Chasing the Son

by Bob Mayer

  “You worked for Karralkov,” Riley said. “So that was over when he died, correct?”

  Sarah nodded. “He was working several angles, including the Daufuskie land deal. He had me buy Bloody Point years ago through intermediaries. Among other deals. When SAS got hacked, it was because I let his programmers into the system.”

  “And then you turned on him.” Riley didn’t say it as a question.

  “No,” Sarah said. “He turned on me.”

  “How did you find my son?” Chase asked.

  “I have contacts in many places,” Sarah said. “Their boat has a transponder on it that can be activated with the correct signal. I activated it and we went and got them. Before that, to get them close, I pretended to be Erin, asking my long lost son to come visit his mother.”

  “Did you hurt my son?” Chase said.

  “No. They were fine when I last saw them.”

  “Are they on their boat?” Chase asked, grasping at the possibility.

  Sarah shook her head. “No. They were on my boat, but I’m assuming that’s at the bottom of the ocean now. I have no idea where Preston would hold them. He’s got a lot of resources, both through his father and on his own. He has several million dollars of his own money via a trust fund from his grandfather that’s not monitored by anyone.”

  Dillon spoke up. “I don’t get it.” He got up and walked back and forth, agitated. “Is Preston simply crazy? How does he think he can get away with all of this?”

  “Because he has so far,” Sarah said. “He’s crazy, but not in the way most people think of it. He’s a psychopath. Brilliant and with a plan. I think it all started when he jumped on your son,” she nodded at Chase, “and killed Greer Jenrette. He’d always hated the Jenrette’s. Even though his father is the most powerful political person in South Carolina, the Jenrette’s run Charleston and are the richest family in South Carolina. Politics and money. Preston wanted both. He saw Greer as a rival. He took the opportunity and it worked. Think about it. Harry Brannigan is on the run for murder, yet it was Preston who did it.

  “He’s got it set that he will own all of Sea Breeze tomorrow. And he’ll use that money as his base of future power. He wants to be indebted to no one.”

  “What about Mrs. Jenrette?” Westland asked.

  “I have a feeling he’ll take care of her in a manner similar to the way he took care of Merchant Fabrou.”

  Riley checked his watch. “It’s late. We’re going to need to be sharp in the morning. I want to put in surveillance on Daufuskie before daybreak. Let’s all get some sack time.”

  The group broke apart, heading to their sleeping nooks. Riley took Sarah with him to a small room on the far side of the garage. “You bunk here.”

  “Keeping me away from the troops?” Sarah asked.

  “I believe your story,” Riley said. “But that still doesn’t make all you’ve done since then all right.”

  “I’ve never hurt a civilian,” Sarah said. “Everyone’s been a player.”

  “You played us well to get to Karralkov,” Riley said, “but you got lucky in the end.”

  “We all did,” Sarah said. “Karralkov planted me where I was, then he was getting ready to pull the plug. I had to act and I did the best I could.”

  Riley folded his arms and considered her. “I don’t believe you’re telling the entire truth. You turn on us, you put us in danger for your own reasons, then I will kill without a moment’s hesitation. And that goes for Westland, Kono and Gator.”

  “And Horace?” Sarah asked.

  “He’ll shoot you faster than any of us,” Riley said. “You’re responsible for putting his son in harm’s way. Family. It’s even stronger than what you went through.”

  * * *

  Across the Intracoastal the sniper had watched it all. The group meeting with Sarah surprisingly showing up. That had caused the sniper a moment of angst, her finger caressing the trigger, but holding because: no order.

  She had no idea what the target had said, speaking for so long.

  But something was off. Something was different because they all parted to bed down for the night.

  As the lights darkened across the way at Brams Point, the sniper rolled on her back and made a satellite call.

  * * *

  Hannah listened to the sniper’s report. She hung up, then punched in a code. It was answered on the second ring.

  Westland didn’t answer with a greeting. She knew exactly why Hannah was calling.

