"Dead Aim" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johansen Iris)

5

"Shit!"

Powers snatched up the report off the fax machine, scanned it, and then dialed Betworth. "The report just came in from Quantico on the man in the stairwell, sir."

"Morgan?"

"How did you-" Sometimes he thought the bastard was psychic. "Yes, they had trouble with the video or we would have had the ID sooner. You expected him to turn up here?"

"It was always a possibility. We didn't think Morgan could make the connection, but we weren't certain. And according to his file, you never know how Morgan is going to jump. But I would have thought he'd show up right after the dam break. I had the CIA ready to gather him in if he decided to do a little snooping. I was a little worried about John Logan's con nection with Graham."

"Logan?"

"He was pulling every string he could to have Graham put in a safe house after his wife was shot. And it was Logan who tried to get the sanction lifted on Morgan several months ago. He's got a lot of influence. I had a hell of a time blocking it."

"We've had Logan under surveillance since Graham disappeared. He's at his home in California and hasn't tried to make contact."

"Have you been able to monitor his phones?"

"No way. He's got a state-of-the-art security and communication system."

"Then I suggest you'd better figure a way to find out what we need. I understand he's very fond of his wife. Good-bye, Powers."

"I have sketches of the other two men Alex saw at Arapahoe Junction," Judd said as soon as Galen answered. "I need to know who they are."

"Alex gave you descriptions? You know how tricky memory can be. Can you rely on her?"

"Yes."

"No doubts?" "No doubts."

"Can you fax them?"

"I think you'd better come and pick them up."

"You're halfway across the country. Why?"

"I may need you here. I have a bad feeling… Have you told Logan about Alex's injury?"

"Not yet."

"It's just as well. I don't need Logan upset enough to get in my way. How soon can you get here?"

"I'm on my way." He hung up.

Morgan sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out the sketches. He threw the other two sketches aside to look at the one they'd worked on last-the shooter. He drew a deep breath and then slowly let it out. He'd almost blown it. Exhausted as Alex had been, she'd noticed his reaction. He had to be more careful.

Careful? The idea was laughable. He'd known that safety was out the window the minute he finished that sketch. Until then there had been a chance that the dam break didn't have anything to do with Z-3.

Okay, he could still back off and disappear. He could find another way to keep Alex safe.

Alex.

What the hell? He'd give it a little more time. He'd clean up these sketches while Alex was napping and get a final approval before giving them to Galen. It should be only a matter of hours before he arrived. Galen never wasted time when he went into motion.

"You shouldn't be up." Morgan got up from his chair and came toward her. "Why didn't you call me? I would have helped you."

"I'm fine." She brushed by him and went toward the fire.

"A little cold."

"You need time to heal, and I pushed you hard today. You're tired and your body temperature probably dropped. You should try to get more sleep."

She held out her hands to the blaze. "I didn't mean to sleep at all." She had thought she was so disturbed she would lie there for hours, but she'd dropped off almost immediately. "What have you been doing?"

"Cleaning up the sketches. Waiting for Galen." "Galen?"

"A friend. He's coming to pick up the sketches and make sure that I haven't totally maimed you."

"What business is it of his if you have?"

"Now, that's not in keeping with your philosophy. Isn't everyone supposed to be their brother's keeper?"

"In a perfect world. This world isn't perfect. Why is this

Galen worried about me?"

"He recommended me to Logan." "So it's pure self-interest."

"Not entirely. Galen is one of the good guys. He's generally a cynical bastard, but he's like you-he wants to go around righting wrongs. He even tried to right a wrong done to me." He smiled faintly. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"If he's your friend, I wouldn't call that a mistake." "There are friends and then there are friends."

"What's that supposed to mean? No, don't tell me. You wouldn't get close enough to commit to a friend."

"Not willingly. But even I'm not perfect."

"What does this Galen do? Is he a criminal like you?" "He's an information specialist. He has contacts all over the world. He arranges things and smooths paths that need smoothing."

