THE 13: STAND BOOK TWO

by ROBBIE CHEUVRONT

  They’d spent the three-hour drive mostly in silence. Eli was asleep, thirty minutes in. But that was good. Megan didn’t feel much like talking anyway. Her mind was racing, thinking about Boz and Jon. How was Boz going to get across the border undetected? Was Jon really okay? What if they got caught trying to get back? And then there was this new threat. What was going on? And who was doing it? Lots of questions. No answers.

  Eli woke up about an hour out of Raleigh. They spent the rest of the drive with Eli looking at a map, and Megan following his directions. They found the café easily enough. Now they just had to find Peterson.

  The place was a normal coffee shop, a bacon-and-eggs kind of place. Not a lot of patrons, but the ones there, Megan could tell, were probably regulars. Jennings had given them a description of Peterson, but it wouldn’t have mattered. The man stuck out like a sore thumb, with his sport coat, khaki pants, and loafers, sitting among a bunch of old men wearing overalls, blue jeans, and ball caps.

  “I thought you guys said once a spy, always a spy,” Megan muttered over her shoulder.

  Eli rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well…”

  They walked over and sat down at Peterson’s table. Peterson, who had not even glanced at them as they walked in, looked up from his newspaper.

  “I saw you two from the parking lot. Not very subtle, don’t you think?”

  “Really?” It was Megan. “And you with your suit coat and loafers? Yeah, you blend right in.”

  Peterson smiled and turned to Eli. “I like her.”

  Eli rolled his eyes again.

  “Listen,” Megan started in a whisper, “you need to leave here with us. We can go somewhere we can talk.”

  Peterson sighed. “Jennings thinks I’m going to get myself hurt. Doesn’t he?”

  “Or killed,” Eli said.

  “Bah!” Peterson waved him off. “I’m seventy-six years old. Who cares!”

  “Okay, let’s go.” Megan stood up and grabbed Peterson by the arm.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere where you’re not going to draw attention.” She looked around the room and noticed that some of the patrons were looking at them. “Like you’re doing now.”

  Peterson reluctantly stood and allowed her to lead him out the door. They got in the car and pulled away from the diner.

  “What was all that about?”

  “Look, Mr. Peterson, I know you’re just trying to help. But whatever it is you’re looking for down here is something that’s probably going to turn out really bad.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to Eli. “Jennings sent me and him to find out what it is. Now, if you’ve got information that will help us out, you need to tell us. But going around asking questions on your own is just plain stupid.”

  Peterson waved a hand in the air. “Ah, you’re probably right. But I’m not about to sit by and wait for something else to happen around here. Bad enough we already lost most of our country.”

  Megan figured she wasn’t going to win any arguments with the old man. So instead, she decided to try a different tactic. “Mr. Peterson, no one expects anyone to just sit by. We’ve all been affected by this. You were a valuable asset to the Company. Jennings said that if anyone could find out what was going on, you were the guy.”

  That brought a smile to the old man’s face.

  “So if you’ve heard anything or have a lead on anything, we need to know. Let’s face it. You might still have the heart, but you don’t have the physical ability. Let us traipse around and poke our noses into dark corners.”

  Peterson looked at her with a confused look. “Can I ask you a question?”

  Megan shrugged. “Sure. Go ahead.”

  “Who are you?”

  She started laughing and realized that she and Eli hadn’t even introduced themselves earlier. They had just shuffled the old man into the car and sped off. She stuck her hand out across the seat.

  “I’m Megan Taylor.” She shook his hand and pointed again over her shoulder into the backseat. “That’s Eli Craig.”

  Peterson shifted in his seat to look at Eli. “Craig? Hmm…Craig…yeah, I knew a Craig. Englishman. Good man. What was his name…?”

  “Mackenzie,” Eli said.

  “Yeah, that’s it! Mackenzie. Everyone called him Mac.”

  “My father,” Eli admitted.

  “Hmph…well, good to know you, son.” Peterson nodded to Eli. Then to Megan, “Don’t know any Taylors.”

  Megan smiled and pulled the car off the road into an old abandoned junkyard. She and Eli had found this place on their way to the diner and had picked it specifically for talking with Peterson. She put the lever in PARK and shut off the key.

  “Okay, now that everyone knows everyone, let’s talk. What do you know?”

  Peterson shifted again in his seat so that he was facing both of them. “About a week ago, I got a call. Got an old friend used to be heavily involved in the political goings-on in Raleigh. He calls me and asks if I know about a guy named Gavin Pemberton. Well, I tell him I’ve never heard of him, but that doesn’t mean anything, and I ask why. He tells me that this guy, Pemberton, is a mean ol’ son of a…well, you know. Says Pemberton has his fingers in everything down here. Comes from old money. Tobacco. Family’s been in the business for over two hundred years. Anyway, says Pemberton likes to stick his nose in places it doesn’t belong.”

  “Like where?” Megan asked.

  “Like everywhere.” Peterson laughed. “Including politics. Seems this guy has been single-handedly responsible for the last four gubernatorial wins in the state.”

  “How’s that?” Eli asked.

