From the north he heard a rumble of distant thunder.
“Looks like you made it just in time, Mr. Collins,” Seth said. “It’ll be raining hard in ten minutes.”
“Please, Seth, it’s Jack.”
“Jack it is,” Seth replied, tucking his luggage into the trunk.
As Jack slid into the passenger seat, he heard the thunder again, less distant than before.
Seth got in. “Are you tied down to your satisfaction?”
“I am.”
The car began to roll, and shortly they were at the house. Rain began to come down, and hard. Seth pulled into the garage. “That door to the house,” he said, pointing. “I’ll get the bags.”
As Jack stepped into the foyer, a clap of thunder nearly deafened him and lightning flashed. The house lights went off.
“Give it a few seconds,” Seth said, “and the generator will kick in.” It kicked in, and the lights came on again.
“We’ve got a full tank of diesel,” Seth said, “and it will last a couple of weeks. The truck will be back by then, so we’ll never go dark.”
Jack followed Seth upstairs and into a guest room.
“Would you like some lunch?” Seth asked. “There’s lobster stew.”
“Thanks,” Jack replied. “I’ll be right down.” The wind was gusting twenty or so knots now.
Downstairs Jack took a seat by the fire, and Mary brought him a tray and set it in his lap. “Would you like a glass of wine?” she asked.
“Yes, please.”
She left, then returned with a glass. “Holler, if you need anything,” she said, and left him to eat.
Jack could see out the back windows now, but not much further, what with the rain.
Somewhere a phone rang, and Seth called, “Stone for you, Jack.”
Jack picked up the phone beside his chair. “Hello?”
“Did you beat the weather in?”
“Just barely,” Jack replied. “I had it on the radar and stormscope ahead of time.”
“Is your airplane securely tied down?”
“It is, thanks.”
“Do you want to give me a phone number?”
“Sure.” He recited it. “It’s a throwaway.”
“That’s good enough. You might give Ed Rawls a ring when the weather is better.”
“I’ll do that.”
“See you.” Stone hung up.
Jack accepted a little more stew from Seth. “Anyone asking for me?” he asked.
“Nope, and if you stay out of the village store, nobody will.”
“Stone had mentioned it.”
He finished the stew and his wine, then he reclined his chair a bit and dozed through the thunder and lightning.
When he woke up, the rain had stopped, at least temporarily, and there were a few rays of sunshine outside. The phone rang again, and this time Jack answered. “Yes?”
“It’s Rawls. Come down here at six for a drink, and if you’re decent company, you can stay for dinner, which will be beef.”
“Thank you, yes.”
Rawls gave him directions to his place and instructions for dealing with the front gate, which apparently was a big log.
“See you at six,” Jack said.
Seth came back in and gave him the keys to the Ford. “Can you drive a stick shift?”
“Sure.”
“Not everybody can these days.”
Jack went upstairs and changed for dinner.
28
Jack stared at the huge log across Rawls’s driveway, and he was amused. Then the log/gate opened, he drove the Ford wagon in, and the log closed behind him. He was impressed.
As he approached the house the figure of a man appeared on the porch, clutching an exotic-looking rifle with a large scope mounted. Rawls waved him in, then pointed to a spot where he should park. He got out and received a perfunctory handshake.
“I’m Ed Rawls. All the awful stuff you’ve heard about me is probably true.” He opened a door and waved Jack into the house and to a chair, then Rawls closed, bolted, and double-locked the door behind them. “It’s my experience that fewer unwanted visitors come in if I do this. Booze?”
“Scotch, rocks, please.”
“Single malt? I’ve got Laphroaig.”
“Sure.”
Rawls handed him the drink, then fell into the identical chair before the fireplace. “Cute disguise,” he said.
“Thanks. Recently I’ve taken care not to be remembered by the people I meet.”
“I’ve had days like that, too,” Rawls said. “I should have seen your makeup artist.”
“I learned a bit of it at the Farm,” Jack said.
“I must have been hungover that day,” Rawls replied. “Why do you think you need it on an island populated by about sixty people after Labor Day?”
“I don’t know who the sixty are, and I’d rather they didn’t know me, even by sight. Especially by sight,” he added.
“Fair enough. I take it you’ve been warned about the village store?”
“I have.”
“Jimmy’s a nice fella, but once he’s seen you, you might as well be on CNN. In fact, Jimmy is who CNN calls if they hear a rumor of news from up here.”
“I’ll miss my ice cream,” Jack said.
“They’ve got Ben & Jerry’s in cartons. Seth will bring your flavor.”
“Good to know.”
“I read your file,” Rawls said.
Jack blinked. “I didn’t know that was possible,” he said.
“It’s not, but I know my way around the supercomputer. So, you see, I know what you look like at every age, since you were twelve, and from every angle, and with every attempt at a beard.”
“I’m glad you’re not a Russian,” Jack said.
“So am I,” Rawls replied. “In fact, I can’t think of anything I’d rather not be. Which one’s after you?”
“Majorov.”
“Which one?”
“Valery.”
“Every time I hear that name I think of the phrase ‘nasty piece of work.’ ”
“That’s the best description of him I’ve heard.”
“Where did you first encounter him?”
“London, quite a while back.”
“When Dick Stone was station chief?”
“Right. I did a couple of years under him. I was hoping he’d end up as director.”
“He should have, and he was in line for it, but that was not to be.”
“Spare me the details,” Jack said. “I’ve already heard them.”
“I’m relieved not to have to spit them out. How do you like your beef?” Rawls held up a hand. “If you’re a vegetarian, you’ll go home hungry tonight.”
“Medium raw, please.”
“That, I’ve got. The grill should be hot by now. Excuse me.” Rawls got up, left the room, and came back three minutes later, looking at his watch. “I’ve got us a porterhouse. Takes half an hour. Anything you want to impress me with while we wait?”
“I don’t think anything about me would impress you for five minutes.”
“You forget, I’ve read your file. It’s impressive, here and there.”
“The gaps are probably more interesting.”
Rawls freshened their drinks. “There oughta be a few gaps in every interesting file. Shows initiative and a fine disregard for authority.”
“I’ll cop to that last one,” Jack said.
“Lance always favors those who did well at the Farm, and you did just fine. I think your continued presence on the planet is testimony to that.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“I hear you’ve got a nice wife.”
“She was divorcing me until she heard I was dead, then she stopped.”
“A lot of women would have kept right on going. You should have brought her up here. It’s the only way you would get laid in these parts, at this time of year.”