Collins tried to smile again, his lips dry and uneven. “Ask away.”
“They tell me you stopped them for speeding. How did it happen? You give them the siren?”
“Uh huh.”
“And they stopped right away?”
“Sure. Probably knew they were gonna blast me.” The idea of that seemed to rouse him. “If they took off, they had to know I’d go for the radio.”
Jordan nodded. That was how he figured it. “Did they say anything? Anything at all?”
Collins took a long, hard swallow. “Not a word. Sonuvabitch just nailed me.” He hesitated. “I never even got my gun out of the holster.”
Jordan frowned.
“Why do you ask?”
“Nothing really,” Jordan said. “I just heard them yelling to each other. I thought maybe if you heard something…”
“Nothing.” He paused again and drew a shallow, awkward breath. “Now that you mention it though… I thought I heard them speaking in a foreign language when I was on the ground. I wouldn’t have known French from Chinese by then.”
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll get picked up soon enough.”
“The car,” Collins said, his voice growing weaker as the medication was getting the best of him. “Captain said they found it.”
Jordan nodded, pretending to know what he was talking about.
“Down by the reservoir. Another set of tire tracks. Second car waiting for them.”
“Right,” Jordan said.
“Professionals,” Collins muttered.
“We were all lucky to get out of there,” Sandor said.
Collins reached out and took hold of Jordan’s arm. “You were the luck.”
“Just one more question, then I’ll let you get some rest. Know a guy up here, name of Jimmy Ryan?”
Collins started to shake his head, but it hurt too much. “No. Can’t say as I do.”
“Never mind.” Sandor patted his hand and offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. Your boys will catch them.”
Collins looked up at him in a way that told Jordan he knew it was a lie. “They knew what they were about,” he said. “They’re long gone, aren’t they?”
“We’ll see.”
The young man hesitated, then said, “Take care of yourself.”
“You too,” Jordan said and turned away.
Collins was asleep before he left the room.
THREE
Sandor found Captain Reynolds just outside the ICU, where he was quietly giving instructions to two troopers standing guard in the hospital corridor assigned to protect Jack Collins.
“Captain.”
Reynolds turned from his men.
“I was wondering if we could have that cup of coffee.”
Reynolds told his men he would be gone a while, then took Jordan by the arm and led him down the hallway. “How’s Jack?”
“Good as can be expected.”
The Captain nodded. “Come on, we’ll take a walk.”
They sat across from each other in a booth in the small diner a couple of blocks from the hospital. Reynolds told Sandor about his days in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne, information Jordan had not requested, but the trooper wanted to share all the same.
“Ran that computer check on you,” Reynolds told him after he finished his personal reminiscence. “Like I said before, saw some of your service record.”
Jordan waited.
“Not all of it, though. Some major gaps. Looked to me like CID blocks. Where’d you disappear to after your first tour? Military Intelligence, am I right?”
“An oxymoron,” Jordan replied.
“Like ‘civil servant’?”
Jordan smiled.
“So you were still in some kind of government service.”
“Some kind.”
“And now you’re some kind of reporter?”
“Some kind.”
“I’m not a big fan of reporters.”
“Neither am I.”
Reynolds gave him a look that told him saving Jack Collins was not a license for any smart mouth crap, not if he knew what was good for him. “So, what happened to government duty?”
Jordan looked up from his coffee and met the captain’s eyes. “It got old, Captain. Too many friends got sold out by too many fat-ass bureaucrats.”
“It’s all part of the game, son.”
“It shouldn’t be a game.”
“Lapsed patriot, eh?”
“No, still a patriot,” Jordan said. “Just too much bullshit.”
Reynolds shook his head, making a face like he just remembered something he never wanted to think about again. “Yeah, lost my taste for those games myself. Took my retirement, came back home. Got this nice job, working towards a second pension. Local politics are a piece of cake once you’ve done the Potomac shuffle. It’s funny though, even now. Always thought I’d spend my entire life in the military.”
“Any regrets?”
“Sometimes. Nine Eleven happened to all of us, know what I mean?”
Sandor nodded.
“Especially when you’ve worn the uniform. Made me want to re-enlist.”
Sandor stared directly into Reynolds’ eyes.
“So what really went down today?” Reynolds asked.
“I was hoping you’d tell me.”
The captain did not reply, retaining his erect bearing as he took a drink of his coffee.
“If I knew I’d tell you,” Sandor said.
“I wonder,” Reynolds said. He shook off another thought. “I suppose I should get over to the barracks, see what they’ve turned up.”
“Tell me about the second car, Captain, the one they had waiting near the reservoir.”
Reynolds took a moment to study Sandor. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Let’s just say there are a lot of rumors flying around here today.”
Reynolds frowned. “They were professionals, that much is certain.”
“That’s exactly what Collins said.”
“They had the second car waiting. Made the switch and took off, headed for God knows where.”
“Were there any more victims today?” Jordan’s question caught the captain halfway between sitting and standing.
Reynolds nodded slowly. “Who have you been talking to?”
“Does it matter?”
“It might.”
“Okay.” He sat back down. “Call it a guess, then.”
“That the truth?”
“It is. I heard about the second car at the hospital. The other part is just common sense. Two pro shooters didn’t come up here to nail a cop for a speeding ticket.”
Reynolds nodded again. “Okay. They took out a guy, name of James Ryan.”
Jordan did not respond to the mention of the name, the man he and Peters were on their way to see. Reynolds searched Sandor’s expression for any sign of recognition, but saw nothing.
“Ryan just moved up here a month or so ago,” Reynolds said. “We’re checking it out now.”
“Uh huh.”
“We backtracked from where Collins first spotted the car. Didn’t take much. The house this Ryan was renting isn’t far from there.”
Sandor waited.
“Apparently, they caused that boy some pain before they did him.”
“How’s that?”
“Tied him up and beat the living crap out of him. Then put two in his head.”
“You been there yet to have a look yourself?”
“I’m going over, soon as I clean up some of the paperwork at the barracks.”
“Mind if I ride along?”
“Not regulation, you know.”
“Neither is the hole in Dan Peters’ chest.”
Reynolds paused. “What the hell. Need you at HQ anyway, to look through some of the mug shots they brought down from Albany, the usual routine.”
Jordan slid out of the booth. “Mind if I make a quick stop first? Just want to see how Peters is doing.”
“Not a problem,” Reynolds said as he stood.
Jordan grinned. “Might even like to have a look around. Beautiful country you have here.”