Dead Aim

“That may be difficult to do.”

  “I'm hanging up now. I don't want to take any chances. But I'm calling John and telling him about this Runne Shin.”

  “He already knows about him.”

  “He doesn't know that he's setting you up,” Sarah said grimly before she hung up.

  Sarah was right. Alex would be stupid not to realize that Runne would do anything he had to do to her to draw Morgan.

  Yet if she didn't call Runne, she was neglecting an opportunity to stop another tragedy and perhaps find a solution to this insane puzzle. She stared down at the phone number she'd jotted in the margin of a page of the atlas.

  He only wants Morgan.

  Well, he couldn't have him. She wasn't giving him up.

  But Runne didn't have to know that. She quickly dialed the number Sarah had given her.

  “What kind of disaster?” she demanded when the phone was answered.

  “Alex Graham? I've been very eager to meet you since I've heard you're very close to our mutual friend. I trust Morgan has told you about me.”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought he would. You must be on intimate terms.”

  “That's none of your business.”

  “I know Morgan wouldn't have stayed with you for any length of time if he hadn't formed an attachment. I'm a little disappointed in him. After he killed my father, I studied his files and grew to admire his cool objectivity. I was going to model my lifestyle on him after I cut his throat, but I'm not sure now. You may have tainted his image.”

  “Too bad. Where's the Kettle?”

  He chuckled. “You know that much? I'm impressed.”

  “It's Z-3, isn't it? What's going to happen there?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Another Arapahoe Junction?”

  “Nothing so cataclysmic. Morgan and I don't indulge in mass murder. We save ourselves for the special tasks. But I believe you'd consider this particular job a true disaster.”

  “But you're not going to tell me what it is.”

  “I'll tell you where it is. Well, not exactly tell. I'll take you there tonight.”

  “I saw what you did to Powers's wife. Do you think I'd trust you?”

  “Of course not. But you're a woman who can't resist running to comfort the suffering. You'll find a way to get around your doubts so that you can do that.”

  “And you'll use me to get Morgan.”

  “If possible. I'll give him a better chance than he gave my father. There are two hundred acres of woods and mountains near the Kettle. I'll give him a head start and then track him. It will bring back the memory of old times and be much more satisfying than a quick kill. I've been waiting too long to have it over in a hurry.” He chuckled. “And I'm sure you'll use me to try to save him and the target I'm going to take out the day after tomorrow.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Very close to Plummock Falls, but I leave here in two hours. Let me know.” He hung up.

  Jesus.

  She couldn't do it. There was no way she could be the bait in the trap that would snap on Morgan.

  I believe you'd consider this particular job a true disaster.

  We save ourselves for the special tasks.

  She was starting to shake.

  True disaster . . .

  Dear God in heaven.

  Guatemala City

  “Let's get this very clear, Leary. I need answers,” Morgan said. “Why, when, and where.”

  “I don't know what you're talking about.” Leary moistened his lips. “I was just sent down here undercover. Matanza is causing all kinds of flak at the White House, and Danley thought if I came down and pretended to be a turncoat that—” Leary arched in pain as Morgan pressed on the nerve at the base of his neck. “I tell you, I don't know any—”

  “You know.” Morgan's tone was without expression. “And you'll tell me. It's only a question of whether it's before or after. Do you remember that Al Qaeda bastard we were assigned to find in India? He was very talented. No one is better at torture than a fanatic. Do you recall what the Marine he was holding as hostage looked like when he got through with him?”

  “Yes.”

  “And do you remember what I did after I tracked that son of a bitch down and caught him?”

  Leary swallowed. “Yes.”

  “I was very angry then, but that's not a patch on what I'm feeling toward you right now. Do you understand?”

  “You can't get away with this. Cordoba will have all the Matanza searching for me. I'm valuable to them.”

  “Not when Salazar arranges to have them find out that you went off with your latest conquest for a weekend in the country.”

