Page 39 of Misunderstood Hacker

16

Jessica

All of myworst nightmares flashed through my mind. I had brought danger to Brock’s family. I went running toward the door, but Brock stopped me. The desire to make certain his mom was safe was overwhelming.

“Jessica, stop panicking.”

“Stop panicking? Your mom is outside, and shots are being fired!”

“I know.”

I pushed Brock aside and strode toward the door. Before I could open it, Brock grabbed my arm and spun me around.

“Jessica, it’s fine. Those shots are my mom’s. She is probably practicing, hoping that the bad guys will show up so she can shoot them.”

Suzy looked like the gentlest lady. I had to see with my own eyes that she was okay. I ducked out of Brock’s arms and headed for the back door. It creaked under the pressure of my hand as I opened it.

Suzy was standing on the patio, looking over the lawn toward the barn, holding a shotgun. A man, probably a hired hand, had set up a line of targets along the fence and was walking back to where she was standing. Suzy aimed the shotgun and took out each target with precision.

“Mom taught Phoebe and me how to shoot.” Brock was standing behind me, grinning.

Knowing Suzy was okay, I headed back to the house to enjoy another delicious cookie. Brock followed.

“Tell me what is going on.”

“Ice texted me this morning about the chatter. I didn’t know how bad matters were, so I called Mom to see if we could come visit. We’re staying for the night and heading back tomorrow.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make on your own. I’m glad we came to see your mom, but coming here also put her in danger. What happens if these men come after me here? I understand your mom is prepared for World War III. That doesn’t mean I want your family to get hurt because of me.”

“Maybe it’s time we talk about what happened.” Brock reached over, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up. “Let’s head out to the lake.”

Brock didn’t give me time to disagree or put up a fight. He took charge, and we left for the lake.

The lake was only a ten-minute walk from Brock’s mom’s house. It was stunning.On the opposite side of the lake, mountains reached into the sky.The temperature was perfect for a late fall afternoon. While I was gazing at the beautiful landscape, Brock laid down a blanket.

When he had everything set, he pulled me into his arms.The warmth of Brock’s chest made all the torments dull for a moment.I shifted so my head was lying on Brock’s chest. This was a conversation I couldn’t have while eye to eye with Brock. “I don’t know why we need to talk about this. You read my case file. I don’t like talking about it, and I really don’t think you need to hear it.”

I heard Brock sigh. “This conversation has been on the back burner for too long.There could be things you remember now that you didn’t when you gave your report.”

I closed my eyes and drifted back to ten years ago. “It was summer, and I had gone back to Shialia to visit Dad. Patty was working on an invention, so she decided not to go back with me. There are these beautiful gardens on the palace property. I would go out to the gardens and sit for hours reading books. Somehow, the terrorist group had gotten to one of the workers inside the palace. That employee had brought me a cup of hot chocolate. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. The staff always brought food out to the gardens for me because I would spend hours out there.”

“I know back then you said you couldn’t remember anything about that employee, but do you remember anything now?”

“It’s going to take everything in me to get this story out.Can we save all the questions for the end? It might possibly trigger things.” I felt Brock nod behind me, so I continued. “After I’d taken some drinks of the hot chocolate, I wasn’t feeling well. I lay down on the grass to rest. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a cement cell.

“The cell was completely bare. I could hear guards speaking in a language I didn’t recognize. That’s when I knew I was no longer at Shialia. The first day I was there, they left me alone, besides bringing me some stale bread to eat. What I heard from Dad later was that, on the first day, they asked for the ransom. When he refused to pay, the torture started. Someone would come and drag me from my cell…”

It was getting hard to talk about my experiences. I hadn’t even got to the torture yet, and tears were already running down my face. Talking about it brought back the copper smell of blood from the previous people they tortured, and the body odor of the leader who hadn’t showered in days.

“Jessica, it’s fine. Take your time,” Brock whispered.

For the next hour, I explained to Brock how the men tortured me. They would take turns whipping my body until I would pass out. Then I would be dragged back to my cell and given a couple days to heal before the whole process would happen over and over again.

They kept trying to ask me questions, and when I didn’t know the answers, they would continue to beat me. I was in so much pain at the time that, later, I couldn’t remember what questions they asked.

We spotted a black SUVheading down the gravel road near Brock’s house.

“Brock, who could that be?”

---