Exit Strategy Part 41

"There wasn't time for that. I got his attention, Jack. I didn't mean to-I certainly wasn't trying to. I was looking for you and he saw me, and I-"

"Where's your gear?"

I told him.

"Stay here." He headed for the ladder, then paused and looked back at me. "I mean it. You leave? You go after him? Pull this s.h.i.+t again?"

He didn't finish, gaze dipping from mine, rage retreating.

"I'll stay," I said. "I promise."

He nodded, then disappeared down the ladder.

Jack returned with a change of clothing-a full campus-gear outfit of sweats.h.i.+rt, khakis, ball cap and knapsack. As I dressed, he stuffed my clothes and wig into the knapsack. We wouldn't keep them, but we had to dispose of them outside the city. I battered my cap in the gravel a bit, so it didn't look so new. Then I cleaned the rest of the grease-paint off my face and wiped my hands as best I could.

Through it all, Jack said not a word. I could feel his temper smoldering, waiting only for a spark from me to ignite. So I was keeping my mouth shut. It was only when I was cleaning my hands that he acknowledged I was there, walking over and yanking my hand, none too gently, for a closer look.

"Keep them clean," he said. "Needs a first-aid kit. Might be awhile."

"That's okay." I paused, then decided to risk it. I'd done something wrong-very wrong-and I needed to know what it was. "I don't think I left any trace. Well, there might be a few drops of blood if they look hard enough..."

"Doesn't matter. They're after him. Not you."

"Is it the witnesses? They didn't get a good look at me. I kept my face down and-"

"You were in disguise."

"No one would have made me for a pro, if that's what you're worrying about. Not Wilkes and not those college kids. Wilkes just got a victim who fought back. He never saw the gun. The kids did, but not in any way that would seem like anything other than a victim defending-"

"I saw. Looked fine."

"Then what-?"

"Evelyn got your gear. We'll head straight to the car. Merge with the crowd. Stay beside me. You see a cop-"

"Act normal," I said. "Don't avoid him, keep my gaze up, maybe look curious, wondering what's going on, but act like everyone else seeing cops swarming around."

He hefted my knapsack and started across the roof, leaving me to catch up.

FORTY-FIVE.

When the Feds learned that Wilkes had tried to take a victim-and left a missing witness-they'd probably erect roadblocks. But if they had, we didn't see them. We did see cops, fanning out to search the crowds leaving the parade route, but our back-street path kept us-and probably Wilkes-out of their way.

When we reached the car, Evelyn was already there, with my gear in the trunk. As we approached, she got out of the driver's side. She looked from me to Jack, and waved me to the pa.s.senger seat, then reached for the back door. I shook my head and crawled in the back.

Jack got into the driver's side, leaned over Evelyn and opened the glove box. He pulled out the napkins and hand wipes we'd stashed in there after lunch.

"Clean your hands," he said, tossing them over the seat at me.

"I've already-"

"Clean them again."

As he started the car, Evelyn twisted and caught sight of my cut hands.

"Christ, what happened to you?"

I glanced at Jack.

"He didn't tell me anything," she said. "Just came over to where I was supposed to meet you two, threw me the keys, told me where your gear was and stalked off."

"I met Wilkes."

She blinked, then glared at Jack. "Well, that's that's not worth telling me about." She looked at me. "So what happened...and start at the beginning." not worth telling me about." She looked at me. "So what happened...and start at the beginning."

I told her.

"So now he's missed two scheduled hits," she said. "Plus he has an eyewitness...a victim who fought back. Probably saw you and decided to skip the demographics and take the easy mark." She chortled. "Oh, he'll be mad now. Spitting mad."

"And off-balance. We need to keep him there. If we act now, we can use it to our advantage and end this."

Jack's hands clenched around the steering wheel. "We'll end it. The old-fas.h.i.+oned way. Legwork. Stop this s.h.i.+t and-"

"That's not fast, fast, Jack." Jack."

Our eyes met in the rearview mirror. His were ice cold. "And this is? Running after him? Facing him down in alleys? Almost getting killed?

"I had him. If you saw it go down, you know I had him."

"Where I stood? Looked fifty-fifty."

"Seventy-five/twenty-five. At least."

"So that's okay? Twenty-five percent chance of getting killed? f.u.c.k, yeah. Why not? Goes bad? Who gives a s.h.i.+t? You don't."

"What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?"

Jack went silent, his gaze turning back to the road.

"Oh, don't you dare," I said, taking off my seat belt and moving to the edge of the seat. "If you have something to say, have the guts to say it."

