Chain Reaction, page 14
part #2 of Liar's Game Series
“So was there any good news?” she asked.
“A little bit. Matt managed to spook one of Hatcher’s aides into a revelation of sorts.”
“Hatcher? I thought we were shooting for Tucker.”
“Tucker’s staff was a little more secure. But we already talked about the connection between Hatcher and Tucker, and since Cedar Branch is part of Hatcher’s constituency, it seemed a reasonable jump.”
“So what did he find out?”
“It’s pretty vague. But it came in the form of a late night phone call, so I think there’s something to it.” He leaned back against the table by the window. “Basically, he indicated that there was some kind of clue hidden in the appropriations bill. Actually his exact words were ‘hidden in plain sight.’”
“I’d say that’s pretty nebulous. Do you have any idea how many pages there are in an appropriations bill?”
“No, but we’re about to find out. Matt e-mailed me a link to the text.”
“Seems a bit dicey to be accessing a congressional Web site. Won’t they be expecting something like that?”
“There’s no reason to believe that they know we have the information — whatever the hell it turns out to be. And even if they did, Matt copied the document to a secure site. So I think we’ll be okay.”
“Think being the operative word.”
“All right. So what do you propose we do?”
“Download it. Even if the site is secure, we’re better off limiting our time online. I noticed a printer in the motel office. If we offer the manager enough money I’m sure he’ll let us use it.”
“Might work, but we’ll have to figure out a way to distract him. The last thing we need is for him to start wondering why we’re printing off a copy of the appropriations bill.”
“I kind of doubt he even knows what appropriation means, but either way, I can handle him.”
“All right, let’s do it.”
For the moment, at least, the rain had stopped, a fine mist obscuring the mountains in the distance. They made their way across the puddle-filled parking lot, up the steps and into the office. A bell attached to the door jangled as it closed, the noise blending into the sounds emanating from a battered black-and-white TV in the corner.
A stand with brochures flanked the oak counter, their headlines enticing tourists to come visit Humboldt National Forest, Bonneville Salt flats, a place called Fish Springs and the Pony Express Route. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like there’d been too many takers.
“Whatcha need? No fresh towels until tomorrow.” The manager’s scowl wasn’t conducive to asking favors, but Mia pasted on her best seductive smile, anyway.
“The towels are fine,” she said, moving up to the counter. “What I’m hoping is that you can help me with a little problem.”
The man shot a look toward Nick, who had moved over by the television, feigning interest in a rerun of Alias. It seemed oddly appropriate, somehow. At least he wasn’t watching the news.
“Don’t know what I could do…” He trailed off with a frown, his attention returning to her.
“Well, here’s the thing, Roy,” Mia said with a quick glance at his name tag. “I’m working on a big real estate deal. Some property around Ely. And I’ve got a huge presentation to put together. My boss —” she inclined her head toward Nick and lowered her voice “— thinks I’ve already got it in the bag. But the truth is I don’t have everything I need.”
“So how can I help?” The man frowned commiseratively in Nick’s direction.
“Well, I do have everything on my computer.” She patted the laptop for effect. “So if I could just use your printer, I’d be able to print out the data I need. Which in turn, I can hand out to the clients at our meeting tomorrow.”
“But won’t he know what you’re up to?” Roy asked.
“It’s doubtful,” she said, lowering her voice. “He sort of sees what he wants to see, if you know what I mean.”
“Know just the type.” He nodded, patting her hand. “But as much as I’d like to help you, my boss won’t be too happy if he finds me letting guests use the equipment. There’s got to be a line — you know?”
“Of course.” Mia tried to keep her tone sincere. “I wouldn’t want you to get in any trouble. But I could make it worth your while.” She produced a twenty from her pocket and laid it on the counter. “Would this be enough?”
Roy eyed the money with obvious interest, but shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s a mighty big risk. I could lose my job if anyone found out.”
“Tell you what,” Mia said, producing another twenty. “You just go in the back, and if by chance your boss does show up, you can pretend you had no idea. Just tell him you were called away from the desk to deal with something else. That way I’m the only one in trouble.” She considered batting her eyes, but decided it was overkill. Besides, Roy’s interest in her had dimmed considerably in view of the dead presidents lined up on the counter.
He slid his hand forward, his gaze darting over to Nick, who was still doing a great imitation of bored, and then he backed away from the desk, pocketing the money. “If you’ll excuse me,” he said. “I’ve got a few things to take care of.” With a wink and a gap-toothed grin he spun around and damn near sprinted from the room.
“You really are good at this.” Nick’s voice mirrored the laughter she was feeling.
“He wasn’t that difficult to deal with. But I suggest we get started before he changes his mind and comes back for more money.” She was already behind the counter, attaching the computer to the printer. After making sure the laptop recognized the other machine, she connected to the Internet and, using Matt’s directions, opened the file.
Two keystrokes later, the printer was happily spewing out paper.
“So how long do you think it will take?” Nick asked, his attention on the parking lot outside.
