Act of Betrayal

by Matthew Dunn

  “Fifty percent correct. They know they’ve lost my scent. But also there’s another big thing in play. They will have taken stock of the notes and evidence you planted. I need my innocence proven. Hessian Bell and Antaeus are complementing what you’ve done.”

  “How?”

  Will walked up to him. “My friend, will you go back to Israel?”

  The question had been plaguing Stein. “Antaeus has given Mr. Peres a new lease on life, thanks to his clever skills. But really, it’s a stay of execution. I can’t put Mr. Peres on a plane again. He won’t survive.”

  Will looked at the dashingly handsome Israeli. “Why do you have no woman in your life?”

  Stein pointed at Ash. “We could all ask ourselves that question.”

  “We’re damaged goods,” said Ash. “You’ll stay in America until Mr. Peres passes?”

  “Yes.”

  Ash smiled, though she looked sad. “Then when this is over, I’d like you to come to dinner. I have a best female friend. She is very smart and not suckered in by charm or beauty. You’d like her. Meanwhile, I’d like you to help Mr. Cochrane get fit and gun-ready. Practice. Drills. Get this pain in the ass in shape.”

  She watched Stein lash ropes to boulders on the escarpment outside her home and get Cochrane to scale the mighty drop. Just like her grandfather had done on a ridge in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, Britain, when he was a U.S. Ranger about to be deployed to Normandy in World War II. Up and down the ridge he’d gone, training instructors barking orders at him. Exhausting work. And all for nothing. He was shot dead within twenty seconds of disembarking his landing craft at Omaha Beach. Cochrane didn’t need the training. He was so strong and honed with skills that it amused her. But he was right. He needed to trick his body. Making it exhausted was key. After that he’d rest.

  And how did she feel? She knew Cochrane’s plan and she knew she’d be integral to it. She picked up her sidearm and walked to the barn where Cochrane had done chin-ups. Empty gin bottles were there, the contents drunk by her mother. The gin sucked the life out of her. That’s why Kay couldn’t get rid of the bottles. Her ma was an abuser; it riled her father. She would hit him, he’d hit back, and then they’d turn on Kay and her brother. For years after her mother’s death from liver cancer, she’d reasoned that the bad parts of her mother were in the empty bottles, sucked out by the booze.

  She lined seven bottles up against the back of the barn, took fifteen paces back, and used her pistol to blast all the bottles into smithereens within five seconds.

  There. Finally the bad part of her mother was dead. Ash hoped she and her long-deceased volatile husband were watching from heaven. Maybe now they’d be at peace.

  Stein left in the evening to collect his dog from Antaeus’s house. He didn’t know if he’d ever return to Kay’s house, or indeed if he’d ever see Will Cochrane again. His role in helping Will was played out. He’d asked Will if he could help him bring matters to a close. An extra gunhand, he’d told him, could be useful. But Will had declined the offer.

  “One of us has to survive,” he’d declared to Stein. “One day you can tell people about our adventures.”

  But before he drove away, Ash knocked on his car window. He lowered it.

  “Will you be all right?”

  Stein smiled. “I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever felt certain of that.”

  Rain was falling on Ash, standing with her arms folded, shivering because she was wearing nothing more than jeans and a T-shirt. “You and Will are so alike.”

  “We know that.” He stared ahead, his expression now neutral. “Will has a lot of enemies. If he survives what’s to come, look after him.”

  “I . . .”

  “I will also keep an eye on him. He’s playing a high-risk game and he knows it. If in the off chance he clears his name, people will come after him.”

  “Not here they won’t.”

  The comment touched Stein’s heart. “You’ve known him a long time?”

  “Only for a few days.”

  “Yet when people like us meet each other, it’s as if we have a lifetime of history together.”

  Ash nodded.

  “Good luck, Miss Ash. You have my number. Give me a call if you ever want to set me up on the blind date you mentioned.” He gunned the car and drove off.

  “I hate it here!” Billy Koenig was crimson faced and yelling at his aunt.

