Part 12 (2/2)

”Troy should've told you.” Ryder figured Troy was probably the s.h.i.+ft manager. He infused his tone with outrage. ”He said I could work inside tonight.” He shook the clipboard at the guard. ”But this has me patrolling outside. It's colder than a polar bear's cheeks out there. Check with Troy. I want to talk to him, too. Is he with Mr. Chapman?”

The guard's gaze narrowed. ”I'm calling Troy. Move.” He jerked his head at the room he had just left.

With a shrug, Ryder walked down the corridor, past the man, and into the room. It had to be the security center. The distant wall held surveillance monitors. One screen displayed the hall Ryder had just entered, which explained how the guard had known to come out with his M4 raised. Others showed the horse farm's perimeter wall and the interiors of the barn and garage. The mansion's first floor was also covered. Other than themselves, the only people in sight were in the kitchen, where a chef and a sous chef were stonily at work, their backs to each other. None of the rooms on the second or third floor showed, only long corridors lined with paintings, decorative tables, and closed doors. The house looked almost as vacant as it felt, which suggested the action had to be somewhere behind one of those upstairs doors.

”There's too much turnover here,” the man said irritably, studying Ryder. ”Can't keep track of the hires. d.a.m.n Troy.”

Ryder made his voice hearty-and conspiratorial. ”Yeah, if I was you I'd be p.i.s.sed, too. My name's Roger C. Graves. Call me Rog. What's yours?” As Ryder talked, he noted three file cabinets, a worktable with folding chairs, and a long, narrow desk beneath the monitors. There was no outside window.

”Matty Perkins. I babysit the security screens.” Keeping his gaze and weapon on Ryder, he walked toward the desk.

Planting a friendly smile on his face, Ryder followed, narrowing the gap. The phone was sitting on the desk to the left of the chair, which was on casters. It should roll easily.

”Hold it.” Matty snapped up his M4 and aimed between Ryder's eyes. ”Keep your distance. What d'you think you're doing?”

Opening the back door, Tucker hurried into the mansion's warmth. His eyegla.s.ses clouded over. Pulling off his balaclava, he removed the gla.s.ses and flexed the frozen fingers of his gun hand.

His vision was hazy, but he could see he was in a short hallway, just as Judd had described. He padded forward, pa.s.sing an archway that led into a kitchen. From the opening sounded the distant thud of a cleaver hitting a butcher block. Putting on his gla.s.ses again, Tucker saw a closed door on the right-again as Judd had said. It should lead to the guards' locker room. Cracking it open, he scanned and stepped inside. Where was Judd?

Tucker texted him again. As he waited for an answer, he tossed the locker room, finding only the usual deodorant, shaving lotion, and underwear. Worried, he sat down on a bench, took off his boots, and ma.s.saged his aching legs and feet. Plowing uphill through the snow had been harder on him than he had expected. And now that he was warming up, his legs ached even more. He had fond memories of being twenty-five. h.e.l.l, forty-five.

Putting on his boots again, he left, heading down the short hall. He looked at his handheld-still no text from Judd. Judd had always been a wild hare, and probably this time was no different. Or at least he hoped it was, and Judd had not gotten himself into a dark hole of trouble.

32.

In the security center, Ryder watched Matty's thick eyebrows lower in suspicion and his eyes narrow. Ryder had moved too close.

Ryder stepped back, positioning himself on the other side of the rolling desk chair. ”Guess I wasn't thinking.”

”d.a.m.n straight you weren't.”

As Matty glared, Ryder glimpsed what he did not want to see-one of the screens showed Tucker walking down the short hall, Browning in hand, still wearing his feed-store jacket. Fortunately, Matty had not seen Tucker yet.

Trying to keep the guard's attention on him, Ryder asked, ”You going to call Troy or not?”

”Yeah.” Matty's focus s.h.i.+fted to the phone. He took a step to the only place from where he could comfortably reach it-the other side of the desk chair.

