Mystic- An Adventure from the Myrmidon Files: Myrmidon Files, #2

PROLOGUE—THE LAST

West Berlin, Germany—1987

They called him the loneliest man in the world.

He found that amusing. Loneliness was not the same thing as being alone, and in any cases, he was not truly alone. He had not known the peace of true solitude for many years, but here in his little summer house in the middle of the courtyard, he could at least enjoy the illusion of privacy.

He had been the only resident for more than twenty years, and yet he was never alone. Prisoners were never truly alone.

Although the century-old fortress had at one time imprisoned six hundred inmates, after Hitler’s defeat and the Nuremberg Trials, it was reserved for just seven—men like himself who were found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to prison terms rather than the gallows. Of the seven, three had been released early for humanitarian reasons, and three had served out their full terms, leaving only him. Prisoner number seven. The last.

The post-war division of authority between the four Allied powers—America, Britain, France, and the USSR—ensured that no one government would be given total control of the prisoner, which meant that every month, a new set of jailers would arrive. The Soviets were the worst, not merely denying him simple pleasures but subjecting him to harsh and humiliating treatment—the Russians had made an art form of imprisonment—but he needed to endure their presence only for three months out of the year.

As time passed and the memory of what Hitler’s armies had done in Stalingrad gradually faded, the Russians seemed more interested in gaining access to West Berlin for purposes of espionage than in making him suffer. The others, particularly the Americans, were far more sympathetic or at least purported to be. Some of them claimed to be part of a new international movement, dedicated to the same philosophy as he—they called themselves ‘the Dominion’—but he was wary of their overtures. It had the feel of a trap.

He was always suspicious of kindness. The Russians, with their brutality, were far more honest.

Aside from his prison guards, he saw many other people—doctors, psychiatrists, interrogators, and even political leaders.

No, he was never alone.

He had been at his loneliest during those early years, when he was forced to share the ordeal of imprisonment with the others. He despised them all and was grateful when the last of them were set free. Of course, by that time, he was an old man, sick, in constant pain, but things were easier now that he was by himself. He could read, watch movies and television, putter about in the garden if it pleased him. The guards no longer even bothered to lock him in a cell at night. Best of all, the dreams no longer haunted him as they once had.

There were worse ways to spend the gloaming of his life. He was ninety-three years old; his sentence would soon be over.

He settled into his chair, opened the book and began to write.

Writing, he had discovered, was the only way to find peace, to purge himself of the visions.

"Guten tag, mein herr."

The prisoner looked up in surprise and alarm. He had not realized that he was not alone. It took a moment for his old eyes to focus, and even then he could not make out the face of the man standing in the shadows. "Wer bist du?"

The man took a step forward, out of the darkness. He was young, but then everyone looked young to the prisoner. The man’s face was no more recognizable that his voice. Forgive me, he said in English. That’s the extent of my German, but I understand you speak English?

You are American?

The man returned a wry smile. By birth, if that’s what you mean.

A curious distinction. Who are you? Why are you here?

The stranger did not answer right away but continued advancing until he was standing right in front of the prisoner, then reached down and snatched the book from the latter’s hands. He turned it and began flipping idly through the pages.

What? The prisoner’s confusion only deepened. You have come for my diaries? I don’t understand.

Neither do I, the man replied. He gave a harsh brittle-sounding laugh. I can’t read German, either.

He closed the book abruptly, slamming it shut with a noise like a gunshot. "Tonight, your sentence—your life sentence—ends."

He raised a hand, made a come along gesture, and another figure emerged from a different corner of the little room. The second man wore the uniform of a prison guard, but the prisoner did not recognize his face. The ersatz guard circled around behind his chair and knelt down, out of the prisoner’s view.

His reading lamp abruptly flickered off. The guard had just pulled the plug.

Late afternoon sunlight still streamed in through the windows, but the removal of the artificial light plunged the room into deep gloom. The man in the guard’s uniform did not reappear but stayed behind the prisoner.

His mental faculties were no longer as sharp as they once were, but he knew what was happening. You don’t need to do this, he pleaded. I’m an old man. I will be dead soon enough.

