by Tom Clancy
“No trouble at all, ma’am. Have a good day.”
When they were gone, Bershaw said, “That was all right, except for the part about calling your husband. Now you’ll have to do that. But I’m gonna write a script for you. You will make the call, and you will say exactly what I tell you to say, not one word more or less, you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Good. We have a little time to work on it, since you are going to take a nap and all. Tell me about your family, brothers, sisters, like that. I’ve seen some of the pictures, so don’t lie to me. If I think you’re lying, I’ll just kill you, okay?”
Toni felt her heart pounding harder than usual. He was being very cautious, and she might not get another chance to warn Alex. She had to hope he would get the message she had been able to send.
Los Angeles, California
They had almost finished breakfast when Michaels’s virgil announced an incoming call. He had it off his belt and thumbed to receive in two seconds. “Yes?”
“Sir, this is Chris Carol, military ops. We just spoke to your wife at your house. She seems fine, sir.”
Michaels blew out a sigh. Thank God!
“Did she say why she wasn’t answering the phone?”
“Yes, sir. She was taking a bath, sir, and had the ringer turned off.”
He shook his head. Of course. It had to be some piddly thing like that.
“We’ll remain in the area on surveillance, sir, as per General Howard’s orders.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Ask Toni to call me as soon as she can, will you?”
“She says she will call you, sir, after she has a nap. She must be tired from her workout.”
“What? What did you say?”
“Sir?”
“About her being tired?”
“Sir, I just assumed she might be. She said she had been doing her aerobics, before her bath, sir.”
Michaels felt a shard of icy steel stab deep into his bowels. He looked at John Howard. “He’s there,” he said. “He’s got Toni.”
39
Washington, D.C.
The general had pulled strings in a hurry and gotten them fast rides. The National Guard fighters had zipped from Los Angeles to the East Coast at speeds more than twice supersonic most of the way. By the time they were on the ground again, the trip had only been a little over two hours. It was almost two-thirty in the afternoon when the escort picked Michaels, Howard, and Jay up at the air base and took off with lights flashing and sirens screaming. They’d shut those off before they got to his neighborhood. Howard had set up a command post a half mile away from the house, and there were more Net Force people on the scene, far enough back to stay hidden but close enough to see if anybody left.
An hour into the flight, Toni had called, and it had twisted his stomach to hear her speak the words that Bershaw must have made her say:
They exchanged greetings, he’d asked how she was doing, and she’d said she was fine, then she said, “I’m sorry I missed your call earlier, I didn’t mean to make you worry. Listen, I can’t talk now, I’ve got my mother on the other line, some crisis with my sister-in-law she has to settle. Call me when you get to the airport tonight, okay? Bye.”
He put in a call to Toni’s mother in the Bronx. She was surprised to hear from him, and he pretended he was calling to check on Toni’s silat teacher. Guru was doing okay, his mother-in-law told him. Say hello to Toni when he saw her, tell her to call and visit.
If he needed any confirmation, that did it. Toni wasn’t talking to her mother. And she was being held hostage by some psychotic drug fiend who almost certainly blamed Michaels for his buddy’s death. It was a nightmare.
“How do you want to play it?” Howard asked, as the Net Force car careened toward the city. “You want to call in the FBI kidnap teams?”
“Would you call them in if it was your wife?”
“No, sir.”
“We have snipers, don’t we?”
“Yes, sir. A couple of very good ones.”
“Have them meet us at the staging point. I’ll try to get him in front of a window. If they have a shot, tell them to take it. It will have to be in the spine or the head to be sure to drop him.”
“Yes, sir.” Howard didn’t say anything about job description or rules of engagement. He pulled his virgil and made a call.
“You’re not going in there alone are you, boss?”
“Toni’s my wife. It’s my house. I know them both better than anybody else. Damned right I’m going in.”
“Jesus, you’ve seen what this guy is capable of. Even if you shoot him, you can’t be sure of stopping him.”
“I know that. What choice do I have? I’ll have surprise on my side. Maybe that will be enough.”
“We could storm the place, hit it with fifty guys—”
“And he could break Toni’s neck before they got through the door. No. It’s me he wants, so if he spots me alone, he’ll have what he came for. If he’s in my face, Toni can get clear.”
“And you might get dead.”
“Yeah, well, that’s how it is. Better me than her.”
What he didn’t say was that he still had the capsule Howard had found at the shooting site in his pocket. And that if he took it before he went in, he’d be more than a match for the zombie. He was in better shape, he had some training as a fighter, and he was motivated. The drug would cancel Bershaw’s advantage.
But there was a big problem. It was risky. He didn’t mind the jeopardy to himself, but what if the drug didn’t do exactly for him what it did for Bershaw? What if he went crazy like some of the other druggies who used it? Saw snakes coming out of the walls or thought he was being chased by demons or whatever those people who had gone mad and committed suicide had seen?
Could he risk Toni’s life and the baby’s life like that?
Six of one, half a dozen of the other, his little inner voice said. If the zombie goes through you like Sherman through Georgia, he’ll probably kill Toni anyway, don’t you think?
