Cut and Run (30 page)

He tumbled to the ground.

A ragged breath tore from Scott. He jumped up and raced toward Phoebe, horrified when he saw her lying on the ground in front of Ethan’s car, drops of blood on the back of her shirt.

Tori and Ethan were already jumping out of the vehicle, but Scott reached her first. He pulled Phoebe into his arms and turned her to face him.

“Phoebe!” he cried out. “Phoebe!”

He searched her body for injuries, when she suddenly stirred and opened her eyes.

“Phoebe, baby! Are you all right?”

“Scott, you came.”

Hearing her voice, though a little feeble, restarted his own heart which had stopped the moment the assassin had aimed his gun at her.

Scott pulled her to his chest and pressed kisses to her face and head. “I promised you, didn’t I? I promised I’d find you.”

He slanted his lips over hers and kissed her softly, afraid of robbing her of oxygen. He hadn’t missed the redness on her neck, evidence the assassin had tried to strangle her.

“She okay?” Ethan asked.

Scott looked up at him and Tori, and felt Phoebe shudder in his arms. He gently stroked her back. “These are my friends, Ethan and Tori. They helped me find you.”

Phoebe raised her eyes to them. “I’m so grateful.”

“Scott is exaggerating. He found you all by himself. We just came along for the ride.” Ethan slid his arm around Tori’s waist. “Isn’t that right, Tori?”

Phoebe gazed back at Scott, smiling now. “Thank you.” She leaned in for a kiss, and he welcomed her open show of affection.

But he knew they didn’t have the luxury of staying here for long. He severed the kiss, and only now he realized she was handcuffed. “Let’s get these off you.”

He motioned to Ethan, who understood immediately and searched the dead man’s pockets for the key.

“Got it,” he announced a moment later and uncuffed Phoebe.

She rubbed her wrists. “Thank you.”

“We’d better leave before somebody alerts the police,” Scott suggested and helped Phoebe up.

“Wait!” Phoebe stopped him and pointed at the body. “Take his cell phone. He got a call from whoever hired him shortly before we got to Nashville.”

While Ethan rummaged through the dead man’s pockets and pulled out the cell phone, Scott cupped Phoebe’s shoulders. “What did he say?”

“Not much. Only that he would find you soon and get rid of you. And me. He didn’t want any loose ends. It must have been the person who hired him.”

“That was all?”

She nodded. “I’m afraid so. How do you think he even found me?”

Scott exchanged a quick look with Ethan, who was scrolling through the display of the phone. “Anything?”

“It’s a burner phone, like I expected.” Ethan’s gaze moved to Phoebe. “No stored numbers, no call history, nothing.”

“Leave it, then,” Scott advised and locked eyes with Phoebe again. “As to your question—I don’t know how he found you. He shouldn’t have. He traced me. I got confirmation of it via the Deep Web, but he couldn’t know where you would be once I dropped you off at the motel. He didn’t follow me, otherwise he would have come to the house and tried to kill me there.”

“Then I don’t understand.” Phoebe looked up at him, confusion in her eyes.

“I don’t either. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ll find the source of his information.” Maybe not today or tomorrow, but Scott knew eventually he’d find out how his enemy knew things he couldn’t possibly know.

Ethan interrupted his musings. “Where to now?”

“My father owned a cabin in the woods of West Virginia. Nobody knows about it.”

Ethan nodded in agreement. “Let’s go, then.”

23

The drive to the remote mountain area in West Virginia took over nine hours. Scott had insisted on Phoebe riding with Ethan and Tori in their car, while he was following on the Ducati. It would have been too strenuous for Phoebe to ride on the bike with him, particularly after what she’d been through. At least she could sleep in the backseat of the car, though Scott had to admit he missed feeling her body pressed to his and her arms wrapped around his torso.

In Grafton, Scott took over the lead and guided Ethan and his passengers through remote mountain roads ever deeper into the woods, until they were driving only on unmarked paths that could barely be considered roads. There were no street names, no power lines, no signs of civilization. But Scott knew where he was heading. Sheppard had made him memorize every bend in the road, every tree, and every creek. Although he’d not visited the place in several years, he was confident he’d find it with his eyes closed.

