Escape

Tension was high for the hour and a half they were gone. I stationed Kristin on the front porch to listen for their return, or any other noises. Claudia went with her. Sitting before the screens, I thought about ways to attack us. If they were well armed and organized, surprise and aggressive action would be involved. Stun grenades, Molotov cocktails, a diversionary blast nearby to draw us offguard. There weren't going to be many survivors on our side in that event.

Claudia came up the stairs. "We can hear the bikes in the distance." Sure enough, in a few minutes Harald and Olaf came down the road on foot, packs on their backs.

Harald was at my side in a minute. "I need to work with these messages to see if there is anything about the attack for us." He fussed with his software until a list of decrypted mail appeared. Near the top was one from Lief. Harald asked me to get Kristin. They read it together. His pilot had diverted in the Caribbean and made it to Memphis before landing. The plane and its crew were being detained because of the connection to the crash of the other jet. Lief was in contact with the FBI, and had told them that family members were in secure locations. He asked for an immediate report from us.

He said that anti-terrorist actions were being taken in Norway, the U.S. and elsewhere. Several individuals had been taken into custody but no information had been obtained thus far. The company plane had been observed falling from the sky in flames south of Houston about five minutes after taking off. He ended with a note to Kristin saying he was fine and would see us soon.

There also was a broadcast note to the worldwide family from Norway saying to stay in place and wait for additional news to be forthcoming.

Kristin, Harald and I looked at each other. Half a loaf. Some reassurance, but nothing that helped us determine what to do right here and now. The lack of suspects under arrest was not good news. We debated whether Harald and Olaf should make a second trip to respond to Lief, and decided to wait until morning. We didn't want to attract attention in Flemington, at least not now, and we needed all of our manpower to stand guard through the night.

About ten o'clock, as we were having a late supper of soup and toasted bread, a pickup truck passed us on the road in a small cloud of dust, headed in the direction of the river. Could be anything, including a feint at us. I had circled the house shortly before to make sure no light showed, and we were completely dark. Unfortunately, if they had infrared detectors, the heat from inside would definitely show.

A plan for the morning was developed. Harald and Olaf would visit the McDonald's in Flemington and buy a large takeout breakfast, mentioning that they were camping on the river with a group. Harald would get on the WiFi while Olaf did the food.

It was a long tense night. Claudia tried to spell me at midnight, but I sent her back to bed, saying I would get her up when I was sleepy. I was getting kisses and neckrubs from both of them, and trying to keep their spirits up with encouraging remarks. There was movement on one screen, which jerked me completely awake in a hurry. First one, and then a second tall furry tail appeared above the grass. Fox romance. They played in front of the camera for several minutes and disappeared into the trees. I told myself it was a good sign, because they would not have been around if a human was in the brush.

At five, Harald, Olaf and Thor came up the stair. Harald sent me to get some rest, telling Thor to mind the cameras.

I was groggy when Claudia kissed me awake. "It's nine and they are back." I staggered upstairs. Kristin hugged me and said, "They've made arrests in Houston and New York!"

Everyone gathered in the front room to discuss our next actions. Claudia pressed coffee and a roll into my hands. Waiting was hard and you could see it in people's faces. Axel, Harald and I sat together and Harald summarized the morning news and email. There was a second encrypted message from Lief, saying that our house had been checked and was now guarded. He was going there in the next twenty-four hours, but not sure yet whether it was safe to stay there. The general instructions were to begin traveling back home at noon today if everything appeared normal. Before homes were entered, the heads of the groups were to contact the local Sheriff for further instructions.

We were answering questions from the women when there was a tremendous explosion from the direction of the motorcycles. I shouted to Kristin and Claudia to get on their phones and call 911. Axel was ushering most of the women down the stairs to the shelter. The three men with the most rifle experience were out the door to the fence line. I took position next to an opened window. There were sounds of a firefight several hundred yards up the road. In several minutes, two figures appeared in the road, running towards the house. Axel opened up with his rifle, trying to interrupt their progress. This apparently surprised the men, who dropped into the ditch. Very shortly, a black SUV with men hanging out the doors came over the hill. Taking a chance, I ran out on the steps and shouted and waved at the ditch in front of them.