  “Money, son. Money! Heck, everyone knows—well, you might not, being a Brit and all, but you,”—he pointed to Megan—“you know how that game works. Whoever has the most money runs the show.”

  Megan shrugged. “Mr. Peterson, people have been saying that for years, but you just can’t say—”

  “Then you’re naive, young lady!” Peterson’s demeanor changed suddenly. His eyes narrowed and his lip drew tight. “Listen, I may be old, but I’m not senile. I’ve been around this ball of mud and doing this job longer than both of you. So don’t patronize me.”

  Megan pushed back in her seat. Peterson’s sudden change caught her off guard. “I wasn’t trying to—”

  “Never mind,” Peterson cut her off. “I didn’t mean to bark at you like that. Sorry. But that doesn’t change the fact that politics is politics. Money talks, young lady. And I’m telling you, this Pemberton is bad news. I asked around a little and nobody, and I mean nobody, will talk about him.”

  Megan looked over her shoulder at Eli. “So what do you think?”

  “I think Mr. Peterson, here, isn’t being completely forthcoming.”

  “Yeah.”

  Peterson lowered his eyes.

  “Mr. Peterson…”

  “Oh, all right!” He shifted in his seat again and folded his arms over his chest. “I might’ve heard about a judge that Pemberton is close with. If someone knows anything about what Pemberton’s up to, he’d know.”

  “Name?” Megan said impatiently.

  “Milton Hayes.”

  “Where can I find him?” Megan asked.

  “Well, I’m told he comes in that diner, which I was sitting in before you so rudely removed me, every morning and afternoon for coffee.”

  Megan looked over the seat. “Eli?”

  “I think it would behoove us to find this Judge Hayes and see what he knows.”

  She bit her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “What about me?” It was Peterson.

  Megan turned the key and pulled the shift lever. “We’ll drop you back off at your car. And then you can drive yourself back to Newport News. How’s that?”

  Peterson turned back around in his seat, facing the front. “Guess I don’t have much choice.”

  Megan didn’t even look at him. “Nope. And that comes directly from Jennings
.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Boston, Massachusetts

  Alex Smith gathered her things and made her way off the G-5, Farid Naser following behind. There was a car waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. They threw their bags in the trunk and got inside.

  Alex had told Farid not to say anything once they landed; they should just be completely silent. If there needed to be any talking, she would handle it. The driver got back inside after closing the trunk and, keeping his head facing forward, reached his hand over the headrest.

  “I was told you would have an address for me?”

  Alex placed a folded piece of paper inside the driver’s hand. The driver took it and pulled away from the tarmac. No more words were exchanged.

  The drive was spent in complete silence. Just like most of the plane ride. Alex was able to divert Farid’s questions, promising to disclose everything once they landed and arrived at their final destination, a little house just outside of the city in a town called Middleton.

  Traffic was mostly light. They were able to make the twenty-mile drive in just under forty-five minutes. However, the driver was not taking them to the house. Rather, he dropped them off in North Reading, by the high school, where Alex had a cab scheduled to pick them up. Alex waited until the driver of the sedan was out of sight before taking Farid’s hand and walking across the street and down the block to the cab. The cab was waiting as they arrived. A short drive later, the cab dropped them off six blocks away from their final destination. They walked the rest of the way, still in silence. When she closed the door behind them, Farid immediately started in.

  “Well, that was interesting. I don’t know that I’ve ever been in the company of another individual and not had any form of conversation whatsoever, for so long.”

  His tone was filled with contempt. She understood, though. She had been nothing but vague with him for the last twelve hours. And he had been patient. But now they were here. And she had promised to tell him everything.

  She had a problem, though. For whatever reason, she really liked this guy. Maybe it was because he was responsible for saving her life. Or maybe it was just because she hadn’t had any kind of real relationship in…well, she couldn’t remember, and she felt a connection to him. Whatever the reason, she wanted to tell him. Everything. She was just afraid that after doing so, he would revolt at the truth. And then she would have to kill him.

  “Let’s sit down, Farid.”

  “You own this place?”

  She nodded as she moved to the sofa. “This and a few others.”

  Farid looked around the room. “Quaint.”

  “Well, it’s not what I would call home….” She patted the cushion beside her, gesturing for him to join her. “More of a vacation place.”

  Farid sat down. “You said you were going to tell me—”

  “Everything,” she finished for him. “Yes. I’m going to.”

  And she did. Everything. Everything from the day Joseph had come for her at the girls’ home, to the events that had led her to his hospital. Farid hadn’t moved the entire time. Not even a facial expression.

  “You can breathe now,” she quipped as she finished. She hadn’t been able to get a read on him the entire time.

  Farid blinked a few times and leaned back in his seat. He ran his hands through his hair and then sat back up. “Okay…Okay. Not quite what I expected, but okay.”

  For the first time in a long time, Alex felt her heart sink. What was she thinking? Like she was just going to tell him everything about herself and he would just be all right with it? Talk about amateur. She was an idiot! And now she was going to have to kill him. And that made her truly sorry. She had hoped, however stupid it might be…

  “Alex…”

  She picked her head up to look at him. He had a weird grin on his face.

  “So…what you’re saying is…you blew the President Grant job.”

