Curt jerked the pistol again, backed the clerk up another pace. They were both of them tucked out of sight along the back aisle. He kept the cleric towards him, even though he couldn"t stand that ugly mask staring back at him. Ha, scared out of his wits, yeah.
The door opened and Curt flinched, even though he"d known the bell was going to ring.
Curt"s sweat was turning cold and clammy against the pistol grip. Quietly, he took another swig of the Wild Turkey and kept the pistol centred on the cleric"s face.
"Hi their! Anybody home?"
Parker rapped his knuckles on the counter, then flipped his hands over to turn it into a drumbeat. He whistled. Boy did he miss his music. Melody rarely let him enjoy the in-car stereo, accusing him of hogging it with his prog rock.
Sad but true, he and his partner had such diverse tastes: she had none, he had some, as he"d teased her one time. He smiled as he recalled the minor bruise he"d sustained as a result.
With a sniff, he surveyed the store.
As the town"s main store its shelves were stocked with the full range of goods, from hardware to groceries, and it was one of those typical country stores you expect to find in small New England towns. Even the trace of dust in the air seemed like it counted itself as part of the establishment"s charm. It wasn"t the sort of place Parker would ever choose to do his shopping, and the clothing department probably amounted to a few lumberjack shirts, but he had at least antic.i.p.ated some personal and friendly service.
For the moment, though, the counter stood unmanned.
I want candy, d.a.m.n It! Parker thought about shouting his demand and pounding on the counter with his fist for good measure. Parker thought about shouting his demand and pounding on the counter with his fist for good measure.
He sighed, craning over the counter to see if there was a door through to a storeroom at the back. It looked like there was. but it was shut. Maybe the staff were sneaking a smoke or coffee break out there and hadn"t heard him. "Hi there!
h.e.l.lo!" he called again.
Parker wandered along the counter to the back of the store.
He could at least see if the door was locked, have a quick poke around. It was in his nature.
As he drew level with the rear aisle, something made him look right.
"Oh, hey, I didn"t realise you had a customer," he smiled at the clerk"s back and the armed drunk in the corner. "That"s okay, I don"t mind waiting in line."
The drunk motioned for him to raise his hands. Parker kindly obliged.
Captain Morgan Shaw brought a gust of icy wind into the hotel lobby along with his small entourage. Derm and his NCOs kept pace, while Makenzie lagged in the rear. The tramp of so many boots jangled the chandelier overhead like a fragile tambourine.
A woman scooted out from reception and headed him off.
"Morgan Shaw," she said. "Your man said if I had any problems I should take them up with his Captain. He didn"t mention it was you." Then, as a quick addendum. "h.e.l.lo, Makenzie."
Makenzie must have tipped his hat like the real gentleman.
Morgan settled for a courteous smirk. "Janny. What can I say? I realise this must be a major headache, but trust me, your hotel will be fully compensated for the inconvenience."
Janny"s eyes sparkled patiently. She was a robust sort, her brown hair only now starting to silver. Morgan was sure she"d keep her good looks right up to when they put her in the ground. "Your brother always was a smooth talker, wasn"t he, Mak?" she remarked. "Now he"s out playing soldiers in other people"s back yards, he hasn"t changed so much."
"Guess not, Janny."
Morgan grit his teeth behind tight lips. What was with these people, they couldn"t see the uniform? Mak too, ignoring the Captain and treating him like a kid brother. Get over it. He had enough to contend with right now and he didn"t want all his ire getting sapped before he got to the Doc.
"Janny, my team gives you any trouble, you have any complaints, take it up with Makenzie. He"ll pa.s.s it on.
Meanwhile, I"m kind of busy, so if you"ll excuse me-"
He spun for the dining room, not waiting on her answer.
"You make yourselves at home," Janny called after him. "Just you take care and mind my fixtures, is all."
Lord have mercy. He felt like he"d just talked to an ex-girlfriend, and he realised the whole town was like that.
Melvin Village. Once his home, she was familiar and even retained a degree of warmth when he thought of her; but man, the distance that separated them now was a chasm.
And if he could get through this mission without having to cross it, that would suit him just fine.
Now where the h.e.l.l was I? Oh yeah. Morgan threw back the dining room doors.
The Doc, the girl and Pydych looked his way at once.
"Ah. Captain, I"m glad you could make it. You"ll never guess what we"ve found out."
Morgan Shaw took a deep breath "Impress me," he ordered.
Guns or no, Martha had wanted to scream into the guards"
faces. The two soldiers posted at the hotel door had helpfully told her the Police Chief was inside with the Captain, and yeah, the girl was in there too. Then they"d stared back like she was crazy when she"d demanded to be let through.
