'There it is! Come on, get in!'
From his vantage point under the vehicle, Howard couldn't see much, but
he was able to catch a glimmer of light from across the road.
That would be the signal.
-Who was giving the signal and what exactly it meant, well, that wasn't
altogether clear, but the gist of it was fairly evident to Howard.
Somebody was on the other side of the fence that surrounded HAARP, and
these two were there to meet whoever it was. His money was on that
somebody being Morrison, otherwise it was going to be one hell of a
coincidence.
The Ford's engine cranked, and that was incredibly loud from where
Howard lay, his head directly under it.
He heard the clunk! as the driver shifted the transmission from park
into gear.
If the guy swung any kind of sharp turn when he pulled out, he'd feel a
big bump at the same time John Howard felt the back wheel crush him. He
took a deep breath-The driver pulled straight out, and across the road
before he wheeled the big SUV into a tight right turn broadside to
Howard. The peeing man jumped out and ran around the car toward the
fence, Howard could see him in the red glow of the brake lights. He
was carrying what looked like a big pair of hedge clippers, and it took
a second for Howard to realize that the tool wasn't for trimming bushes
but was actually a pair of bolt cutters.
This was definitely a bad business, whatever it was.
Howard came up, pulled his revolver and started across the narrow road
toward the Explorer, crouching low as he moved. There would be at
least three of them, maybe more, and covering them all would be a
bitch, but what choice did he have? He couldn't just let them drive
away--at least not until he knew what was going on.
The pl inks of the cutters snipping the chain links sounded crisp in
the night.
Howard had almost made it to the Ford's passenger door when the driver
looked up and saw him.
'Incoming!' the driver screamed.
'Incoming!'
Howard zigged to his left, toward the car's rear, just as a gunshot
exploded inside the Explorer. An orange tongue of fire reached from
the driver, the passenger window shattered, and the bullet passed
somewhere to his right, close enough so he heard it whistle by.
Bad guys--no goddamned doubt about it.
The noise inside the SUV must have been deafening.
The driver took his foot off the brake, and the brake lights went out,
plunging the scene back into darkness.
Howard still had the after-image of the gunshot seared into his retina,
and his rods and cones or whatever weren't doing their job. He rounded
the back of the Explorer, dropped prone, and looked for a target.
'Move the car,' somebody said. They didn't sound the least bit
excited.
The driver stepped on the gas. The smell of burned tire filled the air
as the Explorer screeched and lurched forward.
