Run into Trouble (31 page)

“In Washington?”

“Yes sir, in Washington.”

“Of course, the news will be relayed
immediately to the president. Not yet, Mr. Drake. Before we do
anything else, we’re going to have a look at this so-called
training room.”

“General, I’d be happy to give you a tour of
the room in question.”

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 the bridge. As you get close to the
bridge, you can take Merchant Road to gain access to the bridge.
Cross the bridge into Marin County. Enjoy yourselves. It’s been a
great race.

***

“It’s too bad you didn’t get a hug from your
father.”

They were running slowly, but they were
running.

“At least he shook my hand and said, ‘Good
job.’ He did hug
you
. So did the Chairman.”

“Your father said some nice things about you
in front of the Chairman. How many fathers do that for their sons?
He’ll make a good interim CEO for Giganticorp. I think they elected
him because he’s the only honest man of the bunch.”

“He’ll dispense with the mendacity, that’s
for sure. I gather that he’s waiting for us at the end of the race,
instead of Casey. That ought to get the media buzzing. He’s
probably already congratulating Tom and Jerry, the big winners.
It’s a nice gesture on his part, but I’d rather be met by dancing
girls.”

“What about dancing boys?”

“Boys, too, just for you.”

The board of directors of Giganticorp,
having a quorum present, had convened a meeting after things had
calmed down. They had transacted two pieces of business. They had
ousted Casey Messinger as chief executive officer of Giganticorp
and elected Justin Drake to serve in his place until a committee
with Admiral Drake at its head could find a suitable person to take
the position in a permanent capacity.

Melody was still trying to absorb everything
that had happened last night. “Casey showed a lot of hubris
bringing the conspirators to the same building where he had trained
the submariners. If Slick and I hadn’t found that room, somebody
else might have.”

“I guess he felt that once he was President,
or Dictator, or whatever his title was going to be, that it
wouldn’t matter anymore. He should be hanged as a traitor, but I
doubt that’s going to happen. Since he was captured by the
military, I suspect that his real plan will be hushed up. It would
show too much government vulnerability, and too many other heads
would roll along with his. The official reason for Casey leaving
Giganticorp will be, ‘so he can spend more time with his
family.’”

“He’ll have to spend it on the private
island he was about to fly to last night.”

“He won’t be allowed to live in the U.S.,
that’s for sure.”

“Do you think the president will replace the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs?”

“Definitely. But that happens quite
frequently and won’t raise many eyebrows. The generals and admirals
present who are still on active duty will no doubt be taking early
retirement. No heroes will emerge from this, but Slick should get a
footnote in history. Even Blade was upset about him. It can truly
be said that he gave his life for his country. And for me.”

“If the guard hadn’t made a lucky shot,
Slick would still be alive…”

Melody’s voice trailed off. She had to slow
down even more because she was choking up. Their speed didn’t
matter, anyway. They were firmly entrenched in last place for
today’s run. She had found out one thing about Slick that she
didn’t care to share with Drake—his beautiful blue eyes. She pulled
herself away from the image of those eyes as he lay dying and tried
to concentrate on what Drake was saying.

“If you hadn’t moved in and taken out Artie,
he would have shot me.”

“If you hadn’t kicked his gun, he might have
hit
me
. I thought he’d never go down.”

Drake didn’t want to talk about that phase
of the operation anymore. They both could have been killed.

“You’re the real hero for stopping Casey
when he was kidnapping the Chairman.”

“Casey forgot about me. Since he discounted
my ability when we toured the submarine, I figured he might. But
you and the captain kept him from shooting me.”

“I’m glad the captain will be okay. The
bullet basically bounced off his ribs.”

Drake wasn’t faking his limp. It was all he
could do to keep running. “Sorry I’m such a mess today. My belly
flop and the tackle by Artie ruined any chance we had at the
million. Not to mention my tackle of Casey. My knees are killing
me.”

“My feet are sore from those damn shoes I
was wearing. I keep telling myself that what we did was much more
important than a million dollars.”

“Thanks for trying to cheer me up. At least
we’re sure to collect on the per diem. With my father in charge,
all the obligations of Giganticorp will be paid in full.”

“You can buy your cabin in Idyllwild.”

“And get away from people like Casey. If
they’re not going to hang him as a traitor, I hope the FBI nails
his ass for Grace’s murder.”

“The Chairman said he would push them to
investigate it. At least they’ve got a smoking gun now—”

“And a smoking executive assistant. I
suspect that Ms. Melinda Gage knows secrets that would curl your
hair.”