Chapter 30

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Boris gave Jake a ride to pick up his car at the dealership. They arranged to meet at the airport late in the afternoon. Then, after a trip to the grocery store, Jake drove to see his father. He backtracked a couple of times on the farm-to-market roads. When he was sure that he wasn’t being followed, he turned onto the farm road.

Harris was waiting at the door.

“As much as I appreciate being able to see, hear, walk and talk, it’s still good to see a person every once in a while. Even you.”

Jake removed several grocery bags from the trunk.

“Cox has pulled out all the stops. I’ve been working hard to keep him from finding my friend. Has anyone been here?”

“No. If I didn’t sometimes see planes fly over, I would wonder if civilization had collapsed.”

“How’s the writing coming?”

“It’s coming fine. Let’s just say there are no distractions.”

Jake handed him a thumb drive to copy his files over.

“Good. I’m looking forward to reading it.”

“Tell me what Cox is doing.”

Jake told him about the previous week.

“You don’t think Cox can find her now?” Harris asked.

“I don’t see how. Even if they track my bodyguard and me flying back to Arkansas, there is nothing to let them know exactly where we are hiding.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe not. Your problem is that you’ve got a motivated adversary with nearly limitless resources. That can buy a lot of people to poke around the byways of Arkansas. You’re at some kind of place that caters to tourists, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“They can check out tourist hangouts, too. Even ones out in the country.”

“You’re not comforting me.”

“You shouldn’t be comfortable. How do you think the FBI solves high-profile crimes like those terror attacks? It’s not because they’re so smart. It’s because they have an army of people to follow the clues, no matter how insignificant. If he wants, Cox can do the same thing. If one of the charter company’s employees talks, your friend won’t be safe for very long. Anything that narrows the search will speed up how fast they can find you by orders of magnitude.”

Jake grunted but said nothing.

“Want to know something even worse?”

“What?”

“You flew away in a plane that returned empty three hours later. They only needed to find out what its airspeed is to know how far away you were. If I were Tommy Cox, I would have people on the phones calling every airport in range to find out if the airplane landed there that day. Even if that didn’t get him any specific information, knowing possible landing locations still ruled out most of the rest of the country. The search space shrank dramatically.”

“When we changed locations yesterday, we reduced our risk.”

“If it were me, I’d keep moving. Don’t stay in any one place for more than a day, two max. Go places where you will blend in. And don’t let the planes fly straight there and back.”

Jake’s phone rang.

“This is Gordon Patterson. Can I ask who I am talking to?”

“My name is Jake Fielding, Mr. Patterson.”

“I’m not sure how to ask this, but why am I calling you?”

“When you walked out of the courtroom this morning, you suddenly had a change of heart about your loyalties, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. And I felt I had to call this number. What’s going on here?”

“I am the person that you will be loyal to from now on. I’d like you to help me solve my problem with Tommy Cox.”

“How did you do that to me?”

“Don’t worry about it. Your job is to do what I tell you. First tell me where Cox is.”

“I don’t know for sure. He hasn’t come to the office or even answered his phone this whole week.”

“Any ideas?”

“I’m pretty sure that he’s hiding out on his ranch.”

“Why?”

“The ranch is his refuge, and it’s chock full of places to hide — thick woods, outbuildings. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were niches in the ranch house itself where he could hide. It’s big enough.”

“He can’t hide out forever.”

“He only needs long enough to get his affairs in order. Then he can spend the rest of his life in a country that doesn’t have an extradition treaty, thumbing his nose at the United States.”

“Okay. Call me if you hear anything else about his plans or whereabouts. Tell no one that you’ve talked to me.”

Jake hung up.

“There’s an object lesson in this for you, Jake.”

“Oh?”

“Be careful who you choose to be enemies with.”

“I was sort of thinking that the lesson is that I shouldn’t hesitate to take control of evil people. If I had done that with Cox when I had the chance, I could have spent the week sleeping in my own bed.”

“That’s an interesting thought, though it goes against the grain a little. I’ll mull it over for a while.”

“The guy who just called thinks Cox is going to flee the country.”

“He does seem to have made himself unwelcome in this one.”

“I have a big problem with that. My friend will never be safe if Cox gets away. If his fortune remains intact then he can send someone after her whenever he wants.”

“Your analysis seems sound.”

“He’s shown how vindictive he is, and she did something to provoke him.”

“What’s that?”

“He offered her 500 grand to keep quiet and hide until everything blew over. She accepted. Then I convinced her that she was in danger of being killed to hush up Cox’s part in the accident.”

