Big Three-Thriller Bundle Box Collection (6 page)

Sunny stared at Jax. “We’re in agreement, then.” She gently pushed Jax away in order to get out of the DPV. “Let’s get this party started.”

Jax handed her the map. “The RV who’s batting a thousand so far says Weller will be here at 07:45,” he said, his finger near an intersection on the chart. “You’ve got less than an hour, and it’s about three miles up this gulley.” He nodded toward the ravine before them. “I can’t go with you — the RV insisted that you be alone. But I will send the counter-sensor, laser team out behind you to knock out some of the cameras.”

Jax pulled what looked like a ragged camouflage blanket roll from the back of the DPV, untied it and let it fall loose. He handed the thing to Sunny. “Wear this ghillie suit until you get close. It’s adaptive camouflage. Somewhat like the patrol vehicle you’re sitting in, it has dozens of tiny, camera-like optical sensors placed in various spots around the outside of the suit. They see the color on one side of you and change the colors of thousands of organic, non-light-emitting diode crystals on the opposite side. That way it actively adapts the ghillie’s appearance by mimicking its surroundings. Anyone who looks your way, from any distance, effectively sees right through you to what is in view of the optical sensors on your other side.”

“Yeah,” Sunny said, inspecting the suit with an analytical frown. “Smart fabrics — electronic textiles, wearable computers. Dan and I had our own version on the drawing board when he disappeared.”  She slipped the poncho-like camouflage over her head and ensured that it covered herself completely. “Not bad.”

Jax said, “With about a hundred thousand of those tiny diode crystals; two hundred, miniature optical sensors; a whole bunch of small, dry-cell batteries; and miles of ultra-thin fiber optics and stainless-steel-covered conductive yarns woven throughout the suit, it’s about thirty pounds heavier than even the normal ghillie. You’ll find a small switch to activate the camo below the face opening.”

Sunny didn’t seem to mind the extra weight. She was obviously fascinated. From inside the ghillie, she reached up and flipped on the camouflage, then glanced around the suit in amazement as it transformed into a translucent blur before their eyes.

Sunny let out an amazed gasp. “This is near nanotechnology,” She said, then gaped at him. “Where did you come up with all of this cool stuff, Jax?”

“Like I told you, a lot of people owe me. Many of those people are on staff at either private or governmental labs. Some of our new equipment is experimental and was loaned out freely. And some of it is top secret — thought only to be in the concept stage — and was, well . . . borrowed. These ghillies I spirited out of the Objective Force Warrior Program at Natick Soldier Center in Massachusetts. The director is an old friend. He looked the other way for fifteen minutes while Lt. Carpenter and I went on a mad shopping spree.”

With the camouflage on, Sunny’s face seemed to light up and float in the air like a beautiful, white Kabuki mask. She was regaining her confidence.

He put his hand on her arm and caught her gaze. “Don’t let anyone see you and don’t rush our
Mr. Robert Weller
, Sunny. It’s the one time you must be patient. You can’t be more than a
passive
catalyst to guide him. Use your humor, your wit. He must come with you of his own free will, or you’ll lose whatever trust you’ve gained with him. If that happens and we have to snatch him, it’ll make extracting the information we need from him very difficult.”

He went to a toolbox in the back of the DPV, took out a buttoned medallion on a chrome-beaded chain and slipped it over Sunny’s head. “If anything doesn’t set right, you activate this locator beacon. It has a much stronger signal than the ring, and it’ll warn us that you’re in trouble.”

She tucked the thing under her shirt and pulled the ghillie’s hood back over her head.

“Robert Weller
is
the ‘
key
.’ We have little hope of getting Dan back unless Weller trusts you.”

When Sunny stared out at nothing, still without speaking, Jax realized her hesitation and wished he had a backup plan. With no obvious alternate strategy to rely on, he knew he must prepare his men for an all-out assault should Sunny fail.

