The Buried

by Brett Battles

  He didn’t have time to think about who it was or how the person had found him. Keeping his pace unchanged, he navigated a course that would take him to the western end of town, as far from the motel as he could get. He watched the mirror to make sure his new friend was tagging along.

  He was.

  CHAPTER 23

  ORBITS FROWNED.

  The Altima had already driven halfway across Walla Walla and yet didn’t seem to be nearing its destination. And the car thief had been on foot, which meant it was highly improbable the guy had walked this far.

  Of course, Quinn’s partner could have dumped the Audi in the area, but it would have been sloppy to abandon one car so close to where you stole your new ride. They had certainly taken better care when they’d exchanged the Cherokee for the Audi in Yakima.

  At least Orbits had the guy in his sights. That was the important thing.

  __________

  NATE’S PHONE BUZZED with a text. He glanced at the screen. Quinn, wondering how long he was going to be.

  He tapped the Z key, hit SEND, and shoved the phone into his pocket.

  Up to that point, he had kept to residential streets, none of which had any traffic at that hour. When he turned onto East Rose Street, however, he entered a business district where he was no longer the only vehicle on the road.

  He checked behind him again to make sure his tail hadn’t gone away. Not only was it still following, but now that they were on a main street, the driver had turned on his lights to blend in.

  Ninth Avenue seemed to be another major road, so Nate turned left onto it and drove southward for several blocks, taking him even farther from the motel.

  When he sensed he’d soon be running out of city, he decided it was time.

  A park on the left side of the road provided just the cover he was looking for. He turned left onto a street that went down the far side of it. As soon as the trees at the front of the park blocked him from the view of his follower, he slammed the accelerator to the floor.

  Ahead another street headed off to the left, but Nate was still thirty feet short of it when the other guy swung onto the street behind him. Nate’s tires squealed as he took the turn fast. There was another intersection, this one much closer than the last. He barreled around it long before the other guy got behind him again.

  If he could do that a few more times, he’d shake him.

  He sped ahead.

  __________

  MUST BE GETTING close, Orbits thought as he saw the Altima turn off the main road.

  The park he was passing suggested the other car was heading into a residential area. Maybe they had located a safe house Orbits didn’t know about. Whatever the case, he would have to take extra care now. If he could keep them off guard, this would be a piece of cake, and by lunchtime tomorrow, he’d be home, his bank account balance satisfyingly increased.

  He turned down the new road at the same even pace he’d been going, expecting the Altima to be not much more than fifty yards ahead.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  The car was one hundred and fifty yards ahead, racing away.

  Orbits hit the gas, knowing he didn’t need to remain subtle anymore.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  __________

  “YOU DIDN’T HAPPEN to grab any extra clothes I could wear, did you?” Dani called out from the bathroom.

  “Hold on,” Quinn said.

  He grabbed his backpack and pulled out an unused black T-shirt. When he rapped on the door, she opened it a few inches.

  “This is the best I can do,” he said, holding out the shirt.

  His phone vibrated.

  “This is great,” she said. “Thanks.”

  As the door closed, Quinn pulled out his cell and checked the text.

  Z

  “We’ve got to go,” he said, shoving the phone back into his pocket. “Now!”

  Dani opened the door again. “What’s wrong?”

  He grabbed the duffels. “There’s trouble. We need to leave.”

  His team had a shorthand for those times when longer messages were impossible. Z meant get the hell out.

  Dani rushed out of the bathroom, buttoning the top of her jeans. She grabbed her shoes and pulled them on. When she rejoined Quinn, she held out her hands.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Cuffs.”

  He hesitated for a moment, then said, “No.”

  “What if I run?”

  “Then you run. But it would be better if you didn’t.”

  “Because you’ll hurt me if I do?”

  “No. Not me. But I can’t say the same about the people looking for you.”

  She lowered her hands. “Thank you.”

  “I could use your help,” he said, holding out Nate’s backpack.

  “Sure.”

  After she pulled it on, he gave her the lighter of the duffels, keeping the one with the firearms for himself. “We’re going to go out the same way we came in. On the other side of the parking lot is a set of train tracks paralleling the highway. We’ll follow those.”

  “How far?”

  “Not sure yet. Stay behind me, but close. Clear?”

  “Clear.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Quinn led her through the hallway and out into the rear parking area.

  The night was warm with only a slight breeze. Crossing the lot to a strip of bushes at the back of the motel property, they could hear cars driving by on the highway.

  “There’s a path,” Dani said, pointing to a gap between bushes.

  Quinn let her take point until they reached the train tracks.

  “Easier to walk on the other side,” he said.

  They passed over the raised bed and then walked parallel to it, heading east. The highway was less than a hundred feet away, up a small embankment. Every few seconds another car would roar past, its headlights sweeping across the top edge of the incline.

  “Can you go any faster?” Quinn asked.

  Dani looked over her shoulder. “Is someone coming?”

  “Not yet. But I’d rather not be in the open if they do.”

  She picked up her pace.

