The headache was centered directly
between his eyes, and Remington was finding it hard to concentrate.
After telling him to sit back and enjoy the ride, his captor had
remained aggravatingly silent, refusing to be drawn out by his
questions.
When the car turned off of the main road and passed through a
gate into a fenced area, he almost missed the faded, weather-worn
sign that was hanging haphazardly on the chain link. "El
Camino Power Plant. NO TRESPASSING. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."
El Camino. That name rang a bell for some reason. He'd been here
before. "Lily Martin," he said into the quiet as the
young woman brought the car to a halt before the abandoned building.
"Very good, Mr. Steele," she said. "Get out."
Remington looked at the building through the window. "Why
should I? If you're going to kill me, you might as well do it
now and get it overwith."
"Oh, but I'm not going to kill you, Mr. Steele. You're going
to do that yourself. Just like Lily Martin did after you left
her no other choice."
"She had a choice," Remington pointed out. "She
simply made the wrong one."
"Out," she said again, her finger tightening slightly
on the trigger of her gun. "Don't be tiresome, Mr. Steele."
"Where's the Major?" Remington asked. "Inside,
lying in wait for me to enter the building?"
"Not at all, Mr. Steele," Descoine said from outside
the car, and as he turned, Remington heard the sound of another
gun being cocked- this one a shotgun. "Now, she said to get
out of the car."
"If you shoot me, Descoine, you'll hit her."
"Not at this range," Descoine said. He opened the door
and stood there, waiting.
The sun was almost to the horizon, sending an eerie red glow over
the scene as Remington slowly climbed out of the car- grabbing
the end of Descoine's gun in the process. "Uh, uh, Mr. Steele,"
Descoine warned, pulling the hammer back on the second barrel.
Remington lifted his hands, stepping away from the car. "Okay,
kid. Get going. I'll meet you when this is finished."
The "kid" nodded somberly, then smiled. "Oh, Mr.
Steele- about my not shooting you-?"
She lifted the pistol toward him, and Remington's heart stopped
as she pulled the trigger. But instead of gunfire, all he heard
was her laughter as the car vanished into the approaching darkness.
Remington glanced at Descoine's gun. "Are you willing to
risk that mine's not loaded either, Steele?" he asked, pressing
the barrel of the rifle into Remington's back. "Ever seen
a man shot at close range with one of these? It's not very pretty.
Just like my poor Lily wasn't very pretty when you forced her
to kill herself here two years ago."
"I didn't force Lily Martin to kill herself, Descoine,"
Remington said, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere.
Grief and guilt had sent Descoine's mind into the dark tunnel
of madness. "If anyone was responsible for her death, it
was you. You were the one who convinced her to steal that money
from her employers."
"She did it because she loved me," Descoine insisted.
"Move. Into the building." He shoved the gun into Remington's
back, pushing him forward. "And keep your hands where I can
see them."
****
Descoine flipped a switch in the dark building, sending a dim
light throughout the structure, and seeming to amplify the low
level hum that vibrated through the structure. "Pity they
closed the place down," he commented. "There aren't
any controls for the power grid in here anymore. Let's go."
He pushed Remington toward a doorway with the end of the gun.
Entering the living area, Remington found himself pushed into
a chair. A small refrigerator sat on a table beside a hot plate
in the corner, a narrow bed in the other. "All the comforts
of home," Remington commented.
"It's served its purpose," Descoine said.
"Don't you find it a trifle- odd that you should choose to
stay in the place where the woman you supposedly love took her
own life?"
"I feel close to her here," he responded. "Her
father used to run this place. That's how she knew so much about
it."
"Ah. So, who was the young lady that kidnapped me, Descoine?
Another fly caught up in your treacherous web?"
"Not quite, Mr. Steele. She's my daughter."
"I wasn't aware that you had any family, Major."
"There are a lot of things about me that you don't know,
Mr. Steele," Descoine replied tightly. "Such as how
I spent every day of the last two years plotting and planning
my revenge on you for my darling Lily's death."
"I wish I could say that I admired your dedication, but I
should think that you would have found better ways to employ your
time as a guest of the state. Besides, your little frame wasn't
quite tight enough. Too many holes."
"What holes, Mr. Steele?"
Remington looked around. "This place, for instance. Even
if you succeed in bringing about my death, this room will reveal
that someone else was here."
Descoine's smile sent a chill through Remington. "By the
time anyone else gets here, there won't be anything to find."
He glanced at his watch.
"What are you waiting for?"
"You have a short memory, Mr. Steele. My Lily died at precisely
midnight two years and three months ago. Do you know why she chose
that hour?"