When he finally saw the familiar structure peek from between mature trees and thick shrubbery, Scott sighed with relief. Finally, they could all rest.

He slowed the Ducati to a crawl and raised his hand to give Ethan behind him a sign to stop. Then he parked the motorbike in the middle of the dirt path and got off. He walked the few steps back to where Ethan’s car idled. His fellow Phoenix had already opened the driver’s side window.

“That it?”

Scott nodded. “Sheppard must have known one day we’d need a place like this.”

“You sure it’s safe?”

“We’ll know in a minute. Wait here.” He glanced into the back of the car, locking eyes with Phoebe for a short moment. She gave him a hopeful smile.

Marching back to his motorcycle, he unlocked one of the side cases and rummaged through the contents. He found what he was looking for and pulled the small handheld device from it. It was square and a little larger than a cell phone, though its screen was much smaller, and there was a number pad below it. Scott pressed the on button and allowed the device to boot up.

In the meantime, he pulled a spray can from the case and crouched down to the ground. He released the gas from the container, pointing it low on the ground toward the house. As it dispersed, red laser beams crisscrossing the area leading up to the property became visible. The booby trap Sheppard had set up was still intact.

Scott looked back at the device in his hand. When a green light flashed on the tiny screen, he typed a ten-digit number into it, then pressed enter. A moment later, he sprayed more gas toward the laser field, but it was gone.

He rose to his feet and placed the can and the device back in his side case and mounted his motorcycle. He turned to wave to Ethan to follow him.

Moments later, they were both parked in a wood shed next to the house. Scott watched as Ethan and his passengers opened the doors. When Phoebe stepped out of the car, Scott took her hand and pulled her to him. “You okay?”

“Much better now,” she replied.

“Good.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and turned to Ethan and Tori. “Let’s go inside.”

Ethan took Tori’s hand and walked to the front door, then motioned toward the area they’d just passed. “Laser field?”

Scott nodded. “In case anybody finds this place and approaches, the person would blow up.”

Tori tossed him a curious look. “What about the animals around here?”

Scott smiled involuntarily. “The system is pretty sophisticated. It can distinguish between human and animal.”

Ethan clicked his tongue. “Looks like Sheppard had a few aces up his sleeve, excuse the pun.”

“He did, but it didn’t save him in the end.”

He exchanged a look with his fellow Phoenix. Ethan’s estranged father had met with the same fate, killed by the assassin in Ethan’s tail. While at the house in Memphis, Ethan had revealed everything that had happened.

Phoebe squeezed his hand. “Maybe it wasn’t meant to save him, but all of you. The Phoenix.”

Arrived at the front door, Scott unlocked it and entered. The interior smelled stale. Nobody had opened a window here in years. The house consisted of a large living area with adjacent kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom. It was comfortably furnished, but not luxurious.

Scott invited the others to enter then closed the door behind them. He flipped the light switch, and the living area was suddenly bathed in warm light.

“I didn’t see any electrical lines in the area,” Ethan commented.

“Solar energy from panels a few miles away, and a backup generator running on diesel,” Scott explained.

Ethan pointed to the sink in the kitchen. “And the water and sewer?”

“A private well and a leach field.”

“And nobody’s ever found this place?”

Scott shook his head. “Sheppard made sure it can’t be seen from the air. That’s why it’s surrounded by mature evergreens. They provide a thick canopy. And that’s why he put the solar panels off site.”

“Smart man.”

“We’re staying here for the night?” Tori asked.

“Yes. You guys can take the fold-out couch. It’s pretty comfortable. I slept there when I was a child.” Scott motioned to the door leading to the bedroom. “Phoebe and I will take the bedroom. But first, I think we need to sit down so Ethan and I can work out a plan of action.”

Ethan nodded in agreement. “Yes. Tomorrow Tori and I will leave and get to work.”

“So soon?” Phoebe asked. “Why?”

“It’s best if we split up. We can get more done that way. Not that I don’t like this charming retreat, but I doubt Scott meant for us to move in.” Ethan grinned.

“I don’t want to seem inhospitable, but Ethan is right,” Scott agreed with a smirk. Then he turned serious again. “Let me just get us all settled.” He looked at Phoebe and Tori. “Are you hungry?” They’d stopped for some food hours ago.

