March Into Hell (24 page)

Jessica smiled. "I hear you. I think I could use one myself."

Jim wanted to join in the conversation, and knew that after the harrowing encounter, a little light-hearted banter was exactly what Mark needed, but he had to stay focused. Just because they hadn't seen Kern, didn't mean he or one of his followers wasn't lurking in the crowd.

"Hey!  I can fill that request!" Lily practically leaped across the room and flung open a cabinet against the back wall.

Mark took a deep breath, then raised his hand in a stop gesture as Lily reached behind some folders and lenses, and pulled a bottle of liquor out of the cabinet. “That's okay. I was only kidding, Lily. I’m still on antibiotics and I don’t know how they would react to alcohol. I appreciate the thought, though. I'm sure it would have taken the edge off.”

Dan grimaced and said, “Sorry about how this went down, Mark. I should have called back-up before you guys even got here. I just didn't think the crowd would be so aggressive. I mean, they were out there singing hymns a little while ago."

Mark waved him off. “It's not your fault. I shouldn’t have stopped moving. I just kind of…froze, I guess.” He raked his good hand through his hair and Jim didn't miss the slight trembling.

For all his lighthearted talk about shots of whiskey, Jim could see how shaken up he was inside. He crossed to stand in front of Mark. “Seriously, I need to know if there was any damage done.”

Mark looked at his foot, hesitating. “Not really, but my foot got stepped on pretty good.”

It took a moment for Jim to realize Mark was probably afraid to look—not that he could blame him.

Jim's own stomach churned at what they might find, and didn’t know if he could look either. “Should I call paramedics?”

Mark pushed back in the chair. “No! It’s fine. Last thing I want to do is add to the circus.”

Jessica strode over from the windows. “Let me see.” She took her jacket off and threw it over the back of a chair before bending on one knee reaching for Mark's foot.

Jim made a mental note to thank her.

Mark withdrew his foot from her grasp, and turned so that it was under the table. He wore an expression of horror. “It’s fine!”

 “Christ, Mark, it’s just a foot. It’s not like she asked you to drop your pants.” Jim shook his head in mock annoyance.

Jessica's face turned pink and matched the color of Mark’s ears. She, at least, overcame her embarrassment. “Come on. It’s either that or we take you back to the hospital for them to look.”

Mark’s eyes narrowed and he looked from Dan to Jim and over to Lily. When no one offered any refuge, his shoulders slumped. He leaned over and tried to reach his laces to untie them, but stopped short and grabbed his stomach, his eyes screwed shut in a grimace. It was few seconds before he opened them again. Lily closed in on his side, her hand going to his back.

"You okay?" Jim stepped closer, but if Mark wasn't okay, he didn't know what he could do about it.

Mark nodded as he blew out a breath. "I just moved wrong."

Jessica bent and took his foot. “It’s not a big deal. You think cops don’t get hurt and need help sometimes? What would happen if we refused to let our fellow officers help us?”

He scowled, but extended his foot for Jessica to reach, then grabbed onto the side of the desk, wincing when she pulled the shoe off.

“Sorry, Mark.”

Jessica glanced up, her expression sincere and it dawned on Jim that her tone had changed. Gone was the no nonsense professional tone he was used to hearing. In it's place, was an intimate, soft inflection. That was forgotten when he got a look at a large blood-stain on Mark's sock. He swallowed and was glad he wasn’t the one doing the examining.

Lily made a face and turned away. Apparently she wasn't a natural born medic either.

"You ready?" Jessica's hand hovered over Mark's foot.

“Okay.” Mark's knuckles blanched as he gripped the arm of the chair, but Jim credited him with being braver than he would have been in the same situation as Mark leaned forward for a better look.  Jessica eased his sock off and began unwinding the bandage.

Jim scrunched his eyes up in sympathy and tried to look away, but it was like a car wreck, he had to see. Lily looked like she was turning a bit green, so Jim said, “Lily, why don’t you see if you have some clean cloths or bandages around?”

Obviously relieved for an excuse to get away, Lily stepped away from Mark. “Sure, I’ll be right back.”

Jessica turned his foot carefully, running her fingers lightly under it. Mark squirmed and her head shot up. “Does that hurt?”

“No…it…tickles.” Now Mark’s whole face turned a deep red, but he grinned.

