As she ran, she alternated between watching the ground in front of her and glancing at the moving shadow of the truck. Sooner than she’d hoped, it reached the end of the driveway and turned onto the main road.
No, no, no, no, no!
She dug as deep as she could and blasted through the brush.
The shadow was getting closer and closer. She could also see Ricky’s light, and knew that unless he had a sudden burst of superhuman speed, the truck would be past him before he could get to it.
It was all on her.
She hurdled some sagebrush and checked the truck again. It would be close.
She took one more look at the terrain in front of her, memorizing the obstacles, and then focused on the truck.
Despite the unevenness of the road, Carter was pushing the truck faster than most drivers would. Would it have killed him to slow down just a little?
Sprinting with all her might, she raced onto the road just as the truck was passing by. She flung out her hands, grabbed the edge of the truck bed at the last second, and launched herself into the back.
__________
CARTER JUMPED WHEN he heard a bang from somewhere in the back of the vehicle.
As he turned to glance through the rear window, the front end whacked into a bush and he had to refocus on the road.
He glanced at Tessa. “Look out the back. Tell me what you see.”
The girl didn’t move.
“Now!” he yelled.
She crawled into the other seat and looked out the rear window.
“Well?” Carter asked.
“Nothing there.”
__________
ANANKE ROLLED HARD against the far wall of the bed, and had to quickly jam herself against it to keep from flying over the top.
She rose onto her knees and pulled her gun out from under her jacket. Keeping low so she wouldn’t be seen in the truck’s rearview mirror, she crawled toward the cab.
When she reached it, she looked up at the window and froze.
__________
TESSA CLIMBED INTO the passenger seat and looked out the window.
She, too, had heard the noise, but thought they’d hit another hole in the road. She expected to see nothing in the back. Instead, she saw a woman holding a gun, looking up at her.
Was she one of the kidnappers Tessa had not seen or heard before?
The woman stared at her for a second, and then smiled and held a finger to her lips.
“Well?” Mr. Carter asked.
“Nothing there,” Tessa replied, still looking at the woman.
“Then what the hell was that noise?”
“I don’t know.”
Mr. Carter glanced at her. “Back where you were.”
Tessa waited until he looked away before she smiled at the woman and returned to the footwell.
__________
ANANKE WASN’T SURE what the girl was going to do. But when Tessa spoke, her answer was short enough that Ananke could read her lips, and if that wasn’t proof the girl hadn’t given her away, Tessa’s smile did the trick.
As soon as Tessa disappeared, Ananke hunkered down against the back of the cab to catch her breath. She knew from the drive in earlier that even at Carter’s current pace, it would still be about ten minutes before they reached the highway. She could not allow that to happen.
There had been several points on the road between the highway and the truck’s current location where Ricky had been forced to slow to a crawl to avoid damaging the vehicle. Carter would not be quite as concerned.
There was one point, however, where he would have no choice but to slow down. The narrow wash had a sharp downward turn to the left before an immediate hook to the right and a zigzag up the other side. Too fast and you run off the road, possibly tipping over to boot.
The wash had been about five minutes from the highway, which, given Carter’s rush, put it about three minutes away.
Plenty of time to catch her breath.
__________
CARTER DECIDED THEY were far enough from the others for him to risk turning the headlights on, but when he tried, nothing happened. A glance at the rearview mirror revealed no red glow of taillights, either. He tried turning the switch on and off several times, but no go. Apparently something was wrong with the electrical system.
His eyes were adjusted enough that the darkness wasn’t much of a problem. The difficulty would come once they reached the highway. The last thing he needed was for the Nevada Highway Patrol to pull him over because of faulty wiring.
Nothing he could do about that, though. For now, he needed to concentrate on getting out of this godawful desolation.
Ahead the road dipped into another gully. At first, he thought it would be the same as the others they’d raced through, but when the front end tilted downward, he slammed on the brakes, cutting their speed to almost nothing.
This wash was not like the others.
He carefully negotiated a turn to the left that took him to the bottom, where the road sharply turned again to the right.
He heard the crunch a second before he realized something had punctured the front windshield. It happened again, and again.
Bullets, he realized.
He slammed the brakes all the way down as two more holes appeared in the window. The truck was still in the process of stopping when he started to duck behind the dash. Before he was all the way down, something from behind wrapped around his neck.
He twisted as much as he could to the side, and out of the corner of his eye saw an arm sticking into the cab through the rear window. He’d thought someone was shooting at him from ahead, when the shots had actually been fired from the truck’s bed through the rear window. The five shots had weakened a circle of safety glass enough for the owner of the arm to shove it through.
He tried to pull off the arm as it squeezed his neck, but it had his head pinned tight against the headrest.
Gun.
