Deadly Echoes (24 page)

Lauren did as instructed, not prepared for the effect the nearness to Donovan was having on her. She felt the familiar attraction to a man she'd shared a bed with for years, but there was also a foreignness she didn't know how to process.

“We're ready to roll. What the hell is going on back here?” Michael peered over Lauren's shoulder.

Donovan lifted his head in Michael's direction. “I'd appreciate it if we didn't start moving quite yet.”

“Ten minutes,” Erica said, forceps poised in her gloved hand. She faced Donovan. “This might hurt. Are you ready?”

Donovan nodded and kept his eyes fixed on Erica.

Michael turned away and walked toward the cockpit. “Someone come and tell me when we can go.”

Lauren wasn't squeamish, so when Erica pulled out the Plexiglas shard she didn't flinch. The blood oozed down Donovan's arm into the shirt. He simply closed his eyes as Erica probed the wound for any other debris. Satisfied, she applied antiseptic and expertly sutured the wound shut. Once she was finished, she applied gauze and securely taped it to his arm.

Once the bleeding stopped, Lauren carried the blood-soaked shirt forward, found a plastic bag in the galley, and took it back to collect all of the other trash.

“You should probably destroy those pants as well,” Lauren said. “There's blood all down the side of them.”

“Erica, if you're done being my doctor, would you mind giving my wife and me some privacy? You can tell Michael he's free to depart.”

“Of course,” Erica quickly zipped up the first-aid kit and took it forward.

“Can you get my bag?” Donovan asked Lauren as he massaged his aching thigh.

Lauren unzipped his overnight bag and found a pair of folded khakis. She handed them over and helped steady her husband as he stood and changed clothes. The scar on his leg was bright red and larger than she ever imagined. She turned away, feeling a jab of guilt for leaving him with such severe wounds. She rummaged around and found him an undershirt and a button-down shirt. She helped him dress, then he asked her to help him arrange the chairs back the way they were.

Then Donovan sat and strapped himself in, motioning for Lauren to do the same. Lauren heard the airstair close and moments
later the engines began their familiar hum, and they began taxiing out to the runway.

“Why are you here?” Donovan asked bluntly. “Where's Abigail?”

“She's fine. She didn't want to come. She's sick of airplanes and she wanted to stay in Laguna Beach with Stephanie and William. Buck assembled a small army of bodyguards to protect them, so I came alone.”

“Did you tell Abigail you were coming to see me?”

“No, I think that would have been confusing.”

“Yeah, probably,” Donovan replied as he thought of how much he missed his little girl. They sat in silence as the engines spooled up and the
da Vinci
rolled down the runway. The Gulfstream lifted off, quickly enveloped in the heavy, gray clouds.

“I have a question for you,” she said. “I saw the story out of Anacortes, the Cessna. Was that you?”

“Yes,” Donovan replied. “That's how I hurt my arm. Now, finish answering my question. Why are you here?”

“I'm here because an assassin, Nikolett Kovarik, tried to kill me in Paris. Thanks to my bodyguards, the CIA, and Buck, we escaped, but my entire security detail was killed. I didn't know where else to go.” Lauren took a measured breath, switching into DIA analyst mode, which allowed her to recount details in a completely unemotional manner. The horror of those few minutes still threatened to unravel her emotionally. “Garrick's primary focus is you, but he seems to want me dead, I'm assuming to pay you back for the death of Meredith. He's using Nikolett to hunt me down. Right now I'd prefer to be a moving target, somewhere away from Abigail.”

“Abigail was with you? How much did she see?” “Everything. I've never heard her scream like that before. She was terrified.”

Donovan closed his eyes as if trying to fight through the horrifying images of his little girl being caught in the middle of a fire-fight. “How is she doing?”

“I don't know. After Paris, we spent twelve hours on a jet, traveling from London to Orange County. She woke up just as I was leaving, but she was happy to not have to get on another plane and thrilled to be with William. Maybe what she needs most right now is a protective male figure. I have no idea. Let's just hope she'll be okay.”