There was a blast of automatic weapons fire, and the two figures came out of the ditch with their hands up. Seconds later, they were face down in the road, ziptied and hooded. Men with machine guns and FBI jackets advanced on me. My hands in the clear, I said, "I am Torben Anderson, and you have found our family safe house."

Axel and the others approached, guns carefully pointed at the ground. The FBI men gestured to the ground and they let them fall. The women were cautiously creeping out onto the porch.

A man came down the road and hurried over. "I'm James Middleton, the team leader. Everything's going to be ok. They tried to avoid our roadblock but rolled and blew up their own explosives. There was a second car that tried to fight, but most of them are dead. Are you folks ok?"

We said we were, and very glad to see them. Were they ok?"

"Thanks for asking. Two of my men have grazing wounds, but nothing serious. Damn, that was a big blast. Our ears are still ringing."

Kristin came up and said the phones worked and help was coming. Middleton looked unhappy, but said, "Local law enforcement is going to be all over us in a minute. Sit tight. Every cop in northern New Jersey is going to want a statement. And the media helicopters will be here momentarily. I am declaring the whole square mile around here a federal no access zone until all the evidence from the fight is collected."

We asked when we might be able to leave and he guessed, six hours. But at least we could all use our phones again. We went around announcing this and telling people not to say where we were. Although the television would fix that soon. He said he had to get back to his team and sprinted up the road.

I asked Harald about residual danger. "Two cars full out of action. Some more arrested in New York and Houston. A good start." His eyes said what I was thinking, don't relax just yet. But don't alarm the women.

A dozen Andersons and Claudia sat on the front porch and watched the two attackers dragged away, followed by yards and yards of yellow tape around the house, the hiding place in the ditch, and along the road. Sirens sounded continuously in the distance and after half an hour, a car with Flemington Police on the side came to a stop in front of us. Harald and Axel went out to talk to the uniformed men who got out, one of whom wore an impressive uniform. They walked slowly over to the porch. Axel said, "This is Chief Warrington from Flemington. He wants us to know he is very happy we are safe, and if there is anything he can do to help as untangle things, to let him know."

Axel's wife, with a big smile, rushed down the steps and gave the Chief a big hug and a kiss on his cheek. We all clapped. The Chief smiled.

Claudia sat next to me and asked how we should handle her situation and getting in touch with her folks. "Call Martina. She will scream and shout, but run interference for you. You can tell her that Torben took good care of you. That will set her off." I kissed her, not caring if others saw.

Harald was going by and I said, "What do we do about interviews? Do we need a spokesperson?"

He looked around at the family and back at me. "Would you be willing to do it? You are young, handsome and well spoken. You have all the facts, and can rehearse how to avoid being drawn into any of the places we don't want to go."

I responded, "Ok, you and Axel have a lot of responsibilities getting everyone organized to go. I'll ask the Chief if it is possible to have a press conference somewhere around here."

I caught the police car as it was turning around. "Chief Warrington, the family has asked that I act as spokesperson. Do you suppose we could organize a press conference. Otherwise, there will be a total madhouse. It's not everyday you have a terrorist shootout in your backyard, with thirteen threatened family members in a farm house."

He smiled and nodded. "I'll call the Mayor and see if he wants to do it at City Hall. That all right with you? I don't suppose you want the whole world tramping in your yard out here. You are also going to need a twenty four hour patrol for a few days. I don't have enough men to station one out here, but we can do drivebys. He looked at his watch. "It's eleven now. What if we do it at one o'clock. That will give the TV people time to set up. I'll tell the roadblock people to let you through both ways."

