The Tenth Cycle: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 1) (29 page)

Before she could answer, a shot rang out and to Daniel’s horror, the kidnapper fell to the ground. “Come on!” he shouted, and dragging Sarah with him, sprinted for his car, expecting a bullet at any second. When they reached his car, he thrust Sarah in through the open driver’s side door and pushed her to move over into the passenger seat. Slamming his door, he peeled out with a squeal of tires, stopping only blocks later to still his heart and help Sarah, who was sobbing loudly, still blindfolded, and only now did he notice, handcuffed.

Chaos had broken out in the SUV, with the shooting of one of the kidnappers. Two others jumped out of the vehicle, rifles swinging from side to side as they searched nearby rooftops for the sniper who had shot their colleague. Finding no one, they got back into the car and drove toward the fallen man. He had fallen forward, so they kept a sharp eye on the buildings to which his back had been turned, rifles covering the two who got out to retrieve the body.

~~~

“Shh, shh, sweetheart, you’re safe, I’ve got you.” Gently, he worked to remove the blindfold. Sarah blinked at the light, though it was twilight and not strong. Daniel was examining the handcuffs for a way to get them off without a key, when Sarah spoke through her sobs.

“Thank you. Who are you?”

Daniel froze in shock. His eyes flew to Sarah’s, which were looking at him in a mixture of gratitude and puzzlement that in turn confused him. “Sarah, it’s me! I haven’t changed that much in three days, have I?”

No sniper showed, but another bullet rang out, winging one of the kidnappers. Hurriedly, they withdrew into the SUV and the driver circled around to head toward the exit. That was when two more bullets pierced the windows, one on the driver’s side, killing him instantly, and one on the passenger side.

She was examining his face curiously, her eyes seeming to focus more as each second ticked by. “You’re him, aren’t you? Daniel something.” His mouth fell open. “They told me I had a boyfriend, Daniel. Are you Daniel?”

“Oh, my god, Sarah, what have they done to you! Don’t you remember me?” Daniel’s heart was breaking, shattering into a million pieces. His Sarah was safe, but it seemed she may no longer be his. She didn’t remember him. Her eyes dropped, unable to bear the grief in his.

“I’m sorry. I think they hit me over the head. I don’t remember anything.” And then she wept.

Daniel didn’t know whether to gather her into his arms or not. Would she be afraid of him? Would it help her remember? God willing, this was just temporary amnesia, but he needed to get her to a doctor right away. He settled for a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Sarah, we’re going to figure this out. I’m taking you to a hospital, is that all right?”

Still sobbing, Sarah nodded her head.

~~~

Neither Daniel nor Sarah would know it for some hours, but the Trunchbull woman would never again terrorize a kidnapping victim, nor direct the payment of a ransom in a distorted voice. Two kidnappers remained in the vehicle, one wounded, among their dead colleagues. They were afraid to get out. As the wounded man slowly bled to death, the other considered his options. He was relieved to see Daniel put Sarah in the car and leave, after which he simply walked away, flash drive in his pocket, sirens wailing in the distance.

“Ryan, bring Luke and get to the hospital right away. Sarah’s okay physically, but she...” Daniel lost his composure for a moment, upping Ryan’s anxiety, then continued. “She seems to be suffering from amnesia. I don’t know how deep or how serious, but Ryan,” again he took a moment to regain his composure, his voice cracking as he went on. “She doesn’t remember me.”

Ryan’s heart sank, but he rallied for Daniel’s sake, “She will. We’ll be right there.”

Signaling Luke to follow, he went to the room where David was monitoring the equipment. “Daniel just called, he’s taking Sarah to the hospital. She seems to have lost her memory. Do you want to go with us?”

David turned a neutral face toward them. “No, I’d better stay here and monitor. Something went wrong, the drones started firing. I’m afraid all the kidnappers are dead.”

Just then Ryan called, “Luke, let’s go!” Luke left with only a backward glance.

Ryan and Luke arrived at the hospital to find a distraught Daniel pacing in the lobby. He rushed over to them. “They took her to the Emergency Department, but they won’t tell me anything because I’m not family!”