As Sunny ducked under the chain-link barrier through a large, freshly dug-out hole in the fence line, Jax said quietly, “Sergeant Chambers, take DPV 2 back to the choppers. Return with Corporals Tippin and Dorsey on the double and have each bring a set of civvies. They’ll need to look like civilians for what I have planned for them.”

He watched Sunny leave. Her suit activated, it appeared like light bending heat waves, reflecting the green and brown colors from the other side of her
— a sort of scintillating, five and a half foot tall pyramid.

Speaking louder this time, he said, “Sunny, he needs to trust you
— did you hear me?”

She turned to Jax, only a small part of her face truly visible. “He’ll trust me.”

Chapter 4

Closing the shower door, I dismissed further thoughts of the note or an intruder. I let the hot water rinse the confusion from my mind and tried to think of the day ahead.

Our little town of Gold Rush was small, but even small towns need hardware stores, and I had the only nuts-and-bolts shop within seventy-five miles. There’d be folks coming in to find out how I was doing. I’d have to be courteous to them, even though there’d be plenty of work to catch up on.

While washing my hair, I carefully avoided the large, tender lump at the base of my skull, caused by the nasty fall I’d taken three days earlier in this very shower. A victim of a silly, nevertheless potentially deadly, home accident, I’d become one of those
statistics
by slipping on the slick tub floor and crashing backward through the shower curtain. The back of my head hit the rim of the toilet, resulting in a mean little goose egg and a concussion. Had I remembered to put down the commode’s cushioned seat and lid after using it, as Michelle religiously reminded me, I probably would’ve walked away with little or no injury. Instead, I made an ambulance trip and had a night’s stay in the hospital.

Along with the concussion came the loss of a seemingly unimportant portion of my memory. It was mostly small things. I couldn’t remember the accident. When our family physician tested me in the hospital emergency room, I easily remembered my own name, my son William’s, and Michelle’s. But I couldn’t remember Michelle’s birthday or the pastor’s wife’s name at church. Doc Xiang wasn’t alarmed, telling me with a warm smile that I was doing as good as most men.

Now, a skid-proof mat covered the tub floor and, courtesy of my best friend Mike Wu, a tempered-glass enclosure and two handholds were securely in place. Mike, brother-in-law and handyman extraordinaire, had come over the day after my fall and taken care of our shower. A better friend there could not be, and with Mike being Michelle’s brother, it was a double bonus.

As I rinsed my hair, my mind went back to the day’s schedule. At three-thirty, I’d close shop early to slip away with Michelle for a four o’clock appointment at the children’s ward inside Mount Rainy Biotronics. By then Doc Xiang assured us he would know the test results and our five-year-old son’s prognosis.

I took the back brush from the hook on the wall, applied soap to it and began scrubbing my shoulders. Again, while using caution near the lump on my neck, I thought of my good fortune. Keeping my optimism would be important today. Why not? It could have been much worse. Only a few inconsequential memories were lost. I was fortunate to have a prosperous business. I was fortunate to have such a wonderful wife. I was fortunate my boy hadn’t died in the car accident that nearly claimed his and Michelle’s lives.

It had happened on an icy bridge six months back. Michelle and Will were returning from visiting relatives in Summitview. She’d lost control of the car and crashed into the railing. A ruptured spleen nearly killed Mish, but she recovered quickly from her physical injuries. Recovering from the emotional ones
— the guilt for what had happened to Will — was a different story. Our son had broken his neck, but he was alive. We were fortunate. And there could be good news today.

My optimism spilled over into song as I scrubbed my arms and chest.

“Up every morning in the drizzlin’ rain,” I sang in a spontaneous eruption — a deep loud bellow. “I grab my chute, and I board the plane. C-130 rollin’ down the strip.” I turned my singing volume down a notch, but continued while wondering from where this cadence-like song had come. I sang it more slowly and considered the words that came out so naturally that it was as if I’d sung it a hundred times. “Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip. Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door. Jump right out and count to four. If my chute don’t open wide, I got another one by my side. If that one don’t open, too, I’ll hit the ground before you do. If I die on the Russian rear, bury me with a Russian queer. And if I die on the Russian front, bury me with a Russian . . .”

