HIGHER TECH (Complete Novel)

Chapter 9 -Media Storm

      "Dean, I thought they had killed you for sure. Especially when they started shooting at me. How are you feeling?"

      "I feel a lot better now Kyle. They said I have a concussion, but I already knew that. Sometimes I would blackout. A bad headache. I felt nauseous, but I didn't vomit. So, I don't think it was a severe concussion. The doctor complained that the wound on the back of my head wasn't cleaned right away so it had started healing with dirt and hair inside it. I told him I couldn't clean it because my hands were tied. I don't think he believed me. He was not impressed, until I showed him the bruises on my wrists. Anyways, they had to reopen my head wound, remove the hair from it, then they cleaned it up and gave me nine stitches for my trouble. They gave me some painkillers too so, I'm feeling okay now. Have you met Susan yet?

      "Susan. No. Who is she?"

      "Well, she stepped out with Rebecka to get something to eat, but Kyle if it wasn't for her, I don't think I could have escaped."

      "Well, I guess I owe her a 'thank you' for helping to bring my partner back alive."

      Dean smiled, "I've already said mine. At first, Rebecka was furious with the both of us, but she understood after we explained things to her. She just took right over the situation. You should have seen her Kyle, you'd have been proud. I think Susan and her are going to be friends."

      "Dean Buddy, what kind of drugs have they given you? You seem a little too happy for a man who was hit over the head and held prisoner."

      "Yeah, they probably gave me something to help me out a little. I'm not sure what it was that they gave me. I'm just happy to be out of that dump that those two guys were keeping me in. Rebecka told me about you getting shot in the leg. How are you doing?"

      "Oh, I'm okay, but I didn't get any of that happy potion you got."

      "Dean started to laugh but then he closed his eyes and put his hand on his forehead. "Ow."

      "Be careful, don't hurt yourself."

      "You're the one who made me laugh."

      "So, have either of you two been watching the news?"

      "Huh? Oh, it's you Mark. No we haven't"

      "Well, head office says there's something on worth watching right now."

      "Really," said Dean reaching for the monitor controller, "on what channel?"

      "All of them."

      It was true. As soon as Dean turned it on, he could see people running out of a building. It was some sort of news report. The camera focused on a man taking a bow. Whoever was recording the scene started to zoom in on the man. Someone gasped. Mark and Kyle looked over and saw Susan with her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth. Dean didn't even look over at her. He was too captivated with the scene on the monitor. "It's him," he said.

      "What do you mean?"

      "That's Arnold Hatcher. The man who held me captive. Wait a minute, is that Spanish? Where is that loud-speaker voice coming from?"

      "I don't know, but it looks like there is an English translation of it scrolling across the bottom."

      "Can you find another program? It's hard to read it like that. I'm having a hard time keeping up. It's going too fast."

      "You're right, it is... Let me see... No... No... Okay. Here's one with the whole speech written out in English." They all read it in silence.