Gia and shook her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Jay staring at her.
“What the fuck,” Gia said. “Did I fall asleep? I’m so sorry. How’s Jessie?”
“It’s okay,” Jay said. “Jessie’s doing fine. Marty and I are taking a walk. Would you mind keeping an eye on my mother? Tell her we’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Roger’s room was on the tenth floor of the massive hospital. Jay waited for a doctor and a group of medical students to finish their exams. When they left, Jay walked inside.
Roger was a mess. A white gauze bandage wrapped around his head, and a patch covered one eye. Hundreds of bandages covered his chest and torso. Nevertheless, he was sitting up in the bed and seemed to be in good spirits.
“Hey Roger, do you remember me?” Jay said.
“Sure, you’re on every news station in town. They’re saying you murdered a priest in cold blood.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear in the news. I can’t tell you what happened, but I didn’t murder anybody. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” Roger said. “I have a fractured skull, and my body’s filled with shrapnel from the bomb. How’s Jessie?”
“She’s going to pull through. It was touch and go for a while. I don’t know how to say this gently. Roger, they had to amputate her left leg.”
Roger stared at Jay for a long moment, tears running down his face. Then he pointed at the closet next to the bed.
“Can you get the bag with my personal items in it? I want to give you something.”
Jay retrieved the bag from the closet and handed it to Roger. He dug through the bag and pulled out a large iPhone X.
“You know someone in the FBI. Can you give this to them? It’s broken, but the video files should still be on the SIM card.”
“If I give it to the FBI,” Jay said. " They’ll keep it as evidence. You won’t be able to sell it to a TV station.”
“I know. I care about catching the person who nearly killed Jessie. I heard a bomb squad officer died. He was from Boston. Did you know him?”
Jay nodded, “We served together overseas. Victor was one of my closest friends.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. When can I see Jessie?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll tell the doctor you want to visit her.”
“Hey, Jay,” Roger reached out and grabbed Jay’s hand as he was leaving. “She’s a great girl. She always says how proud she is of you. You’re a real hero in her eyes.”
“Thanks, Roger. But you guys are the heroes. The videos on the phone might be the big break we’ve been looking for.”
Jay and Marty stepped out of the room. “Marty, call Mack and tell him about the phone. He’ll send a local agent to pick it up.”
“Okay,” Marty said. Then his phone rang. “Hi, Jill, what’s happening. What? I’m sure there’s an explanation. I’ll call the Coast Guard and start a search. Jill, stop crying. We’ll find him.”
“What’s going on?” Jay asked after Marty hung up the phone.
“Kyle and Brendan are missing. They took my boat last night and haven’t returned. Jillian’s freaking out because a thunderstorm is passing through. I’m calling the Coast Guard station in Woods Hole so they can begin a search. I don’t know where they went.”
As they stepped onto the elevator, Jay’s phone rang.
“Hi, this is Jay Mendes, Maravista Security.”
“Mr. Mendes, my name is Charles Cranmore. I understand you provide private security services?”
“Yes, sir, how can I help you?”
“I received a call a few minutes ago from an anonymous person. He says he is holding my daughter Charlotte and a young man hostage. He’s demanding a million dollars for each of them. I have forty-eight hours to provide the money. If I call the police, he’ll kill both of them.”
“Do you have the money to pay the ransom?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to pay.”
“You know I’m not a hostage negotiator.”
“I don’t want you to negotiate with the bastard,” Cranmore said. “I want you to rescue my daughter. I’ll pay you the two million dollars if you bring my daughter home alive. Can you help?”
“Yes, of course. Now tell me everything the caller said.”
Marty waited for Jay to finish the call, then said, “What was that about?”
“Well, I know where Kyle is. But it’s not good news.”
Water from the powerful thunderstorm filled the bottom of the Boston Whaler. For some miraculous reason, the small boat managed to stay upright as it rode out the storm. Since the engine died, the bilge pump also died. Carla and Brendan spent the night scooping water from the bottom of the hull. Soaked and cold, Brendan was glad to be alive.
As the sun began to rise in the east, Brendan heard sounds above. Within moments, a white and orange Coast Guard helicopter appeared overhead. A searchlight filled the sky, and within moments a flare landed in the water next to them.
The rotor blades churned the water, making it difficult to see the rescue swimmer drop into the ocean. Brendan was thrilled to see the diver crawl over the side of the boat.
The diver took off their helmet and introduced herself as Ensign Jennifer Willows. She asked if they were injured. She then called the helicopter on her radio, and they lowered a rescue chair. Carla got on first, and a few minutes later, Brendan had his turn.
The helicopter landed at Upper Cape Hospital, and Carla and Brendan were brought to the emergency room. Carla’s Dad and Marty met them a short time later.
Brendan told Marty about their adventure and what happened to Kyle and Charlotte as they were driving home. He then reached into Kyle’s backpack and pulled out the iPad used to control the bots. Finally, Brendan found the file he was looking for, the video taken inside the mansion.
“Dad, you have to view this video and get it to Jay Mendes as soon as you can.”
“Why Jay? What does this have to do with him?”
“You’ll see when you look at it. Dad, everybody is saying Jay murdered that priest in cold blood. But I, I mean we, don’t believe them. I want Jay to see this video before anybody else does so he can use it to prove his innocence.”
“Jay’s already been cleared by the FBI. But I’m sure he’ll appreciate watching the video. And by the way, Brendan, you’re grounded for the entire summer, and you’re going to spend it fixing the Boston Whaler and scraping barnacles off the cigarette boat. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Dad.”