Hunter's Pursuit

by Kim Baldwin

  “It’s okay. I know you would if you could.”

  “I’m sorry,” Riley said. “I’m sorry I didn’t kill her when I had the chance. I know you wanted me to. I just couldn’t take the chance she’d shoot you.”

  “It’s all right, Riley,” Kat said. “You’re not a killer.” There was a catch in her voice and Riley knew why.

  “Kat,” Riley reassured her, “Nothing’s changed. Yes, I’m Riley, not Jake. A writer, as it turns out, and not a bounty hunter. But I still want to be with you. Just as soon as you get us out of this.”

  *

  Otter was worried. He was so cold he could no longer feel his hands. He’d been flexing them to try to keep the circulation going. He’d even lain on them, hoping to warm them up that way. But it wasn’t working. The little heater was ineffective against the open door. The wind outside had picked up, and frigid air was blowing in. His face was freezing. His cheeks and his nose stung, and his eyes watered.

  “We’ve got to get out of here before we freeze to death,” he told Frank.

  Frank hadn’t spoken in several minutes, but Otter had heard his chattering teeth and knew he was suffering too.

  “Hunter is not going to help you, Frank. That woman got her, or Hunter would have come out to check on us.”

  “If she got Hunter,” Frank said, shivering, “then why didn’t she come back out here?”

  “Who the hell knows? Maybe she went out through the other exit. Maybe she’s in there torturing Hunter. Maybe they killed each other. Whatever the hell happened, nobody’s gonna come help us. We got to help ourselves.”

  Frank had never thought he’d find himself hoping that Hunter prevailed, but he did. He hoped she’d get out of whatever was happening in there, because he didn’t think he would survive otherwise. He thought there was no way they could get out of their bonds. But perhaps, he admitted, it’s time to really try. Just to make sure. “Got any ideas?”

  *

  Scout hunched over Kat’s computer. Trying to find the right password, she typed in several different numerical combinations, every number she knew that had been significant to her long-sought quarry. Phone numbers, addresses, birthdays. Then she tried words. Place names and family names and every false identity she knew that Kat had used.

  Scout had been gathering information on Hunter for eight years in preparation for this day. It had been her obsession since she was released from a Belfast jail after serving two months for passing bad checks.

  She’d awakened in a cold sweat in her cell that night, gripped in a nightmare she couldn’t remember. The same night that Hunter broke into a remote cottage in Northern Ireland and killed four members of a particularly violent offshoot of the Irish Republican Army. Scout was the absent fifth member of the group. Her brother Ian, among the dead, was its leader.

  She’ll remember that day. With a little encouragement, she’ll remember.

  The presence of the pilot’s wife makes all this a lot more interesting, Scout thought. Especially since she and Katarzyna undoubtedly have the hots for each other. Scout hadn’t thought it possible that Hunter had a heart. Yet she seemed very selflessly protective of the injured Riley.

  Katarzyna had been Scout’s obsession. She knew more about her than anyone alive, and she’d never found evidence that Hunter was intimate with anyone, male or female. So what she’d witnessed changed her game plan a little. She was still working it out in her mind, how she might use the relationship between the two women to her advantage. She’d heard that her adversary had a very high tolerance for pain and could not easily be persuaded to give up information. Perhaps she might be more easily convinced if her friend is the one being tortured.

  *

  It took Scout another hour to hack into Kat’s computer files. She was patient. While she tried various possibilities, she spared a moment’s thought to the two men. Must be getting pretty cold out there about now. Maybe she’d go shut the door for them after she’d gotten into the computer files. Maybe. First she had to think of a reason they might be useful and worth the effort.

  When she finally got into the computer, Scout went to Kat’s e-mail program and read the exchanges between Kenny and Hunter. So Katarzyna does have a friend. Someone she trusts enough to give the access number of her Swiss bank account and the location of this place. She read their entire correspondence. This Kenny was a good source of information as well as a good friend. He had warned Katarzyna about her, as well as someone named Otter.

