Dangerous Secrets (40 page)

‶
Have you protected a lot of
people?″ she asked.

‶
Some,″ he said,
volunteering nothing.

‶
Women?″

Again he let his gaze travel to her. This time
slowly as if he had all the time in the world. Morgan held her breath. She
wanted him to deny it, lie to her.

‶
Some,″ he said.

‶
Did any of them die,″ she
hesitated,
‶
while.
. .″

‶
You′re not going to die,
Morgan. I′ll make sure of that.″

‶
You can′t know that. We
don′t know what those people are thinking, how they found us the last
time, how long it will be before they come again.″

‶
I know my job. I do it well.
There′s nobody better that can do what I do.″ His voice had no
vanity in it, no brashness or bragging. He spoke as if it were fact.

‶
Are you saying you′re the
best?″

‶
I′m alive,″ he
answered.

Morgan shivered at the coldness in the
statement. Jack was a force unto himself. A lone ranger. He worked with no one
and relied on no one. He said it in every breath. He didn′t need anyone
and didn′t want anyone. No attachments was his policy. The aura about him
spoke it as loudly as cheap perfume.

***

Jack understood why we study history. The past
never really goes away. It waits for you, waits until some point in the future
when you least expect it to screw up your life. Then, there it is—ready or not.
Without warning, it imposes itself, returns, forces you to face it, recognize it,
and act, without the power of veto. Jack′s past was here. It had to be
dealt with. Sitting next to him, as they sped along the dark road in the middle
of the night, on their way to a rendezvous point in western Ohio, was Morgan
Kirkwood—his past.

It began on a night not unlike this one. He was
driving back to the residence hall after a practice meet. He′d dropped
off several team members who′d ridden with him and was alone in his car.
He smiled to himself, as he′d done then. The team had won. They were all
elated, high on Adrenaline and looking forward to conquering the next meet.
Strange, Jack thought, how youth hadn′t prepared him for the future. It
had just happened. How could he have known, on that other night as he raced
through the darkness, that he′d end up here? That the road to here
wasn′t a straight line. It went up hills and into valleys, around back
roads and across superhighways. It took him past farmhouses, grass huts, into
bug-infested jungles and through homes that cost more than the entire treasury
of some countries.

What he′d told Morgan was true, although
he′d glossed over the worst of it. He had been the bad boy type, but when
it came to being bad, he′d done the worst. But not here, he′d done
it in the name of the law, under the protection of the United States
government, going into places the government couldn′t go and doing jobs
he couldn′t speak of, jobs that had few or no records and dealing with
people who had no names or faces. He hung alone, worked alone and all problems
were his to identify, postulate and execute. His means were his own concern. He
answered to no one.

And he′d been selected for his career
because of a swimming meet. He didn′t know who had been at that meet, but
someone had seen him and recognized something in him. The man who actually
approached came during his time at Olympic training camp. He′d simply
given him a card with an address on it. No explanation, just a comment,
‶
Twenty
hundred hours, tonight. Speak to no one. Come alone.″

He looked back now, not understanding how he
could have been so naive. He thought it was some kind of invitation, that there
was an initiation ceremony or even a hazing, like they did in college for
fraternity pledges or some ritual for newcomers to the camp. The party he
expected to attend turned out to be dinner and a long conversation with a man
from the CIA, who offered him a job. The man told him they′d been
watching him for some time, that he had all the qualities they looked for in
good agents: physical ability, intelligence, aptitude and teamwork. They also
needed someone who could swim.

Jack remembered returning to his room that
night. No thought of practicing or where he was entered his mind. He only
thought how weird the night had turned out and how strange everything had sounded,
yet he had no doubt that the man he′d had dinner with was serious. He
reviewed his own situation, his sisters, his parents, the loving home in which
he′d grown up, how his parents struggled to give their children anything
they needed, but not everything they wanted.

Jack thought eventually to follow in his
father′s footsteps and become a pharmacist. Today, after all he′d
been through, all he′d done and seen, he couldn′t imagine himself
in a white coat filling prescriptions or even going so high as to becoming a
doctor. What he looked forward to now, before he′d become immersed in
Morgan Kirkwood′s life, was going to Montana, fixing up his home, putting
down roots. He might even get married and have children. His parents would like
that.

Glancing at Morgan, he wondered what she wanted
to do.

‶
When we get out of this. .
.″ he started, deliberately saying when and not if,
‶
.
. . what do you plan to do?″

‶
I don′t know. Some part
of me never thought it would come to this. The other part never thought about
anything after getting to Washington.″

‶
You′ll be all right when
we get there. Jacob is a good man. He′ll protect you.″

‶
You and he are good
friends.″

‶
We′ve spent some time
together. I was best man at his wedding five years ago. He′s got a kid
now.″

‶
Boy or girl?″

‶
Girl. Krysta. I′ve never
seen her.″

‶
Have you ever been married,
Jack?″

He shook his head. He′d never even come
close. His work didn′t allow for relationships. Jack had met many women,
most of whom had been hiding something or were part of some plot that involved
the United States and its allies. He′d known they were agents. Morgan was
the only one who touched him with her innocence. When she carried Hart Lewiston
out of that prison and within the hour stood in front of the world, albeit with
tears streaming over her face, as if she was strong enough to withstand the
demons from hell, Jack had been more than over the edge. She was the only woman
he′d ever come close to falling in love with and since then he′d
hardened his heart to anything and anyone else.

Only when he′d seen Morgan and held her
in his arms did all that hardness break as surely as a quarry stone is reduced
to gravel.

‶
I′ve never been married
either. Marriage was one of those things that wasn′t one of my
goals.″

‶
I thought it was a goal of all
American women.″

‶
Only those that live the
American dream.″

Jack understood the way she said it that she
felt the dream wasn′t within her grasp.

