Disappear

“I don’t care. I’ve got to go out there and find—”

“Place is closed.” He spoke with one eye on the television, then finally gave her his attention when a commercial flashed on. “It’s Thanksgivin’, you know. S’ holiday.”

“Surely there’s a skeleton staff. I—”

He interrupted her again and she wondered if he ever let anyone complete a sentence. “Who you lookin’ for?”

“My parents. Robert and Selena Mission,” she answered. “They’re scientists at the—”

“Never heard of ’em.” He returned to the television as if she’d already gone. Helpful? Her father gave everyone the benefit of the doubt but his description had really pushed the limit this time. Alexis gave up. She’d just have to go somewhere else. As she opened the door to leave, the old man spoke one more time.

“Up the highway. Go left. Ten miles outta town.”

HE DROVE by the house slow and easy, the paneled van inconspicuous to any curious eyes. The windows in the small brick home were dark and the place looked empty. Relief eased some of the tension in his body, but not all of it. He had a lot of work ahead of him and not enough time to do it in.

Turning left at the end of the street, Gabriel O’Rourke circled back and parked a block over, in front of a home with a For Sale sign in the yard. Opening the vehicle’s double back doors, he pulled out a canvas bag printed with a plumbing logo that matched the sign on the van. He let his eyes search the street while acting as if he was getting out more tools. Everything looked quiet enough. Gabriel went to the front porch of the house. Pretending he had a key that didn’t work, he stood for a moment, then shook his head in a frustrated way and headed for the back. It took him thirty seconds to jump the fence on the side and shed the white plumber’s suit. Thirty seconds after that, he’d jumped the rear fence as well, landing in the Missions’ backyard, now dressed in black. He opened the metal panel on the side of their garage and threw all the switches, shutting off the power. The shadows covered his progress a moment later.

As soon as he stepped inside, the awareness hit him. Something was different. Someone had been in the house and had just left. The air still shimmered, as if disturbed by a recent passing. He cursed silently, but he wasn’t surprised. Everything that could go wrong with this operation had gone wrong.

Placing the canvas bag on the floor, Gabriel removed his .38 from his waistband. With noiseless steps he checked out the interior, foot by foot. Until he came to the extra bedroom. When he saw the bags, he spoke out loud, his violent curse breaking the silence like a rock shattering a window.

The girl had come back. Dammit to hell, she’d come back!

He stared at the bags but he didn’t move. For the love of God, if she’d just been a little earlier…or if she’d only told them she was coming…things would have been so different. He uttered another oath and closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of regret.

Why in the hell hadn’t he listened to his gut? From the very beginning, he’d had a bad feeling about this operation. Civilians involved. International technology. Bad guys who went beyond bad. The ill-conceived fiasco had been doomed from the start, but he’d ignored his instincts.

He had thought it couldn’t get any worse, but with Alexis Mission’s arrival, the whole situation had gone from catastrophe to meltdown.

Pulling a radio from his vest, he spoke in an urgent voice, ordering a perimeter setup. He didn’t have a lot of men, but those he had were the best. They’d give him as much time as they could.

Disconnecting, he considered the solutions one by one, rejecting ideas as soon as they came to him. The Missions had told him about their daughter. They’d described her as smart and artistic, stubborn and headstrong. They’d emphasized the stubborn part. He had to keep that foremost in his mind.

Putting his weapon away, he searched the room with quick, efficient moves. She hadn’t unpacked, thank God. He put away the towels and blanket that had been left on the bed, then he grabbed her duffel and went down the hall, checking the other rooms. As he worked, he felt the weight of what he carried in his pocket. The rings weren’t heavy but his burden was.

Climbing into the Agency’s helicopter a few hours before, Selena Mission had yanked off her wedding band and given it to him, turning to Robert and demanding he do the same. “These are for Alexis,” she’d said. “She can keep them until we see her again…”

Obeying his wife, Robert Mission had handed over his ring. The scientist had then gripped Gabriel’s hand so hard, he’d left a mark that was still there. Selena hadn’t accepted the truth yet, but the two men knew. The chances of the Missions ever seeing their daughter again were nonexistent, especially if Gabriel was successful in his lies. And he’d better be. Everyone’s lives—including hers—depended on it.

“If she doesn’t show up—” Robert had said.

“I’ll find her.”

“And if she does…”

“I’ll tell her.”

