In Search of Fate

Chapter 18: Abduction

Neither sister felt like sleep. They had much to share with each other. It was well past midnight when they were startled by a knock at the door. Eve went to the door and peered through the peep hole. She could only see the top of a bell hop’s hat. “Excuse me; the hotel desk clerk has a small question concerning the name on your reservation.” The clerk’s voice had an unusual, somewhat disconcerting pitch. Maybe, Eve thought, there was a problem with her pseudonym, “Mrs. Browning.” Rather than risk exposing Abel, she had let Sandra make the arrangements using her alias. She was after all under Sandra’s protective custody.

Cautiously, she lifted the chain and cracked the door open. Before she could peer out the opening, the door was slammed in her face. The force of the blow pushed her back, off balance. Tumbling over her own feet, she fell awkwardly on her backside. Standing in the middle of the entrance was a lean, medium-sized man in a ski mask. Elizabeth, who had been sitting on the bed, stood up instinctively and began shouting at the masked man.

“Don’t hurt her!” He took a step towards Eve, but Elizabeth had already covered the space between them and inserted herself in his path. “If you work for my husband, you’re fired. Get out, now!”

Reams reacted by shoving her violently across the room. Elizabeth’s legs caught the corner of the bed; and she fell to one side, hitting the floor hard. Reams took a step towards Elizabeth and shouted in return, “I don’t know you or your husband.” He wasn’t trying to protect Edwards, just himself. What he was about to do could be traced back to him through Edwards. He wanted to remain anonymous. When he turned to gather his intended prey, he found that Eve had already scrambled to her feet. She assumed a karate posture and a determined face. Reams knew of her past exploits with Bud and Smitty. He was prepared to confront her. In his normal voice he said, “Do you really want to fight me? Nobody gets hurt if you come with me quietly. I believe the Institute will pay handsomely to have you returned unharmed.” He reached in his pocket with his right hand and pulled out his stun gun. As he did so, Eve delivered a kick to the right side of his head. Before he could recover, she stepped into him while delivering two fierce blows, a fist to his sternum and the base of her hand to the bridge of his nose. She felt the cartilage give way under her hand. The sensation was quite different than the feedback she experienced from the padded face mask worn by her trainer. Reams dropped the stun gun and crumpled to the floor. Eve quickly kicked the stun gun under the bed. Reams was motionless on the floor, his mask slowly oozing with blood. Eve attempted to put aside the nausea triggered by the results of her violence and rushed to the aid of her sister.

Huddling over Elizabeth with her back to her assailant, she became aware of his stirring. Before she could turn to face him, the door to the adjoining room swung open and Sandra appeared, brandishing her weapon before her. Eve reacted to the sight of the gun and yelled, “Don’t shoot!” In that instance, Sandra’s attention was drawn to the sight of the two women, one on the floor with the other kneeling beside her. Reams, who had already begun to withdraw his revolver from its concealed holster, now quickly aimed it at Sandra and fired two shots, one of which hit the slight woman square in the chest and drove her body backwards. She fell almost out of the room with her gun resting on the floor at her feet where she had been standing. Eve rushed to her side. Sandra was alive, but in obvious pain. She was gasping for breath. Eve began to loosen her blouse in order to find the bullet’s entry point. Instead, she found the bullet proof vest Sandra was wearing under her clothes. The bullet was implanted deep within the vest. She quickly closed the blouse, knowing that Sandra would live. Eve’s alarm and apprehension for her new friend had turned to livid anger. Before she could give vent to her rage, she felt the point of Reams’ gun on the back of her head.

“Move aside, bitch.” Eve did so, turning to face the bloodied masked man. She was about to speak when he preemptively silenced her with the back of his hand. The physical impact of the blow threw her onto her back. But anger masked her pain. She wanted to rip the gun from Reams’ hand, but it was pointed directly at her. Hurriedly, Reams bent over the downed officer. As soon as he saw the badge on her belt, he knew his troubles had become much more complicated. “Look what you made me do, bitch!” He picked up Sandra’s revolver and tugged it in his belt. Rifling through her clothes, he lifted her handcuffs, their keys and her badge. He threw the handcuffs at Eve. “Put this on one of your wrist. Face the wall and put your hands behind your back. Do it, bitch! Or do you want to see me use this gun again?” Eve pulled herself up on her knees and did as instructed. She felt metal close on her other wrist and then pain in her shoulders as Reams yanked her up by the handcuffs to a standing position. He dragged her to the door and shoved her into the hallway. Holding her by the handcuffs, he turned to address Elizabeth, “Tell the Institute that I have the missing Evelyn Wyman. I will contact them about the ransom amount and the drop-off point. Don’t try to follow me. I’ll hurt her bad if you do.” He holstered his weapon and slammed the door closed. Then he grabbed Eve by the back of her hair and proceeded to guide her toward the stairwell. “Your survival right now depends upon you not seeing my face. Do you understand?” Then he shook her head and raised his voice. “Do you understand?”

Eve answered in pain, “Yes.”

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