Last Ride on the Merry-go-round

by Judith Rochelle

  "Okay. Close all the drapes and shades. Tell everyone not to go near any windows. I'm going to take a look."

  Rage still bubbling through him at this invasion of his carefully guarded privacy, he grabbed his binoculars from a desk drawer and slipped out to his back porch, positioning himself in a corner under the roof. A helicopter was just coming in from the north, making a pass over the open fields in back of the house.

  Ethan lifted the binoculars to his eyes, trying to catch the bird's identification, but there was nothing painted on the solid black body. The cabin held two people, the pilot and one passenger, but they moved over the area too fast for him to get a good look, despite the extreme magnification the binoculars offered. The copter took a long sweep over the property, banked, and flew over once more before disappearing into the distance.

  Willing himself to maintain control, he went back into the house where Garrett and Mike waited for him.

  "Want me to chase him?” Mike asked.

  "No. Not yet.” He looked at Garrett. “Anything around the perimeter?"

  Sean shook his head. “No. But I sent one of the men to do a slow sweep of the road in both directions. Anyone would have to get way past the house to find a place to hide, but if he's there, we'll flush him out."

  Ethan rubbed his chin, thoughts tumbling through his mind. “Yeah, let's find out if he's a tag team, with someone keeping watch on the road. Radio whoever's out there to be sure they get a good look but tell them not to approach."

  "Why not?"

  "They want us to make a move. Let's do just that and see if we can catch ourselves a rat. And call the barn and see how the run on that guy's picture is coming."

  * * * *

  "Ethan again?” Jen asked as Dino put the phone down on the table.

  "Yes. I need to bring you up to date, but first I want to make sure you know Deanne is safe."

  He saw the panic flash at once in her eyes and her face tighten with anxiety. “Something else has happened."

  He told her about the helicopter making a pass over the compound. “Since the so-called visitor couldn't get in, he probably decided to see what he could from the air. Ethan kept everyone inside and checked out the bird himself. Unfortunately it had no markings. But it made him mad enough to try and force their hand."

  "So what does that mean? Exactly?"

  Her voice was steady but he couldn't miss the tremble in her hands. He urged her out of the chair and enfolded her in his arms. Her heart was beating faster than a bird's and her skin was cold. He wanted to kill her dead husband all over again, and the rest of the people who'd put her in this position.

  "Ethan has a plan. He'll call us back after a while. And again he said to tell you Deanne is safer than the president."

  She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms tighter around her, feeling the trembling of her body that she was so valiantly trying to hide. Funny, he thought. The image he'd carried of her all these years had been so superficial. This was a warm, honest, loving woman who deserved to have her own happy place on the planet. When this was over, he was going to give it to her. And Deanne.

  He tilted her face up and pressed his mouth to hers. Light, he told himself. Keep it light. But he felt the silky slide of her tongue against his, the softness of her lips, and his hands tightened on her, pressing her into him. When she clutched at his shoulders, the heat of her seared through him. In two seconds he would forget the danger they were in, forget what they had to do, forget there were lives at stake.

  Shuddering as he dug deep for control, he set her away from him with great reluctance.

  "You make me lose my head, Jennifer. That's not something I'm used to.” He smiled at her. “But it's okay. I have big plans for us when this is over. Meanwhile, let's see what we've come up with here. That ought to keep us busy."

  "Oh. The research.” Her face smoothed out and a tiny flame of excitement danced in her eyes. She turned the computer so he could see the screen. “Look. I made a chart. It's amazing how all these people are interconnected once you start digging into their lives."

  He traced his finger over the boxes and lines she'd drawn. “It's almost like an incestuous little group,” he commented. “They party together, attend functions together, and sit at the same tables. And it's always the same group of people. There's a hell of a lot of power here.” He glanced at her. “It's hard to believe a lieutenant governor, a famous criminal attorney, senators, representatives, bankers, all of these top-of-the-pyramid people would be involved in something like this. But then, there're no boundaries on greed."

  "It frightens me,” she told him. “They have all the power."

