The Chaos Kind (John Rain #11)(117)

And then he heard a sound, getting louder fast. Shit, he thought. Helicopter?





chapter

seventy-nine





DELILAH


Rispel had taken her earpiece immediately, so Delilah hadn’t heard any of John’s deliberations with the team. But it was clear he was trying to get Rispel to move north, where Dox would have line of sight from the top of the teahouse. And Livia hadn’t come out from Grimble’s office. Delilah didn’t know where the woman was, but Delilah had seen her shoot before and knew she was formidable. It had been a surprise earlier to hear Livia agree to destroy the videos. Maybe Delilah had judged her too harshly. If this turned out well, she was going to make a point of apologizing.

When Rispel agreed to move, Delilah’s heart started beating hard. She didn’t know who would shoot first—Dox or Livia. But as soon as it happened, all of them would have to engage whichever of Rispel’s people was closest. Overall, she thought their chances were decent. But it was doubtful they would make it through without at least someone getting hit. Evie was holding Dash close, and Delilah realized the woman was thinking the same thing.

Your boy is going to be okay, Delilah thought. When this is over, I’m going to take him for a ride in that Porsche, like I promised. He’s earned it. And then some.

She heard a mechanical whine, getting louder. She looked up and blinked. It was a helicopter, descending fast.





chapter

eighty





MANUS


Manus couldn’t follow what everyone was saying because he couldn’t see their faces. But he could see Rispel’s face, which was the most important. Evie had been signing to Dash, telling him to stay close, that their plan was good and they would be all right. Rispel had told Evie to stop. Manus wanted to go to work on her for that alone. But then Rispel said Dash should be scared of her. And Manus thought, I am going to kill you. They’d taken his gun and the Espada. But they weren’t as smart as Dox: they hadn’t checked his belt. He didn’t care what it took, he was going to get close to Rispel and punch the push-dagger buckle up under her chin and into her brain. Or get a gun from one of her men. Or use his hands. He didn’t care which tool. Only about the work.

They all started walking. And then stopped. Everyone looked up. Manus looked up, too.

And saw a helicopter, coming down so fast that for a second he thought it was falling.





chapter

eighty-one





DOX


Ordinarily, Dox was completely calm when sniping. Of course, ordinarily involved choosing a hide that offered line of sight to the target. And while among the available possibilities, the teahouse, which was built on the highest ground on the property, gave the best coverage overall, there were plenty of spots blocked by trees. Like the one where Rispel and her people were currently holding Labee, John, and the rest of the gang at gunpoint.

Their best guess had been that any opposition was likeliest to come in through the main gate, the route Delilah and Larison had used, or to breach the fence along the Mountain Home side, because that approach wouldn’t require crossing anyone else’s property. John had favored the Manzanita approach precisely because it would be riskier, and therefore less expected. But it seemed Rispel had chosen it for the same reason. That, and maybe because that’s where Rispel found her sentry dead after he’d failed to check in. Either way, it was bad luck. Rispel had used pretty much the only approach hidden from Dox.

It was obvious from her questions to John and Kanezaki that she was worried about Dox. The two of them had done a nice job of deflecting, but still, what if she didn’t buy John’s story about having to move? Twice Dox considered abandoning the teahouse and going in on foot. But that might have put him out of position at just the moment the high ground would be most important.

And the woman was devious, too. There had been a pause between when she agreed to move to wherever Grimble’s passcode was supposedly stored and when she started issuing instructions about how they had to walk with their hands up and all that. Dox had a feeling she’d muted the mic she took from Delilah while telling the team to remove their commo gear. Maybe she thought Dox would break radio silence and try to reach out to someone.

Oh, I’m going to reach out, all right. You can count on that.

But were they really moving, or was that more tactical deception? Well, he’d know one way or the other in just a few seconds. He breathed slowly and easily, his heart beating just a little faster than normal, watching the clearing just north of the trees through the reticles of the scope.

And then he heard it. A helicopter. Not passing overhead, but coming in fast. He looked, and saw an MD500E, small and quiet, black with no markings.

Black helicopters, he thought. You’ve got to be kidding me.

It landed in the clearing. The driver cut the engine and immediately the rotors began to slow. The cockpit glass was smoked, and even through the Leupold scope Dox couldn’t make out the faces of the people inside. Then the pilot got out. Dox recognized him—a former Marine and current SOG guy named Dutch. Rispel’s ride? he thought.

And then the passenger got out. And Dox was looking at none other than Director of National Intelligence Pierce Devereaux. Devereaux and Dutch immediately started walking toward the trees, beyond which were Rispel and the rest of them.