“I didn’t know about the party, so I sure as hell didn’t send the party crashers,” he replied.
“Did you set them up on their own recognizance to tail me?”
“Why would I do that?” said Connelly, genuinely confused. “You aren’t the target here, and I have every confidence you’ll do your job and then call your contact.”
“Then who are they?”
There was a long pause. “I have no idea,” came the uneasy reply.
Desh nodded. “I have to go, Colonel. Do me a favor. Investigate this entire Op from top to bottom. Something’s not right. Starting with the party crashers. Make sure you have the straight skinny on this deal.”
“After what you’ve just told me,” said Connelly, “you don’t need to ask.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch,” said Desh, ending the connection.
Desh pocketed the phone and pushed aside just enough of the curtain to be able to peer out of the window. The coast appeared clear, although this guaranteed nothing.
Desh heard heavy footsteps coming from the adjoining room and jerked his head away from the window, his senses hyper-alert.
“Holy Shit!” bellowed a man in the other room, his shocked voice easily carrying through the wall. “Are they alive?”
“I’ll check,” said another man. “You call for back-up,” he added anxiously.
Desh guessed from their reaction to the two unconscious men they were uniformed cops with no military experience, which was somewhat of a relief. Even so, he didn’t wait to hear more. He opened the outer door and cautiously stepped outside, crouching low and keeping to the darkness.
16
David Desh entered the woods near the back of the motel, the night vision equipment that Kira had provided now firmly over his eyes, and picked his way through the trees as quickly as he could. The woods at night provided a spectacle few would ever witness, requiring both the interest and expensive IR night vision equipment to maximize the experience. Desh had been lucky enough to be properly equipped on many occasions and see the woods come alive at night as nocturnal birds, amphibians, mammals, and reptiles scurried onto the stage under cover of darkness, unaware that technology could now offer night-blind humans a peek at their previously hidden universe. Warm-blooded bats, normally invisible against the night sky, now showed up clearly as they winged after insect meals, and owls terrorized rodent populations, often swallowing their prey whole.
Tonight, though, Desh didn’t have the luxury of letting himself get distracted. His entire focus was on plotting a path that would allow him to traverse the quarter-mile wide strip of trees as quickly as possible. Ten minutes later he emerged from the trees. A road paralleled the woods, but Desh stayed close to the tree line and out of sight of headlights, continuing to put distance between himself and the motel.
After jogging for a few miles he spotted the steeple of a church across the road, with a small parking area in front, and hurriedly approached it. He passed a sign that read Saint Peters Lutheran Church. Pushing aside feelings of guilt, he forced the lock on the front door of the brick building and slid inside.
He went straight to the main sanctuary, stepped onto the altar, and deposited the cell phone he had removed from Kira’s assailant behind the pulpit, leaving the phone closed but still on. Within minutes he was back just inside the tree line, staying out of sight and watching all access points to the church carefully.
Desh settled in for what he expected to be a long vigil. Periodically, he retreated farther into the woods and did jumping jacks to keep his blood flowing and to generate warmth on the chilly autumn night. He had the odd feeling that if Kira Miller had had an extra coat in her magic bag, she would have left that in the bathroom for him as well.
So what to make of her? Could her story have been true? It was impossible to say. But regardless, Desh had to admire her competence. She planned brilliantly, was quick on her feet, and was decisive.
But was she too decisive? She had shot one of the intruders to get information with a ruthless efficiency. Few people were capable of acting so callously. On the other hand, she could easily have killed them all. A true psychopath wouldn’t have hesitated. Unless for some unfathomable reason it continued to be of importance to her to convince Desh she was innocent, so much so that she was able to sublimate her psychotic nature.