I went back to the porch and called a group conference. "There is going to be a press conference in town and Harald has asked me to represent the family. I'm working on details of our ordeal right now but there are several things we should all agree to have a single story about. First, the three family groups came here because Axel, Harald and Kristin decided that was the thing to do when they heard about the plane crash. Please do not, repeat do not, mention any thing about a safehouse or an emergency plan. Also, do not give away the underground shelter. As soon as it is cleaned up, the doors will be closed and locked. When I am in town, I will find a security service that will send a guard out on a twenty-four hour basis starting tonight for a week. They will not have access to the inside of the house, but will break in if they have to for some reason, like arson."

Axel's wife, Christina, said, "Torben, if you can handle reporters like you just did with us, everything will be fine. Thank you."

I said to Kristin, "Someone should come with me for backup." She laughed and said in my ear, "Your mommy is not going along! Take your gorgeous girlfriend. She will wow the press."

Claudia hadn't heard that, but was looking at us. She was gorgeous. She was about to be famous. I smiled and gestured to her to come over. I whispered to her, "Kristin thinks you should come with me for backup."

She stared to me and said, "You are kidding, I'm not even a family member."

Kristin said, "He doesn't need a mommy at a press conference. You do it. The two of you make a fine couple."

Claudia grabbed her and went inside muttering about a girl needing to fix herself up.

The next few hours were a blur, with many funny moments. With all the traffic and several roadblocks, Claudia and I barely got there before the Mayor started talking. It took ten minutes for him to explain the virtues of Flemington and how fortunate his community was to have such a fine police force, which had noticed two suspicious vehicles and called them in, resulting in the FBI apprehension of terrorists.

Before he finished, reporters were howling, "What about the firefight, what about the family?"

Luckily, the FBI had a pretty blond woman in full battle gear to give their much censored story. She was on message, looked and sounded tough, and wasn't taking any nonsense from the media. She announced that since there was still an active crime site outside town, she was needed there and additional questions should go to the northern New Jersey headquarters in Newark. I whispered, "Great job," to her as I went to the mike.

I had just got started describing the Anderson family business when a reporter shouted, "Who is that woman with you?"

I could tell they weren't going to leave me alone until Claudia had been introduced and waved at her to join me on the podium. She looked like a million dollars and had on her best smile. The light makeup she and Kristin had worked on was perfect. The cameras were loving her and eclipsing me. That was just fine. More Claudia and less Andersons was good. I started again, and the same reporter shouted, "Is she your girlfriend?" She spoke up, "Torben and I just finished school together and yes, we have been dating."

Miraculously, I got the short direct story of our coming to the country house told without stumbling or having obnoxious questions. It was obvious the TV guys and the still photographers were doing their best to get Claudia in every shot. As I finished, someone called out, "Would Ms. Resnick please answer a few questions?"

I stepped back as Claudia flashed her million kilowatt smile and took the mike.

"Would you please tell us about your ordeal. How did it feel not knowing whether the terrorists were coming after you or not?"

My girlfriend of a few days handled the media with aplomb. In her book, the men were men, taking care of their women, ready to fight to defend their families. Her dark eyes flashed as she described the tension of nearly forty-eight hours in tight quarters. How everyone remained calm. How relieved she was to have me to rely on. Her arm was around my waist and the cameras were exploding.

Just as the questions were closing in on details I did not want to answer, Chief Warrington came up and announced that the press conference was ended because of urgent duties of everyone involved.

I thanked him profusely. He said, "Torben, you handled that just right and your girlfriend is a star."

As I started the car through the traffic, still waving off reporters, I said, "You better get to Martina. Those pictures are going to be everywhere and I mean everywhere. Are your folks still in Milan?"

She looked at me and said, "Did I do all right?"

"All right? You were the damn star of the show. All the dumb questions got deflected. You saved my butt."

She laughed and dialed Martina. "Hi, it's Claudia." There was a loud screech from the phone. "Where are you? Your picture is all over the TV. You and Torben look so cute. Are you all right?"

After a few minutes of explanation, and a promise to try to get to her house tonight rather than go home, Martina agreed to find the folks and fill them in before the media did.

Another half hour and we were at the farmhouse. The baggage for Axel's car, which we had been using, was piled in front. I opened the trunk and started loading as the family came out. He asked, "How did it go?"