"Legally?"

"Sometimes." He handed her the sketches. "Look at them.

If there are any changes, let me know."

She glanced through the sketches. "They look good to me. I can't see anything I'd want to change. You're really very good. I don't know how you- Wait. This isn't right." She was staring at the sketch of the shooter. "You've given him a tiny scar on his left cheek."

"Didn't you tell me to put that in?"

She shook her head. "I'm sure I- Maybe I did. I was so tired."

"That's an understatement. You were exhausted."

"It's hard to remember. It looks right…"

"I can take it out."

"No." She shook her head. "Let me think about it."

"Whatever you say." He took the sketches from her. "I'll set them up against the wall. I put your camera over on that chair. I'd like you to take some shots ofthe sketches before we turn them over to Galen."

She nodded. "Good idea." She moved across the room. "I still think we should give the sketches to Leopold. You may trust this Galen, but I don't."

"Well, then you'll have the photographs, won't you? Galen has contacts in areas that Leopold doesn't know exist. Logan has had him working on gathering information since your friend Sarah's shooting."

"Then I assume he's a criminal too?"

"Not exactly." He finished setting up the sketches. "No

Leopold. Lester's demise will make things very difficult for me with the authorities. It doesn't matter that he was a scumbag and a murderer. It wouldn't matter that he tried to kill you. I'm the one who'd land in jail for a year or two while I waited for the courts to get around to me. They don't understand vigilante justice."

"Neither do I." She focused on the first sketch. "You could have called the police instead of killing Lester."

"Too much red tape. People get killed wading through red tape."

She shook her head.

"Look at it this way. Suppose you could have run across an associate of one of those kamikaze pilots in the ruins of the World Trade Center. Would you have called the police and trusted that the courts would kill him for you?"

Smoke, tears, pain, and helpless rage.

She took the picture. "It's not the same thing."

"Anything that strikes at the heart is always the exception to the rules we make for ourselves. Remember how you felt in that moment?"

"Every day. Every minute." She took the final photograph and turned away. "I'm finished. You can package the sketches to give to your friend."

"Does that mean you're resigned to letting me help you get these assholes?"

"It appears you've already gotten one of them."

"That's an evasion."

She met his gaze. "I'm not resigned to anything. I don't trust you. You told me I'd find a use for you and I did. If you had let me go, Leopold could have arranged for me to have a session with a police artist. I don't owe you anything."

"I didn't say you did. I'm the one who has a debt to payoff" He shrugged. "And it makes me uncomfortable. The sooner I get rid of it, the better."

"Take me back to Denver and we'll call it even. I don't want your help and I certainly don't want your company."

"Do you suppose you can put up with it while I check that wound? You can't do it yourself yet."

She opened her mouth to tell him no and then closed it. She sat down in the chair and opened his shirt that she wore as a pajama top. "Why not? You're responsible for it."

"That's what I like, a heart full of forgiveness." He unwound the bandage and lifted the pad. "The doctor did a good job. Very neat stitches. Couldn't have done better myself"

"You're a doctor as well as an artist?" she asked mockingly. "Amazing."

"Don't be ugly. I'm a man of many talents. I wouldn't have liked the job of extracting the splinters and cleaning out this wound, but I've had enough battlefield experience to sew you up."

She wished she hadn't let him touch her. Her flesh was tingling beneath his fingers. Not as it had in the stairwell at the hotel. There was no comfort, no security this time. It was… sensual… disturbing.

He must have felt the tension, because his gaze shifted to her face. His hands became still for an instant before he put a clean pad on the wound. "Looks like it's healing pretty well now." He wrapped the bandage over her shoulder. "Be sure you keep taking those antibiotics and pain pills."

"Of course. I'm not a masochist." She buttoned up the shirt. "I'm going to get well as quickly as I can."

"So that you can avenge yourself on me as well as the bad guys?"

"It's hard to distinguish between you." She moved toward the bedroom. "I'm going to take another nap. Wake me when Galen gets here."

