He turned to Bones while keeping one eye on the rear-view mirror. “I saw that white Ford Taurus at the airport, idling near the rental car pickup. Same driver at the wheel, same red, white and blue USA hat. With all the turns we've taken, there's no way it could be a coincidence having him behind us.”
Bones took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at Dane. "What do you mean Taurus? It's the blue Chrysler that's following us."
"It was at the airport?" Dane frowned.
"Yeah, by the cabs. Driver's got a beard that would make ZZ Top jealous."
"You realize we could be imagining things."
"Two cars are at the airport at the same time as us. We drive aimlessly through the city before getting breakfast at a Krispy Kreme, and the same cars are following us when we leave the parking lot. I don't care how good the jelly donuts are, that's no coincidence."
"So we have a blue Chrysler and a white Ford on our tail."
Bones chuckled. "Both American cars. All we need is a red Chevy and it'll be like the fourth of July."
The mention of the fourth of July triggered something at the edge of Dane's thoughts, but he couldn't quite grab hold of it. "So who are they? What do they want?"
"No idea. But them following us offends me."
Bones depressed the accelerator and they shot through the red light where they had been stopped. Dane glanced in the mirror and saw that the Ford had followed but the Chrysler remained stuck as a line of cars started across the intersection in front of it.
"One down, Bones. Halfway there."
"I haven't even broken a sweat yet. For my next trick—"
Bones slammed on the brakes, allowing the car to spin sideways. With a squeal of rubber he flew up a side street. He repeated a similar maneuver three more times at different streets.
"They still there, Maddock?"
Dane looked in the mirror and saw no cars. He risked turning his head all the way around, and for a hundred yards behind them, the street was clear.
"Cool. We still gonna check out Independence Hall?"
Dane was amazed at how calm Bones seemed after the maneuvers with the car. Then again, compared to their SEAL training, a few tight turns in traffic hardly merited a yawn. The two had just completed the three week Jump School phase of Navy SEAL training in San Diego and were in Philadelphia for a few days of sightseeing before heading to Boston. In Boston, they would visit Melissa and Courtney, two women he and Bones had first met in Boston just before Jump School. Despite having spent just a few hours together on a single evening, Dane knew Melissa was something special. Soon he'd have an opportunity to get to know her better.
He realized that he was glad to have Bones with him, despite the man's seeming inability to take anything seriously. A Native American six and a half feet tall, Bones cut an imposing figure, but he often exuded the joy of a teenager putting one over on the old folks. On the red-eye flight from San Diego to Philadelphia, Bones had spent most of the time attempting to seduce the first class stewardess. This was after conspicuously traveling in his dress whites to convince the gate agent to upgrade them to first class. Dane could still hear the exchange in his mind.
“I think she likes me.”
“Maybe she's a glutton for punishment, Bones”
“Awesome, Maddock made a joke. I told you this trip would be fun. Hey, think she wants to join the mile high club?”
“I'm sure she's never heard that line before.”
“Yeah, but this time it's me.”
Dane was learning that despite the constant jokes, the big man was rock-solid when things got dangerous. He just hoped the apparent danger they faced now turned out to be nothing.
Five minutes later, they were near the University of Pennsylvania, where three large buildings seeming to rise higher than the rest on campus. It always amazed Dane how the campuses at big universities were like small cities in themselves. He glanced in the mirror one more time, though he hadn't seen anything in his previous checks.
"Bones, they're back! And—" Dane stopped, not believing what he saw.
"What else, dude? Spit it out."
"There's also a red Chevy with them."
Table of Contents
SPLASHDOWN
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
About The Authors
Books By David Wood
Books by Rick Chesler
Preview