  “Sarah Briggs told us what happened to her,” Westland began. She then summarized Sarah’s story in a paragraph.

  In her office, alone underneath the NSA, Hannah listened. When Westland finished, the silence played out for a few seconds.

  “That was under Nero,” Hannah said. “And the op was run by the organization you both worked for at the time, which no longer exists. Part of the reason it no longer exists is that it did things like this.”

  “But you still ordered a Sanction on Sarah Briggs,” Westland said. “It’s why I’m here.”

  “Kate,” Hannah said, a surprising use of the familiar. “It’s a circle. I’m not going to apologize for whoever sent Sarah Briggs to that fate. It’s the way it is. You didn’t Sanction her upon sight, which means I sent the right person on this mission, correct? Perhaps my motive was larger than simply Sanctioning Sarah Briggs?”

  “I’ve been considering that possibility,” Westland said.

  “Good. Cardena told me about this Horace Chase. He’s a good operative. And you told me Dave Riley is one too. They’ve been useful. In a way, so has Sarah Briggs. She helped us terminate Karralkov.”

  “And what is the play now?” Westland asked.

  “It’s in your hands,” Hannah said. “Along with Chase and Riley. I have been contacted by Senator Gregory who told me to back off.”

  “So you’ll deal with him?”

  “Of course.”

  * * *

  Chase sat on the dock in the darkness; relative darkness given the lights from his neighbors who still bathed their houses in them even though it was three in the morning. He’d have to wake everyone soon and get moving. Put surveillance into place on Daufuskie before dawn. Try to figure out a way to find where Preston had secreted away Doc and Harry.

  He found it odd that Sarah Briggs had met his son, but he hadn’t. Not the only odd thing about all of this. He heard footsteps coming down the dock and turned his head, expecting to see Dave Riley, but instead, it was Dillon.

  The Institute grad sat down at the table without a word. They stayed like that for a while, a ritual for soldiers on guard duty at night. In tune with the world around them, respecting each other’s thoughts.

  “You served,” Chase said.

  “Yes.”

  “Whose side will you be on tomorrow? Ours or Mrs. Jenrette’s?”

  “I think Mrs. Jenrette will be on our side once she knows the truth.”

  “Then you need to tell her before the meeting.”

  Dillon nodded. “I got a text message from her man. They’re coming down via her yacht, just the two of them. They want me to meet them on Daufuskie, but I think I should meet her on the boat before she disembarks. Fill her in.”

  “Good idea.”

  “You know,” Dillon said, “something Sarah said just triggered a thought. Preston has a boat. If Sarah was keeping your son and Doc Cleary on her boat, it stands to reason Preston’s men needed a boat to get to them. And—“

  Chase had his cell phone out. He pulled out his wallet and retrieved the card that Zelda had given him. He was a bit surprised when it was answered on the third ring.

  “Yeah?” The voice was groggy.

  “Zelda, this is Horace Chase.”

  “You drowning? Your boat sinking?”

  “No.”

  “Then fucking call me when the sun is up.”

  “I need help,” Chase said. “Now. Please. I think my son and Doc Cleary are being held prisoner on a boat and I need
to find it. I understand some boats have transponders that can be—“

  The grogginess was gone from Zelda’s voice. “Whose boat?”

  “Preston Gregory.”

  “That dickhead from Charleston? Hold on.”

  Chase waited.

  Zelda came back on the phone. “It’s active. I’m pinging it now.” There was a pause. “Okay. I got it. Pinckney Island, in an inlet. Not exactly where normal people anchor. You got that crazy man Kono with you?”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I talk to Tear. And he talks to me.”

  “Kono’s here.”

  “Tell him to give me a call and I’ll tell him exactly where the ship is.”

  The phone went dead.

  Chase looked at Dillon. “Great idea. Let’s go.”

  The two began running down the dock back toward the house.

  * * *

  Riley watched them coming, dark figures barely visible in the few bulbs lighting Chase’s 240-foot long pier. The cell phone he’d appropriated from Farrelli’s two goons began vibrating in his pocket.

