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Rated: 13+ · Novella · Mystery · #2215557
A case relating to an ancient artifact takes an FBI Agent down a dark road.
Chapter 1
Wind blew wet grimy colorful leaves past a tall peculiar man wearing a suit. He was leaning against a bare tree on a frigid Autumn evening. He looked mid thirties watching an old Victorian house across the street in a nice rural neighborhood. In the distance voices become more clear with every second. The mysterious gentlemen pushed a head set into his ear further to listen while he stared through a pair of high tech binoculars at the house he was observing. He could barely see into the window because the curtain was only open a crack. However, he could hear the argument that was going on between the two unknown occupants. "Where are you going" a woman cried? "Away from here" a man answered. The cavalier man seen a suitcase hit the bed has the man proceeded to shove clothes in. He was definitely in a hurry. As of yet, he still has not been able to see their faces but their argument progressed. "So, I don't matter to you anymore" she uttered rhetorically. "Can you at least tell me where you are going" she expressed following him everywhere around the room. He began to get annoyed and he pushed her out of the room. "Hey. Hey. What are you doing? Stop" she demanded as he let her go slamming the door behind her locking it. She commenced an enraged banging at the door. The loud thump struck the man’s ear drum and he ripped the ear piece out. "Davis. Davis. Let me in" she screamed. He grabbed a Swiss army knife from his pocket and pried open a floor board from inside his closet. He lowered his hand and pulled out an object covered with a dingy rag. The stranger out front quickly glanced back into the binoculars to see what he missed in the nick of time to see Davis toss the object into his suitcase. When it landed the rag fell off just enough for the man to witness the uncovering of an old artifact. Soon as Davis noticed it was showing he shut his bag and disappeared from sight. The man hastily barged into the house armed with a 10mm glock ready to fire. He heads up the stairs and finds clothes thrown everywhere and the open floorboard where the artifact use to be. When his adrenaline wears down he hears sobbing coming from the other side of the room. He gradually took cautious steps around the bed and found the woman curled up against the bed crying. When she notices him she gets scared and starts to scream. "Hey hey hey" he said softly putting his hand out in front of her to calm her down. "I am an FBI agent" he explained while putting his gun away. She calms down and wipes the tears from her eyes. "I'm agent Orange and you are..." he waited for her to say her name but she didn't. "Agent Orange...really" she said. He nods his head "it's a nick name around the bureau". He reaches down to help her up "and what may I call you, miss" he asked? She thinks for a moment. "You can call me Miss Foxx" she expressed vigilantly. Agent Orange was confused but he went with it. "Okay, Miss Foxx can we have a discussion over a cup of coffee". She seemed hesitant but obliged.
"So, why are you here Agent Orange" she asked as she handed him a mug of hot coffee? He blew on the beverage before he took a small sip. "Well, Miss Foxx, I am on assignment and that assignment lead me here. Presumably to your husband". She stopped him right there "he's not my husband" she conveyed with conviction. He looks at her astounded. She wasn't going to explain but decided to clarify. "We were engaged yes, but I guess he does not want to marry me anymore. After tonight we are over”. Agent Orange listens contently. "I have been feeling like he has been keeping secrets from me for a while but I can never get him to open up.” She realizes she began over sharing. “I'm sorry I don't mean to chew your ear off with my relationship problems" she says apologizing. He smiles "no. I'm interested. Was he always like that" he asked? She thinks back "no actually". Agent Orange hears noises outside but he doesn't want to alarm Miss Foxx. "Ever since we were kids he was constantly asking me out but I was never interested until we got older. He started acting different ever since he got back from his work trip---" A loud crash over took the room. The window was broken and a constant sound from a small device was beeping. It was getting faster and faster. Agent Orange took Miss Foxx’s hand and they ran through the back door as quickly as they could. Agent Orange pulls Miss foxx behind the tool shed and covers her body for protection just in time. The house blows up and all they can hear is ringing in their ears and all the car alarms were going off on the whole street. "Are you okay" he screamed at her but she couldn't hear him. "What" she screamed back? He got frustrated and stood up to see what was going on. He seen a black Lincoln Continental Mark speeding away from the scene. Catching the first two letters of the license plate K-L. He goes back to get Miss Foxx. "Come on" he said pulling her along. She's in shock as she walks through the debris of her home. He puts her in his maroon 1964 Pontiac GTO that was parked down the street. He gets in and accelerates so fast he left marks on the street. Agent Orange hits a big bump in the road and Miss Foxx shock begins to wear off. She starts to scream grabbing on to anything she can. "Wait. What are you doing? Where are you going? What happened?" "Will you stop asking so many questions I'm trying to concentrate". He reaches a good distance to the Lincoln and grabs his gun out. "W-What are you doing" she asks stuttering? He puts his hand out the window and shoots but the kick back knocks the gun out of his hand landing on the floor. A man from the passenger side in the Lincoln climbs to the back braking the back window returning fire. "Get down" Agent Orange demands as he pushes her head down. He starts to swerve back and forth hoping they don't get a clear shot of the car. Miss Foxx is hunched over praying she don't die and then she spots the gun. Something rushed over her body and when the bullets stopped firing she unexpectedly picked up Agent Orange's glock and stuck her head out to shoot. Eventually cops got wind of the speed chase and was on their tail. She fired her last bullet hitting the driver in shoulder before the cops put a road block up stopping them while the others escaped. Cops pulled out a megaphone. "This is the police. Throw your weapon out the window and come out nice and slow with your hands up". Miss Foxx rolls her eyes "Jeez, how cliche" she retorts scornfully.

