Lone star standoff, p.9
Lone Star Standoff, page 9
“The terrain is flat. There isn’t much more to say. There’s nothing around for miles but the road you’re on and all those windmills. It’s boring, so I thought I would spice it up a bit with a little history. Excuse me for caring about your mental stability in all of this.”
“My mental stability is fine. No need for concern. Do me a favor and go switch to Altman’s channel. Tell her the history of the place. I need to focus on what’s coming up ahead, not what’s behind.”
“Aye-aye, Cap’n.” Robin’s voice held all the sarcasm Nathan expected from her. He could practically see her mock saluting at her computer.
But he meant what he had said. He needed to focus.
Driving along the dusty road, he played out possible scenarios he might face. Particularly, if things came to a head, would he be willing to kill the human with the laptop? It bothered him that he even thought the question. Back when he was human, he would not have hesitated to suggest that all life was precious and that he should do anything and everything in his power to save that person. But then, he would never be in this situation if he were not an Immortal. Worse, he had to admit — once again — that being an Immortal meant he was fundamentally something different than human. No more human than a fish was a fawn.
While his thoughts did not provide him with an answer, they had eaten away at the drive. He spotted two people standing up ahead. As he slowed his car, he knew the time to ponder such questions had ended. He would simply have to see how it played out.
Parking near the base of one of the giant metal structures, its blades slowly generating massive force, he hoped he could be the same. With Maggie at his side, he pocketed an extra magazine. Then he walked towards the two figures.
One of them was, of course, Octavia. Standing several feet away, a middle-aged man with a red–brown beard and a sweaty comb-over held a briefcase. They both watched Nathan approach — the man with fear, Octavia with annoyance.
“Did you really kill her?” Octavia asked, well before he came close to them.
Nathan held out his hands in innocence. “Not even once.”
She forced a laugh as if this were some inside joke that did not mean what it meant — the performance entirely for the man. “Jared Glassman, allow me to introduce Nathan K. My associate.”
“Actually,” Nathan said, “think of me more like the competition.”
Despite staring at Maggie, Mr. Glassman said, “Oh? You’re a reporter, too?”
“No. And neither is she.”
Mr. Glassman retreated one step and placed the briefcase behind his back. “You’re not a reporter? What’s going on here?”
Like pals hanging around a neighborhood bar, Octavia threw off a friendly chuckle. “Relax. He’s kidding. He’s trying to scoop me, but he won’t do anything stupid. You have nothing to worry about.”
Mr. Glassman looked at Nathan. “Is that true?”
Standing about ten feet away, Nathan halted. “You can’t be this stupid. Look at us. Does she look like a reporter? What kind of reporter shows up carrying weapons?”
The poor man rocked from foot to foot as if he might lose his bladder any moment.
Attempting to sound more calming than patronizing, Nathan went on, “You’re going to be okay. You’ve just gotten in over your head with something you don’t understand. The briefcase — the laptop inside — I don’t know what you think is on that, but the information will never help you. You’ve got a simple decision to make. You see, that laptop will help me and my associates save a lot of lives. This woman — she basically wants to bury that thing. Doesn’t care how many people die because of it.”
“You know that’s not true,” Octavia said, but Nathan did not know who she directed the words to.
Mr. Glassman raised his chin, and despite the shaking in his throat, he found enough courage to say, “If you’re here to protect people, then why are you holding a gun? Why do you want to shoot me?”
Nathan glanced at Octavia, and she raised an eyebrow. “He really doesn’t know what’s going on.” He looked to Mr. Glassman. “The gun’s not for you. I’m going to kill her, if I have to.”
Octavia took a step toward Mr. Glassman. “He’s lying. He won’t shoot me. He’s not that stupid. He won’t shoot you, either. The gun is only for show.”
Big mistake. Octavia left out the most important part of her sentence — that she also wouldn’t shoot Glassman. Nathan heard the omission, and Glassman’s sweaty face betrayed that he had heard it, too.
