The truth behind the venture was much more covert. Some would say sinister. Admiral Winters couldn’t believe his eyes as he read the story the author portrayed. He claimed that Lewis found something when he was in Oregon, something that both terrified and fascinated him.
When the expedition was over and everyone returned home, Lewis kept his reports, afraid to share them with the president for fear that the man would want to return to the West Coast, dig up what he’d found, and use it.
At first, it had seemed like a wild tale, something of pure fiction, but the more Winters read, the more plausible it seemed.
He’d taken vacations to the Oregon coast, made his way over the border into Washington, and even gone into Canada to investigate. Every time, however, he came back empty. He had made the journey down the Lewis and Clark Trail, traveling across country and stopping in every famous place, and even a few that weren’t, along the way. Still, he found nothing. Until he discovered the Madison letter.
Just when he’d considered giving up hope and abandoning his obsession, a new idea popped into his head. He’d seen Sean Wyatt and Tommy Schultz on numerous news reports detailing their exploits and their knack for uncovering ancient secrets. They were the perfect puppets for his scheme. All he had to do was find the proper leverage.
He knew from Wyatt’s reputation that he and his friend Schultz could be trouble, but if properly handled with great care Winters was confident that he could manipulate the two into doing what he needed. Other than the hiccup with Boyd killing one of his own men in Billings, it seemed things were going according to plan.
Winters was well aware that he was far from out of the woods yet, but he was closer now than he ever imagined. Soon, the power of the seas would be his to command. Not only would the United States be forever the unquestioned power on water, but he would become the most feared man in the entire world.
36
Browning
“What are you doing out here?” Sean asked over the whine of the car’s engine.
Emily shook her head. “We don’t have time for that right now. We need to get out of here.” Her voice boomed over the noise in their ears. Her eyelids were slits to protect against the icy gales.
The road stretched out for miles in front of them without another vehicle in sight. The peaks of Glacier National Park towered into the sky in the distance.
“What do you mean?” Tommy asked.
“You’re being watched,” Emily said. She pushed the sunglasses up higher on the bridge of her nose. “Someone’s following you.”
“Again?”
“Yes.” She didn’t ask for clarification on what that meant. Plus, she had a feeling he knew. “And that’s not all. We need to move quickly.”
The two men looked around, twisting their heads in every direction.
“You won’t see them,” Emily said. “But they’re out there. Sean, you of all people know better than to expect a tail to be so obvious.”
“Sorry.”
“One of my operatives is driving your SUV. Other than that, I don’t think there will be any witnesses.”
“Except for the shop owner back there.”
“Did he recognize you?”
“No, but he won’t be a problem. He’s a good guy.”
Emily wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t press the issue.
Sean knew not to ask any more questions at the moment. Emily was in full director mode even if Sean didn’t work with or for her anymore. Tommy, however, wasn’t accustomed to being ordered around. He was about to fire a flurry of questions toward Emily when Sean caught his gaze and shook his head.
“Let it go,” Sean whispered.
Tommy caught his meaning and nodded.
He cradled the second segment of the golden ring in his palms as he leaned back into the rear seat of the Sequoia. The ring segment fit perfectly with the other, connecting via a perfectly cut set of teeth on each end. Now there was only one left, one piece that would complete the ring.
But then what? What happened after that?
Neither man had an idea, but they hoped that once the ring was completed they would be able to parlay that into getting President Dawkins back safely.
Emily kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead. Gripping the wheel tightly as she guided the SUV down the road.
“What’s going on, Em?” Sean asked.
“We think the people who are following you are the same ones who are really behind the Dawkins abduction.”
“Figured that much.”
“That’s not all.”
“Figured that, too.” He winked.
She shook her head. “Always the smart aleck. Local law enforcement will be on their way shortly.”
“To Camp Disappointment?” Tommy asked. The information suddenly reeled him into the conversation.
“That’s right. I got word that they’re sending out a bunch of county and state cops to surround the area and bring you in.”
Sean processed what she was saying. “But if they did that, they’d figure out we don’t have Dawkins.” He knew he was reaching.
“Yeah, okay. You realize that whoever is behind this is not going to give up that easily. What I need to know is what are you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere digging around in the frozen soil?”
Tommy leaned forward and showed off the two segments of the golden ring in his hands. “We’re looking for this,” he said.
“What is that?” Emily asked.
“We’re not sure yet,” Sean confessed, “but it has one more piece to it. I guess we’ll know what it does or what it is when we find the last section.”
“And why is that so important?”
“Because the people who took Dawkins are forcing us to figure out an ancient riddle that apparently revolves around this thing,” Tommy answered in a long breath.
“I can’t believe you brought him into this,” Emily said, motioning with a flick of the head toward Tommy.
“I didn’t,” Sean admitted. “He found me, too, just like you did. Guess I’m not as good at disappearing as I used to be.”
“You were never that good,” Emily quipped. She let the dig linger in the cabin like a belch. Then she cracked a smile at her old friend.