  "No, cara, not all of it. We have plenty of our own. Let's go over this and see if we can figure out who's driving the wagon."

  * * * *

  The intercom connected to the barn beeped. “Ethan?"

  Ethan depressed a button. “Yeah?"

  "Got something on the facial recognition software,” the man on the other end told him. “Just sent it to your computer."

  "Okay. Thanks.” Ethan tapped a few keys and a man's face filled the screen. He scrolled down to look at the information. Sean Garrett watched over his shoulder.

  "Grant Douglas,” he read. “Nice history he's got."

  Ethan grunted. “Yeah, nice. The guy's been a mercenary for fifteen years, taking jobs all over the world. Look at some of the places he's been. He sure doesn't look like he's the hero on the playground. I can see this guy easily killing Jack Smiley."

  "Are you going to call Mr. Brancuzzi about this?"

  "I'll have to.” He pushed the intercom button again for the barn. “Is Maury still there?” Maury Hanson was their crack computer hacker.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Good. I need a lot more information on this guy. And I sure want to know who in the hell has the connections to hire someone like him. Tell him to crack every database he can, and do it ASAP."

  There was a pause, then, “He's on it, Ethan."

  "Good. Tell him thanks."

  The radio in Ethan's hand crackled.

  "Ethan?” Frank's voice. “A black SUV is sitting in that little turnaround about a mile down the road. He's pretty well hidden in the trees but he's got a good view of traffic in both directions."

  "Where are you now?"

  "About a mile past him, around the bend."

  "Good, good. Stay there. I'll let you know when we're set up here."

  "Hey, Ethan?” Sean was standing by a window, the drapes opened less than an inch. “Chopper's making a pass again."

  "Good. Then let's give him something to look at.” He looked at Sean. “Is Joanna ready?"

  "All set.” He grinned. “She likes playing spy counterspy."

  Ethan grunted. “She should. She's one of the best we've got. We're just lucky she was at the barn today finishing up some work. Okay. Let's go."

  He took five minutes to talk to Lisa and make sure the kids were settled.

  "I'm leaving two men here in the house,” he told her. “All the alarms are set and the perimeter's well guarded. This won't take long."

  "We're fine.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “I'll take care of the kids. You take care of yourself."

  "Always,” he promised, and headed toward the front of the house."

  In a few minutes Sean Garrett pulled Ethan's SUV up to the porch. Ethan, in dark glasses with his signature battered hat pulled low on his face and his coat collar turned up, hustled Joanna Brannagan out of the house. The woman also had dark glasses on, blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and she wore loose cotton clothing with the blouse collar turned up. Ethan hurried her into the back seat, slammed the door, and jumped into the front beside Sean.

  The helicopter hovered briefly overhead, then banked off to the right.

  "Okay,” Ethan ordered. “Take off. Head toward the interstate but use the back road. Let's not make this too easy for them."

  The front gate slid open and they turned onto the
two lane road that led up to it. The hidden SUV wouldn't normally have been easy to spot, but they were trained to look for things out of the ordinary.

  "There he is,” Garrett said as they breezed by him at just over the speed limit.

  "Okay. Let's see what he does.” Ethan shifted his gaze to watch the side view mirror. “He's moving. Here he comes now. He's staying just far enough back that he thinks we won't notice him."

  Sean Garrett laughed mirthlessly. “Not notice him? Has he taken a look at how little traffic there is on this road?"

  "Remember, he doesn't have much of a choice. Okay, here's Frank.” Ethan depressed the talk button on the radio. “Got him?"

  "Yes. I'll wait a minute or two, then pull out. We'll make a sandwich out of him."

  "Wait to see what he does first. We're taking the back road to the interstate. If he plans to cut us off, the perfect spot is just up ahead, before we hit civilization again."

  "One man thinks he's going to take you?” Frank couldn't hide his skepticism.

  "Maybe it's his day to be stupid. I'm guessing he and whoever hired him are under enough pressure they'll try anything. Okay. Heads up. Here we go."

