Shadow of Betrayal

“That deal was done almost two years ago. And here you are messing with children again.”

“A bunch of defects. No one will miss them. Hell, we were doing a service.”

“We know about the explosives in the juice boxes and the trigger in the girl’s leg,” she said.

His hand stopped for a moment.

“And as far as I can tell, we haven’t heard any more booms,” she went on. “Sounds to me like Quinn’s neutralized the threat, so your mission’s a bust.”

“I’ll give you names,” he said. “The people I was working for.”

“We already have the names. We don’t need anything from you.”

“Look,” he said. His fingers were only inches from the handle. “Your son’s fine. Looks like these defe …” He paused. “… these kids are fine, too. So no reason I have to die. I didn’t kill anyone.”

She smiled.

And just as the pad of his index finger touched the door release, she pulled her trigger.

CHAPTER

42

QUINN AND NATE WORKED THEIR WAY THROUGH the buildings to the back of the school.

Iris clung to Nate, a short laugh escaping her mouth every few seconds. It had become a game to her, and that was fine with Quinn. Better that she was happy than crying.

When they reached the back of a rectangular building that butted up against the large grassy playground, Quinn stopped. There was a chain-link fence that ran along the back of the field, and just beyond it a wooded area that separated the school grounds from the golf course.

“We need to get over there,” Quinn said. He did a one-eighty, checking if they had been followed. So far so good. “I’ll go first. Once I’m over, I’ll give you a signal, then you follow.”

“Got it.”

Quinn did one final look around, then sprinted across the grass. It took him just over ten seconds to reach the fence. He tossed the pistol onto the other side, then placed his hands on the top crossbar and pushed himself over.

Once rearmed and partially hidden by a nearby tree, he scanned the school. There was no one but Nate and Iris, so he gave his apprentice a single wave.

Quinn met them at the fence. Nate handed Iris over the top, and Quinn gently maneuvered her the rest of the way over. He then hugged the girl to his chest and turned to head for the cover of the trees. That’s when he heard the shot.

Nate, already pulling himself over the fence, grunted, then fell to the ground on Quinn’s side. Quinn darted behind the same tree as before, getting Iris out of any line of fire. He pulled his gun out, then peeked around the tree.

Nate was dragging himself along the ground toward the cover of the grove.

“Are you hit?” Quinn asked.

“I’m fine,” Nate said.

Quinn glanced through the fence back at the school. There were two men in police uniforms crouched near the corner of one of the buildings. Quinn aimed his pistol so that he would hit a spot in the grass off to their right, then pulled the trigger twice.

As he’d hoped, the sound of the shots sent the officers running for cover. It also caused Iris to yell out in surprise.

“Up. Quick, quick, quick,” Quinn said to Nate.

Nate got to his feet and lunged into the woods.

Quinn rubbed Iris on the back. “You’re going to be all right,” he said. “No need to cry.”

“Here,” Nate said, holding out his arms.

Quinn handed the girl to him, and instantly she went quiet.

“You’re just the one who made the big noise,” Nate said to Quinn. “Don’t take it personally.”

Quinn looked back at the school. The police officers were still out of sight, but he knew that wouldn’t last for long.

“We need to keep moving,” he said.

If he headed south and a bit to the east, he knew they would get to the road that led to the golf course clubhouse, but that would be the first place anyone looked for them. So he turned left.

As they ran, Quinn pulled out his phone and called Orlando.

It rang five times, then clicked over to voicemail.

Dammit, he thought, then tried it again. Same response.

The trees were thinning to the right. Beyond was the green fairway of one of the holes. Not surprisingly, there was no one out on the course. The facility had no doubt been shut down due to security concerns for the now-canceled event at the school. Quinn moved to the left, keeping more trees between them and the open space.

After several minutes, he saw a wooden fence ahead of them that separated the course from the backyards of several houses. Once again he had Nate wait as he approached alone. What he was hoping to find was a gate behind one of the houses. No luck on that front, but what he did find was an empty house waiting for a new owner.

“Over here,” he called.

As Nate hopped the fence, Quinn saw that the shoe and pant leg near Nate’s right ankle had been ripped apart.

“What the hell happened?” he asked.

Nate looked down at the damage. “I got hit,” he said. “But see? No blood. Bonus for missing a leg. I have to tell you, though, the vibration stung like a son of a bitch.”

Nate was going to do fine, Quinn knew. Just fine.

As they headed across the backyard, Quinn’s cell phone began to hum.

“Hold on,” he told Nate.