  I bet Otter is one of the guys in the garage, she reasoned. She was very interested to learn that Otter had dealt with Katarzyna before somewhere and knew Kenny. Otter might be worth keeping alive after all. At least until I find out everything he knows.

  Scout composed her own e-mail to Kenny, asking him to personally deliver the cash and transportation he was arranging. She told him it was imperative that he speed up the process and get to the bunker as soon as possible. He was to e-mail back when he knew precisely when he’d arrive. She signed it “Hunter” and sent it off. I have to make sure I take care of everyone important to you, Katarzyna. Just like you did for me.

  She turned her attention to Kat’s Swiss bank account. She accessed the bank’s online customer service page and set to work arranging an electronic transfer of all remaining funds from the account into her own account in the Cayman Islands.

  Chapter Forty

  It took Kat fifteen minutes to get across the pantry floor to Riley. Her head pounded from the exertion, and she was soaked in sweat despite her body’s contact with the cold concrete. Trussed up tightly as she was, she could move only by inches. Both women remained quiet while Kat worked so they could listen for Scout’s return. Kat maneuvered herself behind Riley and positioned herself so she could reach her bindings.

  “Okay, reach out if you can with your good hand,” Kat whispered. It was awkward. Kat had to operate blindly with her hands cuffed behind her, but she flailed around until her fingers finally found Riley’s outstretched hand. “Got you.” She grasped it firmly and gave it a brief squeeze before her fingers moved to Riley’s wrists.

  Kat was surprised to discover Riley was not handcuffed. Scout had tied Riley up with the same type of nylon rope that she’d used to hog-tie Kat’s feet to her hands. She realized Scout couldn’t handcuff Riley because of the cast. Perhaps that was the break they needed. Kat had excelled in all the courses at the Academy, but she’d actually had fun in the class entitled Breaking Out And Breaking In. She was especially good at picking locks and at tying and untying every possible kind of knot.

  She had Riley free in less than ten minutes. As soon as she could straighten her leg again, Riley felt worlds better, and she could move without unbearable pain.

  “See if you can untie my feet from my hands,” Kat whispered. While Riley worked at her ropes, Kat closed her eyes and tried to visualize the contents of the pantry. What had been there before, what remained after the fight with Otter, and where she’d rearranged things on the shelves. She was mentally searching for a small—That’s it! A possibility came to her.

  “How’s it coming? Any progress?” Kat lay on her side.

  Riley was sitting up now, her bad leg stretched out in front of her.

  “Yes, getting there,” Riley whispered back. “Slow but sure. The cast makes this harder than it should be, and I’ve never seen knots like this before.” She kept at it, glad to be doing something to help them get out of there. Her small fingers actually worked to her advantage, enabling her to manipulate the knots better than if she’d had larger hands. After a few minutes, she untied the final tight knot that bound Kat’s feet to her hands. Kat extended her legs gratefully, stretching the cramps out.

  Riley shifted position to begin working on the knots that bound Kat’s feet, but Kat stopped her.

  “No, that can wait. Think you can stand up?”

  “Yes. What do you want me to do?”

  Kat rolled over to face her. “Over in the corner behind you, I think o
n the top shelf, are a couple of small cloth sacks of grits.”

  “Grits?” Riley repeated, as she hauled herself to her feet.

  “Grits. Cloth sacks within plastic bags. See if you can find one and bring it over here.”

  “Right,” Riley whispered, pulling herself along the wall. She squinted in the dim light, feeling about for the bags with her good hand. She found one and carried it back to where Kat lay.

  “Okay. Rip off the plastic bag,” Kat said.

  Riley did.

  “Now if I remember right, there should be a small piece of metal wrapped around the top of the cloth bag to close it,” Kat whispered.

  “Found it.”

  “Unwrap it and put it in my hand,” Kat instructed.

  Riley did. The metal was stiff and difficult to work with, but she was able to straighten it with some effort. When she did, she had a small metal rod about two inches long. She placed it carefully into Kat’s outstretched fingers.