The stranger shook his head. No. Not soon enough. That’s the rub. No one believed you would live as long as you have. The bleeding hearts are crying for your release on humanitarian grounds, and their voices are growing ever louder. They would set you free to die with your family at your bedside. That cannot happen, you understand. The world must never hear what you have to say about the real reasons for that war. He leaned closer. I’ve always been curious about something though. Why did you do it? Why did you turn yourself over to the British? What made you do it?

The prisoner pursed his lips together, shook his head. It was a mistake. One that I’ve paid for dearly. Half my life—forty years—wasted because I read the signs wrong.

The signs? What signs? The young man held up the diary. Is the answer in here? Tell me.

It doesn’t matter. There is no good answer, the prisoner insisted. I was a fool.

The man regarded him a moment longer, then straightened and looked away, nodding to his unseen accomplice.

The reality of what was about to happen settled fully upon the old man, filling him with dread. There had been so many times during the long years of his sentence when he had longed for this release, but now, with the end in sight, he was terrified. Please. I don’t want to die.

Something brushed past the old man’s face, a loop of rope or wire...

It was the electrical cord, he realized, as the makeshift noose tightened around his throat, cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. The plunge into darkness was so swift he didn’t even think to claw at the garroting wire.

He did not hear the final whispered words of the stranger standing before him. No one ever does.

ONE

Connecticut—Present Day

As he did every weekday, and most Saturdays too, Thom Martiel left his office on the twenty-eighth floor of 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City at about eight-thirty p.m. He went across the street to the parking garage, got in his gold 2017 Lexus IS sedan, and began the sixty-odd mile commute to his suburban home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Sometimes he left later, on rare occasion earlier, but never before eight-fifteen p.m.

Martiel stayed this late to monitor the opening of the Hong Kong stock market, which would set the tone for trading the following day, or so he claimed, but most of his co-workers believed there was a simpler explanation. Martiel was either a workaholic, with no other purpose in life but to work and earn money, or he was ruthlessly ambitious, waiting for that golden, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would propel him into the upper echelons of the investment banking world.

The latter seemed less likely. Martiel did not exactly ooze enthusiasm for his job even though he appeared to do it well. In any case, as far as anyone knew, Martiel was a content bachelor. He was sociable but showed little inclination to socialize, at least with his co-workers. What he did after leaving the office was anyone’s guess, but given that he spent fourteen hours of every day at work—most of it behind his desk, except for the forty-five minutes a day he spent in the on-site fitness room—and another three behind the wheel of the Lexus, commuting to and from work, it was reasonable to assume that he probably spent the balance of his time sleeping.

He had done this every workday for the last two years, give or take a few weeks, which was the length of time he had been an executive account manager at Silver Investment Bank, Inc. It could only be assumed that he had followed a similar practice at his prior place of employment, but none of his coworkers really knew for certain.

From the parking garage, he headed north to the Holland Tunnel, through it to the island of Manhattan, and then, for no discernable reason, turned up the Henry Hudson Parkway—some days he took the FDR instead—and headed north to Mount Vernon. From there, he picked up the Hutchinson River Parkway, which became Connecticut SR-15 when he crossed over the state line. The four-lane divided highway wended up the middle of the Connecticut Panhandle and continued on to Hartford. The further he got from the New York City metropolitan area, the fewer cars shared the road with him.

Martiel had just rounded the bend at Putnam Lake when he noticed headlights in the rear-view mirror, approaching fast. This was not particularly unusual. He always maintained a discreet sixty-eight miles an hour using cruise control, but that was too slow for most drivers on the open road. He stayed in the right lane but monitored the other vehicle’s progress as it closed the gap.

The car was in the same lane as he, coming up fast enough to make him shift nervously in his seat. He turned off the satellite radio, which was playing light classical music, and sat up a little straighter, readying himself for a little defensive driving in the event that the other driver didn’t change lanes to go around. He relaxed a little when, just a hundred or so yards behind him, he saw the car swerve into the left lane. A moment later, it blew past him like he was parked in his driveway and raced ahead, toward the old North Street overpass. He couldn’t distinguish make or model—only that it was a silver sedan.

