by Mike Sherer
!
Tweedledum! and! Tweedledee! continued! to! carry! Connie,!
only!because!it!was!faster!than!letting!anyone!else!do!it.!Clayt!
could!barely!stand.!Wink!had!pulled!one!of!Clayt’s!arms!around!
his!shoulder,!sagging!under!Clayt’s!weight.!I!suddenly!seethed!
with!anger!at!the!couple!for!putting!us!all!in!this!predicament.!I!
wanted! to! lash! out.! Instead,! I! grabbed! Clayt’s! other! arm! and!
took!some!of!his!weight.!He!looked!up!at!me!blearily!through!
one!swollen!eye.!I!couldn’t!tell!if!he!recognized!me!or!not.!
!
A!few!minutes!later,!we!crowded!into!a!fifteen6by6twenty6
foot! room! furnished! with! three! rows! of! worktables! littered!
with!electronic!equipment,!computer!monitors,!circuit!boards,!
oscilloscopes,!and!tangles!of!multi6colored!wires!snaking!in!all!
directions.! Some! were! fitted! with! an! overhead! shelf! loaded!
down!with!more!gear.!Empty!stools!crouched!under!the!tables,!
waiting.! Several! gray,! wheeled! steel! carts! around! the! room!
held! more! racked! equipment.! The! twins! cleared! a! desk! in! a!
corner!and!laid!Connie!on!it,!unconscious.!They!herded!Wink,!
Reyna! and! Clayt! into! the! last! aisle! between! the! worktables.! I!
ended!up!in!the!middle!aisle.!
!
“What!now,!Keely?”!I!said.!!
!
She! strutted! around! the! corner! of! the! lab! table! into! the!
aisle!next!to!me.!
!
“I’m! sure! you’re! smart! enough! to! figure! it! out,”! she! said.!
“Watch!and!learn.”!
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!
The!twins!stood!guard!now!while!two!of!the!others!made!
their! way! around! the! room! placing! inch6thick! black! plastic6
wrapped! bricks! in! different! spots.! About! ten! inches! long! and!
two!inches!wide,!the!bricks!were!imprinted!with!green!letters,!
all!caps.!Too!far!away!to!read!it!all,!I!was!able!to!make!out!the!
top!line!on!the!closest!one—CHARGE!DEMOLITION!M112.!The!
words! didn’t! inspire! my! confidence.! I! suddenly! noticed! that!
none! of! the! men! in! black! had! bothered! to! conceal! their! faces!
like!before.!The!room!suddenly!felt!colder!than!a!meat!locker.!
!
“You’re!going!to!blow!up!your!own!lab?”!I!said.!
!
“I!can!answer!that,”!said!a!deep!voice,!the!same!one!from!
the!SUV.!
!
An! older! man! strode! through! the! door! with! the! kind! of!
assurance!that!comes!from!years!of!unquestioning!fealty!from!
everyone!around!him.!Tweedledee!noted!his!presence!from!the!
corner!of!his!eye!with!a!nervous!twitch!of!his!lips.!His!mirror!
image! straightened! perceptibly.! The! other! members! of! the!
team! continued! what! they! were! doing,! but! seemed! aware! of!
him!nonetheless.!The!boss,!obviously.!Baines!himself.!
!
I! paid! more! attention,! noting! hooded! eyes! under! dark!
brows,!a!sharply!curved!nose!like!a!raptor’s!beak!over!a!thin6
lipped! mouth.! Silver! hair! lent! him! the! air! of! elder! statesman,!
but!the!kind!who’d!kept!his!place!in!power!through!backroom!
deals! and! efficient! ruthlessness.! Running! a! billion6dollar!
defense! company! would! be! good! practice.! Vaguely! familiar,! I!
tried!to!remember!where!I!might!have!seen!him,!but!couldn’t!
place!him!in!context.!Television!news,!most!likely.!
!
Instead!of!answering,!he!addressed!one!of!the!men!setting!
charges.!“Pete,!you!guys!about!done!here?”!
!
“Almost,!sir.”!
!
“When! you! are,! take! Rocco! and! Kurt! and! make! sure!
everyone! in! the! facility! evacuates.! Shouldn’t! be! anyone! here!
but! regular! security,! but! double! check.! Tell! them! we! got! a!
bomb!threat!we’re!taking!very!seriously.”!
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!
“Yes,!sir.”!!
!
Baines!turned!to!Keely.!“My!timing!was!fortuitous.”!
!