Where had I gotten such a song? My memory failed me once again. I was never in the military, but maybe I’d heard it in one of those war movies like
Full Metal Jacket
or
Platoon
.

I finished my shower and stepped out, quickly going to the doorway to see if Michelle was within earshot, which I hoped she wasn’t. She might not care for my choice of stimulating morning shower tunes. Mish wasn’t in the bedroom, and seeing once again I’d forgotten to put the seat down on the toilet, I was glad. I set the lid in place.

From the towel rod on the shower door, I reclaimed my glasses and pulled off the towel I’d just hung there. Even though it smelled fresh and still had a new stiffness in its fibers, I inspected it carefully for gerbil droppings, just in case. When satisfied the towel hadn’t been desecrated, I dried off briskly and wrapped it around my waist.

At the vanity, I picked up my Norelco Advantage electric razor with the shaving lotion inside and began work on the stubble on my chin. I loved gadgets, and this little number applied the soothing lotion to my skin with the push of a button and without missing a stroke
— ah, the wonders of modern man.

A whiff of frying bacon caused me to hasten my morning preparations. My stomach growled. I finished my shave, snatched up an unblemished tube of Dentisol toothpaste and pushed the first dent into its side. While applying it to a spotless toothbrush, I recalled the Dentisol toothpaste slogan from their television commercial:
Nothing’s fresher than a Dentisol-fresh mouth
.

Upon reentering the bedroom, I saw Michelle had already made the king-size bed and neatly laid out my clothes for the day. Light brown, argyle socks; a tan, heavy-knit T-shirt
— I didn’t like ties — and a chocolate-colored, Arnold Palmer sport coat with matching pants. All were neat and pressed as if they’d come straight from the store. I quickly dressed and stepped into a pair of unscuffed brown Rockports. Immediately I noticed the shoes were a bit stiff. They appeared to be a recent purchase, as was evident by the rigid leather. I shrugged off trying to remember where I’d gotten them — simply another of those lost memories.

In the breakfast nook, the morning’s
Denver Post
waited beside my place at the table. Michelle turned away from the small TV on the counter and flashed me one of her award-winning morning smiles. It was a wonderful thing that I had not seen in over half a year, and it caught me by surprise — she was finally starting to cheer up some. Perhaps my optimism was becoming contagious. I only hoped that today’s doctor’s report would be a good one. Otherwise, I was sure the tremendous guilt that weighed on her delicate frame so mercilessly would set in once more and suffocate her beautiful, naturally cheerful spirit, never to be resurrected again.

She brought me a plate of eggs over easy, crisp bacon and toast, and I sat down and watched as she placed it before me. She poured my coffee and then prepared herself a plate before sitting at the other side of our small, round breakfast table.

I recalled the day we met in grade school. I was in second grade and she was in first. She’d been wearing a pretty blue windbreaker and a smile, sans eye teeth. I’d never seen a girl so cute, and I fell in love immediately. Now, she was still the cutest girl I’d ever known, and she looked really good in the dark-blue blouse and blue jeans that she wore this morning. An old proverb came to mind — something about those who wear blue are always true. I remembered
true blue, trust them, do.

Huh?
Harvey asked.

I answered him in my thoughts that you can always trust a person who wears blue.

Are you for real?

The voice inside my head
— an
imaginary
persona — was asking if
I
was real. I ignored him. To Michelle I said, “Navy’s your color.” I nodded and gave her a wink.

She glanced at me. “Last week you said it was green.”

I didn’t remember, but I made a quick recovery. “On you, they’re all your color.”

She pursed her lips at me.

“By the way,” I said, “don’t open the linen closet door in the bathroom.”

She raised her eyebrows while placing a napkin on her lap.

I told her, “We have a gerbil.”

She stared at me.

I elaborated. “
Big gerbil
with
big
feet and Mickey Mouse ears.”

Now her eyes crinkled, and she gave me a dubious smile
— but even the skeptical upturn of her lips warmed my heart and gave me hope that her spirits were slowly lifting from the bog.

