Shadow Zone (25 page)

“Haddington Road, close to the stadium.”

“Okay, you stay on that road and go to the ferry terminal. They may be heading to Liverpool.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll go to the Beach Road and drive south. They’ll want to get as far away from here as quickly as they can.”

“It might help us to know what they took, Ms. Devareau. What are we trying to recover?”

“White sample trays, probably in some kind of cooler.”

“What are we dealing with here? Is it safe for us to handle?”

Considering the dangerous materials that were Gadaire’s stock-in-trade, it was a legitimate question.

“Yes, Ames. Just get it back. Stay in touch.”

Anna ended the call and peered through the windshield. Although the thieves had several minutes’ head start, she could make up the time.

Traffic lights optional.

Anna punched the accelerator.

Beach Road
Dublin, Ireland

Driscoll drove down the dark road and checked the rearview mirror. All clear. So far, so good.

He glanced over at his son, whose face was bathed in the pale blue dashboard lights. “We did it. We deliver the goods, and we’re on our way to the good life. Are you sad about leaving here?”

“No. I need a new start.”

“That’s exactly what we’ll get. My offier letter says we’ll be based in Sydney for eighteen months, and after that we’ll have a choice. You can even come back to Ireland if you want.”

“My mum’s here, and my friends are here. But I don’t know. I’ve never even been anywhere else other than here, England, and Scotland. I’ve always wanted to see a bit of the world, and I figure this is my chance.”

“That it is. And nothing will make me happier than to show it to you. But you know, as many wonderful things as I’ve seen all over the world, something always drew me back to Ireland. Even when it was very risky for me to be here.”

“Home?”

He nodded. “I’ve tried my best to develop a sophisticated façade, but I’m just a sentimental Irishman at heart. You may feel the same way about returning here as I do.”

“I might.” He looked at his father. “And there’s a girl.”

Driscoll chuckled. “There usually is. Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“She left me. She didn’t think I had enough ambition. That was about the time I decided to look you up. Damn, I was glad to see you.”

“Despite all the awful things your mother probably said about me.”

“They weren’t all awful.” Charlie smiled. “But I’d like to come back here a big success. Maybe she’ll think of me differently then.”

“You never know, son. In any case, maybe you’ll think differently of you. That’s more important.” Driscoll glanced at the rearview mirror. “Someone’s tearing up the road behind us.”

Charlie turned to look. “Police?”

“Nah, too low to the ground. A sporty Italian number. We’ll let ’em pass.”

The car sped up and roared alongside them for a moment.

Even in the darkness Driscoll could see the electric orange paint job and sleek, distinctive lines of a Lamborghini sports car.

“Wouldn’t mind coming back here driving one of those,” Charlie murmured.

Driscoll’s brow furrowed. “I don’t like this.”

The Lamborghini roared ahead of them, then behind, like a panther positioning itself over its prey.

Driscoll cut the wheel hard right and turned off on a side road. Before they had even completed the maneuver, however, the Lamborghini spun around in a perfect 180 and charged after them.

Driscoll’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “She has speed on her side, but we have bulk.”

“She?”

“I caught a glimpse back there. I think it’s Gadaire’s woman.” His lip curled. “Your beloved Anna.”

The Lamborghini whipped right and left, as if looking for another opening to move alongside. Driscoll matched the sports car move for move, keeping it behind him.

For the moment.

Charlie reached under his seat and fumbled for something.

“What are you doing?” Driscoll asked.

“I brought some insurance.” Charlie pulled out a rolled-up towel and unfolded it to reveal his revolver. “No one’s gonna stop us.”

“Put that thing away. I don’t use guns.”

The Lamborghini roared past them.

“Shit!” Driscoll pounded the steering wheel in frustration.

“Don’t let her block our way. We need to get back to the Rock Road.”

Driscoll glanced over at him. “Put the gun away. Right now I need you to—”

He gasped. With a squeal of tires, the Lamborghini had spun around in another perfectly executed 180 and faced them with blinding headlights. The car peeled out and hurtled straight toward them.

