the smart play was to do as Wyatt asked and leave. Take me out. Once I’m dead, you’re in the clear since no one else knows of our… arrangement. Am I wrong?”
“Why are you attacking the Commonwealth?” he asked.
“Let’s just say that Stephanie Nelle’s dying would no longer be good for any of us. And if I manage to find those two missing pages in the process, my stock rises even higher. If you’re a good boy and behave, you can keep breathing. I might even give you that job I mentioned. And the captains?” She paused. “They still go to prison.”
He had to point out, “You don’t have those two missing pages.”
“But either Wyatt or Malone does, or will. I know them both. Our task is to figure out which, then kill them both.”
One of the men signaled to Carbonell, pointing toward the middle of the island’s flat topography. Knox looked, too. For a moment there was light, like a fire burning, then it was gone.
“You see,” Carbonell said. “There’s one of them now.”
SEVENTY-TWO
HALE HAD COMMAND OF THE SITUATION. HE KEPT ABOUT A dozen crewmen on the estate at all times, each more than capable of defending himself. He’d ordered the armory opened, and everyone had been provided weapons. The thrust of the attack seemed to be centered on the main house and the prison. But at least four armed men were outside, in the trees, firing on the prison. Power had been cut, as at the main house, but this building was equipped with a backup generator.
“Shackle both prisoners,” he ordered. “And gag them.”
His crewman hustled off.
He was in constant radio communication with the security center. More crewmen had been summoned to the estate, and he’d decided a relocation of the prisoners to Adventure was the prudent course. He turned to the other jailer. “I want those men out front occupied. Pin them down.”
The man nodded.
He headed toward the ground-floor rear and a secondary entrance used to service the prison. It was built into the outer wall facade, invisible to anyone who did not know it existed. A man he’d stationed there half an hour ago reported all was quiet out back. With no windows and no visible entrance on that side of the building, he wasn’t surprised. Apparently, Carbonell had decided to deal with Stephanie Nelle herself. But he had to wonder. Was this a rescue mission? It was the only thing that made sense. Never would she draw this much attention to killing Nelle.
Things had changed.
Again.
Fine. He could adapt.
Nelle and Kaiser were carried from the cell, their hands and feet secured with tape, their mouths gagged. Both were trying to resist.
He raised a hand and halted their removal.
He stepped close to a writhing Stephanie Nelle and nestled the barrel of his pistol to her skull. “Stay still or I’ll shoot you both and be done with it.”
Nelle stopped moving, her eyes alight with hate.
“Look at it this way. The longer you breathe, the more chances you have to live. A bullet to the head ends things completely.”
Nelle nodded in understanding, caught Kaiser’s gaze with her own and shook her head. No more.
“Good,” he said. “I knew you would be reasonable.”
He motioned for them both to be hauled outside. One of the electric carts waited in the rain. Both woman were laid onto its wet cargo bed. Two men with rifles stood guard, watching the trees, alert to the storm.
All seemed clear.
The two armed men hopped into the cart.
He’d already told them to avoid the main road to the dock and use the secondary path, which was primarily for the farm equipment that tended the fields.
And to hurry.
The cart sped off.
He rushed back inside the prison. As captain, it was his duty to stand with his men.
And stand he would.
CASSIOPEIA APPROACHED THE BUILDING THAT HALE’S SECRETARY had identified as the prison. She’d learned from the terrified man that both Stephanie Nelle and Shirley Kaiser were being held there. She’d also learned that the building was under attack, so she’d approached from its rear, eastern side, staying in the trees, seeing no one so far. But that didn’t mean much. The storm provided excellent cover for both her and everyone else.
A door opened in the rear of the building. In the wedge of light that escaped she watched two women being carried out.
Her heart sank.
Then she realized the hands and feet were bound. No need to tie up a corpse.
Two men with rifles stood guard and another man seemed in charge. Both prisoners were laid across the back of a vehicle not much larger than a golf cart. The two men with rifles climbed into the front seats.
The rest retreated inside.
The cart headed off into the dark.
Finally, a break.
WYATT RETREATED FARTHER INTO THE TREES THAT DOMINATED the north shore of Paw Island and watched as the boat drew close to shore.
Who was this? The fire had clearly drawn them. He spotted four people in the small craft. One with long hair, thinner. A woman.
The boat’s bow beached.
The woman and one man leaped out, both holding guns. Another man, standing at the wheel, also brandished a weapon. They examined his stolen boat using a flashlight. Then they cautiously advanced inland, toward where he’d doused the fire.
“He’s here,” he heard the woman say.
Carbonell.
Good fortune had finally turned his way. But he didn’t like the odds. Four to one, and his ammunition was limited. Only five shots remained in the magazine.
So he stayed still.
“Okay, Jonathan,” Carbonell called out. “We’re going to the fort to clean up your mess. I’m sure you can get there before we can. If you want to play, that’s where you’ll find me.”
KNOX DID NOT WANT TO BE HERE. THIS WAS INSANE. CARBONELL was deliberately challenging Wyatt. And what about this Cotton Malone? Was he still around, too? He watched as Carbonell found her cellphone and pressed one of the buttons. She listened for a moment then ended the call.
“Jonathan,” she called out. “I’m told Malone has left the island. Now it’s just us.”
He checked his watch. Nearly midnight.
Dawn was only a few hours away.
They needed to get out of here.
Carbonell returned to the boat and seemed to sense his edginess.
“Relax, Clifford. How many times do you get to do battle with an accomplished pro? And that’s exactly what Jonathan is. A pro.”
