Not yet, she thought. Not yet.
***
“It’s a casing.” Jason rolled the piece of dirty brass in between his thumb and forefinger. “Five five six.” He looked from the round to the road, then around at the trees as he slowly turned
. “Now why on earth would this be out here in the road?”
Tina stood next to Jason, looking at the shell in his hand while Mark continued down the road, scanning the ground with his flashlight. It didn’t take long for him to bend over and pluck another casing from the ground, though it was smaller than the first. “I found another one!”
“Nine mil. What the…” Jason shook his head in confusion and looked at Mark. “Were you all doing any shooting out here before Sarah and I showed up?”
“On the road? No, never.” Mark shook his head vigorously. “We never even left the property except to gather supplies.”
“Huh.” Jason cupped both casings in his hand, rattling them around as he thought through what they could mean.
“Do you think they…” Tina started, then stopped as she glanced at Mark. “We didn’t hear any gunshots as they were driving off, so these can’t be from them.”
“But maybe they are.” Jason slipped the casings into his pocket and motioned at Mark. “Spread out; see if you can find any more.”
“How do you figure they’re from that group?” Tina asked as she stepped away from Jason and Mark and began staring at the ground as she walked slowly along.
“They’re not buried in the dirt so they’re fresh. If anyone had been shooting recently then we would have heard. And Mark says they never shot on the road. So it has to be from the attackers. Look, see? Another one.”
“And one over here.” Tina scooped up another casing.
“It’s a trail.” Mark’s face lit up and he turned to look at Tina and Jason. “It’s a trail! Mom must have left us a trail!”
“Her and Sarah both from the looks of it.” Jason pointed at another casing on the ground, not bothering to pick it up. “They’re coming in pairs now.” He looked down the road ahead of them, watching as the dirt and gravel faded off into nothingness as it approached town. “So they did go this way.”
“And we can follow them now. No matter where they go.” Elation was wrapped around every syllable that Mark spoke, and Tina and Jason couldn’t help but grin as well. They all sped up, stopping only to kick dirt around to confirm the finding of each new casing, hurrying to follow the trail that would, they hoped, lead them to their family and friends.
Chapter 8
Washington, D.C.
“You’re crazy.” Dr. Evans shook his head vigorously, his arms crossed over his chest and his face a mask of defiance and disbelief. “They’ve been nothing but helpful.”
“The techs, yes. The Spetsnaz? No.”
Jane nodded in agreement with Rick and put her hand on Dr. Evans’ arm. “I know this is hard, but I’m telling you those two are up to something. Both of us have noticed.”
“I didn’t believe her at first either,” Rick continued. “But after spending a while with Ostap, I can guarantee you that they’re just waiting for the perfect opportunity to screw us over.”
“He’s right.” The voice came from behind Rick and Jane. It was barely a whisper and they both whirled around to find Oles standing there, staring at them. “They are planning something.”
“Oles?” Dr. Evans’ eyes crinkled in concern. “What are you talking about?”
“Ostap and Carl are special forces. Before we flew out here, they were speaking with top government officials. Anytime we’ve tried to speak with them about the specifics of stopping Damocles they’ve told us to not worry about it. Jacob and I have been concerned that… that they will consider him and I expendable.”
“See?” Jane turned to look at Dr. Evans. “I told you something was up.”
“Are you sure about this, Oles? Why didn’t you say something before?”
“Because we weren’t sure about it.” Oles sighed nervously, his breath hissing through his mask. “After hearing what you all said, though, I think our suspicions are confirmed.”
“Do you trust us, Oles? You and Jacob?” Rick watched the technician’s eyes for any hint of a lie, though he found none as Oles replied.
“Yes. You are trying to stop this. To save everyone. They… I do not think they have the same goal in mind.”