Chapter XI
elinda was up early on the fifth morning of the Travis incarceration. She had spent many hours with Sharon, had checked her mental capacity with the standard tests used on thousands of people whom the FBI had interrogated over the years. She not only sensed the integrity of Sharon Combs Travis, she could feel it, could relate to it.
And she could relate to the raising in a home that did not lend itself to ungodly living. Sharon had been reared by godly, loving parents, who attended church regularly, who studied the Word of God and attempted to live by its principles. In her were good traits. In her was a love for God, family, and country.
And through Sharon, she learned William had many of these traits, although he had not been raised in a christian environment. William's parents were just good people. Full of integrity, patriotic duty, treat your neighbor as you wanted to be treated type of folks.
It was these qualities which caused his good character; a character which would allow him to live in continuity with the law, with a pension toward right. And through the connection of Sharon's view and love and admiration of William, Melinda learned so much of William.
She learned enough of him to know in her heart that William was one who could have never committed those acts against nature out of his own character. He had been coerced, manipulated, and forced to carry a responsibility that was not his. Then, forced into a fight or flight situation, had reacted as the natural human instincts are prone to do; he had went on the offensive and stilled the problem.
Her own experience with this very concept caused her to understand these basic elements. Because of this, she was beginning to have to the same confidence in William which Sharon had. She understood what it was because she could relate. She could relate because she had been there. Fight or flight.
As she dwelt on this thing, she realized that William was in a much bigger fight than merely his freedom. He was in a fight for his life. But at this point, not just his life, but the life of his beloved wife.
Now, if all the training and hypnotism could be reactivated, he could be a real danger to who ever he zeroed in on as a threat to him or those whom he loved. But, it went far beyond just his risk of going on the offensive.
If what she was reading was true, he would never be free from the threat of someone coming after something they thought could hand them the world on a silver platter. Armies have died for less than this. Whole civilizations had died for less than this. What he held in the confines of his psyche, were codes that could chain, run and ruin an entire world.
The incredibleness of the concept overwhelmed Melinda. She could feel for Sharon, for William, for they could easily lose their lives because of this thing. She could also feel many nameless others who could also die before this was over.
The more she pondered, she could feel the heaviness, the terribleness, the awesomeness of this great thing. She felt for the people who would be destroyed, for families that would be destroyed . . . before this thing could be dealt a death blow.
Surely, it must be destroyed once and for all. But, with all its entanglements, how could it ever be completely absolved from Williams mind? The only real answer she could come up with, was it would have to be done by Higher Power. There was no other element that could change a person like God can.
She knew what she must do. This was bigger than the government of the United States of America. This involved not just one soul, which in itself was more important than the entire Federal government, but, a multitude of souls.
Already, seven men (Greg Wheaton, Thomas Gregory, Henry Thomas, Gilroy Hastings, Damon Nix, Roy Planter, Detective Chris James, ) and one woman (Connie Ellis ( of whom Melinda wasn't aware of as yet)), had died as a result of this monster, and now, unless it was stopped, a couple who were totally innocent and for whom she had become very attached could lose their freedom for life, worse, they could die.
It was time for it to die.
Melinda's resolve was set: somehow, she would destroy this monster. But she had no idea as to what it would cost her. Yes, she would be instrumental in the death of this monster, but, would she be willing to pay the price?
When she did finally learn what the price would be, it would be too great and it would be too late to back out at that time. Yes, the price for the death of the monster would be great.
Len came into the office finally looking like a sane human being again. He'd worked almost non-stop since the incarceration of William and Sharon Travis. That the government had no grounds on which to hold them was not important. They had them, and as far as anyone outside the little circle of influence knew, they had simply disappeared.
He remembered the fax on the way to work this morning, and hopefully, it would be some information on a person different than William Travis. True, William was the focal point at the current time. But, Len sometimes went with his gut feeling, and this time, his gut was so loud it was almost audible.
He was sure the fax received the evening before when he was so very tired was of great importance to the case. It was. But, he had missed his chance, and a portion of the fax that could spell death for the lot of them had been intercepted by the very man whose name appeared at the top of the document: Caleb Kimble, alias . . . Dr. Kny-pel.
The night before, Dr. Kny-pel had thought of another slant to his already spun-out-of-control yarn about William. So he went looking for Len Mathers. Upon finding the FBI agent asleep on the couch, he turned around and, seeing his chance, decided to snoop a little bit. He froze when he saw the name at the top of the facsimile.
He was instantly put on alert. They were onto him. The danger scale for Dr. Kny-pel instantly jumped from low to extremely high. It also instantly went from low to extremely high for William and Sharon, as well as the vulnerable man lying on the couch in front of him, and of course, the lovely Melinda Pierce. He would have to find out how much any of them knew before he struck.
Suddenly the risk of his getting caught came into full perspective. He was playing around in the jaws of the trap of the FBI. If Len received this fax, he will certainly learn the truth of who Dr. Kny-pel really was, and that would be the end of everything he'd worked for these last twelve years.
His mind was recovering what went wrong on that million dollar deal in Las Vegas. The only person who could identify him was resting in the bottom of an abandoned gold mine. While he had not actually executed the man, he had been responsible for his disappearance. He did not find out till nearly a year later the man was an undercover FBI agent.
