Дэвид Балдаччи - Long Road to Mercy

“I’ve got a federal badge, that leverage enough for you? And you guys are Army.”

“Why, just because we have cammies on?”

“More than that. You’re outfitted in ACU, Army Combat Uniforms.”

He shrugged. “Hell, you can buy those uniforms on eBay.”

“But not ones with the Operational Camouflage Pattern. That’s very recent. And you’re armed with M4s.”

The man took a step closer. “What are you doing here?”

“I imagine I’m doing the same thing you’re doing. Looking for somebody.”

“Who would that be?”

“Do we really have to play this crappy game?”

“Who would that be?” he asked again.

“That would be ‘kiss my ass.’ Now let me ask you a question. How did you find me?”

“We found you the first day you came down. We’ve been following you.”

“Bullshit. I spotted you going up a side canyon. You turned back because it was getting light.”

“We turned back before we could stumble right over you. You were behind a boulder, crouching down, your pistol aimed at us. Probably thinking that a Glock against three M4s was not going to end well. For you.”

Pine looked up into the sky. “You got sat eyes all the way down here?”

“No, we just know how to track people.” He held up his weapon. “You ever been shot with one of these?”

“No, nor do I want to be. So you were following me. Why?”

“Pretty obvious. If you knew where Roth was, you’d lead us to him. After that my orders are to intercept. That’s why we’re here.”

“Okay, you intercepted. What’s the rest of the order?”

The man shrugged and attempted a smile, but it got nowhere near the rest of his face and he quickly let it fall.

Pine looked around at the men. They looked to be late twenties, early thirties. Definitely old enough to have been in wars, killed, maybe been wounded. Hardened guys, guys you’d want on your side in a fight.

Only, apparently, they’re not on my side.

“Have you been told what’s going on here? What’s really going on? What this shit is all about?”

“We know enough to do our job. We don’t need any more than that.”

“That’s another way of saying you’re burying your head in the sand.”

She never once looked at the camouflage netting, hoping beyond hope that they hadn’t noticed it.

“You’re going to need to come with us, ma’am.”

“You got a chopper? Is that your in-and-out method? Saves a lot of time over hiking this sucker.”

“Just come with us.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m a federal agent. You can’t order me to do anything. So back the hell away before I call in reinforcements.”

The man looked around and lightly shook his head, his eyes filled with mirth. “I don’t see that you have any backup. And your phone doesn’t work down here.”

“Back the hell away.”

“We have other orders in the event you refused to come with us.”

“What’s that, shoot me? I’m an FBI agent.”

“No, ma’am, right now, you’re just an enemy of this country.”

“How the hell do you figure that? We work for the same country.”

“Are you going to come with us? Last call.”

The two other soldiers raised their M4s and took aim. One for her head, the other the torso.

Nonsurvivable.

“This is nuts,” barked Pine. “I’m a federal agent. Lower your weapons and stand down. Now.”

“No can do, ma’am. Last call. Three seconds.”

Pine stood there frozen. They were really going to execute her, right on the floor of the Grand Canyon.

She made to reach for her Glock. She might be able to get off one shot.

Good-bye to everybody who cares. I’m coming, Mercy.

Shit.

The round fired. And then a second.

It had happened so fast that Pine thought she had taken both impacts.

The two guys behind the point man flinched, stiffened, and then both fell forward.

Point Man whirled, his weapon aimed on his target.

“No!” screamed Pine, drawing her weapon. “Drop it, drop it or I will fire.”

The M4 barked at the same time Pine pulled the Glock’s trigger once, her laser sight dead on the back of the guy’s neck.

Point Man dropped.

Pine, her hands shaking, slowly lowered her weapon.

Twenty yards away, Sam Kettler stared wildly at her. He was carrying a backpack and there was a pistol in his hand.

Pine looked down at the three dead bodies. Two had been shot by Kettler, one by her.

“Shit,” she hissed. “They were our guys. At least I think they were.”

Kettler scrambled forward. “Funny way of showing it. They were going to kill you.”

She looked up at him. “What are you doing here?”

He pointed at the men. “I’ve watched a chopper come in the last three nights. I finally decided to do something about it. I grabbed my go pack, picked up their trail, and followed them up here. And saw what they were about to do to you.” He looked down at his gun and shook his head. “Why the hell are American soldiers down here in the first place?”

“It’s a long story.” She reached out and gripped his arm. “Thanks for saving my life.”

“Well, you saved mine. The guy had me lined up for the kill. If you hadn’t fired and spoiled his aim, I’d have had an M4 round right through me.”

She removed her hand from his arm and steadied herself against a rock outcrop.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m getting there,” she said, taking several deep breaths.

He shot her a glance. “And what are you doing all the way out here? You’re not just hiking, that’s for sure.”

“I’m looking for the missing guy. They were, too.”

“You think he’s around here? Why?”

“Again, long story.” She looked at the bodies. “We have to do something. We can’t just leave them here.” She looked around. “But this is, well, I guess it’s a crime scene. We can’t disrupt anything.” She rubbed her forehead. “I need to call in a team. I need to secure the area. I... I need...” Her mind was swirling with so many competing thoughts Pine thought she might puke.

Kettler drew closer to her and gripped Pine’s arm. “What you need to do is just take a few more deep breaths and give yourself a little time. You were almost killed, Atlee.”

“I just shot an Army guy, Sam!”

“Well, I just shot two of them.”

While Pine was regaining her composure, Kettler spotted the cammie blanket. He moved it aside and saw the cave opening. “Damn, where did that come from?”

“It might be what I was looking for.”

“Well, I can put the bodies in there for now.”

“I’ll help.”

“Then we can call in reinforcements.”

“No. We have to locate something else first.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

They carried the bodies into the cave and set them down in a corner.

Pine checked them for any ID, but they had none. And no tags on their uniforms.

Kettler said, “Are you sure they’re regular Army?”

“I’m not sure of anything right now.”

She shone her light around. The cave was large. The ceiling she estimated was about fifteen feet high. A shade darker area near the rear might have been a passageway to another room, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Okay, you need to tell me what’s going on,” said Kettler.

In curt, information-packed sentences, she filled him in on pretty much everything. When she was done, Kettler looked like he might throw up.

He looked around. “A nuke? In here? Are you shitting me?”

“I wish I were.”