• • •
There was a knock at Dr. Karp’s door. Without looking up, he said, “Come in.”
The door opened and Mr. Shell entered. He was a lean and muscular six-foot-two with sandy blond hair, and a nose that had been broken at least once.
Karp had been expecting him, so he waved to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.” Once Shell was situated, he said, “Pleasant trip?”
Shell’s mouth moved up and down in a quick smile. “Pleasant enough.”
“Any further update on this afternoon’s…action?”
Karp had to be careful in his phrasing and tone. Shell was not his subordinate, nor was he Shell’s. They worked in completely different branches of the project, their jobs only overlapping when circumstances such as those that happened in the last eighteen hours occurred. Shell was part of the security arm, his specialty emergency situations.
“How much have you been informed of already?” Shell asked.
“That Ellison was neutralized by your team. And the scene was being staged.”
“Then you know enough.” Shell leaned forward. “What I’d like to do is talk about Captain Daniel Ash.”
“Have you found him?”
“Not yet.” Shell paused, then set his briefcase on his lap and opened it up. From inside, he extracted a thin stack of photographs and set them on the desk.
“This is an enhanced thermal satellite image,” he said, tapping the top photo. “It shows a section of the road north of Barker Flats. It was taken fifty-seven minutes after the loss of power at the facility.”
Karp studied the image. There were only two things that showed heat, both very near to each other, and the rest of the image was basically black.
Shell pointed at a thick line just a half shade lighter than the surrounding area. “This is the highway.” He moved his finger to the larger of the two bright spots. “And this is a car. As you can see, it’s not on the road. We’ve been able to determine that it is in the process of pulling up at an abandoned gas station. This other bright spot is a person waiting by the building.”
He moved the picture to the bottom of the stack. The revealed image was similar to the first. The only change was that the car was now on the road.
“You’ll notice the person who had been waiting at the gas station is no longer there.”
“Ash?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know for sure?”
Instead of answering, Shell laid all the photographs out on the desk. There were eight total, including the two he’d already shown the doctor.
Shell touched the photo to the far left. “Here. That’s the Barker Flats facility, seven minutes after the power outage.”
There were two small, bright dots in the desert not far from the building.
Shell moved his attention to the next photo. The building was no longer in the picture, but the two dots were still there. “Fifteen minutes after. They’ve gone just over a mile.” The next photo was similar to the last. “Twenty-five minutes. Two and a half miles.” Next photo. “Thirty minutes. They paused here before moving on.” Next photo. “Forty minutes. They’re standing next to the road.” And the last photo. “They’ve separated here. One has stayed where they were, while the other is heading to the gas station.”
Karp stared at all the photos. He touched the solitary dot standing by the road in the last shot. “Couldn’t that be Ash?”
Shell shook his head. “As soon as Ash reaches the gas station, this person heads three miles south where he is picked up by a separate car forty minutes later. It’s clear whoever it was knew exactly where he was going. You had Captain Ash under your control for over a week prior to the breakout. Before that, records indicate that in the few weeks he and his family had been living at the base, they had yet to leave. Ash would have no knowledge of this area. The man picked up at the abandoned gas station had to be Ash.”
The logic was sound, but Karp didn’t like the accusatory tone Shell was taking. “Were you able to follow the car the captain was in?”
“Only as far as the Nevada border. It pulled into the parking garage of a casino there. Once it was out of sight, there was no way to know if it left again.”
“I thought these satellites are supposed to be good enough to make out the license numbers on cars.”
Shell said nothing for a moment. “In daylight, if the angle’s right. But it was still dark when the car entered the parking garage. Plus it was a Toyota Camry, the most popular car in the country. So no, Dr. Karp. We lost it.” There was a pause. “What I need to know is how troublesome this Ash is. Could he be a problem? Or do we just let him go?”
“What does Bluebird think?”
Shell stared at him. “Naturally, Bluebird is concerned, but they’ve left it up to me to determine what happens next. So I need to know from you whether you think he is a problem, or just someone we can ignore.”
Karp thought for a moment, knowing he had to tread carefully. “I would prefer if he were eliminated, primarily because it would aid our research if we had his body. But is he a threat?” He shook his head. “Ash knows nothing that can hurt us.”
“Unless your man Ellison told him something.”
Though Dr. Karp knew it was true, Shell’s accusation annoyed him. “There’s absolutely no proof that Ellison had anything to do with Ash’s escape. He found out Littlefield was going to engage Protocol Thirteen and ran due to fear. He was found alone in the major’s car, for God’s sake, not some Toyota Camry. All that proves is that he was weak, not a traitor.”
Shell paused a moment before responding. “Doctor, your position within the project is safe. Your skills are needed and you are in no danger. So don’t embarrass yourself by ignoring the obvious. The only way Ash could have been freed was if he’d had help on the inside. There is no other way. You know it, and I know it. So drop the bullshit. Is Ash dangerous to us or not?”