"Melodrama?" Remington suggested.
"No. This section of the power grid is shut down at eleven-thirty
for maintenance once a week. For precisely one half hour. I figure
it will take you fifteen minutes to climb the tower and get out
onto the lines." He sat back, but kept the shotgun pointed
at Remington. "When the power comes back on, you'll be toast.
And I'll make my get away, destroying any evidence that might
tie me to all of this."
"Tell me, did Louis Malone really exist at all?"
"Oh, yes. Indeed. But he didn't steal those coins, if that's
want you're curious about. No, he was just a convenient scapegoat-
a dead body when we needed one for his poor, grieving daughter
to cry over. If it hadn't been him, it would have been someone
else."
"He might not have stolen those coins from Mr Conover, but
you did, didn't you?"
Descoine laughed. "Took you seven years to figure that out.
Yes, Mr. Steele. But how did you know?"
"The coin in that safety deposit box. I'm rather sure it
was on the list of coins that were stolen."
"Ah, but it was the perfect calling card, don't you agree?
Of course, that assumes that you would recognize it as such and
be able to act on that assumption." He smiled again. "But
at the moment, I don't think you're able to act on much of anything."
His smile faded as a beeping noise filled the room. Going to the
small television nearby, he turned it on. "Looks like your
Calvary has arrived, Mr. Steele," he commented.
Remington caught a glance of a dark Ford entering the outer gate
to the property. Had Murphy and Laura figured things out? He tensed
as if to jump, but Descoine seemingly read his mind. "Uh
uh, Mr. Steele. Looks like we're going to have to move the time
table up JUST a bit. Get up."
Remington rose to his feet, then swayed as a bout of vertigo overcame
him. He leaned against the back of the chair until it passed.
"What the hell did you give me last night, Descoine?"
"Nothing dangerous. It'll wear off pretty soon, though. Move,
Mr. Steele." He shoved Remington forward with the gun, through
the door, which Descoine closed behind them, and on to a door
that led outside to the power grid and its metal towers.
***
Murphy stopped the car before the building. "Do you see any
lights in there?" he asked.
"A few," Laura confirmed. "Probably just security
lights," she told him. "Make people think someone's
here so they won't mess around."
"I'd feel better if we had some backup," he told her,
glancing back in the direction they came from to look at the darkness.
"Where the hell is Jarvis?"
Laura looked at the building and then opened her door. "Ready?"
"Yeah. As I'll ever be."
They entered the old power station, wincing as the door squeaked,
revealing their arrival to anyone who might be inside. "So
much for the element of surprise," Laura commented, listening
for any sounds that might reveal that she and Murphy weren't alone.
"This way," Murphy told her, leading her toward the
old control room.
"It's dark," Laura said.
"Place isn't used anymore," Murphy reminded her. Only
the lines are used to transmit power. They closed it down ten
years ago."
Laura frowned. "Then how could Lily Martin have killed herself?"
"Maintenance," Murphy recalled. "The close off
this section of the grid, shunt the power around it for half an
hour each week at eleven thirty. Lily Martin climbed one of the
towers while the power was off, then went out onto the lines.
When the power came back through them--"
Laura winced. "Oh." She shuddered. "Not a pretty
way to go."
"But effective."
Laura checked her watch. "Well, it's only ten thirty. We've
got an hour before Descoine and Mr. Steele show up."
She led him back out into the corridor, stopping at a closed door.
"Murphy, doesn't something strike you as odd here?"
she asked when he would have continued down the corridor.
"The door's closed."
"And the rest," she said, indicating the other doors
along the hall, "are open."
Murphy turned the knob. "It's not locked."
"But it could be booby trapped," Laura pointed out,
holding her breath as he pushed the door open.
"Murphy- look at this," Laura said as they inspected
the sparsely furnished room. She indicated the television screen,
focused on the front gates. "Looks like whoever is staying
here has a pretty good security system in place."
"Which means that if Descoine was here, he knew we were out
there."
She frowned as something reached her ears. "Murphy, do you
hear that?"
"What?"
"A beeping sound. Soft, like it's hidden under something
and being muffled."
"Yeah. I hear it," he said at last.
They moved around the room, finally stopping before the bed. "It's
loudest here," Laura told him. Grasping the side of the bed,
Murphy flipped it onto its side and knelt beside the black box
that sat on the floor.
"What is it?" Laura asked.
"Not sure," he told her, lifting the lid. "Laura.
Don't move."
"What?"
"It's a bomb. Set to go off at ten minutes after twelve.
And there's enough explosive in this box to level the building."