  “Now you can start working on the knots on my feet,” Kat said.

  As Riley set to her task, Kat bent the length of metal into an L shape and picked the locks on her handcuffs. She had them off long before Riley got her feet free.

  “I’ll finish that,” Kat said, sitting up and rubbing her wrists.

  Riley impulsively leaned into Kat and kissed her on the cheek. “I know we’ll get out of this,” she whispered, feeling more confident by the minute.

  Kat put her hand on Riley’s shoulder and squeezed it briefly before she began working at the knots at her feet. “We will. I won’t let her hurt you.”

  “I don’t want her hurting you either,” Riley whispered back. “So take care of yourself too, all right?”

  Kat smiled. “You bet. We have some unfinished business, as I recall.”

  Riley warmed at the remembrance. “Yes, we do.”

  It took Kat only another minute to free her legs. She got to her feet and helped Riley up.

  “What now?” Riley whispered.

  *

  It took no time at all for Scout’s Grand Cayman account to reflect the addition of the $640,000 she transferred from Kat’s Swiss bank account just before she closed it.

  It was a lot of money, but Scout was disappointed. Together with the $400,000 that Kenny had already withdrawn, which he would be bringing to the bunker, Scout would get a total of more than a million dollars of her adversary’s money. But Katarzyna had been born into wealth, and she was a legend in the business, so Scout expected a lot more. Hunter hadn’t blinked when she offered to double Garner’s offer. That’s two million right there. She has to have more accounts somewhere.

  She could find little else of value in the computer. Apparently Hunter wasn’t the type to keep a lot of confidential information on her hard drive.

  Scout tried the desk drawers. Locked. She reached into a pocket of her coveralls, which were lying on the floor beside her, for the key ring and loose key she’d taken off Kat after she knocked her out. Scout had shed her heavy outerwear in the warmth of the bunker and now wore a black fleece top and black flannel-lined jeans.

  She found that the loose key fit the desk. She opened it and began going through the contents of the drawers. From the bottom one she withdrew Kat’s file folders and skimmed through them.

  They were cases. Past assignments she had taken, or perhaps just considered taking, it was hard to tell. Scout did not find a file about her group’s assassination, but she didn’t expect to. It had happened too many years ago.

  She picked up the photograph that lay face down in the drawer and studied the faces. Father, mother, and daughter. A formal portrait of an affluent family. The daughter, six or seven, had brown hair, high cheekbones, and dark eyes. Katarzyna was startlingly beautiful even then. Mother had the same cheekbones and was dressed expensively, with jewels at her throat and around her wrists. But Katarzyna got most of her handsome looks from her father. His hair was longer than most middle-aged men would wear, but it suited his dark Mediterranean ruggedness. Like his wife, he was impeccably dressed. His expensive navy suit was perfectly tailored to fit his tall, athletic frame, and a starched white shirt provided crisp contrast to his dark olive complexion. He had his hand on Katarzyna’s shoulder, and the expressions on their faces suggested a shared secret. Father and daughter had identical broad smiles, as if captured in a moment of perfect happiness that Mother didn’t quite share. Her subdued smile seemed forced for the picture.

  Scout knew all about them, of course. She had researched Katarzyna’s family thoroughly and was frankly disappointed to find they were already dead. But now perhaps she had a suitable means of justice. She would kill the two people closest to Katarzyna: her lover and her friend. Scout placed the photograph on the desk.

  She decided to check on the two men in the other room to see if one was Otter. If so, she wanted to know what he could tell her about Katarzyna and Kenny, who would soon join the party.

  *

  Otter and Frank had tried everything they could think of to break free. The chains held them fast. Otter had begun to panic a little at the loss of feeling in his hands. Frank too, finally, had used every ounce of strength left in his six foot three inches of brawn, but he was unable to budge the handcuffs or heavy links of chain.