Chapter 2
After they were captured by the police Agent Orange and Miss Foxx were put in separate interviewing rooms. Miss foxx was in her room alone walking around nervously. She walks up to the two way mirror and notices her ruined makeup. "Great I look like a hooker" she exclaimed as she sat down huffing and puffing. In the next room the chief of police was questioning Agent Orange. "So, if you really are FBI then why are you not following protocol" he pauses "and stalking residential homes" he asked sardonically? Agent Orange looks up surprised. The chief was nodding his head smiling confidently. "Yeah, we got eye witnesses that places you at the house right before it blew up" he barked aggressively pointing down at the file. Agent Orange fixes his tie and clears his throat. He leans in "I'm going to level with you. I am acting outside of the law for a good reason." Not buying his answer the chief crosses his arms "and what reason is that" he said humoring him. Agent Orange cracked a smile and whispered "it's need to know and you don't need to know. The chief got angry and stood up knocking over the chair. He started to walk out the room when Agent Orange nonchalantly says "now let me out of these cuffs before the big guys down at the bureau here about your insubordination. You have no right retaining a federal officer. Your way out of your jurisdiction on this one". The chief looks like a vein is going to burst in his head but calmly tells his officers "uncuff him" and he storms away. The officer takes the cuffs off Agent Orange and he stands up rubbing his wrists. "Ah, Miss Foxx" he asked? The officer points at the room next door. He walks over and watches her talking to herself through the mirror. He stops and studies her erratic behavior for a moment cracking a smile before walking in. She gets scared when he barges in. "Come on, let's go" he said as he grabbed her hand again pulling her out of the room and quickly out the precinct doors. "Wait. Where are we going now?" He shakes his head "more questions ". She rips her hand away and stops. He turns around baffled. "You keep pulling me into these dangerous situations. My life was okay until you burst right through it" she begins raising her voice. "My boyfriend left me and the FBI is looking for him, I was almost blown up, I could have been shot and look." She points to her scratches around her body. “I could have broke something so excuse me for asking questions". He stops her "okay" he said. He looked around and pulled her off to the side. "For a year I’ve been working on a case pertaining to missing children. These children have no connection with one another. They are from different states all over the country. I may have gotten too close" He pulled a picture out of his jacket pocket and showed it to her. "That's my little girl. Whoever is taken these children took her from me. I got too involved, made some mistakes and was demoted to desk duty". He walked over to his car and opened the trunk pulling out a confidential file out of a briefcase. "Until this landed on my desk with a note saying this will lead you to your daughter". Miss foxx opens the file and pulls out a picture of an old ancient artifact. "Our address is on the back". Agent Orange nods his head. "I don't understand what does this artifact or we have to do with your daughters kidnapping"? Agent Orange becomes agitated and grabbed his head running his fingers through his hair "I don't know. But I did see your boyfriend put that exact artifact in his bag before he left". She puts the file back in the case and Agent Orange slams the trunk. " You think Davis is connected to this" she asked? They walked to each side of the front doors of the car. "that’s what I’m trying to find out. I could really use your help" he asked surely. "I don't know" she said hesitantly. "You know what, this is getting a bit dangerous. I’ll take you somewhere safe. There's no way you can go home". The concern he had for her safety through her off guard and put a smile on her face. When they drove off the Lincoln Continental creeps out of a driveway and follows them.

During the drive they were sitting awkwardly in silence until Miss Foxx decided to break the ice. "So, you have a daughter does that mean your married" she asked timidly? With his eyes straight on the road he answered "once upon a time". She looks at him and nods her head awkwardly. She looks at the road then back to him "so... what happened?" He completely ignores the question pointing at the sign "we should be there any minute. 5 miles left" he said. Miss Foxx looks at the sign "New Haven"? "Yeah, I got a buddy that's a bit of a recluse. He has been living out here since he retired". "It doesn't seem like there is much out here” she quipped. "Like I said he's a bit of a recluse" he reiterated. She shrugged her shoulders and he sped up. The Lincoln was still following behind them but he hung back a little so they didn't spot the car. Agent Orange turns onto a dirt road and drives up to a cabin. An older man with gray hair wearing a flannel with blue jeans greets them with a shotgun. Orange gets out of the car with his hands up. "Ryder it's me" he cried. "I know" he said in a really deep voice. He cocks the gun and puts his finger on the trigger. "Alright, listen I’m sorry but I need your help okay. I got a witness here who needs protection". He points at Foxx. Ryder looks around and notices her sitting in the front seat. "What kind of trouble you get yourself into now" he exclaimed lowering the gun and walking back into the cabin. Agent Orange signals Miss Foxx to come out of the car but she's hesitant. "Come on. It's okay". She gets