“And Cox will remember that she turned on him, not the good reason she had to do it.”

“She’ll never be safe and I’m the reason. I promised her I would keep her safe if she came with me.”

“It looks like your word is going to be tested.”

“But even if I can keep her safe, she’s still going to live her life in fear if Cox gets away.”

“Do I need to remind you that you are a telepath?”

“It’s not that simple. I could make her fear go away but not the danger. She would still be at risk. The danger would be even worse if she didn’t take it seriously.”

“Then I only see one solution — you’ve got to get to Cox before he bolts. Did your caller say where he was?”

“Just that he thinks Cox is hiding out at the family ranch.”

“Go get him.”

Jake thought about it for a minute.

“Dad, that seems to be the only workable alternative.”

“Have you ever gone hunting in a hostile environment?”

“Only the time I went after you.”

“This is different in important ways. You don’t have to worry about another mind reader, but they have numbers and weapons that can take you out at a distance. You have to be smart. Take advantage of your skills. Don’t give them a reason to view you as an enemy.”

“I’ve got a way in. I just tell them that I’ll turn my friend over to them.”

“It could work, but it’s got to be believable. Exploit his suspicion. Offer to give her to him in exchange for money, or power, or something. He won’t believe you unless you convince him that you’re motivated by something that would tempt him, too. Also, you won’t be successful until you’ve gotten him within your range, so you have to insist on dealing with him directly.”

Jake nodded.

“Get all the information you can about the ranch before you go there. Good preparation is almost as useful as being a mind reader.”

“Yes. I’ll spend the rest of the day planning and go after him in the morning.”

“One last thing, Jake.”

“Yes?”

“Just in case. Tell someone to look in on me if anything happens to you. I don’t want to end up sitting alone in this house while I starve slowly to death.”

Jake smiled at him humorlessly. “You had just better hope your advice is good.”

“Can you meet me at the rendezvous point we used last Friday?”

“Your whorehouse?” Boris asked.

“Yes.”

“I can get away. I’m just dealing with paperwork that’s stacked up on my desk. Why?”

“I’ve got new intelligence about Cox. It’s going to change our plans. I’d like your help in setting up a new strategy.”

“Sure. What time?”

“How about two?”

“I can do that.”

Jake drove to Jan’s house, avoiding the side of the lake that he lived on. A few U-turns assured him that he wasn’t being followed. Jan squealed when she opened the door. She dragged him into the house and kissed him hard.

“I’m such a wreck,” she said when she pulled back. “I worry about you and Ellen and Leanne all the time.”

“Then you’ll be pleased to learn that the judge issued a warrant for Tommy Cox’s arrest. Hopefully it’s the end of our problems.”

“I’ll feel a lot better when he’s in jail. Until then he’s still out there.”

Jake knelt and put his hand Jan’s belly.

“What can you tell?” Jan asked.

“Only that it hasn’t implanted yet.”

“Then you need to do your part.”

Jake checked the time on his cell phone. He had a few minutes.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this. We can do it but we have to hurry. There’s nothing more I’d rather do than inseminate you right, but I’ve got something important that I’ve got to do this afternoon.”

Jan took Jake’s hand and drew him into the living room off the main entrance. She dropped her shorts and panties. Then she knelt and pulled down Jake’s slacks.

“You’re not going to leave me without child if I can help it.”

She took his cock in her mouth and he became quickly erect. Jake sent a flow of energy to her sexual circuits so that she would moisten quickly. After thirty seconds of sucking she stood and leaned over the sofa, her hands braced against the back. Her vulva was presented to him. It was absolutely the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

“How can you send me from zero to sixty so fast?” he asked.

Jake checked her for lubrication, lined up his penis, grabbed her hips, and slid it into her. He immediately lit up her feedback circuit, hoping to bring her with him. He began to stroke into her hard.

A minute passed and Jake’s orgasm hadn’t started, but Jan climbed quickly and had her own. He backed off the feedback circuit and let her come down naturally. Jake still hadn’t come. Such a thing would not happen without some manipulation of his sexual response.

“I’d like to fuck you long and hard, love.” Jake was starting to breathe hard. “Just remember that I can’t stay too long. I’ll have to leave soon, even if that means I haven’t come yet.”

Jake pushed Jan’s shirt and bra up and pinched her nipple with his left hand. Then he brought his right hand down to Jan’s clitoris and began to rub it. He simultaneously restarted the energy flow into her feedback circuit. Jan started whimpering.

