“I had to put my money somewhere. And while I wasn’t that concerned about turning a profit, I did want a place where I could get away.”
“Literally get away?” said Robie.
She glanced past him to the photos on the table. “Aren’t you going to ask me about them?”
“I thought I already did. I don’t remember hearing an answer other than they were traitors but you had no proof.”
“I walked in here with no weapon. What does that tell you?”
“That you want to talk, so talk. I especially want to hear about the apocalypse.”
“It’s a very long story.”
“My calendar is clear for the rest of the year.”
“Can you lower your weapon?”
“I don’t think so.”
She held out her hands. “You can cuff me if it’ll make you feel better.”
“Tell me what you need to tell me. Explain to me why you put a bullet in Doug Jacobs when you were supposed to be planting a round between the eyes of a man who has sworn to destroy our country. Tell me why Jim Gelder had to die. And tell me why you killed an analyst turned militia freak. I’m really looking forward to the answers. It might sa
ve your life. Might,” he added.
“I told you, I didn’t kill Roy West. He tried to kill me and I defended myself. He died from shrapnel wounds when his house blew up.”
“Why go out there at all?”
“He had something I needed.”
“Yeah, you told me that in Arkansas. But what? You told me you’d already read the paper he’d written.”
“Confirmation.”
“Of what?”
“Of which people had seen the paper.” Reel watched him expectantly. “You had figured that out. I can tell by your expression.”
“You killed those people over think-tank bullshit?”
“It wasn’t a think tank. And it wasn’t bullshit. At least to certain people it wasn’t. The paper was not widely circulated. But a few key people read it. People in a position to make the plan contained in the paper a reality. And if that happens, Robie . . .” Her voice trailed off.
He was just about to ask what specifically the paper said when they both heard it.
People were coming.
Not deer. Not squirrels. Not bears.
People. For it was only people who moved with stealth like that. And both Reel and Robie recognized the movements.
Reel snapped her head around at Robie. The accusation in her face was clear. “I didn’t expect this of you, Robie. You led them right here.”
In answer Robie reached behind his back, slid his spare gun out of its holster, and tossed it to her. She caught it, racked the slide, and held it loosely in her hand.
Now it was Reel’s turn to look surprised.
“They’re not with me,” said Robie.
“Then you were followed.”
He turned off the lantern, plunging the cabin into darkness. “Looks that way. I just don’t know how. Is there another way out of here?”
Reel said, “Yes, there is.”
CHAPTER
58
REEL WENT TO THE CORNER of the room, shoved the table aside, knelt down, and lifted up a section of the floor, revealing a three-foot-square opening.
“Where does that go?” asked Robie, who sounded chagrined that he hadn’t noticed it before.
“Away from here.”
She sat on her butt and dropped down into the hole. “Let’s go. They won’t be waiting out there long.”
“Then let me persuade them they should exercise some caution,” said Robie.
He moved to the window and fired five shots through it. He placed his rounds in a wide enough array that anyone approaching would be forced to take cover. Then he moved to the hole and dropped through. He stood up and motioned to Gwen. “Come on.”
Gwen shook her head. “I’ll just slow you down.”
Reel stood next to Robie. “Gwen, you’re not staying behind.”
“I’m old and just worn out, Jess.”
“This is not open for discussion. Come on.”
Gwen slipped a revolver from the front pocket of her dress and pointed it at Reel. “You’re right. This is not open for discussion, Jess. Go.”
Reel looked at her in disbelief.
Robie pulled on her arm. “Not much time.”
They heard footsteps approaching from all sides.
“Go!” snapped Gwen. “I didn’t raise you to die like this. You’re going to go and finish this, Jess. Now.”
Robie slung his bag over his shoulder, pulled Reel down into the hole, and then moved the piece of flooring back into place. Gwen scuttled over and repositioned the table back over the opening. Then she turned to the door to face what was coming.
Robie and Reel had to crawl on their bellies. At one point in the tunnel there was a large knapsack. Reel snagged it, slung it over her shoulder, and kept crawling.
“Where does it come out?” asked Robie.
“In the woods,” she whispered. Her voice was strained.
Robie knew where her mind was. On Gwen. On what was about to happen to her. But maybe they wouldn’t hurt the old woman.
The gunshots they both heard moments later settled that question. Barely inches behind her in the tunnel, Robie ran up the backs of Reel’s legs as she stopped at the sound.
They just lay there for several seconds. Robie could hear Reel breathing fast.
“You okay?” he finally asked.
“Let’s go,” she said in a husky voice, and she started crawling again.
What they heard thirty seconds later made them accelerate their movements. Other people had dropped into the tunnel. Robie and Reel whipped their bodies back and forth, performing a hyper-speed version of the Army crawl.
A minute later Reel stood, pushed against something, and then her legs disappeared from sight. Robie scrambled up after her, gained purchase on the dirt, and looked around.
They were in the middle of the forest.
The cover for the tunnel had been well designed: a fabricated tree stump made of lightweight materials.
Reel unzipped her bag, slipped out a grenade, counted to five, pulled the pin, bent down, and tossed it as far down the tunnel as she could.
Then they both ran for it, Reel in the lead because she knew where to go, Robie right behind. His gun was out and he was alternating between following Reel and covering their rear flank.
The explosion wasn’t loud, but they could both hear it clearly.
“That was for Gwen,” Robie heard Reel say as they raced through a barely discernible path between the trees.
Up a he ad was an old shack. Reel headed right for it. She unlocked the door, darted inside, and a few moments later came out, rolling a dirt bike behind her.
“I wasn’t expecting company. It’ll be a tight fit.”
They could barely sit on the seat together. Reel drove and Robie clung to her. He was now carrying both bags over his shoulders. As they wound through the trees he was nearly thrown off several times, but just managed to maintain his seat.
Twenty minutes later they finally hit asphalt after clearing a cleft in the trees and then a broad ditch that Reel simply jumped. They landed