out wearily grabbing Orange's arm has he directed her into the cabin. Ryder was kneeling down at the fireplace adding more wood to the fire. "I guess you’ll be wanting some tea" he gets up and walks into the kitchen. Agent Orange has Miss Foxx sit in a chair by the fire and Ryder grabs Orange aggressively pulling him into the kitchen. "I told you to never come here" he said whispering but in an angry tone. "I know but this is about Violet." Ryder loosens his grip "and the girl" he asked?"She got caught in the middle. Someone tried blowing us up in her house”. Ryder fills a kettle up with water and puts it on the stove lighting the burner on high. "Did you ask her what she knew"? Orange shakes his head no in a joking matter "of course I did. She doesn't know anything". "So, what is the new information you got" Ryder asked? "Let me go grab the file from the car". The whistle on the tea kettle blew while Orange ran outside and Ryder made the tea for Miss Foxx "here you go". "Thank you" she replied. He sits down next to her and says "so... I guess you had a rough night huh Miss ah..." . She hesitated "Foxx". He chuckles yeah okay Miss Foxx" he said sounding condescending. "Listen, you know Orange ain't right." She looks at him perplexed. "I was his partner at the bureau. He's been obsessed with finding out what happened to his "daughter" he said with air quotes. “ His last case went awry” he said. "What do you mean”she asked? Well, he supposedly had a contact that tipped him off about a little girl in this abandon building. Without thinking we go in and interrupt a mob weapons deal. Guns go off agents were shot. I got hurt ending up in a coma for a couple of months. My career was over after that. People started rumors that he’s making all of this up and he was discharged from the bureau” “I don’t understand. The house blew up people where shooting at us" she started to get hysterical. “Listen, I am sure the danger you are in is real. I’m not sure if what he told you is." Miss Foxx is sitting there stunned not knowing what to believe. "It all started when his wife died" Ryder continued. She thought back when they were in the car and she had asked him if he was married and he said "once upon a time...". Chills shoot down her spine not knowing what she was involved in. During Miss Foxx and Ryder's conversation Orange is outside searching for the file but it was nowhere to be found; the brief case had disappeared from the trunk. "Dammit" he screamed. In the midst of his frustration he hears a twig break and some rustling through the brush. He pulls out his gun and slowly goes to investigate. When Agent Orange reaches around the side of the cabin he sees footprints in the mud. He can tell from the print that it's a man probably over 6 foot and 200 some pounds wearing a size 12 shoe. Another sound penetrated his ear drum startling him. He stands up quickly and rushes around the house to catch who ever is stalking around the cabin. He turns the corner to find fallen logs. He looks up in to the window and sees a rugged man with long black hair and a five 0’clock shadow creeping in the front door with a revolver in his hand. The man subtly aims the gun at Miss Foxx ready to pull the trigger when Agent Orange storms through the back door surprising everyone. Ryder reaches for his shotgun and Orange takes the shot hitting the intruder in the stomach. Miss Foxx hits the floor for shelter. The back lash of the bullet entering the rugged man pulls the trigger and fires his gun accidentally hitting Ryder in the chest. Orange gets infuriated when he soaks in the events that had just took place. Seeing his partner get shot filled him with an abundance of anger. He sees the man trying to crawl away from the cabin leaving a trail of blood. Orange rushes outside holding up his glock to his enemy. "What did you do? What did you do"? he repeated in a dismal tone. The man started to cough up blood "you did it" he answered with a malevolent laugh. He cocks the gun and Orange is trigger ready. Right when he is about to squeeze Miss Foxx runs out "No" she cried. He releases the trigger trying to fight the urge. He aggressively pushes the gun to the mans face. "He deserves to die". "Don't go down a road you can't come back from. Your better than this" she said. She starts to walk over to him wearily. "How do you know we just met". "Cause I've seen it. You've been protecting me through all of this and because you’re an agent for the FBI. Your one of the good guys right? Come on you have been searching for your daughter for a long time. Don’t give up on her now" she continued to talk him down running her hand down his arm. Pushing the gun away from the mans head. Orange takes a deep breath loosening his grip on the gun and Miss Foxx rips it out of his hand now pointing it at him. "What are you doing" he asked confused? She's shaking going back and forth pointing it at Orange and pointing it at the stranger. "Your crazy. Your fucking crazy. I know your daughter is not really kidnapped." "Wait, what" he said? She nods her head "yeah, I know your not with the bureau anymore". Orange starts walking towards her with his hands up gently "Okay. I admit I was discharged from the bureau but I did not lie about my Violet." She still does not believe him "oh, yeah and your wife? How did your wife die?Huh?" Now Agent Orange gets annoyed. He was giving her the benefit of the doubt seeing what she has been through but she went too far. "Okay, enough of this" he said walking forcefully towards her to take the gun. She gets scared but she is conflicted about shooting him. Before he reached her he was hit in the back of the head and knocked out.

