Choppy Water - Stuart Woods Page 0,7

You’ve got some time to call whoever else you have to.

“The first order of business is to keep the president-elect safe,” Bill said.

“Accomplished,” Stone said. “There are six guns in this room, and whoever made that mess at the yacht club is gone. They must be in a boat, because the ferry has been inop. How did you get here?”

“They agreed to make a run when the wind dropped,” Bill said.

“What’s your plan?” Stone asked.

“We’ve got an unmarked helicopter at the airport, but it can’t fly until the weather passes, so we’re going immediately by car. You people pack your bags, and we’ll get everyone in our vehicles.”

Seth Hotchkiss came into the room. “Evening,” he said. “What time would you like dinner?”

“I don’t think we’re going to have time for dinner, Seth,” Stone said. “We’ll be leaving shortly.”

Seth nodded and left.

“Seth and his wife crossed on the ferry with us,” Bill said.

“All right,” Holly said. “Nobody’s going anywhere until I’ve been told what’s going on, so stop ignoring me. What mess at the yacht club?”

“Holly,” Stone said. “The rest of your detail has been shot and killed at the yacht club. How many, Bill?”

“Six.”

Holly stood, openmouthed. “We’d better get packed, then,” she said, finally.

* * *

—

A half hour later, the six of them were jammed into a large, three-rowed SUV, their luggage in another behind them, all waiting for the ferry to show. The weather had passed, for the moment, and visibility was fair.

“Where are we going, Bill?” Holly said.

“To our backup location; about a forty-five-minute drive from Lincolnville. We’ll do it in less than that.”

“You have a backup location already?”

“We’ve had it since I first heard about this trip,” he replied. “It was on a list we keep for possible hideouts. Don’t worry, you’ll be very comfortable there.”

The ferry hove into view, and minutes later they were crossing. Bill wouldn’t let anyone get out of the car on the crossing, and when they were ashore, the cars turned right, keeping their speed down until they were out of sight of Lincolnville.

“As soon as this hurricane passes, I’ll have to go to Washington,” Bill said.

“On the carpet?” Holly said.

“You guessed it.”

“Bill, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I’ve put the president-elect of the United States in jeopardy and lost six men.”

“It was a planned attack,” Stone said. “You couldn’t have foreseen that.”

“It’s my job to foresee, and I failed.”

The car sped up, and Stone saw the speedometer at eighty.

“I’m more concerned with how these people found us,” Stone said. “This was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and nobody could have known where we were going.”

“Somebody knew,” Bill said.

Everybody went quiet, and the big vehicle hurtled on through the night. They drove off the main highway and along a series of back roads, then made a right onto a larger road and crossed a short bridge. Stone looked around. “This is Mount Desert Island,” he said. Bill said nothing.

They drove through the village of Somesville, so Stone knew that Somes Sound was to their left. Shortly after leaving the village they turned left, in the direction of the water, and drove very slowly along a winding road with signs proclaiming a 15 mph speed limit.

Finally, they came to a gate, and another SUV, blocking it, drove out and parked in order to allow them to drive through. They climbed a cobblestone driveway and came to a halt before a columned entrance.

“Welcome to Broad Cove Cottage,” Bill said, and they all dismounted.

Right on cue, it began to rain again, and the wind was rising.

6

Stone and Holly were shown upstairs to a large master suite, with separate baths and dressing rooms. They showered and changed, then went downstairs, through a comfortable living room with many pictures, and into the kitchen, where Bill Wright sat at the kitchen table, making notes. There were two thick porterhouse steaks on the grill, sizzling, tended by an agent they hadn’t seen before.

“Come in and sit down, please,” Bill said. “That’s Jim,” pointing at the cook, “who’s in charge of feeding us. Dinner’s in about twenty minutes. Would you like a drink?”

Stone spotted a wet bar tucked into a corner and, after a nod from Holly, poured them both a Knob Creek on the rocks, then sat down.

“Let me try to bring you up to date,” Bill said. “First of all, I spoke to my chief. I’m not being sacked; I’ll be with you for the duration.”

“The duration of what?” Holly asked.

“Of the hurricane, at the very least. Also, we can’t leave