Unmanned

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Deaths in a foreign land had drawn them all to this story. And now a death in their own backyard had reenergized them. The reporters got back on their phones and laptops, working as night fell. Cole and Sharpe set about planning their flight for the following morning.

A few hours later they were finally overtaken by hunger. They decided to eat well for a change, as if to fortify themselves for a final, decisive push. Keira headed into town for fish and vegetables. Steve drove to a dockside vendor for oysters. Sharpe retrieved a case of beer from his van and filled the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

They fried the fish, shucked the oysters, popped the caps from the beers, and ate and drank greedily for an hour in the dining room, with its grand view of the darkened bay, a string of lights twinkling on the far shore.

“So,” Steve said. “Four hours of darkness and we’re still alive.”

“I was going to take a walk up to the end of the drive,” Cole said. “Make sure somebody’s out there.”

“I’ll go with you,” Keira said. “I need to stretch my legs.”

Barb looked as if she was about to say something, but Steve warned her off with a frown.

“You children sleep tight,” Sharpe said. “Before I turn in I’m going to do a little more tinkering. Looks like a front might be moving in tomorrow, which could reduce our flying hours. Might as well try and reduce our margin of error.”

“Nice meal, guys,” Steve said. “Barb and I will clean up.”

This time Barb made the face, but she stood and began clearing the dishes. Cole grabbed his coat and waited by the door.

The night was chilly, but it felt as if Sharpe was right about new weather being on the way. The air smelled briny and wet, although there were no clouds. The Milky Way spread out overhead, spilling all the way to the horizon. He heard the crunch of gravel and saw Keira approaching.

“You spend much time here when you were growing up?”

“Most of my summers. Our very own family camp, pretty much. My dad would drive out from D.C. on the weekends.”

“What did he do?”

“Lobbyist. Agribusiness stuff. Back when everybody thought that was a good thing.”

“Well, at least it paid off. Half my neighbors were probably buying his company’s products. Corn and soybeans mostly, where I grew up.”

“Was your dad a farmer?”

“School principal. Mom was a teacher, until I was born. Office romance.”

“And their son had his head in the clouds.”

“Literally. And for most of my life. Until all the clouds ended up being on a video screen.”

They walked in silence awhile. A doe stirred from cover and receded into the trees. A hundred yards farther along, a fox sprinted across the drive and disappeared.

“We get a bald eagle that nests here sometimes. You should see this place in the spring.”

Was that an invitation? Cole wasn’t sure, so he let it rest without a reply.

“Looks like they kept their word,” she said.

A police cruiser was parked just beyond the gate, facing outward so the officers could switch on their headlights to alert any approaching traffic.

“So I guess we’re covered,” she said.

“Unless somebody decides to come by boat.”

“Or on foot, through the woods.”

A policeman stepped out from the passenger side, the one named Earl from the night before. Presumably his partner, Calbert, was again behind the wheel.

“Hi, y’all. Learned some new stuff about the other night.”

“Like a name, maybe?”

“Heard it wasn’t that CIA man, like Keira thought. Dispatcher said you called that in to the medical examiner a few hours ago. Some strange shit.” He shook his head. “But we found an unclaimed car at the Willards’ place, right up the lane.”

“I thought they were out of town for the season?”

“That’s what tipped us off. Shouldn’t have been anything there but a boat trailer and a riding mower. Dark blue Chevy sedan, 2012. Maryland tags but a Bethesda registration, D.C. area, parked way up in their carport. Probably belonged to the victim. Must have walked in from there.”

“Get a name on that registration?” Cole asked.

Earl smiled, his teeth visible in the starlight.

“Not allowed to say. But from what I heard, they seem to think it’s a fake, anyway.”

“Figures.”

“The funny part was what they did with the car. Feds brought in a big ol’ truck, backed it right up the drive, threw down a tailgate ramp, and rolled her right in. Packed that Chevy away where you couldn’t see it and drove off, clean as you please. Probably in some secret lab by now.”

“That figures, too.”

“You ex-military?”

“Not allowed to say.”

The teeth glowed again.

“Good one. But this case does get a little funkier all the time.”

“And you still don’t have a lead on the shooter?” Keira asked.

