Chapter 55
“Hey, Jack. You OK?”
Bright lights shined in his eyes. Jack turned his head and threw up. First, a gush of water and then dry heaves as his body tried to rid itself of the water and grime of the sewers.
“Are you OK, Jack?” Ross asked.
Jack spit and looked around. He was lying on the floor of the sewer, soaking wet. His shoes were missing. Ross and Mike, the sewer crew foreman, knelt by him with lights on their helmets and flashlights in their hands.
“Where’s Jimmy?” Mike asked.
Jack struggled to sit up. He looked at Mike, then down the dark length of the sewer. It was just the three of them. “Have any water?” he whispered.
Ross handed him a bottle of water. Jack took a swig, sloshed the water around in his mouth and spit it out.
“Where’s Jimmy?” Mike asked again.
Jack took a long drink of water, looked at Mike and then back down the tunnel. “I don’t know. I think the Governor shot him.” Jack paused and looked back at Mike. “The first water surge got us. Somehow he tied me off on this ladder. Saved my life. But he got swept away.”
“How about the Governor?” Ross asked.
“Yeah. He’s down there too.” Jack nodded in the direction the water flowed. “The second surge took him.”
“We have to get you out of here. Can you walk?” Ross asked. He reached down with his good arm and helped Jack stand up.
Jack pointed to the utility tunnel above them. “Can you get up that ladder with one good arm and see what the Governor left behind? He had a keyboard or something. Make sure it isn’t on.”
“We talked the Fed into staying offline. I’ll bring Sure Thing back down here and he can check it out.” Ross put his arm around Jack’s waist. “We need to get you out of here.”
“I can make it, Junior. Just go kind of slow. I don’t have any shoes on.” Jack lifted his sock-covered foot to show Ross.
“The rain’s stopped, so we can go back to where you came in without a worry of any more water surging through,” Mike said.
“We need to get a crew down here to look for Jimmy and the Governor. Think you can lead them, Mike?” Jack asked.
“No problem.”
“OK, get me out of here. I’m kind of claustrophobic.”
The winch pulled Jack up through the manhole. Ross pulled the cable to move Jack over the pavement so he could stand on solid ground and unclip himself. Jack looked around and took a deep breath. It was dark out. “What time is it?”
“A little after two,” Ross answered.
“I missed the fireworks,” Jack said.
“Jack!” Julie appeared out of the dark, ran up, and threw her arms around him. Jack winced. “Are you OK?” she asked.
Jack returned the hug and buried his face in her hair. “I’m OK. Just a little beat up. Glad to be out of that hole.' He gave her a squeeze to make sure she was real. 'Sorry we missed the fireworks.”
“There’s always next year,” she said.
Jack pulled back, looked her in the face and smiled. “I’d like you to meet Special Agent Ross Fruen.”
Julie turned, an arm around Jack. “It’s nice to meet you, Agent Fruen. If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking Jack home now to make sure he’s OK.”
“Yes, ma’am. Nice to meet you too.”
Jack took hold of Julie’s hand and they started to walk away.
“I’ll take care of things here, Jack.”
Jack looked back over his shoulder. “You better, Junior. It’s your case.”
Epilogue
A kid ran by. He was maybe fourteen years old. Jack didn’t even think about giving chase. Instead, he just yelled, “The tortoise and the hare, kid, the tortoise and the hare!” The man running next to Jack laughed.
Plodding along, Jack looked ahead. Once they ran across the Hennepin Avenue Bridge they’d have one mile left to reach the finish line in the center of downtown. He couldn’t believe a week ago he’d been down below these streets chasing the Governor.
Jack looked to his left, the same guy was still there. “Should we go see if we can catch the kid?” The guy nodded and they picked up the pace.
Jack crossed the finish line behind a guy wearing a Speedo and a lei. His own costume was his standard dark blue t-shirt with the gold FBI across the chest. They couldn’t catch the kid. He grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water and looked for his family among the throngs of people on the sidewalks. He knew about where they would be and finally found them in the crowd in front of the Pantages Theater. The kids were sitting on the curb eating pink and blue shaved ice. Julie and Ross stood behind them on the sidewalk.
“Hey, Dad! Did you win?” Willy asked.
Jack laughed. “Not quite. I didn’t even see my time. I finished behind a Hawaiian wearing a lei.” He looked at the crowd standing on the sidewalks filling the block on both sides of the street. “Did all of these people come just to watch me run a 10K?”
“Funny Dad.” Lynn said. “We’re here for the Torchlight Parade.'
Jack squeezed in between Ross and Julie and gave Julie a kiss.
“How was the run?” she asked. She handed him a dry shirt to put on.
“It was OK. I’m old and slow. But, it felt good.” He took another drink of water and changed shirts. He leaned over to Ross. “Sorry you couldn’t do your triathlon. How’s the arm?”
Ross flapped and flexed his arm. “It’s getting better.”
“No body yet?”
“Not yet. I think the Governor’s floating his way to The Gulf Of Mexico. Maybe they’ll find his dead, bloated body in New Orleans.”
“Yeah, maybe. I’ll believe it when they’ve found the body.” Jack looked up the street. The parade was finally approaching. “Get ready kids.”
A group dressed in red t-shirts with the Target logo on the chest pushed red shopping carts past in a synchronized dance. They stopped in front of the kids and started tossing candy to the crowd. Jack watched his kids reach out and try to grab their share of candy from the street. He looked at Julie, who was smiling. Things were good.
The Shriners came next in their little go-carts driving in circles down the street. Ross punched Jack in the arm. “Shouldn’t you be out there in your bureau car?” he asked.
“Funny for a guy with no car,” Jack answered. He leaned over to Ross. “So, what’s next for you? The SAC give you any options?”
Ross smiled. “He said now was the time to ask. I asked for HRT.”
“Hmm, Hostage Rescue Team. So, you’re ready to give up small-time bank criminals and go after terrorists?
