‘Come on then. Let’s go.’
Now, he cursed when the vehicle reached the end of the driveway to the Flanagan property and the brakes squealed in protest.
‘Christ, they’re going to hear us a mile away.’
‘What do you want to do?’
He fell silent for a moment, then slipped the engine into gear and moved forward.
‘Get as close as we can and then walk.’
Kyle drove one-handed, letting his arm rest in his lap to take the pressure off his injured shoulder.
Nina held onto the armrest while he manoeuvred the vehicle around the flooded ruts in the track, the pick-up truck rocking from side to side as the worn tyres tried to grip the slippery surface.
Behind them, an array of tools and assorted junk slid across the bench seat, clattering to the floor when the vehicle crashed down one steep rut and into another.
‘I got the impression Ross liked order,’ growled Kyle as he glared at the mess in the rear-view mirror.
Nina squinted through the rain lashing against the pitted windshield, her fingernails digging into the worn fabric of her seat. She held her breath as the truck slammed into another pothole.
‘This is Tim’s,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘He’s not so organised.’
26
Nina tapped her fingers on the dashboard, beating an unsteady rhythm while Kyle used the binoculars he’d taken from the Flanagan property and peered out the open window of the vehicle.
Below, Hudson’s property was a hive of activity.
A low one-storey building was built to the left-hand side of the house, its roof a patchwork mess of corrugated iron in various stages of decay.
The huge double doors had been thrown open, light from within spilling onto the vehicles parked at its entrance.
A small group of men moved between the vehicles and the building, carrying boxes.
The house was a typical ranch design, with low eaves sheltering stone walls and a wooden deck that stretched around the building. Lights shone from the windows, casting elongated strips of light onto the surrounding mud-strewn lawn.
Three more buildings had been erected behind the house – another barn, and then a structure that resembled the Flanagan’s machine shed, with the exception that Hudson’s tractors seemed to have been out of use for some time, tarpaulins draped over their metal carcasses.
The last building appeared to be a storage shed, its doors closed to the elements.
Kyle had opened his door and balanced on the running board, raising himself above the roof to better see, before sliding back into his seat.
Nina stopped tapping and faced him. ‘Well?’
He sighed. ‘There are armed guards around the perimeter,’ he said. ‘Two more on the entrance to the house.’
‘Who are all those men?’ whispered Nina. ‘I thought it would only be Hudson and a couple of other people.’
Kyle stared out the windshield, his face betraying no emotion. ‘Ex-military,’ he said. ‘Hudson’s attracted a lot of men who came home from overseas deployment and then found no-one wanted them. There aren’t enough jobs to go around. Some of those men joined up as teenagers – they don’t know any other way of life.’
He sighed and looked at his hands. ‘Hudson runs the place like a cult. He preys on the weak and vulnerable. Some of those guys – what they’ve seen and what they’ve had to deal with at a young age – they’re a mess.’
Nina noted the tinge of sadness in his voice. ‘You wanted to help them, didn’t you?’
He nodded. ‘Unfortunately, Hudson’s made sure they’re beyond help,’ he said. ‘He lets them take drugs – the ones they’re refining and selling to fund Hudson’s plan.’
‘But if they’re stoned out of their minds, they’ll be easier to get past, won’t they?’
‘No,’ said Kyle. ‘Hudson’s much cleverer than that. He doesn’t let them near the marijuana – most of the men down there are on speed or ice.’ He turned to Nina. ‘You need to understand – they’re highly alert, burned out from lack of sleep, and paranoid.’
Nina looked at the property below, realising why the special agent was so concerned.
‘What’s going on down there?’
‘It looks like they’re getting ready to leave. Permanently.’
‘I can’t see the truck you mentioned.’
‘That means it definitely made it across the highway before the landslide hit.’ Kyle slapped his palm against the steering wheel. ‘Thank God we managed to call it in.’
‘Any sign of Jeff and Tim?’
‘No. Not that I can see from here.’
‘Then we have to get closer, right?’
Kyle rubbed his hands over his face, and for the first time in hours, Nina saw the weariness wash over him.
She reached out, placing her hand on his arm. ‘Are you okay?’
He grunted from behind his fingers, then dropped his hands to his lap and stretched his neck. ‘Yeah. Just thinking.’
‘What?’
‘That I’ve had case officers less demanding than you.’
Nina withdrew her hand and frowned. ‘Sorry. I-I thought that was your plan. To come here and rescue Ross’s family with the rest of your men.’
Kyle snorted.
‘What did I say?’ Nina fought down the panic that had sent her heartbeat into free-fall. ‘What’s wrong?’
He sighed. ‘I didn’t want to tell you,’ he said, looking at his hands. ‘When I spoke to headquarters… Look, their main focus has to be stopping that truck. If the ricin reaches those underground air ducts – you can imagine what will happen.’
‘But they’re sending someone to help you here, right? We’re going to find out what’s happened to Ross’s family?’
‘They’re not coming, Nina.’ He turned to face her, his jaw set. ‘Not until the truck’s secure.’
‘But that could take hours!’
‘I know. I’m fully aware of that. They don’t have the manpower to spare. It was always the plan. They won’t come here until they find that truck and it’s been secured.’