"I will. I wouldn't cheat you of the opportunity to meet him. He's truly an original."

And so was Judd Morgan, she thought as she closed the door. Hard as a diamond and just as brilliant, every facet shimmering with power and deception.

Deception. Yes, that had been the one constant since she first saw Morgan in that stairwell. He was an enigma. She had no idea which move he'd make next.

Or why.

She walked across the room and crawled back into bed.

She'd be glad when she regained more strength. She'd been on her feet for less than thirty minutes and she was disgust ingly weak and shaky. Maybe it was the pills…

The pills?

No, she didn't think Morgan was keeping her doped up for any reason other than pain. If he'd wanted to keep her sedated, he could have done it when he brought her here from the hotel. Not that she could be sure. Well, all she could do was be patient until she was better and meanwhile take whatever help he offered. Let him be as mysterious as the Sphinx for all she cared. It didn't matter how he tried to deceive her as long as she didn't trust him.

Deceive.

Suddenly her lids flicked open. "Oh, Jesus."

"What the hell is happening?" Galen asked harshly when Judd picked up the telephone. "My God, Logan has been on my ass since I landed. He said that if I don't go after you, he will. You were supposed to keep her safe."

"She is safe."

"The hell she is. Not bloody likely."

"What are you so upset about? I told you the wound wasn't

"serious.

"Wound?" Silence. "Do you have a television there in the lodge?"

"Yes."

"Then turn it on to CNN. I just picked up my rental car at Stapleton Airport. I'll call you again when I get on the road. I should be there within an hour." Galen hung up.

Not good. Galen didn't lose his cool without reason. Judd moved across the room and clicked on the television set.

Morgan opened Alex's door. "I think you'd better come out here and see this."

She sat up in bed. "Is Galen here?"

"Not yet. He should be here any minute." He stepped aside. "But you'd better see this news report before he gets here."

"News report?" She swung her feet to the floor. "What's wrong?" Panic surged through her. "Has something happened to Sarah?"

"No. Something's happened to you. Come on."

She was already following him. "What news story? Have they found out that Logan paid you to snatch me?"

"I wish." He nodded at the TV. "Damn, another commercial"

"Screw the commercial. Tell me what's happening."

"It would be better if you saw it for yourself. You're not likely to believe me." He shrugged. "Okay, you're being hunted by the FBI for involvement in the possible sabotage of Arapahoe Dam."

She stared at him incredulously. "You've got to be kidding." He shook his head. "Jurgens made an announcement this morning. There's an all-points bulletin out for you."

Her knees felt weak and she dropped down into a chair. "It doesn't make sense. I'm the one who's been telling everyone that the dam break had to be investigated."

"According to Jurgens, Homeland Security was already suspicious that the break was no accident. They didn't want to make their findings public until they had more proof of how the sabotage was done. They're almost sure that the job was done by Matanza, and you were in Guatemala, their home base, two years ago. The CIA believes that's when you were recruited. The FBI was about to make an announce ment when Ken Nader was killed. You were under suspicion from the moment you were found at the site."

She shook her head dazedly. "I could have died in that landslide."

"And who would suspect a supposed victim of being in volved in Nader's murder?"

"And what about that man who ran us off the road and shot Sarah?"

"But never touched you. It was entirely possible your accomplices arranged the attack to take any suspicion off you in Nader's death."

"This is crazy."

"Actually, it's pretty clever."

"I don't understand this. Why would the FBI-" She drew a deep breath. "I have to get in touch with them and straighten this out."

He shook his head. "Bad move. I'd bet you'd be dead within twenty-four hours."

"Bullshit. We're talking about a law-enforcement agency.

They might put me in jail until I could get this mess cleared up, but no one's going to shoot me."

"No, you'd probably conveniently find a way to commit suicide in your cell-if you made it that far. It's more likely that you'd be killed when you were apprehended. Presto. No witness.”