Chapter 3
Agent Orange was on the ground starting to come to and he can barely make out his surroundings. The sound of heavy rain was drowning out the muffled sounds of Miss Foxx screaming for help. He looks up and his vision was blurry but witnessed her being tossed into his GTO. He watched the car pull away has he blinked a few times trying to regulate his vision. He tries getting up feeling little disoriented but it does not slow him down. He notices the pool of blood on the ground but realizing the intruder with the gun was who took her. Orange runs into the house grabbing Ryder’s shot gun and running out the back door. The man must of got here some how he thought. He ran through the woods for a minute and was getting hopeless when he spotted tire tracks. He followed the tracks down to the Lincoln that he had chased the night before. He was surprised because the car looked brand new like the car was not in a shoot out. He runs over to the car but all the doors were locked. He broke the drivers side window using his elbow. He uses the gun to knock all the remaining shards and put his arm in to unlock the door from the inside. When he gets in he puts the shotgun on the passengers seat but realized there was no key to start the car. He hits the steering wheel "today is not my day" he shouts. He looked around the car. In the glove department he finds a couple of passports to Greece and I.D.'s with pseudo names. He uses one of the plastic I.D. cards to pry open the steering panel. He pulls out wires and uses his teeth to gently remove the covering twisting two wires together starting the car. The car revs up "yes" he screams and taking off on the double. In the GTO the man is pointing a gun at Miss Foxx while he was trying to drive. However, he keeps falling in and out of consciousness from losing too much blood. The car keeps shifting from lane to lane and she is afraid he will accidentally pull the trigger. In a moment of bravery she knocked the gun out of his hand and yanked the steering wheel to the right. The man fell unconscious and his foot pushed down on the accelerator. The car was pointing directly to a wall. Miss Foxx jumped out right before it hit but she did not get out unscathed. Orange pulled up screeching the breaks extremely loud. He runs out concerned for her safety. "You okay" he asked? She turned over revealing that she was scraped up pretty badly on her arms and legs and it appeared that her wrist was broken. He shakes his head sympathetic and police sirens echoed in the distance. He helps her up and finally notices his car "my god. Look at my baby". He looks furious and he rips the man out of the car which the force wakes him from his sluggish state. "Who do you work for" he yells in his face? He tries to talk but he begins choking on his own blood. He reluctantly went in his pocket and pulled out a business card with numbers on the back and handed it to Agent Orange. The man took his last breath then died. Orange let him go and he can hear the sirens getting closer now. He didn't have time to study the card so, he put it in his pocket and ran over to Miss Foxx to help her into the car. She passed right out from exhaustion and pain as Orange took off driving her to a hospital.

Hours later Miss Foxx wakes up a bit mystified. Realizing she was in a hospital room she looks around and notices Agent Orange sitting on a chair next to her bed studying the business card. "Hey" she says painfully. He looks up and walks over "how you feeling" he asked? She struggles to sit up. "My head hurts" she answers. He nods his head "yeah, you have a mild concussion and a broken wrist. Some scrapes and bruises" he added. She looks down at her wrapped wrist dismayed . "What is that" she asked pointing at the card in his hand? He's hesitant but answers "um. The guy had it on him. It's definitely a clue we should look into". She heard the word we and looked troubled. "I need to know the truth first before WE go anywhere” she emphasized. “I'm having trouble with who to trust. I"m so confused" she expressed apprehensive. Orange agrees pulling the chair over. He sits on it backwards leaning his arms against the back of the chair for support. "What kind of truth are you looking for" he asked? "For starters why Agent Orange"? He chuckles "well, it was my first day after I graduated the academy and I was late . When I was rushing into the conference room, my bag fell and an orange rolled out right up to my superiors feet. I had no idea that my wife had even packed me a lunch." She started laughing and he joined her reminiscing. "The guys in the room laughed at me and Ryder was there. He's the one that started calling me Agent Orange and it just stuck". His smile on his face descended into a frown and Miss Foxx notices. "Hey. I'm sorry about Ryder ". He reassures her "it's not your fault". She turns away thinking about her next question and decided to ask "and your wife? What happened to her"? He becomes more crestfallen during his explanation "she had breathing problems for a while after one of her archaeology trips out of the country. When we finally decided to get it checked we found that she had these fungal spores growing on her lungs and it was preventing her from breathing normally. I don't know it got infected or something spread to her other organs. Eventually, they just began shutting down. There was nothing they could do. " Foxx's heart breaks for Agent Orange and she reaches over to grab his hand. After a moment of comfort she asks nervously "and your daughter"? He pulls his hand away while he stood up and turning away from her. "I was so distraught after losing my wife I distanced myself from my daughter. I wasn't there making sure she was up for school in the mornings or if she ate dinner. I lost my self in this case. Ryder was trying his best to look out for her. He really stepped up when I couldn’t". He turned back around and looked at her in the eyes with such anguish. "Then one day she just didn't come home. She 11 years old. I was so sick to my stomach. How could I just let that happen. I promised myself I would not rest until I found her." He covers his mouth with his hand getting a little choked up. "A year later I couldn't crack these missing girl cases. The closest I thought I got left Ryder injured, a witness killed and me jobless." Miss Foxx jumps up out of bed forcefully not worrying about her injuries to hug Agent Orange. At first he was hesitant to hug her back. "We will find her" she reassured him? Hearing her say those words made him wrap his arms around her and pull her close tightly. During their embrace the doctor walks in and interrupts "oh, I'm sorry. I can come back" he said. They let go of each other "oh, no.” she said. “Is there a way to speed up the discharge process. There's actually somewhere WE need to be" she emphasized. Agent Orange looks at her and smiles. "I'll see what I can do" the doctor answered?

