Shaw looked at Reggie. “You arranged this?”
“I called and told them what was up. They were the ones who insisted on flying over.”
“Slept all the way,” said Whit as he stretched out his back. “Nice and rested for our little trip.”
“You aren’t going,” snapped Shaw.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s not expecting four, only two. And he said if I didn’t follow his instructions to the letter Katie is dead.”
“We thought about that,” said Reggie. “So when we go to meet if they say no, Whit and Dominic will back off.”
“Back off? More likely they’ll be killed.”
“My life,” said Whit cavalierly. “I can do what I want with it.”
Dominic simply nodded in agreement.
“But if you’re really concerned,” said Reggie, “then call Kuchin back and ask his permission. You just have to hit last number received.”
Shaw pulled the phone out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment before looking up at Whit. “You do realize if he approves this you probably won’t be coming back alive?”
Whit glanced at his friend. “You okay with that, Dom?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
“There’s your answer,” said Whit.
Shaw made the call. The answer was a little surprising. Kuchin seemed happy to add two more to his list.
“I welcome you all,” he said before Shaw clicked off, shaking his head.
“Everything good?” asked Reggie.
“Oh yeah, now we got four funerals instead of two. Break out the champagne.”
They rode in a cab to the rendezvous spot. It was a warehouse, which didn’t surprise Shaw.
“It’s usually a damn warehouse,” he said to Reggie.
The door was unlocked. They went inside. There was no one there, just a tan GMC Yukon XL with the keys on the front seat and a set of directions under the visor.
That did surprise Shaw, at least until he thought about it.
“If we were going to set up an ambush they just took that opportunity away. But this leaves us in control, so I’m not getting it fully.”
They drove out of Montreal heading northeast. Two hours later, following the directions, they turned off onto a one-lane road in an area covered with forest and not a sign of human life anywhere. Two hundred yards down this strip of gravel the truck suddenly cut off. Shaw tried to restart it but the engine never even turned over.
“We’ve got a half tank of gas,” Reggie said, pointing to the gauge on the dash. “Everything else looks normal.”
“It’s a new truck too,” said Whit from the backseat.
Shaw looked up at the button above the rearview mirror. “It’s also got an OnStar system.”
“So?” said Reggie.
“So they can take remote control of the car in case of an emergency or you lock yourself out. Or cut off the engine in case it?