Noble Beginnings (9 page)

Delaney called
shortly after six p.m. He told us to meet him at nine that night at a park in
McLean, Virginia. At eight o’clock we went to the garage, got in the Audi, and
left downtown DC. Took I-495 heading west and got off on the Georgetown Pike.
Grabbed a bite to eat at a fast food joint then headed west. The entrance to
Scotts Run Nature Preserve was less than a mile from the interstate. I parked
the car in the deserted parking lot, choosing a spot close to the access road
that led in and out of the park. I rolled my window down and cut the engine.

We sat in
silence for ten minutes, looking and listening. The empty parking lot indicated
all visitors had left before we arrived. The sound of an occasional car passed
from the Georgetown Pike behind us. We were hidden from view. That worried me.
We would be out of sight if this was a setup or if we had been followed.

“I don’t like
this, Jack,” Bear said, right on cue.

I leaned
forward and nodded. Checked the side mirrors. “I’m about fifty-fifty on it.”

Bear pulled out
a cell phone and flipped it open.

“Keep that
covered.” I pointed at bright square of light the small screen emanated.

A twig snapped
from behind the car. Both of us froze. My eyes darted to the rear-view mirror,
looking for the perpetrator. I saw nothing but darkness and the faint outline
of trees and bushes. I placed my hand on the door handle and slowly cracked the
door. I stepped out of the car, my body hunched over. I clutched my Beretta in
my hand and walked to the back of the vehicle. Behind me, a light on a utility
pole turned on with an electrical buzzing sound and faint orange light flooded
the area. I stood five feet from the potential assailant. Our eyes met and
locked. He sat down, scratched behind his ear with his rear paw and then took
off into the woods between the parking lot and the Georgetown Pike.

Bear had
stepped out of the car just before the dog took off. He laughed and shook his
head.

“Damn, if we
ain’t on edge.”

On edge didn’t
begin to describe how I felt at that moment. Considering everything we had been
through and adding in the lack of sleep, I found myself surprised that I hadn’t
taken poor Fido out. That would have been bad. I don’t think I would have ever
been able to forgive myself if I shot a dog.

I returned to
the car and placed my hand on the ignition. The orange light from above lit up
the inside of the car.

“Don’t like
sitting out here under these lights.”

Before I could
start the car, my cell phone rang and I answered without looking at the
display.

“Where you at,
Delaney?” I scanned the small strip of grass at the edge of the parking lot
that separated asphalt and trees.

“About one hundred
yards in.” He spoke quickly and in a hushed tone.

“From where?”

“Go to the
northwest corner of the parking lot and walk straight north.”

I covered the
phone and looked at Bear. “He wants us to walk in there, blind.”

Bear shook his
head.

“No deal, Delaney,”
I said. “The parking lot is lit up. We’ll be sitting ducks crossing it. You
come out here.”

His heavy
breaths filled the ear piece of my phone.

“You there?” I
said.

“Yeah,” he
said. “I’ll meet you at the edge of the lot. Drive over.”

“Delaney,” I
said and then paused an extra second. “If this is a setup, so help me, I’ll end
you first.”

I flipped the
phone shut and started the Audi and drove as close to the shadows in the middle
of the lot as I could. Parked in a spot where two circles of orange light
couldn’t quite reach. I cut the engine and sat motionless for a minute.

After a pause,
Bear whispered, “You see anything?”

I shook my
head. Picked up my phone and dialed the last number that called me.

“I see you,”
Delaney said.

“I don’t see
you,” I said.

I heard
rustling mixed in with his heavy breathing. “OK, I’m,” he paused to take a deep
breath, “right in front of you.”

I strained to
see past the orange glow that hovered over the strip of grass in front of the
woods. The effect left the space between the trees darker than the night sky. I
looked at Bear and nodded.

“We’re coming
over.”

I hung up the
phone, stuffed it in my pocket and slowly opened the car door. “High alert,
Bear.” I turned my head as I said it and saw that Bear already had his gun
drawn and held out in front of him, ready to go. We scanned the area as we
walked. My pulse quickened with every step. The woods were so close, yet so far
away, and there was plenty of time for a trained sniper to take both of us out.