While Martha wondered which guard to scream at first, a voice of perfect calm had said, "Agent Quartararo." A single flash of an ID set both guards standing straight, and Melody led her through into the lobby. Simple as that. Martha was annoyed that the woman had proved so useful. She didn"t want to be fooled into thinking they were on the same side.
Inside the lobby, Janny Meeks lurked behind her desk, immediately giving Martha one of her holier-than-thou looks.
A voice, like a velvet-stringed cello, floated out from the hotel dining room, saying. "Whoever attacked your aircraft.
Captain, they had to be after the Stormcore."
Martha went over and yanked the door open. She was met by Makenzie"s broad back.
Past him there was a small gathering of soldiers, a dark-haired young guy - had to be the Captain - being a tall, bizarre character with a sort of permed lion"s mane. Another soldier, with gla.s.ses and a face wrinkled like a pale raisin, was standing over what might have been a junkyard sale; and at the far end of the room was Amber.
Makenzie turned his head, surprised and not ecstatic to see her. The soldiers did an about-face. There was something vaguely familiar about the young Captain.
"But if your cultist friends had brought it down with some psychic a.s.sault. I can"t help thinking they should have known precisely where to look for it." The tall weirdo didn"t seem to mind her intrusion in the least. He carried on flapping his battered hat about as he spoke, and she caught his words as a kind of backing track. "By which token we should have found it at that house, taking pride of place in their collection already, wouldn"t you agree? We"re missing something terribly important. Hallo"." Hallo"."
Martha realised the man was addressing her, eyes all huge and friendly - and faintly disturbing. She tried to ignore the sudden attention and looked across at her daughter. "Amber, honey, your Mom needs to talk to you." Then she tugged at Mak"s sleeve. "And you. Mak. Something"s come up."
"Jeez, Kenzie!" the Captain threw up a prolonged shrug.
Martha recognised the face then: Makenzie"s brother.
Makenzie didn"t keep any pictures on display but there were plenty in the old photo alb.u.ms. "Can you please take your domestics elsewhere?"
"Excuse me, sir," sir," Martha chewed, "but this isn"t any place for my little girl. You want to tell me what she"s doing in here with you all in the first place?" Martha chewed, "but this isn"t any place for my little girl. You want to tell me what she"s doing in here with you all in the first place?"
Makenzie laid a protective hand on her shoulder, "It"s okay.
Martha. She"s going to help with a few questions, is all," he told her. "Five minutes. Morgan promised."
Martha had shaken off the touch before he"d finished. "Like h.e.l.l she is!"
"Martha has kindly agreed to let me conduct an interview with the child," explained Melody in such sweet tones that Martha wanted to slap her. Melody took a step into the room.
"All due respect, miss, but who the h.e.l.l are you?" That was Makenzie"s brother, putting Melody under the microscope now.
Melody smiled pleasantly and produced her ID with a practised flourish. "Agent Melody Quartararo. My partner and I have been a.s.signed as supervisors on this investigation."
Morgan Shaw circled away, then came right back to study her sideways, like a bird looking for a meal to peck. "Are you sure you don"t want some other investigation down the road somewhere? Because my last orders were I was taking pole position on this one. n.o.body mentioned any supervision."
The tall hobo sauntered into the melee, clapping a hand on Morgan Shaw"s shoulder. It was plainly not a welcome move.
"Ah, Captain, you must be delighted. More people to argue with. How do you do. Agent Melody? Welcome aboard. I"m the Doctor."
He had shaken Melody"s hand before she was entirely ready. Next thing, the Doctor was thrusting out a hand to Martha.
"And you must be Martha Mailloux, Amber"s mother. She"s told me all about you." Martha somehow doubted that. She rated herself as better than Curt, h.e.l.l yes, but she wasn"t a parent worth boasting about. This Doctor character was pumping her hand though and she"d somehow lost her power to answer back. "You know. I"m a lot happier now that we have some of the people from Fort Meade on our side." he confided.
"She"s from Langley." Morgan Shaw corrected him pointedly.
"Really?" The Doctor was suddenly fascinated with Melody.
"What"s the weather like down there this time of year?"
A few grains of the agent"s confidence seemed to have slipped behind her shades, "Captain Shaw is perfectly aware that the CIA has a vested interest in this project," she toughed it out. "My partner and I have been in close liaison with the people at Fort Meade from the outset."
"Well, what"s a few miles between government departments?" The Doctor beamed around at his audience.
"I"ve heard a lot about the CIA too and I"m sure they have a great deal of experience in dealing with extraterrestrial forces."