“Longer than I’d like,” she said. “This printer isn’t exactly cutting edge. But it’s almost finished.”
“Good.” He was still staring out the window, something in the line of his shoulders making her nervous.
“You seeing something?”
“It’s probably nothing, but there’s a black Lexus that’s driven past the motel twice.”
“You’re sure it’s the same car?” She pulled part of the appropriations bill from the printer tray and stacked it on the counter.
“Yeah. It slowed down on the first pass. I got part of the license. OBD-7 something.”
A shiver made its way down her spine. “You think Davies has found us again?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so, but we can’t be too careful. How much longer?”
“We’re on the last page now.” She disconnected the laptop and pulled the final sheet from the printer almost before it had finished. “What do you want to do?”
“Get the hell out of here. We’re probably fine, but I think it’s best if we don’t take any chances.”
“Well, I paid cash when I arrived, so Roy’s not likely to sic the cops on us. Just let me clear the printer memory so that there’s no chance of Davies figuring out what we copied. And we’re gone.”
“I’ll pull the car up to office.”
“Go.” She nodded, scanning through the printer’s menu until she reached memory. Two more clicks and the machine bore no trace of their ever having used it. And Roy wouldn’t be able to tell Davies anything more than that they were headed for Ely. So far so good.
Grabbing the copy of the appropriations bill and the computer, she ran out onto the front porch just as Nick pulled up in the car. In seconds, she’d slipped into the passenger seat, twisting to stow the laptop and stack of paper in the back.
Nick spun the car around and hit the highway with a spray of gravel. Mia watched as Roy came running out the front door, his eyes wide with surprise. It would have been comical, except that as they picked up speed, a Lexus crested the hill behind them.
License plate OBD-7Y2.
* * *
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“THEY’RE STILL BEHIND US.” Mia was twisted around in the front seat, watching the approaching car out the rear window.
“The driver’s trying to close the distance, but the wet highway is playing in our favor.” Nick frowned into the rearview mirror, his gaze alternating between the black sedan and the road ahead.
“Maybe it isn’t Davies’s men?”
“Anything’s possible, but I’d say the odds are against it.”
The rain had let up, but there was still a fine mist, the clouds hugging the horizon. It wasn’t full-fledged fog, but it was thick enough that the car behind them occasionally disappeared into a bank of clouds.
“Check the map. Try and find a turnoff. Something small. Preferably near a bend in the road.”
“What are you thinking?” Mia said over her shoulder, her attention still locked on the Lexus.
“I don’t know if it’ll work, but if we time it right, there’s a possibility we can use the fog against them.”
“But if we disappear, won’t they figure it out? It wouldn’t take that much to work out where we turned.”
“Not if we time it right.”
She dropped back into the seat, reaching into the pocket on the door beside her for the map. “Want to give me a little bit more to go on?”
“Thanks to the road conditions, we’ve got a little maneuvering room. Especially if we factor in the mist.”
“So we use the cover of clouds to pull off the road. Makes sense, except that he’ll know what we’ve done as soon as he drives out of it.”
“Eventually, yes. But if we combine a curve with the fog, then we might have enough time to reverse direction and be gone by the time he figures out for certain what we’ve done. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I can come up with.”
“Not bad,” she said, her hair falling forward as she bent to study the map. “If there’s a creek it’ll be even better.”
“A creek?” he asked, shooting her a sideways glance.
“Yeah. In this part of the country, they’re usually a lot lower than the roadbed.”
“Which means there’ll be more fog.” He was, as usual, astounded at the speed with which her mind worked.
“Exactly.” She smoothed the map, still looking.
The car’s headlights glittered through the mist, closer than they’d been a few minutes before. It was tempting to try and increase speed, but like the other driver, Nick couldn’t take a chance on losing traction.
“I think maybe I’ve got it,” Mia said, her index finger marking a point on the map. “It’s about a quarter mile ahead. There’s a creek, a fairly sharp right curve and, just a little bit beyond that, a side road. And the best part is that with a couple of turns we’ll wind up about half a mile back from where we started.”
“Just what the doctor ordered.” He gunned the car, the road already sloping downward toward the creek. A sign flashed out of the mist, the name of the creek too long to read in the seconds it took them to pass it.
As predicted, the fog thickened as the car bottomed out on the small bridge, the creek water as cloaked as the surrounding countryside.
“So where’s the road?”
“Should be just ahead on the left. Maybe another hundred feet.”
Almost before she finished speaking he saw the turn. Checking the rearview mirror, he was satisfied to see nothing reflected there. They were hidden in the fog. The tires screeched as he skidded into the turn, careful not to push the car hard enough to leave tread marks.
Thankfully, the road was paved, removing the possibility that they’d left tracks. Even better, it wasn’t marked at all. Without the map, he doubted they’d even have seen it.
“You think they’ll fall for it?” Mia asked, turning to look behind her.
“I think there’s a good possibility.” The turnoff had already been swallowed in the mist, which meant that they remained invisible to anyone passing by. He slowed the car and pulled off the road to stop behind a ramshackle barn that loomed up out of the mist.