“Here,” Delaney
called.

I caught sight
of his pale hand waving in between two pine trees. I gave him a quick “cut it”
signal and changed course to his direction. A moment later we slipped behind
the tree line. I nodded at Delaney and kept walking.

“Where are you
going?”

“Further in,” I
said.

I walked
without light and without knowing where I was going. It didn’t matter. We just
needed to be out of sight of the parking lot should someone pull up and aim a
floodlight in our direction.

Delaney
followed behind, complaining. “Stop. C’mon, Noble, this is far enough.”

I ignored him
and kept walking with Bear beside me keeping pace.

“No, no, no,”
Delaney said.

I looked over
my shoulder and saw him leaning against a tree.

“I know where
this is going,” he said. “I keep following you and I’m a dead man. Right?”

I stormed up to
him. “Turn around.”

He didn’t.

I grabbed him
by his jacket and forced him around. “You see that,” I stretched one arm past
his face, toward the parking lot, “see those orange lights?”

“Uh, yeah, I
see them.”

“OK,” I said. “Now
imagine a car pulls up. Shines some powerful lights into the woods. If we can
see those lights, then they will sure as hell be able to see us.”

“What about
night vision, Jack?”

“We blend.”

His head bobbed
up and down, slow and steady. I assumed that meant he understood and I began
walking again.

“Just a bit
further,” I said. “Now, come on.”

We walked in
silence for a few more minutes, changed direction and came to a clearing in the
woods. The moon provided enough light for us to see each other clearly. I
checked over my shoulder to make sure the lights of the parking lot were out of
sight.

“What do you
have for us, Delaney?” I said. “What did you bring us out here for?” I leaned
in close enough that he could see the look on my face, even in the dark. “It
better be damn good, too,” I added.

He reached into
his coat pocket.

I drew my
Beretta and pointed it at his head.

“Relax,” he
said pulling his arms out slowly, a key dangling from a carbineer clip held
tight between his thumb and forefinger.

“What’s this?”
I said.

“A key to a
locker.”

“What’s in the
locker?”

“The documents
you need.”

“Documents I
need for what?”

“That will be
answered when you see the documents.”

“Don’t screw
with me, Delaney.”

“I’m not,
Noble. Everything you need to clear your name and take down who’s behind this
is in that locker. I couldn’t risk bringing it out here. Bringing it anywhere
with me. I had them bring it—”

“Wait, them
who?”

“Don’t worry
about that. What’s important is the location of the locker.”

For some reason
he waited until I asked the obvious question. “OK, Delaney, where’s this locker
at?”

“It’s at the—”

A single shot
ripped through the air and slammed into Delaney’s head with a thud. A cloud of
blood rose above him. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground, limp and
lifeless.

Two more shots
rang out. One hit the tree behind me, just above my head. Splintered wood and
bark rained down and fell to the ground with a sound like playing cards being
shuffled.

Another shot
was fired, this time hitting Bear in the shoulder. The bullet hit with a thud
and turned the big man sideways. He staggered a few feet then fell to the
ground.

“Bear,” I said,
dropping to the ground. I crawled toward him. “You OK?”

He groaned and
clutched at his right shoulder. He cursed out loud then said, “They got me.”

“Keep pressure
on it.” I took cover behind a tree. I saw the explosion created by the last
bullet and had a bead on the attacker’s position. “I’ll be right back.”

I aimed my gun
in the direction of the shooter and started firing until I had emptied the clip
and replaced it. The sound of the shots echoed in my head. I fought against it
and listened. I heard a voice calling out, getting further away. A different
voice called back. There were at least two of them, and if I had to place a wager,
I’d say they had night vision goggles on.

I followed in
the direction of the voices, making sure to use every tree I passed as cover. I
heard a voice and fired in that direction. They were running now, not caring if
I heard and tracked them. They ran to the west. The parking lot was south. They
hadn’t come in after us. They had been here the whole time. Were we double
crossed?

