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"Jessica is all right," Harry said as Alex exited his vehicle. "But we need to get to her quick. You ready?" Alex pulled the side of his windbreaker aside to show the .45. "Don't ask," he said. Harry grinned. "Let's go. I know where she is." The got in Harry's Gladiator. The drive seemed to take forever even though Harry was going as fast as possible without risking being stopped for speeding. "There it is," Harry said after a while. "Must be that new building on the left. She said they drove her there in a big four-by-four crewcab. Let's roll." It was the only vehicle in the parking lot. The building looked to be recently finished, no signs or other identifying marks. Both drew their weapons as they approached. The big entry area was empty. "Jessica," Harry called. "It's us." They waited, guns drawn. A couple of minutes later Jessica appeared, holding a Glock. Not her gun. She dropped the hand holding the Glock to her side. Ran to Alex as he was moving towards her. Dropped the gun and held him tightly. "You OK?" he asked. "As OK as can be, considering? You all right?" "All good. Let's go." The ride back to Harry's office was quiet. They sat together in the back seat and held hands. Neither spoke.
"OK," Harry said. "You two need to get some sleep and we'll talk later. For now just trust me that there won't be any more trouble for a while, but you should go somewhere other than where you've been staying. I've got a suite at the Embassy under one of several identities. You may be there for a few days." "Whatever it is," Jessica said, "is good with us." "OK," Harry said. "I checked and you're good for as long as needed. Probably won't be more than a few days. For the next twenty-four to forty-eight yours you'll be safe going back to your place to get whatever you need. Can you handle that?" "Got it," Jessica replied. "OK, let's do it."
Back at Alex's house the first order of business was a long shower. Jessica realized she felt dirtier than she probably was but wanted to get rid of any traces of her experience. Alex had some blood on his shirt and Jessica noticed. "Are you hurt?" she asked. "No," Alex replied. "It's the other guys blood and he doesn't need it any more." "I've got a feeling I don't want to know what happened," she said. "It wasn't pretty. Let's get cleaned up." Clean and in new clothes they packed for a two day stay and left. The desk clerk at the Embassy was expecting them and they gave them the keys to the suite. "I don't believe I can stay awake much longer," Jessica said. "How about you?" "Same here." They lay down on the big bed and were soon asleep.
Alex's phone rang. He looked over at it. Harry. He picked it up. "If it's all right with you I'll be over in about an hour," Harry said. "That work for you?" "Sounds good," Alex said. "Harry's coming over," he said to Jessica. "Guess we should get ready."
"Things are moving faster than I expected," Harry said. "Or have been going on longer than I thought. The grand jury in Arkansas has you on the radar and you may be called as witnesses. Probably will. That's probably why they tried to whack you." "Who?" asked Jessica. "I'm pretty sure it came from Carlisle," Harry replied. "but I'm still working on it. He's the only one with a major stake and the ability to call in muscle from outside." "Where outside?" asked Jessica. "I haven't tracked it down yet," Harry replied, "but probably St. Louis. Kansas City is a possibility. Alex will have to make a statement at the sheriff's office - so far they're being pretty easy to deal with. Assuming their ID is legit - and I wouldn't - we should know there they came from." "How come... nevermind," Alex said. "I'm guess you have some pull with the local law." "Between having a relatively amiable relationship," Harry replied, "and some things I know about the sheriff he doesn't give us any trouble. You place is outside the city limits so it's his domain unless he calls in the state police. You won't have any problems there." "What do we do now?" asked Jessica. "I need to get your account of this. Mary Ann is at the office she can write up a statement that will satisfy the sheriff for now. You'll have to go over at some point and sign it - I'll send a lawyer with you - but you can take it easy for a bit. I'm working on the hospital - got some chatter around that. It seems they're aware the jig may be up." "Why is that?" Jessica asked. "James Cox seems to have left town," Harry replied. "He took a chartered flight to Texas two days ago and as far as I know he hasn't returned." "And may not be back?" asked Alex. "I would guess not," Harry replied. "My guy in Texas hasn't located him yet but probably he's with some of the CHS people. Or whoever runs that operation." "Anything on Copeland?" Jessica asked. "Still in town," replied Harry. I doubt he's high enough on the totem pole to everything. Probably he's aware of something but how much I don't know. I would guess he's waiting on word from Cox." "What should we do now?" Jessica asked. "Stay at the hotel while we see what develops. If you need to go to either of your houses for anything I'll have Josh go with you. And stay together and armed at all times, keep a low profile."
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