Chapter 17
Alex sped down the freeway, tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that Tobin had lied to her. After she had patched Tobin up, Tobin had taken some painkillers and had fallen asleep. Alex had laid down next to her and tried to fall asleep as well, but her mind kept spinning, so she got up and started searching through Tobin’s apartment. She didn’t know what she was searching for, but she figured that maybe aimlessly poking around would shed some light on that part of Tobin that Tobin was withholding from her. Alex knew it wasn’t really on the up and up to be snooping around, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. Plus, she reasoned, if Tobin wasn’t hiding anything, I wouldn’t need to poke around. Now, as she sped down the freeway, she thought: I knew something wasn't right. I knew it but I didn't want to believe it. It was too good to be true. Of course that’s how it goes for me, she thought. My life is cursed, I guess. Now what do I do? Alex thought some more as she drove around for a bit, and then an idea crossed her mind, and she got off the freeway and headed towards the beach in Santa Monica.
********
The buzzer woke Tobin up out of a dead sleep. She had tossed and turned for most of the night but had apparently managed to fall asleep for a bit. Now she was really tired and out of it. The buzzer rang again. She looked at her clock: 6am. Too early for Abby to be stopping by. It’s Alex, Tobin thought, in her half-asleep state. Tobin knew Alex was upset. Maybe she just needed to cool off, and now she’s back. “Alex, hang on, I’m coming”, Tobin yelled. She threw on some sweats and a t-shirt and stumbled to the door. She opened up the door, preparing to apologize and plead her case again, but instead found Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy standing in front of her.
“Hey dude”, Ashlyn said flatly.
“Hey guys, look, I’m not up for surfing right now”, Tobin said, and tried to shut her door, but the women were already pushing their way in.
“Oh no, Tobin, we’re not going surfing, we’ve got something else planned for today”, Ashlyn said.
“Yeah, you’re gonna love this”, Whitney said.
“C’mon, let’s get you together”, Morgan said. She opened up Tobin’s dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some socks. She grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and gathered everything into her arms.
“Let’s go”, Ashlyn said, pushing Tobin towards the front door.
“Hang on, I need my wallet and purse”, Tobin said. She tried to turn back inside, looking to grab her gun, but Whitney and Amy grabbed her, turned her towards the door, and ushered her out, telling her that she wouldn’t need anything but clothes. They led her into their van and then Ashlyn started the engines. They drove for thirty minutes and then pulled into Santa Monica Airport. Ashlyn and Whitney ushered Tobin into a small charter airplane while Morgan and Amy loaded some gear onto the plane. The pilot hit the gas and the plane took off east towards the Inland Empire.
”Where are we going?” Tobin asked.
“To a lake”, Whitney said, smiling.
“Twelve thousand feet above it, actually”, Morgan said, smiling as well.
“Here it is”, Ashlyn said. She held up a parachute rig and tossed it to Tobin. “It’s the ultimate rush of adrenaline”, she said. “All you gotta do is pull the chute.”
“Sounds like a great time, but I hurt my knee the other day”, Tobin said, keeping up the charade that she didn’t know it was Ashlyn behind the Elizabeth mask.
“Oh yeah, I noticed that”, Ashlyn said. “Well, not to worry, you won’t be landing on solid ground.”
Tobin looked at her rig for a moment and then asked, “Who packed my chute?”
“I did”, Ashlyn said. “Don’t you trust me?”
“You have to earn trust”, Tobin said in a hard voice.
Ashlyn stared at her for a moment and then said, “Fine. “I’ll take that one.” She grabbed the rig back from Tobin, grabbed the rig that Amy was holding and threw it to Tobin. “Use that one then.”
“Wait, hold on, Tobin. You don’t want that one”, Amy said, taking her rig back. “That one’s set for a neckbreaker. Here – take this one”, she said, grabbing the one that Whitney was holding and tossing it to Tobin.
Tobin caught the pack and then threw it right back at Whitney. “Are we going to jump or just play hot potato all day?” she asked, an edge in her voice.
“That’s my girl!” Ashlyn exclaimed, and Whitney, Morgan and Amy laughed. Then Ashlyn held up the original rig that she had given Tobin. “Alright, look – do you want this rig? Or another rig? You can choose any one you want.” Tobin sighed and then motioned for the rig that Ashlyn was holding up. Ashlyn smiled and tossed it over, and then the pilot came over the intercom.
“Looks like we’re ready to drop”, Ashlyn said, then she addressed the pilot. “After we jump, take the plane back to Santa Monica Airport, top off the tanks, and wait for us. We’ll meet you there in a couple hours”. The pilot nodded, and then Ashlyn pulled open the hatch. The women suited up, and Ashlyn yelled, “Moe – you’re first.” Morgan walked over to the hatch. She looked at the group, waved and then jumped.
“A-rod!” Ashlyn yelled. Amy walked to the hatch, gave the group a thumbs up and then jumped.
“Ms. Engen!” Ashlyn yelled. Whitney walked over to the hatch and jumped out backwards, throwing two middle fingers up in the air as she dropped. Ashlyn laughed and then looked at Tobin. “You ready there, champ?” she asked.
“You first!” Tobin said.
“Ashlyn said, “No – we jump together. Trust, right?”
“Right!”
“Okay”, Ashlyn said. She took Tobin’s hand and pulled her to the hatch. “One, two-“ and then jumped, pulling Tobin with her.
