“My god! He’s still alive!”
Jason got up and immediately went over to the passenger side where Mike’s body fell out as he opened the car door. Jason pulled him out to get to the radio. He got through to dispatch requesting an ambulance as fast as possible. Jason went back over to Danny, making him as comfortable as he can.
Remembering the reason Danny was chasing the pickup, he quickly got up and ran over to the wrecked vehicle hoping to find Helen in the rear seat. To his amazement the truck was empty. Jason looked over to where his mustang was, and saw Carlos holding Helen at gun point.
“You let me go Mr. Jason, and I let the woman go!” Said Carlos as he slowly moved towards Jason’s mustang.
“I’m unarmed as you can see. Now let her go,” said Jason raising his hands in the air.
“Very good. Now I let her go, but I not let her live,” said Carlos as he pulled the trigger, shooting Helen point blank in the head.
Her body slumped to the ground, blood pumping out from the side of her forehead.
Carlos then entered Jason’s mustang, spinning it around on the sand, heading directly at him. Sand spewed up into the air from the rear tires as Carlos approached him at full speed. Jason pulled out his magnum from his jeans he had hidden from view.
“You managed to get away once! But not this time you big hairy son of a bitch!”
Jason fired three shots all piercing the windshield, hitting Carlos directly in the chest. Carlos thought Jason missed his target as he did not feel any pain, but he did feel the warm liquid running down his chest. He placed his hand to where his heart was supposed to be, but instead all he felt was a hole the size of his fist. As the mustang passed Jason, it came to a halt a few yards away with Carlos slumped over the steering wheel.
“Adios Mr. Carlos!” Said Jason as he spat on the sand.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kate was about to enter her lab when she received a call from Jason. She was excited to hear how the search went last night, hoping Jason and Danny found new evidence. She answered her cell in a cheerful voice.
“Hello Jason. How did it go last night?” She asked.
Her cheerful mood soon deteriorated.
“Danny’s been shot! He’s in the hospital. I watched him get shot right in front of my eyes and couldn’t stop it from happening. I should have been with him.”
Kate felt the pain Jason was going through, and it sounded as though he had a few drinks.
“Where are you Jason? Tell me where you are! I can be there in a few minutes, just tell me where you are?”
“In my wrecked up mustang. I’m parked a corner away from my house. Sally soon leaves for school, and I don’t want her to see me like this,” said Jason.
Danny was rushed into the hospital emergency ward last night. He had lost a lot of blood and was about to undergo surgery after the bullet penetrated his lung. The nurses wheeled Danny inside who was still unconscious. Surgeons proceeded with closing the punctured lung, which lasted more than three hours. His vitals were now stable and were out of danger. Patricia was waiting outside when the doctor in charge came to give her the good news.
“He’s lucky to be alive! The bullet missed the heart by a few inches. He needs rest and care, but the worst is over.”
Kate soon arrived next to Jason. She smelt alcohol on his breath as she helped him out of the car.
“Has Sally left for school?” Asked Kate.
“Yes, I saw her leave ten minutes ago,” said Jason.
They entered through the unlocked garage door. Kate helped him up the stairs and onto his bed.
She asked him, “what happened last night? Is Danny going to be alright?”
Jason explained the whole ordeal they went through. Kate assured him there was nothing he could have done to prevent Danny from being shot.
She then went down to the kitchen to make Jason a large mug of coffee. By the time she arrived with it upstairs, he was out cold. He apparently blames himself for the incident and is finding it hard to deal with.
Tony was lucky to get away that night. He pulled his car over to the side of the road, hiding out of view while waiting for Carlos to pass him. He waited for a few minutes, but Carlos and the pursuing vehicle did not show up, so he turned around and made his way back the way he had come. He drove a few miles before slowing down when he saw the two cars crash into each other, then ending up in the sand. He saw the mustang approaching and hitting Carlos. After witnessing Carlos shoot Helen and Jason killing Carlos, he silently drove away. Jason had no idea he was being watched by the person responsible for the whole ordeal.
Tony kept in mind that Jason was not the kind of man to mess around with. He clearly had to be extra careful from now on.
After last night, Chief Berks had ordered Jason to take a couple of days off from the case. He knew Jason and Danny were close friends and have been FBI partners for a few years now. Matt wanted Jason to have a clear mind before carrying on with the case. He knew Jason would try and seek out revenge, which would greatly interfere with the investigation.
After giving his full report to Chief Berks, Jason spent most of his free time next to his partner Danny, who was still in a mild coma. Kate accompanied Jason on the hospital visits, and also spent the afternoons with him having lunch and also shared some time in the evenings with his daughter Sally.
It was then Sally mentioned Travis to her. She told her they had met while they were on campus at the university and enjoyed each others company very much. Sally asked Kate not to tell her father that Travis was more than just a friend. She wanted to wait for the right moment to come along before telling him. Kate agreed to keep it a secret between them.
Sally was spending more and more time with Travis after school. They would drive up to Miami university where they would spend hours in his dorm sharing notes from their anthropology classes. Both students had deep feelings for each other, but Travis felt she was not yet ready to take the kissing and cuddling one step further. He respected her wishes, knowing Sally was a very special person to him and knew she would let him know when she was ready.
Travis had almost forgotten about the last ritual they had together with Jackie and Tony, when one day she reminded him about her mother and asked him to set up another meeting with Tony.
It seemed to Travis that everything was on hold. Tony hasn’t contacted him in the last couple of days, and Sally hasn’t mentioned her mother until now. He has been sleeping in his dorm and the last time he was at Tony’s house was at the ritual. He liked things how they were, and now things were stirring up again.
“How come you want to contact your mother again Sally?” asked Travis as he took hold of her hand.
“I don’t know. I’m getting this feeling she needs to tell me something. I saw her in one of my dreams where she seemed to be calling out to me.”
“Are you sure about this? Shouldn’t we leave it for another time?” Said Travis, trying to change her mind.
She looked at him and said, “okay, I can wait a few more days I guess.”
Two days had passed by when Jason received a call from Patricia, Danny’s girlfriend.
“Jason, he’s awake! Come quickly! He’s asking for you.”
Jason was out of the house in a matter of minutes. He gave a call to Kate, who was to meet him at the hospital. As they entered the private room where Danny was being held, they saw him sitting up in bed.
“Hey buddy! You’re back. How are you feeling?” Asked Jason.