Donovan nodded his agreement. “When all of this is over, maybe I can spend some time with her.”

“I think that would be a good idea.”

“I'm happy you and Abigail are safe.”

“Why are we going to Alaska? What did the next picture tell you?”

“It was a picture of Meredith taken after the Alaskan pipeline ruptured.”

“So you think he's targeting the pipeline?”

“I don't know yet; I've been a little busy. But the pipeline is vulnerable, I'm just not sure what statement he's trying to make.”

“Busy? Sleeping with Erica?”

“That discussion isn't pertinent,” Donovan said. “For the moment, let's focus on more important matters, like stopping Garrick.”

Lauren had her answer.

“Back up a minute. You think Nikolett is still looking for you?”

“I can only assume it's part of Garrick's twisted little game of retribution.”

“We know for the moment that she can't find you,” Donovan said. “What if we leak that information?”

“Why?”

“We bring Nikolett to Alaska to find you, and she'll lead us to Garrick.”

“I get that, but exactly what are you thinking?”

“We use the media. If the press doesn't already know this airplane is headed to Anchorage, we tell them ourselves. Trust me, they'll be there waiting when we land.”

“Aren't you trying to sneak up on Garrick? Blasting into
Anchorage with the Eco-Watch jet into a throng of reporters isn't exactly subtle.”

“When we arrive, you'll be the only one who gets off the plane. The main thing is to get your picture on television. That should get Garrick riled up and also get Nikolett on her way to Anchorage.”

“I think that could work.” Lauren nodded her approval. “Are you headed for the pipeline?”

“No. You are. The best way to keep an eye on the pipeline is in the
da Vinci.
With the new equipment, the color infrared-camera technology, and the synthetic-aperture radar, we can produce and record real-time full-motion video. It's all the latest generation software and hardware.”

“I'm familiar with all the systems.”

“The
da Vinci
can traverse the entire eight hundred miles of the pipeline every two hours. We'll spot Garrick without him even knowing. We'll have the helicopter from the
Pacific Titan
on alert and ready to move.”

“What if Garrick gets caught before you can get to him?” Lauren said. “He'll tell the world who you really are. What then?”

“I don't think Garrick has any intentions of going back to prison. He'll either fight to the death or run, but he won't be captured.”

“Who else is coming with me to run all the equipment back here?”

“No one. I was hoping you could manage all of it yourself. We've automated a great deal of the control functions. We can set it up to route all of the data to one central command station. Michael can bring you up to speed, plus you already know your way around the back of an Eco-Watch Gulfstream.”

Lauren knew she'd go on the mission, that was a given, she was the logical choice and she knew how to operate the equipment. Over the last few years, thanks to being married to the director of Eco-Watch, she'd had unofficial access to the design elements and installation.

“I'm going to call Buck. I need to brief him about the press and let him know our plans for tomorrow. And, Lauren,” Donovan said as she got up and stood in the aisle, “I'm glad you're here.”

Lauren smiled, nodded, then turned away and her smile vanished. She fully understood that she was on a plane with her estranged husband and his new lover. The moment Donovan didn't deny that he'd slept with Erica, then took the subject off the table, she knew it had already happened. God, he'd only known the woman for two days. Lauren walked into the forward VIP section past Erica who sat with her head back and eyes closed. She was about to enter the cockpit when she heard Erica call her name.

“Dr. McKenna,” Erica said gently, “I hope I'm not disturbing you.”

“No,” Lauren replied as she stopped and turned. “I was going up front to talk to Michael. What can I help you with?”

“Can we talk?” Erica gestured to the empty seat across the aisle. “Please.”

Lauren sat and waited. If this woman had something to say to her, there was no reason to make it easy.

“I can tell you don't like me very much, and if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't like me much either. I've spent a few days with Donovan, under the most trying of circumstances and while it's no big secret he's been through hell, I think you should know that your husband still loves you very much.”