Jessica laughed. “Sorry. I think just the scab came off and maybe some bruising on top.” She took the towel Lily handed her and dabbed at the blood. Once it was clean, it didn’t look so bad. Jessica rolled his sock back on, and Mark put his foot back in the shoe, his movements slow and careful. Jessica tied the shoe loosely before standing. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “There. Good as new.”

“Thanks, Jessie.” Mark stood and took a step, his grimace easing after a few test steps. He stopped in front of Jim, Dan and Jessica and extended his hand to Jim. “Well, thanks for the ride.”

Jim stared at him in confusion. “What do you mean? Aren't you just going to get a few things?” He shot a glance at Jessica, wondering what she thought of this.

She frowned and put her hands on her hips. “What’s the deal, Mark? What about the safe house?”

 “Sorry, but I'm staying here. I told you guys that in the car. I can't live my life looking over my shoulder forever. If Kern is coming after me, I want to be on my own territory. At least now, my guard is up.”

Jessie shook her head and Jim’s mouth set in a firm line, but he finally scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. “Fine, Taylor. We can’t force you to go to a safe house.” He crossed his arms and added, “About the best I can do is ask the Chicago PD put a few extra patrols around and check in with you daily." Jim glanced at Jessica to confirm the suggestion. It wasn't his call, officially. 

She nodded and turned to Dan. "That should be possible, right?"

"I think we can manage to get the okay, but we can't promise more than a few days. The lieutenant won't approve more than that. Budget crunch and all."

Jim understood budgets only too well. He jabbed a finger in Mark's direction.  "Keep your phone handy. If you see anything, hear anything, or hell, have one of your dreams, give us a call. Got it?”

"Got it. I'm just going to head upstairs and relax. I'll be fine. I doubt even Kern would try anything with all the witnesses around."

Jim decided he'd come by in the morning to check in on Mark. He didn't quite trust the phone arrangement any more.

Jessica sighed. "I'm not comfortable with you staying alone. I can stop by in the morning and check in with you. You might need help with your bandages."

"Lily, do you have the keys for the new locks? I'd like to give one to Jessie so she can come up in the morning." Mark kept his gaze locked on Jessica as he spoke and Jim had a feeling that Jessica had nothing to worry about when it came to Lily.

Jim shook off the surge of pleasure that revelation gave him. He didn't have time to entertain thoughts of romance. Besides, while Lily was cute, she was ten years younger than him, and he'd only met her a few times before the night of Mark's abduction.

Lily rummaged in her desk and pulled out a key ring. "Here you go. I got three sets. I wasn't sure how many you'd need. The locksmith assured me the place is more secure than Fort Knox now."

"That's great, Lil. Thanks." He took a set and handed it to Jessica, his eyes more alive than Jim had seen in a long time. 

Jim changed his mind about checking in. He had a feeling Jessica would get a much better reception. He hid a smile as she flushed and nodded.

Lily laughed, obviously not the least upset that Jessica would have the nursing duties. "Great! It's settled then."

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The minute Jessie, Dan and Jim left, Mark took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The adrenaline rush from the day's events had completely dissipated, and now he felt drained.

Lily locked the door after the trio had left and closed all the blinds. Mark turned towards the door at the back of the office that led up to his loft. Something smelled great and his mouth watered. After bland hospital food, he was ready for something good.  “Did you cook something, Lily?”

She grinned and caught up to him. “Yeah. Kind of a welcome home lunch. It’s nothing fancy, just my sloppy joes and hash browns. I turned it off when I came downstairs when I heard the commotion outside. I just hope it's not too cold by now."

It was the perfect choice. He loved how she made them. The sauce was a blend of sweet and tangy and went great with salty hash browns. “That was really nice of you. Thanks. I can’t wait.”

"Good, because it's been ready for over an hour. I didn't know about the press conference until I saw it on the news at noon."

"Yeah. It was sprung on me last minute. It wasn't my idea."

"I didn't think it was, but you did great."

"Liar." He expected her to laugh, and when she was silent, he looked at her. "What's wrong?"

She stopped and rubbed her eyes.

Confused, Mark stepped in front of her and lifted her chin with one finger. "Lil? What is it?"

"I'm just angry at what is happening to you. It's not fair."

