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Back The Utopia Experiment Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Title Page
  2. Welcome
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. 64
  68. 65
  69. 66
  70. 67
  71. 68
  72. 69
  73. 70
  74. 71
  75. 72
  76. 73
  77. 74
  78. 75
  79. 76
  80. Epilogue
  81. About the Authors
  82. The Covert-One Novels
  83. Newsletters
  84. Copyright

So either Smith hadn’t yet notified his superiors of what he’d found or he had and they were still in the process of acting on that information. Either way, Dresner could no longer deny that he was losing control of the situation. Nine hundred and seventy-two thousand people. Would it be enough?

68

68

Near Tysons Corner, Virginia
USA

THE SUN WAS FINALLY UP and the crush of people heading to their jobs in DC had started in the oncoming lane. Westbound, though, traffic was light and Smith kept the police cruiser moving smoothly up the road. Constant glances in the rearview mirror provided no evidence of a tail, but did that really mean anything anymore? Using an actual car to track someone suddenly seemed so archaic.

“Yes sir,” the police officer in the backseat said into his phone. “But they—”

He paused for a moment, face actually turning a bit red as Randi pressed his own gun into his ribs. Zellerbach was tilted up onto his uninjured butt cheek, head thrown back and eyes closed. The occasional moan was the only thing indicating he was still alive.

“I understand that, sir. But what I’m trying to tell you is—”

Finally, he just gave up, mumbling a submissive good-bye before severing the connection. When Smith glanced back, it looked like the top of his head was going to blow off.

“Everything smoothed over?”

“Yes,” the man said through clenched teeth.

As requested, Klein had rolled out a few minor miracles, one being that this particular carjacking would be quickly forgotten. It was hard not to sympathize with their accidental hostage, though. He’d undoubtedly expected to have a chance to give the three of them a solid beating before sending them off to rot in prison. Now it was looking like he wouldn’t even get a chance to pull out his Taser.

“There it is,” Randi said tapping the glass separating them.

Gray and a little shopworn, the Honda was exactly what he’d asked for: the most innocuous vehicle on the planet. Smith pulled in behind it and hopped out, opening the back door as Zellerbach eased out of the passenger side with exaggerated slowness.

Randi tossed the cop’s gun into the front seat and flashed him one of her award-winning smiles. “Have a nice day, Officer.”

The keys were right where they were supposed to be and Smith eased back into the road while Zellerbach tried to find a comfortable position next to him.

“I need to go to the hospital. I need medical attention.”

“I’m a doctor, Marty. In fact, I’m an army doctor. Who are you going to find at a suburban hospital that knows more about bullet wounds than me?”

“But you’re not doing anything!”

“It’s not even bleeding anymore,” Smith said, dialing Klein and putting the phone on the dash. “Just try not to think about it, okay?”