Page 25 of Thin Ice

Doyle sat back and stared at the image of Martin Collins from when he was with the CIA.

“He faked his death and forced everyone in his unit to do the same. This man is truly diabolical and has to be stopped.” Victor paused. “There’s something else you should know. Kincaid is storing nuclear weapons at his ranch in Texas. He’s waiting for somewhere to use them. We don’t have much time, Nick. We need you onboard.”

“You’ve got it,” Doyle said, shaking his head. “As I mentioned before, there are others who believe like I do. It’s not safe for you here, Mr. President. I’ve been keeping track of the search. This Sinclair person is pulling out all the stops, but I can help. I know some people in the military who can help, but I’ll need some time to arrange safe transport out of here.”

“What do you suggest?” Victor asked.

A noise outside grabbed Abby’s attention and she motioned Brookes to the window. “I heard something. A car on the main road, maybe.”

Brookes listened closely. “I hear it too. It could be Hannah. She should be arriving soon.”

“Still, we can’t take any chances. We need to check it out.”

“What’s going on?” Victor rose and came over to where they stood.

Abby explained about the noise. “Let us check it out.” She handed him one of the weapons she’d taken off Legion’s men. “Keep this with you.” She faced the director. “If you know people who can help, call them now.”

He grabbed his phone and turned away.

Abby and Brookes slipped out into the night once more and listened. She was grateful that Joe had moved the SUV behind the house. The vehicle in question appeared to be approaching at a steady speed.

“Reach out to Hannah. See where she is,” Abby told him, and he made the call.

They headed toward the road. Abby listened to the bites of conversation while the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention.

“Thanks, Hannah.” Brookes ended the call. “She’s almost here. It’s her car we hear.”

Still Abby couldn’t let it go. She pulled out the night-vision binoculars and scanned the woods, then grabbed Brookes’s arm. “There are men in the woods,” she whispered. “I don’t think they’ve seen us yet. We’ve got to get back to the house and warn the others. Call Hannah and tell her to keep going. If she comes here, they’ll kill her. We’ll find another place to meet up with her.”

Abby rushed inside after Brookes and closed the door. “The woods are crawling with men coming this way.”

“How many?” Victor rose and immediately killed the lights.

“I saw half a dozen. There could be more. We’ll have to make a run for it.” Abby hurried over to where Kinsley slept and shook her. The fever appeared to have broken.

“We have to leave now. Joe, help me with your sister.”

Joe lifted Kinsley in his arms and carried her to the waiting SUV.

“Director Doyle, I don’t think you have a choice. If you want to live, you’re going to have to come to us,” Abby told him.

In a state of shock, the director didn’t hesitate. They hurried out the back door and crammed into the vehicle.

“Joe, we can’t use the drive to reach the road. Where does this take us if we head out behind the house?” Brookes asked as he got in beside Joe.

“There are miles of pastureland back here. As far as I know there aren’t any roads. We’ll have to cut across the neighbor’s property to reach one.”

“Drive. We’ll figure it out later,” Abby said. Because right now they needed to put as much space as possible between themselves and the men who were coming to end their lives.

???

Brookes ended the call with his sister. “Hannah’s passed the house. She’ll keep moving. Hopefully, we can find a place to intersect.”

“I just got off the phone with my contact in the military. He has access to a chopper that can fly without being picked up on radar. Find a place where we can meet up with him and I’ll have him there waiting. We can have your sister meet us there as well,” Doyle said.

Brookes pulled up their location on Google Maps. “There’s an open space that I believe will be accessible for Hannah to reach by vehicle. Let me speak with the man with the chopper. I can give him the coordinates.”

Doyle nodded and redialed the phone. He explained what was happening and handed the phone to Brookes.

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