Mark smiled and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Aren't you the one who's always saying God has a plan?"

Her shoulders shook as she chuckled against him.  Pulling back, she wiped her eyes. "Yes, you're right. And I believe it. That doesn't mean I don't think that sometimes God's plans royally suck."

He laughed. "Come on. Let's go eat lunch."

Hobbling a bit, Mark made his way towards the steps, not relishing the thought of  climbing them, but he found that going slowly helped and it wasn’t bad. Entering, he felt a wave of both relief and dread wash over him. He was relieved to be home. There was no doubt about that, but this was where the cult had first attacked him, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever feel completely secure here again.

Lily turned to him when he stopped just inside the door. "Mark? Are you okay?"

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little creeped out.” He tried to laugh, but it died in his throat. To forget about his fears, he  looked around, noticing that the loft was immaculate. A lot cleaner even than it had been before the attack. He had to smile at that. He wasn’t a slob, but when things got crazy with the camera, housekeeping chores fell by the wayside. “The place looks fantastic.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I only organized the clean-up crew. Jessie helped and got her sister to pitch in as well. Did you know you had something green and fuzzy growing in your fruit bin in the fridge?"

Mark laughed. “No, I did not know that—not sure I wanted to either.” He plopped down on the sofa with a sigh. “Sit down, Lily. We haven’t had much chance to talk lately.”

Lily settled in her usual chair. “We haven’t, have we?”

Mark sagged against the back of the sofa; his arms limp. Closing his eyes, he relaxed for a few moments then the smell of his lunch made his stomach growl and he stood and followed his nose to the stove. The pan was still hot.

"I can get that, Mark."

"No, I'm good. You stay there. I'm tired of being waited on. I'm not entirely crippled."

Lily had already set out a couple of plates, so he just ladled the mixture onto the buns and saw that the hash browns were staying warm in the oven. In a few minutes he had plates ready. He pushed them to the side of the breakfast bar closest to Lily and called her to eat. He turned back and grabbed them each a can of pop out of his newly-stocked fridge.

“Who do I owe for all the food?”

Lily took a bite then wiped her mouth on a napkin. “It came from the petty cash.”

Mark grinned. "I had a feeling."

They ate in silence, and he thought about the night of his abduction. He couldn’t help it. There were so many unanswered questions. “Hey, Lily, how did anyone find me that night? If you told me already, I don’t remember.”

Lily set her fork down. “No, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. You had so much going on at the hospital, with nurses coming in and out so often, the moment was never right.” She paused, dabbed her mouth with a paper napkin, and said, “Jim had a dream. In his dream, he saw what was happening to you. He tried to ignore it, but when you didn't answer your phone, he came here in the middle of the night."

Mark almost choked on his hash browns. He grabbed his drink and gulped down a large mouthful. “Jim had a
dream
? Like what I have?”

"Sort of, but it wasn't a future dream. It was in real time, as close as we can figure. We didn't know that then. We hoped we'd get to you before what he saw, and what was in the pictures, could actually occur."

"Pictures?"

Lily nodded. "Yes. From your camera."

A dozen questions flew to the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back  to allow Lily to finish. "So, then what happened?"

"Well, as soon as Jim got here, he realized something had happened. The place was a mess. The door was wide open, and he called Jessie. It was the middle of the night, of course, but she came right over. After calling the police, they found the camera, and I developed the film at Gary's camera shop. The pictures led us to the warehouse.”

"If I had developed my film that night..." The implications hit him. If only he had followed his usual routine.

Lily's eyes welled. "Yes. That thought has plagued me since I developed the film and we saw the pictures of you."  She picked at her meal, her head bent. A tear splashed onto the countertop.

"Whoa. Wait a second. You don't think this is
your
fault, do you?"

She shrugged. "What am I supposed to think? If I hadn't talked you out of developing the film, you'd have seen what would happen, and at least had a chance of preventing it."

"You don't know that." Mark tried to think it through. The timing was all wrong. It was always harder to change the outcome when things happened at night or early morning. If 9/11 had happened at five in the evening instead of early in the day, he might have been able to make a difference there too, but it had been out of his control. "Besides, even if I developed the film, I wouldn't have had time to dream about it. They  came for me in the middle of the night."