"You're saying you think the FBI is in collusion with those men at the dam." She lifted her shaking hand to her mouth. "And there was something about the CIA too… I just don't believe it."

"It's not necessarily a conspiracy that goes deep to the bone of either organization. But I believe someone high up is pulling strings and furnishing scenarios to them that may fry your ass."

She shook her head. "I won't believe it. You're talking about Americans who work every day to protect our country."

"Ah, more heroes?"

"Yes," she said defiantly.

"Heroes can be manipulated. Evidence can be planted. I'd bet every news story for the next few days will show Alex

Graham's guilt unfold with all the drama of a soap opera."

"My God, you're cynical"

"I've been there. I know how it works." He turned away.

"I'll make coffee. You may need a jolt of caffeine after you finish watching CNN."

She needed more than caffeine at the end of those fifteen minutes. She felt ill. Christ, even the photos they'd turned over to the news agencies appeared incriminating. She recognized one taken at the airport in Guatemala City that looked like a mug shot.

"Not your most flattering photo." Morgan handed her a cup of coffee. "And it may be the one that's broadcast and rebroadcast."

"They still haven't come up with a reason why I'd do something like this."

"The Fox affiliate has a few theories. Bitterness over your father's death at WTC comes high on the list. Several people heard you say that the government should have paid attention to information they received before 9/11."

"Hell, yes."

"And friends and employers say you changed after your father's death."

"Didn't everyone change after 9/11?"

He nodded. "But we're talking about you."

"It's ridiculous." She moistened her lips. "And I'm a journalist. I know the people in my profession. They're not going to be duped. They're going to go after their own stories."

"But by that time you may be dead news. With the emphasis on dead. Will they work their asses off to discover how innocent you were then?"

"Maybe."

"And maybe not. Every day is a new story. You'd better concentrate on-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door. "It's about time." He moved to the door. "Galen?"

"You're damn right. Let me in."

Morgan unlocked the door and stepped aside. "It took you long enough."

"You're the one who decided to move up here to the back of beyond." His gaze went to Alex. "Hi, I'm Sean Galen."

Galen was a man in his late thirties with close-cut dark hair and dark eyes snapping with vitality. Even his movements were charged with electricity as he came into the room. "I hear this idiot managed to get you banged up. How are you?"

"I was better before I saw that I'm some sort of fugitive." "Yeah, that came as a shock to us too." He took off his jacket and tossed it on a chair. "Logan is foaming at the mouth."

"Then let him direct some of that anger at Jurgens," Alex said. "If Logan has so much clout, tell him to get me out of this mess."

"Believe me, he's trying." He glanced at Alex's cup. "Tell me that's hot coffee?" He didn't wait for an answer but headed for the kitchenette. "Elena wasn't pleased that I had to take off. She said we both should be involved in having this baby. I'm not happy with you, Judd."

"Alex's wound is my fault; I plead innocent to everything else. Besides, Elena doesn't need you. She can handle anything. The baby will be a piece of cake to her."

Elena? Alex had a vague memory of Morgan mentioning the name. The woman who wanted to cut his throat… Smart woman. "And what's Logan doing to straighten this out?"

"He's called Jurgens and is in contact with Homeland Se curity. So far they're not responding very positively." "They've got to realize it's a mistake."

Galen glanced at Morgan. "Mistake?"

"Setup."

"That's what I think. So that means the dam break probably had some sort of government connection."

Morgan nodded.

They were both ignoring her. "Or that it's a mistake that I can straighten out if I can just get someone to listen. Maybe some hotshot in the Bureau developed this theory about me and they're running with it."

They both just looked at her.

Her hands clenched into fists. "Dammit, this doesn't have to be a conspiracy."

"No, but it makes more sense than a bureaucratic blunder,"

Morgan said. "Have they turned loose all their dogs, Galen?"

Galen nodded. "According to Logan it's going to be a witch hunt and no one's listening to him."

"CIA's involved. How high up?"

