Book 1 of the H&K Series : Path of Knowledge

Chapter 10

As dawn approached, two men in black suits arrived while the local and state police were still on site performing their investigations. The men identified themselves as federal

agents and flashed a federal ID card but did not divulge their names. The federal agents informed local and state police that they would be taking over the investigation as well as taking all evidence in their possession. The federal agents then interrogated Karen for hours. Once they completed their interrogation of Karen, they stated if she pursued any actions after this, unpleasant things would happen to her and her family.

After they left, Karen was left alone in the family room. Suddenly, she heard a cell phone begin to ring. Karen jumped up from the couch to start searching for the cell phone. She finally found it hidden in the fireplace on the damper wrapped in a Ziploc bag. She pulled it out of the bag and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Karen asked.

"How did the two men in suits identify themselves?" Hank's voice came through the phone.

"All they said was they were federal agents. They took all the evidence from the police and told me not to pursue any actions, or unpleasant things could happen. Hank, they threatened my family!" Karen was upset and agitated.

"Stay calm. Don't speak to anyone else. I'll handle it from here. Katharine will be back with you as soon as things simmer down a bit. Stay strong. Have your children with you at all times. Keep the toy I gave you close by," he told her.

"Destroy this phone. Smash it with a hammer or build a bonfire. Don't answer it if it rings again before you destroy it. Don't make any calls. Destroy it now." Karen started to ask how to get in touch with Hank, but before she could ask, Hank had already ended the call.

Karen took the phone to the back patio and smashed it with a hammer into several pieces before putting it into the chiminea, starting a blazing fire with wood and starter fluid. Within moments, there was nothing left of the phone but a melted mass of electronics. A whirling sound overhead brought her attention skyward. Several hundred feet above her, a dark drone hovered.

Hank placed Doctor Martin in the trunk of the rented Volvo S80 still taped up. He drove down the main road for some distance before pulling into an automotive garage to park. Hank climbed from the vehicle to check on his living cargo. Doctor Martin was thrashing around inside the trunk, doing his best to get loose.

Smiling, Hank stared down at him. He pulled out a twelve-inch fixed Tanto blade, placing the razor-sharp blade against Doctor Martin's shirt collar. Slowly, Hank pulled the knife along the lower edge of the collar, slicing a thin piece of material from it. Hank then pulled a small box from his shirt pocket. A key ring stuck out the side of the box.

"This box is a very powerful explosive. I am going to attach it to your feet by the ring and the other to the trunk lid. Once I close the lid, it will arm. If you make any movement more than half an inch, it goes off. There won't be enough of you left to identify except DNA. And if you happen to try anything else that remotely pisses me off, I will use my pretty little blade here and shave bits and pieces off you until I get tired, and it takes a lot to make me tired. And just so you know, the back seat has a similar charge attached to it as does the electrical system. If you understand only one thing about me, I never bluff. I want to kill you, but I promised I wouldn't. I have yet to break a promise, but there is always the first time."

Hank knew it would take him half an hour at a fast run to make it back to Karen's home. Hank had a bad feeling about leaving her alone. He had checked the house after he had taken Doctor Martin down.