Keely’s! nostrils! flared! and! the! corners! of! her! mouth!
whitened.!“I!would!have!handled!it.! You!might!want!to!have!a!
word! with! your! security! chief! up! here.! First,! Langford,! then!
these!two…!Getting!in!doesn’t!seem!to!be!much!of!a!problem.”!
!
“Even! so,! Keely,! you! nearly! blew! it,! damn! it!! If! it! hadn’t!
been!for!me,!the!compound!might!be!crawling!with!feds!right!
now.”!
!
She! shrank! from! his! anger,! but! parried! one! last! time.! “It!
wouldn’t!have!happened!if!security!was!better.”!
!
Leaving! only! the! twin! linemen! to! ride! herd,! Pete! and!
friends! filed! out! the! door! past! Baines! in! their! black! fatigues.!
The!sight!of!Baines’s!head!behind!them!as!they!exited!stirred!a!
buried! memory.! It! floated! toward! the! light! then! drifted! back!
down!into!the!depths!like!a!freshly!washed!sheet!settling!on!a!
bed.! I! wished! I! could! get! a! better! look! at! it,! but! I! was! just! so!
damned! tired.! I! couldn’t! focus.! My! gaze! bounced! from! face! to!
face,! eyes! attracted! by! movements,! sounds,! voices! as! fast! as!
thoughts!caromed!off!the!inside!of!my!skull.!
!
Baines! gave! an! almost! imperceptible! nod,! conceding!
Keely’s!point.!“Nothing!more!from!the!Wilsons,!I!take!it?”!
!
She!glanced!at!them.!“What!more!could!they!possibly!give!
us?!They’ve!told!us!everything!they!know.”!
!
He!grunted,!following!her!gaze.!Connie’s!chest!barely!rose!
and!fell,!her!breathing!shallow.!Clayt!slumped!on!a!stool,!chin!
on!his!chest,!unresponsive!to!events!around!him.!
!
Baines! turned! to! me.! “To! answer! your! question,! the!
Wilsons! are! notorious! radicals! who! have! been! wanted! by! the!
government! for! forty! years.! They! initially! claimed!
responsibility! for! the! bomb! that! killed! my! daughter.”! He!
shrugged.!
!
I! glanced! at! Keely.! She! looked! pained,! like! someone! had!
poked!her!with!a!pin.!
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!
Baines!went!on.!“Investigators!will!find!their!remains!and!
assume! they! returned! to! their! old! ways.! Langford,! here,! was!
convicted! of! my! daughter’s! murder.! If! I’m! not! mistaken,! he’s!
violating!conditions!of!his!parole!just!by!being!here.!The!police!
will! naturally! assume! he! came! here! to! wreak! some! sort! of!
revenge!on!me,!or!the!company.”!
!
“And! us?”! I! motioned! toward! Reyna,! who! had! been!
unusually!quiet.!!
!
His! jaw! clenched.! “You’re! trespassing.! For! all! I! know,!
you’re! in! league! with! Langford! and! the! Wilsons.! Langford’s!
your!friend,!isn’t!he?!Or!at!least!he!was.”!
!
“She’s!with!naval!intelligence,”!I!said.!“You!can’t!just!kill!off!
government!agents.�
�!
!
Baines!held!up!a!finger.!“If!I’m!not!mistaken,!Miz—Chase,!
is! it?—Miz! Chase! is! gainfully! unemployed! at! the! moment.! I!
guess!you!two!are!domestic!terrorists!just!like!the!others.”!
!
“You’re! forgetting! something,”! Wink! said! quietly.! Eyes!
turned!and!stared!at!him.!
!
A! vein! in! Baines’! temple! pulsed! now,! but! he! managed! to!
turn!up!the!corners!of!his!mouth!in!a!semblance!of!a!smile.!
!
“And!what!would!that!be?”!he!said,!struggling!to!maintain!
a!pleasant!façade.!
!
“What!you’ve!been!looking!for.!The!notes.”!
!
Baines!frowned!and!glared!at!Keely.!She!looked!confused,!
less!self6assured.!!
!
“Kwan! Ji,! you! mean,”! Baines! said.! He! brushed! aside! an!
imaginary! fly.! “They! don’t! exist.! They! never! did.! That’s! why! I!
fired!him.”!
!
“The!notes!exist,!all!right,”!Wink!said.!“At!least!they!did.”!
!
Baines’! eyes! narrowed.! “What! do! you! mean?”! he! said!
sharply.!
!
!
“I!destroyed!them.”!
!
“How?!How!did!you!get!them?”!
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!
I! piped! up.! “The! Wilsons! had! them! all! along.”! I! looked! at!
