Second Chances(92)

"So now what? They couldn't have come to see them," she said pointing across the street to where two small girls were playing on the porch of the house.

The front door opened and Daniel stepped out onto the porch, a phone to his ear.

"No, I imagine they came to see him."

"What for?"

"I don't know. But the question is what do we do about him?"

She looked over at Cameron.

"What do you mean?"

"Well the question is, is he a loose end that needs to be cleaned up?"

Her face went pale, as she looked over at the house. Daniel took the phone away from his ear. He seemed to frown at it then shook his head. A minute later he dropped it onto one of the porch chairs. The man looked up at the sky for a moment before turning his attention to the girls. A smile broke across his face as he watched his daughters playing. Linda sat in silence, watching Cameron. He was staring at Daniel and the girls.

"I'm not killing any kids," she said.

"You won't have to."

The way he said it, chilled her.

"Wh...what do you mean? Cameron, you can't kill those kids."

"What? No. I just mean we wont have to hurt any of them. Look, had he been of any help then I suspect that they would have likely still been here when we arrived. We weren't that far behind them, right?"

She was going to point out that his conversation with Dillinger had lasted longer then he realized, but feared that might make him reconsider his position on the man and his two daughters, so she merely nodded in agreement.

"So where does that leave us?"

Cameron was quiet for a minute while he considered the question. Linda was pleased, if not a little surprised by how calm he was.

"Probably no better or worse than before. Jimmy can still track his phone. Seems to me they are on a wild goose chase and I believe I have had all the fun I can stomach. I think we will be bringing this little game of cat and mouse to an end very soon."





CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT



Julie pulled off the highway onto the feeder road. A few minutes later she turned off onto a side road and then turned off onto another several minutes later. She finally pulled off onto a tree lined dirt road that brought them to a barn and a small farm house. The fields on either side of the house looked long neglected as did the house itself. A for-sale sign hung dangling by a single rusted hook from a post in front of the house. She brought the car to a stop behind the barn, completely obscuring them. In order for them to be seen now, someone would not only have to drive down the long road to the house, but also come around the barn. She was betting the odds of that happening were slim.

She looked over at Jason. He was still staring out the window. She knew he was upset. He hadn't said more then a few words since she had insisted there was no way for them to help Paige. She knew part of it was that he was upset over that, but she also believe partly it was the effect of the compound she had injected him with. She knew he was likely struggling with the changes happening within his mind. Memories long buried were trying to surface and she was sure much of it was jumbled. Much of it, she feared, was likely never to return.

"Jason? Would you like to get out and stretch your legs a little? It will probably help to keep exercising your muscles," she said, reaching out and touching his shoulder.

He nodded, but did not turn towards her. He reached out and managed to open the door. He struggled to turn and lift his legs out of the car. She got out and moved around the front of the car and stopped. She knew he wanted to do this on his own and she was willing to let him try.

He managed to get both feet out of the car and onto the ground outside. He attempted to push off the seat but only managed to raise himself a few inches before dropping back. He then attempted to grab the door frame and hoist himself into a standing position. He managed to double the height on his previous attempt, but the car was just too low to the ground to allow his weakened body to pull itself up.

"Damn it."

"It's okay, Jason," Julie said coming around the door to help him. "It will take time. You will get stronger. I know you will."

She pulled him up and out of the car. He could see the strain in her face from the effort and silently cursed his weakness.

"Thank you," he whispered.

She hugged him tightly and he kissed her cheek.

"Not just for today. For everything, Julie. I honestly don't know how you did it all these years. I don't know that I could have."

"What are you talking about? Of course you could. Hell, what I have dealt with is nothing compared to what you've endured.

"Really? You think so? I don't. I've been allowed to forget. So much of the time it was blissful ignorance for me."