“I don’t fancy it at all,” Kilmer said. “If he’s not trying to get information from Stolz, then he has another source.”
“Ops 751?” He shrugged. “You said Donavan is working on it.”
“If he’s not going down a blind alley. His source says it’s probably an army designation. It doesn’t make sense that they’d have any information about Grace.”
“Stolz is doing all he can,” Blockman said. “Nevins is a wizard and is covering his tracks. Even if I dropped an anonymous tip to North about him, I doubt if he’d be able to catch him.”
“If you can’t get more information from Stolz, then we’ll try it anyway.” Kilmer turned to go into the house. “Catch him or not, I want the bastard’s hands tied.”
Wake up.” Donavan threw open the door and hobbled on his crutch into Kilmer’s room. “I just got a call from my source in Washington. He gave me a list of Army Ops 75 projects.” He thrust the piece of paper at Kilmer. “Take a look at it and see if the same one strikes you in the gut.”
The list had seven project numbers on it. Kilmer’s gaze scanned them quickly until he came to number five: 75132.
“Holy shit.”
“That’s what I thought,” Donavan said grimly. “The question is, could Nevins pull it off?”
“Stolz says he’s a wizard. I wouldn’t want to take the chance.” His mind was quickly going over the possibilities. “He’s not interested in Stolz anymore because he realized he could approach the problem in another way. But he already had what he needed from him. He probably knew what time Blockman was making the calls. Even if he couldn’t trace them, he could latch on to the signal.”
“And let Ops 751 take care of it. Is it too late?”
“It may be.” Kilmer was throwing on his clothes. “It depends how far along Nevins was at nine this evening. Call the bunkhouse and get the guys moving. Tell Blockman I want him up here quick.”
“Grace and Frankie?”
“I’ll wake them. Jesus, I’m sure as hell not looking forward to it.” He went to the window and gazed out into the darkness. “No headlights on the road. But they could be coming by air. Get moving, Donavan.”
A hand was covering Grace’s mouth!
Her lids flew open at the same time the edge of her hand aimed at the throat of the blurred figure bending over her.
Kilmer caught her hand before it reached his throat. “Shh,” he whispered. “Try not to scare Frankie. Just wake her and tell her we have to move out. Now.”
Her heart jumped with panic. She tore his hand away from her lips. “How can I not scare her? Marvot?”
“Mom?” Frankie was sitting up in bed. “Something wrong?”
“Yes.” She was out of bed and throwing on her clothes. “Get dressed. Hurry.”
Frankie threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, her gaze on Kilmer. “What’s happening, Jake?”
“I’m not certain. Maybe nothing. I just want to take precautions.” He squatted in front of her. “There’s an old hunters’ cabin in the mountains. I’m going to send you and your mother and your friend Robert up there for a day or so. Nothing’s going to happen to you, I promise.”
“Why aren’t you going?”
“It’s better if I stay here to let you know when you can come back.” He stood up. “Now, hurry up. Robert should be waiting for you downstairs.”
“Okay.” Frankie ran to the bureau and started pulling out clothes.
Frustration was battling with panic as Grace got her knapsack down from the closet. Dammit, she’d done this only days ago. When would it stop? “Why are we on the run?” she asked Kilmer in a voice inaudible to Frankie. “What’s happening?”
“Ops 751 is probably Ops 75132,” he said. “It’s a satellite sent up by Army Intelligence two years ago. Presumably to gather military information to save the U.S. from terrorist attacks. A beautifully crafted spy vehicle with all the bells and whistles. It’s fully capable of grabbing a signal and zeroing in on any location in the world if pointed in the right direction.” He paused. “And like everything else in our modern-day world, it’s controlled by computers.”
Computers. “Nevins,” she whispered. “But how could he gain control of it? How would it be possible?”
“He’s brilliant. High-school hackers have broken into top-secret war rooms with no problem. Nevins is smarter, more experienced, and motivated. It’s definitely possible. I just don’t know if he’s done it yet or if we got lucky. I’m not taking any chances.” He started for the door. “Get out of here, Grace. I don’t know how much— Shit!”
She heard them too.
Rotors. A helicopter.
“Out!” Kilmer grabbed Frankie up in his arms and started at a run for the door. “Drop everything. Move.”
Grace was already running through the hall and down the stairs.
Robert was waiting at the foot of the stairs. “The jeep’s parked in back.” He grabbed Frankie’s hand as Kilmer set her down and strode toward the kitchen door. “Kilmer, how safe is that cabin?”
“It’s in the backwoods. A day or two. I should be able to reach you by then.”
The rotors were louder, lower as they reached the jeep.
“I won’t count on it,” Robert said. “If you don’t call me within twelve hours, I’m going to find another place to take them.”
He meant that Kilmer might be dead within twelve hours, Grace thought, chilled. She looked up at the night sky and saw the blue-white lights of the helicopter. She turned to Kilmer. “What are you going to do?”
“Take them out.” He lifted Frankie into the jeep. “What else?” He stepped back. “Move it, Blockman. Don’t turn on your lights. Get out of here before they see you. And no matter what happens, keep on going.”
