A whisper of unease flitted through her thoughts and Minji shot a panicked look at the shuttle bus. Simone wasn’t visible and Minji wondered if she was hiding. There was nowhere for Minji and Alec to conceal themselves unless they plunged into the mesmerized.
“This doesn’t feel right,” she said to Alec.
“I thought we might find you on the road,” an unfamiliar voice called out.
“Who are you?” Alec shouted back.
“Deputy Hatcher. I’ve been in route to the facility since yesterday. You’re Staff Sergeant Alec Markham, right? I was told about you, but never could reach your phone.”
“The cell towers are down in a lot of areas. Las Vegas has gone dark.”
“I noticed. I’m just glad I found you.”
“Does that make sense?” Minji whispered to Alec. “That he’d be told about you?”
“Yeah, the authorities would try to get us to work together,” Alec answered under his breath.
“I was in Vegas earlier today and hoped to make contact with you since that was where you were sent. I ran into a friend of yours. Arthur Freestone.” The man behind the voice was backlit by the headlights, making it nearly impossible to discern the details of his appearance. “He told me some interesting things.”
The deputy closed the gap and stood before them. Tall, beefy, ruddy-faced, and imposing, the man had a dangerous energy spilling off of him. Then she noticed the weapon in his hand.
“That’s not needed,” Alec said with alarm.
“After seeing what you did to Arthur’s face and what he told me, I’m not so sure.” Close cropped dark hair beneath his wide-brimmed hat and a handle bar mustache gave him an Old West appearance.
“Put down your weapon. They’ll see you as a threat and hurt you,” Alec warned.
“Like they did those poor soldiers down the way? Hernandez and Palmer were good people, but they met the same fate as everyone else trying to get into the facility.”
“How do you know that?” Alec demanded.
Deputy Hatcher was now so close Minji could smell the pungent combination of cigarette smoke and body odor wafting off him. “The unaffected have been communicating via the internet. I guess since you were in a blacked out area you missed all our plans to find you and get into the facility. All four teams have failed.”
“How do you know they failed?” Minji asked.
“They never came back online and the event is still in progress. It’s simple deduction, ma’am.”
“Put the gun away,” Alec said in a terse tone.
“I don’t think so. See, Arthur assured me we’d have nothing to be afraid of if we found you.” The deputy jerked his head toward the path through the mesmerized. “I can see that now for myself. We’ve got a secret weapon.”
Minji and Alec both moved to protect Ava.
Much to their surprise, Deputy Hatcher didn’t make a grab for the little girl. He lashed out and jerked Minji hard against his body and pushed the firearm into her side.
Ava’s eyes widened.
The mesmerized came to a standstill.
Chapter 31
“You understand, don’t you?” Deputy Hatcher said to Ava. “You try to hurt us, I hurt your mommy. I will pull the trigger. Understand?”
Ava nodded.
“Good.”
Minji felt the hard nose of the service revolver pushing into her side. “This isn’t necessary.”