it, General?”
Hutchinson actually smiled. “Where did you dig up this ridiculous shit? You have some fucking imagination. Now get the hell out of here.”
I continued. “You destroyed the records showing that these men were even in the An Lao Valley. The same was true of the three assassins, Starkey, Griffin and Harris, the ones you sent to clean up the mess. That's how I first found out about the deception. They told me they were there. But their Army records said otherwise.”
The general looked disinterested in what I had to say. It was all an act, of course. I wanted to get up and punch him until he told me the truth.
'The records weren't destroyed, GeneralI went on.
Finally, I had his attention. “What the hell are you talking about?”
'Just what I said. The records weren't destroyed. A Kit Carson scout named Tran Van Luu brought the atrocities to the attention of his CO. None other than Colonel Owen Handler. No one would listen, of course, so Luu stole copies of the records and took them to the North Vietnamese.
“Those records were held in Hanoi until nineteen ninety-seven. Then the CIA happened to obtain copies. I got my copies from the FBI, as well as the Vietnamese Embassy. So maybe I do know a little about life in Washington's power circles. I even know that you're being considered for the Joint Chiefs. But not if any of this started to come out.”
“You're crazy,” Hutchinson huffed. “You're out of your mind.”
'Am I? Two teams of ten men each committed a hundred or more civilian murders in villages during nineteen sixty-eight and sixty-nine. You were the commanding officer. You gave the orders. When the teams got out of control, you sent in Starkey and his men to tidy up. Unfortunately, they killed a few civilians themselves. More recently, you gave the order to have Colonel Handler killed. Handler knew about your role in the An Lao Valley. Your career would have been ruined and you might have even gone to jail.
“You went up country with Starkey, Harris and Warren Griffin yourself. You were there, Hutchinson, in the An Lao Valley. You're responsible for everything that went wrong. You were there the fourth Blind Mouse.”
Hutchinson suddenly turned around in his chair. “Walker, Taravela,” he said, 'you can come in now. We've heard more than enough from this bastard.'
Two men entered through a side door. They both had guns drawn, pointed at me.
“Now you don't get to leave, Dr. Cross,” said Colonel Walker. “You don't get to go home.”
Alex Cross 8 - Four Blind Mice
Chapter One Hundred and Twelve
My hands were cuffed tightly behind my back. Then I was pushed outside and shoved down into the trunk of a dark sedan by the two armed men.
I lay curled up like a blanket in there. For a man my size, it was a tight squeeze.
I could feel the car back out of Hutchinson's driveway, bump over the gutter, then turn onto the street.
The sedan rode inside West Point at a reasonable speed. No more than twenty. I was sure we were leaving the grounds as the car finally sped up.
I didn't know who was up front. Whether General Hutchinson had come along with his men. It seemed likely that I was going to be killed soon. I couldn't imagine how I could get out of this one. I thought about the kids and Nana, and Jamilla, and I wondered why I'd risked my life again. Was it a sign of good character, or a serious character flaw? And did it really matter anymore?
Eventually, the car turned off the smooth highway surface onto a seriously bumpy road that was probably unpaved. I estimated we were about forty minutes from West Point. So how much longer did I have to live?
The car rolled to a stop and I heard the doors open and slam shut. Then the trunk was sprung.
The first face I saw was Hutchinson's. There was no emotion in his eyes. Nothing human looked back at me.
The two others were behind him. They had handguns pointed my way. Their stares were blank as well.
“What are you going to do?” I asked a question that I already knew the answer to.
“What we should have done the night you were with Owen Handler. Kill you,” said Colonel Walker.
“With extreme prejudice,” added the general.
Alex Cross 8 - Four Blind Mice
Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen
I was lifted out of the car trunk and unceremoniously dropped on the ground. I landed hard on my hip. Rain lanced my body. Just the beginning, I knew. These bastards were out to hurt me before they killed me. I was handcuffed and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
Colonel Walker reached toward me and ripped my shirt open. The other man was pulling off my shoes, then my pants.