"Good, I think. The national news only does soundbites, and between the FBI blond and Claudia, the women will get all the publicity and some things we would rather not have the media know are untouched so far. Did the security guy come out? I didn't have much chance to talk to him."

"He was here. We gave him a check for a generous deposit. He is ok not having a key to the house. I gave him a note to show to the FBI or any cops that come around."

Kristin and Claudia had our packs on the porch. Kristin was showing Claudia her picture on the news on her phone, and they were giggling. I went around hugging and kissing the women, and shaking hands with the men. We congratulated ourselves for dodging the bullet, literally, this morning, and having two cars full of terrorists not after us anymore.

We had to go back through Flemington on the way home, and about halfway through town, someone yelled, "There they are!" Claudia's skirt was flying and she screamed in my ear about the terrible pictures being taken of her legs and underwear. Oh boy, she was going to get film offers out of this.

By the time we reached Martina's, we were shot. Dirty, smelly, hungry. She took us in and got hot showers going, found sweatshirts and shorts, and brought margaritas to the patio where we collapsed.

"You are famous. You are truly, truly famous. Look at this." She opened her laptop on the table and ran some of the video coverage of the press conference. And a few ending shots of a Claudia thigh next to mine on the bike. Except hers was bare and mine was in jeans.

We asked about her folks. "It's after midnight over there and they were asleep in their hotel. But they turned on CNN while I was on the line and you were on. Your stepmother couldn't stop shouting, "My daughter, my daughter." Claudia and Martina smiled, because the relationship with the stepmother wasn't all that warm.

I closed my eyes. "Martina, what if we hide out here for a few days. We can't avoid the press entirely, but what if we arrange a select few exclusives and do them at Claudia's house. Hire a guard to keep order out front, and disappear when we are done."

Her kiss was tender. "You poor thing, of course you can hide out in my bed." Snickers from Kristin and Claudia.

I said, "Martina, you are the most loving woman in the world, but predatory around others. I thought you were going to find some big, well hung bruiser with money?"

I took a long drink of tequila and lime juice as she pounded on me for not appreciating her.

My tongue found her lips and I pulled her in close with a firm hand on her behind. "You have to be considerate. I have the nicest girlfriend ever, who gives me wonderful privileges. She is already a star and I will have trouble keeping her when the film offers come in. You know about those casting couches, don't you?"

Now I had all three of them beating on me, which I richly deserved. "Louse! Faithless wretch! Undeserving wimp!"

Claudia was wiggling in my lap and kissing me wetly. "Torben," she whispered, "I really did lean on you at the farmhouse. Every time I came upstairs you were there, solid as a rock. I think maybe I am going to latch onto you permanently. What if we go to the same school together?"

I sipped my drink and went after her tongue with mine. I had my arm around Kristin, who felt warm and solid herself. I needed to get these bodies together with mine in a nice bed.

I looked up. "We have to try to contact Lief."

She held my head to her side. "I just talked to him. He expects to be here tomorrow. I told him we were at Martina's."

"What about danger?"

"He said the FBI, the CIA and the Norwegian counter-terror people are constructing a trail leading back to the source of the attack. More news when we see him. He thinks the threat is low."

I said, teasingly, "Martina, about that invitation to your bed. These two expect to come too."

She looked at me with innocent wide eyes, "Ooh, you are going to take care of all three of us?"

I growled, "You are going over my knee. You have three survivors of a terrorist attack in your home and you are making terrible suggestions."

Four of us did get in her bed, and nobody got any action.

The sun was bright when the phone rang to wake us. I answered to hear, "Torben, it is Lief. Thank you for taking care of Kristin. May I talk to her?"

Mom jumped out of bed and stood in her briefs, "Oh, it is so good to hear your voice again. Are you nearby?" Their conversation went on for some minutes. Claudia and Martina hugged me. I rolled them over and applied kisses, mumbling little words in their ears about loving them. Martina asked Claudia, "Dearest niece, are you going to share him with me?"

Claudia sat up, her flat chest in the sunlight. "Auntie, he told me you are supposed to be off his cock and finding another?"