  The vehicle behind them sped up, passed them, and just before the road turned again, pulled in front of them, forcing them to stop.

  "Hang back for the moment,” Ethan told Frank on the radio. “Let's see how he plays this. Sean, do nothing until I say so."

  Two men climbed out of the vehicle ahead of them, guns drawn, moving slowly toward Ethan's SUV, one on either side.

  "Open the doors and come out with your hands up,” the man who'd been driving hollered. “Nice and slow and no one will get hurt. We just want the woman."

  Ethan had the radio on his lap. He waited until the two men were actually standing close to the SUV before he depressed the Talk button again. “Okay, Frank. Now."

  Frank roared up behind them with enough speed the two men didn't have time to react. The one on Sean's side turned and fired at Frank, the bullets bouncing off the armored doors of the vehicle. Frank accelerated hard enough to knock the man down.

  At the same time, Ethan opened his door and slammed it into the man standing near him. Before he could recover, Ethan had his gun in his hand, the man on the ground, and his gun in the man's ear. Sean had the other man in a similar position. Meanwhile, Joanna was out of the SUV, sunglasses and hat discarded and her own gun in a two-handed grip.

  "Under control,” Ethan told her. “Put away your gun and catch these.” With his free hand he dug two pairs of flex cuffs out of a pocket and tossed them to her.

  She fastened them expertly while Ethan and Sean kept their guns on the men. Then he and Sean jerked them to their feet, turned them around and shoved them against the hood of the SUV. Sean dug through their pockets to come up with identification. He looked through the wallets, then tossed them to Ethan.

  "Well, well. John Smith and Harold Smith.” He raised his eyes to the men. “Funny, you don't look like brothers."

  "What do you want to do with them?” Garrett asked. “We'll be getting some traffic along here pretty soon, so we ought to get them out of sight."

  "You and Frank take them to the barn. I'll drive back with Joanna and meet you there. And hopefully Magic Maury will have more information for us on our other friend."

  The men stared at them with eyes colder than ice, their faces expressionless. Neither of them said a word as they were tucked into the SUV and driven off.

  Ethan holstered his gun and turned to Joanna. “Thanks, you did great."

  She laughed. “Ethan, I didn't do anything."

  "Everything worked out the way I hoped it would. But if it had fallen apart, you could have been hurt. These people want the woman they're after very badly."

  She gave him an impish grin. “I wasn't worried with you in charge, boss."

  Ethan grunted, hiding a smile. As he turned to get into the car, a noise overhead drew Ethan's attention and he raised his eyes. The helicopter was making a pass over the area again before heading away, following the path of the road.

  "Shit. Damn and double damn."

  "Trouble?” Joanna asked.

  "That helicopter is back again. Should I have expected less?” He pulled out his radio. “Okay. Let's go see what, if anything, we can get out of our two new guests. And I'm going to send Mike up in the air. Maybe we can find out who's in that chopper."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dino moved the boat twice after leaving the marina, traveling about an hour each time before dropping anchor again.

  "Just playing it safe,” he told Jen. They were sitting at the table in the salon, a cold beer in front of each of them.

  "Do you see any boats moving with us?” she asked, leaning back and rolling her shoulders to work the kinks out. She'd been working on the chart almost nonstop.

  "No. At least not yet. But I don't like Ethan's information about his visitor. That guy is trouble."

  She called up the chart on the screen again. “I keep trying to think who in this group would even have contact with a man like this."

  "Pull up the bios on each of them again and let's see if anything hits us. I'll get my portable printer and hook it up. I should have done it before."

  In less than half an hour they had compiled full biographies on each of fourteen people and printed them out. Dino was going over each one, looking for something that would indicate a connection with Grant Douglas, when the sat phone buzzed. Dino picked it up, checked the caller ID, and clicked the On button.

  "Ethan,” he told Jen, then turned back to the phone. “Please don't tell me this is more bad news. I think we've had all we need for today."

  "It seems whoever hired Grant Douglas not only has unlimited resources but also determination to get the job done."