“Not that me and Calbert have heard. The FBI’s pretty much taken this thing over, so maybe you should ask them. Doubt you’ll have any more trouble around here, though. Not tonight, anyway.” He smiled again. “Me and Calbert will be here straight on through to sunrise, so you people can rest easy.”

“Thanks,” Keira said. “Can we bring you anything?”

He shook his head, then patted his holster.

“Got all we need right here.” Cole heard a chuckle from inside the car. Calbert must’ve liked that one.

“See you in the morning, then,” Keira said.

They turned to leave. Cole waited until they were out of earshot, then said, “Well, there you go. An unbreakable cordon of security. I know I’ll sleep sounder.”

“Don’t be so hard on Talbot County’s finest.”

He shook his head. “They’ve got no idea what they’re up against.”

“Neither do we. But that won’t stop us from flying that little toy of yours in the morning.”

“It’s no toy, that’s for damn sure.”

“Kind of hard to believe we can even do this, legal or not. Just go zooming over there and poke around, looking at anything we want. Can you imagine if the paparazzi ever get ahold of these things?”

“How do you know they haven’t?”

She stopped, pivoted toward him, and moved to within a foot of his face. He could feel the warmth coming off her, and even in the dark he saw the intensity of her eyes.

“Look at me.”

“That’s pretty unavoidable.”

“Answer me truthfully. When you followed me, and they were egging you on and you were piloting that drone right down the road after me, what was that like? I mean, I know you didn’t feel good about it, but still. Even for all that it must have been kind of, I don’t know, thrilling, maybe, just to know that you could. I mean, you’d just slept with me and everything, and then there you are, looking right over my shoulder without me even knowing it. Waiting for my secrets to open up to you. You read Felicity’s license tag, you even saw the papers changing hands, and I never knew a thing until you guys told me. That’s quite a drug, knowing you can have that anytime you want.”

“Your friends sure seemed to like it. And pretty soon everybody will want a dose. But nobody will want anyone else to use it against them.”

“Same with every weapon ever made, I guess. But once you let a few people have it, how do you stop all the others? It’ll be just like guns. A few years and they’ll be everywhere.”

“Now you’re sounding like Sharpe.”

“He’s against this?”

“So he says.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe him. That’s like a pusher saying he’s for the war on drugs.”

“You should tell him. He’d like that.”

“Wouldn’t want to give him the pleasure.”

They started walking again. Cole was about to head off toward the pool house when Keira said, “Why don’t you come back to the main house for a while. Have another beer and relax while you can.”

“The calm before the storm?”

“Something like that.”

“I’ll lock up out here, just in case.”

“Even with all that police protection?”

Cole chuckled as they headed toward the pool house, threading through the boxwoods.

He’d scarcely put his hand on the doorknob when a harsh light beamed straight into their faces and a gun barrel poked into his back.

“Don’t shout and don’t move,” a gruff voice said from behind.

Cole swung around, hands in motion, a roundhouse toward the light. Halfway into his punch someone kicked his feet out from under him and he slammed roughly to the ground. A knee jammed into his lower back before he could even try to scramble to his feet. Then someone swiftly bound his hands behind him with a pair of plastic handcuffs, cinching them until they cut into his wrists and leaving him unable to do anything but squirm sideways, just enough to see that Keira, although still standing, had her arms pinned and cuffed behind her as well, by a second man. So this time there were at least two of them, working together, and for all he knew there might be others in the main house, tying up Barb and Steve. Or worse. He wondered if Sharpe might have gotten away through the woods if he’d been outside at the time. So much for the extra protection.

“Call out and you’re dead,” the voice said, and it sounded like he meant it. “Any noise at all and you’re dead. Both of you.”

Whoever had slung him to the ground now pulled him up to his knees, then helped him stand. The flashlight beam came back in his eyes, but he could see both men now, dressed in black and wearing gloves and dark ski masks. Each carried a sidearm.

“Where are the others?” the first guy asked him.

Cole said nothing.

“If you want to live, I need an answer.”

The man spoke in low tones, but something about his voice was familiar.

“In the house,” Keira said. She sounded upset, out of breath.