  “It’s not that bad,” said an exasperated Faye Glass.

  “There’s nothing to do!”

  They were in the twins’ bedroom in their new safe house. Tom Koenig joined in. “No Internet. The TV is crap—”

  “Language!” exclaimed Faye. She breathed deeply. “I know you’ve been through a lot. More than most children. This is only temporary.”

  “But then what?” Tom was crying. “We go back to the other horrible safe house? We go to your house?”

  “I’m hoping it’s my house,” said Faye soothingly.

  “But we know you think it’s difficult to look after us.” Billy was rocking on his bed. “After Mom was murdered and everything.”

  Faye sat next to him. “I’m trying my best.”

  Billy hugged her. “Me and Tom know that. Our counselor told us that you haven’t had the space to properly grieve. We don’t exactly know what that means. But we know your hands shake when you cook us dinner. And sometimes we hear you crying.”

  “Maybe I just need a vacation.” It was Faye’s attempt at a joke, but instead it produced tears. The boys had their moments of naughtiness, but not as often as they should. For the most part they were not like other kids their age. They were quiet, withdrawn, scared, and confused. The biggest problem was she felt she was merely their caretaker—not a parent, not a role model, and certainly not an expert in raising kids.

  She prayed that Cochrane would call her, clear his name, and adopt the twins. It was a foolish fantasy. For that reason, for now she couldn’t tell Billy and Tom that he was alive.

  Will stoked the fire as Kay descended from her bedroom, wearing a sweater and pajama bottoms, her hair wet from the shower. She sat on the floor by the fire and began untangling her hair with a comb.

  Will sat on the floor opposite her.

  She said, “I still don’t fully understand why you didn’t ask Michael to help with this last part.”

  Will watched the glow from the fire caress her face. It made her beauty shine through. “I’m a fugitive with nothing to lose. You have Hessian Bell covering your back. Stein is different. He has liberty and a future.”

  “But he’s alone with no one to support him.”

  “Precisely. He can’t be sucked into everything I’m doing. I knew he was the perfect person to infiltrate the house and plant evidence. But getting him involved in a shoot-out would have been too much. He’s turned his back on that life and I’m not going to do anything to corrupt that evolution.”

  Kay stopped brushing her hair. “And what about you? When will this chaos end for you?”

  Will stood and looked away. Quietly, he said, “Chaos? I hadn’t thought of it that way. But yes, that’s been my life.”

  She went to him and wrapped her arms around his huge torso. The act wasn’t premeditated. It just felt right. “You’re not the man they say you are.”

  Will couldn’t remember the last time a woman had put her arms around him. It felt so good. More than that, it was feeling Kay’s body warmth and protection that made him feel special.

  They stayed like this.

  Will touched her hair. “I don’t know much about this stuff, but I like the way you cut your hair. It shows your face.”

  She squeezed tighter. “I’m not going to sleep with you. We’re both in a heightened state. As a result, our emotions are flawed.”

  “Because we might die tomorrow.”

  “Feelings run high and wild in these circumstances. What time will you make the call?”

  “Seven a.m. Mrs. Haden gets up early to tend to her bees and
other matters. She’ll take the call. You’ll be with me, if you want. But only from distance.”

  Kay released her grip on him. “Don’t try that crap on me! From distance?!”

  Will lowered his head. “I’ve told myself a foolish story. It involves this house, me repairing it, and you and two eleven-year-old boys. And it involves my freedom.” He looked at her. “I can’t risk your life.”

  “It’s a nice story.” It was one that resonated with Kay. “But to make it work, I have to be up close and personal when it goes down tomorrow.”

  Will put his face inches from Kay’s face. He whispered, “You’d do that for me?”

  “I’d do it for me,” she whispered back.

  Their faces moved closer.

  Kane called Flail. “What have we got?”

  “I’ve still got two able-bodied men is what I’ve got.”

  “Equipped and armed?”

  “Leave that to me. We’re ready when he shows his head.”

  “And Haden?”

  “Mrs. or mister?”

