Enemy of Mine

thought, he leapt onto the walkway for the artificial lagoon and started sprinting like his life depended on it. And he now knew it did.

80

I ran through the lobby of the Sheraton, looking for the quickest route to the back door. Some sort of convention had just taken a break, and a steady stream of people was flowing out from the main ballrooms, clogging up the hallway. Knuckles took a right and shouted, “This way.”

I saw the pool area ahead and fought to keep up, pushing people out of the way. “Head to the gardens by the pool. We’ll sweep toward Brett in the south.”

We exited, and I took a quick glance around, seeing an expansive landscaped area with multiple paths meandering through it. Jesus. He could hide anywhere in here. Knuckles took the first path he saw and started moving at a light jog, peering into the bushes. I stopped at a map on a bulletin board. The quickest way around the hotel and into the city was the south, but that had a chokepoint of a lagoon. He’d have to go across a causeway with no cover, something Lucas wouldn’t do unless he was driven to it. No, he’s in here.

I looked at the map again and saw that the lagoon path ran right into a parking lot next to the tennis courts at the north end of the park. From there, it was a straight shot to the Corniche road. It was too big a risk.

“Knuckles, I’m headed to the lagoon for a quick look. Brett, what’s your status?”

“I’m in the park to the south of the lagoon, moving north.”

“Close in quickly. He hasn’t had that much time, and if he’s across the lagoon, we’re about to lose him.”

I broke out of the landscaping on the south side of the hotel, seeing the expanse of the artificial lagoon. I traced the pathway around it, focusing on every human I saw. Most were couples. None were running. I saw a threesome of two men and a woman at the apex of the path, right before it began to curve back to shore. One of the men was carrying a brushed aluminum briefcase.

Lucas had stopped running as soon as he realized it was drawing attention from everyone else on the path. It would be a beacon attracting Pike when he got outside. He sidled up to a couple slowly walking down the promenade. When they stopped, he stopped. Eventually, the man glared at him, pulling his wife and walking at a faster pace. Lucas began walking again, a little farther back, but still close enough to irritate the man. Lucas glanced back and saw Pike at the edge of the lagoon.

Keep cool. He’s not running. He hasn’t seen you.

He turned his head around and walked right into the man, who’d stopped walking and now stood with legs spread, hands on his hips.

The man said something in French and poked Lucas in the shoulder. Lucas said, “Hey, look, I don’t want any trouble. Sorry. Please move out of the way.”

Speaking with a heavy accent, the man said, “Why don’t you just stay here? Wait five minutes before you start following us again?”

Lucas looked back and saw Pike had now stepped onto the walkway, coming toward him and talking into a cell phone.

Shit. I’m going to get boxed.

Without a word, he punched the man hard in the stomach. When he bent over in pain, Lucas whipped the briefcase into his face, dropping him like a stone. The woman screamed, and Lucas hooked her legs, getting her off balance, then shoved her hard in the shoulder, throwing her into the lagoon.

Her splash caused several people to orient on the scuffle. Two came running toward him from the direction of the hotel. Right behind them was Pike. Now sprinting and no longer talking on the phone.

Lucas took off as well, scanning the far side of the lagoon for other men, knowing they were coming. He needed to beat them to shore or he was done.

He had fifty meters to go when he saw rapid movement deep in the park. It was the black man, coming on strong, but not yet seeing Lucas. He was running on the edge of the park, without orienting on the lagoon path.

Lucas redoubled his efforts, leapt off the path to the shore, and began sprinting to the tennis courts and the parking lot beyond. He saw salvation, a mere one hundred yards away.

A taxi. With its on-duty light illuminated.

“Brett, he’s on the lagoon path. Get your ass north!”

Before I even put the phone down, I saw Lucas punch the man he was with, then toss the woman into the lagoon. What the hell?

At first, I’d thought Lucas had help and was glad to see the violence. I took off after him, rounding the apex and ignoring the pleas of the female treading water.

I saw him reach the shore and head to the road running parallel to the tennis courts. He was getting closer to making it into the city, but I was confident we’d catch him. Especially with Brett’s speed.

Lucas left the road, running across a primarily empty parking lot. I followed his line of march and saw his intent.

“Brett, he’s heading for a taxi. Get on him! Don’t let him reach it.”

I saw Brett round the corner to the tennis court road and knew he wasn’t going to catch Lucas in time. “Jennifer! What’s your location? Come south to the tennis courts, block in Lucas.”

I got no response and kept running, now on the tennis road myself. I was thirty meters behind Brett and seventy behind Lucas. He ripped open the back door of the taxi and threw in the briefcase.

I saw the door close, and the cab began to roll. It circled around, getting onto the tennis court road. And freedom. I stopped running, disgusted. We’d need a miracle to catch him now. “Jennifer, what’s your status? He’s in a cab about to head north on the Corniche road. I need eyes on.”

I received no response. Instead, an SUV jumped the curb from the Corniche road. It raced across the grass, chewing up the perfectly coiffed landscaping, and exploded into the parking lot, reaching a speed of forty miles an hour.

It veered right at the cab, homing in like a laser-guided missile. The cab swerved left to avoid an impact, to no avail. The SUV collided head-on into the rear passenger door, both vehicles grinding to a stop.

Through the rising smoke, I saw Lucas crawl out the far side and drop to the ground. He rose unsteadily, grabbed the briefcase, and began jogging across the parking lot. The SUV door opened, and Jennifer sprang out, moving much faster. She leapt across the hood of the cab, closed the gap to Lucas, and threw herself into his body, hitting him in the backs of his thighs and bringing him to the ground.

Sprinting as fast as I could, I saw Jennifer wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck in a submission hold. I saw Lucas’s arms swinging wildly at the demon on his back, to no avail. Brett reached them first, and I heard him shouting something. He then began to pull Jennifer’s arms away from Lucas’s neck.

I was close enough to see that Lucas was already unconscious, his tongue lolling to the side, eyes half open, and still Jennifer torqued her arms back, bending his neck farther and farther. Brett shouted again, and I realized what was happening.

Jesus. She’s trying to kill him.

81

The doorknob to the conference room rattled, and we all snapped our heads toward it. Blaine Alexander entered and went from face to face until he saw me.

“He wants to talk to you.”

“Me? What the hell for?”

“Don’t know, and you don’t have to do it.”

I thought for a minute. About the costs and the rewards. “Would it help with the interrogation?”