Firestarter

Cap seemed to settle in his seat. His left hand, which had been moving toward his turnsignal, hesitated a moment and then went on. The Vega followed the lead car sedately between the big stone pillars and onto the main road.

“No, I don’t think our little talk will interfere with my driving at all,” Cap said.

They were twenty miles from the compound; Andy had checked the odometer upon leaving and again upon arriving at the cemetery. A lot of it was over the highway Pynchot had told him about, 301. It was a fast road. He guessed he had no more than twenty-five minutes to arrange everything. He had thought of little else over the last two days and thought he had everything pretty well mapped out… but there was one thing he badly needed to know.

“How long can you and Rainbird ensure Charlie’s cooperation, Captain Hollister?”

“Not much longer,” Cap said. “Rainbird arranged things very cleverly so that in your absence, he’s the only one really in control of her. The father surrogate.” In a low, almost chanting voice, he said, “He’s her father when her father isn’t there.”

“And when she stops, she’s to be killed?”

“Not immediately. Rainbird can keep her at it awhile longer.” Cap signaled his turn onto 301. “He’ll pretend we found out. Found out that they were talking. Found out that he was giving her advice on how to handle her… her problem. Found out he had passed notes to you.”

He fell silent, but Andy didn’t need any more. He felt sick. He wondered if they had congratulated each other on how easy it was to fool a little kid, to win her affections in a lonely place and then twist her to their own purposes once they had earned her trust. When nothing else would work, just tell her that her only friend, John the orderly, was going to lose his job and maybe be prosecuted under the Ofcial Secrets Act for presuming to be her friend. Charlie would do the rest on her own. Charlie would deal with them. She would continue to cooperate.

I hope I meet this guy soon. I really do.

But there was no time to think about that now… and if things went right, he would never have to meet Rainbird at all.

“I’m slated to go to Hawaii a week from today,” Andy said.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How?”

“By army transport plane.”

“Who did you contact to arrange that?”

“Puck,” Cap said immediately.

“Who’s Puck, Captain Hollister?”

“Major Victor Puckeridge,” Cap said. “At Andrews.”

“Andrews Air Force Base?”

“Yes, of course.”

“He’s a friend?”

“We play golf.” Cap smiled vaguely. “He slices.” Wonderful news, Andy thought. His head was throbbing like a rotted tooth.

“Suppose you called him this afternoon and said you wanted to move that flight up by three days?”

“Yes?” Cap said doubtfully.

“Would that present a problem? A lot of paperwork?”

“Oh, no. Puck would slice right through the paperwork.” The smile reappeared, slightly odd and not really happy. “He slices. Did I tell you that?”

“Yes. Yes, you did.”

“Oh. Good.”

The car hummed along at a perfectly legal fifty-five. The rain had mellowed to a steady mist. The windshield wipers clicked back and forth.

“Call him this afternoon, Cap. As soon as you get back.”

“Call Puck, yes. I was just thinking I ought to do that.”

“Tell him I’ve got to be moved on Wednesday instead of Saturday.”

Four days was not much time to recuperate three weeks would have been more like it-but things were moving rapidly to a climax now. The endgame had begun. The fact was there, and Andy, out of necessity, recognized it. He wouldn’t-couldn’t-leave Charlie in the path of this Rainbird creature any longer than he had to.

“Wednesday instead of Saturday.”

“Yes. And then you tell Puck that you’ll be coming along.”

“Coming along? I can’t-”

Andy renewed the push. It hurt him, but he pushed hard. Cap jerked in his seat. The car swerved minutely on the road, and Andy thought again that he was practically begging to start up an echo in this guy’s head.

“Coming along, yes. I’m coming along.”

“That’s right,” Andy said grimly. “Now-what sort of arrangements have you made about security?”

“No particular security arrangements,” Cap said. “You’re pretty much incapacitated by Thorazine. Also, you’re tipped over and unable to use your mental-domination ability. It has become dormant.”

“Ah, yes,” Andy said, and put a slightly shaky hand to his forehead. “Do you mean I’ll be riding the plane alone?”

“No,” Cap said immediately, “I believe I’ll come along myself.”

“Yes, but other than the two of us?”

“There will be two Shop men along, partly to act as stewards and partly to keep an eye on you. SOP, you know. Protect the investment.”

“Only two operatives are scheduled to go with us? You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“And the flight crew, of course.”

“Yes.”

Andy looked out the window. They were halfway back now. This was the crucial part, and his head was already aching so badly that he was afraid he might forget something. If he did, the whole cardhouse would come tumbling down.

Charlie, he thought, and tried to hold on.

“Hawaii’s a long way from Virginia, Captain Hollister. Will the plane make a refueling stop?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know where?”

“No.” Cap said serenely, and Andy could have punched him in the eye.

“When you speak to…” What was his name? He groped frantically in his tired, hurt mind and retrieved it. “When you speak to Puck, find out where the plane will set down for refueling.”

“Yes, all right.”

“Just work it naturally into your conversation with him.”

“Yes, I’ll find out where it’s going to refuel by working it naturally into our conversation.” He glanced at Andy with thoughtful, dreamy eyes, and Andy found himself wondering if this man had given the order that Vicky be killed. There was a sudden urge to tell him to floor the accelerator pedal and drive into that oncoming bridge abutment. Except for Charlie. Charlie! his mind said. Hold on for Charlie. “Did I tell you that Puck slices?” Cap said fondly.

“Yes. You did.” Think! Think, dammit! Somewhere near Chicago or Los Angeles seemed the most likely. But not at a civilian airport like O'Hare or L. A. International. The plane would refuel at an airbase. That in itself presented no problem to his rag of a plan-it was one of the few things that did not-as long as he could find out where in advance.

“We’d like to leave at three in the afternoon,” he told Cap.

“Three.”

“You’ll see that this John Rainbird is somewhere else.”

“Send him away?” Cap said hopefully, and it gave Andy a chill to realize that Cap was afraid of Rainbird-quite badly afraid.

“Yes. It doesn’t matter where.”

“San Diego?”

“All right.”

Now. Last lap. He was just going to make it; up ahead a green reflectorized sign pointed the way to the Longmont exit. Andy reached into the front pocket of his pants and pulled out a folded slip of paper. For the moment, he only held it in his lap, between first and second fingers.

“You’re going to tell the two Shop guys who are going to Hawaii with us to meet us at the airbase,” he said. “They’re to meet us at Andrews. You and I will go to Andrew just as we are now.”

“Yes.”

Andy drew in a deep breath. “But my daughter will be with us.”

“Her?” Cap showed real agitation for the first time. “Her?” She’s dangerous! She can’t-we can’t-”

“She wasn’t dangerous until you people started playing with her,” Andy said harshly. “Now she is coming with us and you are not to contradict me again, do you understand that?”

This time the car’s swerve was more pronounced, and Cap moaned. “She’ll be coming with us,” he agreed. “I won’t contradict you anymore. That hurts. That hurts.” But not as much as it hurts me.