Page 89 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

“All of it, probably.” He stood and stretched like a tiger cramped too long in too small a cage. “Genius scientist in cahoots with the DOD gets kidnapped? Crusading journalist seeking to expose the government’s illegal weapons for the good of all mankind? Mercenaries hired via the dark web? Reacher involved in all of it? Sounds more than a little insane to me.”

“Oh, come on. You work for Finlay. Every bit of what she said, and a lot of other stuff that might sound even more crazy, is completely feasible. It’s already happened. More than once,” Kim replied steadily. “Your boss and mine have been right in the thick of it, too. So yeah, I think she’s telling the truth as she knows it. Or some of it anyway. What motive would she have to lie to us?”

Before Russell had a chance to reply, Kim heard the sound of gunshots close by followed by return fire.

“What the hell?” she said, jumping up.

As she moved, she drew her weapon.

Russell did the same, following close behind.

When she reached the door, she heard more distant gunfire. The shooters were moving away from the hotel.

“You think that’s Chang?” Russell said.

“Who else would it be? We have to go.” Kim scanned the room. “We can’t come back here. Take my laptop and pick up the SUV. I’ll follow Chang. Make sure she’s okay. Meet you outside.”

Russell nodded. “The SUV’s half a block down. It’ll take me a minute to pull up.”

“Yeah, what happened with parking earlier? Can’t be that hard to park in this neighborhood at this hour.”

“Just meet me around the corner instead of out front.”

“Got it,” Kim replied as she grabbed Chang’s card off the table and stuffed it into her pocket. “This place will be crawling with local law enforcement shortly. We need to be gone before they arrive.”

“Copy that,” Russell said as he moved toward the stairs.

Kim hurried along with him scanning for cover.

At the main floor, Russell hustled toward the back exit and Kim scurried toward the front, guessing that Chang had traveled in the same direction.

She crossed the hotel lobby, gaze sweeping the room as she moved. Todd the desk clerk was talking on the phone, probably to the police. Chang was nowhere in sight.

Kim dashed out the front door and down the steps to the sidewalk. She scanned the immediate vicinity and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

No Chang. No shooters.

A moment later, halfway down the block, a dark sedan started up and sped away, traveling northeast.

Kim couldn’t see the license plate from her viewing angle, but she saw two adult shadows in the front seat. One could have been Chang. The other one was much bigger.

No other vehicles started up to follow the sedan, either. If anyone had been hit during the gunfire exchange, the injured were not left behind.

Kim turned and jogged toward the corner, continuing to scan for threats as she moved. She rounded the corner to the side of the hotel. Russell was already there with the SUV running.

She opened the passenger door and jumped inside.

“Did you see Chang?” she asked.

“No. You?”

Kim shrugged. “A sedan sped away just as I came outside. Older model. Maybe a full-sized Lincoln or Ford. Two adults in the front seat. Could have been Chang and Reacher, maybe. Impossible to tell.”

Russell scowled. “Could the two in the front have snatched Chang? Put her in the back on the bench seat?”

“Maybe. Hell, they could have forced her into the trunk.” Kim shrugged again. “They had enough time.”

“Should we go after them?”

---