Off the Grid (A Gerrit O'Rourke Novel) by Mark Young Read Free Book Online Page B

and hit the car horn. “This comes from the top. I mean, straight from the top in Justice. Our chief got the word several hours ago. Ordered me to hop on a plane and personally drag your sorry carcass onto the next flight to D.C. They want you there yesterday.”
    Marilynn’s earlier phone call flashed in Gerrit’s mind. “What’s up, Lieutenant? Why the urgency?”
    “Sometimes, we’re just not given a reason. You’ve been in the military. When they say ‘jump,’ we just ask ‘how high.’ This is one of those times.”
    “The shooting team took my weapons. I’ve got nothing on me.”
    “Won’t need it where you’re going, although you never know about these Washington bureaucrats. Might want to consider wearing a bulletproof vest so they don’t stab you in the back.”
    “Came here to fill me with confidence?”
    “Don’t give a flying leap about your confidence. Just want to make sure you get on that plane.” Cromwell gave him a hard stare. “Son, be careful. Don’t know what’s going on, but these people are serious. Deadly serious. I’ve been around the block a few times, and my gut tells me you’d better watch out. Trust no one.”
    Gerrit watched the road ahead. They pulled onto southbound I-5. Ten minutes later, Cromwell took the exit to San Diego International Airport, runways cutting between the USMC’s recruiting depot and the Navy’s fleet anti-sub warfare school along the edge of the San Diego Bay. A well-protected stretch of real estate.
    As they neared the airport, Cromwell glanced over at him. “Oh, they have a passport waiting when you get to D.C. I guess you won’t be staying there long.”
    “What? My passport is locked up in a safe in Seattle.”
    The lieutenant shrugged. “My guess, they’ll be giving you undercover creds. Passport included. You’re on your way out of the country.”
    “Where are they sending me? And who is ‘they’?”
    Cromwell turned his attention back to the road. “They will tell you who ‘they’ is when they want to. Why they’re sending you, only God knows, son. Him and those calling the shots. Watch your back.”

Chapter 7

    Washington, D.C.
    G errit landed in D.C. as a steel dawn cracked the eastern horizon. A man dressed in the black and white uniform of a chauffeur stood at the boarding gate peering at each passenger as they emerged from the plane. The man glanced toward him with a look of recognition, then moved in for contact. “This way, Detective. I have a car waiting.”
    How did this guy get past security? The driver entered a code to access a secured door, then led him down a flight of stairs to the tarmac. A stretch limo was parked near the doorway.
    The driver opened the car door to reveal a predawn greeting party for him—Marilynn; her father, Senator John Summers; and a third man Gerrit didn’t recognize. The senator leaned forward. “Climb on in, Detective. Get out of the cold.”
    He stooped through the doorway and slid onto a black leather seat opposite Marilynn and her father. Senator Summer’s gravelly voice—as if hewed from granite rocks—spilled on about law enforcement, serving one’s country, and fighting the good fight. It was as if the man was trying to win Gerrit over as a voter.
    After the political rhetoric, the senator leaned forward with a conspiratorial look, introduced the third man as someone from State without giving a name, then lowered his voice. “As you know, Gerrit, I sit on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. I also have a pipeline to the White House on intelligence matters. You know, the right hand keeping the left hand in the know.”
    Gerrit stared back. Where was this conversation going? Marilynn avoided his glances, as if he wasn’t even here. The State guy—probably a spook—sat tight-lipped, watching.
    “We’ve got friends in a lot of key places—particularly in the business community. People willing to help us protect this country and make it a safe place to live. Know