********
Tobin couldn’t believe the feeling. She was plummeting towards the earth at 120 miles an hour. She whooped for what felt like minutes, and then she spotted Whitney, Morgan and Amy below her. She looked over and saw Ashlyn right beside her. Ashlyn grinned at Tobin and then streamlined her body into a torpedo-like form and shot ahead. Tobin mimicked Ashlyn’s posture and found herself hurling forward like a dart. She was catching up to Morgan, Whitney and Amy, who were each falling in a spread eagle position with their knees bent, which Tobin assumed slowed their fall. She saw Ashlyn catch up to them and hit the breaks, and then the four of them joined hands. Tobin saw Ashlyn look up and motion to her, and then Tobin mimicked their spread eagle position. She felt herself slow down as she approached the group, and then Ashlyn and Whitney broke hands, letting Tobin in between them. Then they joined hands with her, Ashlyn on Tobin’s left, Whitney on Tobin’s right, and the five women plummeted towards the earth, smiling and whooping. Then they broke hands, preparing to deploy chutes. Ashlyn kept a hold of Tobin’s hand.
“How do you feel?” Ashlyn yelled.
“Amazing!” Tobin yelled back.
“Ready to pull the chute?”
“You first!” Tobin said. As caught up in the moment as she was, she still didn't trust Ashlyn. “I insist.”
“Okay”, Ashlyn said. She reached over and pulled the rip cord on Tobin’s rig, then let go of Tobin’s hand as Tobin’s chute deployed. Tobin yelled as the chute took hold, jarring her body out of her freefall into a comparatively still momentum, and then she looked around her. The view was amazing. She could see the San Bernardino Mountains, then the sprawling city of L.A., and then the endless blue of the Pacific Ocean beyond that. I can’t believe what I’m doing right now, she said to herself, as she floated down to the lake below.
********
“Woooooooo!!! That was intense!” Whitney yelled as they got out of the water.
“Last jump of the summer”, Morgan said.
“Maybe”, Amy said with a smile. “Maybe we can get one more in.”
Ashlyn looked at her and then smiled.
“Tobin, go ahead and take your pack off and leave it with me. I’ll take care of it for you”, Morgan said. She helped Tobin out of her pack and then lightly shoved her towards Ashlyn.
“How you feelin’, Tobin?” Ashlyn asked, putting her arm around Tobin, a big smile on her face.
“Wow, that was amazing”, Tobin said. It really had been amazing, and for a moment, she had yet again forgotten that she was working a case, let alone at a critical juncture and in a potentially dangerous situation.
“I know, right? Anyway, come in here and check this out”, Ashlyn said. She led Tobin into the back of the van and shut the door. She reached for a duffel bag and pulled out a laptop and handed it to Tobin.
“What’s this, Ashlyn?” Tobin asked.
“Just open it up”, Ashlyn said. Tobin stared at Ashlyn and then opened up the laptop. And froze. On the screen was a video. Or maybe a live stream. In the video was Alex. She was naked except for a bra and underwear. She looked like her arms were tied behind her back, and she had a gag in her mouth. Standing behind her was Christen. She had a knife to Alex’s throat and a menacing look on her face. Alex stared at the screen for a moment longer and then shifted her stare towards Ashlyn. “She sure is beautiful, isn’t she, Special Agent Heath?”
Tobin stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then dropped the laptop and punched Ashlyn right in the face. Ashlyn went down, and Tobin jumped on top of her. She grabbed Ashlyn in a choke hold and applied the pressure. “Where is she?!” she yelled at Ashlyn.
“Whoa whoa whoa”, Ashlyn choked out. “Think it through, dude – I’m the only one who knows where she is.”
Tobin stared at Ashlyn, then released her choke hold. She took Ashlyn’s head and slammed it against the floor of the van. Ashlyn yelped. “Tell me where she is!” Tobin barked, ready to slam Ashlyn’s head again.
“I can’t do that, dude”, Ashlyn said. “But we can go get her together.”
“No!” Tobin said, hauling Ashlyn up and slamming her against the side of the van. She stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then said, “How can you fucking do this, Ashlyn? Alex was your girlfriend!”
“And then you came along!” Ashlyn yelled. “But yes, Alex was my girlfriend. Don’t you see? That’s why I need Press. I could never hold a knife to Alex’s throat!”
“This is fucking crazy”, Tobin said.
“Maybe so”, Ashlyn said. “But crazy or not, I can tell you this. Press is like a machine, and once you set her in motion she will not stop. It’s 8am right now, and when the clock strikes twelve, Press is gonna gut Alex like a pig, and there’s nothing I can do about it unless I get to her in time.”
“Goddamit, Ashlyn”, Tobin said and kneed Ashlyn in the stomach. Ashlyn coughed and doubled over. “Tell me where she is right now!”
Ashlyn stared at her for a moment and then started laughing through her coughs. “Nope. It’s not gonna work like that, Special Agent Heath. See, the only way you’re gonna get what you want, which is Alex back safely and unharmed, is for me to get what I want.”
“And what do you want?” Tobin hissed.
“I can’t tell you that. You’ll just have to wait and see”, Ashlyn said. “Now, the clock is ticking, and we’ve got one more stop to make. So, what’s it gonna be?”
Tobin stared at Ashlyn, then stared at the laptop laying on the floor of the van. “We’re wasting time”, she said.
Ashlyn laughed and then said, “That’s what I love about you. Not only are you crazy, but you’re as sharp as a razor.” She grinned at Tobin and then opened up the back of the van. Whitney, Morgan and Amy were standing there, smiles on their faces, rigs repacked, ready to go. “Alright, let’s rock!” Ashlyn said, and the women jumped in the van.