  “Get Sarah,” he said to Westland, who was sitting next to him.

  Riley answered. “Yeah?”

  “Is this Mister Riley or Mister Chase?”

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “I’m the person who has Harry Brannigan.”

  “So you’re Preston Gregory.”

  “How astute,” Preston said. “I assume then, that my former compatriot Ms. Briggs has run to you in the vain hope you might protect her.”

  Sarah Briggs appeared with Westland.

  “So is this Riley or Chase?” Preston asked.

  “Riley.”

  “Why are you getting involved in something that doesn’t pertain to you?” Preston asked.

  “I have a dog in this hunt,” Riley said.

  The back door slid open and Chase and Dillon were there. Riley held up a finger to keep them quiet. He hit speakerphone so they could all hear.

  “You do know Sarah Briggs is a lying, psychopathic, double-crossing bitch, correct?” Preston asked.

  “I’ve heard it said,” Riley replied, looking at Briggs.

  Chase was using hand and arm signals and it didn’t take a genius to figure out he’d learned where Doc and Harry were. Riley gave him the thumbs-up to indicate he understood.

  Gator and Kono appeared, attracted by the activity.

  “So why are you involved?” Preston repeated.

  “My friend’s son is in danger,” Riley said.

  Preston laughed. “He is in danger if you don’t do exactly what I say. I can tell I’m on speaker, so I assume Chase is there? Is Briggs there too?”

  “Correct on both counts.”

  “Who else? The woman with the black streak in her hair?”

  Westland shook her head. She gestured north and mouthed: D.C.

  “No,” Riley answered. “She was recalled to Washington.”

  Preston laughed again. “That’s real power for you. My father probably only had to make one phone call to jerk her ass back there. And since I have Harry and the old man, I have the power over you.” His voice shifted, and a bit of an English accent crept into it. “Hello there darling Sarah. Do you believe you are among friends?”

  “You’re clueless,” Sarah said.

  “Perhaps,” Preston said. “Mister Chase?”

  “Yes?” Chase said.

  “If you want to see your son alive, you will shoot Sarah Briggs right now in the forehead, immediately take a picture of her dead body, and text it to me on this phone in the next thirty seconds, or your son is dead.”

  The phone clicked off.

  Riley, Chase, Westland, Gator, Kono and Dillon all remained frozen for a moment. But Sarah Briggs reached out, pulled the pistol from Chase’s holster, pointed it toward her forehead, and smiled at all of them.

  Then she pulled the trigger.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Preston Gregory peered at the screen of the cell phone. Sarah Briggs lay on a floor, glistening blood covering most of her face, her eyes staring up vacantly.

  He hit speed dial one.

  “Riley.”

  “Did you do that or Chase?” Preston asked.

  “Does it matter?”

  “I suppose not. Impressive response, but I expected no less of men of your caliber. Now. Here’s what else you are going to do and then you get Harry and the old man back. Mrs. Jenrette is leaving Charleston at the crack of dawn on her yacht. We’ll all meet on Daufuskie at Bloody Point on the old dock just west of the Point. It’s secluded and both ships can dock there along with your little dinghy. That’s when you’re going to give me Sarah’s documents. And Mrs. Jenrette will call my father and have him file the appropriation so the money will start flowing and the contracts will be put out.

  “And then it gets interesting,” Preston continued. “She’ll wonder why you’re there. By the way, I want just Riley and Chase. If catch a glimpse of anyone else, especially those two whack jobs, Gator and Kono, your boy dies. Along with the old man. Then, and only then, I’ll bring out Harry and the old man from my boat. And then it’s between you and her who gets him. Should be fun to watch.”

  Preston hit the off button. Then he stood up from behind his desk in Sea Pines. It was an hour and a half before first light on the first day of his new life.

  He felt pretty damn good.

  * * *

  “A crazy lady,” Kono said, as he held the compress against Sarah’s forehead, trying to stem the flow of blood.

