Kerry had been on her way to Airplane Island when Sally called and informed her about Wayne’s accident. Her reaction of shock was quickly followed by anger. A tightness clawed at her stomach, the pain and sadness too much to hold in and Kerry pulled over to the side of the road and cried.
Her use of Wayne’s log-in credentials was the first thing to jump to mind when she heard of his murder. Kerry nervously wondered if his death had something to do with her work for Agent Miller, and anger and fear pulsed through her veins. Kerry wanted to make everything stop, she had never wanted to be wrapped up in a secret murder investigation, and she was even willing to walk away from the information that was promised to her.
Her anger was even more pronounced since Wayne’s death and she wanted to lash out at someone but wasn’t sure in which direction to strike. The only thing she could focus on was her work, and the autopsy she had completed on Wayne was the most difficult examination she conducted. It took her longer to complete the autopsy, having to leave the lab between her bouts of tears. And that too brought her anger.
The overwhelming feeling of having her hands tied gave her no outlet to express her frustration. It reminded her of when she was in her final year of university and a professor, who for some unknown reason, had taken a dislike to her, had given her a failing grade on her final paper. The professor also was on the university panel that oversaw all complaints lodged with the dean and his longstanding record as a popular faculty member made it difficult to have anyone believe Kerry’s accusation that she was unfairly targeted and falsely graded.
Her best friend had given her some advice, which at the time seemed odd, ‘fight him at his own game’. Kerry remembered those words of advice as she drove out to Airplane Island.
Neither of the agents was expecting her, and she knew that the information about who John Doe was had to be somewhere on that island. Finding out who he was and what the secret was behind him, would at least confirm if it was the reason Wayne was killed. And if Wayne’s death could be connected to what she had helped the two agents do, then Kerry would make them pay.
She had never given the small microchip she found embedded in John Doe’s arm. Something about Agent Miller’s extreme secretiveness prompted Kerry to hang onto it for insurance. Even though there was no way for her to find out what was on the small computer chip, Agent Miller would be able to.
Kerry pulled away from the small dock and took a widened path around the islands as she approached Airplane Island. She cut the engine and drifted the boat, nestling the bow in between a pile of rocks, and out of view of the cottage.
She crawled out of the boat, up the side of the rocky island, and then crouched low as she hid inside the dense brush. It was a few hours until sunset, and a heavy chill had filled the air. The island was quiet, as Kerry strained her ears to listen for the sound of steps or people talking. She heard neither.
She could see the tip of the chimney from the edge of the bushes she was hiding behind, and a small trail of smoke curled up from the faded rock stack. Out of the corner of her eye, Kerry saw an angled cellar door built into the ground. The wooden door, painted a deep green, sat twenty feet from the back of the canvas tent.
Kerry lifted the door and peered inside. A faint light from a single bulb glowed at the bottom of a set of steps. She closed the door as she walked down the steps and turned the corner. Inside was a small room, filled with walls layered with pictures of targets, and names of people that Agent Miller and Agent Davis held ‘of interest’. John Doe sat in the middle of the pages with his actual name and his official rank typed underneath.
Alongside his image were lines drawn to the names of several government officials and two corporations. Kerry leaned forward to get a close look at the names as the room lit up. She turned around to see the two agents were standing behind her.