Page 116 of Hard Rain

“Still there.”

Knox looked at him.

“You guys always do that?”

“Do what?”

“Talk in half sentences like the other one already knows the rest.”

Whip took a sip of coffee.

Knox shook his head. “I liked it better when you just argued about everything.”

He took another bite of pastry. “These are actually pretty good.”

Whip made another face.

“You deserve whatever preservatives are in those.”

Knox grinned. “They’ll preserve me.”

Later that morning…

Inside the conference room at the Seattle U.S. Marshals office, Davis dimmed the lights and clicked the remote. An aerial photograph of an isolated property filled the screen.

The projector cast the image across one wall of the conference room. Boone stood with his arms folded near the back while the rest of the task force settled around the long table, coffee cups forgotten as every set of eyes shifted to the screen.

“Five acres. One access road. Eight adults we know about, maybe more. Our confidential source confirmed Cutter arrived sometime yesterday.”

The next slide showed a weathered farmhouse, several outbuildings, and a scattering of trucks.

“We have enough for surveillance,” Davis continued. “Not enough for a clean tactical entry without somebody getting hurt.”

Boone folded his arms.

“So, we’re going to give him one chance.”

The room quieted.

“Cutter knows two of you,” Boone said, looking toward the back of the room. “He’s been running from these two since Oregon.”

Axel glanced at Whip.

Davis nodded. “Whip, Axel, you’re making the approach.”

Knox straightened in his chair.

“Hold on. You’re sending only two onto a property you think is sheltering a violent fugitive?”

“They won’t be alone,” Davis said. “Cho, Alvarez, Beth, Miller, and the rest of us will have the perimeter covered. If Cutter refuses to surrender, the operation changes.”

“Sir,” Knox said, still frowning, “with all due respect… why just them? Why not a team?”

“Because,” Boone answered evenly, “if Cutter sees a stack of armored deputies rolling through that gate, he’ll run.”

He looked at Whip and Axel.

“If he sees the two marshals who’ve been chasing him for the last two weeks… he just might stop long enough to make a mistake.”