“Can Kingston come too?” she asked giving him that melting-daddy’s-heart look little girls her age mastered early.
“I suppose that depends on how far away you wind up going,” Del Rio punted as they rode up to the corral where both Cassidy and Sanders waited.
“Mummy,” Jackie called out as Del Rio helped her down. “Daddy says Kingston can come visit us whenever I want.”
“Well then,” Cassidy replied, trying not to laugh at the look on Del Rio’s face as he tried to figure out how and when exactly he had made such a promise. “I guess we better find a place big enough for him.”
“Why don’t you tell me all about your ride,” Sanders said, taking the child by the hand as she looked over at the other two adults. “You two haven’t had a chance to talk yet. C’mon.”
“Okay. Goodbye, Kingston, thank you letting me ride you.”
“Kingston?” Cassidy asked as Sanders led Jackie away.
“That’s what she named him.”
“What is his real name?”
“Horse,” Del Rio said, stripping the bridle and saddle from the horse. “Same as the rest. She’s going to be a lot of trouble as she gets older, you know that right?”
“I’m finding that out.”
“You’re not mad that I told her I was her father are you? I didn’t want to lie to her.”
“No. She’s a smart girl for her age. She probably figured it out the second she saw you.
“She seems nice,” Cassidy continued. “Seems like you swept her off her feet, Sir John, charging to her rescue like a white knight of old.”
“Now I know why my ears were burning last night,” Del Rio groused good-naturedly and he brushed down Kingston. “And yes, she is.”
“Definitely a change of pace for you.”
“How so…,” Del Rio started to ask. “Hey, wait a sec, have you been keeping tabs on me since we split up?”
“Up until your ‘death’ four years ago,” Cassidy replied. “There was the singer in D.C. and the cop here on the reservation.”
“Now how in the world did you hear about Lucy Chee?” Del Rio asked in surprise.
“I had Tom check on you when we heard you’d been hurt. He called Director Collins and got filled in on what happened. Jack, I’m really sorry about her and Sara too. I honestly am.”
“I know.”
“So why come here after all of that? I know Her Majesty offered to take you in back home.”
“I had a lot of folks making that offer back then,” Del Rio answered, thinking back to that day in the cemetery. “I suppose staying in the States was really my only option when it came right down to it. I needed a place where I could disappear to, where no one close to me would be in jeopardy by being too close to me.
“This was the best place for me to do that,” he continued as he finished his work on the horse. “But if I’d known about Jackie, I’d have come for both you.”
“I know,” she replied sadly. “And if Tom had told me you were alive back then, I’d have come here with Jackie sooner. Now it looks like we’re being forced to go our separate ways again, just like before.”
“Seems like we can’t catch a break, can we? But wherever you are going, I’ll come see Jackie as soon as I can. I want to be there for her, even if we aren’t together.”
“You will, Jack, I promise.”
“I suppose it’s considered bad form for a white knight to ask a lady if she was seeing anyone all this time?”
“Terribly, Sir John,” she replied as they walked back to the house. “But I wasn’t lonely, even if there wasn’t anyone serious in my life since those days. I have Jackie and that’s really all I need.”
Callum strode out the door before they reached it and headed straight for them.
“Great news,” he exclaimed. “Looks like our little ruse in the Falklands worked like a charm. We’ve received intel on chatter that indicates they bought the fake plane we sent from there to Hong Long and have their full attention there.
“They have no idea at all we came to Arizona,” Callum continued. “Now is the perfect time to make our final move and lose them forever.”
“Why not stay put here?” Del Rio asked.
“Because they might still come back and check,” Callum said. “No, we have a perfect place in Canmore, in the Rockies west of Calgary, Alberta. No one will think to look for them there. We can keep them safe until we’ve run both these groups and the leaker to ground.”
“I don’t like it, Tom,” Del Rio said. “I can keep out an army right here.”
“I don’t doubt it, lad,” Callum said. “But they know about you and all it would take is one moment’s distraction, one mistake.”
“That’s crap, Tom. The same applies no matter where you go.”
“Yes, which is why dropping them into a hole that no one else knows exists, while they aren’t looking in this direction, is the best move right now.
“And you would see that,” Callum said, gently laying his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “If you weren’t so close to it. You’re not thinking like an agent, you’re thinking like a lover and a father, and there’s no shame in that. Let me hide them away from harm, I promise you I’ll keep them safe.”
Del Rio shook his head vehemently, ready to continue the fight. But another hand entered the battle and turned the tide.
“Jack,” Cassidy said, her hand on top of Callum’s. “He’s right.”
“When are you leaving?” Del Rio asked Callum, after a long look at Cassidy.
“Tomorrow morning, lad,” Callum replied. “There’s a plane coming to pick us up in Kayenta. Your friends at the NNPD are providing escort from here to the airport. By tomorrow afternoon we’ll even more off the grid than you, Jack. No one will ever find them, much less hurt them.”
“I really don’t like this idea,” Del Rio said to Cassidy.
“I know,” she replied softly. “But there’s no other way. You’ve got twenty-four hours, Jack. Spend them with your daughter instead of fighting a losing battle.”
