Mercy

Chapter 73

Peter Buckley sat in the rear seat of the Jeep looking grim. He eyed the gun in his hand. It had been a long time since he had personally killed anyone. Right now, he was looking forward to it.

And he intended to torture and then gut Britt Spector for betraying him. He chastised himself for not seeing the clear warning signs. She had been acting funny, distracted — no, not distracted; disillusioned was a better term. As though she were reevaluating things in her life. Well, she certainly had chosen a different path. Maybe it was because they were all women, and two of them were with the FBI. Maybe that connection ran deeper than even she knew.

They had seen evidence of the gas leak, though, and he knew they would not have enough fuel to reach help. The terrain here was rugged and unforgiving. When they ran out of gas, they would run out of heat. And at night, the temps would plunge into the teens or lower. But he expected to catch up to them long before then.

It would not be a fair fight. He had too many men, and they were four women, and one was in her sixties. He appreciated the symmetry because the fight that had nearly killed his father here had not been fair, either. Buckley had not gotten his revenge back at the cage fight. He would get it out here. And out here was where he would bury all the bodies, far, far under the dirt, and cover them with boulders.

He looked out the window at the bleak sky, and imagined how it all was going to end. This had become his single, defining moment, he could see that clearly now. All of the other things he’d done with his life — the money, the connections, the bit of fame, travel and culture — it meant nothing. It was as if he had wasted his entire life. But now he had a chance to make it up. He had never felt closer to his father than he did right now. And the elder son was finally going to avenge his father, once and for all.

Ten miles ahead, Spector cut into a box canyon that had been formed by raging water millions of years ago, and rode the narrow dirt strip as far back as she could. From the gauge she calculated they had about five gallons of gas left, and she noted that the fuel level had stabilized — the bullets must have pierced the tank above the remaining fuel. However, it was not enough to get to the town, particularly at the high speed she needed to maintain. That was why she had turned off into this canyon. Stopping out in the flatlands would mean they would have no chance at all.

She pulled the SUV behind a pile of collapsed rock and cut the engine.

“They might miss this turnoff, which could buy us some time.”

“Time to do what?” said Mercy. She looked out the window. “I don’t see anyone coming to the rescue.”

Spector nodded. “This really is the middle of nowhere except for Buckley’s compound.”

“Buckley?” asked Pine.

“Yes. I guess you don’t know who he is.”

“Only that he has a brother named Ken,” said Mercy. “I guess Ken Buckley.”

Spector started to speak, but, surprisingly, it was Blum who ended up telling them all about Buckley and his family’s past.

“This was long before your time at the Bureau, Agent Pine.” She glanced at Spector, as if to say, And yours, too.

If Pine noticed this look, she said nothing.

Blum continued, “He told me this was not really about avenging his brother, but his father, and everything he stood for. He seemed very excited about it, in a sick sort of way.”

Spector nodded and said, “When he explained it to me, he seemed a bit... mad actually.”

“Have you known him long?” asked Pine.

“I’ve done other work for him,” said Spector vaguely. “But nothing personal like this. And he was never part of those missions. He just paid me to go in and do what needed to be done.”

“And your name is...?” asked Pine.

“I would prefer to keep that to myself.”

Pine stared at her for a moment, but didn’t push the point. Spector said, “Okay, we need to set up a perimeter. And I’m sure you’re hungry after beating each other up. And an army can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

Later, after they had eaten and had some water, Pine took the first watch. She noted that Spector’s choice of locations had been a good one. The road coming in here was narrow and provided her with an excellent sight line. Blum was in the SUV with a blanket around her, and Mercy standing guard.

Pine held the sniper rifle with the attached scope as she lay on top of a flat ledge that jutted out from the wall of the canyon. Spector had taken some things with her and disappeared down the road.

Clipped to her belt was a walkie-talkie that Spector had given her. She’d told Pine that she had taken a set with her from the compound but set them to a different frequency. Pine had used it to check in with her from time to time. Spector had reported back that there was no sign of Buckley and his men. “There are a maze of canyons and switchbacks and foothills around here. They lost sight of us for a bit, and that’s when I made my turn into here. We passed some of them on the way here, so they’ll have to check those first. Knowing Peter, they’ll be very methodical, meaning it will take them time to find us.”

But Pine knew at some point they would find them.

She looked behind her for a moment, where the two most important people in her life were: Blum and her sister. They really were her family, the only one she was ever likely to have now. And it was at least even money that she was going to lose her family and her life right here. But if it came to that, she told herself, she was fortunate indeed to have found Mercy before her end came.

And if this is our Alamo, at least we’ll take as many of them with us as we can.

Later, as she sighted through the scope, Pine stiffened. A figure was running toward her location. Pine’s finger slid to the trigger guard and held. Until she could make a definite ID she would not fire. Her walkie-talkie squawked.

“It’s me,” said the voice over the ether.

She relaxed as Spector reached the ledge.

Spector said two words, the only ones she needed to say:

“They’re coming.”