Chapter 4
Orange was waiting outside the hospital standing against a rented car. Miss Foxx walks out of the doors and Agent Orange opens the car door helping her into her seat. He runs around to the other side "so, where's our next clue" she asks? Orange pulls out the card he got off of the guy from his pocket. "Well, this looks like a business card for a mechanic. I'm guessing this is how he got his car fixed so quickly". She nods her head in agreement while Orange pulls off. They were driving for a few miles before reaching their destination. There was a man standing outside of the building smoking a cigarette. He had long salt and pepper curly hair with the beard to match wearing a leather vest. He sees Agent Orange getting out of the car and he flicked his cigarette before walking back into the building. Orange and Foxx walks up to the door and he notices a bunch of Harley Davidson motorcycles parked out front. He gets a little nervous predicting a fight the moment he stepped into the door. Miss Foxx goes to open the door. "You know" he shouts. Which startles her and stopping her from opening the door. "I think you should wait out here" he expressed with passion. "Why? I told you we were going to figure this out together" she repeated to him again. “Listen, I have a gut feeling it is going to get ugly and if things go wrong” she cuts him off “yada, yada. I get it” she retorted on her way back to the car. He opened the door revealing a few guys working on a car and a couple more men working on some bikes. Orange looked around observing his surrounds and he notices the man who was smoking a cigarette on the phone before he walked out of his office "can I help you" he asked in a raspy voice? Agent Orange pulls out the business card and he walks up to him "this is your place right" he asked? The man takes the card "this is my place yeah. Who's asking" he said while throwing the card on the floor. Orange watched as the card hit the floor and he cleared his throat. Foxx was getting impatient and decided to sneak up to the window that lead into the mans office and it was open enough for her to climb through. "I had a friend who had his car fixed here and it was incredibly fast and extremely excellent work" he said has he gave him a patronizing thumbs up. All the other bikers all stand up and begin crowding around him. Miss Foxx watches him getting nervous. "Look, I'm just looking for some answers. Maybe you remember my friend. He had a Lincoln Continental Mark. Color black." The man nods and the guys in the garage pull out chains and wrenches and begin to surround him. Miss foxx quickly fishes around the office looking for anything useful and Orange takes a deep breath clamming up watching his enemies closely. Running out of time Miss Foxx gets worried until the sound of a dial tone grabs her attention. She looks over at the phone noticing that it was off the hook. She sits down at the desk and she fixes the phone. Next to the phone was a note pad. She looked at it closely and tried to make out what was once written down. She looked around the desk and grabbed a pencil. She lightly shaded the note pad with the pencil. The bikers were closing in on Orange and one of them tried to intimidate him by smack the chain on the ground. The sound startled Foxx and she ripped the piece of paper off the note pad and quickly climbed back out the window. One biker grabbed Orange from behind and he struggled in his arms as another biker ran towards him with a thick heavy chain. He uses his weight to throw himself back kicking the biker in the chest before he got too close and as his weight came back down he brought the man holding him down with him. The force loosened the grip and Orange managed to escape. As he got up another man in a bandanna was running toward him with a bat. He exhales in exhaustion and the biker swings. Orange ducks and dodges as he backs up into a corner. He swings the bat again and Orange catches it playing tug of war with him. The man throws Orange against the wall choking him with the bat. He looks around and he notices a file on the table next to him with a name on it but he can not find anything within reach to defend himself with. He grabs the bat struggling to push it away from his throat when a loud crash disrupts the bikers concentration. The biker looks over and Orange punches him in the face. When he went down Orange looks over and seen all the other bikers under a bunch of debris. He looks up and his rental car went all the way through the garage. Miss Foxx gets out “let’s go”she shouts. He shakes his head no “we didn’t get any answers yet”. The sound of a gun cocks “and you ain’t getting any” the leader steps out his office with a revolver in his hand . “Do you wanna go now” she asked? “Shit” he yelled as he started running towards the car. The man pulled the trigger and missed. Foxx got back into the car and got ready to take off. The man pulled the trigger again and got Orange in the arm but he didn’t stop. She opened the door for him from inside and he hopped in. Foxx took off before Orange could even slam the door. “Get up you assholes. Go after them”. Once they thought they were in the clear the sound of motorcycles began to rumble the streets. Miss Foxx keeps looking in the rear view mirror concerned. Orange is holding his arm exhausted “oh, hell no.” Orange gets up to look behind him and sees the bikers ganging up on them. “Miss Foxx step on it”. She tries to floor it but it was too late. Bikes pulled up on both sides of the car. One guy with a chain broke the hind window. Orange put his arm over his head to protect his face when the glass shattered and Foxx screamed. A couple more guys were banging the car with metal bats trying to run them off the road. Foxx swerved a few times while she was freaking out “what are we going to do? What are we going to do?” The other back window was knocked out and Orange was looking around for something in the car but it was a rental and he didn’t have his gun anymore. “I don’t know” he shouted back. While they were being chased Orange spots a police cruiser on the side of the road. “Go off road”. She looks confused “what?” “Go off road. Go off road” he repeated. She unexpectedly swerved to the right throwing the bikers off driving on the sidewalk knocking down a couple of signs drawing the attention of the officer. “Okay, get back over and slow down a little bit”. “And let them catch back up again are you crazy” she was yelling at him. “Just trust me” he yelled back. She looked in his eyes and she was hesitant at first but he looked confident, so she complied. They continued down the road waiting for the bikers to reach them again. When they caught up they began whacking the car again and Orange had a huge smile on his face sticking up his middle finger. The officer witnessing the crime while in pursuit radio's in for back up. He puts his siren on and precedes to chase them down. The closer he got the louder the siren was. The bikers finally realized the police cruiser was all over them and they started backing down. Soon there was a ramp they took leading them onto the highway leaving the bikers to get pulled over. After a few miles they stopped at a gas station, Foxx was in the store and Orange was sitting on the hood waiting for her. She walked out with first aid supplies. "Are you okay" she asked? "Yeah, he got me a little in the arm there". She looks