  “You sure she’s alive?” Dillon asked. They’d all seen her shift the muzzle at the last moment before firing.

  Kono touched her neck with his other hand. “Pulse.”

  Chase ran over to his footlocker, threw open the lid and pulled out a Quikclot bandage and tossed it to Kono.

  The Gullah ripped it open then pressed it against the self-inflicted wound.

  “Hold it for five minutes,” Chase said. “It will stop the bleeding.”

  Sarah had turned the gun so it was almost parallel to her head then pulled the trigger. The bullet had grazed her skull, stunning her, ripping open the skin to the bone, and dropping her to the floor.

  It wasn’t exactly something she could have asked someone to do on a moment’s notice. And a millimeter deeper and she’d be dead.

  “Concussion at least,” Kono said, keeping pressure on the wound.

  “Do we believe her now?” Dillon asked.

  “She didn’t kill herself,” Chase said.

  “Close,” Westland said. “Close enough that Preston believed it.”

  “Shit,” Gator said, impressed. “I thought she did it, until I didn’t see any brains. Guess that little dipshit never saw the result of a head shot.”

  Sarah Briggs groaned and Kono helped her sit up.

  “What were you thinking?” Chase asked.

  “I was thinking I’d better shoot myself before one of you did,” Sarah said.

  Chase and Riley exchanged a glance, but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m assuming he bought it,” Sarah continued, “because none of you finished the job.”

  “Yeah, he fell for it,” Riley said. “And he wants us to go up against Mrs. Jenrette over Harry and Doc. They’re meeting at the old dock on the south end of Daufuskie and he wants just Chase and me there with your documets. He picked that spot because you could blow a pound of C-4 there and no one would notice. Hell, the Air Force dropped a nuke off the coast south of there in 1958 and no one has found it yet.”

  “Based on Gregory’s actions so far,” Chase said, “he has to wipe the slate clean so he can move forward.”

  “And,” Riley added, “I have no doubt that whoever comes out standing won’t stay standing much longer.”

  “Except I know where Harry and Doc are,” Chase said. “Kono, call Zelda and get the exact location of Preston’s boat. She says she has the transponder active.”

  “Find out where Mr
s. Jenrette’s yacht is too,” Dillon suggested.

  “Roger that.” Kono stepped out into the back with his cell phone.

  “Whoa,” Riley said. “Hold on. Let’s think this through. We move too fast, bad things could happen.”

  “We get my kid,” Chase said.

  “It aint that simple,” Riley said.

  “Why not?” Chase demanded.

  “Because Preston Gregory isn’t going to let it be that simple,” Riley said.

  “He’s right,” Sarah said. “He’s been planning this for a long time and he’s ruthless. Even if we get your son away from him, then what? There’s still the matter of Greer Jenrette’s death. The stakes have gotten too high all around.”

  “We’ve got Chad—“ Chase began, but even he realized the foolishness of that.

  Kono came back in. “I’ve got Gregory’s boat. West side of Pinckney. And Mrs. Jenrette yacht has just departed Charleston and is heading south.”

  Riley shook his head. “We’re not going to be able to approach Preston’s boat and get them. We know a hostage rescue is the hardest op and from what we saw on Daufuskie, Preston has some people who know how to use guns. We don’t have time to do anything fancy. We need to think for a moment and make the best plan we can with the time we have left.”

  “All right,” Chase said. “Suggestions?”

  “We make a clean sweep of it,” Sarah said. “We have to follow what Preston said: the two of you make the meet.”

  “And the rest of us?” Dillon asked.

  “First,” Chase said. “Are you all in? If anyone wants to walk, now is the time.”

  “I’ve been in,” Riley said.

  “I’m with you,” Gator said, since he’d be in with anything that promised mayhem and gunfire and explosions.

  “Yah,” Kono said. “No more playing around.”

  “I’m in,” Dillon said. “As long as I can tell Mrs. Jenrette the truth.”

  Riley turned to Westland. “What say the Cellar?”

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Westland said.