  When it became clear they could not free themselves, the men huddled together for warmth. They tried to wrap the coats and sleeping bag around them, and it did help to ward off the biting winds blowing in through the open door. They lay uncomfortably pressed together, discussing in low voices what might happen if the woman who had broken in returned.

  The men agreed she was dangerously unpredictable, so they tried to think of ways they might convince her to help them and then let them go.

  *

  Kat poured a bit of vegetable oil over the pantry door’s hinges before she tried to open it. She turned to Riley and whispered, “Don’t move.”

  With excruciatingly slow movements, she turned the knob and cracked the door open a fraction of an inch. With her ear to the opening, she detected faint sounds from the outer room. Fingers hitting the computer keyboard. Silence. More typing. A desk drawer being slammed shut. Kat opened the door a few more centimeters and peered out. She couldn’t see Scout. The desk was off to the right of her limited field of vision.

  Kat was still considering her next move when the loud creak of the desk chair being pushed back broke the silence. Scout was moving.

  Kat froze, her senses on high alert. She glimpsed Scout as she crossed toward the bedroom or bathroom. A minute or so later, Scout crossed through in the opposite direction, and then Kat heard the unmistakable sound of the door to the tunnel opening and closing.

  Now was their chance.

  Kat opened the pantry door and scanned the outer room. She scooped Riley up in her arms and hurried to the wall of bookshelves. She set Riley down just long enough to get to the secret button to open the weapons room. She pressed it and heard the sharp click of the lock releasing; then she replaced the book that had concealed the button. She swung the door panel open and helped Riley through it, then pushed it shut again once they were both safely inside. The room went black.

  “You’re full of surprises,” Riley whispered. She reached out, seeking Kat’s reassuring presence.

  Kat was already moving toward her. They met in the darkness and held each other, Riley’s arms encircling Kat’s waist, Kat’s arms around Riley’s shoulders.

  Riley blew out a long shaky breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

  Kat embraced her tighter. “How are you doing?” she whispered as she stroked Riley’s back and hair.

  “Better now,” Riley whispered back. “Can she find us in here?”

  “Don’t think so. If she does, we’ll be ready for her. We’re in my weapons room.”

  Riley had gotten only a brief glimpse of the room when she’d been hurried inside. All she’d noticed were three very large safes. “Weapons? That sounds reassuring.”

  Kat
moved to loosen their embrace, but Riley was loath to let her go. She kept her arms tight around Kat’s waist.

  “I’ll be right back. Just going to get us a little light in here,” Kat said. She kissed Riley on the forehead, and Riley reluctantly released her.

  Kat found the small chain that led to a bare 40-watt bulb above them. She tugged it, and the room was lit by a soft glow. The women caught each other’s eyes, and both smiled. Kat closed the distance between them, and they resumed their embrace.

  “She won’t be able to see the light?” Riley whispered.

  “No, the doorway is a tight seal,” Kat replied. “And I don’t think she can hear us if we keep our voices low—that partition between us is pretty thick. But I’ve never really tested it, so we’d better be careful.”

  Riley nodded, her head pressed up against Kat’s chest.

  “We can’t stay in here forever, obviously. There’s no food and no water,” Kat said. “And it won’t take Scout long to figure out we haven’t left the bunker. But this gives us some time to plan on how we’ll confront her, and it evens things out a bit.”

  Now that she had access to her arsenal, Kat would have liked to go out immediately to confront Scout. But Riley complicated things. Keeping her safe was Kat’s main priority now. She didn’t want to act in haste and underestimate Scout, who had already proven to be a particularly tough and unpredictable adversary.

  The main danger would lie in the moment she opened the panel to leave, Kat reasoned. Scout was patient and determined, as evidenced by her unbelievable knowledge of Kat’s history. So she would surely think nothing of waiting a few more hours until Kat made a move.

  Scout’s most likely plan would be an ambush, Kat was certain. The only question was where she would lie in wait. If she hadn’t yet discovered the weapons room, she could be anywhere. But if she knew where Kat and Riley were hiding...