  “He'll contact Danley. Danley will send—” He screamed as Morgan applied pressure. “Damn you. I told them you should have been killed right after Fairfax. But that prick Danley didn't want to risk any suspicion within the Company.” He shrieked in agony. “Screw you. I'm not talking.”

  “You will,” Morgan said softly. “Believe me, you will, Leary.”

  10:15 P.M.

  Alex drove thirty miles south of Huntington before she phoned Runne. “I thought it over, and I've decided I'll let you lead me to Z-3.”

  “I said I'd take you, not lead you.”

  “But that would put me entirely in your power. I'd be foolish to even think about doing that. Will I be able to identify this place as the Kettle when I see it?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Then when we reach there, I'll take off and you can try to catch me. If you do, then you'll have your bait for Morgan. I know it's him you want to hunt, but I may not be as easy prey as you think. I'm at the gas station at the intersection of Highways 5 and 22. What kind of car are you driving?”

  “A tan Toyota 4Runner.”

  “Then when I see you, I'll leave the station and follow you. I'm sure you'll reconnoiter to make sure no one but me is around to trail you. But I have a gun, and if you try to lead me down a wrong road, either literally or figuratively, I won't hesitate to shoot you.”

  “Then the odds seem to be in your favor. Why should I go along with it?”

  “Because I'm not a professional. I don't know how to hunt down and kill anyone. Morgan told me that you were an expert. Once we reach the Kettle, don't you believe that you can turn the tables on an amateur like me?”

  “Oh, yes. With great certainty.”

  She felt a chill at the absolute confidence in his tone. “And after you catch me, do you think you'll be able to force me to call Morgan and beg him to come?”

  “It will take no time at all.”

  “Then come and get me.”

  “There's a problem. I only have one day to track Morgan before I have to commit to my other duty. This small charade with you is going to eat into my time.”

  “But you're so sure that you'll get me in a heartbeat, and you said Morgan was the only thing that was important to you.”

  There was a silence. “And what do you hope to accomplish by this?”

  “I hope to kill you.”

  He chuckled. “The hunted turned hunter?”

  “Or I hope to remain free long enough to give Morgan a chance to kill you.”

  “A slightly greater chance.”

  “I'll call Morgan when we reach the Kettle and tell him where I am. He won't tell anyone else, because he'll be afraid that you'll kill me.” She paused. “And he'll come after me. Isn't that what you want?”

  “It's very tempting.” He thought about it. “On one condition. Give me Morgan's phone number so that I can communicate with him. I'll be the one to call him from the Kettle and tell him where to come. You call Morgan right now and tell him what a tender sacrifice you're making for his sake. Don't think I'm fool enough to trust that you haven't had your car bugged so that you can be traced. There's a very simple device that will detect the signal and I'll use it.”

  “I've hardly had time to arrange anything that elaborate.”

  “And then I
want to see you throw your phone and that gun you mentioned out the window of your car as you drive out of the gas station. I won't risk you calling someone else and giving them your location once you reach Z-3. I'll circle around and see if there's a gun with the phone. If there's no gun, I'll disappear and you can find Z-3 by yourself.”

  No phone. No gun. If she did that, she would be totally alone and isolated, with no way to call for help.

  What was she quibbling about? It was only one more hazard in an almost suicidal situation.

  “I'll call Morgan now.” She hung up and drew a deep breath before she dialed Morgan.

  No answer.

  Then she got his voice mail.

  No!

  She hung up and leaned her head on the steering wheel in despair.

  Okay, keep cool. He was meeting with Leary tonight. Naturally he wouldn't want his phone going off. He'd access his voice mail eventually.

  When it might be too late.

  She tried one more time.

  Voice mail.

  “Morgan, this is Alex.” She steadied her voice. “I need you to listen carefully. I don't have much time. . . .”

  11:05 P.M.

  Morgan accessed his voice mail when he was on his way to the airport.

  “Morgan, this is Alex. I need you to listen carefully. I don't have much time.”