Emitting a whimpering groan, Glassman hugged the briefcase, spun around, and ran off. Out of shape and overweight, the pudgy man would suffer a heart attack long before Nathan caught up to him. But neither Nathan nor Glassman got the chance to find out. Moving faster than Nathan could react, Octavia shot Glassman.
The crack of gunfire rolled across the flat land until the only sound remaining was the wind turning the metal blades above. Octavia strolled over to the dead man. Nathan wanted to rush her, but he knew better. She would shoot him in an instant. He wanted to raise Maggie. But he knew better. She would shoot him in half-an-instant. Instead, he simply watched as she unlocked the briefcase and removed the laptop.
With the Beretta in one hand and the laptop in the other, she wiped her sweating brow. The dusty wind picked up, and the dirt stuck to her hair like wet cotton. She offered Nathan a nod of camaraderie — as if they had finished a hard-fought triathlon, and though she ended up victorious, she respected his efforts. “I know this is not the outcome you wanted. I’m sorry that it has to be this way.”
“Please, don’t ruin a good moment. You aren’t sorry.”
“Not for Altman or Robin, but for you. I understand the rollercoaster you ride in these early years. The power you have gives you such highs, but the reality you face can send you into despair. We’ve all been there. I only hope that when you hit your rock bottom, you remember this moment. Remember that you are not alone. When you are ready, I’ll be here to welcome you.”
“I suppose that part goes hand-in-hand with the part that says until I’m willing to play along with you all, you’ll still consider me the enemy.”
“To some — yes. To me — you’re simply a great challenge.”
Her lips curled into a smile that Nathan wanted to see as smug but deep down, he knew she meant it more in friendship. It almost hurt him a little when the bullet from Altman’s sniper rifle cracked open Octavia’s skull — nearly a bull’s-eye in the middle of her forehead.
As Octavia’s head jutted back and her legs gave out, Nathan caught the confused surprise on her brow. He hastened over to her — she would not take long to heal — and as the second soul left her body, its hazy gray rising into the humid air, Nathan retrieved the laptop. He thought about taking her Beretta away, but that seemed wrong. As if he would be violating her. He did take out the magazine and pop the bullet out of the chamber. No point in being stupid.
“Looks like having human friends around isn’t such a bad thing after all. At least, not for me.”
Tucking the laptop under his arm, he hustled back towards his car. He heard Octavia sitting up, but he did not fear. She knew Altman was still out there, still watching. While Nathan could be counted on to honor the sacred rule of not permanently killing an Immortal — at least, he would honor it where Octavia was concerned — she had to suspect that Altman held no such value to the Immortal rule of law.
Octavia laughed. Hard.
Nathan paused. He turned back.
Answering his confused expression, she said, “Do you really think you’re unique? Do you really think you’re the only one who has a team? You know I’ve got others working with me.”
“Clockwork had to relocate, and Persenet won’t be helping anybody for a while.”
“My team is always much larger than that.”
An uneasy sensation squirmed through Nathan’s gut. “I’m not given this back to you.”
“I wouldn’t dream of asking. But you should know that I have lived long enough to learn many important lessons. Like this one — always have a backup plan.”
Nathan scanned the area around and knew Altman would be doing the same with the scope on her rifle.
Octavia’s laugh died to a snicker. “No, no. Nobody’s going to shoot you. Not yet. However, if I were you, I would stay away from the police for the next few decades. Just like Robin has been listening to all of this through her ear-comm, Clockwork is out there listening to us as well. Right now, he is feeding all of the law enforcement systems with the fact that a man who had been held by the TSA, who was involved in a high-speed chase, who has destroyed a lot of property as well as killed several drivers along with a body found in the stairwell of a nearby motel — well, that man’s been seen near the Hallstead Windfarm. They’ll be coming for you. All of them. You better get moving.”
Though he knew Robin would double-check, Nathan believed every word. While Octavia continued to giggle at his predicament, he darted to his car and raced off.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
For ten minutes, Nathan drove. He had no destination in mind, no direction planned. He just drove. The echoes of Octavia’s laughter filled his head.