squeamish as she sees blood dripping down his arm. “Okay, let me clean it up” she turns to grab the first aid but stops when she notices Agent Orange taking off his shirt revealing his muscles that was full of dirt and dripping sweat. "I haven't really had the time to get a shower been a little preoccupied" he said while wiping himself off with his shirt. Miss Foxx gets a little flustered "oh, no. You look great. I mean okay. You-you look okay". She turns red and he smiles "so you gonna stand there all day". She nervously laughs and walks over to him. She pours a lot of peroxide on a towel and dabs his wound. "Ah" he shouted as it was burning his wound. "Sorry, sorry" she exclaimed. "Miss Foxx". "Yeah" she answered flirty thinking they were still having a moment. "Remind me again what is your fiancee’s name"? Her amorous smile fell to a scowl and she got defensive "why" she replied? "Something I thought I saw while the bat was cutting off my oxygen” he said". She laughs "you can't really believe that my fiancee is mixed up with those bikers". "Have you forgotten everything that has happened the past couple of days We can’t rule nothing out". She exhales "his name is Davis, Davis Johnson." Agent Orange jumps off the car looking quite intrigued "and what does he do Miss Foxx" he asked? "He's a college professor. He teaches languages". He turns around swiftly "wait, so that would consider him to be a doctor"? She shook her head "well, yeah he has a PhD". Agent Orange gets all excited I seen a file that said Dr. Davis Johnson back at the garage. He slams his fists down on the hood in frustration “I wish I could of got my hands on that file. We hit a dead end”. “I wouldn’t say that exactly” she said while reaching into her pocket to pull out the sticky note. “So, then what would you call it” he rhetorically asked? She shut him up when she shoved the note in his face. His face immediately lit up and he grabbed it out of her hand “this is an address” he shouts excitedly. “Yes it is” she said smiling. She put his detective skills to shame he looked at her impressed and she was acting a bit cocky. “Your amazing” he said giving her a kiss on the cheek. She was taken aback unexpectedly with the static sensation that just overtook her body. Orange grabbed his shirt to put it back on before getting into the car. She took a second looking out at the road while her hair was blowing in the wind. She closed her eyes while touching her chest. “Come on Miss Foxx we are losing day light”. She took a deep breath and got into the car. Orange could not hold back the faith he had “Violet, daddy’s coming to find you” he said out loud before they drove away.

Chapter 5
As they were driving Agent Orange looks at the phone number written down and realizes it was the same number from the back of the business card he retrieved from Foxx’s kidnapper. Orange spotted a phone booth “pull over here” he said. Miss Foxx pulls into a gas station and they walk up to a pay phone and he dials the number. A lady answers the phone “Wagner Hotel. May I help you”. He covers the bottom half of the phone “it’s a hotel” he whispers to Foxx. “Hello” the woman repeats. “Ah, yes my girlfriend and I was wondering if you had any rooms available.” She pushes him “Ah, I mean my family and I are on vacation and would like a room”. “Of course, sir we have a few”. “Good and where are you located” he asked? “2 West Street”. He looks at Foxx “huh, in”? “I’m sorry” she asked? “In what city”? Manhattan, New York.” As soon as Orange got his information a bullet pierced the phone breaking it in his ear. He looks around and sees a blond woman shooting at them. Foxx begins to run to the car but Orange screams at her to ditch it. “So, what are we gonna do” she asked? Another bullet pierced the car tire and the whistling of the air coming out gave her chills. Orange looks around and spots a cab driver filling up his tank. Orange grabs her hand and they run up to him “can we get a ride to the bus station” he asked him. “You pay fair”? Orange nods his head “of course”. “Where are we going” she asked while catching her breath. “To Wagner Hotel in Manhattan, New York.” The three of them quickly jump into the cab. “Davis goes to New York all the time for conferences” she expressed excitedly. Agent Orange looks back and sees that the shooter was still coming for them “step on it” Orange shouted at the driver. The next bullet hit a gas tank and it blew. “Oh my goodness” the cab driver said slowing down. Orange waved money in his face “do not stop”. “No problem sir” he agreed. The bus left as soon as they got their tickets and Miss Foxx slept the whole way leaving Agent Orange with his thoughts. He stared at his daughters picture with hope for the first time. He was so wired he couldn’t sleep if he tried.

Orange and Foxx made it to New York and took the subway to Manhattan. It left them off a few blocks from the hotel. Orange was walking swiftly down the street and Foxx was trying to keep up “So, what’s the plan” she asked? “What do you mean”? “What are we going to go to this Hotel and be like, hey just wanting to know do you have a Davis Johnson staying here by chance”. They get to the door and stop Orange looks at her and nods “yeah” he said opening the door. She rolls her eyes “great plan” she sarcastically commented following him in. They walk up to the desk and Orange awkwardly scoops her into his arms and she laughs “Hi, my wife and I are here for a conference talk on foreign languages and I was wondering if professor Davis Johnson was staying here. I’m a huge fan” he asks in a professional tone. Trying to compose herself Miss Foxx tries looking away. The woman looks mortified “I’m sorry sir but I cannot disclose that information”. Miss Foxx gets herself together enough to try “we understand” she says pushing Orange off of her “he’s actually my brother. I am Mr. Johnson’s girlfriend and I suspect he is cheating on me right now. So I was hoping you know girl to girl if you could bend the rules for me”. The woman stares at her not believing her lies and picks up the phone “security”. Orange slides Foxx over “okay I had enough of this lady I’m FBI.” He searches his pockets for his badge but cannot find it. “Yeah, okay” the woman said. Security shows up escorting them out the door. “FUCK” Orange screams. “I lost everything. My car, my gun and now my badge”. “Well, not everything” she bats her eyes “you didn’t lose me” she jest to cheer him up. He waves her off storming across the busy street to take a walk in Battery Park. Fifteen minutes later Foxx found Orange sitting on a bench feeding the pigeons looking hopeless but she was smiling. She showed him a brochure. “What is this”? “This is a showing of ancient antiques being shown right down the street at the Battery Park City Library to honor their new collection of research found on ancient artifacts.” He hands it back to her “so what”? She looks discouraged “so what? You don’t think it is a coincidence that the address that we found in the garage that has a connection to Davis who is in possession of this artifact lead us to a hotel right down the street from these old relic thingies”. He stands up “coincidence or not it does not mean that it will lead us anywhere”. She clears her throat “now what was it you just said to me..oh yeah, we can’t rule nothing out”. Orange exhales “your right”. Foxx grabs his hand and pulls him to come on.