I followed as
fast as my legs would carry me. The moonlight penetrated through spring buds
just enough for me to navigate past obstacles. A car’s engine roared to life.
The faint glow of red tail lights became visible through the thinning trees.
The car jerked forward and sped off. I fired three rounds, managing to shatter
the rear window.

My lungs burned
with each cold breath I took. I placed my shaking hands on my knees and bent
over, catching my breath. I turned and started back through the woods. The path
wasn’t clear but I knew I hadn’t run more than a half-mile, if that. I kept a
quick and steady pace and five minutes in I started calling for Bear.

“Jack,” Bear’s
voice rumbled in the distance.

I turned toward
the sound and picked up my pace. “Keep yelling,” I shouted into the cool
breeze. Bear yelling was a risk, but if I didn’t find him soon he might bleed
out. I still had no idea about the severity of the gunshot wound.

Two minutes
later I found the clearing. Delaney’s lifeless body lay twisted on the ground.
His legs sideways and sort of stacked one on top of the other. His torso belly
down. His face turned to the side, the moon reflecting off his dull and
lifeless eyes.

Bear had
managed to move to a tree and leaned back against it. Best place to be. He
could adjust and take cover from a gunshot at any angle.

“You all
right?” I asked.

He breathed
heavily and clutched at his wounded shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll
live.”

“Can you walk?”

He grimaced as
he pushed back into the tree and dragged his large legs under him. They pushed
his body up. “Let’s go.”

“I could have
helped.” I started toward the parking lot. “I want to take a look at that when
we get to the car.”

“I’ll be all
right.”

“Like hell,” I
said. “I’m not going to have you bleed out in Abbot’s car.”

The walk back
to the parking lot took longer than the walk out to the clearing. Bear moved in
spurts, stopping to catch his breath every so often. Fifteen minutes after we
set out, we came to the edge of the tree line. Orange street lights lit up the
lot. I took cover behind a tree and scanned the lot. Could they have circled
back and hid out, waiting for us? There would be only one way to find out. The
car was a good hundred feet away. We hid behind the dark veil of the woods.

“I’m going to
jump in and start the car,” I said, “then back up and pull up parallel.”

Bear nodded.
Said nothing.

“I’ll pop open
the back door,” I continued. “As soon as you see that, duck and run. Dive into
the back seat. I’m going to tear out of here like a bat outta hell. OK?”

He nodded
again.

“Here goes,” I
said. “Wish me luck.”

I unlocked the
doors and started the car with the remote then paused. I watched the trees
across the lot for any movement, but didn’t see anyone or anything. I ran to
the car, opened the door and got in. I watched the mirrors for a minute. The
area remained still. I threw the car in reverse, backed out and pulled up
parallel to the trees then leaned back between the driver and passenger seat
and opened the rear passenger door.

Bear emerged
from the woods, huddled as low the ground as he could, his left arm still
clutching his right shoulder. He dove head first, crashing onto the seat and
pulling his legs in.

“Go, Jack.”

I put the Audi
in gear and sped off, making a U-turn in the lot and speeding toward the road
leading out to Georgetown Pike. Half way down the road I saw them.

They parked
along the side of the access road. They stood outside the car, using its heft
to shield them. They drew their weapons and aimed at the Audi.

“Brace
yourself,” I said.

I hit the gas
and swerved to the side, sideswiping their car with the passenger side of the
Audi. If luck was on my side, the driver’s side door would be damaged and
they’d be unable to open it. Luck might just have been on my side. The men dove
away from the car and the road moments before the crash.

Bear grunted
from the backseat. I raised my hand and pounded on the roof, letting out a yell.

I reached the
end of the road and turned left onto Georgetown Pike without stopping. I gunned
the Audi, hitting close to one hundred miles per hour. The three quarters of a
mile to I-495 went by in twenty seconds. Before taking the on ramp onto the
highway, I checked my rear-view mirror and didn’t see any headlights
approaching from behind. Either they hadn’t made it to the end of the road yet,
or they turned the wrong way, or they were chasing me without their headlights
on. My gut told me they were chasing without headlights.