hand would be all I’d take.’
‘I want to see my children.’
‘Didn’t you hear me?’ Cain wondered if she had surfaced enough from the drugs to have taken in anything when last he’d spoken to her. ‘They’re waiting for you back home in England. If you want to see them again you will have to do as I say. Now… are you going to answer my question?’
‘I’ll walk.’
‘Good. It’s so much easier if you do that.’
‘Did John come?’
Cain didn’t answer.
‘I told you he wouldn’t.’
‘He’s on his way now.’
‘Don’t bet on it.’
‘I think you should stop being so negative about John. It’s only because he’s agreed to come that you’re still alive. Why don’t you cut him some slack?’
‘Like he did for me you mean?’
‘Actually, he probably did you a big favour when he left. How did you manage to live with such an insufferable man for so long?’
‘You don’t know him.’
‘You’re wrong. John and I shared some quality time. I know what kind of person he is. He will come, you can be sure of that.’
‘He won’t, but Joe will.’ Jennifer peered at the scar tissue marking Cain’s throat. ‘Did Joe do that to you?’
Cain stretched his neck, fancying that he could hear the cartilage pop in his windpipe. ‘This is just a scratch.’
‘Next time he’ll finish the job. He’ll cut your head off to make sure you’re dead.’
Cain clapped his hands rapidly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. ‘You make it all sound so very exciting,’ he said gleefully. ‘I can’t wait.’
‘You should let me go now while you still have the chance.’
Cain went very still. ‘Oh, no, no, no. I think that you’re placing too much faith in Joe Hunter. Right now he’s a wanted felon, running around like a headless chicken. Does that sound like the kind of man who’s going to race in on a white charger and whisk you out of harm’s way?’
It was Jennifer’s turn to go still, but her jaw was set and she held his gaze. ‘You’re afraid of him.’
Cain knew that Hunter was a skilled and resourceful enemy. Though it pained him to admit it, he respected Hunter’s dogged approach to the chase, but fear him? No. He feared no man.
‘I’m only afraid he’s going to arrive late and miss what I’m going to do to John,’ he said.
A shiver ran its icy finger up Jennifer’s spine and he took that moment to step forward and place the tip of his Tanto beneath her left eye. ‘Now, Jennifer, this is the situation. You can walk out of here and do exactly as I say, and at the end of it I will release you. The alternative is that I cut off your face and leave you here for the rats. I do not need you. I can always find your children again. They would be sufficient to bait my trap.’
‘I’ll do what you say.’
‘Good. Get moving.’
‘I can’t walk anywhere strapped to this bloody chair.’
Cain withdrew the knife, smiled down on the woman. She had more spunk than he’d have given her credit for: it was something he could admire.
‘OK. No trouble from you, and we’ll get along fine.’ Cain turned and saw that his new partner was still standing motionless in the corridor. ‘Baron, come and loosen Mrs Telfer.’
Baron walked in as Cain stepped aside.
Cain nodded at the contraption on Baron’s hip. ‘Be careful, we’ve a live one here. First chance she gets she might go for your eyes. Maybe you should zap her first.’
Baron’s unclipped his Taser.
Despite what he’d just said, Cain did prefer it that Jennifer stayed alive. But her dig concerning Joe Hunter had stung. He couldn’t cut off her face — yet — but he could still punish her. That’ll teach her for insinuating I’m a coward, he thought as the room filled with an electrical crackle and corresponding scream.
Chapter 38
A fast flight took us to Langley Air Force Base, just north of the city of Hampton, Virginia. One reason for heading there was to drop off Walter so he could continue to coordinate things from the headquarters of the Air Force’s 480th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing. The other was that it was a short hop for Hartlaub and me to the nearby naval base at Hampton Roads, the harbour at the mouth of the Elizabeth and James Rivers where they spilled into Chesapeake Bay. From there it would only be a short chase to catch the freighter currently cruising south past the Barrier Islands off the coast of North Carolina.
My original plan was to steal a boat and chase Cain by sea, but that held a couple of major flaws. For a start, an underpowered craft would never catch a ship going at full steam, so I would have to take something big and powerful. Something like a launch or speedboat would have been ideal for my purposes, but easily missed. The Coast Guard would be alerted and we’d be captured in no time. There was no way I wanted to hurt anyone in pursuit of their duties, so a fight with the Coast Guard wouldn’t happen. I could approach a civilian crew, tell them of my problem and throw Jennifer’s life on their mercy. But any sane person would tell me to sling my hook and immediately alert the authorities. As much as I hated to do it, I had no other recourse left to me. I had to work with a naval crew.
The sun was casting its last fingers of day over the harbour as we stood on the dock, studying the boat that sat below us. It was akin to the lifeboats I was familiar with from back home in the UK, a metal shell with inflatable cushions and a small cabin towards the front. The boat bore no insignia, which was good, because Cain had warned he’d kill Jennifer immediately he saw a naval vessel approaching.
‘We’re going to have to take the crew with us,’ I told Hartlaub as we made our way down to the boat. ‘But there’s no way they can be involved.’
‘They won’t be. They have their orders to drop us and then pull back.’
‘That suits me fine. If we do this the way I intend, I don’t want any witnesses.’
He showed me an eye tooth. ‘Don’t worry, that also suits me fine.’
I took the lead, moved down and on to a gangplank out to the boat. Smaller craft bobbed on the dark water of the dock. Across from us was a rusting hulk that looked like it hadn’t put to sea in the last decade or two, but the backdrop was dominated by massive aircraft carriers and warships. If we failed to stop Cain, I wouldn’t put it past Walter to order one of them after him instead.
There were only two crew members on board, one of them a fit young guy with corn-coloured hair and freckles, and another man, of stockier build, maybe ten years older with the ruddy complexion of a seafarer. Neither was in uniform, but they still struck me as military men. The younger one had a flashlight in his hand and was crouching down at the motor, going through maintenance chores. The other was in the cabin, nose deep in paperwork. I took it that he was the commanding officer.
Maritime protocol usually requires permission for you to come aboard, but I didn’t rest on etiquette. With Hartlaub at my heels I stepped over the thick rubber and on to the deck. My boots thudding on planks brought the older man’s head out of his papers. Dumping my backpack on one of the benches, I walked towards him, extending my hand. ‘You were expecting us?’
‘So you guys are my mysterious passengers, huh? Am I allowed to know your names?’ The older man’s eyes twinkled. He had received his orders and understood that this trip was off the record. Reading the humour behind his gaze I decided he could be trusted.
‘Hunter,’ I said shaking his hand. ‘My friend’s Hartlaub.’
‘Call me Lassiter.’ He winked.
