CHAPTER NINE
Paige was sure in that moment that it was Adam. Who else could it be, and why would they run? Here, now, in the bolt hole that Adam had boasted about? It had to be him.
She looked at Christopher, who gave a nod, and set off at a run after the fleeing figure.
“Stay here!” he called back.
Paige hesitated only a moment or two before she ignored that and went with him, trying to avoid the chaotic sprawl of machinery in the farmyard. As the figure sprinted from the yard into the fields beyond, Paige did her best to keep up with Christopher.
They ran after the man in the hooded top, all thoughts of safety gone from their minds. Paige was aware that they were running across an open field, and that they would make perfect targets if it turned out that Riker had a weapon, but she put that out of her mind. They were catching Riker, and she wasn't going to let him get away now.
"FBI, stop!" Christopher yelled, running hard. The figure ahead showed no signs of slowing in response to his demand.
They were running through a field of wheat now, the figure in front of them zigging and zagging as if he expected Christopher to start shooting at any moment. He didn't slow down, though, and the wheat made it hard going, so that Paige had to push her way through it almost as if she were swimming.
She could see the figure running ahead of them still, pushing his own way through the wheat, dodging and weaving as if he knew exactly what he was doing. He was heading for a fence, with a stretch of woodland beyond it, and Paige realized that if he reached it, then it would be easy for him to climb over it and lose them in the trees.
"He's getting away!" she yelled to Christopher.
He glanced over, and then looked at her, and then back at the figure. He had his gun raised but shook his head even as Paige watched. "I haven't got a clear shot."
The figure was still running. He was clearly desperate to get away, but he was struggling to do it against the strong resistance of the wheat.
"FBI, stop!" Christopher called out again, as if it might do something. Maybe he was hoping that if he distracted Adam enough while he ran, there might be a chance of him tripping, allowing them to catch up.
The figure was getting farther ahead, and Paige was beginning to realize that they were never going to catch him while they were in the field.
They were so close to Adam, but now it looked as though he might get away in spite of that.
Paige ran as fast as she had ever run in her life, her feet sinking into the soil, her lungs burning. She couldn't let Adam get away, but he was ahead of them, and they weren't gaining on him.
Then, suddenly, he was through the field and making for the woods. Paige felt almost sure that would be the end of their hunt, because once he was in the trees, they wouldn't be able to keep a line of sight to him. Adam could slip away in any one of a dozen directions.
He disappeared into the trees, but Paige wasn't about to give up. She and Christopher leapt over the fence, following their quarry into the small patch of woodland.
There was no sign of him now, though. He’d already used the cover of the trees to break contact with them.
Paige found herself running forward blindly for several seconds, not knowing where she was going. She brought herself to a halt and looked around, looking for any sign of Adam, while Christopher scanned the area carefully with his gun out.
"Can you see him?" Christopher asked. He sounded slightly out of breath after so much running, but it was nothing compared to how exhausted Paige felt.
Paige shook her head. She didn’t have the breath for more than that right then. She was certain that he was here somewhere, but there was no trace of him now. "No."
"Did he go left or right?"
Paige looked around. She was half-convinced that he’d darted left as he entered the woods, but she wasn't sure now. She didn't want Riker to get away, to vanish again, so she decided to make a choice. "Left."
Christopher nodded at that. Paige just hoped that she’d done the right thing, choosing the direction that she felt was right. They set off, crashing through the trees, but the figure had gone.
"Shit," Christopher said. "He must have doubled back."
Paige stared at her feet, feeling foolish. She'd been so sure she was right, so sure that she knew where he would be, and yet she'd been completely wrong.
"Come on," Christopher said, grabbing her arm. "He can't have gone far."
Paige followed her partner's lead, feeling foolish. They made their way back.
"We can't give up," she said, but she heard the uncertainty in her own voice, and knew that Christopher would be able to hear it too.