Chimera by David Wellington Read Free Book Online Page B

to make contact with the people named on this list.”
    He handed the paper to Chapel. There were eight
names on it, each matched with a last known address. He didn’t bother reading
the names yet, instead looking up at the two men facing him. “Permission to
guess something, sir?”
    Hollingshead chuckled. “That, I think, we can
allow.”
    â€œIf I were an escapee from a . . . from a
DoD facility, the first thing I’d want to do was to make contact with my family.
Friends, professional contacts . . . anyone I could trust. I’m
assuming that’s where these names come from.”
    â€œLook, Banks. Look—he’s already on the case,”
Hollingshead said, with a warm and generous smile. “I told you he was our
man.”
    â€œHe’s already making mistakes is what he’s doing,”
Banks countered.
    Hollingshead’s smile faded. “I’m afraid that’s
true, son.” He looked Chapel straight in the eye. “Those aren’t family members
or friends,” he said. “The word for them is—ah, there’s no good word for it,
let’s say—let’s call them—”
    â€œIntended victims,” Banks said.
    Chapel frowned. He glanced down at the list
again.
    â€œIt’s a kill list,” Banks went on.
    Chapel nearly dropped the piece of paper.
    Hollingshead waved his hands in the air as if he
wanted to calm everyone down. “That sounds so very dramatic! It’s not wholly
inaccurate, though. The one thing we are certain of is that our detainees are
going to go after these names and do everything they can to murder them. Keeping
these people alive—”
    â€œâ€”is secondary,” Banks butted in. “Taking out the
targets is the only thing you need to worry about. But with this list at least
you know where they’re headed.”
    Chapel scanned the list quickly, not bothering to
memorize the names. He was more interested in the addresses for the moment. In
his head he put together a map of the locations. New York City, Atlanta,
Vancouver in Canada—that was going to be a jurisdictional nightmare—Chicago,
Denver, Seattle, Alaska. That was an awful lot of ground to cover. But it was
better than just going door-to-door throughout the entire continental United
States, asking if anyone had seen a shaggy-haired man with a murderous
disposition.
    When he had the map in his head, he glanced over
the names. A couple of them were doctors, by the look of it—or Ph.D.s, at least.
He only recognized one of the names. “Hayes. Franklin Hayes—he’s a federal
judge. He’s been in the news recently.”
    â€œThe president chose him to be the next justice on
the Supreme Court,” Hollingshead said. “He’s just waiting for the Senate to
confirm his appointment.”
    Chapel wondered if that made his job harder or
easier. Harder because if someone was gunning for a high-ranking judge it would
be tough to keep it out of the papers. Easier because a man like that would
already have some security.
    â€œHe’ll be the first one you make contact with, of
course,” Banks said. “He’s the highest-value target.”
    Chapel shook his head. “With all due respect, sir,
he won’t.” He tapped the list with his artificial index finger. “Judge Hayes is
on—what? The Tenth Circuit Court? The address for him here is in Denver. If the
detainees are limited to traveling by train or by bus—” He glanced up for
confirmation.
    â€œSo far that’s what we’ve seen, yes,” Hollingshead
confirmed. “They don’t have driver’s licenses or passports. They won’t be able
to board an airplane. And they don’t know how to drive a car. That’s a small bit
of luck, eh?”
    â€œâ€”then it will still take two days for one of them
to arrive in Colorado.”
    â€œThat sounds right,”