hands on top of your head and let’s join your wife and son inside,” he said tersely, walking cautiously to get behind Ryan.
“You know…I was supposed to kill you and your cousin that night in Stanford. I was denied that pleasure by the dumb PI tracking your son. But now it seems I’ll get a second chance. Get moving,” he said, shoving Ryan hard in the back, keeping the gun trained on the back of his head.
“So it was you I chased down the street in Stanford,” Ryan said, with a mixture of satisfaction and alarm, mindful that he was completely at the man’s mercy. “You shouldn’t be so sure of yourself, mister. If I could find this place…so can the police. You guys are busted.”
“Shut the fuck up and get inside,” Farley demanded, forcefully shoving Ryan again as they walked. “Let’s see what Boss has to say.”
Pig-headed fool, Ryan thought. Jarrod was right on the money. Damnit, I shouldn’t have stopped Sarah from calling the authorities. Lieutenant Morris is our only hope now…
FIFTY-NINE
Wildcat Catfish Farm, Kentucky
The first thing Ryan saw as he entered the main quarters of Wildcat Farm was Sarah, her hands bound behind her back, tape across her mouth. She was seated and a man held a gun to her head. When he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks, he lowered his hands and charged toward her. He only made it part way before Richard Kilmer and Sully Metusack blocked his path, wrestling him to the ground amidst a great commotion.
Ryan’s pent-up rage-brewing from the moment in Taos when Lieutenant Westbrook accused him of breaking into Jarrod’s office- erupted like a dormant volcano. His powerful build was more than a match for any one of Kilmer’s men, but he finally succumbed when Farley delivered a sharp blow with the Glock to the side of his head. As he went limp, Sarah’s struggle to break free intensified, her face turning crimson from fury. Farley straddled Ryan’s body, cinching a snap tie to his wrists, not unlike a cowboy roping the feet of a struggling calf.
Fully restrained and partially dazed, Ryan nonetheless spewed a steady stream of vulgarities, swearing on his mother’s grave to tear their hearts out. Tape applied to his mouth brought the surprise uproar to an abrupt halt. They gathered him up and shoved him unceremoniously next to Sarah at the table. Ryan and Sarah looked at each other dejectedly, wondering how things could have gone so wrong.
“We’re blown,” Sully said, helping to get Ryan seated as he still struggled to overcome his assailants.
“Alright…ever’one, just calm the fuck down, ” Kilmer said, backing away from Ryan, smoothing his hair and straightening his shirt. “Nothin’s blown, mates, ‘til we figure how they found us. I’ll bet it’s that fuckin’ Conrad again…git ‘is sorry arse in here,” Kilmer demanded, laboring to catch his breath. He was momentarily exhausted from the unexpected exertion of manhandling Ryan into submission.
Throughout the house a loud scream arose when Jer, Sela, and Jarrod heard Ryan’s voice and realized that he had been captured. Their voices cried out from back of the house to acknowledge their presence. Kilmer’s men visited each in turn, quieting the commotion, threatening physical harm to anyone who didn’t obey. Ventura cut Jarrod free and led him to the great room, keeping a steady gun at the ready.
“Ya stupid wanker,” Kilmer yelled as Jarrod entered the room. “ What have ya done now?”
“Hey, man, I’ve been saying all along you’re in over your head,” Jarrod grinned evilly. “Have you an inkling now about what I’ve been trying to say? Hell…if my cousin can find your dumb ass, how far behind do you think the police are? You really are screwed, Mr. Leader,” Jarrod said, choosing his words carefully, aware that Ryan and Sarah would be hanging on each one.
“How’d they find us? I want answers and I want ‘em now. Who else knows? No bullshit…or yer Sheila ends up lookin’ like a bush pig,” Kilmer threatened, absolutely furious.
“Well…because you’re so persuasive, I’ll tell you, Chief,” Jarrod glibly answered. “Every time I used my computer, which you allowed, you dumb bastard, I sent Sarah a clue. First, the bus driver gave me Louisville- remember our little demonstration in the bus?” he asked impudently. Kilmer glanced over at Ventura, who blanched and hung his head.
