“Kincaid wants my neck, and the neck of an associate of mine, an associate who is on the way here right now. I promise you that if I thought for one second that if we drove up to that cabin and traded ourselves for her that she would walk away, we would both do it, but that’s not how this kind of thing works.”
Delaney gave Zack a long, hard look. “You know how this kind of thing works?”
Zack sighed; steam poured from his mouth. “Intimately, I’m afraid.” He brightened a little. “But Kincaid doesn’t know that we know where he is, and that’s to our advantage. When my friend gets here, we’re going to go up there and we’re going to get Andie out.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“You might not want to know.”
Delaney stared at him a long moment. “Oh, I most definitelydowant to know.”
“My friend and I are going to kill the people holding her.”
Delaney put his hands on his head. Turned and walked away a few steps. It was a lot to take in, Zack understood.
He turned back to Zack. “Can you show me some kind of ID that says you’re CIA? Something so I know you’re not just bullshitting me right now?”
Zack shook his head. “My real name is Zack Hightower. I can show you ID that says my name is something other than Zack Hightower, so that’s not going to help.” After a second, he said, “The killings at the MRI center?”
Pete cocked his head. Of course he would be aware of the double homicide just hours earlier. “What about them?”
“That was Kincaid’s plan A. It didn’t work. I killed the two men who came after me this morning. Andie…she is plan B.”
“Christ.” He did not move.
Finally, Zack said, “I can’t be standing out next to this road any longer. I saw a driveway a little closer to their cabin. Maybe there’s another cabin up there, seven or eight hundred yards to the west of where Andie is. I sawno tire tracks in the snow, so I think it’s abandoned. Maybe we can go there to stage for this.”
Delaney said, “Jennifer told me what you did. How you did some mission you couldn’t tell her about, but then Al Qaeda found out about you. How you saved her and Andie down in San Diego. Killed a bunch of terrorists.”
Zack said, “Just three.”
Delaney continued staring Zack down. “Just tell me that you can do it again.”
“I can. With help, I definitely can.”
Delaney nodded, then moved towards his vehicle, but Zack said, “Hey, what do you carry in this truck?”
“Just first aid, rescue equipment, my turnout gear, stuff like that.”
“What’s turnout gear?”
“Fireproof jacket, boots, stuff I need to wear to respond to a fire.”
Zack thought a moment. “You have a tank? A mask? That kind of thing?”
“Of course. Two of each. Why?”
“Just trying to figure out a plan. What about weapons?”
“Not unless you count bear spray.”
Zack nodded slowly. “I’ve got some in my truck, too.”
Delaney was confused. “You don’t have any other weapons?”
“I have a pistol, and my friend is bringing more. I’m just thinking things through. Kincaid is going to be taking measures. We might have to get creative here.” Zack began to climb into his truck, and then he pointed at Delaney. “Listen, I promise you…we can fix this, but the second Kincaid and his people hear that their location has been discovered, it’s over.”
“You said that already,” Delaney responded angrily. “I’m not going to communicate this to anybody.”
