by David Yates
Manny said, “I think we should get out to the chopper, transfer all the equipment into the RV, then get out of Dodge. We don't want to be hanging around here any longer than we have to, and the sooner we get set up somewhere, the quicker I can get back to work."
"Speaking of work,” Braden said to Manny, “you might check into something called North Star. A company, an organization, something like that. I heard one of those guys at the cabin mention it."
"Okay, I'll work on it,” Manny replied.
"How do you suppose they found us?” Braden asked.
They were lounging in the RV. Manny was in his chair; Archer was swiveled around in the front passenger seat. Hollingsworth was stretched out in the recliner, while Sam and Braden sat close together at the little dining table. They had found a spot in a campsite just off of I-29 in northwestern Iowa.
"Beats me,” Manny replied. “I know it wasn't any of my computer snooping. I build so many firewalls and false leads into everything I do that there's no way they could trace it back."
"You're sure?” Hollingsworth asked.
Manny looked offended, as if Hollingsworth had launched a personal attack on him. “I'm sure, Jim,” he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Hollingsworth held up his hands, palms out. “Hey, Manny, I didn't mean anything by it, bro. It's just that we're all human and we can all make mistakes."
Manny softened. “Sorry, Jimmy. I've actually had doubts myself as to whether I did something wrong. I double-checked everything I did, and it's secure."
"So the question remains,” Archer piped in. “How did they find us?” No one seemed to have an answer.
Manny was looking thoughtfully at Sam. After a bit, Sam became self-conscious and looked back at him. “What?” she asked, amiably enough.
Manny pulled himself together. He shook his head, smiling at her. “Nothing,” he replied. “Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I guess...” He shrugged, now looking a little self-conscious himself. “I guess I was just thinking what a cute couple you two were."
Sam giggled, and she and Braden exchanged a glance. She mimed a little curtsy at Manny from her seat and said, “Why, thank you, Mr. Espinoza."
Manny nodded once and replied, “You're welcome, milady."
Later, Manny asked Braden if he could have a private word with him. Braden pushed Manny's chair a short distance away from the RV to a picnic table. Braden climbed up on the bench and sat down on the table surface, facing Manny. He asked, “What's up?"
Manny hesitated. He knew he had to tread very carefully here. He loved the kid and didn't want to cause any problems between any of them, but he had to know.
"How comfortable are you with Sam?” Manny began cautiously.
Braden stared at Manny for a moment. He replied simply, “I love her."
Manny nodded. “That much I already know. What I mean is...do you trust her?"
Braden slowly rose to a standing position. He hopped down from the bench and stood before Manny. In a calm, dangerous voice he said, “What are you saying, Manny?"
Well, no going back now, Manny thought. Nothing else to do but plunge ahead. “Braden, I love you and I think the world of Sam, but they had to find out where we were somehow. She's the only new constant in our lives the past few weeks..."
"Lay off of that, Manny!" Braden yelled angrily. Back at the RV, the other three heard him and looked in their direction. “Just lay off of that Right Now!"
Manny glanced back at the RV. Sam had taken a couple of steps toward them. She stood there with an anxious look on her face.
Braden saw her, too. He took a step toward the RV, and then turned back to Manny. In a calmer voice he said, “She had nothing to do with it, Manny. Nothing. You're looking in the wrong direction.” Braden turned sharply and strode back to the RV. Sam met him halfway, and they embraced.
Manny's emotions were in turmoil as he looked at them. He heaved a shaky sigh and thought, please, God, let me be wrong about her. For all of our sakes, please let me be wrong.
"Hey!” Manny yelled to no one in particular. “Hey! I got it! I got it!"
He was at his work station in the RV. They were set up at a campsite about forty miles west of Oklahoma City. Their idea had been to just keep moving at random so as to make for a harder target. It had been four days since he and Braden had had their little scrape. Since then, they had managed only a shaky truce at best.
Hollingsworth stuck his head in the open door of the RV. “Got what?” he asked.
