Side by Side

69

Serge Sarnov lit a cigarette, more to pass the time than because he wanted one. He enjoyed pushing his smoking on people that didn’t appreciate it, because he was powerful enough to get away with it. He did it for the same reason a dog pissed on a tree that some other dog had already peed on.

Max Randall cracked the window behind Sarnov. Opening the one behind him channeled the smoke away from Randall without making the statement that he found the smoke annoying.

The two military-trained men in the back seat were napping like children without a care in the world. Combat-seasoned men like them learned quickly to catnap in the spaces between actions. When the time came, both would open their eyes and be good to go.

“How much further?” Sarnov asked.

“Twenty minutes,” Randall told him.

“The woman and child can’t get far in woods they aren’t familiar with, running from people who are. And if by some miracle she gets to a phone and calls her father, we’re covered, right?”

“Our people have the judge’s incoming calls blocked. Anybody dials his number, we’ll have their location inside five minutes.”

“You think this U.S. marshal is headed here?”

Randall shrugged. “If Click didn’t know, Massey doesn’t know either. If he does, it would save us the trouble of tracking him down.”

“He’s got some of your toys that he could use to make a big problem.”

Max frowned. “He’s competent.”

“Competent?” Serge laughed. “Yes, he seems to be somewhat competent. It’s too bad Peanut’s little family hasn’t been.”

“I should have handled it. But Laughlin was insistent on letting them do it.”

“We’ll deal with Peanut tonight.”

“The Major wants her sister the agent calling the shots on the Dockery deal. It has to be done a certain way.”

“And you agree?”

“Without the Major, we don’t have the connections into the Pentagon. She’s setting up the agent’s future, and I think having the agent’s credibility and insights is worth allowing her to clean up the kidnapping. That’s the sister’s expertise. She can make this into a kidnapping based on financial gain, not Bryce’s trial.”

“Needlessly complicated if you ask me,” Serge remarked, eyes on the wet road ahead of them. “Especially now with this Massey running amok. It seems a pointless bit of drama now.”

“Mine is not to question why,” Max said.

Sarnov was going to enjoy working with Max Randall.

Randall’s cell phone rang and he opened it. “Okay,” he said. “Directions?”

Serge watched as Max listened, his eyes on the windshield.

“We’re ten minutes out.”

Max snapped the phone closed.

“The Dockerys are in a store up the road from the Smoot place,” he said. “Time to wake up, boys.”

“They’re sure?”

“Smoot found her tracks.”

Max’s phone trilled again. “Yeah, Major. We’re on it.” He listened. “That’s confirmation on what Mr. P. told me ten seconds ago.” He closed the phone. “Somebody just placed a call to the judge’s phone from the store’s pay phone. The Dockerys are definitely at the store.”

Serge smiled. Behind him there were metallic clicks as the two men double-checked their weapons.

“It’s turned into a beautiful evening for a hunt,” Serge said.