"On our way," Skyler said. "See if you can start the car out there. If you can't, disable it."
"Right."
Skyler started back up, but he'd only made it to the next turn when he met Anne coming down. "I told you to wait," he said.
"I did," she said, stepping over one of the unconscious men. "You're making a real mess of my building."
"They can take it out of my deposit," Skyler said, taking her arm as he exchanged his nunchaku for a pair of shuriken. "Stay close."
The front door was clear, as Hawking had promised, with four more armored Security men sprawled across the grass. They headed outside, Skyler pressing Anne close to his side to give her as much protection he could.
They were halfway to the street when there was a motion around the corner of the building to their right.
He snapped his arm up into throwing position, targeting the figure with his eyes—
"It's me," Kanai called softly. "Rear is neutralized."
"Good," Skyler called back, lowering the shuriken. Hawking had the car door open now, and he and Anne hurried toward it.
And were nearly knocked to the ground as a flechette slammed hard into Skyler's chest.
"Down!" Kanai shouted, hurling a shuriken in the direction the shot had come from. Wrapping his arms around Anne, Skyler rolled them both onto the grass, turning over to put his back to the concealed gunner. A second shot caromed off his shoulder as they fell, the impact spread out to a tolerable level as the flexarmor went momentarily rigid. Another pair of shots slammed into his back, and he heard a whisper of branches as Kanai sent another shuriken toward the unseen gunner.
From the street came a sudden squealing of tires. Skyler turned his head part way around in time to see the Security car jump the curb and roar across the grass. The sniper got off two more rounds, both aimed at this new and clearly unanticipated threat; and then Hawking rammed the car into a short decorative hedgerow. Even before the vehicle had come to a complete halt he was out the door, nunchaku flailing.
He paused and glanced around, shifting his nunchaku to his left hand—
Clear, Skyler's tingler signaled. Reger coming—everyone to street.
"Come on," Skyler grunted to Anne, hauling himself to his feet and pulling her up beside him. "Hurry."
They reached the street just as Reger brought their car to a screeching halt. Skyler opened the rear door and half helped, half threw Anne into the backseat. Kanai was already on the far side of the car, diving in on Anne's left as Skyler climbed in on her right. "Stay down," Skyler ordered, pushing her head toward her lap and resting his arm across her back and head as partial protection. Ahead, Hawking had pulled the Security car back onto the street and was signaling the others to pass him. "Reger—go."
The other needed no encouragement. He peeled away, the engine protesting as he gunned it for all it was worth. They shot past Hawking, and Skyler looked back to see him pull in behind them, accelerating hard to catch up.
"Haven't done anything like this since I was a kid," Reger commented. His voice was a little strained, but Skyler had the odd feeling that he was rather enjoying himself. "Where to?"
"We'll change cars at the first cache point," Skyler told him, taking his arm away from Anne's back. She straightened up, pulling off her bandana and rubbing her shoulder where she'd landed when she and Skyler had hit the ground. "Ditto at the second. If all seems clear, we'll head back to the safe house."
"And then what?" Anne asked.
Skyler smiled grimly. "We have a little surprise for you."
In the intermittent glow of the streetlights he saw her eyes narrow. "I don't like surprises," she warned.
"You'll like this one," he assured her.
She leaned back in her seat and resumed rubbing her shoulder. "Yeah," she muttered. "Maybe."
The reports coming from the field were confused and incomplete. But the essence came through with painful clarity.
Anne Silcox, the number one person on Security's list of probable Phoenix members, had escaped. And she'd done it with the help of the newly arrived blackcollars.
"Have all other units move in immediately," Bailey ordered the communications officer. "Have them pick up everyone they can and bring them here."
"Yes, sir." Raising his mike, the operator began issuing orders.
Bailey leaned back in his seat, gingerly kneading the swollen area beneath his ear. First Poirot, now Silcox. What the hell were they up to?
"Sir?" Lieutenant Ramirez said tentatively at his side.
Bailey had completely forgotten the man was there. "Yes, Lieutenant, you can return to Boulder if you'd like," he said. "Thank you for your prompt assistance at Reger's house."
"Actually, sir, I was hoping for your permission to stay here and help out," Ramirez said. "My men can certainly handle a mountain search without me being right there with them. If you can use my help, that is."
"Right now, I can use all the help I can get, Lieutenant," Bailey said candidly. "Thank you."
"My pleasure, sir," Ramirez said. "What I was going to say, though, was that it'll be at least an hour before any of the prisoners get here. It might be a good time to go up to the infirmary and have your injuries looked at."
"I suppose you're right," Bailey agreed reluctantly. There was certainly little he could do down here right now. "Fine. You stay here—if there are any updates, feed them to me right away."
"Yes, sir," Ramirez said.
Bailey glowered at the map of the Denver area spread across the wall. "And make damn sure all the prisoners are stripped and searched before they're brought inside the Athena perimeter," he added.
"Reger's men as well as the Phoenix people. We're not going to be caught like that again."
Between the car changes and the carefully circuitous route, it took over an hour for them to reach the safe house. "How's the patient?" Skyler asked as O'Hara opened the door and let them in.
"Still sleeping," O'Hara said. "I gave him another shot half an hour ago, just to be on the safe side. This our girl?"
Anne bristled. "Our girl?"
"He's sixty years old, Anne," Skyler reminded her dryly. "To him, anyone under fifty is a kid. Yes, this is Anne Silcox. Anne, this is Commando Kelly O'Hara, our reigning master of diplomacy."
"Sorry," O'Hara said. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Anne said. She gave O'Hara a pointed once-over, then turned back to Skyler. "All right, we're here. What's this big surprise?"
"Come and see," Skyler said, gesturing her toward the conversation room. Reluctantly, he thought, she let him lead her there, the rest of the group trooping along behind them.
He'd expected to get a good reaction. He wasn't disappointed. "God in heaven," she breathed, her eyes goggling as she stared at the man sprawled on the couch. "That's General Poirot. What's he doing here?"
"He thought you were getting a new shipment and decided it would look good on his record if he was in on the snatch personally," Reger told her. "Got a little more than he bargained for."
"I told you you'd like it," Skyler added.
"You think so?" she demanded. "Do you have any idea the kind of manhunt they must have going out there right now? No wonder they tried to grab me and the others."
"What others?" O'Hara asked.
"The rest of Phoenix," Anne said, glaring at Skyler. "I made a couple of calls while you were clearing the stairs, trying to warn them. Rob—that's my second in command—said they'd already surrounded his house. I wonder now if any of them got out."
"We'll get them back," Skyler promised. "But first things first. Get the Whiplash out and let's get Poirot turned."
Anne sighed. "You really don't understand, do you?"
"Understand what?"
"I can pump all the Whiplash in him that you want," Anne said quietly. "But it won't do any good."
Skyler felt his stomach tighten. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "We tested the stuff when we were here a year ago. It works."