The naked edge

26

"Rain!" Rutherford's voice was loud inside the van. "The forecast predicted it wouldn't start until late afternoon!"

"Inexact science," Cavanaugh said.

"By then, we'd have caught Duran! We'd have been out of here!"

The downpour pelted the van's window. At 6:30, what should have been a brilliant dawn was a dismal gray.

"Where are we going to find rain gear at this hour!" Rutherford complained. "The men are soaked! They'll get hypothermia!"

A car sped toward the van and skidded to a stop on the slick pavement.

"Finally," Rutherford said.

A man hurried from the car. Flecked with moisture, he scrambled inside the van and handed a manila envelope to Rutherford. "Here are your photos."

Impatient, Rutherford sorted through them. Frowning, he handed them to Cavanaugh. "See anything?"

"A few hot spots," Cavanaugh said. "This one's so small it's probably a squirrel. This other one looks like a dog."

"But no heat signature that looks like it came from a human being?"

Cavanaugh studied the photos a final time. "No."

"Then he lied to you, or you misunderstood the place he meant. He's not in there."

"Wrong," Cavanaugh said. "This is definitely the place, and this is part of his game."

"But a human being gives off heat. The infra-red image would show it if he's in the park."

"Unless he shielded himself so a camera wouldn't detect the heat."

"Buried himself?"

"It's one possibility."

"In that case, we don't have to worry because he's drowned by now!"

"He might not even be wet. After all, he was trained to plan for the worst. But even if he is soaked, he doesn't care. These conditions are luxurious compared to some of what we went through in Delta Force."

"You know," Rutherford said, "I'm getting tired of hearing about the good old days in Delta."

"You did say you wanted my opinion."

"And what's your opinion of what we ought to do now?"

"Get started."