"I cracked the encryption on Miller's files!” Manny exclaimed happily. Hollingsworth turned and sped off to tell the others.
They all returned on the run and crowded into the RV. Manny was staring raptly at his computer screen, reading one of the decrypted files. Before anyone could speak, Manny held up one finger: Wait. They waited impatiently for him.
Finally, he rolled back from his desk and wheeled around to face them. His eyes were in his lap. He said nothing for the moment.
"Well?” Braden asked.
Without looking up, he said in a low voice, “It appears I owe you an apology, Braden. You and Sam both."
Sam and Braden exchanged a glance, and Sam asked, “What do you mean?"
"One of the first files I saw after I decrypted them was titled, ‘Vaughn, Clay'. Does that name ring a bell, Sam?” Manny asked, looking up at her.
Sam said, “Yes, that's Clay, my ex-boyfriend.” She paused, and then the other shoe dropped. Her eyes widened. “You mean they had a file on Clay?"
"Yes,” Manny replied, looking out the window now. He seemed unable to maintain eye contact with Sam for very long and with Braden not at all. “They apparently found him on a routine search of the area. He recognized a photo of Braden that they were flashing around town. He also identified Charlie."
"So that's how they found us,” Hollingsworth mused to himself.
"Wait a minute, hold on,” Braden interrupted. “How did they know what area to look in? How did they know we were in Drake?"
Manny cleared his throat and tried to look at Braden. Instead, his eyes ended up in his lap again. “That may have been my fault,” he said quietly.
Braden gazed at the top of Manny's head for a moment, then turned to the others. “Can you excuse us for a minute?"
Sam, Archer, and Hollingsworth nodded and filed out the door. Braden closed it after them. He walked to the table and sat down about an arm's length from Manny's chair.
"Manny, what happened?” he asked softly.
Manny tried to talk, cleared his throat again, and restarted. His eyes were still downcast. “It seems that there was a circuit open that I wasn't aware of. Every Internet search I ran, every email I sent or received, left an electronic signal that was traceable, if you knew where to look. Once Clay Vaughn gave them the area to search, it was just a matter of time before they found us.” After a pause, he added, “I almost got us all killed."
They sat in silence for a moment. Braden broke it first. “Manny..."
"No,” Manny interrupted. “It was my fault.” Now he raised his eyes and met Braden's gaze. There were tears of shame and humiliation standing in his eyes. “But I promise you, Braden, it will never happen again."
Braden reached out and with his left hand and grasped the back of Manny's neck. “I know it won't, Manny. I know it won't."
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Chapter 6
The next morning, Braden awoke next to Sam in the RV's master bedroom. He reclined his head on one elbow and watched her sleep. He reached out and moved a lock of hair from her face, and she opened one green eye and looked at him. He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Good morning, Sunshine,” he said. She mumbled an unintelligible response and closed her eye again. He kissed her again, quickly, and rose from the bed. “Go ahead and sleep. I'm going to see how Manny's coming with those files."
He got dressed and left the bedroom, closing the door gently so as not to di
sturb Sam. He moved to the front of the RV and found Manny hard at work on the computer. He patted Manny on the shoulder and asked, “How long have you been up?"
"About 45 minutes,” Manny replied. “Coffee's ready, if you want some.” He raised his own cup and sipped.
Braden poured himself a cup and sat down next to Manny. “Find anything yet?” he asked.
Manny shook his head. “Nothing important. I did find Miller's financial information. He had almost two billion dollars in his personal account alone. His accounts are frozen right now. From what I can tell, whenever one of these guys dies, they have legal procedures already in place to split all assets between the remaining members of the group. I was able to find out that they did that with Morrison's assets, too."
"What about Kobriger's assets?” Braden asked.
"Nothing. Actually, I find that odd in and of itself. I found where they split Morrison's assets; that just happened. And I can see that they're just about to split Miller's assets up between them. But nothing at all on Kobriger."
Braden arose and said, “Well, I'll leave you to it.” He glanced around. “Where are Charlie and Jim?"