Worst of all, he could hear Robin clacking away at her keyboard, hear the sounds of Tupac rapping in the background, hear everything but Robin’s voice. For her to go silent, to be so wrapped up in whatever she had discovered online, meant things were much uglier than he wanted to know. When he pulled over and shut the car off, he waited like a convicted criminal about to learn if he had been sentenced the death penalty.
“I’m sorry,” Robin finally said. “She wasn’t lying.”
“I didn’t think she was.”
“She’s been setting you up for this ever since Kansas. Like she said — it was her backup plan in case you ever got hold of the laptop.”
“What exactly am I facing?”
Shutting off Tupac, the silent background chilling in its emptiness, Robin said, “They have security footage of you at the airport and especially in the TSA interrogation room. So, they know exactly what you look like. Those guys who attacked us on the highway — Octavia must have hired them. Gave them orders to put on a big show for the traffic cameras. Best I can tell so far is that they were straight up mercenaries.”
“She knew they wouldn’t think to kill me more than once, and she hoped we’d do what we did and kill them.”
“I think you’re right. When Altman blasted the last car with a grenade, we had pulled a lot of attention by that point. Some people caught it on their phones and it’s already floating around the internet. The images of you aren’t clear in any of that, so I can probably get enough doubt going that it won’t connect to you directly.”
Altman cleared her throat, and Nathan could hear the wind blowing as she floored her car toward Robin. “I should think the sentry I killed, the prostitutes we terrorized, and the motel owner we robbed will do more than enough to paint the picture.”
“Yeah, well there’s that.”
Placing his hand on the laptop, Nathan said, “How long will it take to make it all go away?”
Robin sputtered out whatever caffeine boost she had been drinking. “Are you kidding? Clockwork is behind the tech part of all this. I can and will do a lot to muddy the waters as far as the public goes, and I’ve got several bots working at destroying every mention of you — those things are always in place cleaning up after you — but there’s no easy way to stop this for now. Not until Clockwork moves to another project. To be clear, I’m not saying he’s beaten me. I’m just pointing out that this isn’t the kind of thing I can get ahead of overnight. All I can do is scrub whatever he tries to put out there, and I can only do that to things I know about.”
“I get it.”
“I don’t think you do. Because some of this isn’t going away for a long time. These police reports and the BOLOs have already entered the national systems. That’ll take a lot of time to clean up. Remember when I had you hide out in the Yukon. We’re talking that kind of thing. But this time around, they know what you look like, and I can’t magically make all those officers unsee your face.”
Rubbing his now famous chin, Nathan sighed. “Okay. First steps first. I need to get out of Texas, and we need to get this laptop to you.”
“Fastest route out is north, but that gets you into Oklahoma. Considering all the damage you’ve done there, you should stay out of that state. Kansas, too. Based on where you are, I recommend going west. Fewer miles to the border. Once you’re in New Mexico, we can figure out how to get you and the laptop to me.”
Nathan started the car and got back on the road. “Altman, you need to burn your current ID. Destroy everything you have. Robin, make her a new identity as soon as possible.”
“You understand that —”
“It’s a shit-ton of work. I know. But it’s got to be done.”
Altman said, “I’m heading east just in case somebody wants to follow me.”
“Good. If you run into the law, don’t try to escape. Play it like you were my hostage. The more doe-eyed innocent you look, the more they’ll eat up any story you give. Robin, you need to get on the move, too. Don’t let Clockwork zero in on you.”
“Sweetie, I know how to do my thing, don’t you worry. I’m also looking for a safe location in New Mexico. I’ll send coordinates once I’m all set.”
Nathan checked his rearview mirror. “Oh, crap. I got a cop coming up the road.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
With his eyes locked on the rearview mirror, Nathan maintained steadily within the speed limit. The police cruiser pulled right up behind him and kept pace. Nathan watched the officer for any hint that the man might be driving with one hand and typing with the other — running Nathan’s plates.