When they made it to the library there was a crowd of people in awe of the objects and all of its mythology history. They looked around and Agent Orange spotted a picture of the artifact he was looking for on a giant banner across the room. A man carrying books wearing a lanyard was walking by “excuse me sir” Orange said. The man stopped and Orange pointed at the artifact “is there way to figure out info on that relic” he asked? The man complied “follow me” he said. Orange and Foxx followed him to his desk and he began typing on his computer. “I’m sorry that book has been checked out”. Orange’s instincts start tingling “can you tell me by who”? The man looks back to his computer “ah, Dr. Davis Johnson”. A man on the balcony above them poked his head up and looked down. Looking uneasy he grabbed his things in a hurry. Agent Orange and Miss Foxx stared at each other “he could still be here” Orange said to her. “Is there any information at all you can tell me about this object” he asked the man? “So, this artifact is rather new to us but we had it carbon dated and we came to the conclusion that it is really old like B.C. old. It was founded in the ruins of Greece a couple of years ago. To my knowledge it was used for many different kinds of rituals but the most common is that it was believed that in ancient Greece the people sacrificed the blood of children to Hades to be granted eternal life. Sick shit right” he added but still with fascination in his voice. Greece he thought to himself trying to piece somethings together. “You said it was found in Greece”? The man nodded his head. “Does it say who discovered the artifact”? “It does actually “an archaeologist named Teresa Knox”. Orange did not have time to react before Foxx spotted Davis trying to get out the doors “there he is” she shouted and they both went running after him.

Chapter 6
They made it back to the hotel and saw him go in room 308. “Davis, come out it’s over”. All they can hear is scattering in the room and Orange bangs on the door. “Davis, please just come out so we can talk” Foxx pleaded. Banging on the door again other guests of the hotel was looking out of their rooms. “That’s it Orange stood back to give him space to kick the door. A man down the hall screamed security is on their way but that did not phase Orange. He kicked the door again and again until the door broke open. The room was a mess there was papers all over the room. Orange ran over to the open window and seen Davis. He turned and looked at Foxx “your crazy ass fiancee is really climbing down the scaffolding.” Orange picks up the artifact book and all the papers he can until security came barging into the room. They were being detained but not arrested down at the station. While they were being held he was granted to look at his evidence he gathered up from Davis’s room. “Look at this there is payments made to the garage. There is a list of all the children’s names who were kidnapped. Violets name is on here. Receipts for plane tickets to Greece for today. Coordinates written down”. Foxx was researching the Artifact in the book. Showing him pictures of what the ruins looked like and where the apparent rituals were done. “I’m still confused” she said. “How does Davis fit into all of this. There is no way he is behind it all. I mean we are sure that the kids were kidnapped to be sacrificed right?” Orange nods his head “look at this he grabs another piece of paper with some kind of foreign writing on it.” Foxx turns the page in the book “oh my god look”. It is a picture of a template that looks like the exact writing on the page. “He is being used to recite the ritual think about it. He is a skilled professor of linguistics. He’s probably the only one who can read ancient Greek” Foxx said. “But who is he working for” Orange said while he scrolled through the book. He stopped at a group of numbers 03242020. He grabbed the paper with the numbers on it. “Look these are the same numbers I thought they were coordinates or something”. “It’s not” she said. Orange picked up a pen and put slashes through the numbers. 03/24/2020 “Its a date” he said. Foxx responded “that’s tomorrow. We don’t have much time.” The captain of the precinct comes charging in “alright, I gave you enough time. I need to ask you some questions “sir” Orange interrupts him. “I know you want answers but so do I. It is really important that I speak with Director Abbott right away. The captain agrees and has an officer escort him to the phone. “You got there minutes”. Orange takes the phone off the hook and dials the bureau. “Director Abbott. It’s Agent Orange I have some important information”. Abbott cuts him off “Orange. You have a lot of balls if you don’t come in now I won’t be able to save you.” “Sir, with all do respect I know what has been happening”. He cuts him off again “cut the shit Agent. You’re a rabid dog that needs to be put down. Sorry kid.” Director Abbott hangs up and Orange gets angry slamming the phone repeatedly until the lights go out in the precinct. He drops the phone and runs to go get Miss Foxx. The blond woman that has been following them shows up with night vision goggles taking out anyone who stands in her way of her target. Orange makes it back to the room “what is happening” she asked with a quiver in her voice. “We have to go” he said. He grabs her hand and pulls her to the ground “stay low” he said as they began to crawl out of the room. Sounds of a machine gun goes off and Foxx grabs her ears it was so loud. Officers return fire shouting “five minutes until back up generator”. Still low to the ground Orange and Foxx continues to crawl. They are a few feet from the door. Foxx bumps into a dead body laying on the middle of the station floor and screams. More bullets were sprayed across the room while slight light from the street lit their way out. Once the blond woman ran out of ammo Orange grabbed Foxx’s hand “come on” he shouted as they made a run for it. The blond threw her gun away grabbing a hand gun from behind her back. Orange grabs the police cruisers keys from the captains desk stealing a car and racing it to the airport.

