Bitter Falls (Stillhouse Lake)(100)

So they’re not looking when Cicely West and Joe Froud show up, materializing out of the dark like ghosts. The TBI agents instantly get out of the front of the SUV and pull their weapons. Cicely and Joe raise their hands. “We’re unarmed!” Joe shouts. The TBI agents rush forward.

They don’t see me, Javier, and J. B. coming up armed from behind. They’ll be regretting that for a while.

Kez hangs back with Lanny. We zip-tie the agents up in the back seat of their own SUV, ankles and wrists, and for good measure we loop zip-ties onto their belts and the door handles to hold them in place. “You’re all going to jail,” one of them snaps. The younger one. The older one seems resigned. “Hope you know that.”

“We know,” Kezia says. She grins like she’s looking forward to it.

J. B. pulls the SUV up close to the metal fence, and Javier and Kez grab a heavy rubber mat from the back of the vehicle and toss it over the razor wire strung along the top. Javier is the first over, jumping and landing with an athletic ease that I know I won’t duplicate; Kez is almost as good.

“Mom?” I’ve got one foot on the bumper, ready to climb up. But my daughter is asking for me, and I step down and turn to her. She looks pale and strained, and there are tears standing in her eyes. I hug her, and I cherish that moment. “Bring Connor back.” It’s an unsteady whisper.

I kiss my daughter’s cheek and say, “Of course I will, baby.”

Then I turn away, step up on the bumper, the roof, and climb on over the fence.

I feel the landing impact all the way up through my bones, but I don’t break anything; I know how to fall and roll to shed the force. Joe and Cicely are the last over. J. B. doesn’t even try it. Her job is to stay on the other side of the fence with the TBI’s rifle, ready to discourage anybody who comes for us.

And to guard my daughter while I can’t.

Before she jumps down, Cicely hands over our gear. Javier and I are both wearing wetsuits under our light clothes; I opted for thin leggings and a T-shirt on top, nothing that will hold me down underwater, despite the chill, and quick-dry water shoes that go land-to-dive easily.

Javier’s brought dive tanks, masks, and regulators. His plan is to get across fast, dark, and silent. He’d have done it alone except I’ve had a little scuba experience; I was certified, once upon a time, but it was years ago, before I was married. I’m just praying I remember the basics of breathing. He’s right: the most direct way to the camp is straight across the lake; following the fence line would bring us into an exposed section with lighting, and almost certainly armed resistance.

The dry bags on our backs hold our weapons and ammo.

“Y’all sure about this?” Cicely asks us. “You want us to leave you here?”

“Yes,” I tell her. “Watch yourself. These people are dangerous.”

She nods, and she and Joe slip away through the heavy brush, making their way next to the fence around the lake. It’ll take them longer, but eventually they’ll make their way around to where we’re going. And we’ll need backup by then.

Kezia says, “I wish I was going with you.”

“We need cover,” Javier tells her, and kisses her lightly. He brushes his thumb across her lips to seal it. “And you’re a hell of a shot, Kez.”

“Oh, I know,” she says coolly, and raises one eyebrow. “You hear me shooting, you stay down.”

He nods. So do I. She’s almost invisible in her hunter camo gear. Like J. B., she’s going to cover us if things go wrong.

So much can go wrong.

The Assembly has built their wall all the way around to enclose the lake and the falls and the creek that feeds it, but they don’t seem to have much interest in this side. It’s thickly overgrown, and I’m glad we don’t have to hack our way too far.

The FBI’s negotiators will be at the front gate. Mike didn’t tell me his plans, but he did let slip that he’d called for Special Teams, which means he was lying to me about not going in. This is going to be a firefight; he planned for that from the beginning. Yes, he’ll lead with negotiators, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have the others going in hard at the same time. This compound may be full of fanatics, but it’s too big to be impenetrable. The fence is just to keep people in. Not out.

Mike didn’t tell me the plan, because he wanted us to stay out of it. But I can’t do that, not when people I love are in danger. Which is why we’ve just committed assault on two state investigators and why we’re heading for the trees by the edge of the lake. In case all this gets very, very complicated, we need to get Sam and Connor out of the middle of it.

When we get to the edge, Javier suddenly crouches down, and Kez and I follow suit. I slowly edge forward to get a look.

Something’s happening by the lake on the other side. Two men drag a third, who’s barely on his feet. They drop him to the muddy bank, and one kicks him viciously.

Javier’s taken out a small set of field glasses from his gear, and I see the change in his body before he thrusts the glasses toward me. I dread looking. But I know I have to.

It’s Sam. He’s dirty, bloody, naked to the waist.

“No,” I whisper. The image jitters, and I realize my hands are shaking. “Sam—”

Javier pulls the glasses away, and I gasp and try to rise. Kez holds me down. “Stop,” she whispers. “Hold on. Javi? What are they doing?”