  Jen felt the knot in her stomach tighten again. “What now?"

  Dino told her about the helicopter flyover, the attempt to kidnap the woman masquerading as her, and the chopper taking in the scene.

  "That means he's reported back to whoever is pulling his strings,” he went on. “Ethan thinks they might turn their attention south. Towards us. Which means it's a good thing we aren't sitting ducks in Key West."

  "But can't they find us out here on the water just as easily?"

  The smile he gave her eased the tension a little. “Only if they know where to look, cara. Only if they know where to look. I'm going to move us again. Take a little break here and come up to the cockpit with me. Get some fresh air."

  Jen frowned. “Won't someone see me?"

  "I think we're far enough away from prying eyes. Let me take a look first."

  But before he could climb the stairs, the sat phone buzzed again. Dino looked at the readout and frowned.

  "More bad stuff?” Jen asked.

  "Maybe good. I don't know. It's from one of my contacts I reached out to.” He clicked the phone on. “Talk to me."

  Jen watched the muscles in his face tighten as he listened to the conversation. At one point he reached over to the table and shuffled through the bios they'd printed out, pulling out a couple of them. As he scanned them, his lips thinned and his eyes darkened with anger.

  "Got it,” he said. “Thanks. I owe you for this one."

  He thumbed off the phone and sat down opposite Jen. An involuntary shiver skittered over her spine.

  "Tell me,” she urged, curling her hands into fists. “No matter how bad it is, I have to know."

  Dino picked up his beer and took a long sip, then set the bottle down. “You know, Ethan and I and Mike and the others, whether in the service or working on contract, always approached each job with honor. We had a mission and the result, too, was honorable."

  Jen wrinkled her forehead. The look on his face would have frightened her if she hadn't already gotten to know the real man. “Where is this going, Dino?"

  "There are people who have trained the way we have, have honed their ski
lls, and now sell them to the highest bidder no matter what result, or who the victim is. And I use the word victim deliberately.” He picked up the sheets of paper he'd been looking at. “Grant Douglas, the man who tried to get into Ethan's compound—and most likely the one doing the flyover in the helicopter—is just such a person. He took the training the Army Rangers gave him and became a mercenary, but one with no scruples or honor. He kills for hire and who the person is makes no difference to him."

  "B-but that's no more than murder.” Was this the man after her? Jen felt nausea creeping up in her throat.

  "No kidding. My source says his kill list is more extensive than I want to know.” He hitched his chair closer so she could look at the bio with him. “Based on that, I've discovered four people on our master list who could be the link. People who would have come in contact with this man and could afford to hire him. Take a look."

  Jen felt even sicker when she saw the four names he'd pulled out: Detroit Police Commissioner Louis McWilliams, Detroit Mayor Henry Sobol, Michigan Senator Wayne Mackall, and high-powered criminal attorney Daniel Hayes.

  "Each of these men was either in the Rangers when Douglas was or connected with him in some other way years ago,” Dino continued. “For all we know, whoever's pulling his strings has used him for a number of things. Certainly he was the one who orchestrated John's death and killed Jack Smiley."

  Jen pushed the papers away, unable to look at them. “The others are involved, too,” she pointed out. “They're all connected."

  Dino nodded. “I'd bet the million I just sent back to Ethan that all of them are part of this stolen antiquities ring and have gotten fat and rich off it over the years. But they hit a stroke of bad luck when John decided to help himself. And the fact that the items in question are on the Iraq hot list only ramps up the situation."

  "So what happens now?” Her head was beginning to throb and she rubbed her temples, trying to ease the pressure.

  "Now Ethan and I use every resource we have to identify the person we want. He'll give up the others."

  "What about the two men Ethan captured? Can we get anything from them?"

  Dino shrugged. “Doubtful, but he'll give it his best shot. Best case scenario, we send a message to the bad guys and it may force them to make another move.” He lifted her hand and kissed each of the fingers. “But I promised to keep you safe and I will. Trust me on that."