Chapter 7
Now on the plane to Greece they have nothing to do but anxiously wait until they land. Foxx can tell that Agent Orange’s mind was elsewhere. She places her hand over his gently “we will find her in time” she said to comfort him. He pulls his hand away and she feels slighted “it’s not that. There is something that is not sitting well with me”. She looks at him gesturing him to continue “well, the archaeologist that found the artifact was my wife.” Miss foxx looks stunned “I don’t know it’s strange. Why is my wife and my daughter connected to my case. I have to be missing something. It feels personal. There’s no way this is Davis I don’t even know him” he said stressed out. He turned to look out the window and contemplate. Foxx feels helpless but there was nothing she could do.
They reach Greece and Orange is in a rush off of the plane “come on. I might have one last contact and that’s all I need”. He phoned in a favor and waited in the city for shipment to arrive. A parachute was descending down attached to a wooden box. When it hit ground Orange opened it up and it contained weapons, money, first aid and directions to Acropolis of Lindos where the apparent rituals took place. The only means of transportation were an hour ride by donkeys. When they reached the outside of the ruins they got off and trek the rest by foot. Agent Orange held his magnum tight as they searched the premise. It was rocky terrain and they had to scale boulders to reach inside the temple. It was eerily quiet and Orange snuck around a cement wall. He hears some rustling in the shadows “who’s there. Come out Davis. You might as well I have a gun aimed at you”. Slowly footsteps echoed throughout the temple and a young girl appeared. Orange’s facial expression loosened up “Violet” he whispered lowering his gun. As she stepped out further out of the dark he noticed a knife pressed up to her throat and it was Ryder. His ex FBI partner that had his daughter and Davis snuck up behind Foxx grabbing her in a way she could not escape. Orange had no idea where to aim he was switching off pointing the gun at Ryder than at Davis and back to Ryder again. “I don’t understand. I thought you were dead” he said confused. Ryder shrugged his shoulders “bulletproof vest with a blood packet. All part of the plan”. Orange still cannot believe his eyes “you. You had my daughter this whole time” he said starting to walk toward them. “I wouldn’t if I were you” Ryder said slicing a small slit in violets throat. “Daddy” she shouts frightened. Watching blood drip down his daughters neck infuriated him. “I’m going to kill you” Orange spouted. Ryder laughed “but I’m already dead”. Orange mustered up the word “why”? Ryder gets excited “and there it is. So typical. Why? Who cares why it’s eternal life”. Orange shakes his head “your fucking crazy. You know it’s all coming back to me Teresa would tell myth stories at dinner.” Ryder closed his eyes to take a trip down memory lane “she was always so passionate about artifacts. She really believed this stuff was real”. Orange realized something “you were in love with her. Weren’t you” he asked? “You didn’t deserve her” he shouted. “So, because I didn’t deserve her going to kill her daughter. To live forever” Ryder laughed “looks like you didn’t do your research Agent. There’s a ritual to bring back the dead. In order for the ritual to be complete it has to be you own flesh and blood.” Orange looks puzzled but before he had a chance to respond a bullet pierced Ryder’s head out of nowhere. His grip on Violet was loosened and she ran into her father’s arms. Davis let go of Miss Foxx and was trembling in fear. He grabbed the Relic but before he could get away foxx punched him in the face knocking him out. “What the hell did I ever see in you anyway” she recited out loud. She met with Orange watching his blissful reunion with his daughter but it was interrupted by the blond woman. Orange stands up straight waiting for her to attack.Violet grabs him tight afraid someone was going to take her away from him again. Even Miss Foxx stood behind Agent Orange looking to be protected. The blond woman throws her gun on the ground “you’re a tough get Agent” she said. She put her hand out “Agent Doll.” Orange cautiously shakes her hand. “You guys can get out of here. I’ll call Director Abbott and get this mess cleaned up. Nice work”. “What about the other missing children” he asked? They were recovered a few miles from here alive. Your free and clear. Now get out of her” Agent Dolls said. They scatter out of the temple bewildered “so, she’s not trying to kill us anymore”. “I don’t think so but let’s get out of here before she changes her mind”. “DONKEYS” Violet shouts running over to pet them. “Sweetie be careful” he said as Miss Foxx grabs his arm. “What” he asked? She looked at him sincerely “do you think Ryder meant that Violet” he interrupts her “is not mine” he takes a deep breath “it doesn’t matter Violet is my daughter no matter what”. She smiles at him not believing how gracious he is being about the situation. “ Layla” she admitted. “What” he asked? “Layla Adams” she repeated. She finally told him her name. He smiled “Ryan Knox” he told her his real name right back. She repeated his name “Ryan Knox” as she put her hand out to give him a hand shake “nice to meet you” she said. He takes her hand pulling her close to kiss her instead. “Dad, can we go home now” Violet says interrupting their moment. He pulls away smiling “yeah, let’s go home”. He throws his arm around Layla as they walked stagnant away from the ruins.
© Copyright 2020 Kerr Cole (ghostwriter003 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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