“Now that you mention it, a bit,” Phoebe admitted. She looked around. “I doubt there’s anything here. We should have gone shopping first.”

“No worries. There’s a cellar.”

Scott walked to the kitchen and crouched down next to the wall. He pulled away the rug and reached for the latch, lifting the large trap door and revealing a wooden staircase into the darkness. He reached inside and flipped a switch, illuminating the cellar.

Behind him, Phoebe let out a breath. “Impressive. What’s down there?”

Scott turned his head to her. “A couple of large freezers, some dry goods, and a hell of a lot of canned food to survive the apocalypse.”

Phoebe exchanged a look with Tori. “Guess we won’t starve.”

“As long as one person here can cook,” Tori agreed and sat down on the loveseat in the living room.

Ethan joined her.

Scott pulled a notepad from the small desk that stood at one wall and sat down on the couch facing Ethan.

“Looks like you have a plan,” Ethan started.

“I do. I had a lot of time to think while driving.”

“Let me hear it, then.”

From the corner of his eye he noticed Phoebe standing next to the sofa. He glanced at her and reached his hand out to her in invitation. She sat down next to him, and knowing that she was here with him, alive and well, soothed him. He gave her a warm smile then looked back at Ethan.

“We know there are others like us,” Scott started.

“Yeah, but we don’t know who, how many, and where they are. Sheppard kept that information to himself.”

“Well, not all of it. He gave me a list of the codenames of all members of the Phoenix program.”

“Where is the list? Let me see it.”

Scott tapped his temple. “In here.” He put a pen to paper. “I’ll share the list with you.” He started writing down the names, starting with Ace, his own codename, and ending with Zephyr, Ethan’s codename. Then he handed the list to Ethan. “Memorize it. Then burn it.”

Ethan ran his eyes over the piece of paper. “That’s quite a lot of agents. You wouldn’t by chance know their real names?”

“I’m afraid Sheppard thought it would be too dangerous for me to know.”

“Well, we can cross two names off, you and me. Which leaves us with what, a couple dozen others to figure out?”

“Right.”

“Looks quite impossible from where I’m standing.”

“I know. But we need them. If we’re right, and each of us has the same premonition, then something big is going down. Something we need to prevent. But we can’t do it alone, nor can we figure it out on our own. Everybody seems to have one piece of information. And only if we can get our hands on all the pieces will we see the big picture.”

Ethan hummed to himself. “I agree, but it won’t be easy to draw the others out. They’re hiding, just like we are. They must assume anybody wanting to find them is doing it in order to destroy them. They’ll be careful.”

“I wouldn’t expect them not to use caution. But we have to use methods that will tell them we’re their allies. Something that will identify us to them as Phoenix, while making sure we won’t give our positions away to our enemies.”

“Do you trust your contact in the Deep Web?”

Scott raised his eyebrows. “You mean despite the fuck-up about the time? Yes.”

“We might be able to use him to put out a few feelers for us.” Ethan tossed a glance around the room. “Do you have internet access here?”

“I have a secure satellite system I can hook into when I need to.”

“Good. I’m assuming there’s no phone out here.”

“No. But I have a secure cell you’ll be able to reach me on. And there’s more equipment buried underneath the shed outside. We have everything we need to set up a command center here. It’s as safe as we’ll ever get it.”

“Good. Let’s do that. We might be able to find others that way.”

“Good idea. But there’re other ways too. You were alerted to me because I acted on my premonition. We have to assume the other Phoenix will eventually act on theirs. We need to monitor the news.”

“I can help you with that,” Phoebe said from beside him.

Scott and Ethan turned their heads to her.

“You don’t need to get involved in this,” Scott said.

“I already am. You might as well let me use my skills. I’m in this too. That jerk was going to kill me!”

Scott felt a cold shudder race down his spine at the memory of Phoebe in the hands of the assassin.

Ethan chuckled. “My suggestion is to give in.” He glanced at Tori. “I’ve learned that once a woman has made up her mind, all resistance is futile.”

Scott locked eyes with Phoebe. “We’ll talk about it later.” Then he gave Ethan a sideways glance. “And I thought as a fellow Phoenix you’d be on my side.”