Wink.!“You!found!the!Bible?”!
!
Wink! kept! his! eyes! trained! on! Baines.! “Fitch! stole! them!
when!he!helped!set!the!bomb.!He!hid!them!in!a!Bible!and!gave!
it!to!the!Wilsons!for!safekeeping.”!
!
“Impossible,”! Baines! growled.! “And! even! if! he! did,! what!
good!are!they!if!you!destroyed!them?!Seems!to!me!you’ve!lost!
your!bargaining!chip.”!
!
“He’s!got!photographic!memory,”!I!told!him.!“The!only!way!
you’ll!find!out!what!was!in!those!notes!is!if!you!keep!him!alive.”!
!
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!
!
Chapter&53&
!
!
“Daddy?”!!
!
Keely’s!doleful!voice!had!regressed!to!that!of!a!querulous!
child.!!
!
“Daddy,! don’t! they! all! have! to! be! punished! for! what! they!
did!to!Jill?”!
!
“Not!now,!Keely!!I!have!to!think.”!Baines!rubbed!his!chin,!
eyes!on!the!floor.!“This!puts!a!different!wrinkle!on!things.”!
!
He! jerked! his! head! up! and! his! gaze! lasered! on! Wink.! “I!
could!eventually!get!it!out!of!you.!Don’t!think!prison!made!you!
so!tough!you!can!resist!all!the!interrogation!techniques!those!
pansies! in! D.C.! want! to! outlaw.! Waterboarding! works,! Mr.!
Langford,! I! assure! you.! But! it! takes! time.! I! assume! you! have!
something!in!mind?”!
!
“We!can!probably!work!out!an!agreeable!price,”!Wink!said.!
!
“And!your!friends?”!
!
Wink! shrugged.! “The! Wilsons! deserve! whatever! they! get.!
Do! what! you! want! with! them.”! He! looked! at! Reyna,! then! me.!
“Them?! Up! to! you.! The! woman! is! pretty! much! screwed.! You!
saw! to! that.! She’s! got! no! credibility! with! her! superiors.! Him?!
Probably! no! threat! to! you,! but! it’s! no! skin! off! my! ass! if! you!
want!to!blow!him!up.”!
!
“How!do!I!know!the!notes!have!any!value?”!Baines!said.!
!
Wink!grinned.!“Suppose!I!might!have!been!able!to!tell!if!I’d!
finished! college.! Oh,! that’s! right,! I! did—in! prison.”! His!
expression! turned! serious.! “If! we! agree! on! a! price,! why! don’t!
you!give!me!half!up!front!for!half!the!notes.!You!can!have!your!
research!team!look!them!over!and!see!if!they’re!legit!and!hold!
promise.!If!so,!you!give!me!the!rest!and!I!deliver!the!other!half.”!
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!
Baines! pinched! the! bridge! of! his! patrician! nose! between!
thumb!and!forefinger.!
!
“Daddy?”!Keely!whined.!“I!did!this!for!you.!I!hunted!them!
down!for! you.!I!found!the!Wilsons.!I!even!found!that!harmless!
old!man,!Fitch’s!friend.!You!had! him* killed.!You!promised!you’d!
punish!them! all!for!what!they!did!!Don’t!you!even!care?”!
!
The!light!in!her!eyes!was!alien.!Something!inside!her!had!
snapped,! sending! her! over! the! edge.! The! suddenness! of! the!
change!was!unsettling.!I!wondered!how!long!she’d!managed!to!
hold!it!all!together,!and!shivered!as!I!thought!of!how!close!I’d!
let!her!get!to!me.! Fitch’s*friend? !Jesus,!I’d!been!right.!I!shivered!
again.! ! Baines! threw! her! a! piercing! look,! face! reddening! with!
anger.! He! drew! in! a! deep! breath! and! looked! away,! as! if!
mustering!some!force!to!quell!the!beast!welling!up!inside.!The!
motion! put! his! features! in! profile,! and! suddenly! the! memory!
from!earlier!lurched!back!out!of!the!muck!and!clawed!its!way!
into!my!consciousness.!No!fresh!linen,!this!was!a!creature!from!
a!black!lagoon!of!guilt!I’d!dammed!up!all!those!years!ago.!
!
“It!was!you!”!!
!
The!exclamation!out!of!my!mouth!surprised!me!as!much!as!
everyone! else.! I! stared! at! Baines,! seeing! him! not! with! silver!
hair! and! loose! skin! around! his! throat,! but! dark! hair! and!
youthful!vigor.!He!blinked!rapidly.!!
