BooksBarbecue
Back The Short Drop
Chapters (61)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PART ONE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. PART THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY
  59. EPILOGUE
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gibson let himself out of the house as quietly as he could. By comparison to the house, it looked like high noon outside. He saw no one but to play it safe took a looping path back to his car. He didn’t turn the headlights back on until he had put several miles between himself and Tate’s house.

Section

Tinsley stood in the dark of the house. So Vaughn was back. That was an interesting piece of information. He was supposed to be home by now. Well, apparently Vaughn had other ideas. Not that it changed anything. Actually, it saved Tinsley a trip back to Washington. All the eggs, as they say, were back in one basket.

He sat on the couch where Vaughn had been. An idea had come to the computer man. Tinsley had seen it on his face. They had been so close that Tinsley could have reached out and touched him. He could only imagine Vaughn’s reaction if he had seen him. But Vaughn hadn’t; they never did. It was just as well, because this was not the place for him to die. Ironically, this was one place where Vaughn was safe.

Tinsley looked at the dirty magazines that Vaughn had picked up, but whatever they had whispered to Vaughn, Tinsley could not hear it. He frowned. Why had Vaughn come back at all? He didn’t like that he couldn’t see it. No matter. If Kirby Tate was the man who had evaded him a decade ago, that meant Tinsley’s work was almost done.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Jenn watched Kirby Tate on a bank of monitors. It was dark in his cell, Tate a ghostly green on the screen. From bound wrists he hung, arms outstretched. She watched Tate dance on his toes, trying to keep his feet under him. When he slipped, his shoulders took the full weight of his body until he could get his feet back under him. It was exhausting. It was intended to be.

Through the walls she could feel the bass from music bombarding Tate. Some speed-metal band that believed anything less than 250 beats a minute was elevator music. It amazed her what some people listened to voluntarily. She only knew it as the playlist of CIA black-site detention facilities around the world.

She wiped sweat out of her eyes. Even with the rollaway door open, the heat of the sun baked the units like ovens. It was much worse for Tate. How far was she willing to take this if Kirby didn’t fold as readily as predicted? She pushed the question away. He would break. They might have to tiptoe up to the edge, but she was sure he would break before things crossed the line. He had to.