“She’s crazy,” Charlie said.

“Or she knows she has better airbags than we do.”

Charlie lowered his window and took aim at the advancing sports car. He fired once, twice, then repeatedly, but none of the bullets appeared to find their mark.

Driscoll gripped the wheel harder. “Either you’re a rotten shot, or she’s got some wicked bulletproof glass.”

Charlie was cursing as he jabbed his arm out the window and fired again. Still the Lamborghini raced toward them.

At the last minute, Driscoll cut the wheel to the left.

“That boulder!” Charlie shouted.

The van clipped the boulder and rolled down a steep embankment before coming to rest on its side in a ravine.

Charlie tried to pull himself up. “Dad . . . Dad!”

Driscoll felt the cold wetness in his nose and mouth. Blood.

“Charlie . . . Get away from here.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

Driscoll tried to shift in his seat. “I can’t move.”

“Then I’ll carry you.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

The Lamborghini’s headlights appeared over the embankment above them.

“Get away from here. Now.”

“The samples!” Charlie turned back toward the rear compartment, but the wheeled refrigeration case was upside down behind Driscoll.

“No time, son. Get to Kirov, tell him what happened. Do you still have your gun?”

“No, I—” Charlie looked up at the road above. “I lost it when we went over the embankment.”

“It’s okay. Run, Charlie. It will be doubly hard if you make me worry about you, too. Go!”

“No.”

“Then go find the gun. We can’t do anything without a weapon.”

“I should have held on to it.” Charlie climbed out of his still-open window and turned back, his face twisted in agony. “Dad . . .”

“It’s going to be all right. She’s a woman. They have no use for violence. I’ll tell her a pack of lies, and she’ll go away. I’ve never asked much of you, but I want you to obey me now.” He said softly, “I’m proud of you, Charlie. Now go.”

Charlie backed away and bolted into the brush.

Driscoll looked up at the Lamborghini’s headlights, twin spears cutting through a light mist. As he watched, Anna Devareau stepped in front of them and made her way gracefully down the embankment.

She crouched next to the upside-down van. “Who are you working for?”

“Only myself.”

“You’re lying.” She walked around to Driscoll’s side and shattered the already-splintered window with one fierce kick. Fragments of glass stuck to his already-bleeding face. She knelt next to him, a smile on her beautiful face. “Who hired you?”

“No one.”

She reached inside and pressed her thumbs to his throat. “I’m crushing your larynx, old man. But I’ll give you one more chance. When I let you go, you’ll give me a name. Then I’ll take my property and go away. Do you understand me?”

He couldn’t breathe; more blood ran from his nostrils.

Anna released her thumbs. “The name.”

Driscoll spat in her face.

Anna smiled, making no attempt to wipe away the bloody saliva dribbling down her cheek. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that, old man.” Then a frown crossed her face as she looked up to see more headlights as cars stopped on the road above them. “Too bad. We could have had fun.”

Anna hooked her left arm under his chin and braced her foot against the door.

She hurled herself backwards, cleanly breaking his neck.

Wicklow, Ireland
12:10
A.M.

Kirov, Hannah, and Eugenia sat in silence in the small rental cottage overlooking the Irish Sea. The property was obviously geared to vacationing golfers with its kitschy golf-themed aesthetic and close proximity to the world-class European Club.

“Where is he?” Hannah said. “It’s been too long. He should—”

“I hear something,” Eugenia jumped to her feet.

Kirov was ahead of her, peering out the front window. “It’s Charlie.” He strode toward the door and threw it open.

Charlie stood there, dazed. “He’s dead.”

“We know.” Hannah ushered him into the room. “We’ve been listening to the police bands to find out if Gadaire’s people have reported the robbery.” She put her hand gently on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Charlie. Are you okay? You look terrible.”

“No, I’m not okay. My dad is dead. I think I’m going to be sick.”