  Not far ahead, Quinn spotted a large area of brush growing along a downward slope. As they neared, he realized what he’d thought was one large group of brush was really two patches separated by a dry wash.

  “This way,” Quinn said.

  They crossed the tracks and stepped down into the space between the bushes. After finding the most level spot, Quinn set down his duffel and helped Dani do the same with hers.

  “Stay low,” he said, crouching.

  As she hunched down next to him, she asked, “What now?

  “We wait.”

  __________

  NATE TOOK EVERY turn he came to, randomly mixing lefts and rights, just the way Quinn had taught him.

  Four times, he caught sight of his pursuer’s headlights in the distance, but when the road in his rearview mirror finally stayed dark, he cautiously began working his way back to the east side of town.

  Not far from the Super 8 motel, he pulled behind a grocery store, tucked into the loading dock, and grabbed his phone.

  __________

  QUINN WAS HOLDING his cell when it vibrated.

  “What happened?” he asked Nate.

  “I picked up a tail.”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t know. Never got a look at him. Just the car.” He explained what had happened.

  “You sure you lost him?” Quinn asked.

  “Yeah, but I’m also sure he’s still looking for me.”

  Quinn told him where he and Dani were.

  “The guy saw this car,” Nate said. “So I’ll grab a new one and then I’ll be right there.”

  __________

  ORBITS POUNDED THE steering wheel again as he turned onto yet another deserted street.

  Where was he?

  He clenched his teeth and thought about the last few
moments before the Altima made its getaway. Obviously, the driver had spotted him, but how and where? Orbits could think of nothing he’d done that would have spooked his target.

  “Dammit,” he mumbled. He must have been right earlier. The guy hadn’t walked clear across Walla Walla to steal a car. He must have spotted Orbits early on and driven to this part of town as a ruse.

  Orbits made a hard left, his car nearly flying onto the sidewalk before it swerved into the middle of the street. Shoving the accelerator down as far as it would go, he raced to Ninth Avenue and headed back to the east end of the city.

  __________

  AFTER MOVING THE bags to the top end of the wash, Quinn motioned for Dani to join him.

  “Where is he?” she asked.

  Quinn gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “He’ll be here soon.”

  Two minutes later, he spotted a car turning onto the highway about half a mile down.

  As it reached the spot parallel with the motel, it slowed.

  “Get ready,” he said.

  He waited until the vehicle eased onto the shoulder before raising his phone and turning the screen on for a couple of seconds. The moment he was sure Nate had spotted him, he turned it off again.

  The car, a late model Lexus ES, stopped directly between their position and the road. As Quinn and Dani carried the bags over, the trunk popped open and Nate climbed out.

  “You guys all right?” he asked.

  “We’re good,” Quinn replied.

  Quinn saw that Nate noticed the missing cuffs from Dani’s hands, but his partner said nothing as they shoved the bags into the trunk.

  Dani hopped into the back, but before Quinn climbed in, Nate said, “Do you hear that?”

  Quinn cocked his head and listened. A noise in the distance. For a second, he thought it was a big rig heading their way, but then he realized that wasn’t it at all.

  A helicopter, and by the deep rumble of the motor, a big one.

  “We need to go,” Quinn said and jumped into the car.

  __________

  ORBITS COULDN’T HEAR the helicopter over the noise of his own engine. He weaved in and out of neighborhoods, hoping to spot the Altima again. He finally found it ten minutes later, abandoned at the side of the road.

  He fired off a string of curses, his head feeling like it was going to explode. He yanked out his phone.

  “I need you to check the highway again,” he told Donnie. “Start twenty minutes ago, both directions. I have no idea what kind of car they’re in, but there can’t be that many on the road right now so I expect to hear from you within ten minutes.”

  “I’ll do what I—”

  Orbits hung up, coming within a hair’s width of throwing his phone against the dash.

  The next time Quinn and company were in his sights, he vowed they would not escape.

  __________

  USING THE SAME method they’d employed in Yakima, Stevens’s team discovered the Audi in the parking area behind a strip mall. Like the Cherokee, it had been abandoned.

  Stevens called his tech liaison. “They’ve either switched again or are hiding somewhere here in town,” he said. “Check satellite feeds from the last seven hours and see if there’s any useful traffic-cam footage.”

  __________

  BIANCA GLANCED UP at the sky as the helicopter flew overhead.

  That would be Morse’s people, a small, quasi-independent organization that was ultimately just another cog in the US intelligence machine. There could be only one place the helicopter was headed. The same place she was—Walla Walla. Her information contacts had identified the town as the last known location of the vehicle carrying the two men who, she’d been assured, would have the girl. Apparently Morse’s people were on to them, too.

  Unfortunately, the helicopter would get there soon, while she still had a good forty minutes of driving ahead of her. She didn’t let this panic her, though. She didn’t do panic.

  Thirty minutes later, a buzz in her ear informed her of an incoming call.

  “Zorn,” she said.

