Outlier: One mistake can destroy everything. (13 page)

Bancroft had just finished uploading the surveillance video from the grocery store. He’d captured it covertly while following Hutchins. Remarkable footage. He waited for Weismann to get a chance to review the incident. He knew she’d have specific instructions. He suspected this particular experiment was soon coming to a close.

“Bancroft,” he said, clicking the keypad on his laptop.

“Excellent footage. Where is the subject now?”
 

“In his home,” he said, looking at the smaller screen in the upper right. Jay appeared to be having some kind of temper tantrum inside his home. “However, he is increasingly unstable. There is mounting interference from civilians. Not sure if the subject will be present tomorrow as expected,” he finished.

“As of now, Mr. Bancroft, our primary objective is to get the subject in that location. We’d like to see how he performs under duress, with as many unknown variables as possible. Do you understand?” she asked, with extreme seriousness. Bancroft thought. She continued. “Ideally, we’d like to see how he responds under a live-fire situation.”

Bancroft stroked his chin, thinking. He’d done much more difficult jobs, but this was particularly unique. She wanted him to not only show up at school tomorrow, but to somehow get the authorities—and their weapons—involved. Flipping apples off a display case was one thing, but deflecting bullets was something else. That he would like to see.

“Affirmative. Request permission to contact the subject,” Bancroft said. He’d have to convince Jay to sit tight at home tonight, and then let loose at school tomorrow.

“Granted,” Weismann said, ending the call. He checked his weapon, making sure the safety was off. He didn’t think Hutchins had that kind of skill yet, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He slowly approached the front door. Hutchins answered after the second knock, visibly upset. Before speaking, Bancroft peered behind Hutchins.

“Jay, my name is William. I’m with BioGyn. May I come in?” Jay seemed to calm down at the name of BioGyn. Jay stepped back, not speaking. Bancroft purposely avoided the mess. Furniture upended. Books strewn across the floor. He smelled the air to ensure that nothing was burning.

“Jay, I’ll be brief. I don’t have much time. I don’t need to tell you how special you are. You are part of a very, very important experiment. It’s a matter of national security. Tomorrow is the final test. Tonight, I want you to get some rest. Get something to eat, and then go to sleep.

“We’ll be watching tomorrow. If you do well, we’ll have a very important job for you to do for the government. The country needs you, Jay. You are about to become a very important person,” Bancroft finished, emphasizing the last three words. Jay looked at him, awestruck. He’d noticed Bancroft’s weapon, which Bancroft had made sure was clearly visible when he’d walked in.

“What do you want me to do?” Jay asked, speaking with difficulty.

“We think some or all of the students at Rockport are terrorists. We want you to help us eliminate them and the teachers as well. We’ll be watching closely; if you get into any trouble, we’ll send in a backup team to help you. But we’d like you to do as much as you can on your own. Do you understand? Wait until as many of these terrorists, posing as children, are in one location. Then do whatever you can to eliminate them. You’ve spoken to Mr. Goldberg, correct?”

Jay nodded his head, eyes wide with excitement.

“Good. Do you remember the rules?” Bancroft asked. Jay nodded.

“Tell them to me,” Bancroft said, smiling.

“Don’t touch anybody, and don’t tell anybody,” Jay said, barely able to contain himself.

“Very good, Mr. Hutchins. Now get some rest; tomorrow you have a very important day ahead of you,” Bancroft said, and got up and left.

As he walked out to his car, he glanced up and down the street, wondering about the neighbors. Jay didn’t seem to make much noise.

Two things he might have to deal with. If Jay’s mother showed up unexpectedly, he’d have to eliminate her before she became an issue. And if the authorities showed up, he would have to detain them until Jay went to work the next morning.

He counted the houses surrounding Jay’s. Only eight.

This should be a peaceful evening,
he thought to himself. A Sunday night in the suburbs. But by tomorrow this time, Jay’s house and the town of Rockport would be on everybody’s mind. All those students with their smartphones and cameras.

Social media was going to explode.