“I’m serious. There’s a gerbil in our closet.” I wasn’t about to tell her about Harvey.

“Okay,” she said, nodding slowly, “I’ll go along with you. And I’ll call the exterminator when they open.”

“I can call them from work,” I said, wanting to ensure the little fellow wouldn’t be harmed. “I want to make sure they use a live trap.”

“Robert, I will defend your little friend with my very life,” she said, her eyebrows raising again as she smoothed out her napkin. She wasn’t really smiling anymore. She had one of those
you-really-have-gone-whacko-on-me
sort of expressions on her face. “I’ll call first thing, and — ”

“Remember,” I said, “live traps. No reason to kill our houseguest.”

She nodded again.

Enough about Mickey, I thought and dug into my eggs.

Michelle seemed in agreement. “I called the children’s ward while you were showering,” she said and bit into a slice of toast.

“I was going to ask you if you had.”

“Will’s sleeping in.” Her eyes lowered, and her voice was somber. “I think we stayed too late last night.”

I recalled the night before when we’d sat at William’s bedside and talked to him about the coming test results. His hopes were high. My son had given me a big grin and said, “I want to play catch again, Daddy. And ride my bike.” Michelle had broken into tears then and had to leave William’s hospital room.

I reached across the table and took her hand. “Mish, don’t worry. Good news today. Gotta think positive.”

She looked up at me, her eyes sad and teary. “You won’t forget our appointment?”

She was referring to my little memory problem of late, and I couldn’t blame her. “How could I forget it?” I smiled at her. “Thought we might bring Will a present. You know, maybe something that’ll cheer him up a little . . . give him something to shoot for.”

Michelle didn’t ask what. I released her hand, and she wiped her eyes with her napkin.

I slurped my coffee and used a slice of toast to sop up some egg yolk. “What do you think about snow skis?”

She frowned, an incredulous look in her eyes. “Robert, he’s paralyzed. What if Dr. Xiang has bad news?”

“He won’t. Look, winter’s coming. Maybe Will’ll be walking before it’s over.” I frowned realizing how ridiculous that was. Even if Will qualified for the experimental surgery he needed, it would be weeks or even months before we could get him in and, after that, there would be months of therapy ahead. I recanted, “If not this year, maybe next. If we give him the skis, he’ll know for sure he’s going to get better — he’ll be encouraged, it’ll lift his spirits. I had a pair of kid’s skis and snow boots his size delivered to the store last week. We can wait until after Doc Xiang tells us the test results, then we’ll go to Will’s room and break the good news to him with the skis. Good plan?”

One corner of Michelle’s mouth curled up again, and I realized why I loved her. She smiled that same way last year when William had made her a mud birthday cake on the breakfast-nook table. “Wonderful plan,” she said softly.

I took two chomps from a piece of bacon and said, “Doc Xiang’s a big man with a big heart. We’re lucky to have such a caring doctor, don’t you think?” I suddenly had one of those
déjà vu
moments that makes a person pause. It was as if I’d heard or perhaps even said those exact words before, not long ago.

This is weird,
my Harvey voice told me.

I pictured the white rabbit again, its switch off. In my mind, I plucked out its batteries. But I knew what Michelle was going to say, and I couldn’t help chewing vacuously as I watched and waited for her response.

“Very lucky,” she said in an almost rehearsed, mechanical manner. “Dr. Xiang is a good man and — ”

In my mind, I finished the sentence with her,
and a good friend
.

I was right, word for word. It made me shiver. I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle, and I had a sudden feeling
— a premonition of sorts — of impending trouble. I whispered, “Very weird.”

“What?” she asked, but then turned her attention to the weather report on the TV.

Jerry Denton, the local weatherman for more years than I could remember, told of a beautiful morning ahead, highs in the low seventies and marred only by haze from a forest fire now under control in Estes Park, a hundred miles away. By late afternoon, however, temperatures were to drop, and scattered rain in the early evening would quickly turn to snow. There could be an accumulation of up to fifteen inches in northwestern Colorado.