Outcome of Chapter 14 Plot Hinge: One May 4th, the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Nashville Predators 1-0. As a result, Agent Filbert Munroe, AKA Coyote Jack, will not die from the gunshot wound he suffered after saving Isabella.
Don’t throw up, don’t throw up, don’t throw up. Will repeated this mantra in his head as he pressed firmly over the oozing bullet hole in Coyote Jack’s back. The back of the speeding SUV looked like a slaughterhouse. Tina muttered under her breath in German as she frantically attempted to keep the man from dying using the meager supplies they had found in a first aid kit under the seat.
“Wu,” Agent Isaiah’s voice came over the vehicle’s comm system. “Report.” Will looked out the back window and saw the Man in Charge behind the wheel of the second SUV.
“We’ve got Munroe stabilized, sir,” Agent Wu replied. “But he’s going to need more than gauze and tape.”
“We need to get him to a hospital!” Tina shouted, her hands and face smeared with blood.
“Hospitals aren’t an option,” Isaiah said.
Tina snapped. “Either we get this man to a doctor right now or he’s dead.”
“I know a doctor,” Isabella said. She had been silent up until now, but the worry in her eyes had been saying loads. Grabbing the GPS device off the dash, she punched in coordinates. “And she’s close.”
“You getting this, boss?” Wu asked as Isabella returned the GPS.
“Got it,” Agent Isaiah said after a pause. “You wouldn’t be leading us into a trap by any chance, would you Medora?”
Isabella shook her head. “Trust me, Donnie. This is the last place I want to be leading you guys to.” She looked at Coyote Jack, half-conscious on Tina and Will’s laps. “But she’s the only chance Filbert’s got right now.”
“This doctor friend of yours have a name?” Agent Isaiah asked.
“Her name’s Alena. Alena Medora… She’s my mother.”
***
25 minutes later the two vehicles pulled into the long winding driveway of a Victorian-style house. Isabella had called ahead using Agent Wu’s phone so Dr. Medora stood on the front porch waiting when they got there. Tina and Isabella were joined by two Agents from Isaiah’s car and they rushed Coyote Jack into the house with Dr. Medora barking orders.
Will hurried to join them. A tight grip on the back of his neck stopped him from getting past the first porch step however. “You come with me,” Agent Isaiah said, hauling Will back toward his SUV. Agents Aurora McCrudden and Jessica Wu stood guard next to the vehicle as the Man in Charge shoved Will into the backseat.
“What are you doing?!” Will shouted, struggling to get out of the arm bar Isaiah now had him in.
“Something I should have done back in Buenos Aires,” he said as Agent McCrudden handed him an 8-inch knife. “This is going to hurt,” he said, in the least sympathetic voice imaginable. Rolling up Will’s sleeve, Agent Isaiah proceeded to slice into Will’s shoulder, smack dab in the middle of his tattoo. Will’s eyes bugged and his mouth gaped silently at the pain.
A few agonizing seconds later, Agent Isaiah was holding a small, bloody chip in his hand.
“That was in my shoulder?!” Will said, stunned. “What is that thing?” Agent Isaiah climbed out of the vehicle and Agent Wu climbed in, with a needle and thread to stitch Will’s shoulder.
“File 92, Mr. Dalton,” Agent Isaiah said, a rare hint of emotion in his voice. “Jack Whyler must have implanted it in you while you were getting your tattoo.”
“That’s insane! Why would he do that?”
“He must have found out that the Windigos were coming for him and needed to hide it,” Agent Isaiah said, cleaning off the chip. “You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Lucky me,” Will said, wincing as Wu’s needle lanced his arm. “I told you I didn’t know anything about File 92.
Will closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain. All this for a stupid chip in his arm that he’d have gladly handed over if he knew he had it. That’s it, he thought. No more tattoos. From what he could piece together, the contents of File 92 and the old journal from the wreck site held the key to finding this lost city of Ma’chavu. But what about the third key Agent Isaiah was looking for back in the Windigo Facility?
Unbelievable. Who would go to all this effort for some nonsense legend?
***
Half an hour later Dr. Medora emerged from the bedroom where she and Tina had been working on Coyote Jack. Agent Isaiah and the rest of the Panama Crew halted their pacing in the hallway. “He’ll live,” Dr. Medora said. Isabella’s shoulders sagged with visible relief. “He’s sleeping but you can go in and see him now if you like. And Izzy,” she said, turning her attention to Isabella. “A word?”
“Yes, mother,” Isabella said, uncharacteristically submissive, following her down the hall.
Will followed Agent Isaiah and the Panama Crew into the bedroom. Tina looked up at them as she wiped her hands on a bloody towel. “How is he?” Isaiah asked her.
“He’s—” Tina started.
“I’m bloody well fine,” Coyote Jack said groggily from the bed. “Where the hell am I?”
Agent Wu rushed to the bedside with a huge smile on her face. “Welcome back, Jack. We’re at Isabella’s mom’s place. We’re safe.”
Coyote Jack furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “What are you talking about – Isabella’s mom’s place? Isabella’s mom is dead.”
A long pause filled the room. Will exchanged confused looks with Tina. “Then who’s—”
“We’ve been set up,” Isaiah said through clenched teeth, drawing his gun. The rest of the Panama Crew snapped to attention as well, grabbing their weapons.
“We’re locked in,” Agent McCrudden said, attempting to open the large double doors.
Agent Isaiah started to say something but Will suddenly found it extremely difficult to focus. The room started to spin and turn fuzzy. The Man in Charge’s voice sounded very far away. Will thought he heard him say something about gas. But that didn’t make sense.
The door to the room opened and Isabella and her mom – or not mom – walked in wearing gas masks. Snatching Agent Isaiah’s gun from his limp hand, Will watched as she grabbed the bag he was carrying. The bag that contained Kruschack’s Journal.
She then reached inside Agent Isaiah’s pocket and pulled out the chip that had been in Will’s shoulder. Agent Isaiah grabbed her wrist as he fell to his knees. Isabella easily shook him off and walked to the bed. Squeezing Coyote Jack’s hand she said something Will couldn’t hear and then followed the other woman out of the room.
Dizziness overtook Will. And then… darkness.
Plot Hinge: Mother’s Day
Isabella Medora has pulled a fast one on Agent Isaiah and his team. She and her accomplice masquerading as her mother have taken the File 92 chip and Kruschack’s Journal. With mothers in mind, we’ll use Mother’s Day (May 13th) as this week’s Plot Hinge.
- If something about mothers or Mother’s Day is trending worldwide on Twitter at 4 pm (EST) on Sunday, May 13th, then Isabella and her “mother” will leave no trace of where they are going, leaving Agent Isaiah and the Panama Crew without a clue to follow.
- If it’s not trending worldwide at that time, then the Panama Crew will find a clue as to where they are going with the chip and journal and they will follow them… assuming they wake up of course.
Chapter 16 goes live on May 17th! How do you like the story so far? Feel free to leave comments below or email me your thoughts, questions and ideas. And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe in the top right of the screen to receive email notifications whenever a new chapter is posted.