“Then you marched us into this house right past the silo outside blazoned with the Wildcat logo. Elementary, Watson, ” he said smugly.
Processing Jarrod’s explanation and realizing he’d been duped caused Kilmer to grow even angrier. His every movement became exaggerated; his jaw was taut, his eyes narrowed, and he looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “ Who…else…knows?” he asked in a slow and measured way, through teeth tightly clamped together.
Jarrod gave an almost imperceptible wink that only Ryan and Sarah could distinguish. “No one else knows,” he shrugged, making it seem obvious.
“Come on, man…think…pull your head out your ass. If the police knew our location, wouldn’t they already be here? My cousin’s on the lam, for chrissake…you saw to that,” he said, using parts of Kilmer’s plan to corroborate their story.
“When Jer was abducted,” Jarrod continued, “we made a decision to find him without involving the police. I was their only contact. It just so happens that you led them here when you kidnapped me. This is your doing, Chief…simple as that,” Jarrod said with a smirk. He was proud of his own adaptive brilliance, spinning a yarn on the fly that was both plausible and misleading.
“So help me, Professor…yer on my last nerve. If this is more bull dust I’ll personally blow yer arse away,” Kilmer threatened.
“By the way, ya might fancy knowin’ that yer partner sold ya out. It was Penburton put me on to ya. He conjured the plan to hit yer lab and finger Marshall,” he said nodding his head toward Ryan. “He even gave us Coscarelli. He’s got ya up shit creek.”
“Frankly, that doesn’t surprise me in the least. Our association started to sour when that agent from DOD insisted on monitoring my research. Niles is soft. I knew he was going behind my back. He’ll get what’s coming to him,” Jarrod replied, with little reaction to the news of his partner’s betrayal.
“Well, then maybe ya’ll fancy knowin’ that Farley blew up his car yesterday. He’s history.”
Kilmer could see from the look on Jarrod’s face that he had finally landed a blow. There was no mistaking that the surly professor was stunned by the news of his disloyal partner’s untimely death.
“By jingos, Professor, what’s wrong? Yer not lookin’ so swank now,” Kilmer said, enjoying his newfound leverage. “Here’s somethin’ else to ponder. Farley’ll be guardin’ yer rellies this evenin’. If anythin’s jaked and I don’t contact ‘im on time…he’ll cap every last one and git-off doin’ it.”
Kilmer’s statement quieted the room with utter finality; everyone on both sides seemed taken aback. Struffeneger stood abruptly and walked out of the room, taking the news especially hard. Mills also seemed nonplussed but remained quiet as a mouse, preferring not to draw any attention.
“Farley, git these yahoos out o’ my sight,” Kilmer ordered. “They’re yer worry now.”
“You heard the man, get your asses up,” Farley growled, pointing his gun at Ryan and Sarah.
With Ventura’s help, Farley moved the hostages to the back bedrooms of the house. They would be kept isolated until the team departed. Thereafter he planned to round them together in the great room to better facilitate guarding them alone. Farley was the only one that wasn’t surprised by Kilmer’s announcement about eliminating the hostages. He could hardly wait to have them to himself.
Time was running out and the strain of carrying out Holloway’s plan was beginning to show. The unanticipated arrival of the Marshalls had shaken Kilmer’s confidence. He couldn’t allow himself to believe that Conrad was actually telling the truth, but he had to acknowledge that his explanation made perfect sense. If the police knew about the Wildcat location, surely they wouldn’t let the Marshalls show up alone. Though he hated to admit the facts, he had no alternative but to accept Conrad’s explanation for how they’d been found. There was no other alternative but to stay the course and carry out the mission.
He thought briefly of calling Holloway but quickly dismissed the notion. He would only want the mission to start on schedule. There was nothing to gain in calling him but more insults.
Kilmer sat back down at the table to continue his review of the Fort Knox plan. It was almost noon, less than