"Danley broke the news on the recent discovery of Alex's connection with Matanza. You can't get much higher than that. Do you know Danley?"

Morgan shook his head. "My contact in the CIA was Al Leary. But Leary was ambitious as hell and I'd bet he's in Danley's pocket." He thought about it. "Which may not be bad for us. He might know-" He shook his head. "Later. We don't have time for this. As I told you when you called me back on the phone, we have to get Alex out of here. That doctor I had up here to treat her isn't about to take this kind of heat. He'll be on the line to the police the minute he sees a photo and makes the connection. Have you found a place for her and arranged for a helicopter?"

Galen nodded. "I called from the car on the way here." "Wait a minute." Alex stood up. "You're not listening to me. What part of what I said didn't you understand? I'm not running away and hiding."

Galen and Morgan exchanged glances.

Morgan shrugged. "I was expecting this. Unfortunately, she's an idealist. She wants to believe the good guys are always good."

"Nice." Galen smiled at Alex. "I'd like to believe that too. But it's always better to hedge your bet."

"And that means?"

"Let us get you to someplace safer and then start a dialogue with the FBI."

She hesitated.

"Why not?" Galen asked. "If we're wrong, then you'll be able to rub our noses in our dastardly suspicions. If we're right, then you'll be alive and kicking." His eyes twinkled. "Preferably not us."

This situation was so bizarre anything could happen. It wouldn't hurt to be cautious. "Okay." She turned toward her bedroom. "Let me throw some clothes on and we'll get out of here."

"Good. Galen, you call and tell the helicopter we're ready for pickup." Morgan moved toward the study. "I'll go down to the bottom of the road and keep watch."

"You talk as if we may be under siege," Alex said sarcastically. "As far as I'm concerned, this is merely a precaution. Nothing is going to-" Morgan had come out of the study carrying a rifle. "What are you doing? You look like you're going to war. I don't want anyone hurt, and I won't be party to any violence."

"You're not invited." Morgan headed for the front door. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'll try not to damage anyone too badly. I won't be the one to start the war."

"Are you taking the Land Rover?" Galen asked.

Morgan shook his head. "I'll walk. We'll leave the lights on and the Land Rover in the driveway. I want the house to look occupied. I'll get back here as soon as I see the helicopter. Take care of her, Galen."

"It's my pleasure," Galen said to Alex as the door slammed behind Morgan. "Let me know if you need any help getting dressed."

"Thanks." She was probably crazy for going along with this, she thought as she went into her bedroom and started to dress. She didn't know Galen, she didn't trust Morgan, and she was only a pawn to Logan. She didn't believe anyone in the FBI was intentionally conspiring against her. So why the hell had she given in to their arguments?

Waco. Ruby Ridge. WTC.

Government agencies that made mistakes could cause tragedy and endless regret. It only made sense to avoid any confrontation until she was in a position to show everyone how ridiculous the suspicions were.

She slipped on her strollers, draped her plaid shirt over her shoulders, and grabbed her jacket. Galen would have to help her put on the rest of these clothes. This blasted shoulder was too sore to punish it anymore.

Galen was leafing through the sketches when she came out of the bedroom. "These are very detailed. You have a good memory."

"They aren't faces I'd forget. Morgan was determined I'd remember every single detail. He nagged me until I was ready to throw the pad at him." She added grudgingly, "But he did a brilliant job. He's exceptionally talented."

"Yes, he is. In any number of areas. A jack-of-all-tradesand master of all of them."

"Including assassin. He told me he killed George Lester." "Before George Lester could kill you."

She remembered the tingle of shock she had felt when she saw Morgan walk out of the study with that rifle. He looked totally at ease with the weapon, as if it were an extension of his body. "But I think it was too easy for him. Human life is precious. Destroying it should be difficult, if not impossible." She crossed the room to stand before Galen. "Can you help me get this shirt on?"