"Sorry, Doctor, but this is hardly the time or-"
"The time or place?" The Doctor cut Melody"s quiet protest dead. In an instant he was swooping in, full of foreboding, the way Amber"s grandpa told his ghost stories at Halloween; too scary for kids, Martha had told him year after year. "Agent Quartararo, if you know anything at all about alien menaces, you"ll know that they choose the time and the place. All we can do is have the decency to show up. Now. I"m afraid I can"t be sure what these particular aliens might have come looking for, other than the Stormcore, but I do know there are extraterrestrial forces at work." He dispelled the doom and gloom as quickly as he"d cast it. "And I think that"s rather a good start, don"t you?"
Martha could only wonder why the CIA or the Army would hire such a lunatic. Melody fidgeted behind an uncertain smile. "Um, sorry," she said, inspecting her watch, "Doctor, Captain. You"ll have to fill me in later. My partner"s been a h.e.l.l of a long time at the store and I"m sure you won"t want to give your report twice. I"d better go see what"s keeping him."
She held the door open for a second, then made her exit.
Her departure left the whole room temporarily stunned.
The Doctor"s gaze followed her out through the hall, some time after he could no longer see her.
This Doctor and the CIA Agents were plainly as weird as each other. Probably came with the job. some need to act mysterious and make out they were more complicated than they really were. h.e.l.l, her life might be a mess, but she didn"t have the range of hang-ups like some.
Making like the soldiers weren"t there, she pushed her way into the room to fetch Amber.
"Pydych, how"s the lab coming?"
"That Meeks woman has a couple of staff clearing another room now, sir."
"Well, go help them. Colgan, Kurzyk, Morgan spoke to his NCOs, a fine-featured brunette and a guy with a hide of tanned leather. "Grab some guys and make sure it"s set up within the next thirty minutes, tops." Salutes exchanged, he was moving over to intercept Martha. "Miss Mailloux, I"m afraid I"m going to have to ask that your daughter stays a short while longer. Just to answer a few simple questions, that"s all."
Makenzie wanted to go to Martha"s rescue. His brother could be a pain in the a.s.s, most especially when he was trying to take charge of everything. Makenzie had enjoyed seeing him lose it when the CIA woman showed up.
Ideally, he should rescue Martha and take her and Amber out to the hall at least. But in the first place, he"d made a deal with Morgan for those men. And in the second place, he wanted to stay and hear more talk about aliens and psychic a.s.saults, precisely because of how nuts it all sounded. The more fantastic the threat, the less real the danger seemed to Laurie and those other folks.
Martha had a hold of Amber"s hand. She dared Morgan to stop her.
Makenzie stepped forward, but the Doctor guy interrupted him. "Actually, Captain Shaw, that really won"t be necessary.
Amber told me the full story and she might even be able to show us where to find the parachute if you have a map handy."
Martha looked surprised to hear support coming from that angle. She used it to sh.o.r.e up her stance against Morgan.
"Right. And even that won"t be necessary, because those CIA people brought your precious chute with them. It"s out in their car. Maybe you want to go talk to them, because Amber has to meet her Daddy."
"He"s here? Daddy"s here? Mom?"
Martha started towing Amber across the room and she almost reached Makenzie before the news had fully congealed He barred Martha"s exit with his arm. "Curt"s in town? Well, that means-" Christ, he didn"t know what it meant. "He can"t be."
"What"re you talking about, he can"t be?" Martha planted her free hand on her hip, her features trembling with the promise of tears. "Mak, he called me. I spoke with him on the phone. He"s going to see Amber and go. Now you can be with me on this, or you can-"
"Martha, listen." Makenzie was acutely aware of Amber following every word, but it had to be said. "The - guy drove his car into a tree. But he wasn"t there. He vanished. Martha, like those other folks. Like-" But he couldn"t say the name.
The Doctor slipped into view beside Amber. "What other folks exactly?"
Makenzie sounded hoa.r.s.e as he said, "Out on 109." He gave a summarised account of everything he and Laurie had found, and everything they had not. The Doctor kept a hand on Amber"s shoulder, as though to cushion her from what she was hearing. The little girl looked lost, unsure of what face she should show. Makenzie focused on Martha, watching her trying to get her head round it. He finished up, adding, "All the other cars were just parked up in the road.
But he"d been drinking. Martha. He was drinking and he drove himself into a tree."
That set Martha ablaze. "Take the moral high ground. Mak.
but I don"t think my baby girl needs to hear that kind of stuff about her Daddy."
Amber"s eyes darkened as they fell. Makenzie felt like a heel. "It"s the truth," he said.
As he led Martha and Amber outside, he noted that the Doctor had left the family group to sort out their own problems. The guy clearly wasn"t as crazy as he made out.
Melody hurried her pace along the street, taking care not to slip in the snow, and wondering if she was being unnecessarily paranoid. Not over Parker: she could picture her partner trapped in a dilemma over whether to buy Recce"s Peanut b.u.t.ter Bars or a couple of Twinkles. No. that had just been the best feint she could think of to get herself out of there.