The Vanishing by Gary Brown (top 10 motivational books TXT) 📕

in huge, gasping breaths and spat the dirt out of his mouth.

“You’re a dead man, Fallon.” Martin said feebly, his voice dry, raspy. A trickle of saliva hung from his mouth. He looked up at his adversary. “I swear on Anne and Melanie’s life, I’m going to kill you.”

“Such a heartwarming sentiment,” Fallon replied, unfazed by the cold threat. “I’ll look forward to it. It’ll be like a family reunion.” He turned his attention to Earl Bentley. “You, trucker. Get him on his feet.”

Earl walked over to Martin, helped him up from the ground. “Better do as he says.”

“I hope everyone’s feeling energetic,” Fallon said. He clapped his hands together. “We’re going for a little walk. Joseph, can you manage Lutt?”

“He’s no problem,” Krebeck replied.

“Good. Then you lead the way. I’ll keep an eye on our newfound friends. Take them to the cabin.”

With Fallon’s words, Virgil’s legs grew weak. God, no! he thought. Not the cabin!

61

MAGGY STAYED AHEAD of the team and tracked through the dark forest until she arrived at the edge of the clearing. There she lay down, an alert to her human companions that she had reached her destination.

Dan and Cynthia remained with Maggy and took cover behind the treeline at the edge of the woods. Mark and Karen moved along the perimeter of the forest. The moon-shadowed buildings of the Brethren compound jutted up from the ground like cemetery tombstones.

Mark’s voice crackled in the headsets of the team members. “Team two. Position report.”

“Hard to say,” Dan replied. He surveyed the meadow for signs of activity. “Looks quiet enough, but I can’t tell. Switching to night vision.”

“Copy that,” Mark said. “Everyone, eyes on.”

Dan slid his goggles into place, turned on the device, and watched as the mountain came to life. A family of deer, their presence undetectable in the dark, grazed in quiet solitude at the foot of Mount Horning. Suddenly aware of the intruders in their midst the buck raised its head, stopped chewing, looked towards the forest, then bolted, followed in leaps and bounds by the rest of the herd.

“Did you see that?” Dan asked.

“Yeah,” Mark replied. “Karen and I are going to get closer. Maybe we can see what spooked them.”

“Copy that. Let us know when you’re in place and we’ll assume your position.”

Mark motioned to his partner. “Follow the path as far as you can. Let me know what you see.”

Karen nodded, headed deeper into the forest.

Maggy growled. Dan tried to hush her. “Maggy, Control,” he said.

“What’s with Maggy?” Mark asked.

“Don’t know,” Dan replied. “She jumpy as hell.”

“Jumpy my ass. Something’s got her bugged.”

Karen’s voice interrupted the channel. “We have movement. Southeast sector. Heading this way. Seven by my count.”

“Confirming your visual,” Dan replied. “Copy that. I make five males, two females.” He pulled the case photo from his pocket, examined it.

“Sonofabitch,” he muttered. “Mark, you’re not going to like this.”

“I’m listening.”

“It’s Martin and Claire. Looks like they found our extraction target before we did.”

“Amanda’s with them?”

“Affirmative. Our unfriendlies too. Krebeck’s up front with two unknowns. Fallon’s got his six o’clock. He’s armed.”

“Is Krebeck?”

“I can’t confirm if Krebeck is carrying or not.”

“All right,” Mark replied. “Hold your positions for now. We can’t risk making any sudden moves with Martin and Claire in the line of fire. No one engages unless absolutely necessary. Clear?”

“Copy that,” Dan and Cynthia replied.

62

“WHERE ARE YOU taking us?” Claire asked as she trudged along the narrow path into the woods.

“Shut up and walk,” Fallon replied.

“You can’t be stupid enough to believe people won’t come looking for us,” Claire pressed, “or to think they won’t find us.”

“That’ll just add to the body count. Bad for them.”

Martin turned, looked back at Fallon. “Where’s my daughter?” he demanded. “Where’s Melanie?”

“Damned if I know,” Fallon replied.

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“What’s the point?” he said casually. “You’re never going to see her again, anyway.”

“Then it shouldn’t matter if you tell me, should it?”

Fallon paused. “Uganda, last I knew.”

“Uganda?”

Fallon scoffed. “Please, Belgrade. Do I look like the fucking daddy type to you? Taking your kid was never in the plan. I could give a rat’s ass about your brat. It was Anne that was important. The kid was baggage. But Anne refused to leave the country without her, so we took her with us.”

“Where did you take her?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does to me.”

“It shouldn’t.”

“Humor me.”

“I don’t know,” Fallon replied. “Some orphanage. Sacred Light Mission or something like that. I dumped her with the nuns. Gave ‘em some bullshit story about her mother being killed by the guerrillas in the north.”

“And they believed you?”

“They had no reason not to. Whites working in-country in Christian missionaries disappeared every day. The LRA was wiping out entire towns. The sisters had become accustomed to taking in survivors and the homeless. They didn’t bother to ask questions, and I wasn’t particularly interested in whether the kid was getting tucked in at night. It was getting a little hot down there for us, and I’m not referring to the temperature.”

“So I heard,” Martin replied. “Selling out your country. That’s got to make your mother proud.”

“Wake the fuck up, Belgrade,” Fallon replied. “Our politicians sell us out every damn day and get filthy fucking rich in the process. You think any of us down there really gave a shit? Krebeck and I weren’t alone. Everyone was on the take. We just got busted anteing up a little info in return for a piece of the action. That’s all.”

“And aiding a murderous dictator.”

“A minor detail.”

“I don’t get it,” Martin said. “You were CIA. You had top-secret security clearance, were working under a presidential directive, yet you pissed on the flag. You could have had your choice of any cushy job in the agency when the assignment was finished.”

“Fuck the agency. We had the chance to live out the rest of our lives in style, so we took it.”

“Yeah, except your master plan was so well executed you ended up becoming enemies of the state. What a stroke of brilliance that turned