Lib Novel Page 75
Metcalf ran toward Kendra. “What the hell is he doing?”
Kendra turned to avoid looking at Lynch dropping down a particularly treacherous section of brush. “He didn’t want to wait for the helicopter.”
“I don’t want to wait, either, but man…”
The chief turned toward Metcalf. “Special Agent, who in the hell is that guy?”
Metcalf sighed. “You mean the one I waved over and allowed to freely cross the police and fire line?”
The chief obviously didn’t see the humor in Metcalf’s reply. “Yeah, that one.”
“His name is Adam Lynch. He’s a contract agent who may or may not be working for the DOJ at the moment.”
“Care to tell me what he’s trying to do down there?”
Several of the gathered officers gasped and one even yelped as Lynch apparently grabbed some loose brush and dropped several yards. Kendra was glad she hadn’t been watching.
“He’s working a case that involves the owner of that car,” Metcalf said. He turned toward Kendra. “Care to fill in any more details?”
“No, not really.”
The fire chief cursed under his breath. “Fine. Because I don’t give a damn about your investigation. On this mountain, I’m the boss, and the only thing that matters is the safety of the people on it. Understand?”
“Don’t tell me. Tell him.” Kendra pointed down into the ravine.
“Trust me, I will. If he makes it out of there alive. There might even be a pair of handcuffs waiting here for him.”
Kendra wanted to tell the chief not to bother trying to arrest Lynch, since she’d seen how quickly his Washington employers had swooped in and extricated him from any number of sticky situations over the years. “Good luck with that,” she whispered to Metcalf.
The firefighters and cops moved away to get a better look at Lynch’s progress.
“Halfway down!” one of the uniformed officers shouted.
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
Metcalf gave Kendra a sideways glance. “Ten seconds ago, they wanted to put Lynch in prison. Now they want to throw him a parade?”
Kendra nodded. “Crazy, right? He just has that effect on people.”
They moved closer to the ravine’s edge to get a better look. Metcalf must have seen her worried expression, because he suddenly spoke in a comforting tone. “Yeah, you’ve got to remember all the experience Lynch has with stuff like this. He practically cut his teeth on black ops training. It was even my boss Griffin at the Bureau who suggested we ask Lynch for help if he was available.”
“How nice of him,” Kendra said. “Then I shouldn’t worry at all, right? Because Lynch seems to be always available when there’s a problem to solve.” She watched Lynch as he climbed farther down the cliffside.
Don’t you dare slip.
It was more a fierce prayer than anything else. Do you hear me? Hang on, Lynch…
Lynch was approaching a section of sheer rock, with no apparent handholds.
“Uh-oh,” Metcalf said. “I don’t know how he’s going to manage that.”
“Me neither.” Kendra squinted at the ravine wall. “But Lynch wouldn’t have gone down there without a plan.”
About twenty feet above the sheer rock surface, Lynch stopped and began pulling vines away from the ravine wall. He tugged on them, testing each for strength and casting aside the ones that didn’t hold. He bunched the remaining vines together and twisted them together in a long, thick length.
Kendra gasped. “Oh, no.”
Metcalf turned toward her. “What?”