Michaels stuck his hand into his pocket and fingered the capsule.
Devil or the deep blue sea, Alex. And you better decide soon. You don’t know how long it’ll take before the stuff kicks in if you decide to go that way. It might not help in time, even if you do eat it.
Shit.
“Ten minutes to the staging point,” Howard said. “My snipers will be there. If they can see him, they can casket him.”
Michaels nodded. He fingered the capsule. Toni was sure Alex had gotten her warning. She could hear it in his voice when she called, and she was fairly certain the rumbling noises in the background had been a jet engine and wind noise. That meant he was on his way home, and he’d be here sooner than Bershaw expected him.
What was he going to do when he got here? Would he bring in the regular FBI hostage negotiators? She tried to put herself in his position, and that answer came up a solid no. He would know Bershaw was desperate, probably know he was on the mind-altering drug that made him fast, smart, and strong. Alex wouldn’t take the risk that Bershaw would hurt her or the baby.
What would he do?
And her greatest fear was that he would try to sneak into the house and take on Bershaw alone. It wasn’t a macho thing but just how Alex was. He would see her as his responsibility, and his coming in alone as the best chance of drawing the killer’s attention away from her.
If she had not been pregnant, she would have already tried to take Bershaw down herself. He was fast and strong, but she had more than fifteen years of pentjak silat training and practice, and she would risk that her skill could offset his drug-powered strength.
Silat was a weapons-based art. Toni was comfortable with a knife, a stick, a sword, whatever came to hand. A knife from the butcher block rack wouldn’t take a second to pull. No matter how resistant to pain, no matter how strong a man might be, he couldn’t walk if he had no blood circulating or if the tendons controlling his feet or legs we
re cut or if his spine was severed.
But in her condition, the slightest mistake would cost her. She wouldn’t risk the baby unless there was no other way. If it came down to it, she would not let this psychotic kill Alex, even if it meant she and the baby didn’t make it. You didn’t stand by and allow the man you loved to die if you could prevent it, no matter what it cost you.
She had already rehearsed grabbing the knife in her mind a dozen times, never looking at it so as to give it away, but planning how to step, what to throw to distract him, what her targets might be.
She had to expect Alex to show up hours before he was supposed to show up. She had to be ready.
Right now, she had to pee. And she didn’t much want to do that with Bershaw watching her, but better that than to wet herself.
“ad?”
“What?”
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Let’s go.”
He followed her down the hall. “Go ahead.”
“Can I close the door?”
“No. Just pee. I’ll look the other way.”
“Thank you.”
She thought she might be able to use that, somehow, if she could think of a way.
* * *
While the woman was on the john, Tad turned away and dry-swallowed two more of the Hammer caps. He could feel the first ones start to wane, and a few seconds later, he took a third. He had built up a tolerance to the stuff by now, but it didn’t matter; the remaining caps were all going to be deactivated soon, anyhow, and any way you looked at it, this was going to be his last Hammer ride. When Ma and Pa at the portable lab heard about Bobby getting killed, they would get rid of the RV and hit the road for parts elsewhere. The plan he’d had of getting to the lab and mixing his own caps wouldn’t happen now. He could mix the stuff, but some of the chem was just beyond his ability to create from scratch. Bobby had never written his formulas down anywhere, figuring if the cops ever grabbed him, those would be his best bargaining chip.
He heard the toilet flush, turned and saw the wife stand up, her robe falling to cover the short nightgown. She had good legs under that rounded, pregnant belly, and he caught a quick glimpse of her bush. Maybe that was worth exploring, even though it wouldn’t be his first choice. Any port in a storm.
But there was something else he wanted to do first. That car was still in the garage. The wife could watch him trash her husband’s toy.
“Come on,” he said. “We have stuff to do in the garage.”
He led her down the hall.
* * *
“Sir, the snipers are set. We’ve got three, two in front, one in back. They know what our man looks like. If they see him, he’s history.”
“Thank you, John.”
Howard handed Michaels his revolver. “Point it at his head just like you would point your finger at his nose and pull the trigger. It will kick some and buck, so hold it two-handed if you can. A head shot is the only way to be sure to stop him.”
Michaels took the heavy black handgun and hefted it.
“Is your ring updated?”
“Yes.”
“You have six shots. If he’s still coming after that, reloading won’t help. Aim for the head. Don’t say a word, don’t hesitate, if you get a shot, take it. If you don’t, he’ll kill you.”
“I got it.”
“Leave your virgil on and sending. We won’t try to call, but we’ll monitor you. As soon as we see Toni, or you indicate that she is clear, we’ll come in.”
Michaels nodded. His mouth was dry, and his stomach fluttered.
“Whatever happens, he won’t be walking away from this.”
Michaels looked at Howard, realizing what he was saying. “Thank you.”
“Good luck, Alex.”
Michaels nodded. He took a couple of deep breaths and let them out, rubbed his eyes, and started toward his home to save his wife.
He was half a block away from where Howard and Jay were when he realized he had made his choice about taking the Hammer cap. No. His mind was his best tool, and he did not want to risk Toni’s life on his mind being fuzzed, even if it gave him the strength of Hercules to do so.