  Kane answered, “Both.”

  “We assume the colonel is circling. Maybe he’s in cahoots with his wife. They conspired to get the money. That’s my bet. We’re watching her house day and night. I’d know a lot more if you’d been straight with me from the outset.”

  “I couldn’t. And I still can’t. If we bag this, it will be the trial of the century.”

  “You’re risking a lot.”

  “Yeah, my career and everything. But here’s the thing. What would you do if your commanding officer became a piece of scum?”

  Flail hesitated before saying, “I’d shoot that dog in the head.”

  Chapter 28

  At five a.m., Will knocked on Kay’s bedroom door. She answered wearing nothing more than her panties and an undershirt. He said, “I’m cooking bacon and eggs. After that, it’s time to hit the road.”

  Two minutes later she was downstairs, ready and dressed. In the kitchen, she said, “I’d prefer a smoothie.”

  As Will was flipping bacon, he replied, “Your choice. But today I’d recommend something more filling.”

  They ate their bacon, eggs, and toast in silence, neither of them acknowledging that last night they had embraced in front of the fire. That was a memory for an altogether different time. Today was a day to kill people.

  Thirty minutes later, they were on the road, heading west. They stopped in the town of Windsor and Will called Mrs. Haden from a pay phone. “Can we meet? Twelve o’clock today. Somewhere private.”

  Elizabeth Haden knew the call was the one Will had warned her about. She said, “The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Do you have GPS?”

  “Yes.”

  “The forest is huge. Program in this grid reference.” She gave him the exact location within the Virginia forest. “I’ll be there alone. I presume this is about my husband. Will he be there?”

  “I don’t know. Be very careful.”

  “Someone may be listening to this call.”

  “If so, that someone may help us get to the main objective.”

  “My—”

  “That’s all to be said!”

  Will and Kay drove across Virginia.

  He said to her, “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to take you on a date?”

  She laughed.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Kay tried to control her laughter. “Don’t be. It’s just, under the circumstances, your question is absurd.”

  “I know. Forget I asked it.”

  “Please don’t forget you asked it.” She was no longer laughing. “Two minutes in.”

  “Two minutes in.” Will pulled the car onto a deserted country road. “Guns concealed. Only out when necessary.” They got out of the vehicle and walked into the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. They were two hours ahead of their intended meeting with Mrs. Haden.

  Flail’s colleague was watching Elizabeth Haden’s house. He called Flail. “She’s still in there. Not moving. Something’s odd.”

  “Break cover. She’s of no use to us now. Convene with us at the forest. It’ll take you three hours to get to us.”

  “Why’s she not moving?”

  “Two options: she got scared or she’s sent her husband to wipe Cochrane and us out. We can deal with Colonel Haden. Cochrane is the major problem. Make sure you’re fully alert.”

  Will and Kay walked through the vast forest. They stopped when they were close to the rendezvous point.

  Will said, “I’m not patronizing you when I ask the following questions. I’d ask the same questions of a man under my command. Will your handgun malfunction?”

  “No. I’ve cleaned every millimeter. It’s pristine. The workings are oiled and smooth.”

  “The magazine and spare magazines?”

  “Springs checked. Cartridges perfect. Three spare mags in the same condition.”

  Will looked around. “Where will they come at us from?”

  “Unpredictable.”

  “Good.” Will took out his handgun. “They want me dead. They don’t know who you are. If this goes tits up, get to Hessian Bell or Antaeus. If I’m dead, don’t play the hero. I want Haden brought to justice. That will be your next objective.”

  They didn’t speak after the exchange. Instead they moved farther into the forest, their handguns at the ready. Will signaled to Kay. She moved. He moved. They were near a clearing—a large open area of dewy grassland that was surrounded by trees. They waited.

  The man who’d been watching Mrs. Haden’s house pulled up adjacent to the forest and Flail and his other ex–Green Beret colleague. He got out of his vehicle and approached the two men.