Manny uttered a short chuckle. “They went tooling around on those dirt bikes. Those two old farts are gonna break their necks on those things."
Braden took his coffee cup and stepped outside the RV. He looked up at a beautiful blue sky, unbroken by so much as a wisp of a cloud. He stretched and sat down in a folding canvas chair beside the RV. He turned his head to the sky, eyes closed, and just sat there soaking in the morning sun.
As soon as the bedroom door snicked closed behind Braden, Sam rose quickly from the bed. She bent and reached under the mattress and pulled out a PDA. She turned the power on and removed the stylus from its holder. She brought up the email program and quickly composed a short message.
Still at Country Village Campground near Republic, okay. Site #37. How much longer?
She pulled up her address book and selected the recipient of the email. Anson. She clicked Send, and the email was transmitted into cyberspace.
She sat naked on the edge of the bed, waiting impatiently for the reply. After only three minutes, her Inbox lit up. She touched the stylus to it and opened the email.
Advance team already on site. Bulk of team to arrive within the half-hour. Sit tight.
She turned off the power, put the stylus back, and replaced the PDA under the mattress. She got back into bed and pulled the covers up over her. She stared at the ceiling, her green eyes troubled and full of doubt.
Braden had almost fallen back to sleep in the chair when he heard the sound of an approaching motor. He opened his eyes and looked toward the sound. He was not alarmed; it was the sound of a dirt bike's engine. By the sound of it, Manny may have been right. The engine was revving almost frantically. Braden thought wryly, they are going to kill themselves. He saw movement through the trees adjacent to their campsite. Now he could see the dirt bike breaking free of the treeline and speeding toward the RV. Archer was guiding the bike, and not doing too good a job by the look of it.
Braden first straightened in the chair, then rose to his feet quickly. His cup fell and tepid coffee soaked the ground. Something's wrong, Braden thought. He's riding too recklessly. Braden quickly glanced behind Archer. And where's Jim?
Archer was close enough now so that Braden could see his wide, gaping eyes. Archer tried to slide the bike to a stop, but he turned the wheel too sharply and the bike flipped. Archer flew through the air and landed with a bone-crunching thud not five feet from where Braden stood. Braden rushed to his side and knelt down.
"Doc, are you all right?” he asked.
Archer was wearing a grimace of pain and clutching his right side with his left hand. “We've gotta get out of here! Right now!"
Braden's wind was fully up now. He glanced along the treeline but saw nothing as yet. He looked back at Archer and said, “Where's Jim?"
Archer shook his head. “Dead. They shot him. Sniper, I think.” He spoke in a rasp, still clutching his side. But he was weakly scrabbling at the ground and trying to get up.
Braden helped him up as quickly as possible, considering Archer's condition. He continued to scan the treeline for movement as they made their way to the RV's door. Still nothing.
Braden hustled Archer into the RV. Manny, who must have heard the ruckus outside, was waiting for them with an anxious look. “What's wrong?” he asked immediately.
"Take care of him,” Braden nodded at Archer, who was lying on the sofa. “I'll be right back."
Braden ran to the master bedroom and burst in. Sam sat up in bed. The sheet fell to her waist, exposing her breasts. She looked wide-eyed at Braden and said, “What's the matter?"
Braden went straight to the small closet and yanked it open. He grabbed his belt with the empty holsters attached and quickly donned it. “They found us again,” he explained briefly while he continued to “gear up". “Jim's dead and the Doc's injured. We're getting out of here. Get dressed.” He grabbed his pistols and holstered them, then ran to the little window facing the treeline and peeked out through the curtain. Still nothing. Where are they?
Sam's face turned the color of paste. “Dead? How?"
"Shot. Charlie says he thinks it was a sniper. Come on, Sam, hurry."
She rose and began dressing quickly. Braden muttered, “Those guys are spooks. How are they tracking us?"
Sam made no reply. She pulled on her jeans and shrugged into a shirt.
"Can you drive this thing?” Braden asked.
"Yes, I think so,” she answered as she pulled on her shoes.