A spatter of bullets splayed over the house from the helicopter.
A bedroom window shattered and glass showered down on the roof of the jeep.
Take them out? Grace thought frantically. That was military artillery the helicopter was firing. They had to dodge those bullets while waiting for the helicopter to get close enough to take their shot.
She glanced back over her shoulder as Robert tore down the road. The helicopter’s bullets were strafing the stable yard, and by the beam of the helicopter she could see men moving, running, ducking.
“Mom . . .” Frankie cuddled closer. “What about Jake?”
“He’ll be fine.” God, she hoped she was telling the truth. She wanted nothing more than to jump out and run back to the house that was now riddled with bullet holes. “He knows what he’s doing.”
“But I don’t see him.”
Neither did Grace. And the helicopter was lower now, the lights illuminating the scene with daylight clarity.
Where was Kilmer?
Do you want me to take the shot?” Donavan asked.
“No, I’ll do it.” Kilmer sighted down the barrel of the Springfield. “Of course, if you want to help, you could distract them by running across the stable yard.”
“Very funny. It better be soon. I figure that they’ll make one more pass to do as much damage as they can. Then they’ll land out of range in one of the paddocks and pour out of that tin can like gangbusters.”
“How remiss of me to not have a ground-to-air missile launcher. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“You should be. After my recent experience at El Tariq, my nerves are in a very delicate state. Just get it—”
“They’re coming back.”
Smart. They were moving fast and changing directions with every assault. This time they were coming in from the north. If the helicopter didn’t swerve from its present course, he should get a clear shot at the gas tank.
One shot.
“It better be good,” Donavan murmured. “Or you’ll never hear the end of it from me.”
“So what’s new?”
Coming fast. Make the shot a little ahead of the target. . . .
The helicopter exploded in a fiery detonati
on that lit up the night sky.
Grace’s arm tightened fiercely around Frankie. “Got them.”
Frankie was staring at the flaming wreckage plummeting to the ground. “Is Jake safe now?”
“I think so.” She supposed she shouldn’t display this barbaric satisfaction in front of Frankie. To hell with it. It was what she was feeling. She could explain later. “At least, safer.”
“Then can we go back?”
“You heard Jake,” Robert said. “We’re not to come back until he phones us and gives us the okay. I doubt if that’s going to happen. He’s probably going to arrange to meet us somewhere.”
Frankie obviously couldn’t take her eyes from the wreckage. “Because there will be someone else coming to the ranch,” she whispered. “Another helicopter?”
“I don’t know,” Grace said. “But, yes, someone will be coming.”
“I hoped maybe after Charlie—” Frankie’s hands clenched at her safety belt as she was flung about the jeep. They had reached the foothills and the jeep was bouncing over the rutted road. “We have to hide again?”
Grace nodded.
“That man must hate you to want to hurt you this much,” Frankie said.
“Marvot? Yes, he doesn’t like to be beaten. He wanted something from me and didn’t get it.”
“Then I hate him too. I hope he was on that helicopter.”
“He wasn’t. Marvot hires people to do his dirty work. That’s why we have to keep on running. There’s always someone else for him to pay.”
“It shouldn’t be that way.” Frankie’s voice was shaking with anger. “He should be punished. Someone should make him stop. Why don’t we do it?”
“I’ve told you that—”
“Jake could do it. Is he going to try?”
“Perhaps.”
“Then we should help him.”
God, this was hard. “Frankie, Marvot could hurt you. It’s crazy, but it’s not only me; he wants to hurt you too. I can’t let that happen. Even if it means hiding for a while. It can’t last forever.”
“It’s wrong, Mom. We shouldn’t let him—”
The jeep veered wildly to the left as the front tires blew!
“Christ.” Robert fought wildly for control as the jeep jolted down the incline. “Hold on. I can’t keep it on—”
A pine was looming dead ahead!
“No!” Grace released her seat belt, grabbing Frankie closer, trying to protect her from possible flying glass. “Keep your head down. Close your eyes, baby! It will be—”
Pain.
Darkness.
Move out,” Kilmer called as he watched the burning helicopter hit the ground. “Donavan, tell Estevez to get the equipment and men in the truck. I want to be heading for those mountains in five minutes. Set up the helicopter to land near the cabin in thirty.” He turned to Dillon, who had run up to him. “Casualties?”
“No deaths. Vazquez has a splinter piercing his left shoulder. I stopped the bleeding.”
“Can he function?”
Dillon nodded. “No problem.”
“Then go help Donavan round up—” His head suddenly lifted to the sky. “Christ, no.”
“What is it?” Dillon asked.
“Rotors. Another damn helicopter.”
“I’ll tell the men to take cover.” He sprinted away.
“Yeah.” But the rotors didn’t sound close. What the hell? And he should be seeing lights.
Then he saw them in the distance. Not heading in this direction. The helicopter was circling, coming down somewhere in the foothills.
“No!” He ran toward the truck. “Donavan!”
The helicopter was ascending again by the time they reached the foothills.