Ryan went to the reception desk. “I’m here to see my daughter. Her boyfriend just brought her in, and he says she’s suffering from amnesia. I’d like to speak to her doctor.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged. The young woman who was brought in with head trauma and fugue symptoms has no identification. Can you prove you are her father and provide ID?” Ryan was on the verge of an uncharacteristic temper tantrum when Luke stepped up and flashed a badge. “This is a police matter. I will personally guarantee that this is the young woman’s father. Will you cooperate, or shall I come back with a warrant?”

The receptionist’s face went white, then flushed bright red. “I’ll call someone to help you right away, sir.”

The three waited another five minutes before a tall young Pakistani stepped up to them and said in a musical accent, “Are you the family of the young woman Sarah?”

All three answered “Yes” at the same time, causing the doctor a little confusion. He decided that Luke was the calmest-looking, so he addressed his remarks to Luke. “Your daughter?”

“Niece,” replied Luke, and then, indicating Ryan, “His daughter.”

“My apologies.” Now addressing Ryan, he continued, “Your daughter is fine physically except for a little dehydration and an area of bruising behind her right ear. It appears that someone struck her rather hard there with a blunt object. She tells me she remembers her name and that some people who held her captive for several days showed her a picture of her parents that she recognized, although she cannot tell us her last name. She is resting comfortably, and I will be happy to take you to her for a short visit. I must insist that you do not distress her, though. Due to her condition, I do not want to have to sedate her.”

Ryan said, “I understand.” Bidding the others to wait, he followed the doctor down the hall. Daniel began pacing again, but Luke put a restraining hand on his arm.

“Settle down, son. We’ll get this straightened out so that you can see her as soon as possible.” A grateful Daniel nodded, and took a seat to wait.

In Sarah’s room, Ryan’s heart clenched again to see his baby girl looking so small in the hospital bed. What was it about hospital beds that dwarfed the patient and made her seem waif-like? Her eyes were closed and Ryan thought she might be sleeping, but when he sat down in the visitor chair, it creaked, causing her eyes to fly open, wide with alarm.

“Shh, honey, its okay,” he soothed.

“Daddy?” Sending up a prayer of thanks, Ryan covered her hand with his.

“Yes, honey, it’s Daddy. How do you feel?”

Sarah’s eyes flooded with tears as she said, “Daddy, I can’t remember anything. Where am I? What happened? Why can’t I remember?”

Squeezing her hand, Ryan said, “Don’t worry, honey. The doctors are going to try to help you remember. Meanwhile, you need to stay calm. You hit your head, that’s why you can’t remember. But we’re here with you, and you’re going to be fine.”

“Is Mommy here?” Ryan realized then that Sarah’s memories were from a much younger time, when she still addressed them as Mommy and Daddy. He would have to call Emma soon, and he’d ask her how old Sarah was at that time. In fact, he’d better arrange for her to fly out, and ask Luke if he wanted to stay and have Sally come out as well.

“No, sweetheart, not yet, but she’ll be here soon. Do you want to rest now?” His voice was tender, and Sarah’s response was to close her eyes.

“Yes, Daddy, I’m sleepy.”

“Okay, darling. When you wake up, I’ll be here, or someone else who loves you will be here. We won’t leave you. But, I need to call Mommy to tell her you’re okay, and get her to come here. Okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.”

Ryan left, his mind already swirling with everything he needed to get done. First on the agenda was ensuring that both Luke and Daniel would be given access to Sarah, even though she didn’t remember Daniel. He didn’t know if she would remember Luke or not, but had hope that the deeply-held memory of the little girl she had been would include her beloved uncle. Next, get Emma on a plane, and Sally, too if Luke agreed. Ryan didn’t know much about amnesia, but he figured that if more people were around that she
should
remember, her memory would start to return. Finally, talk with the doctor on what specialists to bring in. He went in search of Dr. Kassar to arrange for permission for himself, Luke or Daniel to sit with Sarah at all times.

Daniel took the first shift, grateful to Luke for being patient. He eased into the visitor chair without waking Sarah, wanting to touch her but afraid to wake her, lest she become agitated and Dr. Kassar kick him out. He gazed at her beloved face, and castigated himself again for not staying with her after Simms’ death. His obligation to his employer had put the woman he loved in grave danger, and he wouldn’t let that ever be the case again.

As Sarah slept, Daniel’s active mind sorted through several items that he needed to take care of. Raj needed to know that their plan had worked and that Sarah was safe. And someone needed to inform the Institute that Sarah had suffered a head injury and would require a postponement of her tenure hearing. It was also time to make a tough decision.