Knowing he was beaten, Del Rio nodded his head and went off to find his daughter with Cassidy and Callum in tow. Castleton stepped out of the door first and headed for the SUV parked over by the corral, pulling out his cellphone once he reached it.
“Castleton,” he said after his call was answered. “It’s tomorrow morning. Kayenta Airport. Is your team ready? Good. I’ll check in as we depart.”
* * * * *
For Del Rio the twenty-four hours passed far too quickly. When Shirley’s men arrived to provide escort he was sorely tempted to keep his security on its fullest setting, not letting anyone in or out. Callum started loading up the two SUVs as Del Rio said his goodbyes to Cassady and Jackie.
“Jimmy, lad,” Callum called out, carrying two large bags. “Grab that case there and help me get this loaded up so we can hit the road.”
“On it, Boss,” Castleton said, setting down his cell phone to lift the case in one hand and a bag Callum had overlooked with the other and carried them outside.
The three SUVs were lined up, the Navajo cops waiting inside their vehicle for the go ahead and the rest of Callum’s men were in the rear SUV with Archer’s two agents. Callum tossed in the bags he carried into the back of the middle SUV and stepped aside to let Castleton put in his baggage.
“C’mon, Jimmy, you drive and I’ll ride up front with you.”
The two men got into the SUV as Del Rio gave his daughter a hug before buckling her into her seat.
“You’ll bring Kingston with you, right daddy?”
“Count on it, kid,” Del Rio said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, daddy,” Jackie said as he closed the door and walked Cassidy around to the other side.
“I know you can’t contact me right away…” he began as he opened the door for her.
“I will as soon as I can, Jack.”
“Be careful.”
“We will,” she said, stepping up
quickly to kiss him. “Goodbye, Jack. Thank you for everything.”
“Goodbye,” he said, closing the door after she got in.
The three-vehicle convoy pulled out then and Del Rio stood there silently, watching them go until they were out of sight.
“I need to go inside and make a report,” Archer said, turning to leave.
“I’m surprised you didn’t see them off,” Del Rio said without turning away, as if he could still see the cars.
“They’ve got all the help they need,” Archer replied. “My guys will swing back and pick me up after the plane takes off. Besides, Callum figured I might need to stay here and keep you from changing your mind about letting them go.
“And the President asked me to talk to you about coming out of the shadows,” Archer added. “Seeing as how your resurrection appears to have become common knowledge. Might even be able to get you in on tracking down those that are after Cassidy and your daughter.”
“I can do that on my own,” Del Rio said after a moment. “From here a lot better than I can trapped in a bureaucracy to be honest. But tell the old man, I appreciate the offer.”
“Fair enough,” Archer said as he headed inside.
“This hasn’t been very fair to you, has it?” Del Rio asked Sanders, turning to face her.
“To you either, Jack. We’re still sorting things out and this hits you out of the blue? I’m not sure what I’d be feeling if I were in your position right now.”
“A lot of things,” Del Rio admitted. “So many I’m not sure which is which.”
“I’m here for you, whatever you need, you know that?”
“I do and I’m grateful. I just may not be good company for a while.”
“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got my orders.”
“From who?”
“Laura. She told me to take good care of you.”
“One of these days,” Del Rio said, taking her hand as they walked back to the house. “You are going to have to tell me exactly what the two of you talked about the other night. I’m definitely feeling at a disadvantage here.”
“Sorry, sworn to secrecy.”
“I bet.”
“Hey, Jack,” Archer said as they walked into the house. “I can’t get a call out on my cell. You have a dedicated hard line here?”
“No hard line,” Del Rio replied, his brow furrowing. “But you should be able to use your cell. Unless someone shot the satellite I link to out of the sky.”
“Nope, showing no signal,” Archer reported.
Del Rio went to his desk and called up the diagnostics on the satellite dish that served as his communication and computer uplink. If he had lost his link to the primary satellite, the dish would acquire the backup.
But the system was showing failure to acquire both and the likelihood of both satellites going down at the same time approached absolute zero. As he dug deeper, he discovered it wasn’t even trying to acquire any signal at all.
He rebooted the system and the problem still persisted. No one could get into the system without a password and a scan of three specific fingers in a specific order, so there hadn’t been any tinkering with the program. Which left one possibility: Something was deliberately interfering with the signal.
“Dave,” he said as he got up and started looking around. “Something’s messing with the signal around here. Look around for anything that looks electronic somewhere where electronics shouldn’t be.”
“Think someone left something behind?” Archer replied, as he started looking around.
“But why?” Sanders asked as she joined the search.
“I don’t know,” Del Rio answered them both. “I just hope it’s by accident.”
“Why?” Sanders asked.
“Because there’s no good reason for doing it on purpose.”
“Hey,” Sanders called out suddenly. “Someone left a cell phone.”
“That shouldn’t be able to block a signal,” Archer remarked as Del Rio took possession of the phone. It had gone into sleep mode and wanted a passcode.
“I assume it doesn’t belong to either of you?” Del Rio asked as he headed for the kitchen.
“It isn’t mine,” Sanders reported.