“Shall I try to take it down?” Donavan asked. “The distance isn’t too—”
“No.” His gaze was searching the sides of the road. “It’s not safe. Where the devil— Blockman didn’t have time to reach the cabin when the helicopter popped up. He has to—”
“On the slope,” Dillon yelled from the back of the truck. “I see something on the—”
Kilmer screeched to a halt and jumped out of the driver’s seat. “Fan out. Look sharp.”
It could be a trap. A decoy. But he could see the outline of the jeep ahead.
No shots.
The terrain was bare and stark except for his men heading down the slope. The moon was bright and full, and he should be able to see anyone lying in wait.
“I see something,” Dillon called softly. “On the ground by the driver’s seat.”
Kilmer saw him too. Blockman was lying on his back, blood pouring from his leg. He couldn’t see Grace or Frankie.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He skidded the rest of the way down the slope. “Blockman, what the hell happened?”
Blockman opened his eyes. “Trap. They must have guessed you’d try to send Grace away from the ranch and dropped some men down here in the foothills. Tried to stop them. Grace . . .”
“They took Grace?”
Blockman shook his head. “Took Frankie. Didn’t get . . . Grace. The ravine. Bastards. I tried to stop them, but they—”
He stiffened. “Stop them from doing what?”
“Hurt her . . .” His eyes closed. “Tried to—”
“You said the ravine?”
Blockman didn’t answer.
Kilmer jumped to his feet and glanced in the wreckage of the jeep on the way to the ravine on the other side of the road.
No Grace. No Frankie.
Maybe Blockman was out of his head. Why would they leave Grace instead of taking her with them?
Don’t think about it.
Search for them. Find them.
“Donavan, turn the truck and beam those lights down in the ravine.”
She was lying on her side at the bottom of the ravine like a crumpled doll.
“Christ. Get me a first-aid kit.” He was skidding down the thirty-foot embankment. He fell, got up, and fell again before he finally reached her.
He dropped to his knees and shone his flashlight on her face. Unconscious.
So still.
He checked her pulse.
Alive.
He was dizzy with relief.
“Okay?” Donavan was beside him with the first-aid kit.
“No,” Kilmer said unevenly. “She’s not okay. I don’t know how bad it is. But she’s alive and I’ll keep her alive.” He turned to Dillon as he checked Grace for broken bones. “Search the area to make sure Frankie’s not here. Blockman said they took her, but he could be out of his head.”
“The helicopter should be here within five minutes,” Donavan said. “We’ll get her fixed up, Kilmer.”
“You’re damn right we will.” He rose to his feet. Concussion? Internal injuries? “Phone them and tell them we’re going to need medical help. How is Blockman?”
“Okay. The bullet passed through and he’s not bleeding much now.”
“No Frankie.” Dillon was back. “It’s pretty clear terrain up beyond this ravine. We’d see her if she—” He bit his lower lip. “But the guys don’t want to give up. Could we stay and keep on looking for her?”
All the guys cared about Frankie. They didn’t want to let there be even the tiniest chance that she might be alone in these hills.
Or not alone.
Kilmer felt the same way. But Blockman had said they’d taken Frankie. The chances were almost nil she’d still be around here.
He pushed Grace’s hair back from her forehead. Dammit, why didn’t she wake or at least stir?
Screw it. He had to stay with Grace, but he wasn’t going to think logically and miss the slightest chance of finding Frankie.
“You and Vazquez stay behind and keep looking. I’ll send the helicopter back for you in the morning.”
13
Kilmer’s face was a swimming blur before her as Grace slowly opened her eyes. He was bending over her. . . . Had they just made love? Love? She mustn�
��t confuse sex for love, but sometimes it was difficult to—
The jeep crashing into the pine tree.
“Frankie!” Grace sat bolt upright on the bed, her gaze frantically searching the room. “Where’s Frankie?”
“Easy.” Kilmer’s hand tightened around hers. “Frankie’s alive.”
“But she’s hurt? I tried to keep her from—” She swung her feet to the floor. “I’ve got to see her.”
“That’s not possible.”
Her gaze flew back to his face. “You lied to me,” she whispered. “She’s not alive. She was killed in that crash.”
“I’m not lying to you, Grace. Blockman says she was alive and conscious the last time he saw her.”
“The last time he saw her? What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m trying to tell you. Calm down. Be quiet and listen to me. Okay?”
She wanted to scream at him, tell him that she couldn’t be calm, not when Frankie was— She drew a deep breath. It wasn’t going to do Frankie any good if she was hysterical. “Tell me. Where’s Frankie?”
“I’m not sure.” He paused. “Probably El Tariq.”
“Oh, my God.”
“I’ll get her back, Grace.”
Don’t fall apart. Keep control. “No, I’ll get her back. What happened? The last thing I remember was Robert crashing into that pine tree.”
“There was another helicopter. It landed in the foothills. The first helicopter must have dropped men on the mountain, and they worked their way down and were waiting for you. They shot out the front tires and you went off the road and banged into the tree. You were tossed out of the car and rolled down a steep slope to the bottom of the ravine. Blockman said Hanley sent a few men down to get you, but he called them back when he saw the headlights of my truck in the distance. He was cursing a blue streak, but he grabbed Frankie and took off for the helicopter.”
On the Run Page 18
