Mavis threw her keys on the bar. "Wish I was going with you, kid. "
"May I join you?" H. P. asked.
Gabe nodded and looked at Val. "They are your patients. "
She pressed her back against the bar. "This is all going to blow up, and when it all comes out, I'm going to go to jail. I should help with that?"
"Yes," said Gabe. "Why?"
"Because it's the right thing to do, and because it's important to me and you love me. " Val stared at him, then dragged her purse off the bar. "I'll go, but you will all be getting hate mail from me when I'm in jail. " Mavis looked at Catfish. "Well?"
"Ya'll go on. I got the Blues on me. " They started out the door. "Don't you worry, honey," Mavis called after them. "You're not going to jail. Mavis will see to it. "
Twenty-nine
Gabe
Up until the time that Steve had come to town, the most fearsome prehistoric beast on the Central Coast was Mavis Sand's 1956 Cadillac convertible. It was lemon-pie yellow with a great chrome grill that seemed to slurp at the road as it passed and gold-plated curb feelers that vibrated in the wind like spring-loaded whiskers. The daytime regulars called it the "Banana" and in a fit of ambition had once even fashioned a giant blue Chiquita emblem, which they stuck on the trunk lid while Mavis was working. "Well," Mavis said, more than somewhat surprised by their efforts, "it ain't the first banana I've rode, but it takes the size record by at least a foot. "
Even in
his youth, Gabe had never driven anything like the Banana before. It steered like a barge and it rocked and lurched over dips and potholes like a foundering scow. Gabe had activated the electric top when they'd first climbed in and hadn't figured out how to put it back up.
Gabe spotted Val's Mercedes parked on the side of a hill off the main ranch road. There were six other vehicles parked next to it, all four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles: two Blazers and two larger Suburbans. A group of men in black jumpsuits were standing by the vehicles, the tallest watching them through binoculars and talking on a radio or cell phone.
"Maybe we should have taken a more inconspicuous vehicle," Gabe said.
"Why didn't we take your car, Howard?" Val asked. She was slouched in the passenger seat.
Howard sat in the back, as stiff as a mannequin, squinting as if this was his first exposure ever to sunlight. "I own a Jaguar. Superior coach works, none like them in the world outside of Bentley and Rolls. Walnut burl on all the interior surfaces. "
"Doesn't run, huh?"
"Sorry," said Howard.
Gabe stopped the Banana at the cattle gate. "What should I do? They're watching us. "
"Go on up there," Val said. "That's why we're here. " She had gotten brave all of a sudden.
Gabe wasn't quite so self-assured. "Someone tell me again why the sheriff won't just shoot us along with Theo and Molly?"
Val was getting into the spirit of the thing, realizing that this might be the only way to atone for what she'd done to her patients. "I'm a psychiatrist, Gabe, and you have a Ph. D. The police don't shoot people like us. "
"You're kidding, right?"
Howard said, "Does one require an advanced degree to be immune to gunfire, or does a life of scholarship count as well?"
"Go, Gabe," Val said. "We'll be fine. "
Gabe looked over at her and she smiled at him. He smiled back, sort of, and pulled the Banana into the pasture toward five heavily armed men who did not look happy to see them.
Theo
Theo had searched the rest of the cave, using the disposable lighter he'd forgotten to abandon with the rest of his pot habit. The cathedral chamber was closed, except for the entrance where Burton waited. Theo gave the Sea Beast a wide clearance on his way back to Molly, who stood just inside the cave mouth.
Burton shouted from outside, "Crowe, we've got your friends locked up! This is your last chance to make a deal! I'll give you five minutes, then we're using gas!"
Theo turned to Molly in a panic. "We've got to get these people out of here, Molly. As soon as the first gas grenade comes in, it's all over. "
"Don't we need hostages?"
"For what? He's not going to negotiate. The only thing he wants is me - and probably you - dead. "
"Why don't you call someone and tell them what you know? Then Burton won't have a reason to kill us. "
"All I know is what I've seen. With Leander dead, there's no one to connect him to the labs. I've already told Val and Gabe. Now he's got them. I was an idiot to bring them into this. "
"Sorry," Molly said.
"Wait. " Theo flipped open his phone and dialed. The phone rang eight times and Theo was glancing at the battery gauge, which showed only a quarter-charge, when a man answered.
"Nailsworth," the Spider said, leaving the caller to guess that they had contacted the Sheriff's Department's information officer.
"Nailsworth, it's Theo Crowe. I need your help. "
"Having a bad day, Theo?"
What a prick, Theo thought. "Listen, I'm trapped. . . "
"I know where you are, Theo. Remember, I know ev erything. Actually, I'm glad you called. I had something I wanted to ask you about. "
Theo fought the urge to scream at the megalomaniacal geek. "Please, Nailsworth, I don't know how long this battery is going to hold out. I need you to do me a favor. "
"Me first. "
"Go," Theo barked.
"Well, when Burton called me, he mentioned that your accomplice said she was Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland. So I started looking around. Turns out there was a Molly Michon admitted to county psychiatric a few times. She left a Pine Cove address. I wondered if. . . "
"It's her," Theo said.
"Wow, you're kidding! No way!"
"She's right here. " Theo looked at Molly and shrugged. "Look, you warned me not to go on the ranch. You know about Burton's crank network. "
"I might," Nailsworth said.
"Don't be coy. You know everything. But what I need to know is do you have access to information that could be used as evidence - money transfers, checks, offshore accounts, phone records, and such - stuff you could give to the state attorney?"