“Just keep fucking,” she managed to get out. “I want it hard and sweaty.”

The slaps of his crotch striking Jan’s ass resounded through the house. Jake noticed Christine in a swimsuit peeking into the room, her eyes opened wide, staring at Jan’s wildly swinging breasts as Jake thrust again and again.

Jan came, screaming out loud. Jake let the feedback circuit remain energized for about half a minute. When Jan’s legs started to get wobbly, he stopped the stream of energy but kept thrusting into her as hard as he could. Jake began to feel fatigue in his stomach muscles, and he was now gasping for breath.

Shannon appeared behind Christine. She pulled Christine out into clear sight, shucked her bottoms down to her ankles, and began rubbing her vulva.

Jake again activated Jan’s feedback circuit. She moaned loudly. So did Christine. Sweat dripped off his face onto Jan’s back where it merged with her own sweat. Suddenly he felt the tingle that announced the start of an orgasm. His scrotum drew tight around his balls. He thrust harder than he ever had before.

Jake increased the energy flow into Jan’s feedback circuit. He sent a flow into Christine’s, too. Both women screamed out at the top of their voices. Then the orgasm hit Jake like a baseball bat. He lost awareness of everything but the ecstasy of his climax and the sensation of his penis plunging into Jan’s cunt. Flashes of light shot across his vision and then the scene went white in front of him.

The next thing he knew he was on his knees and Jan and Christine were both still screaming. Shannon was looking worried. He didn’t know how long he had been insensible. He hurriedly cut off the energy to Jan and Christine. They both collapsed, Jan falling into a fetal ball. His knees gave way and he fell on top of her.

He was breathing too hard to speak. He looked over and saw his semen oozing out of Jan’s vagina, down her labia, then her ass, and then dripping onto the floor.

Shannon checked on Christine and then came over to Jake and Jan.

“Holy shit. I’d have paid money to see that.”

Jake chuckled. “Love, please bring me a washcloth. I’ve got to leave right away.”

Shannon ran off to the restroom. She returned half a minute later. She rubbed the cloth over Jake’s face, and then his chest and back under his sweat-soaked shirt. Then she sucked on his penis. Only then did she wipe his crotch clean with the washcloth.

“Are you okay?” Jake asked Jan as he reached for his slacks and underwear.

“Anything I said would only be a rough approximation of how I feel,” Jan said shakily, still breathing deeply. “But yes. Okay isn’t all that far off.”

Jake stood, pulling up his slacks and fastening them. “The regiment gave their all for you. Don’t let their sacrifice be in vain.”

Jan started to laugh and then groaned. Shannon knelt by her and began to clean up her vulva and legs with the cloth.

“If I loved you any more than I do, it would probably be fatal,” Jake said.

“As it is, we’ll both be paying for this for a day or two,” she said.

As soon as I get a chance, I’ll call you. We need to talk about this. We both used tricks that are fine by themselves but the interaction could have caused problems.

Jake put his shoes back on. He kissed Jan and Christine. Shannon walked him to the door. When he bent to kiss her, she grabbed his lapels.

“That was a cruel trick you pulled on us the other day.”

“Jan finally told you about it?”

“Yes, this morning.”

“Good. I trust that made the last couple of days enjoyable.”

“My clit is so raw, I can’t stand to wear panties.”

“So what’s going to happen next time? If I do something to involve your father are you going to assume that I’m just fooling you again? What if that just happens to be the time that I choose to involve him?”

Shannon kissed him quickly but hard.

“Stop tormenting me, Jake Fielding,” she said and pushed him out the door.

Jake hurried through the front door of the brothel. He was late, hot and sweaty. Alice Cunningham appeared from the side corridor. She came toward him, walking gracefully, wearing a dress that was somehow both refined and casual. It emphasized her bosom which was jiggling fetchingly with each stride.

“Mr. Fielding, we’ve missed you. You’ve been away too long.”

She walked up to him and gave him a kiss. Unlike her manner and the way she spoke, the kiss was definitely personal rather than business-like.

She lowered her voice. “I don’t greet the customers like that, but I wanted to thank you for all the really nice things you’ve done for me.”

Then she sniffed at him.

“Mr. Fielding, where have you been?” she asked with her voice back to its normal volume. “A girl can tell when a man has just been meeting with a rival.”

Jake blushed. “Uh, I’ve just come from the most glorious and disconcerting fifteen minutes of my life, and I really can’t say anything more than that.”

