Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

wasn’t in a position to go against them. If he did, he would have suffered my parents’ same fate.”
    Danny touched her arm with an understanding hand. “Sydney, I’m so sorry.”
    She sniffled. “I’ve never shared that with anyone.”
    “Feels good to get it off your chest, doesn’t it?”
    She nodded. “Yes.” She stared deep into Danny’s eyes. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for listening.”
    “Thank you for listening too, Sydney.”
    Minutes later they pulled into a gas station on the outskirts of Knoxville. Danny rolled down his window and got out. He didn’t see the cashier behind the counter or anywhere inside the store. He chose the cash payment option and started the gas pump. Then he used the driver’s windowsill to stretch.
    “By the way, I heard a news report on the radio while you were asleep,” he said.
    “Is it about us?” Sydney asked.
    “Could be. The president has suddenly canceled most of his schedule until the State of the Union.”
    She offered an explanation. “They’ve probably got him under close wraps after that gas attack at the subway station.”
    “Jack Butcher doesn’t seem like that kind of leader. He was in the marines. Marines don’t hide behind security.” Danny paused and then continued. “That brings me to something else that’s been bothering me.”
    “Yes?”
    “How do we know for sure that Jack Butcher isn’t a Bilderberger? You said that other presidents besides Woodrow Wilson have been members.”
    “It’s a possibility,” Sydney replied.
    “It’s a possibility?” Danny repeated. “That’s not the answer I was hoping for, Sydney.”
    “He doesn’t seem to fit their typical mold, but as president of the United States, he’d be a prime candidate to join their ranks.”
    “Perfect.” The bad dream that had started with Danny’s decision not to swallow a bullet back at the cabin was getting almost unbearable. Military-trained assassins supported by people with unlimited resources were chasing him. A woman he didn’t totally trust continued to reveal new information at every turn that further doomed their mission. Now, to top everything off, she was telling him that they could be heading straight into the lion’s den.
    What the hell am I doing? We’re attempting the impossible.
    Danny’s head was throbbing. He glanced up at the neon signs that hung in the convenience store windows. Miller. Bud Light. Coors. God, how he could use a drink right now. Just one beer. Or six. He wiped away his thirst by concentrating on things he could control.
    I can operate a gas pump. I can get a Coke and an energy bar. I can take cash out of my wallet to pay the cashier.
    Danny finally saw the cashier emerge from the back of the store carrying a large cardboard box. He reached down and grabbed the Junglee Extreme Forces knife from the floorboard. He noticed Sydney watching him. “Better safe than sorry.”
    Sydney glanced at the tubby, middle-aged woman stocking the cigarette shelves behind the front counter. “Oh yes, she looks like she could take you.”
    Danny shoved the knife under the back of his waistband, underneath his shirt. “Want anything?”
    A glimmer of hope danced in Sydney’s eyes. “How about some fresh clothes?”
    Sure, the women’s clothing section is right between the Slurpee machine and the beef jerky, Danny thought. “I’m pretty sure they don’t sell women’s clothes here, Sydney. But I’ll check.”
    “What about a bottle of water?”
    “That I know they have.”
    Danny straightened, finished pumping the gas, and walked inside the store. The cowbell above the door jolted the cashier, who had her back to him.
    “Morning,” he said to her.
    “Morning,” she replied as she stopped stocking the cigarettes. She slid onto her stool behind the cash register and watched him as he loped through the aisles.
    Danny checked his wallet. He had two twenties, two tens, and three ones left. God how he wished he grabbed the bag that contained his money from the cabin’s kitchen. Using a credit card was out of the question; it was the easiest way to track someone. But he had an unnerving feeling that the people chasing them had already figured out where they were going.
    They know who I am. They know I have nowhere to turn. They think I will go for broke, which is exactly what I’m doing.
    Once again, the bottom fell out of his gut. Once again, he tried to concentrate on the little things he