  He tensed. His hands tightened on the steering wheel with white-knuckle force as he listened to the first few minutes of the message.

  “I doubt if I can kill him. I won't have a gun. If he's as good as you say he is, I probably won't be able to do it. Hell, if he weren't good at all, I'd still have problems. So I figure my job is to keep on the move and out of his way until you can get here. It's not going to be easy. He's got to be so much more skilled than I am. But I can do that and I will. And if you don't get here in time, then I'll find a way to cope.” She paused. “And don't start cursing me for getting us into this mess. I had to do it. I told you what he said about the kinds of jobs you both specialize in. Well, it finally hit me. God, if I hadn't been so focused on finding Z-3 and preventing another disaster, I'd have concentrated on why those bunkers were being destroyed. He's going to assassinate Andreas. He's the target. They brought Runne here to do the job in exchange for help in finding you. These days Andreas is surrounded by impregnable security, so how do you get to him? You cause an incident that would drive him out of his safe White House to a bunker. But you have to make sure he'll be taken to the right one so that you can set up the ambush. So you destroy the other bunkers. They tried to make it look like an earthquake at Arapahoe, but they had to go public when I stumbled on their attempt at cleanup. They had a good scapegoat in Matanza. And Logan said that he thought it likely the people who manned the bunkers knew only about their own. No one would make the connection except the people who had the overall view.” She drew a deep, shaky breath. “But we can blow the bastards out of the water. They can't assassinate Andreas if we stop Runne. We have one day, Morgan.” Another silence. “I have to throw away my phone, so this is the last time I'll be able to contact you. But I'm a survivor. I'm not going to let Runne kill me or use me. Get that thought out of your head. And I'm not going to say anything soppy like I love you.” Her voice was uneven. “But I have to tell you that I've thought about it and decided that you have the makings of a genuine, grade-A hero, and I may not be able to let you go.”

  Morgan closed his eyes as the message came to an end. Jesus, he was scared.

  And so was Alex. Yet it hadn't stopped the damn woman from rushing in and trying to save the world. He wanted to shake her. She didn't know what she was biting off when she'd pitted herself against Runne.

  Yes, she knew. That was why she was frightened. And the thought of her scared and alone was making him sick.

  Get a grip. He was at least four hours away from the action, and he had to start thinking and moving instead of sitting here frozen like a kid at his first funeral.

  He called Galen. “I'm on my way. Salazar arranged for transport. Where the hell is Logan? I tried to call him as soon as I left Leary.”

  “He's been busy. There have been a few problems here.”

  “That's nothing compared to what's coming,” Morgan said. “I need Logan to jump on the bandwagon and start cutting red tape. I'm not sure how many hours we have left.”

  “Left for what? You got Leary to talk?”

  “He talked. He only had part of the picture. That seems to be Betworth's modus operandi, but it's a pretty nasty part. It took me longer than I thought to convince him the cavalry wasn't going to ride in and rescue him. Betworth had him convinced that he was going to be a big man in the new regime when he took power.”

  “You haven't asked me what kind of problems we had here.” Galen paused. “Or do you know?”

  “I know. Alex called me.”

  “She's safe?”

  “For now.” God, he hoped he was telling the truth.

  “Logan called Alex thirty minutes after Sarah gave Alex the message. She didn't answer. The operative I had watching her called me twenty minutes later and told me she'd jumped in the car and taken off. He lost her. She didn't want to be followed. We've been searching for her ever since.”

  “I'm not blaming either of you. You couldn't have stopped her. I don't think I could have stopped her.”

  “What's happening, Judd?”

  “Nothing you can help with now. Maybe later. There's enough for you to do in Washington. Call Logan and tell him Keller is okay, that Leary said he's sure he's not part of Betworth's group. Tell him to grab Keller and tell him that all hell's going to break loose there the day after tomorrow.”

  “Andreas and Keller are at Camp David. Andreas is working on the Mideast Pact and he's not receiving anyone.”