"Okay, go up front and fire up the engine. Get us out of here.” He gave her a quick peck and was gone.
Braden ran back to the front and headed for the door. Manny said, “Charlie filled me in. Braden, it wasn't me this time. I'm positive."
Braden nodded as he passed by and opened the door. He peeked outside and still saw no movement. Without turning, he asked Manny, “Where are the keys to the ‘Blazer?"
"They're in the ignition, I think,” Manny replied.
"All right. Sam's going to drive the RV. I'm going to the ‘Blazer and see if I can lead them away from you. If I'm successful, I'll contact you later on my cell and we can meet back up somewhere else."
Sam came running from the master bedroom at the rear of the RV. She went straight to the driver's seat and started the engine. “Which way should I go?"
"West,” Braden replied. “I'll try to lead them east."
Manny said, “Be careful, Braden"
Braden glanced at him, then at Sam in the front seat. “I love you,” he said softly to her.
"I love you, too,” she replied with a worried smile.
Braden took one more peek outside and then ran out the door, slamming it behind him. He ran to the back of the RV and quickly unhitched the trailer. It was the matter of ten seconds work. Then, he ran to the ‘Blazer and got in. The keys were in the ignition, and Braden started the engine and put it in gear. He slewed out of the campsite, spraying dirt and gravel in a fan behind him. He raced in the opposite direction from the one the RV was taking. In the rearview mirror, he could see that the RV was already rolling.
He got to the end of the dirt lane giving access to their campsite and stopped. He turned in the seat and looked back. Their now-former campsite was still visible about three hundred yards back. The RV was already out of site, having exited the campsite at the other end of the dirt lane. Braden sat and waited.
He finally saw one man emerge from the woods and walk slowly into their campsite, holding a rifle at the ready. A second armed man emerged behind the first. They walked to where the RV had been parked, examining the downed dirt bike that was still lying where Archer had left it. One of the men looked around and spied the ‘Blazer. He raised his rifle and aimed.
Braden saw the muzzle flash as the man fired at him. The bullet missed the ‘Blazer, and Braden wasn't going to give him another free shot.
He floored the accelerator and sped out of the campsite area.
He reached the main campground entrance and glanced in his rearview mirror. He saw a fantail of dust behind him. It was still fairly distant, but closing fast. He exited the campgrounds and turned right on the paved state highway which would in turn take him to Interstate 40. He brought the speed of the ‘Blazer up to 60 and checked the mirror again, still accelerating. He saw a dark green SUV exit the campground and turn in pursuit of him. It was quickly followed by a silver or gray sedan. He edged the ‘Blazer up past seventy and headed for the Interstate.
When he got to the Interstate, he passed underneath the overpass and turned left, heading up the eastbound on-ramp. When he had turned onto the ramp, his pursuers were perhaps a quarter of a mile behind. When he got to the top of the ramp, he shot straight across the grass median instead of merging onto eastbound I-40. He then took the westbound off-ramp and headed back to the state highway that he had just quit. The off-ramp was one of those ramps which are built on a downward angle. When Braden got to the point on the off-ramp where he could no longer see the head of the eastbound on-ramp, he slammed on the brakes and came to a stop. He got out of the ‘Blazer and ran up the incline to the westbound shoulder. At the top of the incline, he dropped to a prone position and peeked over the incline.
The green SUV exploded from the eastbound on-ramp and headed east on I-40. The silver sedan was close behind. Traffic on the interstate was moderate, and they must have fallen for the bait because they accelerated as they continued east, obviously assuming that Braden was driving one of the vehicles that were in front of them. They continued accelerating and were soon out of sight.
Braden returned to the ‘Blazer and got moving. He drove to the bottom of the off-ramp and went straight across, which put him on the westbound on-ramp. He merged into the westbound traffic, stepping up his speed to 75 miles an hour quickly. He dug out his cell phone and called Manny.
They met up again at a McDonald's on the east side of Amarillo. Braden parked in the car parking area of the restaurant and walked to the rear of the building, where the RV parking was located. He opened the door of their RV and stepped in.