Deadly Pursuit - Chapter 17
Once again, they piled into SUVs, this time headed for Brooklyn. They’d chosen a time just after dark in hopes that there wouldn’t be too many civilians around, but there were still so many things that could go wrong. Especially her part.
She was supposed to get whoever came to pick up the mythical files talking and hopefully find out if there was anyone else involved and whether they had Charley. It was a tall order and even with several hours of coaching, she wasn’t confident she could pull it off.
The sun had already set, and the sky was darkening by the time Serena arrived at the designated meeting area. The picnic tables were deserted, but she saw a couple strolling along the nearby pathway. Ryan assured her that West and the police would have people watching and listening in on her every step of the way. Now she wondered if one of the joggers, who did appear to be strolling awfully slowly, might be some of those people looking out for her. She hoped so.
Several minutes passed. She began to feel more and more conspicuous sitting alone at night in the park. Tyre had warned that he, Ryan and the others would be able to hear her, but she wouldn’t be able to hear them, so there was no sense in asking whether she should give up and head home.
Another five minutes passed before a figure emerged from a path beyond the trees and headed towards her with purpose.
Her pulse raced. She could tell it was a man and that he wore a ball cap pulled low but kept his head down so she couldn’t make out his face. Still, there was something familiar about him.
The man sat down next to her on the bench and lifted his head.
Her breath caught in her throat. “Professor Garland.”
“Serena. You always were too smart for your own good,” Professor Garland snarled.
Her mind whirled, trying desperately to put together the pieces of the puzzle. How was Professor Garland mixed up in all this?
“Professor, what… What are you doing here?”
“You invited me. Do you have the files?”
Her heart pounded. She knew she was supposed to get whoever showed up talking about exactly what was going on, but at the moment, it was a struggle to get words to form. “I don’t understand. You sent those guys to kidnap me?”
Professor Garland’s eyes darkened with anger. “I didn’t want to pull you into this. You can thank Charley for that.”
“Thank Charley?” Thoughts swirled in her head and began to connect. “You rewrote the program so that there was a back door?”
Professor Garland guffawed. “If I was that good, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in now. No, Charley wrote the back door into the program after he solicited your help. You always were the better student.”
Serena swallowed hard. She had to ask the next question, although she was terrified of the answer. “Where is Charley?”
There was nothing kind about Professor Garland’s smile now. “I took care of him. And now I plan to take care of you. But first, the file.”
Professor Garland pulled a gun from his coat pocket.
Serena shrunk back on the bench and pulling the file from inside her jacket.
Professor Garland peaked inside before tucking it under his arm.
“Stand up,” he ordered, sticking the gun in her side.