"Sure." He put down the sketches and helped her with the shirt and quickly buttoned it. "Sorry about this. I'm sure Judd didn't mean for you to be-"

"It doesn't matter what he meant. It happened. And it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't brought me here." She gave him a level stare. "And you're as much to blame, for arranging it."

He gave a mock shiver. "It's dropped a few degrees in here. Let me help you put on that coat."

"Son of a bitch."

Morgan cursed steadily beneath his breath as he trained his binoculars on the caravan of cars in the valley below. He could see two police cars trailing at least four unmarked vehicles.

He quickly dialed Galen. "Get the hell out of there. It's too late for the pickup. They're on their way. Six cars."

"I'll change the pickup to the valley. We're heading for the car now. We should reach your position in a few minutes."

"You'll run right into them if you keep on going down the mountain. There's a thick stand of trees about a mile down from the lodge. Hide in the shrubbery until they get past you."

"Where will you be?"

"Guarding your back." He hung up.

"Six cars?" Alex echoed as they pulled into the stand of trees. "To capture me?"

"Evidently you're a very dangerous person." Galen's tone was abstracted as he reached for his phone. "A change of plan, Dave," he said into the phone after dialing quickly. "Send the copter to the valley. Give us fifteen minutes." He hung up and said to Alex, "No problem."

She could see any number of potential problems. "Where's

Morgan?"

He nodded at the pines surrounding them. "Somewhere out there. He has a fondness for climbing trees. Though pines aren't his favorite. Not enough cover."

"Isn't he coming with us?"

"Probably."

"What do you mean? Either he is or-"

"Here they come," Galen murmured, his gaze on the road. "I'd say they're moving with a definite sense of purpose, wouldn't you?"

There was no question of that, Alex thought in bewilderment. The caravan of cars was traveling swiftly up the road toward the lodge. The sheer number of cars was threatening. What the devil was happening here?

The cars approached and then passed the stand of trees where they were hiding.

"We'll give them a few minutes more." Galen started the car. "But they seem fairly focused on their mission."

Jesus, and she was that mission. It was too macabre.

"Okay, we're out of here." Galen put the car in gear and drove out of the trees. "If they're playing nice, we should be down the mountain before they get into the lodge."

"And what's playing nice?"

"Calling out for surrender, surrounding the place, tossing a few tear-gas grenades. Standard operations. That all takes time."

"Tear gas? For God's sake, that's ridiculous. There's no way that I'd be enough threat to warrant-"

The vibration that shook the car came a second before the sound of an explosion.

Her gaze flew to the rearview mirror. The lodge at the top of the mountain was engulfed in flames.

Galen stepped on the accelerator. "Evidently they decided not to play nice."

She couldn't take her horrified gaze from the burning lodge. "If I were in there, there's no way I'd be able to get out to surrender."

"Does that tell you anything?"

She couldn't answer. All she could do was watch in helpless fascination as the devouring flames destroyed the lodge.

____________________

"My God, Jurgens, why didn't you wait?" Leopold stared in horror at the burning building. "You didn't give her a chance." "You heard me call out and tell her to surrender," Jurgens said. "Didn't you see that rifle aimed at us from that window to the right of the door?"

"No."

"I did. From the doctor who called in the tip we confirmed that there's at least one other perpetrator. There's no telling who else is in there with her."

"So you lobbed in a rocket?"

"I had to make sure. We haven't got any cover here. We're sitting ducks. I had to do it."

"You should have given her a chance."

"Did she give those people at Arapahoe Junction a chance?" "So you convicted her before she had her day in court." "Well, if she's in there, we won't need to go to the expense of a trial." He frowned. "But it may be some time before we're able to go in and verify. We'd better search the area to make sure they didn't escape."

"So you can hunt her down and shoot her?"

"I only did my job." Jurgens smiled sardonically. "These days this country is very aware of how vulnerable it is, and people don't like it. They want to strike back when they're hurt. What side do you think Joe Public will weigh in on when all the details concerning Graham's crime come to light?"

"How do you know they will?"