Martiel shook his head but stayed alert. There were more headlights in the distance behind him, and they too appeared to be getting closer.

Without any warning, seemingly without reason, the silver sedan swerved right, straddling the dashed line separating the lanes, and then the road ahead was bathed in the bright red glow of brake lights. The car was suddenly no longer a moving vehicle accelerating away from him, but an obstacle, partially blocking both lanes directly in front of Martiel.

Because he was still in a heightened state of awareness, Martiel did not give in to the reflexive urge to swerve or stomp on the brakes. Instead, with almost preternatural calm, he tapped the brakes, disengaging the cruise control, releasing the Lexus from constant acceleration, and turned the wheel ever so slightly to the right. As he did, he saw directly ahead of him, the upright stone buttress supporting the overpass.

Despite the sudden braking maneuver, the silver sedan had not come to a complete stop but was slowing, giving up the last of its momentum. In an instant, Martiel saw that he would not be able to get around the other car before he reached the overpass, which was no doubt the other driver’s intent. The person behind the wheel of the silver sedan had intended for him to swerve into the abutment.

In a rush of understanding, Thom Martiel knew that the other driver was trying to kill him. He did not allow himself to dwell on the question of motive. The other driver’s purpose was plain enough, so the only thing Martiel needed to concern himself with was staying alive.

He had nowhere to go, but as he looked ahead, Martiel saw that there was just enough room between the stone corner and the sedan for him to pass, provided the other driver didn’t anticipate the move and attempt to narrow the gap.

Realizing that the killer might do exactly that, Martiel stomped down on the accelerator. The 241 horsepower turbo-charged engine roared, and the computer controlled eight-speed automatic transmission immediately downshifted, giving him all the on-demand power he needed. The Lexus surged forward like a rocket. Martiel gripped the steering wheel as if hanging on for dear life, and kept the car moving straight, threading the needle, and just like that he was through.

As he emerged on the far side of the overpass, Martiel eased off the accelerator a little, but then just as quickly resumed applying steady pressure, pushing the car as fast as he dared. A glance in the rear-view confirmed his suspicions that the silver sedan was moving again. Chasing him.

He searched his memory of the road, trying to think of a way to elude his pursuer. The next turn-off was a good three miles away which, given his current speed, he would reach in less than two minutes, but first, he would have to negotiate a long sweeping bend in the road. In fact, he was practically there. Martiel glanced at the speedometer. He was pushing ninety. During his regular commute, he took the curve without making any adjustment to his speed, but he was going a lot faster now, faster than he’d ever driven.

A mistake at this speed would be catastrophic, but he didn’t dare slow down. Not with the headlights in the rear-view getting closer with each passing second. He had outwitted the would-be killer once, but that had been luck as much as anything. He did not think he would be so lucky the next time.

Gripping the wheel again and gritting his teeth, he plowed ahead into the curve, hugging the outside of the right lane. Alarms sounded and indicator lights flashed, warning him, as if such a warning were needed, that he was going too fast, pulling too many Gs.

But now there were two sets of headlights, almost side-by-side, in the rear-view.

Gritting his teeth, he shifted his foot to the brake pedal, applying steady pressure as he went into the turn. The car slid dangerously close to the wooden guard rail, but the car’s dynamic integrated safety systems compensated for his flawed human reflexes, keeping the Lexus on the road and in his control.

But he was slowing down. And the headlights behind him were getting closer.

He kept his eyes on the road ahead. Once the curve was behind him, he could open it up again. And the cars chasing him would have to slow down as well.

A few seconds later, the road straightened, and Martiel checked the rear-view.

He was partly right. One of the cars seemed to be falling back, slowing down even before reaching the bend. This was an illusion, however. It wasn’t that the trailing vehicle was slowing down, but rather that the lead vehicle was going faster. The headlights were approaching so rapidly that, if he hadn’t known better, Martiel would have believed that it was actually a low flying jet fighter.

No way was he was going to outrun them.

His heart began pounding. The exit was still a good fifteen seconds away, and he was going way too fast to take it. But if he slowed down...

