Lone Wolf by David Archer Page B

Moose. “No promises on that score, though.”
    “Grab him?” Sarah asked. “And where are we supposed to take him once we do?”
    Noah shrugged. “Anywhere out in the country, I guess. Someplace nobody will pay attention when he screams.”
    “Sounds wonderful,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Think there's any chance the girl is actually in London, somewhere?”
    “I don't know, but I do have my doubts. Decker agrees with me, this is going too easy. I feel like we were supposed to find Pendergrast, like we're being set up, somehow. I want all of you on your toes, watching everything you possibly can. Something about this just doesn't feel real.”
    “It's like blind man's bluff,” Moose said. “We're feeling around in the darkness for the players, but one of them is making noises to attract our attention.”
    Noah nodded. “Yes, that's what I'm trying to say. It's like Pendergrast is the sacrificial pawn in a chess game, stuck out there in front where he's bound to be captured, but clearing the way for the Rook or Bishop or Queen to do something more serious. The question is, who are the other players?”
    “Bad thing about a pawn is that he's usually nothing but a foot soldier, somebody who doesn't know any answers. That way, he can't give away the plan when he's captured. If this guy doesn't know who's behind it, then this could be a wasted trip.”
    “I don't think so,” Noah said. “There's a reason why that pawn was advanced, and whoever he was fronting for will be watching him. We've got to snatch him, and I'm going to try to get any information out of him that I can, but the real reason for the snatch is to make whoever is behind him start to worry and come looking for him.”
    Sarah moaned. “That could take days.”
    Noah looked at her. “You got something better to be doing?”
    “Yeah,” she said. “This is my very first trip to London, you know. I could go shopping.”
    “Oh, don't worry,” Noah said. “You'll be going shopping, first thing tomorrow. We need a van; a regular car isn't going to work for this one. And while you're doing that, the rest of us are going shopping for a place in the country.”
    Sarah, her eyebrows low and menacing, stared at him for several seconds. “Any chance it will have a pool?”
    “I doubt it,” he said. “I'm thinking more of a secluded, out-of-the-way, hard-to-find place with no neighbors for miles and miles. I doubt those come with swimming pools and tennis courts.”
    “No,” Moose said. “But something tells me it might come with cows or sheep. Better watch where you step.”
    “You guys figure that out,” Sarah said. “Something tells me I'm not going to get a lot of sleep in the next few days, so I'm going to go ahead and sleep while I can.” She reached down beside her seat and picked up a blanket, then reclined the seat and pulled the cover up over herself. “Good night,” she said. “Wake me up when we get there.”
    Moose and Noah decided to follow her example, and soon all five of them were sleeping peacefully, despite the snoring that was coming from Neil and Decker.
    A building storm in their path caused the pilot to have to detour, so the plane didn't land until almost four AM. The five of them stepped onto the tarmac and were met by an elderly gentleman with a limousine.
    “You'd be Mister Colson, then,” the old fellow said with a smile. “Rum Charlie they call me, and I'm here to take you to your hotel.”
    “Rum Charlie?” Sarah asked, muttering.
    The old fellow laughed, and winked at her. “Rum Charlie, right, Miss, but not because o' me drinking. I ain't touched a drop of liquor in more than forty years. Back in the tail end of the big war, though, when I was but a lad of ten or eleven, I had me a deal with a rum bottler to let me carry a half-dozen bottles out to where all the soldiers were at and sell them every night. My old dad was gone off to fight on the mainland, you see, and was up to me to help mum all I