Mortal Pursuit

60

Cain heard the shots die away as he swung out of the van.

A distant fusillade. From the island. Had to be.

Turning in a full circle, he scanned the unlit parking lot, empty of vehicles save for the Chevy van and the battered Porsche. A plastic bag skated the asphalt, flitting from stripe to stripe like a game piece advancing on a giant board.

Tyler was nowhere in view. Tired of waiting, he must have taken up his position near the phones.

Of course, it was possible no ambush would be necessary. The last barrage of shots might have finished the job.

Cain unclipped his ProCom and activated channel one.

“Blair You nail ‘em”

No response. He tried channel three, the original frequency.

“Blair Come in, Blair.”

The radio startled Trish when it came alive with Cain’s voice. Apparently the unit was water-resistant. It had survived immersion in the lake.

“Don’t answer,” Ally said, fear in her eyes.

Shaking off shock and fatigue, Trish unclipped the radio. “Got to.” She cleared her throat. “I have an idea.”

“You read me, Blair”

Movement at Cain’s side. Lilith appeared, a dark angel materializing out of the night.

“Blair” he inquired for the last time, already having given up hope.

Then a crackle of static and a familiar voice-the last voice he wanted to hear.

“Sorry, Cain. I’m afraid Blair can’t come to the phone right now.”

Robinson.

“Surprised to hear from me” Trish asked the silent radio.

It was a challenge to hold her voice steady. She had never thought of herself as an actress, but if she could sound cool and cocky and defiantly unfazed right now, she would be eligible for an Academy Award.

After a brief pause Cain answered. “Sure am. It’s after ten o’clock, Robinson. Well past your bedtime, I’d think.”

“I get to stay up late on Saturdays. Ally, too. We’re having kind of a slumber party out here on the island.”

“Me and some friends may crash that party.”

“You’re not crashing anything. You know why It’s over. The good guys won.”

Ally blinked at her, baffled.

“Did you, Robinson” She could hear his controlled rage. “I must have missed that part.”

“Yeah, you’ve been missing a lot lately. I’ll fill you in. You can’t get near us without a boat. Even if you could, we’ve got the tactical advantage. You can ask Blair about that.” Another slow comber of dizziness rolled over her. She lowered her head briefly, then rallied. “This message getting through”

A beat. “Loud and clear.”

“We’re dug in where you can’t touch us. So you might as well pack your bags and go home. Or is there something I’ve overlooked”

Cain pursed his lips, fury compressing his mouth into a bloodless line. Then he pushed the talk button.

“No, Officer. There’s nothing you’ve overlooked.”

Lilith grabbed his shoulder. “We can’t let that bitch-“

Cain shook free of her grasp, hushed her with a frown.

He was thinking.

Robinson was right about her tactical position. If she stayed put, he would be helpless to reach her.

But he had not been quite truthful in his reply. There was one small item she’d forgotten.

Still on channel three, he keyed the transmit switch again. “Tyler, you catch that”

“Yeah, boss.”

“She’s got us where she wants us. We’re clearing out. No arguments.” He played his hole card. “But before we leave, we’re taking care of the hostages. All of them. Understood”

A pause as Tyler processed this news. Then, warily: “Understood.”

Cain clicked off. Lilith was staring at him.

“Kill the hostages,” she whispered, sardonic admiration in her gaze.

Smiling, Cain nodded. “That’s what I said.”

“You think he means it”

Ally was shaking all over, and Trish didn’t know how to reply.

“He could,” Trish whispered at last.

“But … why”

“Out of spite. He can’t hurt us directly, so he’ll do it through them.”

She didn’t add that Cain would have a better reason for killing Charles Kent, his employer or partner or whatever he was. With the operation a failure, Charles would be only a liability, a man obviously capable of betrayal, all too likely to use his skills and influence to cut a deal with the D.A.

And if Cain was going to take the time to kill Charles, why not Barbara and the Danforths also

Yes, it was possible. But on the other hand …

“It could be a trap,” Trish said. “A way to lure us off the island.”

Ally nodded. “What do you think the odds are”

Trish honestly couldn’t say. It was a coin toss. “Fifty-fifty, I guess.”

“So what do we do”

Trish didn’t know.

Cain waited a moment, then reset his radio to channel one.

“Tyler, come in.”

“I’m here, boss. Thought you might want to meet on this frequency.”

“More privacy this way.”

“Unless Robinson has picked up Gage’s radio by now.”

“If she had, she would’ve responded when I tried to raise Blair the first time. You still in position”

“Sure am.”

“Stay there-and stay alert.”

Cain clipped the radio to his belt. Beside him, Lilith stared into the night.

“What do we do now” she whispered.

“We wait.” Cain took a slow breath, then another. In, out. In. Out. “But not for long.”