Backed into a corner, there was really only one answer Karp could give. “Maybe.”
• • •
When Len woke up the next morning, he was the only one in the tent. He staggered outside, his head pounding, and found the others sitting at the campfire.
“About time,” Chuck said. He stared at his friend for a moment. “How much did you have to drink last night?”
Len dropped into the only empty chair. “What time is it?”
“Nine-thirty,” Walt said.
“We’ve been up for two hours,” Chuck told him.
Len coughed a couple of times.
“Dude, are you all right?” Walt asked.
“I think I might be getting something.”
“Great,” Jimmy said. “I swear to God if I get it, too, I’m going to kill you.”
“Is there any coffee left?” Len asked.
Chuck poured him a cup and handed it over. “We were just waiting for you so we could hike the dunes.”
“I…I don’t think I’m up for it.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“You guys go. I’m just going to lie down.”
Chuck eyed him for a moment. “Maybe we should just head home.”
Shaking his head, Len said, “I don’t want to ruin your fun.” He tried to smile. “I’ll be fine. I just need to sleep it off.”
The others protested a bit more, but in the end they headed off for the dunes, and Len crawled back into the tent to rest.
When they got back four hours later, all three of them were more exhausted than they should have been, and two were already sniffling.
Chuck didn’t even check Len as he climbed into the tent to take a nap. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Len had been dead for nearly an hour. Chuck would follow seven hours later, and Walt thirty minutes after that.
Jimmy was the only one still alive, if barely, when the Ranger service found them.
“I’m going to kill him,” he kept whispering. “I’m going to kill him.”
But, really, it was th
e other way around.
15
Ash’s new quarters weren’t quite as nice as the room he’d woken up in the day before, but they were more than adequate. All the clothes that had been in the other dresser had been moved to his new room, as had the messenger bag that surprisingly still had the money inside.
He had slept with the watch on, not a habit he used to have, but one he was determined to start. It had still been on California time when Hamilton gave it to him, but Pax had told him when he showed Ash to the room that it was an hour later here. Where “here” was, Ash still didn’t know.
It was because of the watch that he skipped dinner. He was in too much of an emotional state, and didn’t want to end up saying something he’d regret later. Pax had brought him a tray of food around eight p.m. and Ash surprised himself by devouring it all.
When morning came, the decision to leave didn’t seem as clear as it had twelve hours before. Yes, the conversation with Hamilton had annoyed him, but there was too much he didn’t know or understand, and it was clear that many of the answers could probably be found right there on the ranch.
Still unsure of what he was going to do, he packed a few extra shirts, some underwear, and socks into the messenger bag. He then left the bag in the room and went in search of breakfast.
The building he was in was a kind of dormitory just down a wide stone pathway from the main building. It was two stories and held maybe twenty rooms, but if anyone else had been staying there, Ash hadn’t heard them. The outside of the building was stone halfway up the first floor, with wooden timbers the rest of the way to the top. It was definitely built to last, but while it had the appearance of having been built decades before, Ash got the sense it was actually recently constructed.
Heading down the path, he could hear birds chirping in the distance, and felt a breeze blowing softly through the tops of the trees. The tranquility of it all was almost overwhelming. It was so at odds with the turmoil going on inside him.
As the trail turned and went up a gentle rise, the main building came into view. It was an impressive structure—old and wooden and huge, with wide, sloped roofs and half a dozen chimneys. It looked like a ski lodge that should have been at the bottom of a hill rather than in a quiet clearing.
There was a workout area off to the left with pull-up bars, sit-up stations, and resistance-training machines. A woman was at one of the machines, using it to work her shoulders. She glanced over at Ash, then quickly looked away as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have.
As Ash neared the main building, he spotted Pax on his hands and knees examining a set of stairs that led up to the wide porch surrounding the structure. When Pax saw him, he got to his feet and brushed off his hands.
“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” Ash replied. “I was wondering if there was someplace I could get some breakfast.”
“Sure, sure.” Pax turned to the building. “That third door there, that gets you into a short hallway that’ll take you into the kitchen. You’ll find Bobbi in there. She can whip you up something.”
“Thanks.” Ash glanced at the stairs. “Is it safe?”
“What? Oh, sure. Just be careful on that second step. The backboard’s starting to give a little. I’ll have one of the boys replace it this afternoon.”
Again, Ash hesitated before moving on. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What kind of business is this ranch in? Can’t believe you make a lot of money off of people like me.”
Pax laughed. “No, that would drive us broke, I think. We have cattle, beef mostly, and a small herd of buffalo.”
“Buffalo?”
“You’d be surprised at the size of the buffalo meat market. But Rachel wants us to keep them for historical sake, let them live out their lives here.”
“So you only make money off the cattle then.”
“When we need to.”
It wasn’t really an answer, but Ash decided not to push and headed into the house.
Bobbi was a tall woman with short red hair who turned out to be an excellent cook. In no time, Ash was sitting at one of the tables in the restaurant-sized kitchen, working his way through a large plate of eggs and sausage.
