David Dun: Necessary Evil

"They aren't saving us. They're following us. They're killing us."

"You can't know that," she said. "We're saved, I tell you."

He considered shooting the rotors with his newly acquired M-16. It was the only way to escape the chopper. But doing so would put him squarely at odds with Jessie and the government. It could turn them into criminals. Again he moved left and motioned to Jessie. With a dubious look, she followed. But the giant bird would not back off. If he didn't do something, they would be captured. He brought the gun to his shoulder. Through the trees he aimed at the whirling rotors. His finger went to the trigger.

Jessie grabbed his arm, swinging the rifle away. "Don't. They're trying to save us." She was screaming in his ear now.

He knew her mind as if she had an hour to speak it.

"For once in your life trust the government."

It was her expression that filled him with indecision. She was so certain, and she wanted so much for him to believe in her and her FBI. For whatever reason, the men back in the clearing did not seem to be following. He looked up. The copter was lowering two harnesses, offering to lift them out. Once in the harness, they would have no escape. He looked at Jessie, could see the hope written in her eyes.

"Please," she said simply. "You aren't the only justice for the Tiloks."

He nodded, wanting to believe she was right, but almost certain she wasn't. He walked woodenly beside her into the tiny clearing, where they fastened themselves into the harnesses. In an instant, the helicopter began to rise, hoisting them above the treetops before whisking them straight for the Donahue ranch and Tillman's men. It broke his heart to watch Jessie's face as the horror became real to her. They were being delivered to their tormentors.

The men in the woods below marched back to the house, where more men stood waiting in the yard. One was righting a fire. Kier's gut tightened as he watched a man with a coiled rope. The copter delicately lowered them into a circle of at least a dozen men, all aiming their automatic rifles at Kier and Jessie from point-blank range. Kier looked for Tillman. Not surprisingly he remained safely out of sight.

Kier could shoot, but only at the drones. And they would kill him and Jessie long before he got them all. Leading the pack was Doyle, waiting for them with a sly smile. When they hit the ground, one man took Kier's rifle and the pistol. In seconds, he and Jessie had their hands and feet shackled. They could only move in a slow, shuffling walk. Kier wondered how long it would take for them to die. Tillman, he knew, would make it as slow as he could, especially after deciding they couldn't or wouldn't deliver to him the sixth volume.

" I wish we had more time, Kier. I'd enjoy giving your girlfriend a little thrill. But the old man seems to have vanished. For some reason, the heat-seeking stuff hasn't picked him up. Leaves us with a big problem." Tillman spoke above the noise of the landing helicopter. "Putting federal bureau of investigation on the chopper was another great Doyle suggestion."

Doyle still grinned, but there was something about his eyes. Like he wanted in the worst way to send a signal. Kier ordered himself not to believe it. Then he asked himself what exactly he had to lose.

"Hang her in the tree," Tillman said.

There was an oak not twenty feet away. Three strong men shoved Kier to the ground and dragged him to it.

"I want you to watch this very closely," Tillman said.

Kier lay on his back, immobile, as they hung Jessie by her hands, then tied her feet to the base of the tree so that she was stretched taut against it. Her breathing was labored. It was like a crucifixion. If she hung that way long enough, she would suffocate under her own weight.

"Begin with a toe," Tillman said casually.

Kier just stared, hating himself for trusting Jessie's judgment. They brought out a giant pair of bolt cutters. It would take off the toe like a twig. A man thrust an iron into the newly lit fire.

"That's to cauterize it after it's cut. We want her to last a long time. Without that, she'd lose one hell of a lot of blood. Unless, of course, you want to tell me where the old man is and get me the book."

"The book's on its way to the New York Times."

Now they had her shoe off. Kier glanced at Doyle and something came to his mind.

"Doyle told me you were cloning babies for research and then destroying their minds."

"Enough," Tillman said, turning to Doyle with a shocked expression.

"You mean your men don't know that you're destroying babies' brains to get rich? They don't know that in a few days the whole damn country is gonna know, and they're going to be accessories? They don't know you're going to turn a virus loose that'll make AIDS look tame, just so you can get rich on the cure?"

"He said shut up," Doyle cut in. He reached down and grabbed Kier's coat. "Shut up or die now."

Kier could see Tillman's men looking at each other, edgy but not yet agitated.

"Did anybody tell these men about the virus they were exposed to as a result of the plane crash? Any of you guys-"

Doyle clubbed Kier with the butt of his gun, but not hard enough to do any damage.

Sensing what Doyle was doing, Kier curled up fetally and feigned unconsciousness.

"Wake him up," Tillman shouted. "We aren't gonna get anything out of him this way. Damn it, Doyle, I thought you were smarter than that."

"He's talking too much," Doyle shot back. "You want the whole world to know?"

Through half-closed lids, Kier saw Tillman coming closer. Then he felt Doyle leaning over him. Doyle put something in his hand. A key! Could it be…? Was this another-

"Have you fucking lost it?" Tillman was in Doyle's face. "Nobody knows anything. But if you don't shut up-"

"It's all in the sixth volume, isn't it? Well, isn't it?"

"Listen, I don't know-" Tillman said.

"And it's on its way to the New York Times!" Doyle raised his voice.

Kier had his cuffs loose. Doyle and Tillman were standing right over him.

"Nobody but me is going to see that volume-"

"Because if it's going to the press, we'll all go up for murder, won't we? It's all in there. You let those idiots write it all down."

Kier opened his eyes to see Tillman grab Doyle. All eyes were on the two men. Kier huddled around his knees to unlock the leg irons.

''You work for me, you mother-'' Tillman paused ''I didn't know the bastards were writing it all down until-"

"Until just before you killed Jensen."

"How did you-"

"Know about that?" Doyle finished the sentence for him. The mercenaries had gathered closer, converging on Doyle.

Tillman went for his gun, but Doyle was faster, stopping Tillman's hand at the holster.

To Tillman's left a man pivoted, turning his rifle on Doyle. Kier rolled, catching that man and flipping him with his legs.

Kier had knocked the man unconscious before a single shot was fired. Kier knew that any of the men might have shot him but for the gun that Doyle held to Tillman's head. Tillman's hand remained frozen on his holstered sidearm. A dozen guns turned on Doyle.

Shots from unsilenced weapons rang out from inside the copter. Two men from the copter jumped out and dropped prone, their automatic weapons trained on the group. Two others slumped in the cockpit. Kier's eyes went to the automatic on the ground.

"Don't even think it, Indian," Tillman said. He ordered two guns on Kier.

"You're under arrest," Doyle said calmly. "The two guys alive at the copter are mine."

"Screw yourself. Shoot if he moves," Tillman called out.