“The story we agreed on.” Robert’s voice left no room for argument.

Gabriel had lied many times in his life, had a lot of regrets, too. He didn’t want to add this one to the list, but he didn’t think he had another choice. He asked the question anyway. “Look, are you sure this is—”

Mission shook his head violently, not even allowing him to finish. “It’s the only way. She’s smart but she’s stubborn, too obstinate for her own damn good. If she has any inkling of the truth—any idea that we’re still alive—she’ll come looking for us, no matter how well you guys hide us. It won’t matter.” He paused. “You’ve got to stop her, otherwise she’ll keep going until she finds us. And you know better than we do what that means…”

Robert Mission’s voice had broken at that point. “She’s…she’s the best part of us, O’Rourke. Please…please make sure she’s taken care of. Promise me you’ll make sure she’s—”

Gabriel had kept his expression stony but he’d nodded and given his word. Then he’d prayed the girl wouldn’t show up.

Obviously his prayers hadn’t been heard. Now he had to take care of business.

“I CAN’T LET YOU GO inside, ma’am, I’m sorry. This is a restricted area.”

“But you don’t understand! I’m looking for my parents. I’m sure you know them—Robert and Selena Mission? They work here.”

The guard pulled his cap down over his eyes, the furry earflaps doing little to keep him warm. In the distance, Alexis’s headlights shone on a fifteen-foot-high barbed wire fence, a low office building barely visible in the empty stretch of loneliness before her. Piñon trees with low twisted branches added their shadows to the scene. She stared at the facility in amazement. When had think tanks become equipped with security like this? The other places where her parents had worked had looked like college campuses.

The guard leaned down. “We’re closed. No one’s working here tonight.”

“But do you know them? Have you seen them?”

He shook his head, his gloved fingers going to his jacket and pulling it closer. “I don’t know anyone who works here. I man the gate when everyone else is off. I’m sorry I can’t help you, but I have my instructions. You’ll have to move along.”

Alexis rolled up her window. There was nothing she could do but turn around and head back into town, her fear and frustration growing. She drove slower than before, the roads slicker and more dangerous than they’d been earlier, a thin layer of ice covering the highway. By the time she reached the house, she was a nervous wreck, her stomach in knots, her hands cramping against the steering wheel. She turned the corner, praying she’d see lights, but the house was as dark as she had left it. A wash of unbelievable disappointment came over her. Where in the world had they gone?

She angled the car carefully into the driveway and shut off the engine, sleet now pinging against the metal roof in an uneasy rhythm. She didn’t know what to do other than try the police department again. She should have filed a report earlier, but she hadn’t wanted to seem foolish. Looking silly was the last thing she cared about now.

She gathered her purse, then opened the car door and dashed to the front porch in the freezing night. Fumbling with the keys she’d grabbed on the way out, she found the right one, unlocked the dead bolt and walked quickly into the entry.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, the shadows inside seemed thicker than they had before, closer somehow, pressing down against her and making it tough to breathe. She wanted to call out but she knew no one would answer, so she didn’t bother. Her fingers found the light switch a second later and she flipped it up. But nothing happened. Her mouth went dry as she tried once more. The darkness remained, indeed, seemed to increase.

She took a step into the living room then stopped abruptly.

A man dressed completely in black sat in her father’s chair. Alexis stared at him in shock, a sense of dread coming over her with such intensity, she felt her entire body go hot, her blood turning to needles as it coursed through her veins. In the space of a heartbeat she was more scared than she’d ever been in her life. She couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, couldn’t do anything but stare at the stranger. An aura of foreboding hung above him like a hangman’s noose.

He looked at her through the gloom and spoke in a low voice. “You’re Alexis.”

Wishing she could answer another way, she nodded slowly.

“I’m Gabriel O’Rourke. I’m here to explain.”

CHAPTER TWO

FROZEN IN PLACE, Alexis Mission stared at him, her eyes filling with fright. She was, he realized, trying to decide if she should scream, run or sit down and listen.

While she made up her mind, he took his own measure of her.

She wasn’t at all what he’d expected.

The obstinacy and intelligence the Missions had told him about shone in the girl’s eyes but they had said nothing about her appearance. She was beautiful…or was she? The shining brunette hair hung around a face with features that didn’t mesh. The eyes were too big, the nose too straight. Her lips were too full as well. Taken one at a time, each component was attractive but she needed to age, he realized, for everything to fit.