“That’s a pity. I’m sure I would enjoy hearing the whole story immensely. There is a Mr. Havel in the management offices waiting to see you.”

“I’ll see him in a minute, but, first, let me look at you.”

He gestured for her to turn around. She smiled and twirled.

“You’re gorgeous, Alice. I knew you’d be well suited to this place, but I never guessed you’d be so, well, elegant. You have beauty and presence. You project grace and graciousness.”

Her smile widened. She took his arm and started walking him back to the office.

“Thank you, Jake. It’s amazing what a liberal clothing allowance does for a girl.”

“I love the dress, but we both know that it takes a special woman to make an impression like you do. And to fill it out as gloriously as you do.”

“Is the temperature in here too hot?” she asked, fanning her face with her hand.

Jake gave her a smile.

“I’ve been hoping you’d drop in, Jake. I need to make my first payment on the car. When can I come by?”

“This is a crazy week for me and my family. I’m only in town at the moment because of a meeting I had to attend this morning. I hope that things are back to normal by late Monday. Let’s say Wednesday. Will that work for you?”

“That would be great. I’ve been covering Tuesdays and Thursdays so that Diana can have some time off. Wednesday is my night off.”

Jake stopped, pulled out his cell phone, and called Kara. He was not surprised to get voice mail. They should have been on canoes floating down the Buffalo River at that moment. Still, he wished she had answered. Being away from Nina made him nervous.

“Hey, love. Happy birthday. I’ve asked Alice Cunningham for dinner this coming Wednesday. I’ll ask her to come by at six and we can sit for dinner at six-thirty or seven. Please tell everyone that Boris and I are doing well. There have been some new developments here that have everything in flux. I’m just about to see him so we can decide how to react. I’ll let you know later what we’ve decided.”

He put the phone away and Alice escorted him to the offices. Boris was sitting in a chair in the reception area.

“Boris and I will use the conference room, Alice. Is there any chance we can get something to eat?”

“I’ve already had lunch, boss. Thanks.”

“Just me then.”

“Of course, Mr. Fielding. I’ll get you a menu.”

Alice left the room and Jake took Boris back to the conference room.

“What’s up, Jake?”

“I think I need to go after Cox myself, tonight or tomorrow.”

That made Boris sit up straighter.

“Why?”

Jake told Boris about his conversation with Gordon Patterson.

“Patterson thinks he’s hiding from the authorities on his ranch. Soon, he’s going to leave the country. He could go anywhere, at least anywhere that won’t extradite him back to the US.”

“If he’s gone, then good riddance,” Boris said.

“You haven’t been in this guy’s mind. He won’t stop targeting Nina just because he’s not still here. If Cox gets away, she’ll never be safe. That’s why it’s got to be now. He could slip away tonight or tomorrow.”

“Jake, you can’t do this,” Boris said, his voice rising.

A knock sounded on the door. Alice came in with a menu.

“Jake, when you know what you want, just call the extension on the menu. They’ll bring your meal here.”

She closed the door behind her as she left.

“You can’t go after Cox,” Boris said once Alice was gone. “It’s a bad idea in too many ways.”

“Just a minute,” Jake said.

He looked through the menu, made his choices, and called in his order to the kitchen.

“I don’t see why it’s a bad idea,” Jake said. “The consequences of him fleeing are unacceptable, so we can’t let him leave. He’s got no reason to hurt me when I contact him. All I have to do is talk my way close enough to him that I can take control.”

“I’ll tell you why you can’t do this. If I show up tonight at the cabins and tell those women that I left you here to tackle Cox all alone, I will be separated from my testicles within milliseconds. Plus there is the problem with your plan.”

“What’s wrong with my plan?”

“The problem is that it’s not a plan. It’s a goal. It’s wishful thinking.”

“How much of a plan do I have to have? I go to the gate. I tell them I want to talk to Cox. I say that I can give him Nina. Cox wouldn’t pass up the opportunity. He’ll ask me in and I’ll turn him and come home. Mission accomplished.”

“Let’s think about all the ways something really bad could happen with that plan. First, Cox is wanted. They can’t admit he’s there. Just letting you in the gate is an admission that they may not feel they can make. Or maybe they will suspect it’s a trick to get Cox to expose himself to the police. Then there’s the fact that there is too much they could do that you couldn’t protect against, not even with your skills. They could have a sniper take you out. They could have someone outside your range put poison in your iced tea. What do we do if you walk in there and never come back out?”