Game of Fear (28 page)

The park down the road from the sheriff’s office was deserted. Tower slammed his door closed and stalked to the waiting man near a Rolls-Royce SUV.

“
Sheriff Tower, so glad you could make it.” Jeff Gasmerati smiled, his expression much too friendly.

“We agreed not to meet again until Luke Montgomery ended his investigation. Or he was eliminated.”

Gasmerati pulled off his leather gloves. “Your job was to divert Montgomery’s attention, Sheriff. You have failed. Rather spectacularly, I might add.”

Tower stiffened. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to retire. You’ve gone soft. The eager sniper who took out that girl in the bus terminal eight years ago is dead. You don’t see the betrayal of those around you. Even in your own command. You’ve outgrown your usefulness.”

A chill emanated from Tower’s core and spread to his limbs. His hand eased closer to his weapon. “I can retire, if that’s what you think needs to happen. I can even disappear if you want.”

“Oh, you’ll most definitely be going away.” The crack of a single gunshot split the air.

Sheriff Tower fell back, blood pouring from the wound to his chest.

“Guess he forgot about the last sheriff’s retirement plan,” Jeff said to Sly. “Dump the body in Montgomery’s parking lot. That should give the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI something else to stew about. It’s time to clean house.”

Gabe paced beside the rental car while Whitney contacted the Phoenix field office. His half sister was something pretty special. Tough, smart. Hell if he didn’t like her. Zach seemed to, as well. But how would their brothers react to her existence? Or his mother?

At least he and Zach had seen her in action and her professionalism warranted respect.

He walked over to Deb and put his arms around her. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head, but didn’t speak, just burrowed in closer to his chest. He enveloped her protectively. “I thought she was dead. I thought those bones . . .” Deb’s voice trailed off.

“Whitney’s sure they’re at least five years old, maybe ten.” Gabe rubbed her back. He had to stop getting caught up in his own drama and remember what Deb was going through. She was so strong that it was sometimes easy to forget she needed him—even if she didn’t admit it. They’d all hoped to find Ashley here, or at least a lead. No one had expected bone fragments.

Whitney walked over to the two of them. “The Phoenix office is bringing a forensics team out. We’ll figure out what happened.”

“Can you tell how many?” Deb asked, her voice thin.

Whitney shook her head. “I’m not a forensics expert and the bone shards are small. But . . . too many. There were a lot of people killed there. The fact that a massacre happened in secret and no one knew . . .” Whitney didn’t finish the sentence.

Gabe tightened his hold on Deb.

“We’re nowhere closer to finding Ashley, are we?” she said, despair dripping from every word. Deb straightened. “There has to be some kind of lead out of this.”

“If our suspicion is right about the Gasmerati family and the game people working together, maybe there’s another location we can search.”

“Our . . . informant . . . mentioned other construction sites. One in Nevada, right? One somewhere else. Idaho or Ohio. He wasn’t sure.”

A possibility stewed in Gabe’s mind if Steve Paretti was telling the truth. “
Version VIII
is close to being released and Ashley has vanished. Shannon disappeared just prior to
Version II
releasing.” He raced to the vehicle and pulled out a list. He ran his finger down the dates of the missing kids. “There are clusters of kidnappings. I need the release dates of
Point of Entry
.”

“You got it.” Whitney pulled out a tablet and tapped for a few moments. She strode over to him and they compared the list. “Not bad, Gabe. You’d make a decent detective.”

“What are you saying?” Deb asked.

“Except for Ashley and Justin, there’s been a distinct pattern. Approximately six months before each issue of
Point of Entry
, several high-IQ teens have gone missing.”

Deb gripped Gabe’s arm. “They just take them? And they’re never found.”

Gabe didn’t know how to answer. He could imagine exactly what happened to them if the bone fragments here were any indication. The idea was too horrific to imagine.

A siren sounded off in the distance. Several vehicles sped toward them.