He would have to do it the hard way.
* * *
Toni watched, feeling detached, as Bershaw swung the pry bar and punched a bar-shaped hole through the safety glass windshield. Little squarish chips of glass flew like jewels under the garage lights as he pulled the bar back and struck with the ball peen hammer he held in his other hand. It took four or five hits, and the windshield was gone.
He had already done the headlights and taillights.
After the windshield, he walked around the car and shattered all the remaining glass, the sides, the rear, scattering glittering shards in all directions.
Then he started on the front fender, alternating the hammer and pry bar like some kind of mad drummer following a tune only he could hear.
It wasn’t until he started on the metal that Toni got an idea of just how much power he had. The heavy gauge steel of the car’s fender and hood not only buckled like aluminum foil, several times he actually punched holes right through, trapping his tools so that he had to yank them free. The impacts were loud, the grinch! of a pry bar pulled from a car’s hood sounding like Toni imagined the unlubricated gates of hell might sound when opening.
The destruction was terrible to watch. More terrible was Bershaw’s expression. He was laughing, having the time of his life.
The effort had to be burning him up, tearing muscles and tendons, doing major damage to his very bone structure, but he kept laughing and pounding, hitting with such force that the fiberglass handle of the hammer finally splintered and broke, leaving the rounded nose of the hammer buried in the passenger door, and the pry bar’s loop bent almost closed.
Toni realized that attacking this man physically would be suicide if she made even the tiniest mistake. Even with a knife.
After what seemed like a long time, he dropped the bent pry bar, rolled his shoulders, then turned to look at her. He stared at her for a few seconds, unblinking.
He looked like a raptor about to swoop down on prey.
“What would you do to save your husband’s life?” He finally said.
“Anything.”
He grinned. “Good. I have something in mind. Let’s go to the bedroom.”
Toni felt a small surge of hope. If he wanted sex, he would have to put himself into a more vulnerable position. He would have to allow her to get close. Silat was an in-your-face art. If he let her get close, she would have a chance. A small chance, maybe.
If she had the shot, she might be able to take him.
* * *
Michaels tucked the gun into his back pocket as he slid open the garage window. He had heard the noise half a block away, and by the time he got to the garage, he had a pretty good idea of what he would see.
He was wrong. What he saw was much worse than he’d expected. Jesus Christ, how could a man built like Bershaw do this much damage with a hammer and pry bar? The Chevy looked as if it had rolled off a cliff.
He saw that the door into the house was open, and he climbed through the window, pulled the revolver out, and made his way across the floor, trying to avoid stepping on all the shattered bits of glass. A head shot. Point the gun like your finger, and pull the trigger. Hit him in the head with a bullet, and it was all over.
Michaels edged into the doorway and into the house.
* * *
In the bedroom, Tad said; “Get on your hands and knees.”
The woman climbed onto the bed and did what he said. He moved to stand behind her. “Back up a little.”
He reached out with both hands, caught the middle of her robe, and ripped it apart, exposing her bare bottom. He reached for his zipper.
* * *
Toni gathered herself as she heard the sound of his zipper going down. A twist, a hard fist to the testicles, grab and rip them off, roll to the side and onto the floor—
* * *
Michaels stepped into the bedroom, saw Bershaw’s back to him, Toni beyond him on the bed. The years of law and order training tried to assert themselves. Maybe he should give the guy a chance to surrender.
Hell with that. The bastard was about to rape his wife, he was tanked on drugs that made him the most dangerous person Michaels had ever seen. He pointed the gun at the back of Bershaw’s head and started to squeeze the trigger.
Tad heard something, or maybe he felt the air pressure in the room change. Suddenly, he knew they weren’t alone. He spun. There was the husband, with a gun.
Good! Tad lunged.
* * *
Michaels saw Bershaw spin, his speed was incredible, and leap at him. He was halfway though squeezing the trigger. Fast as Bershaw was, Michaels was ahead of him. The gun went off.
Bershaw tried to duck, but the bullet hit him. Michaels saw it plow a furrow into his skull, just under the hairline, but then the mirror on Toni’s closet door shattered.
Bershaw kept coming, but the bullet’s impact changed his angle a little, so he veered to the left slightly. Michaels dodged to his right, and Bershaw almost missed him.
Almost. His flailing hand smashed into the revolver and tore it from Michaels’s grasp. The gun flew, and Bershaw slammed into the dresser and landed on his hands and knees. But he looked up at Michaels and smiled — smiled! — with blood oozing from the head wound.
The bullet hit at an angle and glanced off, Michaels realized.
He had to get this maniac away from Toni, who was on the floor next to the bed.
Michaels grabbed the small television set on the stand next to the door and threw it at Bershaw, who reached up and batted it aside like it was a pillow. The TV set hit the floor and ruptured into three pieces.
He had to lead him out of here! Away from Toni!
Michaels backpedaled through the door.
Bershaw came to his feet, wiped the blood from his eyes, stuck one finger into the gory groove on his forehead, and looked at his finger. “Close, but no cigar.”
