Super

Chapter 19: Plot, Counterplot

Lex nodded, looking at the clock. Since she had two minutes left, she wrote to Riss and copied Casey, congratulating Riss on a good job, reminding her to follow up if she needed more information from her or Casey, and asking about the name-changing deadline. Lex hit send quickly, and then watched until her clock turned 5:36, and sure enough, the sent e-mail and the one from Riss disappeared as if they had never been. The e-mails began flowing over the next few days, with Riss requesting information about the other two women's bank accounts and Casey giving status updates on travel and logistics. She'd set up lockers for them at Union Station and stocked them with things for their eventual journey, and managed to slip the two of them locker keys over the following few days.

After a week or two, Lex sat at her desk one afternoon, waiting until she could check her e-mail. She'd been reading the headlines in the local paper to pass time, but one caught her eye. “Arsonist Vows Revenge,” which included a photo of the eventual burnt-out hulk that Lex and her team had pulled hundreds of people safely out of.

Her eyebrows rose as she read the text of a letter that had arrived at several local news outlets, purportedly from a self-proclaimed serial arsonist.

“My life has been ruined by...” Lex frowned as the text cut off briefly. The explanation the newspaper gave was that the accusations the arsonist made were potentially libelous, to which Lex shook her head with irritation.

“...but I will get my revenge against them by continuing to incinerate these firebomb death traps they have people living in. If this happens to hundreds or thousands more, maybe someone can understand the daily agony I live in. For those who may want to stop me, I warn you away, since my next effort will be even more foolproof. If you try to rescue any of those who are doomed, you will go up in flames yourselves.”

Lex's mind began racing as she stared out her window at the water, so much so that she nearly missed her e-mail window. Hurrying to check it, she found no big items that day, so she sent out one of her own.

“Hey, All: How do you feel about 'dying' in a fire? I'm still trying to firm up the details, so this may not work out, but I wanted to let you know that I may have a lead. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything solid. Thanks to both of you for your hard work. - Lex”

As soon as she closed her e-mail, Lex re-read the article again, and then called Clara. The phone rang until she got the woman's voicemail, so she left a message.

“Clara, it's Lex. I wondered if you'd seen the ‘Arsonist Vows Revenge’ story in the headlines today,” she asked. “Take a look if you haven't. I don't know if there's any precedent for a request like this, but if the arsonist strikes again around here, can the team get involved? I think we can get the people out of the building again, but I'd like to have a free hand in dealing with the situation and all the resources I request. Let me know what you think when you have a moment. Thanks!” She hung up then, still staring at the article in the newspaper.

Busy with work and escape preparations, to Lex, the next few weeks flew by. New IDs and credit cards had been procured for everyone due to Riss and Casey's efforts, and everything had been hidden in the lockers with the rest of their gear. Lou had decided to come along as well, so all preparations had been made for that, too.

At some point during the preparation stage, she received an e-mail from Casey that read, “Going out of town this weekend to figure out how to say goodbye to my relatives without telling them what I'm up to. Hope you're managing to do the same, Lex.”

Thinking along those lines, Lex scheduled dinner with her two sisters the following weekend. No one had seen her younger brother for years or she'd have invited him, too. Also, she'd been lucky enough to have been invited to a brunch some of her old friends had planned a few days later, but the thing she remembered most as she looked back at that time was the dinner with her sisters.