“That hurts,” he said, pretending to be devastated.
Her grin broadened into a full, sarcastic smirk. “Just saying. If he can find you…”
“Hey.” Now it was Tommy’s turn to be insulted.
The SUV began to climb a long, straight hill. At the top, the three occupants saw another vehicle appear, rolling toward them quickly. From the looks of the headlights and the rack on top, they were certain it was a squad car.
“Looks like I got to the two of you just in time,” Emily said. “Do me a favor and duck down, please.”
Sean didn’t have to be told twice. He leaned forward, unclipping his seatbelt so he could get almost entirely onto the floor. Tommy, too, ducked down, lying across the back seat to stay out of view through the windshield.
“If they pull me over, we’re going to have a tough time getting out of it,” Emily said through barely parted lips.
Sean knew what that meant. They couldn’t fight or shoot their way out of it with the cops. That would never fly. He didn’t have an issue taking the life of a bad person who was trying to hurt him, a friend, or someone innocent. Cops, on the other hand, were just doing their jobs. He couldn’t use lethal force against someone who had a family, a wife, kids, or friends that loved them.
So, he said a silent prayer that the car heading toward them wouldn’t stop.
It took less than thirty seconds for Emily to realize it wasn’t a police car. It was the right model and make, a Dodge Charger with a roll cage on the front and a rack on top. It wasn’t, however, a police cruiser. She glanced down at the two men attempting to stay out of view and decided to let them linger a few seconds longer. It wasn’t often she got those kinds of kicks.
“Is it gone?” Sean asked. He
sounded like a child.
“Almost,” Emily said, her tone full of sincere urgency. “Just lay low another few seconds.”
The Charger passed the SUV with a whoosh. “Just hold on,” she said, her tone still full of concern as she looked into the rearview mirror, making sure the “threat” was gone before telling Sean and Tommy they could get back up.
The two men sat up in their seats and reengaged their seatbelts.
“That was too close,” Sean said, twisting his head slightly to look back through the rear window.
“No kidding,” Tommy said. “How in the world did they find us?”
“And where are the other people you mentioned?” Sean added.
“Oh, they’re here,” Emily said, still holding onto her little prank, “but we might be able to lose them now that your car is back there. That little ruse may buy us some time but not much. The Feds are on your tail, too, Sean.”
“I figured.”
“That little stunt you pulled back in Billings caught the full attention of the FBI. The director has put one of his top men on the case. He’s here in Montana now. He’s the one who called in the cavalry back there. Name is Matthew Petty. He’s a good agent, too good sometimes. It’s a sure bet he’ll know something went down here, though I doubt he’ll trace it to me.”
“That’s a big risk you’re taking, Emily, coming out here to help us.”
She shook her head. “The bigger risk was doing nothing. I love John, and if I have to break a few rules to find out what really happened to him, then I’ll do it.”
She drove the SUV back into Browning. When they came to a four-way stop, Emily turned the car to the west and kept the speed at the town’s low limit until they were beyond the city boundaries and the speed limit increased to a more reasonable level.
Ahead, the massive Rocky Mountains of Glacier National Park rose from the prairies high into the sky. The clouds parted and revealed one of the snowy peaks for a moment, only to cover it once more in the soupy gray that permeated most of the atmosphere.
“So,” Emily said, breaking the temporary silence, “tell me all about what it is you two are doing out here and what you’re hoping to find.”
Sean relayed the tale to her, telling her all about the video they’d received at the lab, his narrow escape from Atlanta, and how he’d pieced together a few of the clues—enough to figure out that Fort Mandan was the first place he needed to go. Then he told her about how Tommy found him. Sean also threw in the side story about the diner and how he’d stopped a robbery.
“That one probably cost you,” Emily said.
“Maybe,” Sean admitted, “but what was I supposed to do, let them rob the place?”
“Perhaps.”
“You know me better than that.”
“I do. Always the Boy Scout.”
He snorted a laugh.
“Where are you going next?” she asked. “You said you need one more piece to complete that ring. And you think the people behind this will be satisfied with that and give John back?”
“I doubt it,” Sean said. “I was hoping that would be the case, but I have a feeling these aren't the types of people that will keep their word.”
A sudden sense of dread washed over Emily. “Do you know if he’s still alive?”
Sean shook his head. “I have no way of knowing that, but I think he is.”
“Why do you think that?” She used the voice he’d heard many times before. It was the tone that demanded answers even if they weren’t accurate or well founded.
Sean couldn’t explain, and he didn’t want to say it was just a hunch. Luckily, he didn’t have to.
“We have a letter from President James Madison,” Tommy explained. “It was included with the video of John. We’ve figured out the first two sections of the riddle. Now, there’s only one remaining. Once we have it, we’ll make the trade with these goons.”
Emily nodded. “Fine. We’re going to Columbia Falls. We’ll stay there with my friend for the night. Maybe while we’re there you two can figure out the last part of this riddle, and we can get to John in time.”
Sean didn’t say anything, intentionally leaving out the part about how they were on a tight timeline.
