Ancient Echoes

CHAPTER 4



DERRICK HAMMILL WAS sour. His men stayed clear. From a ridge overlooking Telichpah Flat, the Leica Rangefinder binoculars gave him a clear view of Charlotte Reed entering search headquarters. Why in the hell was she here? He thought she was dead.

He hated the bitch.

She killed his man in Jerusalem, then he lost her in Paris. When he was dispatched to Idaho, he'd been told some so-called pros would eliminate her in Washington D.C. Obviously, they’d blown the assignment. Or Charlotte Reed had more lives than a cat.

But now, with an M-107 .50 caliber long range sniper rifle, he could kill her when she left the office. Easy as target practice. He wouldn’t, though. Not yet, anyway. Not while she could be useful to him. He lowered the binoculars.

He knew only one reason for her to be here: Lionel Rempart. Her being here told him the university group must be nearby.

The bitch was lucky and smart, which was more than he could say about those two idiot river guides he’d wasted time on. And the sheriff wasn’t much better.

He had been sent here to find Rempart’s group. Too bad he couldn’t get more specific intel on where they were going. It wasn’t as if there were street signs out here. Hell, roads barely existed. He’d never been to a part of the U.S. as barren and desolate. He and his men had been monitoring all law enforcement frequencies, every bit of data the media sent to their newsrooms, and even personal emails into or out of the immediate area. At a moment’s notice if the right signal came in, they could triangulate a position and move out.

But not one bit of good data came in.

Something told him Charlotte Reed might be able to find the lost group before anyone else did. He would watch her, see if she had any success. Of course, if she gave up and tried to leave the area, he would be happy to assist in her permanent departure.

One way or the other, once he found the university group, Charlotte Reed would pay for making him look so bad.

He lifted the binoculars to his eyes once more.