  Not what she was expecting.

  “No.” She looked back at him with a hesitant glance. “I put a round right in the back of his head,” she said. “I didn’t blow anything. Last I heard, he’s in a coma.”

  Farid raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue playfully. “Okay. If you say so.”

  Definitely not what she expected.

  “Oh yeah, and what would you know about it, Mr. I-fix-people-for-a-living?”

  Farid’s look changed to a somber one. “I’ve killed before.”

  Alex prided herself on many things. Not revealing being caught completely off guard was one of them. In her line of work, that could get you killed. But her face must have betrayed her. Because of all the things she had expected to hear from Farid…that was like number nine million on the list.

  “Twice, actually.”

  “What!”

  “When I was a young boy my family had no money. My father died when I was five. The man who owned our building liked to take advantage of my mother. I watched this go on for many years. When I turned seventeen, I bought a gun and followed him home one evening. I knocked on his door. When he answered, I put two bullets in his forehead.”

  Alex reached for his hand. “You did what you had to do.”

  “That’s what I told myself.”

  “But you said twice.”

  “Yes. After I shot the man, his wife came running out of the bedroom. I shot her, too.”

  Alex felt a tingle start to spread up her spine. “And how did that make you feel?”

  Farid sighed. “At first, I was repulsed by it. I was petrified that I would get caught. I spent the next six months looking over my shoulder, wondering when they would come for me. But they never did. And so I decided to become a doctor. To help save lives. I guess it was kind of my own self-imposed penance.”

  “But you weren’t repulsed by it. Were you, Farid?”

  He quickly averted his eyes but then came back to meet her stare. “No. I was. At first.” He swallowed hard. “But then I realized it was the first and only time in my life that I ever felt alive. Like I had the power over life and death. And I…I…”

  “You liked it. Didn’t you?”

  Farid just stared at her for what seemed like an hour. Finally he sighed and said, “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  Alex’s heart was racing. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but she knew it was something she’d never felt before. She grabbed Farid by the back of the neck and pulled him to her. Their lips met.

  When she pulled away, he reached for her hand. “So why are we here?”

  “I’ve been offered another job.”

  “What job?”

  Normally, those details were only discussed between her and the client. But Farid was different. This was different. She wanted to tell him.

  “When I left you in the airport in Morocco, I went to check an answering service that I keep. There was a message on there from someone. Someone I’ve never heard of. But he’d heard of me. Long story short, he was about to contract another hitter because I hadn’t responded. I told him I had been indisposed. He said if I could get here in the next day or so, I could have the contract.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Told you. Don’t know yet.” She stood up, grabbed her bag from the floor, and walked into the bedroom. Farid followed.

  “What’s the job?”

  “Don’t know. He’ll give me details when I meet with him.”

  She tossed the bag on top of the bed, unzipped it, and began to unpack. “Right now, I’ve got to get packed and head out. You can stay here—don’t worry, it’s safe. Or you can come with me. But either way, I need to leave within the hour.”

  “Within the hour? We just got here.”

  “And he wants to meet tonight.”

  Farid didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I’ll come with you.”

  “Good. We can stop on the way out of town and do some shopping for you. But when we get there, I’ll need to meet with him alone. I can drop you at a café or something for a little while. It should only ta
ke a half hour or so. I’ll come pick you up afterward and then I’ll take you around to see the city.”

  “Where?”

  “Raleigh, North Carolina.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Nashville, Chinese Territory

  It was dark when Keene woke up. His head was fuzzy and he couldn’t remember why he was lying here. The last thing he remembered was talking with Quinn and having decided that they needed to get out of here. The United States was in trouble again. Next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes here, to find himself alone and still in this dank, crummy hotel room. And Quinn was gone.

  Remembering there had been Chinese guards outside the last time he had woken up, he didn’t immediately reach for the light. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get used to the level of darkness surrounding him. When he was sure he had his wits about him, he quietly got out of the bed and walked slowly over to the window. He pulled back the curtain and looked around outside.

  The way the room was situated, within the block of rooms, gave him a good view of the street in front of him and the main road that ran in front of the hotel. The occasional car passed by, and down the street, he could see some people milling around what looked to be an old convenience store. But for the most part, the place seemed quiet and left alone.

  Satisfied it was all clear, he turned on the small light on the side table. A handwritten note lay beside the lamp.

  Jon, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let you leave. And just for the record, I didn’t knock you out. That was Him. I just put you in the bed afterward. Anyway, you need to know Boz is on his way. He should be there sometime after dark, barring on any unforeseen circumstances. You CANNOT leave until he gets there. It is imperative that you both make it back safely. And you’re going to need each other to do that. Trust me.

  Here’s what you need to know for now: God has spared our country and given us another opportunity to turn to Him as a nation. And He desires greatly that we should do this. However, there are those within our own borders who stand as enemies of God. They would have us turn our backs on the mercy that has spared us and given us this chance. They would trust their own abilities and knowledge. And unopposed, they are a dangerous threat to the survival of our nation, as well as the rest of the world. You must stop them. If you don’t, the opportunity for repentance will have passed. And our nation will be lost forever.