Whitney stepped back. “The local police are here to cordon off the crime scene. This is going to take a while. The FBI is on the way. State and federal forensics, too. I have to follow up, there’s nothing you can do here. See if your informant can identify any other locations. We have to narrow down where she might be.”

“I have access to equipment that will handle that,” Zach said. “We can find a penny on the ground from outer space, if we need to.”

Gabe nodded. “Okay, we’ll head back to Denver.”

Zach and Deb started toward the car. As he unlocked it, he yelled, “I’ll leave it at the airport for you, Whitney. Keys will be at the rental’s registration desk.”

Gabe hung back, feeling awkward. Should he hug her? Man, this was messed up.

Whitney shifted her feet and looked at him. She nearly held out her hand, but she didn’t. There was an awkward silence. “I’ll be in touch if I learn more,” she offered.

“Right. Same here.”

He started back to the car when the sat phone rang. He looked down at the number but didn’t recognize it. “Hello?”

“Uh, hi. I’m, uh, trying to reach Deborah Lansing. This is supposed to be her phone.”

“Hold on. I’ll get her.” Gabe bolted to the car, pulled open the door, and hit the Speaker button. He indicated the call was for her and Deb grabbed it.

“Hello, this is Deborah Lansing.”

The voice on the other end broke. “This is Ashley’s boyfriend, Justin Connell. We were kidnapped. You have to help me rescue her or she’s going to die.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

D
EB GRIPPED THE
phone in her
shaking hand. “Justin! Oh God, Justin, do you know where Ashley is?”

Zach and Whitney came running.

Staring into the phone as if she could see Ashley through the device, Deb gripped it tight with two hands. “Where are you, Justin? Where’s Ashley?”

“Idaho.” Justin’s voice had gone urgent.

Gabe met Deb’s gaze. Ernie had been right. So had Steve.

“D-desert somewhere in southern Idaho. There’s a bombing range nearby.”

Zach immediately began searching his phone and Whitney her tablet.

“What’s the nearest town?” Deb demanded.

Gabe tightened his hold. “Keep it together,” he whispered. “Get as much detail as you can.”

Deb nodded.

“I don’t know. But a couple of miles from here is a weigh station. It got hit with a bomb and exploded. They tried to kill us. They won’t stop.”

Bombs, explosions, what the hell was going on? “What are you talking about, Justin?”

“Just let me talk. I don’t know how long this phone will last.” Justin took a deep, shuddering breath. “Ashley’s in trouble. I tried to convince her to come with us, but they put a tracking chip in her and someone had to disarm the security system. She’s the best—”

A sob escaped him, then an urgent whisper sounded in the background.

“Shut up, Dave,” Justin hissed. “I know. I’m trying to be quiet. We hitched a ride, but they found us. The truck driver is dead, his rig exploded. We barely got away. We had to run. We’re still in the desert somewhere near there, but I saw a sign advertising Reno. Black Rock City, too, though I don’t know how far away they are. I don’t think we’re near the Nevada border yet.”

He cursed. “My battery is on red and blinking.”

Deb could barely talk around her fear. “Where’s Ashley?”

“Still at the compound with the others. A huge gray warehouse kind of building, but it’s filled with electronics. They had us working on computers. Look for power usage. Has to be huge. But the place is fortified like a prison. Guards. Guns. Sensors. The works.”

Deb heard a wheezing sound in the background. “Are you hurt?”

The phone started cracking.

“Dave . . . bad. Hospital.”

Justin’s voice could barely be heard now. “No police. Can’t trust them . . . hiding . . . men searching . . .”

“Justin!” Oh God, she was losing him. Her only connection to her sister.

“. . . scared . . . help . . . Ashley.”

The phone went dead.

“We’ve got to find them.” Deb held the phone tight. “He’s our only link to Ashley.”

“We know about where they are,” Zach said. “There can’t be too many exploding weigh stations in southern Idaho.”