"Why, Theo, you're starting to sound like a cop. "
"Can you get it?"
"Theo, Theo, Theo, don't be silly. Not only can I get it, but I've had it. I've been compiling a file for years. "
"Can you get it to the attorney general's office right now?"
"What's in it for me?"
"Nailsworth, he's going to kill us. "
"Kendra is right there with you, huh? I can't believe it. "
Theo shuddered, halfway between panic and anger. He held the phone out to Molly. "Say something Kendra-like. "
Molly cleared her throat and said, "Die, you scum-sucking mutant pig. The only thing of mine you'll feel is cold steel!"
"Oh my God! It's her!" the Spider said.
"Yeah, it is," Theo said. "Now will you help?"
"I want a copy of the Norwegian Battle Babes. Can I get one?"
Theo covered the receiver and looked at Molly. "Norwegian Battle Babes?"
Molly smiled. "Kendra VI: Battle Babes in the Hot Oil Arena. The Norwegian version is the only version that has full nudity in all the arena scenes. It's very rare. "
Theo's mouth had dropped open. His survival had come down to this? "So do you have a copy?"
"Sure. "
"You got it," Theo said into the phone. "I'll bring Kendra naked and in person to your office if you get moving now. "
"I don't think so," said Molly.
"I'll send the file to Sacramento," the Spider said, "but that won't do you any good. Even if you tell Burton about it, he's got you in a perfect situation to kill you anyway. You need media. "
"Media? Helicopters? We're too far north to get anyone here in time," Theo said.
"No!" Molly shouted.
"I'll call them," the Spider said. "Hold them off for twenty minutes, maybe twenty-five. "
"We don't have anything but naked people and a jealous sea monster to hold them off with. "
"Is that more of your drug nomenclature?" the Spider asked.
"It's what it is. If they use gas, we won't have twenty minutes. "
"They won't. "
"How do. . . "
"Twenty-five minutes. And Battle Babes better be in the original box. " The Spider hung up. Theo clicked his phone closed.
"I said no helicopters, Theo," Molly said. "Even if we get out, you know they'll hurt Steve. You need to call him and tell him no helicopters. "
Theo felt he was close to losing it. He clenched his fists and tried very hard not to scream in her face. His voice went to a whisper. "Molly, even with a warrant out for Burton, he will kill us. If you want your dragon to live, then you've got to get him out of here before they get here. "
"He won't leave. He won't listen to me. Look at him. He doesn't care about anything anymore. "
Sheridan
Sergeant Rich Sheridan was six-three, two-thirty, with dark hair, a mustache, and a long, hooked nose that had been broken several times. Like the other men on the hill, he was wearing body armor and a radio headset, as well as a weapons belt. He was the
only one not holding his M-16. Instead he was talking on a cell phone. He had been a cop for ten years and working for Burton on the side for eight. If this had been an official activation of Special Weapons and Tactics he would have been second in command, but as the real commander wasn't in Burton's pocket, Sheridan was in charge.
He let the binoculars dangle around his neck and waited while his men got firing angles on all of the yellow Cadillac's passengers before he approached. Sheriff Burton was screaming at him on the cell phone.
"I'm pinned down up here, Sheridan. Handle this and get your ass up here. Now!"
"Yes, sir. What do you want me to do with them?"
"Find out who they are, then cuff them and leave them there. And hurry. "
Sheridan hung up. "Get out of the car. Keep your hands where I can see them. "
The two men and a woman did as they were told and submitted to pat-downs from Sheridan's men. When they were handcuffed, Sheridan spun the younger man around.
"Who are you?"
"Gabe Fenton. I'm a biologist. " Gabe smiled weakly. "Nice headsets. You guys could all be standing by to take my subscription order for Corrup-tion Weekly. "
Sheridan didn't react. "What are you doing here?"
"Endangered species protection. There's a very rare creature in that cave up there. "
Val winced. "Were you supposed to tell him that?" she whispered.
"How did you know to come here?" Sheridan asked.
"This is the habitat of the California red-legged frog, very endangered. I saw your SWAT vehicle go by and the driver had that 'I want to kill some rare frogs' look in his eye. " Gabe looked at one of the other SWAT guys, a stocky Hispanic man who was glaring at him over the sights of his M-16. "See, there's that look right there. "
"We didn't bring the SWAT vehicle," Sheridan said flatly.
"Actually," Val jumped in, "I'm a clinical psychologist. I have experience in hostage negotiation. I heard the SWAT team being dispatched on my scanner at home, and since you're so far north, I thought you might need some help. Dr. Fenton agreed to ride along with me. "
"We weren't dispatched over the radio," Sheridan said, dismissing Val as if she were an insect. He looked at Howard. "And you?"
"Howard Phillips. I'm merely here to observe a hid eous ancient creature that has arisen from the darkest Stygian depths to wreak havoc on civilization and feast on human flesh. " Howard smiled (the smile of an undertaker at the news of a big bus crash, but a smile nonetheless).
Sheridan stared blankly at H. P. , saying nothing.
"He's the caterer," Gabe said quickly. "We brought him along to get your order. I'll bet none of you guys remembered to pack a lunch, did you?"
"Who did you tell you were coming here?"
Gabe looked at Val and Howard for some clue as to the right answer. "No one," he said.
Sheridan nodded. "We are going to put you in the back of that truck over there for your own safety," he said. Then to the others he said, "Lock them in the K-9 unit. We've got to go. "