Arbitrary and Capricious by Jim Lively

Author:Jim Lively [Lively, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Treaty Oak Publishers
Published: 2022-11-18T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Sanders got up extra early on weekdays so he could get his exercise before work. Tuesday morning was cool as dawn was breaking. It took him just over ten minutes to reach the soccer fields on the UT Dallas campus. He jogged clockwise around the fields before stopping for a drink of water from a fountain on the east side of the fields. It was cloudy and overcast.

He considered taking a more direct route back home but decided to go ahead and take the pathway south to Campbell Road. As usual, he met no one on the pathway.

It was extra dark with the cluster of tall pine trees surrounding both sides of the pathway shielded what little sunlight that managed to filter through the clouds. After ten minutes he reached a part of the pathway where there was a ten-yard clearing on the east side. During a clear day, the road leading from the east campus entrance to the center of campus was just visible on the east horizon.

Midway through the clearing, his right shoelace came untied. He was in the process of dropping to one knee to tie his shoe, when something that made a shrill crack flew over his head and smashed into the trunk of pine tree on the west side of trail. The crash sparked and ripped the bark of the tree open upon impact.

Sanders lost his balance and fell face first on the concrete pathway. He froze in position, trying to grasp what he just experienced. A few seconds passed before he pushed himself up to a kneeling position. He scanned the east horizon and spotted a black car speeding south towards the east entrance to campus.

What the hell just happened?

He managed to get to his feet. His left elbow was stinging where it had scraped the concrete. Sanders ambled over and examined the tree, finding a two-inch wound on the trunk where an object struck it. A sudden chill shot down his spine.

I think someone just took a shot at me.

Sanders’ stomach recoiled, making him a bit unsteady on his feet. His heart pounded in his chest.

Instead of continuing down the pathway south, he turned around and jogged north on the pathway, back to where he started. If the shooter was driving the black car, Sanders did not want to go anywhere near Campbell Road.

He stopped to catch his breath when he reached the top of the pathway where the sightlines were clear. Except for a woman jogging around the perimeter of the soccer fields, no one was there. Sanders continued jogging until he reached his townhouse. He unlocked the front door, dashed several steps into his entry hall, and bent over at the waist, panting.

Should I call the FBI?

* * *

Sanders arrived a little bit late to Global Data Systems. He parked his Spider as close to the entrance as possible. When he exited his car, he stood and surveyed the entire parking lot before hurrying up the sidewalk to the entrance.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the building.

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