“With the cell phone dead, we can’t track their signal.” Gabe frowned.

“I can search for them from the air,” Deb insisted. “They know I’m a helicopter pilot. Maybe they’ll leave me a sign or come out when they see the chopper.”

“That could work against them if the other search party has one, too.”

“I don’t know what else to do.”

Zach pulled out his credit card and his phone. “I’ll find a chopper to rent in Black Rock City until we get a better location.”

“Since I have to stay here for now,” Whitney offered, “I’ll check for any possible dummy companies or warehouses near southern Idaho and toward Reno. That will narrow down the possibilities.”

“Thank you,” Deb said.

Gabe tugged her in his arms. “We’ll find that weigh station and those kids before they get shot or freeze to death. This damn game won’t claim another life if we can help it.”

Ashley lay in her brick-hard bed and checked to make sure the screwdriver tool was still tucked in her bra. Boots stomped up and down the hallway outside her room half the night and all this morning. The compound was on lockdown while the place was inspected before the big event tomorrow.

The Warden wanted nothing to go wrong. His threats had half the kids in tears. He pretended that if the presentation went well, they’d all be free. Ashley knew better. They were all dead anyway. No matter what happened tomorrow.

She’d always thought she’d do so many things. Finish college. See the world. Maybe get married and have kids eventually. She never thought she’d be looking at less than twenty-four hours to live when she was only sixteen.

She wished she’d told her family that she loved them more often. And that she’d accepted those kisses from Justin sooner than she had. She wrapped her arms about herself, rubbing up and down to warm her body.

More guards had guns now. They walked the corridors in pairs, making sure no one else would escape. Still, she kept up hope.

She had the screwdriver; she’d planted the virus. Now all she needed to do was be the one chosen for the demo and all the work the Warden had done would be wiped clean. Her virus would erase all those trapdoors the game had been opening for weeks in computers and databases everywhere.

She was sixteen and she would die saving the world. Could be worse.

Never give up.

Never surrender.

Never let the suckers get you down . . . unless you get them first.

Ashley prayed Deb would show up to kick butt and take names, even if she was no longer around to see it.

G
abe checked his watch when Zach landed the Learjet in Black Rock City, Nevada. A couple of hours.

“The chopper should be waiting,” Zach said.

Gabe looked at his brother. “You don’t have to go, Zach. Your wife—”

“Not happening, little brother. Deb can fly the chopper. You and I can shoot, rescue people, or whatever else is needed. You’re not running this op alone, Gabe. This one takes teamwork. Take it from someone who learned that concept the hard way.” Zach exited the cockpit and faced Gabe, a scowl on his face. “Family is about the only thing you have to rely on when life gets tough. You blasted me for going it alone not six months ago. Now I’m throwing your words back at you.”

Gabe raised his hands. “I got it.”

Zach crossed his arms and Gabe had seen that look on his older brother’s face just enough to know Zach was dead serious. “We need the rest of the family to go up against these people, right? If this place is as fortified as the kid says, if the law can’t be trusted—and after Tower, God knows I believe Justin on that—we need everyone we can get.” Zach paused. “Even Nick and Steve Paretti.”

“Not Paretti,” Gabe snapped, shaking his head. “We can’t trust him. Look what he did to Luke and Jazz.”

Zach’s jaw clenched, but Gabe could tell the conversation wasn’t over.

What was Zach thinking? They had enough to go up against without worrying about one of their own team.

“Let’s get the chopper,” Deb said.

Gabe nodded. This wasn’t over. Paretti had proven untrustworthy. They needed to be able to rely on everyone if they were going to save Justin and then get Ashley out of that hellhole alive.

Together, Deb and Gabe entered the lobby of the helicopter company.

“Oh yes. Mr. Montgomery. Everything’s ready.” The owner’s grin nearly split his face.

“Guess that’s what a hefty donation will do,” Gabe whispered while the man finalized the paperwork.

