No Return

“Wes, goddammit!”

Wes crossed over to the SUV and got in without answering.

Lars watched him for a moment, then pulled his truck out of its parking spot and sped off.

Wes started the Escape and pulled out of the lot. He ended up two cars behind Lars’s truck at the corner of Ridgecrest and China Lake Boulevard. Lars should have continued straight and not turned right until he got to Norma or Downs, but instead he turned onto China Lake, so he was still a few cars ahead as Wes drove toward the motel.

As they neared the Desert Rose, Wes considered turning into the parking lot, but instead he decided to stay on the road, suspicious about where his childhood friend might be headed. Soon they passed the hospital and most of the handful of businesses strung between there and Inyokern Road.

When Wes got in sight of the intersection, he made a quick left at the triangle cutoff in front of the movie theater and immediately pulled to the curb. Lars’s truck approached the stop. Then, as Wes already knew would happen, Lars turned right, toward the base.

Wes waited until he was sure Lars had gone through the gate, then he made a U-turn and headed back to the motel, certain now he was being conned.

37

“So?” Commander Forman asked.

Lars frowned for a moment, then shook his head.

“Dammit! Your job is to make this problem go away.”

Lars frowned. “I’m aware of that, sir. But-”

“Being aware of it and doing what you’ve been ordered to do are not the same thing. I expect you to deal with this problem.” He stared at Lars, then said, “I want to show you something.”

Forman picked up a remote control off his desk and popped on the TV that sat on a cabinet in the corner of the office. The screen was blank for a few moments, then video began to play. It was of the downed F-18, only minutes after it had crashed. The footage Danny DeLeon had shot. Lars watched Wes struggle to get to the cockpit, then lean over the pilot. Forman paused the image.

“A goddamn action hero,” he said. “This is the kind of stuff the media would love. Since he already works in that business, it would be easy for him to get someone interested. You need to stop this now. We’re all in the line of fire on this, but you, Lieutenant Commander, are dead center and the first to go down.”

Lars sat back. “Why me, sir?”

“Need I remind you that you are the one who wrote the protocols that were to be followed on the flight? Those protocols were a very tight map. If someone were to examine them closely, they would see that certain tests that would have been logical next steps were not included.”

“But you’re the one who instructed me to-”

“And you’re the one who signed off on them. If anything comes down, your neck will be more exposed than most. So it’s in your best interest to get this done. Am I clear?”

Lars’s mouth suddenly felt dry.

“Well?”

Lars nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll do what I can.”

“Do more.”

It was an obvious dismissal. Lars got up, but then hesitated at the door.

“Yes?” Forman asked, impatient.

“Sir, I understand that you felt it was necessary to get Wes’s computer and hard drive.”

“Is there a question?”

Lars hesitated. “Was it also necessary to break in and take them?”

The commander stared blankly at Lars. “What do you think?”

“He would have given me that material if I had asked him.”

“He gave us the material once before, but he failed to tell us about the copy. What makes you think he wouldn’t have done that again?”

“But breaking into his room?”

“Are you trying to sound like a fool? We do what we must. Now, if you will excuse me.”

This time the dismissal was final.

38

Wes was surprised to find Anna and Alison waiting in his room when he came back.

“Did you find one?” Anna asked.

“One what?” he asked.

“Backup drive.”

“Had a change of plans.”

“Then you’d better call Dione,” she told him. “She’s called here twice looking for you. Said she tried your cell, but it went straight to voicemail.”

He’d forgotten Dr. Handler had had him turn it off. He pulled it out and pushed the power switch.

“So where did you go?” she asked.

“I was with Lars,” he said, giving her a look he hoped would convey his desire not to get into it with Alison in the room. “Were you guys waiting for me?”

Anna glanced at Alison. “It’s Tony.”

“He’s still not back,” Alison said.

“You’re sure?”

“I tried his cell and he wasn’t answering, either,” she snapped.

“Well, maybe he had it off like me,” he shot back. He took a breath. “Look. It’s our day off. He probably just wanted to get away from all of us. God knows I’ve felt that way on shoots before.”

Alison bit her lip, her face tense.

“What?” he asked.

When she didn’t answer right away, Anna said, “We ran into Danny. He told us he saw Tony at Delta Sierra last night. Said Tony was heading back to the motel around one a.m.”

“Alone,” Alison added.

Wes sat on the bed next to her. He put a hand on her back, expecting her to flinch, but she didn’t. “Think about it. Would you have told Danny you were going home with someone?”

Her gaze flicked away, then at him again, a bit of doubt in her eyes.

“Yeah, neither would I,” he said. “Tony strikes me as pretty smart, so I’m sure he wouldn’t have, either.”

“But that doesn’t mean he did go with someone.”

Wes nodded. “You’re right. It doesn’t.”

“It’s just, you know, with what’s been happening around here … it makes me nervous. Like maybe something happened to him.”

Wes thought for a moment. “Have you checked inside his room?”

Alison shook her head. “Just knocked.”

He scooted over, picked up the motel phone, and dialed zero.

“Front desk,” the woman on the other end said.

“Can I speak to the manager, please?”

“That would be me, sir,” she said.

“I need to check on a friend. He’s not answering his phone or his door, and we’re worried he might be sick