Page 65 of Exit Strategy
Patten picked up on the first ring. She said, ‘Nathan? What’s going on?’
‘It’s Reacher.’
‘Oh.’ A hint of worry crept into her voice. ‘Is Nathan okay?’
‘He’s fine. He’s right here with me. Where are you?’
‘In a deli not far from work. I’m not really hungry but I figured it would be best to stay away from the port for a while. The whole Seagirt Terminal was swarming with blue lights a little while ago.’
‘I’m not surprised. Now, I need you to do something for me. I’m going to have Nathan text you the address of a coffee shop. Go there and look for a young kid called Kevin. He’s a barista. Tell him the guy his boss is looking for is at the old Kinsella limestone mine. Say he has four buddies with him, all the same kind of size. They’re only going to be there for another half hour, then they’re heading to town. They’re looking to cause trouble. Expensive trouble. And everywhere they do, they’re going to leave a flier with the boss’s face on it and a note saying he tried to stop them but couldn’t.’
Gilmour pulled out of the parking lot and followed his phone’s directions to the old mine. The physical terrain confirmed what the photographs had suggested. The approach to the place was a defender’s dream. That made it a nightmare for Reacher and the others. The only entrance was at the end of an arrow-straight, single-track dirt road originally designed for trucks. There was no cover anywhere along it for the last half mile, but even if there had been, the thick white clouds of limestone dust thrown up by any vehicle that drove on it would be a dead giveaway. Gilmour stopped the car three-quarters of a mile shy of the entrance and turned it around. He kept the engine running, ready for a fast getaway if the need arose. He rested his gun on the edge of his seat, next to his thigh. He surveyed their target with his binoculars, then handed them to Reacher.
Gilmour said, ‘It looks worse in person. Like a bunker, or a U-boat pen. And it would be no better at night. There are LED floodlights all over the place. It probably has infrared sensors coming out the wazoo.’
Reacher handed the binoculars to Kasselwood. She studied the scene for a minute then rubbed her knee and said, ‘I can see three different ways we could get in. The trouble is, they all call for equipment and resources we don’t have and can’t get.’
Taylor tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, ‘Is it worth even trying? Maybe we should withdraw. Come up with a new plan.Discretion is the better part of valor.’
Kasselwood said, ‘There’s no time. If Violeta is in there …’
Reacher said, ‘We’ll get in.’
‘Are you sure your diversion will work?’
‘I’m sure.’
‘Who is thisbossyou sent a message to?’
‘His name’s Kelleher. He’s a local asshole.’
‘How’s he connected to Strickland?’
‘He isn’t. I just happened to bump into some of his flunkies a couple of days ago. I guess I rained on their parade, a little bit. Kelleher’s been bugging me ever since. I figured this was a chance to make up for the aggravation.’
‘If you’re sure, why is no one here?’
‘They’ll come.’
‘When?’
‘Soon enough.’
Five minutes ticked by. Ten. No one left the cave. No one approached it.
Reacher turned to Kasselwood and said, ‘Tell me about Vardanyan. How did she get hooked up with Strickland?’
‘You can’t just turn to the end of that story. You have to start at the beginning. With Strickland.’
‘Okay.’
‘That’ll take a while.’
‘You got anything better to do right now?’
Kasselwood gazed out the window for a moment, then turned back and said, ‘I’ve known Morgan Strickland for more than twenty-six years. We went through Basic together. Deployed together a bunch of times. I was in our barracks in Iraq when word came through that he’d been hit.’
‘He was on patrol?’