The agents name was Scott Gary. Brother in law to Len Mathers. Dr. Kny-pel did not know his relation to Len Mathers until this very moment. A cold chill went up Dr. Kny-pel's spine as he realized the potential for his own end. He had to get those codes, and soon! He also had to put out a contract on the heads of Len Mathers and Melinda Pierce.
Dr. Kny-pel quietly folded the fax, putting it in his pocket before turning around to face the sleeping agent. He replaced the rest of the prior faxes back into the received tray, turned and walked quietly to the door, carefully opened and slid through it. He was standing out in the hallway, trying to figure out what would be the best moves. Finally, with plan in action, he strode off toward the lab where he'd been working on William.
He started giving orders as soon as he arrived. William was brought into a new room. Dr. Kny-pel had suspected the room which had been assigned to him for Williams incarceration and subsequent tests had been bugged.
Then he gave some new orders. "Bring Sharon Travis into the room next door and wait for my signal. Upon my signal, bring her into the room," he barked. Then continued. "I will need the assistance of agent Melinda Pierce this morning. Have her come to the lab immediately."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the office where the fax machine was, Len Mathers strode over and picked up the stack in the received tray. Nothing of importance to the case. He dropped the stack back into the little tray and sat down at his desk. The phone was ringing. Headquarters. "Aw man," he thought to himself. Not Jason Bell! Of all mornings to have to put up with his nonsense!"
The report Jason Bell had to deliver to Len Mathers would save his life as well as the other three, and, would be a major break in the case of catching the culprit who had effected the death of Agent Scott Gary.
Len turned ashen at the news. He inquired as to the fax Jason was to have sent him the night prior and learned it had been sent. "Well, I'll go back through the pile and find it," he told Jason.
"Look for it now, while I'm on the phone," Jason ordered.
"Yes sir," Len said wearily. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, scooted back from his desk, and walked tiredly over to the fax machine. After failing to find the document in question, he returned to the desk, and without sitting down, picked up the receiver and said "boss, it is not here. Can you please send it again?"
"Yeah," Jason sounded irate. "But stand there and wait for it. You lose a second one and you're fired!" Jason finished with a yell. He slammed the received down on the desk, yelled at his secretary to bring in the Kimball case, then instructed her to resend the fax.
Len was waiting for the document and scanned it page by page as it came off the machine. The machines at the offices of the FBI were programmed to send the faxes last page to the first page that way they'd be in order when received. When the first page finally came out of the machine, Len saw the name at the top, and froze. A few seconds later, he realized the full weight of the document in his hands.
He grabbed the phone and started dialing. No answer at Dr. Kny-pel's office. He dialed and received the same thing at Melinda's office. He dialed her cell phone, still no answer. The lab where William had been scrutinized never answered.
Suddenly, he was very afraid for William and Sharon Travis, and, his beloved, Melinda. And very well he should be. They were in more danger now than they'd ever been in.
Len jumped up, grabbed his coat, and running down the hallway stuffed his arms into it. His weapon bounced wildly in the leather harness as he tried to secure it behind back. All this at the same time trying get some kind of answer at the lab.
He busted out the door and sprinted toward his car. Just as he reached for the handle, the glass in front of him exploded, showering him with a shower of broken glass. He spun and dropped to his knee, and in an instant, spotted the shooter. His extensive training kicked in and his Glock 40 spoke three times. All three shots found their target, and the man fell, dead before he hit the ground.
Instantly, Len ran upon the man, whose body was in the last few moments of gasping for air, the last few futile heartbeats fluttering out into nothingness. The man lying on the ground was a man he had met only a week prior and with whom he had seemingly become friends.
He was the man who had given Len the use of the posh motel suite in Las Vegas the night before William was arrested. The thought made Len realize it was a distraction to keep him from tending so close to William.
But he seemed like a great guy. They'd talked of home, their jobs, then he learned the man was the son of a long lost cousin. He was also in the mob. Lens blood ran cold when he realized this man had been stationed outside his office to get rid of him once and for all. The firearm used was notorious for inaccuracy and was probably the only thing that spared him.
Within seconds of the shooting, the doors burst open with several agents of both genders running out guns drawn. Len had searched the body and found two cards. One was his own, the other belonged to Dr. Kny-pel. When he found that, he jumped into his car and raced off toward the place in which William and Sharon Travis were being held. He felt confient they would be safe since Melinda had been assigned to watch, learn and guard Sharon.
When he arrived at the lab, he was shocked beyond words. Sometime, during the night, Dr. Kny-pel had gathered William and Sharon Travis. Gone in only a few minutes, they had disappeared without a trace into the night.
William and Sharon Travis . . . had disappeared without a trace or a hint as to their whereabouts. Agent Melinda Pierce was also missing.
Len Mathers felt as if he'd been hit in the chest with a sledge hammer. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't even stand up. His heart seemed as if someone had ripped it from his chest. Now, possibly too late, he knew the truth about Dr. Kny-pel. He also knew the truth about William and Sharon Travis.
And he feared for their safety, including that little auburn haired beauty he intended to make his bride. Panic welled up in his chest choking him. Fury shook his entire being. William wasn't the only one who was about to 'fly off the handle,' as he'd heard his dad say so many times. If he ever saw Dr. Kny-pel, er, Caleb Kimble again, he hoped it would be down the barrel of a gun.
Someone else would die before he would see any of them again. It would be another FBI agent, and it would also be at the hands of Caleb Kimble.
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