‘Isn’t there anything you can do?’
Kyle beat his fist against the glass window. He finally spoke.
‘Look, I’ll go down there. Check the licence plates. At least then, my office can put out a trace on them. Even if they’re interstate by the time they do, they can use local law enforcement to track them in the meantime.’
‘Why can’t you get the local police to help us now?’
‘Because we don’t know if any of those vehicles down there contain ricin as well, Nina,’ he said. ‘Because the local authorities can’t possibly deal with a biological weapon, you understand?’
Nina swallowed and then looked out the windshield to the property below. ‘Kyle, if they’re packing up to move out, then they’re going to make sure they cover their tracks, aren’t they?’
She heard him exhale, but he didn’t answer.
‘So, your lot will stop the truck, and they can try to track the vehicles down there, but chances are, they won’t catch the people who did this. And,’ she said, her hands trembling as she unclipped her seatbelt, ‘if those people down there are good at covering their tracks, they’re going to kill Ross’s father and brother to make sure they don’t talk, aren’t they?’
She reached for the door.
‘Where are you going?’
Nina stopped, her hand on the door handle, and glared at him. ‘If you’re not going to do something, I am. I can’t sit here while you let them murder two innocent people.’
She pulled on the handle, then gasped as Kyle’s arm shot out, reaching across her body and pinning her to the seat.
‘Fuck!’ His hand dropped away, and he fell back into his seat, clutching his shoulder and swearing profusely.
Nina cursed and slammed the door shut. ‘Are you okay?’
Kyle grimaced and shifted in his seat.
‘Do you want me to take another lo
ok at your shoulder?’
‘No.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, fighting back tears. ‘But I can’t sit here and let them kill Ross’s family.’
His jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck growing taut.
Nina leaned forward and beat the dashboard with her fists. ‘Dammit, Kyle. Talk to me! You burst into my home in the middle of a storm, you drag me into your whole secret operation that goes wrong, I get shot at – God knows what’s happened to Ross – and then you just clam up?’ She twisted in her seat to face him. ‘Talk to me!’
She threw herself back into her seat, then wiped at her cheeks, hot tears stinging her eyes.
‘Hey, I’m sorry.’
He leaned towards her, but she drew back out of his reach.
‘Don’t,’ she said. ‘Either you tell me how you’re going to make this right, or I’m going down there on my own.’
She pursed her lips, angry with herself for blowing up at him, and furious with him for being so under control in such desperate conditions. She knew it was his training, but the way he could stay so outwardly calm while she fell apart was unnerving.
Kyle remained silent, his eyes tracking the movement of the men below.
Nina’s gaze followed his. ‘How the hell are we going to do this?’ she whispered.
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘My cover’s blown, so it’s not as if I can just walk in there and expect a happy reunion.’
‘And you’ve only got me to help. Not a great scenario, is it?’ Nina held her breath. She could feel the tension emanating off the man next to her.
‘Alright,’ he said eventually. ‘We’ll go down there to see if we can do something. We’ll stay in the shadows, move slowly.’ He reached across and put his hand on Nina’s arm. ‘I can’t say this enough. You need to do everything I tell you, no hesitating. You understand?’
Her gaze met his, and she was shocked at the change in his demeanour despite his light touch. The adrenalin of the chase had kicked in. His eyes blazed, and his shoulders were set, as if he’d never been stabbed. Was this what he was like under cover? Was this how he coped with what he did?
She nodded mutely.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’
27
Nina peered over her shoulder as the last of the lightning storm streaked across the far end of the valley hundreds of miles away.
Clouds scuttled across the sky, the worst of the rainfall following in their wake, while a final rumble in the distance reached her ears.
She shivered. Her feet were soaked, the thin leather of her ankle boots no match for the terrain they’d been subjected to the past few hours. Her clothes stuck to her, and the cold drizzle froze her skin, creating an ache in her bones she knew she’d feel for days – if she survived the night.
She’d last looked at her watch in the car, the dial at two o’clock, confirming her weariness and exhaustion.
Kyle walked ahead of her, his fingers laced through hers, guiding her through the undergrowth as they approached Hudson’s property.
She had learned more about Ross’s neighbour as they left the vehicle hidden by the side of the road, covering it with branches to disguise its outline.
The FBI agent had been sickened by Hudson’s attitude, the way he’d preyed on disillusioned and vulnerable ex-soldiers, young men who were lost in their own country, with no skills except to follow orders.
‘A lot of them look up to him, like he’s some sort of father figure,’ Kyle explained. ‘Except that when it’s time for him to escape, he’ll probably ditch the whole lot of them to face their fate alone.’
Nina had sensed his frustration and anger then, and as she stumbled after him in the darkness down the ridge and closer to the property, she wondered what drove him, what kept him going when all seemed lost.
Kyle had fallen silent, and Nina glanced across at him.
‘Are you okay? Is your shoulder hurting?’
He shook his head.
She bit her lip, seeing his jaw clench as he ran his hand over the stubble on his chin, watching the activity around Hudson’s house. For a moment, she couldn’t work out his reticence – he’d been so in control and focused before. Now, deep lines creased his forehead as he glared at the movement of men and vehicles, their shouts travelling in waves over the gusts of wind that rustled the tree branches above them.
