Page 47 of The Keeper

Damon took her hand in his and raised it to his lips to kiss. “Thank you for that. I love you, too, and as I said, I am not getting cheated out of our happily ever after, so let’s figure it out.”

Miley nodded. “First things first. Were you a Boy Scout?”

“I was. How about you?”

“Nah, they wouldn’t let me join. That whole gender thing.”

“Brat. I meant were you a Girl Scout?”

“For about a New York minute. They kicked me out because I wouldn’t conform.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” he mused. “Why the sudden interest in my scouting career? I made it to Eagle Scout, by the way.”

“Of course, you did. Do you remember how to do Morse Code?”

“I remember the difference in how to send dots and dashes, but not the code for each letter.”

“Good enough.” Miley searched the ground and found a short piece of rebar. She searched the exposed piping to find one that did not seem attached to either an explosive device or some kind of high voltage electricity. She handed Damon the short pipe. “While I keep looking for a way out, I need you to tap out C-Q-D which stands for…”

“Come Quickly Danger.”

She grinned. “The pattern is Dash-Dot-Dash-Dot Dash-Dash-Dot-Dash Dash-Dot-Dot. Can you do that?”

“I can.”

“Good boy,” she said, mocking how he often told her ‘good girl.’

“Keep it up, brat. I can think of all kinds of ways to punish you.”

She rose onto her toes, kissing him with a kind of quiet intensity that he was already beginning to praise.

“I really do love it when you say that to me—my snarky comment notwithstanding. I want us to have years and years for you to discipline me for my naughty and unruly behavior.”

Damon started tapping out the distress call, hoping she actually believed this might work and not just giving him something to do to keep him occupied.

“Do you really think the tracker in your shoe is working?”

“I hope so, but even if it isn’t, by now they have got to be looking for us. I’m hoping they’ll hear the signal. At Cerberus it means someone needs help but to look for booby traps. There’s no way to know if the high voltage applies to either side, but certainly the explosives would work regardless of who tripped the wire.”

Damon continued to tap. “I’m trying to figure out how much resistance your people might encounter. I can’t see Acosta staying here, but my guess is, he left a crew.”

As if on cue the sound of small explosions and gunfire could be heard above in the house and from the outside.

Miley grinned at him, finding another piece of rebar and another pipe on which to tap. “I think it’s safe to say that the cavalry has arrived. We need to make enough noise that they hear us and ensure the pattern is clear.”

Damon nodded. “I think we should tap them simultaneously to amplify the sound.”

“Good thinking.”

The firefight above seemed to be intensifying, and concussive explosions from what sounded like grenades were coming closer and closer.

Dash-Dot-Dash-Dot Dash-Dash-Dot-Dash Dash-Dot-Dot

They tapped in perfect rhythm and could only hope it would be heard over the sounds of the fighting above and around them.

“It sounds like Acosta’s people are retreating,” said Miley.

“There’s a back entrance to the estate. My guess is those who are left will grab vehicles and try to get away from the estate. They’d be better off to surrender to your people.”

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