!
“You!were!right!the!first!time,!Keely,”!I!said.!“Wink!didn’t!
kill! your! sister.! The! Wilsons! didn’t! even! do! it,! though! they!
might!as!well!have.! He!killed!her.”!!
!
I!pointed!at!Baines.!!
!
Keely’s!pout!turned!to!confusion!again.!“Daddy?”!!
!
Baines’!lips!curled!back!in!a!snarl.!“What!the!hell!are!you!
talking!about?”!
!
Giving!voice!to!the!truth,!stirring!up!the!muck,!sent!bits!of!
what! I’d! thought! were! flotsam! and! jetsam! floating! into! place!
like!daubs!of!pigment!in!a!paint6by6numbers!picture.!
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!
“It! all! makes! sense! now,”! I! said,! wondering! why! I! hadn’t!
seen!it!before.!“Kill!two!birds!with!one!stone.”!
!
“You’re! babbling,”! Baines! growled.! He! gestured! to! one! of!
the!twins.!“Shut!him!up!”!
!
Tweedledum! took! a! step! toward! me,! but! Keely! latched!
onto!his!arm!and!dug!in!her!nails.!
!
“Wait,!just!wait!”!she!screeched.!“I!want!to!hear!this.!What!
do!you!mean?!What!two!birds?”!
!
“Kwan!Ji!and!Clayt—Colin!Wilson.”!I!watched!Baines’!face.!
“You! suffered! two! blows! to! an! ego! that! normally! wouldn’t!
stand!for!one!of!them.!Kwan!had!been!right!all!along.!He!had!
something,!technology!that!could!re
volutionize!battery!storage.!
And!you!let!him!go.!He!was!going!to!prove!you!wrong,!and!all!
his! patents! would! have! belonged! to! him! and! SIU,! not! Ross!
Industries.!You!bombed!the!lab!to!destroy!his!work,!and!then!
you!had!him!killed,!burned!his!house!down.”!
!
Keely! stared! at! her! father,! incredulity! straining! her!
features.!
!
“Is! this! true?! You! set! the! bomb?! To! get! back! at! someone!
you! fired?”!
!
“Keely!”!he!barked.!“Don’t!listen!to!this.!It’s!all!crap!”!
!
She! cringed,! but! held! her! ground.! “What! about! the! other!
bird?!What!did!Wilson!do?”!
!
“Colin! Wilson! had! a! fling! with! your! mother.! A! long! time!
ago.! She! didn’t! mean! for! it! to! happen,! and! it! was! a! one6time!
thing.!But!Baines!found!out.!Spent!years!trying!to!find!Wilson!
and! his! wife! after! they! skipped! to! Canada! in! the! early!
’Seventies.! They! weren’t! there! long.! They! managed! to! sneak!
back!into!the!States!and!used!Corinne!Wilson’s!maiden!name,!
Jones.!
!
“Your! father! finally! came! up! with! a! scheme! to! lure! them!
out!of!hiding.!He!found!Fitch,!knew!that!Fitch!had!been!close!to!
the! Wilsons! during! the! Vietnam! years,! and! told! him! that! he!
wanted! to! make! a! statement,! bomb! a! lab! back! in! Illinois.! He!
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convinced! Fitch! to! talk! the! Wilsons! into! sponsoring! the!
mission.!Figured!they’d!get!blamed!and!eventually!caught,!and!
Clayt—Colin—would!go!to!prison!for!a!long!time.”!
!
“But!Jill.!He!wouldn’t!have!done!that!to!Jill.”!!
!
“Of! course! not,”! Baines! interjected.! “It’s! bullshit,! Keely.!
Don’t!listen!to!him.”!
!
“I’m! not! lying,! Keely.! Kwan! didn’t! just! take! potential!
billions! of! dollars! away! from! the! company! when! your! father!
fired! him.! He! enticed! your! sister! to! help! him! work! on! the!
technology.! He! recognized! her! talent,! and! wanted! to! put! it! to!
useful!work.!Isn’t!that!right,!Baines?!You!couldn’t!stand!the!fact!
that! Jill! preferred! working! with! Kwan! than! working! for! you.!
That’s!another!reason!you!destroyed!his!work.”!
!
The! veins! in! Baines’! neck! stood! out! and! his! face! turned!
claret.!“Someone!shoot!this!bastard,!goddamn!it!”!
!
“What! happened,! Baines?! Too! much! explosive?! Didn’t!
realize!it!would!take!out!the!office!next!door!and!your!daughter!