“The old guy’s in there, too,” the second man said. “Saw him go in a few minutes ago.”

“Good. We’ll get them all at once. Tie these two together, back to back to this tree.”

He caught Keira’s eye as the second man positioned them on either side of a pine, the bark chafing against his coat. She looked terrified. If these guys were going to kill them, he hoped they did it swiftly, and soon. The rope was around them in seconds. One knot, then another. The second guy was about to secure it further when the first one spoke.

“They’re not Houdini. We just need to hold ’em long enough to secure the house. You stay here. If I need help, you’ll hear me. If I don’t call for you within two minutes, then come anyway, but use all those precautions I taught you.”

Taught him? One pro and one amateur, Cole figured, which only baffled him more. But presumably the lesser guy had some training or he wouldn’t be armed.

“Keep ’em quiet while I’m gone. If they start making noise, shoot ’em.”

Keira whimpered, but Cole wasn’t convinced. The eyes of the second guy looked as scared as Keira’s. The only one in command of his emotions was the first one, although he was indeed a cool customer. He headed off toward the house. They heard the door creak open, then not much else. A minute passed. Cole could tell the other guy was getting antsy. He bounced on the balls of his feet and kept glancing at his watch, a big model that looked like one a soldier would wear.

The door of the house creaked again, and a man’s voice called out just loud enough for them to hear.

“All set. Bring ’em in.”

The second guy awkwardly untied them, muttering beneath his breath as he struggled with the knots. He unlooped the rope and followed them to the house. Cole’s hands were already numb from the tightness of the plastic bands around his wrists.

As they entered the house in single file, Cole saw an ashen Barb and Steve standing by the far wall of the living room, bunched between the windows alongside a grumpy-looking Sharpe. All three had their hands cuffed behind them. His mind flashed on an image of their five bodies arranged facedown on the carpet, all in a row in front of the couch, hair in disarray, blood everywhere, the whole house silent except for the wind in the trees.

“Stand over by the others.”

He followed Keira. They stood next to Sharpe, in front of the window to the right, then turned to face their assailants.

“Now,” the first man said, “the moment you’ve been waiting for.”

The men pulled off their ski masks. Sharpe was the first of the five captives to speak.

“I’ll be damned. Hell of a way to get reacquainted, Wade.”

“Nelson. Long time. You, too, Captain Cole.”

“Wade fucking Castle,” Barb said, almost hissing it. “We’ve met before, too.”

Castle narrowed his eyes for a full, frowning appraisal before the light of recognition dawned. “Tangora, wasn’t it?”

She nodded.

“Surprised you can remember anything,” he said. “You were completely freaked.”

“That tends to happen when you’ve just seen chunks of flesh landing all over the lot.”

“And you’re Riggleman,” Cole said to the second man. “So you’re a captain now. General Hagan must like you.”

“Likes me so much he forgot to bail me out.”

“Enough with the reunion chitchat,” Castle said. “Let’s get down to our first important announcement. We’re not here to kill you or harm you. We’re here to work with you. Because, trust me — and I’m afraid that’s something you’ll have to do, if this arrangement is going to work — after the last few days of watching you I think I know what you guys are after, and I’m after exactly the same thing.”

The whole room exhaled. Not that Cole had really felt threatened once the masks came off. Maybe he was being naïve, but he even believed the man. To a point, at least.

“Regrettably, there’s an awkward bit of housekeeping to attend to. As it happens, I’m not willing to welcome all of you into this arrangement. First, we have to deal with a traitor in your midst.”

All five of them looked at each other. For a second Cole even worried that Castle was talking about him — triggered by something from his Air Force file, maybe, or the court-martial. His worries then turned to Keira, if only because she was the one whose loyalty the others had always questioned. Or maybe it was Sharpe, the one with all the shadowy friends giving him whatever he needed.

Castle raised his gun and pointed it across the room at Steve.

“Step forward, Mr. Merritt, to face the charges.” Then, turning to Riggleman: “Tell the others what you told me, Captain.”

Cole studied the emotions registering in Steve’s features. Shock. Outrage. Indignation. A little fear as well, as his eyes flicked back and forth to the gun in Castle’s hand. But there was something else, too: Guilt.

Steve stepped forward.