“Robin,” Nathan said, hoping to bury all hints of nervousness. “Is there any way my car’s plates are in the police system right now?”
“It’s a rental. Don’t be concerned. It won’t be directly in the system — shouldn’t be — unless Clockwork already took the time to trace the plates back to the rental office and then got them to report it stolen or missing. Now that I say that, you should probably be concerned.”
Nathan slouched in his seat. If he acted the part of the casual driver with no worries about the police, perhaps this officer would dismiss any suspicious thoughts that flashed through his brain. Of course, being on the only highway heading away from a series of crimes would not help. Especially since Clockwork probably added the murder of Mr. Glassman at the Hallstead Windfarm to the growing list. Probably had it all set up and pinned on Nathan before the meeting even took place.
He continued rolling across the flat Texas highway with the police officer hanging right behind. The land that had once thrived with cattle and now converted wind into power drifted by. Nathan thought of them like a battery — a moving battery, rolling along a conveyor belt at a steady speed and waiting, waiting for some outside influence that would bring either the positive or negative side to life. Until that happened — and he hoped it would not happen for a long time — he drove. Waiting, waiting.
Then he saw it. The officer glanced at his computer screen, back at the road, but then glanced at the screen again as if to make sure the license plates matched. The man’s face grew stern as he called in to the dispatcher. Even as Nathan thought this guy’s made me the red and blue lights began to flash.
Here we go.
Nathan pressed on the accelerator and readjusted his seatbelt. Whatever the police cruiser had under the hood would undoubtedly overpower the rental sedan, but Nathan gambled that the cop would not want to engage directly by himself.
As Nathan pulled away, the cruiser’s siren began its long wail and the cop closed the distance. There were no twisting roads to attempt an escape, no maze of buildings with which to confuse a pursuer. Nathan could only barrel on forward, knowing the entire time that the cop had no trouble tailing him.
Pushing ninety-five miles-per-hour, the car shuddered. A sign promised an exit to the town of Cold Water in two miles. It would have to do.
“The police are on their way,” Robin said.
“I think I already knew that.” He could see the exit in the distance. “Things are about to get real rough for me. So, unless you have vital information to share, I’d appreciate a little quiet.”
Exhibiting a seriousness that sent shivers along Nathan’s body, Robin said, “I understand. You got it. I’ll do what I can from here. Good luck.”
Well, shit. If she’s that worried for me, this is going to be ten times worse than I thought.
The police cruiser pulled into the passing lane and sped up. He held steady at Nathan’s side. Though he didn’t want to do it, Nathan could not stop from snatching a peek over — the cop was young. Young yet chiseled with a tough, Texan square jaw.
Less than half a mile to go, but it seemed clear to Nathan that this cop wanted him to take the exit. Which meant there would be more cruisers waiting to greet them.
Sure enough, as Nathan peeled off the highway, two cruisers with lights flashing blocked the junction to the main road. The officers of those cars stood in front, each holding a shotgun, each adopting as much menace in their pose as possible.
If Nathan had been an outlaw in over his head and unsure of what to do, this small blockade would have been quite intimidating. But Nathan was none of those things. He had no intention of letting the police capture him.
With Square Jaw threatening to bump the back of the sedan, Nathan decided against the obvious move of blasting his way through the blockade. If he hit the parked cruisers straight on, his momentum would decrease significantly. Square Jaw would purposefully smash the rear of the car, and Nathan doubted the old vehicle could withstand the abuse. It would limp a few feet more before leaving Nathan at the mercy of angry Texans. Besides, one of the great benefits to the Texas landscape — he didn’t need a paved road all the time.
Pushing the sedan faster, he felt the shudder in the steering wheel extend throughout the frame of the car. The plastic dashboard made an unwelcome crackling. He could see the faces of the two officers as they thought he planned to barrel through them. Instead, he wrenched the wheel over and cut into the dry land. Dust flew up behind, spraying Square Jaw’s windshield, and in seconds, Nathan careened onto the main road heading towards town.
