All eyes turned toward Casey. He had composed himself and projected his usual aura of confidence.
“Admiral Drake gave a very pretty speech about his son, and I’m sure what he said about Drake’s veracity is correct. I, myself, have gained the utmost respect for him during the race. However, his information about the training room is incorrect. You see, Drake, himself, has never seen the room. He is relying on what somebody else told him-what is known in law as hearsay.”
Casey paused. The silence was palpable as the assembled officers waited to hear what he would say next. Melody knew it would be difficult for her to get the attention of this roomful of testosterone-charged males. Seeing the training room for themselves would provide all the evidence they needed, especially the Russian manuals. Casey couldn’t prevent that. What was his game?
Casey continued speaking. “Drake is correct in saying that this is a training facility. It is used for training the men who are testing the submarines Giganticorp is developing. I admit that we built the boat that was used in the Malibu attack. We lent it to one of our allies for testing. How it fell into the hands of the Soviets, I don’t know. I was remiss in not reporting this sooner. I take full responsibility for this omission, and we will cooperate fully in any investigation.”
Casey was trying to get himself off the hook by confessing to a lesser crime. As the officers rose from the table to walk up to the training room, Drake asked the captain, who was keeping an eye on him, if he could get his handcuffs taken off. The young officer shook his head. It would be a messy process since they didn’t have the key. This was not the time.
Drake had to acquiesce to this, but he was determined to go to the training room. Casey was too slippery. He had fooled the officers so far. Drake eyed Casey as the latter rose from his seat at the head of the table with a half-smile on his face. Drake didn’t like what he saw.
Drake and the captain trailed the others heading outside, except for Melody who was a step behind them. As soon as they were in the open air, Drake whistled all four lines of the tune he and Melody used as a signal, softly, so that only Melody and the captain could hear him: C, F, G, A; F, B flat, A G; C, E, F, G; E, A, G, F.”
“What song is that?” the captain asked.
“Just a schmaltzy tune we sang when we were kids. ‘The wind is free and so are we; we’ll stake our lives on liberty.’”
Melody had no doubt about Drake’s meaning. Casey had a gun. Apparently in his pants pocket since he was wearing a short-sleeved sport shirt. It must be small-Grace had been killed by a small-caliber bullet. Small, but at close range, deadly. Drake didn’t trust the captain enough to tell him. Perhaps he was afraid the captain wouldn’t believe him. They weren’t convinced that Casey and not Drake was the enemy-yet.
As they walked uphill alongside the building, Melody lagged behind, trying to be inconspicuous. The captain didn’t pay any attention to her. They rounded the corner; Casey had already unlocked the door to the training room and was leading the officers inside. Drake and the captain followed them. Melody stayed outside in the dark, against the wall, projecting her head past the door frame only far enough so that she could see Casey.
Casey had his back to her and was declaiming about the facility-pretending to tell how the training took place. He sounded believable, but then he always sounded believable. So far he had managed to keep everybody away from the bookcase containing the Russian manuals. But the men were starting to wander around on their own. It was just a matter of time…
Casey beckoned to the Chairman, indicating that he wanted to show him something. Melody saw him pull the gun, but it happened so fast there was nothing she could do. She was too far away. He put the gun to the head of the Chairman and told him not to move.
“Gentlemen, your attention please. I am holding a gun on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Captain, kindly drop your gun belt to the floor and kick it away from you.”
The captain looked stunned and did as he was told.
“Thank you. And thanks to the meddling of people like Drake, it appears that we can no longer work together. Fortunately, I am prepared for this contingency. Giganticorp has recently purchased a corporate jet, which is at this moment fueled and waiting at the San Jose Airport with a pilot standing by. I am a planner by nature, and I tried to plan for everything.”
The other officers looked as stunned as the captain. Melody couldn’t see the Chairman’s face, but this probably wasn’t his finest hour. He and Casey had their backs to the door. Drake spotted her, and his expression was calculating, but, handcuffed as he was, there wasn’t a lot he could do. Melody was in the best position to attempt something, but she had to be careful not to get the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs killed. Casey spoke again.
“This is how it’s going to play out. Drake’s handcuffs are the ones used by my guards. Fortunately, I have a key to them.” He reached into a pocket with his free hand and extracted it. “Colonel Kilgore,” he indicated the smallest officer in the room, “you are going to take the handcuffs off Drake and put them on the Chairman. If anybody tries anything, the Chairman dies.”
As this procedure was carried out, Casey explained that he was going to drive the Chairman to the airport. The plane was in a private area, and Casey could drive directly to it. The Chairman would be his passenger on the flight, which was to an unnamed country. If any planes were sent in pursuit of them, the Chairman would die. If they arrived safely, the Chairman would be sent back to the U.S.
The Chairman finally found his voice. “Don’t worry about me, boys. Just get Casey.”
Casey jabbed the gun against his head, making him wince. Of course the others wouldn’t do anything to endanger his life. Casey had picked the correct hostage. Melody looked at Drake who now had his hands free. But what could he do? As Casey prepared to leave with the Chairman, he had everybody stand well away from the door and told them not to follow-or else. He had apparently forgotten about her. She was counting on it.
Melody made a gesture for Drake, indicating that she was going to try something. He gave an almost imperceptible nod and nudged the captain who was standing beside him. The captain saw Melody.
One of the officers spoke. “We’ll make a deal with you, Casey. Just let the Chairman go.”
Casey shook his head. “No deals.”
As he and the Chairman turned around, Melody jerked her head back out of the doorway. Her muscles tensed. What if her actions got the Chairman killed? The Free World would stagger if this happened. But it would be worse if Casey managed to take him out of the country. In addition to the resulting international humiliation, perhaps Casey would decide not to let him return.
Melody counted the footsteps of the Chairman and Casey as they marched toward the door. They sounded loud on the wooden floor. She tensed her muscles even more. She would have only one chance. The Chairman came through the doorway first, followed by the gun to his head. Melody lunged, her timing almost perfect.
“Go,” she shouted at the Chairman as she shoved the gun away from his head.
She tried to grab the gun out of Casey’s hand but failed. His first shot went wild. He shook her loose, and she thought he was going to shoot her, but he had a bigger problem. Drake and the captain had moved when she did and were almost at the doorway. Casey heard the noise of their footsteps and swung around to face them.
His second shot hit the captain who was leading. He didn’t get a chance to fire a third shot. Drake’s momentum pushed the captain into Casey, and then Drake hit Casey like a Muhammad Ali punch, blasting him onto his back. Casey emitted a solid “ooof” as the wind was knocked out of him. Melody grabbed the gun from Casey’s hand and pointed it at his head.
Drake sat astride him and spoke grimly. “Artie’s not the only one who played football.”
CHAPTER 39
Today’s run ends the race. It goes from Thornton State Beach through San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge to the vista point at the north end. Follow Route 35 (Skyline Drive) into San Francisco County. Turn left on Great Highway and follow the coast past the Cliff House. You can improvise going through Lincoln Park (chance for some place changes here). You can take El Camino del Mar out of the park. Follow Lincoln Boulevard to approach
