Page 105 of Cross Down
He and his three men, all of them carrying black duffel bags in their hands, go and wait for the elevator to arrive. When its doors open, two older women take their time walking out. One of them says, “You boys look like you’re headed to the gym.”
Maynard says, “Yeah, we’re heading for one hell of a workout.” They enter the elevator, and McCoole punches the button for the lobby.
Chapter
122
I’m sitting acrossfrom Deacon’s former husband, and he’s smiling as he says, “You can put that pistol away.”
“I can but I won’t,” I tell him. “Hands where I can see them. Flat on your desk.”
Mason smirks but does as he’s told. “What, you think I have a panic button to press? Or, even better, that I’m one of those James Bond villains with a gun tube under my desk, ready to shoot you in the balls?”
Deacon says, “Wouldn’t work, Gerry. They’re brass. Now, we have evidence that two years ago, a Kestrel unmanned drone that was under development at Global Security Services destroyed the village of Mir Kas.”
“Mir what?” he asks.
“Mir Kas,” she says. “In Afghanistan.”
“And what kind of evidence do you have?”
Deacon recites the circuit board’s serial number, then says, “How’s that for evidence?
Mason is smiling like he’s at a poker table in Las Vegas holding four aces. “Sounds like it’s a combination code for a safe, maybe the one where you keep your warmth and sexuality.”
“No, it’s the serial number of a computer routing board built by Texas Instruments and installed in one of your company’s Kestrel drones. It was part of an airborne unit that destroyed the village and machine-gunned everyone who tried to escape.”
He says, “That’s just your supposition, Lizzie. Thought you learned more at Langley.”
“What I have learned,” she snaps, “is that almost everyone who was on the cross-border mission I led is now dead. The only exceptions are one veteran on the run and Detective Sampson. I’ve also learned that what happened in Mir Kas is directly linked to the terrorist attacks that started last April. Gerry, what’s the connection?”
He’s still smiling the smile of someone who’s holding all the cards, but I’m not looking at his face as he says, “Lizzie, honest, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe most of the people in your squad are dead because of your poor leadership skills. Again, I don’t know anything about the Kestrel drone or that village that may or may not have been destroyed.”
My pistol is still pointed right at his head. I say, “Elizabeth, he’s lying.”
She says, “I know that, but how do you know that?”
“Years of detective work,” I say. “Your former spouse may think he’s being cool as ice, but he’s exhibiting all the tells that indicate he’s lying. He won’t look directly at you or me. His hands are fidgeting. If you were to touch them, they’d be moist.”
“Ugh,” she says. “Don’t even suggest that.”
“Plus he’s stalling, Elizabeth. I’m sure he blasted out an e-mail telling his coconspirators to come rescue him. We don’t have much time.” I’m waiting for Deacon to give me a suggestion, a tip, something that will help me get around her ex-husband’s obstinacy, but what she says next surprises me so much, I wonder if she’s suddenly lost her mind.
Deacon stands and says, “All right, Gerry. Guess you’re not going to talk to us. John? Holster your weapon. We’re leaving.”
I say, “Elizabeth—”
Her voice is cold. “Now. We’re wasting time. Holster and leave.”
She heads to the door. Confused, I follow her. As we walk out, I hear Mason laughing.
Chapter
123
We leave Mason’soffice, and Deacon gives the door a good slam, then she holds my wrist and says, “Give me a minute, John.”
“Better make it a quick minute,” I say. “I’m sure help is on the way for him.”
