Vince Flynn - Consent To Kill

"When can I leave?" asked Rapp again.

"I'll get the paperwork started, and we'll get you out of here in no time."

Rapp's idea of no time was fifteen minutes. The doctor's was an hour, so it was 12:07 by the time they wheeled him out the front door. He was dressed in a pair of workout shorts and a blue Syracuse T-shirt. His knee was bandaged and he noticed for the first time someone had placed a powder blue booty on his left foot. Anna had the car pulled up to the curb and was standing by the open passenger door. Before the orderly could help, Rapp pushed himself out of the chair and put one hand on the open door and the other on the car's roof. He hopped into position and lowered himself into the seat. Anna helped him with the seatbelt and closed the door.

She got behind the wheel and pulled away from the hospital. "You must be starving."

Rapp dug through the glove box and found an old pair of sunglasses he kept in her car. Even though it was a slightly overcast day, the light was really bugging him. "Not really," he answered. "It must be the drugs."

"Straight home then?"

"Yeah."

They cruised through the light midday traffic and within ten minutes they were nearing the Beltway. Rapp was starting to feel better. Up ahead he spotted the golden arches and suddenly he was extremely hungry all over again.

"Let's stop at this McDonald's on the right."

"McDonald's?" she asked in a disapproving tone. Rielly was extremely health conscious.

"Honey, humor me. I'm starving."

"All right." She reluctantly hit the turn signal.

A few seconds later they were in the drive-through lane and Rapp was placing his order. When he was done he asked Anna if she wanted anything. She relented enough to order a Diet Coke and small fries.

Back on the road Rapp tore into his Big Mac with a fury. In between gulps of Coke and fistfuls of fries he finished the Big Mac in short order and moved on to a Quarter Pounder with cheese.

Anna sipped on her Diet Coke and frowned. "You might want to slow down, honey."

Rapp kept eating and she kept driving. He'd finished every last scrap of food and was working on his large Coke when they turned onto their street. Rapp leaned back and said, "That really tasted good, but why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret eating it?"

"Maybe because you just consumed an entire day's worth of calories, and enough fat, salt, and sugar to last you a week."

Rapp knew she was right, but he turned to her and said, "Oh, was it ever delicious though."

"You're definitely going to regret it."

Rapp looked down the road. Their house was coming up on the left. A sweat was forming on his forehead and upper lip. His stomach turned and he felt a little light-headed. He looked over at Anna and said, "I think I already am."

After leaving the house, Gould drove up to Annapolis and ditched the ladder in an alley. Out on Riva Road he wiped down the handles of the propane tanks and left them behind a gas station. The rest of the stuff, with the exception of the two remaining gas cans, was thrown into a garbage bag and tossed in a Dumpster behind a grocery store. It was 10:23 when he got back to the hotel, and he was relieved to find Claudia packed and ready to go. Gould changed into his biking clothes and helped her go over the room one last time to make sure they'd wiped away any fingerprints. When they were done he used the express checkout function on the TV and they left the hotel through a side door.

Gould opened the back hatch of the rented Ford Explorer and lifted out his mountain bike. He set it in the pickup bed and asked Claudia, "Any questions?"

She looked like she might say something for a moment and then she simply shook her head.

"Go to Galesville and do a little shopping. Get some lunch if you want, but make sure you've got a signal on your phone at all times. As soon as I'm in position I'll call."

Claudia reached out and grabbed his face. "I know you're worried about me, but you do not have to be. I want to be done with this more than you do."

This was exactly what Gould wanted to hear. He put his hands on Claudia's waist. "Good. Be ready to move in case I need you." He kissed her on the lips and then whispered in her ear, "Let's get through the next few hours, and then we'll put it all behind us."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. "I love you."

"I love you too." Gould held her for a long moment and then opened her car door. "I'll see you in a few hours."

GOULD HAD MISSED the path that first night when they'd followed Rapp's wife home, but when he and Claudia took their bikes by the house the next morning it jumped right out at him. There were no posted signs. He didn't need to say anything to Claudia, she just followed him. As far as Gould could tell it wasn't maintained by anyone. It was simply a dirt path, worn by use and use alone. They followed it for just under a mile through the woods until it split. The trail to the left led to a small public beach and to the right it joined up with a dirt road that ran along the edge of a small grass landing strip. Gould followed the dirt road until it hooked up with a county road and noted the spot on the map. On the way back he noted a few places where he could leave a vehicle.

He was now on that road, and so far his luck was holding. There wasn't a soul around. Up ahead he spotted the big oak tree he'd seen the day before and he pulled the truck as far off the road as he could. Gould put on his backpack and helmet and took out the mountain bike. Right as he was about to get on the bike, the tracking device in his backpack beeped. Gould took the pack off and looked at the GPS locator. Rielly's car was on the move. He clipped the device to one of the backpack's shoulder straps with a carabiner and got on the bike. He wanted to be settled in well before they got there.

It took him only five minutes to bike through the woods, and then he continued past Rapp's house for a few hundred yards and came back. He was fairly confident that no one was about, so when he got back to Rapp's house he hopped off the bike and picked it up with his right hand. He stepped over the first bit of grass carefully and then had to duck under the leafy branches and twist around others. He did not have to go far to find decent concealment-maybe twenty feet. He set the bike down on its side and took off the backpack. He pulled out a camouflaged hunting poncho and the 9mm Glock. He screwed the silencer onto the end of the Glock and chambered a round. The underside of the backpack had a large pocket. Gould unzipped it and slid the pistol in, silencer first. He shouldered the backpack again and checked to make sure he could reach around and grab the weapon. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.

Gould opened his phone and punched in Claudia's number. She answered on the first ring and he said, "They're on their way."

"Good. Is everything set?"

"Yes."

"If you need me let me know."

"Absolutely. I'll see you in a little bit." He hit the End button and switched the phone over to the silent mode.

Gould lay down flat and covered his upper body and most of the bike with the hunting poncho. Its muted green and brown pattern blended in perfectly with the surrounding foliage. The air felt heavy like it was going to rain, which would be welcome as long as it didn't come too early. He needed the fire to destroy the majority of the evidence. After that the rain would help destroy it even further.

Gould was keenly aware of the GPS tracker and followed the progress of the vehicle closely. When they were two miles away, Gould turned the device off and picked up the handheld remote for the switch. It was a small black device similar in looks and size to the keyless door remotes sold with cars. Gould was careful not to press the button. He held the device gently in his right hand and focused on his breathing.