He said nothing. I clenched the edge of the seat. G.o.dd.a.m.n him. Challenge most guys with that, and they'd rise to the bait. Not Jack. Never Jack.

"Pull over," Evelyn said. "You and Dee need to have a chat."

He kept driving.

"Jack..."

When he didn't answer, Evelyn thumped back against the headrest.

"Okay, fine, do it your way. Dee? The next time you get a chance like that, you go ahead and take it. You want this guy taken down more than we do, so any risk you take is your decision, and we support that-"

Jack turned the wheel so sharply I smacked into the door panel. The car slowed at the side of the road. Without a word, Jack got out and headed for a dirt track leading into a cornfield.

Evelyn looked over the seat at me.

"Go on. You won't get another chance."

Brown cornstalks whispered in the breeze, empty and dying, waiting to be mowed down for next year's crop. Through them I could see the back of Jack's jacket.

"I'm here," I said.

He didn't move. I walked through the rows to come out in front of him.

"I'm here," I said. "So talk."

He only stared at the setting sun.

"Okay, you don't don't want to talk. You just want Evelyn to shut up, and you know what, Jack? That's fine with me. We can stand here and pretend we're having it out, then go back and tell Evelyn everything's fine. But the next time you decide to take some cryptic jab at me? Think about whether or not you plan to follow through. And if the answer's no?" I met his gaze. "Then shut the f.u.c.k up." want to talk. You just want Evelyn to shut up, and you know what, Jack? That's fine with me. We can stand here and pretend we're having it out, then go back and tell Evelyn everything's fine. But the next time you decide to take some cryptic jab at me? Think about whether or not you plan to follow through. And if the answer's no?" I met his gaze. "Then shut the f.u.c.k up."

He didn't so much as blink. Just held my gaze for a moment, then looked away. So I guess that meant we were waiting it out, and that was fine with me. Anything to avoid a fight.

I gave it five minutes, then said, "Good enough. Let's go back to the car."

I made it two steps.

"Back there," he said. "In that alley. When things went bad. What'd you do?"

"Do?"

"When it went off course. Could have run. Didn't."

I turned to look at him. "Run? And let him shoot me in the back?"

"Gun wasn't out. You'd know that. Too risky. Cops everywhere. Even if it was? Could have made it."

"Made it where? I was in the middle of an empty alley."

He stepped closer. "Second alley. Ten feet away. You saw it."

"It looked a lot farther than ten feet from where I was standing and maybe that's my fault, but I sure as h.e.l.l didn't see an escape route and just ignore it, if that's what you meant."

"Yeah. That's what I meant."

He met my gaze and, in his look, I knew he'd seen through my lie-knew I'd seen a chance to escape and rejected it.

I broke away, and continued, "As for getting caught, I misjudged-and yes, I admit that I screwed up. I thought I could turn and get the jump on him, but he was right there."

Jack nodded, gaze down, as if studying a mole hole at the bottom of a cornstalk. Without looking up, he spoke again, his voice quiet. "Let's say...sake of argument. You saw the alley. Knew you'd make it. Would you?"

I considered lying, but from that look in his eyes, he already knew the answer.

I squared my shoulders. "Not while I saw a reasonable chance to catch him."

"What's reasonable? Greater than zero?"

I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut, and forced out a calm tone. "Reasonable is whatever I decide it is because, as Evelyn said, it's my risk to take. Maybe you don't like that, but I'd never endanger you or anyone else, so I don't see the point of arguing about it."

His eyes darkened. "No, you don't, do you? You die? Who gives a s.h.i.+t? No one to care."

"No one-?"Don't let him bait you. Just ease back. "I guess that's right. It's not like I have a husband and kids at home to worry about."

"Got no one. Few friends. Everyone else p.i.s.sed off after Franco. Never came back."

My nails dug into my palms. "Thank you so much for reminding me of that, Jack."

"Didn't mean it like that. Was just-"

"Pointing out that no one would notice I'd died today?"

"No. Just meant-What happened to you. Lost every-thing. Family. Friends. Career. Future. Whatever you thought your life was going to be? Gone. Won't come back."

"Well, when you put it that way, maybe I shouldn't have stopped Wilkes. Just let him put me out of-"

"You want this bad. Knew that. But I f.u.c.ked up. Didn't realize how how bad. How far you'll go." bad. How far you'll go."

"How far-?" I could barely get the words out, my heart hammering. "I want what what so bad? To kill myself? I am not-" so bad? To kill myself? I am not-"