His left hand shot down toward where he’d left his pistol. Though his fingers touched the very top of the weapon, he couldn’t stretch his arm any farther.
He batted at the arm and tried to yell, “Let go of me, goddammit,” but his voice came out not much louder than a hoarse whisper.
He heard a noise from the other side of the cab and glanced sideways toward it.
The passenger door was swinging open, and the girl—his ticket to financial independence—was climbing out.
No!
__________
ANANKE’S ATTENTION WAS so focused on restraining Carter that she didn’t know something else was happening until Carter yelled.
She looked over to see Tessa running across the desert.
“Tessa, wait!” she shouted. “I’m here to help!”
The girl kept going.
Couldn’t just one thing go exactly as Ananke planned it?
She needed to incapacitate Carter, but while she could hold him in place, she couldn’t get her arm around him enough to squeeze him into unconsciousness. More drastic measures were required.
She yanked her arm back outside, grabbed her gun, and shot him in the shoulder by the time he realized he was free.
Screaming, he flew into the steering wheel, and screamed again. But to his credit, he didn’t give up. When he turned back toward Ananke, he held a pistol in his left hand.
She leapt over the side of the truck right before he pulled the trigger, and pressed the muzzle of her gun against the driver’s side window.
“Drop it and open the door,” she ordered.
She could see the question play out on his face—did he have enough time to bring his pistol around and get a shot off? The answer was no, of course. He just needed a little time to figure that out.
“I’m not going to ask again,” she said.
He tossed the gun on the floor and raised his hands.
She took a step back. “Get out.”
As he opened the door, he said, “You don’t understand. I’m one of the
hostages! We were just trying to get away, that’s all.”
“On the ground, Mr. Carter. Or would you rather I call you by your real name, Mr. Simmons?”
She could see the last of his hope collapse in his eyes.
He climbed out and knelt in the dirt.
“All the way down,” she ordered.
“My shoulder,” he said.
She shoved him in the back, and he dropped facedown beside the truck. She hog-tied him with the zip ties, grabbed his pistol from inside the cab, and chucked it as far as she could into the dark desert.
“The less you move, the less you’ll hurt,” she told him.
She took off after Tessa.
__________
TESSA MOVED AS soon as she saw Mr. Carter was busy fighting off the woman.
Even when she heard the woman call after her, she kept going, wanting to get as far away from Mr. Carter as possible. She didn’t think about which way to go; she just went.
She was still running when she heard the woman say, “Tessa, stop,” from only a few feet behind her.
She looked back and saw that the woman could have easily reached out and grabbed her, but she didn’t.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to get you home.”
Tessa kept going for a few more paces before halting. “You’re really here to take me home?”
“I am.”
“What about Mr. Carter? Did you kill him?”
“No. But he won’t bother you anymore.”
“He needs to go to jail.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll be punished for his crimes.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Tessa considered the woman for a moment, and then said, “Good.”
The woman held out her hand. “I’m Ananke.”
Tessa shook the woman’s hand. “Tessa.”
42
TWO SUVS AND a panel van arrived at the homestead an hour before sunrise. The children and the two chaperones were loaded into the SUVs and whisked away to a waiting plane back in Tonopah.
Ananke and her team helped the two men who’d arrived in the van load the kidnappers, dead and alive, into the back of the vehicle. Among them was the still breathing Mr. Carter.
After the van departed, Ananke gathered her team around and called the Administrator on her sat phone.
“You’re on speaker,” she told him when he picked up the line.
“Everything wrapped up?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Excellent work, all of you,” he said. “You will receive coordinates as soon as I hang up. Proceed there for extraction.”
“Hold on,” Ananke said. “The job’s done. Where are you extracting us to?”
“Somewhere we can talk.”
“In person?” Dylan asked.
“It would be best if you didn’t delay.”
He hung up.
“That wasn’t very polite,” Dylan said.
Ananke’s phone beeped twice as her screen lit up with the Administrator’s promised coordinates. She showed them to Rosario, who hooked her laptop into her own sat phone and input the coordinates into Google Maps.
The location was about twenty miles to the northeast, on a different dirt road off the highway. There was nothing there. Not even an abandoned building.
“Are we just going to go there?” Dylan asked. “It seems a little…out of the way.”
“So what? You think they’re planning on killing us?” Ricky asked him.
“The thought did cross my mind.”
“Don’t you think if they wanted us dead, they would have killed us here and tossed us into the back of the van with the other bodies?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Ricky snickered. “Leave the operational insights to the pros, Mr. Courier Man.”
Dylan tensed. “Look, asshole, all I was saying is—”
“Relax, Dylan,” Ananke said. “First rule of working with Ricky is, know when not to listen to Ricky. For instance, right now.”