‶
One more point,″ she went
on. She turned in her seat to look at him.
‶
Just for your information,
I′ve also never had an abortion or been pregnant.″

‶
I apologize for that.″
He′d been so angry when he found her trying to run away. He wanted to
know who she was trying to protect. He still thought there was something or
someone.
‶
Your
actions are the same as a person trying to protect someone. I thought I could
get you to tell me who, and that would make my job easier.″

He remembered his method. It probably
wasn′t the best, but he′d had little control when her saw her. Her
skin, dark and slick with water, the smell of the soap and the way her face
looked all clean and fresh and softened in the mist of the small room. Her hair
was off her face and her eyes were huge and melting. He′d have to be a
dead man not to respond to having her so close and wanting for twelve years to
fulfill his fantasies.
‶
The only person I′m trying to protect is
myself,″ she paused. Then in a lower voice, she said,
‶
I
wouldn′t want you to get hurt either.″

‶
Thank you,″ Jack said.
‶
We′re
going to make it.″ She reached over and placed her hand over his. Jack
grabbed it and squeezed. For a moment they sat like that, the car silent except
for the noise of the road and the wind and the singing of his heart.

***

Morgan heard it first. The sun had risen an
hour ago, bringing the day into full light. Traffic hadn′t picked up
much. Three miles back the road split into two ribbons with a dense crop of
trees separating them. Along the opposite side was a long-running bank of
trees. They tunneled through them. Trapped. The place was perfect for an ambush
and it seemed Jack had driven them straight into it. If someone wanted to lead
them in only one direction or to kill them, this was a perfect setting.

‶
It′s back.″

‶
Yep,″ Jack agreed.
‶
And
we′re sitting ducks.″

Morgan craned her neck, looking out the front
windshield, then the side windows trying to see the helicopter she could hear.
‶
I
don′t see it″

‶
It′s directly over
us.″

‶
What do we do?″

Jack didn′t get to answer. A shell
exploded in front of the Jeep. A flash of red fire and black smoke cut their ability
to see. Morgan grabbed the chair arms and gulped air as the force of the blast
pushed her against the upholstery. Jack fought the four-wheel drive vehicle,
trying to keep control, maneuver around the pothole created by the explosion,
and stay on the road. The Jeep fishtailed wildly as if it wanted to follow the
laws of physics while its driver tried valiantly to break them. Gravel and
twigs spit out from under the tires like shrapnel as they crunched onto the
shoulder. Jack cut the steering wheel sharply and re-established the Jeep on
the road.

‶
Why aren′t there any
other cars?″ Morgan finally whispered.
‶
Someone had to hear that
explosion.″

Jack accelerated.
‶
It′s my guess
that somewhere ahead and behind us are road closed signs. It′s a classic
ambush technique. They let us pass through, then close the road at two
ends.″

Morgan narrowed her eyes, looking through the
side window on Jack′s side of the Jeep. The crop of trees was dense, but
there were places she could see through to the other road. It was clear of cars
and a cornfield ran along the road. It was only late May and the corn
wasn′t very high. It looked more like pineapple plants than com stalks.

Another explosion hit the ground. Jack swerved,
guessing right as a chunk of the ground scooped out like a moon cleaving from
the ground and hurled leftward.

Bullets rat-tatted against the ground around
them. One hit the side of the Jeep and shattered a back window. Morgan screamed
as she grabbed her head and leaned forward. Glass exploded inward.

‶
We′re going to have to
get out of the car.″ The odds of a bullet or something worse hitting a
major system and the Jeep turning into a giant toaster were escalating.
‶
When
I stop, get out as fast as you can and go into the woods.″

Morgan grabbed her backpack and slipped it on.
She rolled the window down as Jack swerved right and left. Another shell
exploded. Jack plowed into the trees and came to a stop. Morgan forced the door
open and rolled out, Jack right behind her. She started running.

Low-hanging branches slapped him in the face.
Morgan didn′t stop going even though the branches must be hitting her
too. Jack couldn′t tell how far it was to the other end, but if the
people chasing them were smart, and he knew they were, the other side was no
sanctuary.

‶
Morgan, stop,″ he
shouted. She slowed and turned. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the
ground. Together they listened for the helicopter.

Morgan looked up.
‶
Do you think they
can see us?″

‶
No, but I don′t think
it′s safe—″ He stopped, listening. The bird was overhead. He
followed the sound with his eyes. It was flying away from them back toward the
road.

Jack thought about their options. They could go
back to the road and get the Jeep, but they would only have the road to drive
on and he wasn′t sure they could make it. Even the four wheel drive
couldn′t get through trees this dense. If they kept going forward, there
was no telling what was ahead of them. He could almost guarantee they′d
find men with guns trained on them. If they went sideways, the same fate
awaited them.

Suddenly a powerful explosion shattered the
air. Jack instinctively covered Morgan, pushing her to the ground. A second
thunderous blast convulsed the air.

‶
The Jeep is no longer a means
of escape,″ he explained when she looked at him.

Morgan′s hand squeezed his arm. She faced
the opposite direction, away from the road.
‶
I hear voices.″

Jack heard them too.
‶
We have to go or
they′ll find us.″

Pulling Morgan behind him, he ran straight
ahead, parallel to the road. He wanted to come out ahead of the Jeep. About
fifty yards later, he turned and headed toward the road. They had one chance.
They′d have to get back to the road, cross it and hide in the trees on
the divider median. If no cars were coming along the other side of the road, the
median was their only refuge since the cornfield hadn′t grown tall enough
to hide them. It might not save them, but it would buy them some time.