set up a timer. These things don’t create a lot of damage, but they’re quite the noisemakers. Good for diversions if you need them.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Careful, though. You see these four here?” He touched four tiles that were grouped together. Unlike the others, they were white. “These do more than just make a noise. They’re what you use if you do need damage. They’ll blow a hole in pretty much anything you’ll come across. There’s only the four, so don’t confuse them with the others.”
He closed the box and tucked it back in the case. He then gave Ash the emergency phone number Matt had mentioned, making him repeat it several times. It was an easy number. Ash knew he wouldn’t forget it.
As soon as the plane stopped rolling, Pax said, “I believe this is your stop.”
There was no one around as they stepped out of the jet. In fact, the whole airport seemed quiet and deserted. It was tucked between several green hills, and though Ash could see a few houses in the distance, there was no town visible.
Pax nodded toward the hangar. “Your ride’s right over there.”
Parked near the closed hangar door was a silver Honda Accord.
The metal case went in the trunk, while Ash put his messenger bag in the back seat. Chloe had a dark green backpack. She tossed that into the footwell up front before climbing into the passenger seat.
“You got GPS in there,” Pax told Ash. “It’s already preset to get you to the highway. Chloe will take over after that.”
He held out his hand, and Ash took it.
“You’ve been put in a terrible position, Captain,” Pax said. “Most people would have given up already. Think they crossed the wrong man when they found you.”
“Yes,” Ash said. “They did.”
Pax stepped back. “Don’t be a stranger.”
By the time Ash got the car to the airport exit, the jet was already racing down the runway and taking off.
He let the voice of the GPS guide him through the countryside. In his other life, he would have appreciated the beauty of the area, mainly because Ellen would have loved it.
He gritted his teeth and continued to drive.
When they finally reached the highway, the GPS stopped giving directions. Ash looked over and saw that Chloe was staring out the window.
“Which way?” he asked. It was the first thing either of them had said since they’d gotten in the car.
She didn’t move for a second, then she pulled up her head and looked over at him. “What?”
“Which way? Pax said once the GPS stopped, you’d know where to go.”
“Oh.” She leaned forward, looking out the window again, and seemed to notice their surroundings for the first time. “Where are we?”
“At the freeway. North or south?”
She started nodding. “South. Definitely south.”
He headed for the on-ramp. “How far?”
She glanced at him again, then returned her gaze to the window. “Fifteen-point-seven miles.”
“Serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
He hesitated, then said, “Okay. Fifteen-point-seven miles.”
“Almost point-six now.”
Since Ash knew he’d be shedding Chloe as soon as he didn’t need her any more, he was content to let the miles pass by in silence and avoid forming any kind of bond. For whatever reasons of her own, Chloe seemed fine with not talking, too.
The first thing either of them said came from Chloe at exactly fifteen-point-four miles from where they’d entered the freeway. “Next exit.” Once they were on the off-ramp, she said, “To the right.”
They were in a rural area, probably about fifty miles north of San Francisco. The area immediately surrounding them was hilly and green from recent rains. As they headed west the hills grew larger, and the trees started changing from scattered oaks and a few cottonwoods to a growing forest of evergreens.
“How far are we going?” Ash asked.
“At this speed, we’ll turn in nine minutes.”
Ash was tempted to go a little faster, but the road was only two lanes and had become winding with plenty of blind turns.
After a few minutes, Chloe said out of the blue, “They changed my face, too.”
Ash glanced at her, then back at the road.
“I’d be dead now if they hadn’t,” she added.
Unable to stop himself, he said, “Is that why you’re helping me?”
For several moments, she said nothing. Then, “I have to help. I have no choice.”
Ash frowned. “Are you telling me that Matt forced you to be here?”
“No. Of course not. After you get your children, if someone else needs help, you’ll have no choice, either. We have to fight them. We have to stop them.”
“You mean this Dr. Karp? Don’t worry. I’ll deal with him.”
“You don’t understand. You just don’t understand.” She shook her head, then looked back at the road. “There,” she said, pointing ahead. “Turn there.”
The new road was narrower and obviously less used. The centerline looked like it hadn’t been repainted in decades, and had become more of a faded suggestion than an actual demarcation. The road was dark, too, the sun hidden from view by a thick grove of conifers.
“Five miles,” Chloe announced.
Ash glanced at the odometer and noted the mileage.
“I’m sorry they took your children,” she said.
Ash didn’t respond.
“They took someone from me, too. But I can never get her back.”
Ash remained quiet for a moment longer, then said, “There’s someone I can’t get back, either.”
Again, silence descended.
After a bit, Chloe said, “Slow down.”
Ash checked the odometer, and saw that they had come almost four and a half miles. He reduced their speed.
The area was quiet. They hadn’t seen a single car on this road, nor had there been any houses or buildings alongside it.
Chloe patted her hand against the air. “Slower.”
Ash eased back on the gas some more.
Finally, she pointed at a spot just ahead and across the road. “There. Do you see it? Between those two trees.”
Where she indicated he could see the ghosts of two tire ruts running into the woods. They were mostly filled with dry pine needles, and looked as if no one had driven on them for a long, long time.
Ash pulled across the road and stopped just short of the ruts. He stared into the woods. As far as he could see, there was nothing back there but more trees.
He grimaced skeptically, then looked at Chloe. “My kids are back there somewhere?”
She hesitated. “The building where I’m supposed to take you is back there.”
“This isn’t even a road. It’s a path that no one’s used for God knows how long.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Would you rather I take you down the road they do use? Maybe right up to the front door so you can ring the bell? I can do that if you’d like. Except I’d probably just point the way and let you go on your own. I don’t want to die today.”