Then she realised. The thought terrified her until she remembered Ross, back at the truck stop, sacrificing himself so she and Kyle could escape.
‘You can’t do this on your own, can you?’
He sighed. ‘No. No, I can’t.’
‘I can help.’
‘You probably can. Except I’m not used to being responsible for someone, Nina. Not like this.’
She heard the tremor in his voice, the uncertainty emanating from him. She took a deep breath to stop her voice from shaking.
‘You don’t have a choice.’
He turned his gaze back to Hudson’s property, his eyes flickering over the men moving only a few hundred metres in front of them, beyond the treeline. ‘I do. I can leave you here.’
‘That’s ridiculous. You don’t stand a chance on your own.’
‘If I take you, I’m going to be watching your back, as well as mine.’
Nina took a deep breath. ‘Kyle, I can’t stand here doing nothing. Ross…’ She cleared her throat. ‘Ross didn’t stay behind so I could run and hide,’ she said, her voice stronger. ‘What do you need me to do?’
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I need you to learn fifteen years’ worth of training in about five minutes. And that isn’t going to happen. So we’re going to have to do the best we can with what we’ve got.’
He reached down to his ankle and pulled.
Nina’s eyes opened wide at the vicious-looking knife he held out to her.
‘Something else John left for me,’ he said, waving it at her. ‘Take it.’
‘What do you want me to do?’
He pointed across the wide expanse of the paddock. ‘I need you to slash the tyres on as many vehicles as you can. Stay low. Two tyres per vehicle at least.’
Nina felt her throat constrict. She looked at the parked cars and pick-up trucks. Eight vehicles in total, with the last two nearest the sprawling house.
From their position, she could see that the veranda was in darkness, patches of light shining through gaps in blinds and curtains. The guards’ silhouettes flickered between the windows as they patrolled the outer perimeter of the house, rifles poised.
She turned back to Kyle.
He was still crouched, holding out the knife to her. ‘Can you do this for me?’
‘Yes.’ She reached out with a shaking hand.
‘Good girl.’
‘Where will you be?’
‘I’m going to recce the perimeter of the house. See if Hudson’s there. Find out how many men he’s got guarding him.’
‘Ross’s family?’
‘Yes, them too. But I can’t do anything for them until I know what the situation is.’
‘Won’t the guards see you?’
‘I’m going to follow them, leave a bit of space so they don’t hear me over this rain.’
Nina nodded. The rain on the painted tin roof of the ranch would easily mask any noise Kyle made. He’d just have to make sure he stayed out of sight.
‘I’m going to go now, okay?’
She nodded.
‘Good. Count to sixty; then you make a start. I’ll meet you back here.’
She opened her mouth to ask him how long he’d be, but he’d already disappeared into the shadows.
Within moments, she’d lost sight of him, and then remembered she should have been counting.
As she counted off the sixtieth second, she took a deep breath, then poked her head round the side of the vehicle she’d been sheltering behind and squinted through the darkness.
She held her breath, waiting for the now familiar flash of activity in front of the w
indows as the guards made their next pass, then stood and ran towards the nearest vehicle, keeping her body low.
Moving fast, expecting to hear a shout or a gunshot at any moment, she reached the abandoned car and crouched next to the front wheel, keeping the vehicle between her and the house, blocking the guards’ view of her.
Without waiting to see if she’d been noticed, she pulled out the knife and rammed it into the rubber surface next to her.
The tyre wall burst with a sharp pop as the point of the knife made contact and then hissed as the air began to escape.
Nina froze, straining to hear over the wind and rain, sure that the sound had carried towards the guards. She raised her head above the trunk of the car, searching for any movement. The guards moved away along the side of the house, oblivious to her actions.
When she realised she hadn’t been discovered, she pushed the knife in up to its hilt, leaning against it with her weight to make sure it pierced all the way through, then tugged it out and scuttled along the length of the car to the next tyre.
Once both tyres had been slashed, she cautiously peered around the hood of the car.
The guards had disappeared from view.
Nina bit her lip, peered across at the next car only a few paces from where she crouched, and considered taking a chance.
Her heart leapt painfully at a cough from the direction of the house, and she ducked.
Over the noise of the rain, she heard one of the guards laugh, and the scent of a freshly lit cigarette wafted across to her.
She counted to thirty, and then raised her head above the hood.
The veranda was deserted.
She ran, sliding to a stop behind the second car, quickly applied the knife to the tyres, and kept going.
Ten minutes later, she’d attacked all but two of the vehicles.
The second to last one, a pick-up truck, had been parked facing the house, both sides exposed.
Nina cursed under her breath. No matter how she approached it she would be seen by the guards or anyone else at the house, as well as anyone approaching the house from the outlying buildings.
She turned her attention to the vehicle beyond it, which lay in darkness, parked the furthest from the house. It looked like an old four-door wagon. She checked over her shoulder, back towards the damaged vehicles she’d left in her wake, and made her decision.
Two FBI thrillers: Before Nightfall and Mistake Creek Page 35