If they were being followed, then the people reporting back to whoever was in charge would know that Sean and Tommy were getting closer with each step.
He turned around and looked out the back window again. No one was within sight. For a moment, he wondered if the people behind this entire game were in an aircraft, watching them from above, but he quickly dismissed the thought as irrational.
“Was there a tracking device on the 4Runner?” Sean blurted. The epiphany came to him abruptly.
“Probably,” Emily said, “but there’s something bigger going on. I don’t know who is behind this, but they probably have strings attached in all kinds of places. I’m talking the bureau, the CIA, NSA, even the military. It seems like most of the heat is still on the East Coast right now, but we still have to be careful. And I know that one particular FBI agent is on your tail.”
“Oh yeah? How do you know that?”
“Because his superior told me.”
Sean and Tommy both arched their eyebrows. They were rarely caught off guard by Emily’s connections. She answered only to the president, which meant many people had to answer to her. That fact just sort of hung there in the minds of her friends, but now and then when she said it out loud it seemed heavier.
“Director Hollis briefed you about this?” Sean asked. He knew who the FBI director was. Didn’t particularly care for the guy, but he didn’t hate him, either. Hollis came across as just another ladder climber, someone with a thirst for power and a cushy government pension at the end of a long career. That didn’t make him a bad person and, as far as Sean knew, the guy wasn’t as corrupt as some of the others in DC. Maybe he wasn’t corrupt at all. Sean always hoped that was the case.
“Yes, he did,” Emily said. “He has one of his best on the case, like I told you a minute ago. You may or may not realize that the FBI has a special operations unit under Hollis’s direct control. It’s newer; most people—even in my line of work—are unaware it exists. It’s called Group Z. No clue where the name came from, but they are composed of some of the best agents the bureau has to offer.”
“Sounds like someone might be invading your turf a little there, Em.”
“Hardly.” She blew off the comment, though there was a tone in her voice that alluded to the possibility he was right.
In Emily’s world, there weren’t many jobs like hers and certainly no agencies that operated the way Axis did. If the FBI had put together something similar, it could have been perceived as a play to hedge some of her operations, though only on a domestic scale. Then again, once someone had a taste of that kind of power, it was hard to pull them back.
Still, Emily didn’t feel like her job was in jeopardy. She felt more secure in her career than most. She’d proved herself over the years and was a trustworthy asset in the president’s arsenal. Emily Starks wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon unless it was on her own terms.
“Petty is on the trail,” Emily said. “He won’t stop until he finds you two, which means the clock is ticking.”
“The clock was already ticking,” Tommy said from the back, trying to joke a little.
“Well, now it’s ticking faster. Whatever you two need to do to clear your names, do it and do it soon. The noose is closing in, and I don’t know how long I can hold off the executioner.”
“You make it sound like so much fun,” Sean joked.
“It’s not supposed to be.”
“I know. Tommy and I end up in these situations more than we’d like, and it’s never fun, but this is worse.” His tone grew contemplative, sincere. “I love John, too, Em. And there’s nothing that will stop us from finding out who took him. When we do, they’ll pay. I can promise you that.”
Emily wasn’t much for bravado or talk about reve
nge. It wasn’t her thing. Justice, that was what she fought for, and while punishing those who were responsible for John’s disappearance had a certain level of appeal to it, she also didn’t want to become the monster she was hunting.
“Right now, let’s just worry about getting to Columbia Falls. Once we’re there, we can get cleaned up, get some rest, and try to figure out where you two knuckleheads need to go next.”
“Already working on it,” Tommy said.
He was scanning a copy of the letter in the back seat, reading over the last passage that he hoped would lead them to the third clue and, subsequently, the third piece of the ring.
Up ahead, the road rose and fell, climbing over the hills and then rolling back down again onto the plains. The mountains of Glacier National Park loomed like stone giants shrouded in frigid shadows and cradled by gray clouds above.
The scene was ominous, and Sean hoped that the visual wasn’t a sign of things to come. They’d been somewhat lucky so far, and Emily showing up when she had was beyond fortuitous. But Sean also knew that luck could turn as fast as the weather in Big Sky Country. The sooner they figured out the last part of this riddle, the better.
37
Browning
Agent Petty winced against the raging wind. The air seemed full of darts, each stinging his face and eyes with every passing gust. The wind, though, wasn’t bothering him as much as it might have had the circumstances been different.
Instead, the focus of his ire wasn’t the weather. It was the blatant incompetence of local law enforcement.
Petty had called in the cavalry, ordered the sheriff and as many cops as he could muster to head out to Camp Disappointment to arrest Sean Wyatt and Tommy Schultz. The fugitives were to be detained until Petty arrived and could question them.
None of that had happened. And it stoked the already burning fire in Petty’s gut.
“How? How did you let them get away, Sheriff?” His voice echoed through the valley and bounced off the rock outcroppings. Petty made no attempt to hide his fury and the absolute disappointment he felt.
The Omega Project Page 29