“Not that it's any of your business, but that's never been the problem.”

“My only intention here was to tell you woman to woman, that your husband is still in love with you. I'm not a threat.”

“Did he tell you that before or after you screwed him? And just for the record, I never thought you were a threat to anything but his life,” Lauren replied with a smile. She couldn't believe that this young woman had the gall to sleep with her husband and then offer him back as some sort of gift.

“I think we're set,” Donovan made himself heard as he came up the aisle. “Buck and I have a plan in place for when we arrive in
Anchorage.”

“Let's hear it,” Lauren said, angry after her exchange with Erica.

Donovan explained that Lauren would deplane immediately after landing and go with Buck. He and Erica would remain hidden aboard the
da Vinci
and leave only after the press had departed and their exit could go unobserved. When he and Erica finally slipped away from the airport, they would be free to continue their hunt for Garrick, who would have no idea they were in Alaska.

Lauren listened, and while her rational brain understood that her scientific capabilities were in demand, her emotions couldn't ignore the message:
other than that, her presence here wasn't required—or even welcomed.

The
da Vinci
touched down at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage at a little past six in the evening. It was overcast and raining. The
da Vinci
taxied to the general aviation ramp and came to a stop. Donovan listened as Michael shut down both of the engines. The air-stair door was lowered, and Buck was the first one into the cabin. He said a quick hello to Michael and Lauren, then made his way aft to where Donovan and Erica waited.

“I'll make this quick,” Buck said. “There are three media trucks outside taping our arrival. We're at Signature Flight Support. None of the ground crew will be allowed aboard the airplane. They're going to put the airplane into a hangar once Lauren and I leave. Not long after that, Michael and Scott will leave as well. At the rear of the hangar is a door that leads to a small parking lot. It's between two buildings so no one should spot you. Here are the keys to a blue Ford Explorer as well as keys to your rooms at the Hotel Captain Cook downtown. We're all on the nineteenth floor of tower three. You're in the Crow's Nest suites, numbers four and five. I have men posted throughout the hotel so we're as safe as we can be.”

“Before you go, what's Lauren's room number?”

“She's in suite number two, I'm in suite one.”

Donovan nodded his thanks just as Michael shut down the auxiliary power unit and all of the lights went out. Buck grabbed Lauren's suitcase, hurried back up the aisle, and went down the steps. With all the shades pulled, the only light came from the cockpit windows.

Donovan watched as Michael finished the postflight checklist
and gathered his luggage from the front closet. Donovan thanked Scott for filling in on such short notice. Michael stepped in and asked if Scott had all of his belongings, then asked the freelance pilot if he would go outside to monitor the ground crew.

“You sure you know what you're doing?” Michael asked, making direct eye contact with Donovan. “I mean, about all of this?”

As usual, Michael was mixing business and personal aspects to pose a question that probed at several levels. Donovan knew his friend well enough to know that anything he asked came from a good place. “Yeah, I'm sure.”

“Okay, see you later.” When Michael departed the airplane, he closed the door leaving Donovan and Erica alone. The interior was dark and deathly quiet.

“I can't tell you how happy I am that everyone is finally gone.” Erica loosened her hair from its ponytail. “That was a little intense.”

“What part?”

“Well, that last exchange with Michael was all about us, and his lack of approval. Right?” Donovan shrugged his agreement, and she continued, “Then that earlier chat with your wife was more than a little stressful.”

“In what way?” Donovan said as a loud bang sounded from the front of the plane.

“What was that?”

“They're hooking up the tow bar, getting ready to push us into the hangar.” As if on cue the
da Vinci
began to move. “What did Lauren say to you?”

“She accused me of screwing you.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I should have told her the truth, that it was a spur-of-the-moment post-traumatic stress response and to deal with it,” Erica replied. “But I didn't. How's your arm feel?”

“What
did
you say to her?”