“Mine’s right here,” Archer said, holding his up.
Del Rio went into the kitchen, pulled out a bag of very fine flour and lightly dusted the screen. It had been wiped clean so that fingerprints weren’t clearly visible to the naked eye. But after the dusting, just enough of the oils from the fingers remained behind to trap the flour. There were four prints lining up with specific numbers on the passcode keypad. Del Rio got the correct combination for the code on the fifth try.
“Shit,” Archer exclaimed, having looked over Del Rio’s shoulder as he worked.
“What?” Sanders asked. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Castleton’s cell phone,” Del Rio said, his tone frighteningly quiet. “He sent a message right before they left here.”
Del Rio handed Sanders the phone so she could read it for herself.
LEAVING NOW. HAVE TEAM READY.
There was a reply.
TEAM READY FOR INTERCEPT.
“What does it mean?” she asked.
“It means Castleton’s a traitor and they’re driving right into a trap,” Del Rio said bleakly, before jumping up out of his chair and heading for the door. “Keep trying to find the jammer and try to warn them if you can get a connection.”
“Where are you going, Jack?”
“After them,” Del Rio said as he opened the door. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and get a connection on the road, but I doubt it. I’ll have to catch up to them before they hit the trap.”
Del Rio sprinted for the garage, leaving his two friends behind.
“He’ll never catch them in that old truck of his,” Sanders protested as she head for the door.
“I doubt he’s taking the truck,” Archer said as he continued looking for the jammer, knowing that was the best thing he could do right now even though he very much wanted to join Del Rio in the pursuit.
Seconds later Del Rio roared by in the Mustang. His brother had kept the car in top condition and now Del Rio was going to push it for all it had to try to make up ground. He kept trying to call but could not get service, a common issue on the Res.
So he welded the pedal to the floor, praying that no herd of horses or flocks of sheep were crossing the highway on this day. He wasn’t going to stop for them and he’d seen a few post car versus livestock impacts on the Res. They were messy and often took out the car as much as the livestock.
He simply didn’t have time for that.
ELEVEN
“I’m starting to think we’re going to pull this off, Boss,” Castleton said as he followed the NNPD car.
“I’ll believe it when we’re in the air and Arizona is far behind us, Jimmy,” Callum replied. “Whoever’s been on our tail has been too well informed for my liking. We caught a hell of a break giving them the slip like we did. I don’t think we can count on getting many more.”
“Here now,” Castleton said. “What’s this about?”
The NNPD car threw on its lights and began slowing to a stop.
“Looks like some sort of accident up ahead,” Callum said, straining to see past the NNPD vehicle.
No sooner had the convoy stopped than a flash of something struck the NNPD car, which vanished in an explosion of smoke and flame. Before they could react, the SUV behind them suddenly erupted in an inferno as well.
“What the hell,” Castleton said in confusion. “They weren’t supposed to…”
“Supposed to do what?” Callum roared, turning back from helping cover Cassidy, who had already moved to cover Jackie, who was crying out for her mother in terror. In the instant they made eye contact, the entirety of Castleton’s betrayal was plain to see for Callum. The shock and outrage in Callum’s eyes were just as easily read by his personal Judas.
But before either man
could say a word or even draw a weapon and return fire, two men on each side of their car suddenly stepped into view. One man on each side held up a phone, filming the attack, while each man’s partner fired RPGs at the SUV, catching it in an unsurvivable crossfire.
Del Rio’s Mustang crested the hill behind the ambush just in time to see the SUV seemingly leap into the air atop a ball of flame. He never let up on the gas as he took aim at the two men closest to him.
So intent on their target they were, that neither man registered Del Rio’s approach until the instant the front of the Mustang struck them at eighty miles an hour. They were dead before they landed back on the ground.
The other two managed to recover from the shock of seeing their comrades mowed down. But instead of shooting it out they tried to run for their own car. They never even got close to making it before the Mustang claimed two more victims.
Skidding to a halt, Del Rio jumped out of the damaged car and looked toward the SUV Cassidy and Jackie had been in. It was upside down and on fire but amazingly, Jackie had somehow wound up in the rear area, which had sustained less damage. She was beating on the window and Del Rio could just make out the one word she was screaming over and over:
Daddy!
He started for the SUV but only took two steps before the flames reached the fuel tank and the entire SUV exploded. The force of the blast hurled Del Rio back into the side of the his car and he lay there for several minutes, stunned and in shock, helpless to do anything as the fully engulfed SUV burned. He could feel the fierce heat from the blaze.
Slowly, painfully, he struggled to his feet. There had been no survivors of the ambush, not even the attackers. Through the flames of all three vehicles he could account for the bodies of all ten occupants and he knew he would carry the horror of seeing Laura and Jackie’s burning corpses the rest of his life.
There was nothing more he could do here. Anyone with a trained eye could figure out what had occurred without a formal report from him. There was, however, something he could do elsewhere and thanks to years of preparing for just such an occasion, he had everything he needed in the trunk of his car.
Jack Del Rio: Complete Trilogy: Reservations, Betrayals, Endgames Page 50