Within moments they stood beside a Bell chopper.

“This okay?” he asked Deb.

With rushed movements, she inspected the helicopter. “It’ll do.”

While Deb completed her preflight, Gabe watched her closely. She was running on empty, they all were, having flown across a half dozen Western states since this morning. Winslow had been a blow, but for the first time since he’d recognized Ashley had been taken and wasn’t on the run, Gabe had to admit he had hope they might actually find Deb’s sister.

If
they could find Justin.

Zach sidled up beside Gabe. “She’s something else.” A helicopter pilot himself, Zach studied her inspection. “She’s good at what she does. Doesn’t have to think about the next step,” he said. “How is she holding up, Gabe? Really?”

“She’s strong. She’ll do what it takes to find Ashley,” Gabe said. “Later, she might fall apart, but not until the job’s done. She’s a lot like us that way.”

“God knows I’m not one to lecture—” Zach started.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Much,” Zach continued. “But you need to rethink Steve. Nick vouched for Paretti. We haven’t heard the whole story on his undercover status, but I know from you the guy is a good shot. Not as good as Jazz, but good. We could use two positions if the building is as large as the footprint at Winslow.” Zach placed his hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “I know what he’s done, but we need him, Zach. And you need to trust Nick’s judgment on this one.”

With a scowl, Gabe shoved his hands through his hair. Anger still roiled inside him. It had barely lessened at all. “I’m not ready to trust him that much.”

“I am,” Deb said. “I’ll beg him, if I have to. Because my sister’s life is more important than hurt egos at the moment. Betrayal sucks. I know that firsthand. You know I do. But your brother vouched for him. In the time I’ve known you, you’ve bragged about Nick more than once. I’m willing to trust his judgment. It’s
my
sister’s life at stake. Bring him in.” She crossed her arms. “Now, are you ready to find Justin?”

The truth of Deb’s words slammed into Gabe. Man, what the hell was he thinking? Deb was right. Besides, he didn’t have to trust Steve. He just had to let him shoot.

“I hear you, Deb. There’s only one hitch.” He looked back and forth between Zach and Deb. “What if Gasmerati shows up? Do you think Steve can actually kill his own cousin?”

A tinge of orange bathed the Nevada desert sky. Deb strapped in, her hands steady, even though her heart pounded with anticipation.

“Put on your headsets,” she ordered Zach and Gabe, then slipped on her own. “All set?” she asked through the mic.

“Let’s go,” Gabe said. “We’re running out of light.”

The whirr of the rotors emitted a high-pitched squeal and, a few minutes later, Deb lifted the center control stick. The chopper rose in the air and started north.

Zach set out binoculars and opened a large duffel. A slew of weaponry overflowed. Semiautomatics, a couple of clubs, knives, rifles. God knew what else. “The owner didn’t see your stash, did he?” Deb asked.

“Nah. We’d probably be under arrest if he did, but if we’re in a firefight, we’re going to need it. We’re not leaving without those kids.”

“Have an extra set of binoculars?” Gabe asked while he spread out the map.

“Yeah.” Zach dug around in the bag. He found the second pair and passed them over.

The sun had fallen even lower in the sky. “Maybe an hour or so of daylight left,” Deb said, peering at the ground.

She pushed the steering bar and the bird headed north, veering down slightly. “What are the coordinates for that weigh station? If the trucker they hitched with is dead, the kidnappers aren’t far behind. When they learn Justin and his friend weren’t killed, they’ll call out the troops, en masse.”

Gabe studied the map and circled an area. “Luke’s looking into the weigh station. We’ll have to guess until he calls. From what Justin said, the camp is probably near Saylor Creek Bombing Range. It’s south of Mountain Home Air Force Base. That’s a good eighty miles as the crow flies to the Nevada border.” He shifted the map. “If I were them, I’d head for an area that’s not totally flat. They’d want someplace to take cover, if they need to, though even this area doesn’t offer much.”