"It's a certainty. We have more evidence than we revealed to the media."

"Or to us?"

"We would have shared if Graham had surrendered peacefully." He turned to the agent next to him. "Take four men and search the road and brush. Don't take chances. These are criminals who- What the hell is that?"

The metallic throbbing of rotors was followed by the sight of a helicopter coming through the pass. The aircraft dipped and then started a descent into the valley below.

"I don't like this." Jurgens ran toward his car. "Leopold, have one of your cars stay here. You come along. We may need you… The rest of you pile into those cars and get down there." "Screw you," Leopold said. "I'm not taking orders from a gun-happy son of a bitch who-" "Suit yourself." Jurgens jumped behind the wheel of the car, and the vehicle leaped forward as he jammed on the accelerator.

"They're coming like bats out of hell." Galen glanced over his shoulder at the four cars speeding down the mountain road. In a matter of seconds they'd reach the valley. "It's going to be close."

The helicopter was landing in a snow-covered field a half mile from them. Jesus, it seemed like a hundred to Alex. "Are we going to make it?"

"We'll make it, but with all their firepower the takeoff may be pretty chancy." Ken s helicopter. Exploding. Flaming. Splintering.

"Or maybe not…" Galen murmured, his gaze on the rearview mirror. "I believe Judd may be doing his thing." "What?" She looked over her shoulder in time to see the lead car swerve violently and then crash into a tree. The second car's front tire blew and the driver frantically tried to right the car, but it spun sideways and the third car piled into it. "One more, Judd," Galen said as he parked the car beside the helicopter. "One more." The fourth car's front tire blew, but the driver managed to stop before he piled into the other two cars. "Bull's-eye." Galen jumped out of the car and ran toward the helicopter. "Let's get out of here." She was right behind him. "What about Morgan? Are we just going to leave him?" "He said he'd contact us later." He opened the door of the helicopter and lifted her inside. "I don't think we have to worry. He seems to have the situation in hand." "He's on foot and he's just shot the tires out of four FBI cars. I don't call that having the situation in hand. They're going to go after him." "He'll have a head start." He waved at the pilot to take off.

"That's all he needs."

"He's on foot. They'll catch him."

"He was on foot in Afghanistan after he took out a warlord who was sheltering Al Qaeda terrorists. He had to travel seventy miles through unfriendly territory before he was able to arrange a pickup."

"He told you that?"

Galen shook his head. "Judd doesn't talk much. But he's something of a legend to the Rangers."

She gazed out the window at the wreckage on the hillside as the helicopter rose from the ground. A man had gotten out of the car that crashed into the tree and was striding toward the pileup. He was holding his arm and there was blood on his cheek. There was something familiar about him, but his head was down and she couldn't identify him. But she could identify the rage and tension that characterized the man's every movement.

And that anger would be directed at Judd Morgan, who had stayed behind so that they could escape. "Call him," she told Galen. "Set up a meeting place near here. We're not leaving him." "He said to get you to somewhere safe. They may have already radioed for helicopters and reinforcements. Besides, he's probably nowhere near that pileup. He took his shots and got out of there."

"Call him."

He smiled. "Whatever you say." He pulled out his phone and dialed. A moment later he shook his head. "He's got his phone turned off. Makes sense. He sure as hell wouldn't want it to go off at a sensitive moment. Now, may we get the hell out of here?"

"I guess we can't do anything else." She gazed down at the scene below. More agents were getting out of the cars. They were talking on phones, and the first man who'd gotten out of the car was standing and staring up at the helicopter.

"My God, it's Jurgens."

"Why are you surprised? He's the one who put that allpoints bulletin out on you."

"I know… it's just… I guess what you told me about him never really hit home until I saw him down there." Her lips twisted sardonically. "And he told me he wanted to set me up in a safe house."

Galen's gaze shifted to the burning lodge. "Then I'd say you were smart to turn down his offer."

Her glance followed Galen's. No safety, only death there. No safety anywhere.