  “Shit.” One more thing gone wrong. It was almost too coincidental that the President was incommunicado. Manipulation behind the scenes by Betworth?

  “What's happening the day after tomorrow?”

  “Morales sold Betworth a suitcase bomb as part of the package. Dirty. Radioactive.”

  “Christ.”

  “It's going to go off somewhere in the White House. Leary wasn't sure when or where. He said Danley would know. Pick up the bastard and grill him.”

  “If we can find him. He's disappeared from the radar scope for the last few days.” He paused. “How dirty?”

  “Small, but with enough radioactivity to cause a hell of a lot of contamination.”

  “How the hell could they get it into the White House?” He paused. “Alex found out where Z-3 is, didn't she? Do you know?”

  “No.”

  “But you're going to find out. Call me, dammit. We have to know. It's not just your game this time, Judd.”

  “Then find a way to get in touch with Keller, but tell him to stay the hell away from Z-3 until I get back to you. It's the quickest way to get Alex killed. He has a little time. More than twenty-four hours. Nothing's supposed to happen until November twelfth.” But they wouldn't care about Alex. To the Secret Service, everyone was expendable if it meant saving the President.

  Well, Alex wasn't expendable. Let Logan and Galen race around and save Andreas and the whole damn country. He'd given them their chance.

  He was going after Alex.

  Another hill . . .

  Alex stumbled up it.

  She could see her breath pluming in the cold night air as she struggled for air.

  She glanced over her shoulder. Strong moonlight. She might be cursing it before the night was over.

  No Runne yet. It had been ten minutes since she'd jumped out of her car and fled into the woods. Why wasn't he right behind her?

  Or maybe he was ahead of her.

  Don't think about it.

  Keep on running.

  He might be good, but no one was perfect.

  She had a chance.

  Keep on running. . . .

  November 11

  12:40 A.M.

 
Morgan's phone rang just before he was boarding his flight.

  “Hello, Morgan,” Runne said. “Have you been waiting for my call? I've been waiting for a long time too. But it's almost over now.”

  “I'm glad. I'm tired of leading you a chase. There was no challenge. Though why you think you can best me is pretty laughable. I was tracking and targeting hits when you were still a snotty-nosed kid.”

  “You're not going to make me angry. If there's one thing I've learned from you, it's to keep my emotions in check.”

  “It didn't look like it at the Powers place. That job could have been done by a teen slasher.”

  “I was hurt. I couldn't—” He stopped. “I'm not making excuses to you. I'm in control now.”

  “You're not in control until you have Alex Graham. You don't, do you?”

  “Not yet. I'm giving her an hour's head start. Isn't that generous of me? After escaping me for so long, she'll be filled with hope. We both know how depriving prey of hope can crush them. I figure I should have her within twenty minutes or so after I start tracking. Shall I tell you what I'm going to do with her?”

  “Don't play that charade with me. You'll have to catch her first. Are you going to tell me where you are or just keep on snarling like some third-grade hoodlum?”

  There was silence. “Of course I am. That's what this is all about. And she'll pay for that ugly remark, Morgan. I want you to remember that. Take the Beltway out of D.C. to 270 north. Go forty miles to Frederick, Maryland, then take Highway 15 north. Turn left on Matthew Parkway and then right at the first intersection. Z-3 is two miles down the road. On your right you'll see a sign advertising the Copper Kettle Restaurant in Baltimore. Six miles from the sign you'll see a bluff. Beyond that bluff is a valley of two hundred acres of unoccupied Corps of Engineers woods and hills. When will you be here?”

  “It may take me a few hours to get there. But I'll show up when you least expect me.”

  “Don't be too long. I might grow impatient and cut her throat.”

  “But then I wouldn't have any reason to continue with the hunt. What good is a dead woman to me?”

  “Revenge?”

  “Revenge is for fanatics like you. I'm sure you've found I don't let emotion enter into the mix.”