Page 26 of Once a Hero

You know who I am.

He stared at the text message screen, but nothing else came through. He had done what that person ordered him: conserve.

Fortunately, he hadn’t installed many apps on his burner phone. He dimmed the lights on his phone.

Unfortunately, he was still at five percent juice. He wished he had bought extra battery packs with him. The mapping software ate up a lot of battery, for some reason.

He could hear Earl breathing heavily.

There was no way they could move fast enough with Earl’s broken ankle, so their best bet was to stay put here until help came.

There was not enough signal for him to call on the phone or google the police station number so he could text for help.

He prayed that his rescuer had called the police on their behalf.

Twigs broke. Footsteps drew closer.

He had heard gunshots earlier, but they seemed to be farther and farther away from him.

Thank God.

“Jake?” A woman’s voice came on the night wind. “Jake?”

Jake debated whether to reply. She sounded like…

Beatrice Glynn.

“I called 911, Jake. We’re here.”

There she went, confirming that she—or her team—had hacked into his burner phone to enable her to text him. They would need to sort out the legal problems later.

He was so stunned that he failed to respond to her calling out his name.

“I think they’re behind the tree.” Another woman whispered. “I can’t believe how big these trees are.”

“Hurry up,” a man said. “They might double back.”

Jake thought that man’s assessment was correct. By the mercy of God, their pursuer had overshot and walked—or ran—past them under the giant redwood tree trunk with an exposed root.

“We’re here,” Jake finally said.

He felt someone squatting in front of him, but he could not see them. “I can’t see you. My phone battery died and we have no light.”

“I can see you with my infrared goggles,” Beatrice explained.

Moments later, someone turned on a flashlight. In the dim light, Beatrice pushed her goggles above her head. Jake saw the same kind eyes he had seen before in San Francisco. She was wearing a bandana mask, so he couldn’t see most of her face. She pulled it down to show him who she was

“We need to stop meeting in the middle of the night like this.” Jake chuckled. “Beatrice, meet Earl. Earl, this is Beatrice.”

“How did you find us?” Earl covered his face with his grimy hands. He winced at his own slightest move.

“We almost didn’t. You’re hiding behind this old redwood tree that must be at least thirty or forty feet in circumference.” Raynelle patted the tree trunk.

“Thank you for calling 911,” Jake said.

“Talk later. Your friends are coming back once they figure out where we are,” Beatrice said. “How badly hurt are you?”

“Ankle broken, probably.” Earl pointed.

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