“Don’t joke with him like that,” Ricky said. “You’ll deprive him of all the knowledge I can pass on to him.”
“And that would be another example,” Ananke said.
Dylan took a deep breath and nodded. “Lesson learned.”
“There is still the question of whether we go or not,” Liesel said.
“I think it’s something we each need to decide for ourselves,” Ananke said.
“What are you going to do?”
Ananke thought for a moment. “The faster we can get out of this desert, the happier I’m going to be. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind a little in-person conversation with the Administrator.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Dylan said. “I mean, not to kill us, but to lock us up again?”
“If it bothers you enough, I can drop you off on the highway, and you can hitch a ride to wherever you want.”
“I will go with you,” Liesel said to Ananke.
“I want to know what is happening with clearing my name,” Rosario said. “So I am with you also.”
“Ah, hell,” Dylan said. “Might as well join you. If they lock us back up, at least I’ll know I’m not alone.”
Ananke looked at Ricky.
“What?” he said as he rubbed a hand over his bicep. “Let’s get moving.”
__________
LIESEL SPOTTED THE black dot in the southern sky first.
For over a minute, it seemed to be standing still, a pinprick in the blue sky. Soon enough, the illusion fell away, and the dot became a blob and then a cylinder and then a helicopter. The aircraft was a robust beast, large enough for a dozen passengers at least, and built for speed and distance.
As it landed, dust blew up all around it, momentarily hiding it from view. After the rotors wound down and the air began to clear, the side door opened and a man in a black suit stepped outside.
Gear over their shoulders, Ananke and her team left their vehicles behind and climbed aboard their ride. The moment the last of them was buckled in, the helicopter lifted into the air and headed west.
__________
“CASSIDY HAS REPORTED in,” Warren said. “He just heard from the Administrator. The children have been freed.”
“What about the girl?” Avanti asked.
“Cassidy attempted to get more information, but was told a full report would be given to the Committee this evening. He did have the impression, though, that all the children were found.”
“And the girl’s father?” Avanti asked as he walked over to the window.
“Cassidy is convinced the man will be removed from the Committee, perhaps as early as tonight.”
“But there is still a Committee.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did the field team at least sustain some injuries?”
“I tried to reach McGowan multiple times, but no luck. I assume he’s either dead or under their control by now. Cassidy should have more information after the meeting tonight.” McGowan’s demise had also been a likely outcome, and for that reason, neither he nor anyone working with him had known the true identity of their employers.
Avanti had hoped the mission would destroy the Committee, but that had never been likely. On the whole, though, the operation had accomplished much and provided him with a wealth of information about the field team and the day-to-day workings of the Committee.
Avanti stared out at the Pacific Ocean for several moments. “It will be interesting to see what they do next,” he said as he turned back to the room. “In forty-eight hours, I want a dozen contingency plans on my desk to deal with whatever that might be. We must continue to be the thorn in their side.”
__________
THE FAMILIES OF the missing children were picked up from their homes and taken to a private hangar at San Francisco International Airport. Per the Administrator’s instructions, all arrived at approximately the same time, and had to wait only a few minutes before the private jet rolled i
nto the hangar and the hangar doors were closed.
The Administrator was there, of course, lurking in the shadows, unnoticed.
As he knew would be the case, Tuesday was also present. The man was the only member of the Committee to whom the Administrator had given the details of the children’s return. Tuesday stood closer to the families than the Administrator did, but still far enough away to not interfere or be noticed.
As the children deplaned, they ran to the waiting embraces of their parents. Tears of joy and relief and exhaustion were shed by both sides.
Tessa Herrera was the fourth one to exit the craft.
Tuesday visibly tensed when she came into sight. This was the Administrator’s cue. He moved silently into position six feet behind Tuesday. The Committee member watched the girl reunite with her mother in a deep embrace that seemed to go on forever.
Eventually, Tuesday turned to leave.
Startled, he said, “I…didn’t expect to see you here.”
“If I could have a moment of your time, sir.”
“I’m running late already. I need to—”
“This won’t take long.” The Administrator gestured toward an office where two of his own security stood, one on each side of the open doorway. “Committee business. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of-of course.”
The Administrator let Tuesday lead the way. Once they were in the room, he closed the door.
“It looks like everything turned out well,” Tuesday said. “Given my involvement in this project, I thought it important to be here for the reunion. It really hammers home why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
The Administrator smiled, and then pointed at a small stack of papers sitting next to a pen on the only desk in the room. “If you would please sign.”
Tuesday’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry?”
“The document. If you could please sign, we both can be on our way.”
Tuesday walked over to the desk and reached for the papers. “What is this?”
“It’s your resignation from the Committee.”
“My what?”
“Your resignation. And your acknowledgment that you understand the penalties if you ever mention the Committee again after we leave this room.”
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