Suddenly, it didn’t matter anymore. The pursuit car sidled up alongside him and then slowed to match his speed. He glanced over and saw, not the silver sedan, but a fire engine red muscle car. A flicker of light from inside the other car drew his attention to the passenger window.

He flinched a little when he saw the face staring back at him.

A black person. A black woman.

She was pointing at him.

He flinched again, thinking, Gun!

But there was no gun.

He pushed the gas pedal down again anyway, pulling away from the red car, just in case. The speedometer jumped up to eighty. Eighty-five. Ninety-five. The exit flashed past. Martiel couldn’t remember how far it was to the next one.

Suddenly, the red car was beside him again. He looked over and saw the woman, both hands raised.

Why’s she doing that? Martiel wondered.

The woman made a rolling gesture with one finger, and then one of the two panes of glass separating them began to lower. The woman’s face scrunched up as the rush of air assaulted her, but she continued looking over at him, repeating the gesture and shouting something into the wind.

Martiel looked ahead again, focusing on keeping the Lexus from veering into the other car or running off the road, as he struggled to make sense of this development.

Maybe the people in the red car didn’t want to kill him after all. Curious despite himself, he stabbed the button to lower his window.

Noise and air rushed in, momentarily blinding him. The wind and the roar of the muscle car’s engine were almost deafening, but over the tumult, he could just make out the sound of the woman’s voice. He distinctly heard her say the words save you and move over.

Move over?

He looked down at the speedometer. He was doing seventy-five.

He turned to look over at the woman, drawing in the breath he would need to shout back at her, but the question never got past his lips.

The woman was climbing out the window of the red car. She reached out, gripped the door frame of the Lexus, and pulled herself closer to Martiel.

Suddenly, her hand was on the steering wheel next to his, her face only inches from his own. And she was shouting. Move! Now!

TWO

The banker—Martiel—stared at her, paralyzed with fear or incredulity.

That was bad.

Tam Broderick didn’t need him paralyzed with anything. She was committed to making the transfer between the two speeding vehicles, and if he didn’t get out of the way...

She didn’t want to think about what would happen.

Tam! The shout came from behind her, from Billy Sievers behind the wheel of the red Mustang. He must have been screaming at the top of his lungs in order to make himself heard. Go! Now!

She knew Sievers wouldn’t waste her time with an unnecessary warning, so she took him at his word. Coming through! she called out and then heaved herself forward.

Martiel yelped as she landed in his lap. Tam could feel the Lexus decelerating.

Punch it! she yelled. I’ll steer.

The Lexus coasted for another second or two, but then the car began speeding up again. She cocked her head sideways so she could see out the windshield. Given Sievers’ warning, she expected to see an obstacle or a curve ahead, but the road—as much of it as she could see by the Lexus’s high-beams—was as straight as an arrow. By some miracle, the car was still traveling straight down the outside lane.

Must have perfect alignment, she thought, and then wondered if maybe the vehicle was equipped with some kind of computer-assisted smart-steering technology.

That would definitely increase her chances of surviving the next fifteen seconds.

In the corner of her eye, she saw the red Mustang falling back. She hoped that meant Billy was going to drop back, run interference with the other car.

She twisted around, tried slipping her legs over his knees and under the steering wheel. There wasn’t quite enough room to make it work.

Keep your foot on the gas, she shouted. And roll up the damn window!

She made a mental note to drop a dollar in the swear jar but figured it was worth it when the window rose, shutting out the incessant rush of wind and immersing them in blessed silence.

Tam took a deep breath, let it out, took another. All right, Mr. Martiel, here’s what you’re going to do. Unbuckle your seatbelt and recline your seat back. I’m going to get my foot on the gas pedal. Once I do, you’re going to slide backward, into the back seat so I can take over. If you do that, we just might make it out of this alive. Can you do all that?

The unusually long pause seemed all the more surreal in the perfectly quiet interior of the luxury sedan. Finally, Martiel, a look of bewilderment painting his face, said, Who the hell are you?