Ryder kicked the chair hard. It flew forward on its wheels and clipped Matty's side, throwing him off balance. Ryder dropped the clipboard, hefted his M4, and rammed the b.u.t.t into the man's temple. Blood spurted. Matty reeled, his head thrown to the side. Ryder ripped away his weapon, but Matty was reaching behind, pulling out a knife. Ryder slammed his M4 into the man's skull again.

Matty crashed back against the wall. His eyes were open, glazing in an unmistakable look of pain and confusion. Blood washed down the side of his face as he closed his eyes and fell limp. His fingers unfurled. He was unconscious.

With the b.u.t.t of his M4, Ryder smashed the security equipment, taking the surveillance cameras offline. As he turned to go to Tucker, the phone on the desk rang. He hesitated. If he did not answer, whoever was calling would be suspicious. On the other hand, if he did answer, the caller might be ”Troy,” and Troy apparently was the authority on who should and should not be in Chapman's house.

After listening at the hall door, Tucker stepped into a long corridor. A phone was ringing ahead from an open doorway. Before he could move, the ringing stopped, the room went dark, and Judd stepped out and closed the door. Judd looked quickly around and ran toward him.

”What's happened?” Tucker asked in a low voice.

Judd stopped in front of him. ”I had to knock out the security chief and smash the security monitors.”

”Dammit, I told you to wait for me.”

Judd shook his head. ”You were gone so long I could've asphalted a highway to Baghdad. Besides, you're not in charge this time-remember? Did you learn anything about the dead sentries?”

Tucker did not answer. Behind Judd a guard in green sweats had just burst out of the stairwell and was running toward them, M4 ready. Tucker felt a jolt of energy. But before he could move, Judd shoved him back through the doorway. As Tucker slammed against the wall, Judd crouched, spun, and fired a burst from his M4. The explosive noise reverberated. In the kitchen, someone shrieked, and pans. .h.i.t the floor with a loud metallic clatter.

Positioning his Browning, Tucker returned to the corridor.

The guard's chin was lifted as if he had just been punched. Blood drenched his sweats.h.i.+rt. He staggered two more steps, dropped hard to his knees, then fell forward onto his face. Judd was already sprinting toward him.

Tucker followed, listening to feet rus.h.i.+ng away from the kitchen. From the sound of it, the staff was jumping s.h.i.+p.

Judd squatted beside the wounded man. The metallic stench of blood rose in the air. The guard's face was turned toward them, one eye visible. It was closed. His breath was ragged.

”d.a.m.n,” Judd said with a sigh. ”Lucky to be alive, but unconscious.”

”How did you know he was behind you?”

”I heard him running, and I saw you react. You're slow tonight. Are you all right?”

”It was d.a.m.n cold outside, in case you didn't notice. Let's move.”

With a businesslike nod, Judd was back up on his feet and running. Tucker worked to keep up. They were nearing the rear staircase when he heard low voices from the opposite end of the corridor. He listened, gauging how many were coming.

”Three,” he told Judd in a husky whisper. ”They'll be in sight in seconds. We ought to be able to take three.”

”We want at least one alive and conscious.” Judd turned back and tried the k.n.o.b of the door they had just pa.s.sed. Locked.

Tucker tried the one they had been approaching. Locked, too.

Judd pa.s.sed him. There was one last door, and it was nearly opposite the staircase. Judd pushed it open. Tucker glanced back long enough to see the corridor was still empty. Judd pointed at Tucker then at the door. Tucker nodded. As Judd ducked up into the stairwell, Tucker plunged through the doorway and into darkness.

33.

Sitting in a wingback chair in the library, Eli Eichel tapped the toe of a boot impatiently. Martin Chapman sat across the coffee table from him, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. Suddenly there was the noise of gunfire, a series of loud cracks that seemed to reverberate against the walls of books. The gunfire came from below.

Eli jumped to his feet. ”We need weapons!”

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