Monday Morning

Sean had gotten up at 5 a.m. He knew Jay reported to work at 9; that meant he left around 8:30 or so. His plan was to show up at 7 a.m., sneak into the backyard, and then wait for him to shower. While Jay was showering, he would enter the home; he’d eliminate him as soon as he came out of the shower. He’d have to make sure the blunt force trauma to the back of his head appeared as though it had come from the corner of the sink; he’d arrange the body to look like Jay had slipped getting out of the shower. He’d played it out a few times in his mind. One swift knock to the back of his skull. Then a quick snap of his neck in the direction of the fall he would later arrange.

Judging by the video of the locker incident, which he’d watched several dozen times, Jay seemed to need a few moments of concentration before causing movement. Sean further assumed that his skills were growing, so he would hide in the hallway just outside the bathroom door. If his mom was home, he would neutralize her; but he suspected she wasn’t. For some reason, she’d been gone the last few days. He knew she sometimes did short-term assignments in other cities, but he hadn’t been able to get any information from the temp service in town.

It wasn’t the only one she used. He also suspected that she was engaging in welfare fraud, as she did receive a sizable monthly payment. She most likely was paid under the table for her temp work, which meant there were no records of any employment details. Had this been an official investigation, he would have been able to subpoena phone records and track down her potential location.

He pulled into the street directly behind Jay’s. He checked his watch: 6:30. He wore loose tan pants, a dark blue turtleneck, and latex gloves. His weapon was holstered; the safety was off. His badge was tucked inside his back pocket, in its leather case. If any of the neighbors saw him, he planned to simply put his finger to his lips and quickly flash his badge. The path from his car to the house directly behind Jay’s was ten yards. It was another thirteen yards down the side to their backyard and over the fence to Jay’s backyard. He could hop the fence with minimal effort. He recalled from Jay’s backyard that the fence was held up with four-by-four posts, which were sufficient to hold his weight. Sunrise was at 6:37, giving him a little cover of the remaining darkness. He double-checked his glove box. He grabbed his phone as a backup weapon.

After sitting in his car for three minutes, verifying that no lights were on in any adjacent houses, he crept out. He swiftly crossed the street. Thirty seconds later he was in the backyard behind Jay’s. He stopped and listened. It wouldn’t do to be seen vaulting the fence, and he couldn’t risk being seen by the neighbor either. He found a wide enough space between the fence boards and peered through. Jay’s house was still dark. Perfect.

He stepped back a few feet and quickly hopped the fence, bracing his left hand on the fencepost and turning in the process. He landed facing the far corner of Jay’s backyard. He neither heard nor saw Bancroft, who quickly brought the grip of his handgun down on the back of Sean’s head, momentarily stunning him. By the time Sean realized what was happening, his gun had been removed, and the barrel of Bancroft’s gun was pressed into the back of his head. He’d been searched, and all his belongings, including his badge, had been removed. What he heard next was both confusing and terrifying.

“Listen very carefully, Detective Lovac. In 74 minutes, at 8:15 a.m., Mr. Hutchins is going to leave for Rockport-Fulton. You are not going to interfere with that. I am going to put plastic restraints on both your wrists and your legs. I’m going to cover your mouth. I am going to drag you over to the side of Mr. Hutchins’ house. I will be able to watch you from my car. If you emerge before Mr. Hutchins leaves, I will kill you. If you try and get back to your car before Mr. Hutchins leaves, I will kill you. If you attempt in any way to contact anybody before that time, including Mr. Hutchins, I will kill you. Do you understand?” Bancroft asked. His voice was calm and steady, as if dictating instructions on how to program a microwave.

Sean nodded his head once.

“After Mr. Hutchins leaves, I will wait in my car for twenty minutes, giving him sufficient time to arrive at work. At that time, you may do whatever you wish. I’ll even honk three times letting you know it’s safe to come out. Do you understand?” Bancroft asked.

Sean nodded his head, eyes wide with a mix of fear and anger.

“Good day, Detective Lovac. I doubt you will ever see me again. I’ll leave your belongings in your apartment.”

Sean waited. He wanted to turn his head to glimpse his assailant, but he didn’t dare.

Ninety-four minutes. He felt the restraints, estimating that it would only take five to ten minutes to remove them.