“The police are talking about it as if it were an accident,” Eugenia said. “But they’ve only been talking about your father. We were afraid Gadaire’s people might have gotten to you.”

Charlie dropped down on a leather hassock. “I saw him die.” He shook his head. “I saw him die, and I didn’t do a damn thing.”

“I’m sure there was nothing you could have done,” Hannah said.

“There was. I should have helped him. I was watching from behind some bushes near the top of the embankment. Dad told me to go back and find the gun I lost when we wrecked. I was halfway up, but then I saw her coming, and I stopped. She looked so slim and fragile. I should have stayed. My father told me to go away, that she was a woman and wouldn’t hurt him.”

“She?” Kirov asked.

“Anna. She snapped his neck.” He shook his head in wonder. “It looked so easy for her. I wanted to come back and tear her apart, but then she was gone. I ran back to the van, but he was dead. He was dead. I didn’t know what to do. Other people were stopping, coming down. And he’d told me to meet you.”

“The samples?” Hannah asked.

Charlie shook his head. “No. Everything went off fine, but when that bitch caused us to wreck, I had to leave the sample case in the van. I’m sorry.”

“So am I,” Kirov said. “You did the right thing, but it’s damn bad luck. I hate to leave Gadaire in possession of those samples. Between the samples and the artifact he hijacked, he may have everything he needs.” He turned to Hannah. “What do you want to do about it?”

She looked at Charlie, who was obviously on the verge of breaking down. “We should stick with Eugenia’s plan. We’re going to take the boat to England. Then we can hire a small plane, and we’ll take the samples to Melis at the lab in Athens.”

“But you don’t have all of the samples. I screwed up. That bitch took them,” Charlie said. “Kirov said it was important that we steal every one of them.”

“We’ll take the samples we have. Maybe there will be something in Lampman’s research papers we took with the samples that will help us keep ahead of Gadaire.”

“I don’t give a damn about those samples anymore. I’m not going,” Charlie said flatly.

“Yes, you will,” Kirov said. “It’s not safe for you here.”

“I don’t care. I’m going to stay and make sure Gadaire and his bitch pay for what they’ve done.”

“They will.” Kirov clasped his shoulder. “I promise you.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“I want to do it myself. Tonight.”

Hannah moved closer to him. “I know how you feel. We all do. But you have to be smart about this. If you blunder after them, they’ll kill you. And as soon as the police identify your father, it won’t take a lot of legwork for Gadaire’s people to figure out that you may have been the one that helped him. They’ll come after you, Charlie.”

“Good. Bring ’em on.”

“No,” Kirov said. “Maybe we can use that aggression, but it will have to be later. On our terms. Charlie, trust me.”

Charlie rubbed his forehead. “I don’t even know where I would go.”

“After this is over, you’ll go to Australia just like you were going to do with your father.”

“That security company wanted him, not me. I was just going in on his coattails.”

“I’ll speak to them. You’ll have a place there. You’ll have every opportunity that you would have had before. It’s a good opportunity, Charlie. Take it.”

Charlie shook his head. “I can’t just run away. She
killed
him.”

“Let us handle this for now,” Kirov said. “I promise you that Gadaire and Anna will pay, but they have money, power, and a small army backing them up. We need to be careful. Your father wanted you to be safe. That’s why he sent you away. If you really want to strike back at them, wait for the right moment. It’s what your dad would have done.”

Charlie thought about it. “Yeah, maybe, he was always telling me to be patient.” He added fiercely, “But I can’t be patient. Not for long. They killed him. They killed my dad.”

“One day at a time, Charlie.” Eugenia moved toward the door. “Our boat is waiting for us. We should go.”

“Come with us, Charlie,” Kirov said quietly. “We’ll need your help.”

Charlie hesitated, looking between them. He finally nodded. “Okay. I don’t know what else to do. But I can’t promise anything.” He started for the door. “Everything has changed now.”