  Flail said, “Tactical time.” He pointed at the trunk of his car. Flail’s asset opened the trunk and donned coveralls from within, plus other equipment. Now he looked like Flail and the other team member—full-on spec ops who were about to engage in combat. They had headgear, radio mics, assault rifles, spare magazines, emergency medicines in case they were injured, and military knives, and were wearing combat boots and head-to-toe fire-resistant Nomex gear. In previous comparable situations, they’d sometimes carry Tasers. Not today.

  Today was a shoot-to-kill day.

  The three men moved into the forest.

  Kay watched the clearing from behind a tree, her pistol in two hands. She repeatedly looked over her shoulder, knowing there was every possibility men would strike from behind. Her job, however, was to monitor the clearing. If men came there, she’d shoot them without warning. That was the drill. No empathy. No conscience. No second-guessing why they were there so long as they were armed.

  But one of them had to be kept alive. That was Will’s instruction.

  Flail’s team dispersed.

  One of Flail’s team members whispered into his throat mic, “I’ve got a female tango. Stationary near the clearing. Behind a tree. I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.”

  Will Cochrane knew exactly what she was doing. It was one of the bravest things he’d ever witnessed, her significant bravery being that she knew she’d be spotted and probably killed. It was a risk she had decided was necessary. Will had disagreed. He’d told her that he couldn’t guarantee her safety.

  Flail’s colleague moved silently to her, no smile on his face, but certainly inside he felt good. This would be easy. She had her back to him and was no match for the ex-commando. But Flail had said that gunshots weren’t permitted until Cochrane was spotted. The former special forces operative slung his rifle against his chest and pulled out his knife.

  The woman was only fifteen yards away. He decided she didn’t have a clue what was going on. He approached her, ready to shove the knife in her kidneys.

  But as he got to within five yards of her, a hand grabbed his throat and held him upright. The hand then adjusted position to his jaw. A second hand grabbed the other side of the jaw. It started twisting his neck. The power was immense. The man’s le
gs started kicking and he lashed out with his arms. It was to no avail.

  Will twisted the neck like unscrewing a wine cork. When the man’s neck snapped, he dropped the dead body to the ground. Kay turned and nodded at Will. The tactic had paid off. She moved position.

  Flail’s last remaining team member circumvented the clearing from the other direction, unaware his colleague was dead. His assault rifle was at eye level; he was walking slowly and silently. For him, this was a walk in the park. He’d conducted so many missions like this in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and deniable operations in other parts of Asia and the Middle East. He was searching for an observation point. When Cochrane turned up in the clearing, he’d shoot him without being seen. It was an assassination job. They’d remove Cochrane’s body thereafter and feed him to Flail’s pigs. The ex–Green Beret reached an oak tree and clambered up. Squatting on a branch, he pointed his gun at the clearing. Now he had to wait until noon. But if Colonel Haden turned up first, it was a priority to capture him and take him to local law enforcement. Flail would kill Cochrane while that task was under way.

  Flail and his men were under no illusions that Kane’s orders were brutal. They didn’t care. They weren’t Green Berets anymore. They were men who needed cash. And they knew that Kane’s unconventional methods dovetailed perfectly with their training. Unconventional was what it was about. Kane had to bring Haden to justice and put him on the stand.

  The ex-commando whispered in his throat mic, “I’ve got clear sight. If Haden or Cochrane arrive, I’ve got them.”

  Flail replied, “Good. When you shoot, I’ll go in and make sure the job’s done.” By putting bullets in the back of Cochrane’s head and ensuring Colonel Haden was in plastic cuffs. If Haden arrived.

  The man in the tree was motionless, just staring through the sights of his rifle, his breathing calm and shallow.

  This was a perfect trap.

  The bullet to the back of his head sent him spiraling to the ground. Kay put another bullet in his brain to ensure he was dead. Was it premeditated murder or self-defense? Right now she didn’t know or care. Will had told her there’d be one more man. That person was the team’s boss, and he’d be the hardest person to deal with. But she didn’t have sight of Will, nor did she know if the other man was here.