"Oh my god. Can you disarm it?"
"I don't have a clue, Laura. Steele might be able to do it-
but- "
"Murphy, why would Descoine turn on that bomb unless Harry
WAS here? What good would there be in destroying the plant before
he completed his task?"
Laura whirled to the small control panel beside the television
and began pushing buttons. Various views of the plant's interior
flashed across the screen, then moved outside again. "Whoa!"
Murphy said, reaching out as she pressed the button. "Go
back one."
Laura pressed another button, and saw a view of the base of the
metal towers behind the building. It was dark, but she managed
to make out the figure of a man standing looking up. "They're
out there, Murphy!" Laura yelled, beating him to the door
and was down the hallway before Murphy knew what was happening.
He caught up with her at the corner. "Hold on, Laura! We
can't just go out there like a troop of Calvary. He's got a gun."
She thought back to the image she'd seen, recalled the shadow
of something from what had to be a weapon. "Okay. So we'll
do it by stealth," she said, looking around for a weapon
of her own. Finding a metal bar, she picked it up, checking its
heft. "Is there another way out to the power grid?"
"Yeah. There's a side door."
"Lead the way," Laura told him, falling back.
"We need to come up with a plan of action, Laura," Murphy
said. His footsteps echoed hollowly in the building. "Laura?"
he said, turning around to find the corridor behind him empty.
For a second, he considered chasing her, but decided that he was
closer to the side door. Maybe the element of surprise might work
after all.
***
"Keep climbing, Mr. Steele," Descoine called out. "It's
not much further. You're making good time."
Remington pulled himself up the metal ladder, trying to ignore
the burning in his left arm. His back was to the plant, but he
thought that he heard the sound of a door opening and closing.
Glancing down, he realized that Descoine had heard it as well,
because the Major's attention was focused on the building. That
glance was a mistake as Remington clasped the ladder tightly to
keep from falling. The metal felt cool on his face.
"Keep going, Mr. Steele. Another ten feet and you'll be in
position."
"You don't think you can keep me here until midnight, do
you, Descoine?" Remington called back
"I won't have to. I'm sure you feel the vertigo the drug
has induced. Sneaky little drug. Knocks you out cold, then sneaks
back up on you twenty four hours later. By the time you reach
the top of that tower, it will be all over. And attempting to
climb back down the tower will achieve the same end. Either way,
you'll be dead, Mr. Steele. And Lily will still rest in peace."
Laura hid behind one leg of the tower, directly across from Descoine.
From here, she could look up and see Harry climbing the ladder
to the top, his movements slow and deliberate. There was no way
she could rush Descoine from this angle. One movement from her,
and he'd use that shotgun. If she had followed Murphy instead
of taking off on her own to play the hero, she would have been
in a much better position.
Where was Murphy? She wondered, catching her breath as she saw
him in the shadows behind the Major. "Descoine!" Laura
called out, stepping into the dim light.
Descoine lifted the shotgun and pulled the trigger as Murphy slammed
into him from the back. The shot went high, over Laura's head
as she fell to the ground.
"Laura!!!!" Remington yelled, glancing down as he reached
the top to see her fall as the sound of the blast reached him.
Everything seemed to spin, and he wrapped his arms around the
cool metal, closing his eyes against the vertigo. That made it
worse he decided and slowly sat up on the framework, hearing sounds
from below.
With an angry roar, Descoine rose back to his feet and turned
to confront Murphy, sending the younger man sprawling onto the
gravel beneath their feet.
Laura stood up and picked up the length of steel rod that she'd
found inside. Grabbing the shotgun, she kept it at her side, and
shoved the end of the bar into Descoine's back, pulling the hammer
back on the shotgun as she did so. "Freeze, Descoine,"
she ordered.
The Major lifted his hands into the air. "You're too late.
Steele's a dead man."
"Ever heard the one about counting your chickens before they
hatch, Descoine?" Laura asked.
"I don't have to count chickens. He'll never make it back
down. Either the drug will cause him to fall- or when they cut
the power to the main grid, it shunts through THIS tower. I rewired
it so that when it does, the entire tower will become electrified-
and fry Steele," he said with a smug grin.
Murphy wiped that grin from the Major's round face with a well
placed fist, sending the man to his knees. Laura dropped the rod.
"Get something and tie him up," she said, turning toward
the ladder. "I'm going to get Harry down."
"Laura, there's no time!" Murphy called out. "It's
after eleven now!"
"I've got to try, Murphy!" she returned, as she continued
to climb. "Hold on, Harry!" she yelled. "I'm on
my way!"
To Be Continued--