Titan

Whatever Happened to Sarah Steele?

Tim sat beside Eric's bed listening to police sirens. There were three squad cars and a big van that looked like the medical examiner or the crime scene unit. From the window in Eric's room, Tim saw four officers run inside the hospital with guns drawn. It didn't take a mastermind to realize someone had found the carnage on the roof.

Tim was perfectly calm. He was satisfied with both how he cleaned things up and what he had done. The men in the helicopter were killers and he knew what they would have done to his son. But more than all of that, Tim hadn't been seen by a soul on his way downstairs. Additionally, all of the surveillance cameras had been turned off. He could probably thank the kidnappers for that. He was scot-free, insofar as the police were concerned, but whoever came after Eric knew who he was. Four chumps and a helicopter won't be the end. And Tim wasn't the man he once was. Eric would have to defend himself.

By some miracle, he can do that now.

Eric would wake up soon. Until then, Tim had to be with him. He had to protect him.

Somehow.

But if those bastards came back, Tim wouldn't have the element of surprise anymore.

Unless I can get Eric ready.

Nancy appeared in the doorway. Tim could tell she had been crying. Nancy's memories were as clear as his. Perhaps clearer. While he'd been out revenging wrongs, Nancy had been the caregiver. She took care of Sarah and raised Eric, too. Tim had been there, but not at first. No, first the bastards had needed to pay. But his memories were hazy. It had been so long ago.

"Timmy..." Nancy said. She went to Eric's bedside and touched his leg.

Tim put his arms around her. She felt small and frail in his grasp, like she might break. "He's gonna be fine, Nance. Doctors checked him and didn't find anything. Just a fever. But it's going away."

She grabbed Eric's hand. It shocked her to feel how warm it was. "What about everything else?"

"They didn't find it."

Nancy trembled and cried deep scared tears. Mother's tears. "It was supposed to be over."

"I thought it was. I have never heard of anything like this." Tim's words felt hollow. What he thought was moot. Reality took its hold on the moment. There wasn't time for thoughts, only reality.

"What do we do?" she asked. But before Tim could answer, Nancy saw his knuckles—split open and cut. She touched his hand.

"You better sit down," Tim said. He wanted to wait before telling her about the kidnapping. He was surprised by how easily he could push what he'd done out of his mind. I shoved a man into helicopter blades and I'm thinking about dinner... Well, not really, but Tim was more troubled by his capacity for compartmentalization.

I've done it before...

Nancy sat in the chair beside Eric's bed. Tim stood at the foot of the bed and told Nancy what happened. He began with what the doctor told him and ended with the impromptu cleanup on the roof. Throughout all of it, Nancy stared at him behind glassy eyes. Tim couldn't read her.

The horror of what he'd done was apparent when spoken. Locked in his mind, he could rationalize it and forget it. But the plain facts were fantastic and terrible. He felt great sadness, but it was buried deep. Tim conquered adulthood by projecting strength and will. Sadness and regret were weaknesses he wouldn't allow.

Nancy looked from Tim to Eric. She felt raw and used up. This road was well traveled and she didn't know if she could handle another trip. "How could they know and we didn't?" That was it. No worry about Tim's welfare. No concern for the lost lives. No doubt about getting away with it, just the question.