THIRTY-FIVE

Billy paddled from the back, using hard, steady strokes that seemed effortless but sent the canoe ahead in surges. The river moved slowly, pooled and deep. Caitlyn sat in the center, sideways with her back leaned against the ribs of the canoe. Her back was no longer just hot, it stung in pain. It felt to Caitlyn like it was splitting apart.

Caitlyn’s sideways position also allowed Billy to see ahead for possible logs or boulders in shallow water. And with a turn of her head in either direction, she could scan ahead for trouble or behind for possible pursuers.

They had propped Theo in the front, and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Now that they were far enough downstream from the bridge, Caitlyn took out her vidpod and checked the screen to confirm their progress. She had difficulty seeing the screen. Her vision was blurred by steady tears.

Papa was dead. Memory after memory bubbled up. Their quiet picnic times. The sense of security she always felt around him. The unconditional love. The pain on his face whenever they were hiding from locals who might discover that Caitlyn was a freak. She just wanted to see Papa’s face again—when it was happy.

She realized the canoe had stopped the steady surges forward, that the river was silent of splashing. She glanced at Billy. His paddle was paused midair. Water dripped from the end of the paddle into the river.

Caitlyn leaned her head into her shoulder and wiped away her tears. She saw that he was staring, a look of fear forming on his face.

Billy’s steady paddling had taken them to where the banks of the river narrowed and the water moved faster. Mature trees grew straight up out of the bank, with branches hanging low over the water.

Dozens of human skeletons hung on the tree limbs, wisps of clothing attached to the bones.

They’d reached the outlaw perimeter to the Valley of the Clan.

Under arrest.

Pierce wondered what could possibly have happened as he leaned his head against the backseat and closed his eyes, feeling the hum of the car tires.

He doubted his arrest was Carney’s idea. Why drive to the factory, stop at the gate, and turn around? He noticed Carney slip on the earbuds and listen to his vidpod for a few seconds when they arrived…that must have something to do with this.

Carney drove past the road into Cumberland Gap and continued to follow the curves of the highway. He didn’t seem to be driving so sedately anymore. Just slowing down whenever there was someone on horseback to pass. He’d plugged his earbuds back in and was obviously listening to a long message on his vidpod.

Pierce waited until Carney pulled out the earbuds again. “How long till we stop?”

“Half hour.” Carney spoke through the wire mesh that separated them.

Half an hour. That answered one question. More than likely Carney was taking Pierce to the Church, his first stop in Appalachia.

The Church was more than a worship building. It was the name given to a papal compound that overlooked a mountain lake. It was command central for Bar Elohim.

Pierce wondered if he was being deported, sent back Outside. If so, why had Carney made a point of telling him he was under arrest? Carney knew the car was monitored. Carney wouldn’t lie to Pierce if he knew that what he was saying would reach the ears of Bar Elohim. So Carney was telling the truth.

Pierce knew he had done nothing to deserve arrest. He was supposed to be protected inside Appalachia during his hunt for the girl, but clearly, the politics had shifted.

The fact that Carney announced to Pierce that he’d been arrested told him something else. Carney could just as easily have remained silent and simply driven Pierce to the Church.

Whatever needed discussion, though, wasn’t going to happen inside the monitored car. He’d have to get them both out.

“Don’t you feel that wobble?” Pierce said. “I think your tire’s flat.”

“Nope.” He paused, then Pierce saw the sheriff’s eyes open wide in conspiracy. “Hang on…you’re right.”

Carney slowed the vehicle. At the side of the road, Carney put the car in park. He lowered the rear window on Pierce’s side a few inches. “I don’t want you in here rocking the car while it’s on a jack. Get out. I’ll step around and drop some cuffs through the window. Ankles and wrists. Give me a good look at them when you’re ready.”

Carney spoke loudly. For the sake of the audio monitor, Pierce assumed.

Carney walked around the vehicle. Before handing Pierce the cuffs, though, he knelt down to examine the tire. Immediately after, Pierce heard the click of an opening jackknife blade, then hissing air.

“Definitely going flat.” Carney dropped two sets of cuffs into the back. Pierce did as directed. He showed the sheriff his wrists and ankles, and Carney opened the door.

Outside, Pierce tried shuffling. The handcuffs around his ankles didn’t have enough slack. He hopped to the shoulder of the road, far enough from the car to avoid audio monitoring.

Carney moved beside him.

“Where’s your vidpod?” Pierce asked.

“Left it on the front seat. Didn’t want it to get in the way of changing a tire.”

“We’re clear for a private conversation then?” Pierce looked straight ahead at the deep green of the heavy forest.

“A short one. I need to start on changing the tire.” Carney spoke in a low voice. “Bar Elohim is supporting Mason and not the local law on whatever this chase has become. And since I’ve been pulled out of the loop, it means Mason must be making progress. Don’t know if that does you much good. As you can see, Outside isn’t holding much weight now either.”

“You still able to track Mason’s vidpod movements from your own vidpod?”

“First thing I checked. If it had been blocked, that would have told me something.”

“Where does it show him?” Pierce asked.

“You’ve got about twenty seconds before you need to get back in the car. Otherwise this is going to look like a conversation.”

“Where does it show him?”

“He’s still in the hills behind his cabin.”

“Wrong.”

“You got a way to prove that?”

“Radio chip. Didn’t want him to ambush me. Paid the doctor to mix a radio chip into the plaster of Mason’s cast. I’ve been tracking Mason ever since.”

Carney didn’t waste any time on surprise. “Where is he now?”

“If I’m right about your geography, deep in Clan territory. That mean anything to you?”