  “Status update,” her contact reported. “New vehicle. Type: Lexus ES. Color: dark gray. Location: US 12 northeast of Walla Walla, approximately nine miles from your current position.”

  That was excellent news. Not only were they still on the run, they were within striking distance.

  “Additional item,” the liaison said. “Confirmed sighting of the woman in the car with them.”

  “Copy,” Bianca said. Even better news.

  “Good hunting.”

  The line went dead.

  CHAPTER 24

  INTERSTATE 84, OREGON

  “MOM? MOM, WAKE up.”

  Orlando felt the tug on her leg and wondered if she’d knocked into something. In the dream she’d been having, she was in her house, trying to sneak up on the men who had broken in.

  A tug again.

  “Mom. Wake up.”

  She reached out to grab the guy’s shoulder—

  “Mom.”

  The dream disappeared.

  She opened her eyes and saw Garrett standing at the other end of the bench seat, next to her feet. He helped her sit up.

  “What time is it?” she asked.

  “A quarter after midnight.”

  “What are you doing still awake?”

  “Daeng says we’re getting close to the turnoff for Washington. He wants to know what you want to do.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “He needs me, Mom. I’m helping to navigate. So, should we go to Washington or not?”

  He seemed to be enjoying himself, so she let his late night slide and thought about his question. Quinn had been very clear that he hadn’t wanted them to get too close, but she knew if she hadn’t been pregnant, he would have asked her to join him.

  “Tell Daeng yes to Washington,” she said. “He should head to Walla Walla.”

  “Walla Walla? You’re making that up, aren’t you?”

  “It’s a real place, honey.”

  “No, it’s not,” he said.

  “Check the map.”

  “Garrett,” Daeng called from up front. “The turnoff’s coming up. What’s the verdict?”

  “Go on,” Orlando instructed her son.

  He turned to leave, but then stopped and said, “Your computer was dinging for a while so I turned down the volume.” He headed to the cab.

  Her laptop was still sitting on the table, her screen open but dark. Despite Mrs. Vo’s insistence that Orlando rest right after she finished eating, she had spent a little time online, checking if using the name Dani instead of Danielle got her any closer to answers. It hadn’t.

  She woke the screen, typed in her password, and cringed in pain. Not indigestion this time, but another one of those stupid false contractions. She shot a glance toward the front of the RV to see if anyone had seen her, but the men were all up front watching the road and Mrs. Vo was asleep in her chair.

  As the spasm receded, she braced herself for another. When it didn’t come, she turned her attention to her computer.

  The beeping Garrett had heard had been triggered by the facial recognition system. She brought the interface forward and saw it didn’t just return a single result but three. She opened the first.

  It was a potential match for one of Helen’s attackers, the guy who’d been in the passenger seat of the car. She studied his face, comparing it with the image from the security cam. It looked pretty damn close to her.

  The match’s name was Harold Winston, nicknamed Tex. Former military, dishonorable discharge, and three years in mercenary service with a well-known defense security operation before turning freelance.

  Definitely sounded like a winner.

  Match number two was for the driver. One look at the picture and she knew it was right.

  Terry Kuhner. Driving specialist. Five years in prison for being the wheelman on a bank robbery. Scattered work history. Wanted for questioning in connection to
several more robberies on the East Coast. His last known location was Chicago six months earlier.

  If she could track down these two, she should be able to find out who’d hired them to take Helen. She might even be able to find out where Helen had been taken.

  Orlando opened the last match.

  The picture that stared back at her was of a woman, aged twenty-three. The recognition software put the match to the photo of Dani at only 53.2%. The name of the girl the software identified was listed as Marianne Trudeaux. The problem was that the picture was ten years old, which meant Marianne would be in her early thirties now, an age Dani had not reached yet. Orlando did have to admit, however, that there was more than a passing resemblance between the two women. Was it coincidental or was there a connection?

  Before immersing herself in finding out more about Marianne, she pinged Quinn’s phone to check his location, knowing he’d wanted to get back on the road by midnight.

  A dot appeared on the map sixteen miles east of Walla Walla. She’d thought they’d be farther than that by now. She decided to call him.

  “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” he asked.

  “I was. Is everything all right?”

  “Well, we are being chased. I mentioned that to you earlier, didn’t I?”

  “Ha. Ha.”

  “Oh, and someone spotted Nate in Walla Walla a little while ago.”

  She sat up. “What? Where is he?”

  “Right next to me.”

  She waited for him to go on, and when he didn’t, she said, “I swear to God, if you don’t tell me what happened right now, I will find you before the sun rises and—”

  “Calm down, honey.”

  In an instant, she went from worried to pissed off. “Don’t you tell me to calm down!”

  “I didn’t mean it that—”

  “Tell me what happened!”

  “I will, okay? Just—”

  “If you say relax, this is the last baby you will have the chance to create.”

  After a beat, he recounted the close call they’d had before leaving Walla Walla.

  “They’ve got to be using traffic cams,” she told him. “You need to get onto a road that’s not covered.”