He calculated that it would only take Jay fifteen minutes to walk to school.

He started planning.

Chi was frantic. She’d pleaded with her parents, but they had refused to let her stay home. Nobody believed what was happening. Despite a valiant attempt by the students to spread the warning via social media, all their parents and most of the teachers thought it was a prank. Even the principal and vice principal were somehow convinced it was their imagination and that the book had just fallen out of the locker. Nobody understood why Mr. Hutchins was still allowed to come to school.

As soon as Chi had seen him walking into the parking lot, she’d called Detective Lovac. No answer. She called again and left a message. That was five minutes ago. The students were huddled together in the cafeteria. Chi realized this was not the safest place, but it had been chosen quickly and in fear. There were four classrooms whose windows faced the parking lot, and when those students saw Mr. Hutchins coming into the parking lot with a huge smile on his face, they fled into the hallway. Whether somebody had suggested the cafeteria or they just went there as a terrified and unthinking herd, nobody knew. It was the closest room that all of them could fit it.

After huddling in the corner for a few minutes, many of them realized that separating would have been much better, but it was too late. Mr. Hutchins had seen them run, and he was walking directly toward them. By the time they’d filled the cafeteria, he was halfway across the parking lot. A few of the boys had positioned themselves near either of the doors, waiting to pounce as he walked in. They waited. And waited. Finally, one of them timidly peeked outside, then shook his head to his fellow students. Nothing. They looked at each other. Scared. Confused. Suddenly a girl screamed. Jay had circled around and was standing outside the window, looking in.

Nothing happened. Only Jay, staring. Smiling. Eyes wide with excitement, then with anger. Then the chairs started moving. Haphazardly at first, and then they started flinging themselves at the students, hitting a few of them. They were launched, one by one, into the quickly dispersing crowd. The crowd panicked, pushing through the double doors leading from the cafeteria out into the hallway. The nearest exit was fifty feet down the hall.

Several of the students stayed behind to help their fallen friends. Somehow managing to escape further injury, they followed the remaining crowd pushing itself through the doors.

Chi, the last to leave, looked back to make sure they hadn’t left any injured behind. There were no students, but Jay was now gone.

“He’s gone! He’s gone! Be careful; he may come around to the front!” she screamed, not sure anybody heard her. She felt her phone vibrating in her front pocket. She pulled it out. It was Detective Lovac.

“Detective! He’s here, and he’s throwing chairs around! Everybody’s running everywhere; nobody knows what to do! Please! Help us!” she pleaded with him.

“Chi,” Sean’s voice came through very powerfully. “Listen very carefully. He needs to concentrate to do that; do you understand? He needs time to focus. Do not let him do that. Talk to him, yell at him, throw stuff at him. I’ll be there in five minutes. Do you understand me?” he asked.

“Uh, OK,” she answered, her voice shaking. Was he really asking her to do that?

She ran to the front, where the kids were huddled in between cars in the parking lot, too terrified to do anything but hide. Chi found two of her friends. “Listen, I know what to do; follow me!” she said. Her friends looked at each other, eyes wide, shaking their heads.

“C’mon! I know what to do! The police told me; it’s OK!” she shouted, grabbing each of them by the arms and pulling.

They ran back between the last row of cars and the chain-link fence, slowly creeping up to the long driveway leading to the parking lot. They spotted Jay, standing next to a row of bicycles. He was staring at them intently, making them shoot out one by one, landing a few yards away. He didn’t seem to have much control of them. This gave Chi a much-needed boost of confidence.

She leaned over and told her friends their instructions. They listened, looking back and forth between her, Jay, and the various shapes of terrified and desperately crouching students in the parking lot. They saw a few faculty in the classrooms, looking out bewilderedly at the parking lot. Some of them had a clear vantage of Jay and were covering their mouths in horror.

Jay was about halfway through the bicycles, and twenty-five yards stood between him and the three girls. “You guys ready?” Chi asked, quickly looking at each of them. They looked at each other, looked at Chi, and nodded.

“OK. Let’s go.”

The three took off diagonally across the driveway, coming directly up behind Jay, carefully spreading out as they did so.