The Archangel Drones by Joe Nobody Read Free Book Online Page A

by any measure. He couldn’t envision a scenario that would escalate as described with such a calm guy. And why would the cops arrest Jacob? Why would they hurt his son?
    He tried a few more times to get a clearer picture from the distraught wife and mother, but she just repeated the same basic information over and over again.
    “Is Manny there?”
    “Yes. She’s on the internet, trying to figure out where the officers would take Jacob and Chip.”
    “May I speak to her?”
    There was a slight hesitation, and then, “Sure… she’s very upset, but I’ll get her.”
    It was a few moments before Manny’s shaken voice came on the line. “Hello, Mr. Chase… I’m so… so sorry.”
    “What happened, Manny? Tell it to me from the beginning.”
    “We were almost home, and this cop came up behind us. He followed Jacob for a while, and then when we turned on my street, he switched on the lights. I told Jay to pull over, but because we were almost to my house, he drove another block before stopping.”
    “And then what happened?”
    “The cop started walking toward the driver’s side window with his gun drawn. He shouted for Jacob to get out of the car… yelling like those guys do on TV. He shoved Jay up against the Honda… and then I don’t know what happened… but all of a sudden there were police everywhere. They threw Jay down on the ground, and he started crying out as if they were hurting him. I tried to run and get my dad, but a policeman pulled me back. And then everyone was fighting. I couldn’t see very well, but I think Jacob is hurt. He was moaning and screaming and… I’ve never heard anyone make noises like that, Mr. Chase.”
    All of the rage, fear, puzzlement, and apprehension in Gabriel Chase vanished after absorbing the girl’s last statement, replaced by a solitary, compelling need – he had to find his son.
    “They didn’t say where they were taking him?”
    “No. They put my dad in one car, Jacob in another. The cops stood around laughing and smiling for a few minutes, and then left.”
    Gabe tried to put it all together, but didn’t waste much mental firepower on the brainteaser. There was simply no scenario that made sense out of the account he was being given. Jacob was not one to be disrespectful to the authorities. Chip was a sensible man. In the end, it didn’t matter. What he needed was to get to his son.
    “Is your mom still there?”
    “Yeah. Hold on, let me get her for you.”
    Gabe could hear the muffled sound of someone blowing her nose, explaining the brief delay before the distraught woman took the receiver. More settled this time, Amanda’s voice came back on the line. “Hello?”
    “Amanda, I’m going down to the local police station and see what I can find out about both Chip and Jacob. Let’s keep each other informed. I’ll call you the minute I know anything. Please do the same.”
    “Okay, Gabe… and thank you. I’m sorry I was such a mess before.”
    He chuckled politely, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not far from joining you. I’ll be in touch.”
    He disconnected the call. Glancing up into the pale countenance of his wife, he realized she had obviously been hanging on every word. “Tell me,” she insisted, her motherly instincts bristling from hearing one side of the conversation and arriving at the worst place as her mind filled in the gaps. “Is he alive?”
    “Yes, Mother, he’s alive. There was an incident with the police, but neither Manny nor Amanda could tell me why. Chip got involved, and apparently, he was arrested, too. Other than that, I just got a bunch of gibberish that didn’t make much sense.”
    “Thank, God,” she said, having to sit back on the edge of the bed. “As long as he’s alive, everything will be okay.”
    With his wife following closely behind, he perched at his desk in his home office and was soon combing through an old telephone book for the local constable’s office number. The call was answered on the