“What are you doing?”
“Playing chicken,” he said with a grin.
“But we need to get away. Even if we managed to fool them, it’s still possible they’ll double back and find this road.”
“But we’ll rest easier if we know they’ve at least fallen for the ruse.”
“And how will we know that? We can’t see them any more than they can see us.”
He glanced down at his watch. “I’d say they were about five minutes behind us. If they don’t materialize out of the fog, we’re good to go.”
“And if they do?” Her brows were drawn together in a ferocious frown, her glare reminding him of a particularly difficult teacher he’d had in the seventh grade.
“Then it’s time they understand that we mean business.” He reached for his gun, releasing the seat belt.
“One gun? You think we can take them with one gun?” Her voice rose on each word, her eyes locked on the rear window.
“I think you’re underestimating my abilities, but you can stop worrying. Your plan’s going to work like a charm. But to be totally certain, I’m going to add a little touch of my own.”
If possible her frown intensified. “What are you going to do?”
“Change cars.”
“Here?” She looked out at the mist-shrouded fields. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Maybe not as much as you think.” He opened the door, gesturing toward the dilapidated barn.
She reached behind her for the appropriations bill and the laptop, tucking the map into her pocket. “You’re certifiable, you know that?” she whispered, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.
He held a finger to his lips with another grin and stepped out into the rain-drenched field. He waited until she was behind him and then moved forward through the sparse brush until he reached the side of the road.
Pausing there, he stared into the gray mist for some sign that they were being followed. There was nothing.
“They’re not coming.” He could hear the relief in her voice and resisted the desire to pull her close.
“Come on,” he said, pointing to the other side of the road. The fog was lighter on the road itself, but as soon as they were safely across it thickened again, swallowing them, cloaking any sound of their movement.
For a moment, he thought he’d made a mistake, but then the pale blue fender of a pickup took form as they moved closer. It was an old one. Probably kept here for driving in the fields, the spattered mud on the rear bumper lending credence to the idea.
“Get in,” he said, already climbing up into the cab.
“There’s no way you’re going to find keys in this one.” She set the computer on the seat between them, stowing the backpack at her feet.
“It’s a universal habit,” he said, flipping down the visor.
There was nothing there, and for just a second, Mia’s eyes flashed with amusement.
“Now what?” She rolled down the window, leaning out, listening for company.
“Glove compartment.” Nick reached across her, enjoying the contact despite the gravity of the situation. Unfortunately, the compartment was empty. He straightened up with a sheepish shrug.
“City boys,” she said with an exasperated sigh. Before he could think of a comeback, she’d leaned across his lap, twisting so that she could access the steering column. He fought against the primitive urges her position elicited, but it wasn’t easy, her squirming almost undoing him on the spot.
“Hang on,” she said, twisting onto her back. “Almost got it.”
Suddenly the starter turned and the truck sparked to life. She straightened up with a know-it-all grin. They were inches apart, electricity arcing between them. Nick could feel the warmth of her breath, see the rise and fall of her breasts beneath the T-shirt she wore.
For a moment there was nothing in the world but the two of them. He leaned forward, rational thought giving way to raw desire, but before he could engage, Mia sucked in a ragged breath and pulled back, her gaze moving to the fog-shrouded road. “What do you say we get out of here.”
Totally bereft of words, he put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the road, satisfied to see that the rearview mirror was still empty.
“Pretty impressive,” he said, his heart still pounding.
“One good idea deserves another.”
“So let’s see, to date you’ve managed to hack into a computer, hot-wire a truck and find a tracking device inside my disk drive. Not bad for an artist.”
“Hey —” she shrugged “— I was raised to be resourceful. You really think we’ve managed to lose them?” She twisted around to look behind her once more.
“Yeah. And even if they do figure out what we did, they have no way of knowing what we’re driving or where we’re going.”
“So we’re safe.”
“For the moment.”
“Any idea where we’re going to hole up? We need time to go over the bill.” She patted the stack of paper on the seat next to her.
“Nope. But I’ll know it when I see it. In the meantime, why don’t you try and get some sleep.”
“I can’t possibly sleep,” she protested, her eyes already at half-mast.
“Look, I don’t know how long we’ll be in the clear. So you’d better grab the opportunity while you can.”
She nodded, settling back against the seat with a sigh. “What about you? You haven’t slept at all.”
“I’ll be fine. I figured out a long time ago that sleep was overrated.” He glanced over to find that she was already asleep, her lashes dark against her cheeks.
Containing a smile, he drove on through the mist, the rain beginning to fall again. There was still no sign of anyone behind him. But just for good measure, he kept the truck moving as fast as he dared, considering the conditions.
The interesting thing was that he’d never really worried about things like driving carefully, his life worth no more to him than anything else. But with Mia it was different. As if he’d been entrusted with precious cargo. Even when they were at odds, he wanted to protect her. To keep her safe.