Billy Sievers watched the needle on the temperature gauge, silently pleading with it to tick back down. He’d pushed the old GT a little too hard, ran the nitrous a touch longer than he probably should have, and now he was paying the price. The engine was ticking like crazy, misfiring and probably cooking oil. In his mind’s eye, he could see the valves disintegrating, the rods snapping like Milk Bone dog biscuits, the block glowing red hot like a furnace. It was a wonder it hadn’t seized already.

Come on, baby, he whispered. Don’t blow up on me. I promise to take good care of you.

He loved the car, a 1968 GT Mustang that he was still in the process of restoring. Sure it had some miles on it, but it was a car—a real car, not some computerized rolling robot like the Lexus. And it was his.

Trailing Martiel had been easy enough, but when the joker in the silver Toyota sedan had made his move, Martiel had rabbited. By the time Sievers and Tam had figured out what was happening, the Lexus was almost a mile away, and Sievers had been obliged to red-line the GT’s engine just to catch up so Tam could transfer to Martiel’s car...which was, in Billy Sievers’s opinion, just about the craziest thing he had ever seen anyone do.

It was actually kind of hot.

He shook his head, trying to purge that thought. Tam was the boss, and he actually liked working for her CIA task force—the Myrmidons—even if some of the gigs were pretty out there. It didn’t pay as well as contract work, but for the first time in a long time, he felt like he was one of the good guys.

Tam had still been half-inside the GT when the engine started ticking and rattling, and Sievers had known right then that if he didn’t slow down—and fast—the engine would blow and slowing down wouldn’t be a choice anymore.

If that had happened while Tam was in mid-transfer, she would probably have been ripped in half. She’d made it, though, and now he was coasting ahead in neutral, hoping that when the engine cooled, he’d be able to cripple the GT to a garage and get her back to working order in a few hours. He definitely wasn’t going to be able to catch up to the Lexus.

He could see its taillight growing smaller in the distance. He could also see the lights of the silver Toyota that had just blown past him in pursuit.

It’s all you now, Tam.

Once Martiel was out of the way, and Tam had the seat returned to its upright position and scooted forward—which turned out to be a lot more complicated than she would have ever imagined—she gave the bank executive the answers he had demanded.

Sort of.

Someone’s trying to kill you, she started.

Are you one of them?

She pursed her lips, checked the rear-view mirror. Something told her that the headlights coming up behind them did not belong to Sievers’ GT. I’m trying to save you.

Why? I mean, why are they trying to kill me?

She glanced over at him. I was hoping you’d be able to tell me that.

What? Martiel gazed back, goggle-eyed.

No? Nothing? She checked the mirror again. The pursuit car didn’t appear to be getting any closer. Sievers had only been able to catch up to Martiel by switching on the NOS and running at full burn for almost two minutes. Judging by the torrent of profanity that had accompanied the rocket-fueled acceleration, he hadn’t been thrilled about it.

There weren’t any other lights, and she wondered what had happened to Sievers. She thought about calling him but decided that trying to dig around for her cell phone was probably a bad idea under the circumstances. Besides, if something had gone wrong—if Sievers had wrecked or broken down—there wasn’t anything she could do for him. Not in the short term, at least.

Guess I’ll have to ask them, she muttered, shifting her foot onto the brake pedal. The Lexus immediately began shedding momentum.

Wait, what?

Short version. I’m a federal agent. I received information about a threat against you. Looks like it was a solid lead. Now, shut up and let me drive. Tam brought the Lexus down to a respectable sixty m.p.h. and held it there. No sense in making it look too easy.

Martiel did as instructed, giving her about a minute of peace in which to contemplate her next move as the approaching headlights got brighter in the mirror.

If the guy or guys in the silver Toyota were pros—former intelligence officers or military veterans—then they probably had the same tactical road training as she. Her only advantage was that they didn’t know she was in the driver’s seat now.

The sedan crept closer, and an exit flashed past. Tam eased off a little more, coaxing the other vehicle even closer. The silver car was now only a couple hundred yards back.

Come on, she muttered, squeezing the steering wheel in anticipation. Make your move.

One hundred yards. Fifty.