“Morning, Rachel,” Bobbi said several minutes later.
Ash glanced up. Another woman had entered the kitchen—Rachel, presumably. She was shorter and leaner than Bobbi, and had long silver-streaked blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.
“How about a cup of coffee?” Rachel asked.
“You got it.”
While Bobbi filled a mug, Rachel walked over to Ash’s table.
“Mind if I sit with you?” she asked him.
“Not at all.”
She smiled, took the chair opposite his, then held out her hand. “I’m Rachel Hamilton.”
They shook.
“You’re Matt’s wife?”
She laughed. “Hardly. I’m his sister.”
“Sorry. When Pax told me this place was yours and Matt’s, I just assumed…”
“Don’t be sorry. A lot of people make that same mistake.”
Bobbi came over, set the mug in front of Rachel, then glanced at Ash. “And how’s your breakfast?”
“It’s good. Thank you.”
“If either of you need anything, just holler.” With that, she headed back to the prep table where she’d been cutting up vegetables.
Rachel took a sip of her coffee then said, “How’d you sleep?”
“Fine,” he said. “I appreciate you letting me spend another night here.”
“We’ve got the beds. Someone might as well use them.”
“You do have a lot of space, but I’ve only seen a handful of people.”
“It’s an ebb-and-flow kind of thing around here. Sometimes the ranch is packed, and sometimes it feels like just Matt and me.”
“Pax tells me that this is a cattle ranch.”
She took another sip, then shrugged. “Yeah, we have cattle.”
Like Pax, she seemed hesitant to get into the business of the ranch.
“I hear you told Matt you’re intending to leave us this morning,” she said as he put a piece of sausage in his mouth.
He shrugged.
“I’m sure you have a lot of things to do,” she went on. “Starting with trying to find out what happened to your family. If I were you, it would be the first thing I’d want to do.” She paused. “But before you go, there are a few things you need to know.”
“What?” he said.
“You finish your breakfast first, then we can talk.”
He swallowed the sausage, then pushed his plate away. “I’m finished now.”
• • •
The room she led him to was on the second floor near Matt’s office. It was a conference room decorated to keep with the mountain-lodge feel of the place—big pine table, wooden handcrafted chairs, and a fireplace at the far end. There was also a large television hanging on the wall that was currently off.
Ash hadn’t even sat down yet when the door opened again, and Matt and Pax walked in.
“Morning, Captain,” Matt said. “Trust you slept well.”
“I did. Thank you.”
Pax gave Ash a nod.
“Where’s Billy?” Matt asked.
Pax seemed to take this as his cue. He picked up the phone on a cabinet under the TV and punched in a number.
“Why don’t we sit?” Rachel suggested.
While Matt went around to the other side of the table, Rachel took the chair next to the one Ash sat in.
“So what’s this all about?” Ash asked.
Before anyone could answer, the door opened and Billy rushed in.
“Sorry,” he said. He made his way around to sit with Matt, and placed the notebook he was carrying on the table.
Pax hung up the phone the moment Billy entered, and took the chair next to Rachel.
Matt looked around a
t everyone, then focused his attention on Ash. “I’ll come right to it. We think it would be a mistake for you to leave right now.”
“If I want to leave, I’ll leave,” Ash said, suddenly wary. “You already said you wouldn’t try to stop me.”
“And we won’t,” Matt told him. “But I’m hoping what we have to say will convince you to stay.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Ash asked, “So what is it you have to say?”
Matt considered him for a moment before saying, “What happened to the families at Barker Flats didn’t occur simply by chance.”
“Of course it didn’t,” Ash said. “It was an attack. Some terrorist organization trying to stir up fear.”
Matt hesitated, then stood up. He began walking toward the far end of the room. “How well did you know your neighbors?”
“My neighbors? Not well. We’d just transferred in.”
Matt stopped near the center of the table. “Hadn’t everyone just transferred in?”
“Well, yes. The base had been closed for a while, and we were there to get it up and running again.”
Matt touched a finger to the table. Instantly, a wooden flap rose and disappeared into the surface edgewise, revealing a control panel underneath.
“You’re going to want to turn around,” Matt said. He hit a button and the TV came to life.
Ash shifted his chair so he could see the screen. Rachel and Pax did the same. The image remained black for a moment, then a picture of a family cut in.
“Do you recognize them?” Matt asked.
“That’s Manny…Captain Diaz and his wife. Carol, I think. I don’t remember their kids’ names.”
“They lived next to you, didn’t they?”
“Yes.”
As Ash stared at the picture, he remembered the scream he’d heard that night while he and Brandon were being led away. It was Carol, wasn’t it? And now, if what Matt told him was true, Carol and Manny and their kids were all dead.
The picture changed to one of a man and woman.
“Lieutenant Cross and his wife,” Ash said without prompting. The Crosses lived on the other side of them.
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