Daniel had had enough. Too many people were dead, and too many of his loved ones had been put in grave danger. Now he might have lost Sarah, who, though he hadn’t said so to her yet, was the love of his life. He was grateful she at least was alive and relatively unharmed. But if she never remembered him…well, he couldn’t bear the thought of not having her in his life. If she never remembered him from their past, he’d just have to win her again. This time, he’d put a ring on her finger and not risk losing her again. But, to keep that promise to himself, he needed to abandon this cursed search for the pyramid code.

When he called Raj, he’d tell him to stop inputting data and instead erase it. He’d have to call Sinclair and tell him it was off, as well. Grandpa would be disappointed. But there was no choice. Daniel finally pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began making notes after muting the ringer so that it wouldn’t wake Sarah if someone called.

An hour later, Luke came to relieve him, telling him in a hurried consultation in the hall that both Emma and Sally were on their way. Sarah’s small house had only the two bedrooms besides the room she had converted to an office. He and Sally would get a hotel. Daniel protested that he should, but Luke wouldn’t hear of it, at least until Sarah was released from the hospital. They would have to play it by ear at that point, depending on how much she remembered by then. It would break Daniel’s heart to leave her side, but he couldn’t expect her to sleep in the same bed with him if she didn’t remember him. Luke comforted him, saying he thought it would be likely that her memory would fully recover, except perhaps for the attack itself. That she remembered her parents were a good sign, he told Daniel, one that they could build upon. Then Luke went into her room to sit with Sarah, while Daniel went to make the calls that he’d prioritized in his notes.

The first was to the Human Resources department at The Times. He wanted to know how much accrued leave time he had, and was happy to learn it was almost two weeks. He then told HR to expect his resignation soon. In the meanwhile, he would exhaust his vacation days. Still angered that Kingston had been spying on him, he declined to speak to his editor – he would do it later. Daniel had a vague idea that he had enough information about the pyramid to get a book deal out of it. The potential advance, plus his savings, would support him for at least a couple of years. He’d figure out what to do before that time was up.

Ryan came back at that time, bearing Daniel’s iPad, so he was able to place a message in the email draft folder for his grandparents, who could pass the message on to Ellis and Pierce that their services would soon be gratefully released. He also composed a letter of resignation, which he intended to present to Kingston’s supervisor, Aaron Selleck, along with the information that Kingston had been spying on him, in person.

By the following day, the men were exhausted and getting pretty ripe in the clothes they had been wearing for two days. Dr. Kassar finally persuaded them to go home for a shower and some rest. Emma and Sally were due in on a flight that would arrive just before noon, so they agreed they would go home, clean up, sleep a couple of hours if they could, and then bring the women to the hospital. Dr. Kassar promised to have Sarah alert for her mother’s visit.

Promptly at one p.m., Ryan and Emma together stepped into Sarah’s room, where she was sitting up and looking quite a bit better for her rest. Her IV had been removed, and she was just finishing a hospital meal. “Hello, honey,” Emma said.

“Mom! I’m so glad to see you!” Ryan noted that it was ‘Mom’ now, not ‘Mommy,’ and took it as a good sign.

“What do you remember, honey?” Emma asked gently.

“I remember you, and Dad. Uncle Luke was here yesterday, and helped me understand who he was, but I can’t remember much else. Dr. Kassar says that a specialist will look at me today and make some recommendations.”

“That’s good, darling, it’s a start.” Emma’s tone was even, but her eyes were sad as she realized just how much Sarah had lost and wondered if it could ever be regained. What about her career? Would she still remember her studies and her research? And what about poor Daniel? The boy was devastated that Sarah didn’t remember him, but he was being very brave and sweet about it.

“Mom, my head doesn’t work right. When will I start to remember things?”

Emma was helpless to answer that plaintive question, but tried to soothe her daughter, “Soon, honey. Soon, I’m sure.”

The specialists who examined Sarah were of the opinion that at least some of her memory loss was emotional, and that if she could work through her fear, most of it would come back to her. They warned Ryan and Emma that as much as six months to three years of her immediate past might be lost for good; specifically that there was less than a 50% chance that she would regain all of it. Daniel broke down when Ryan gently gave him that news. But, he pulled himself together and vowed to win her again if necessary. A Rossler didn’t give up easily, as his Grandpa had once reminded him.