Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

accessories for a businessman on a trip to Washington, D.C. He felt the tension of the increased security presence before he actually saw them. But as he came upon the mouth of the terminal, several figures in military fatigues milling around the security checkpoint confirmed his suspicions.
    He noticed the weapons strapped to their chests. They were standard issue American military M-16s. Taber’s mouth watered. He felt naked as he walked through Reagan National Airport without any weapons. He shifted his path to get closer to the military personnel, if only for a closer look at their rifles, if only to hear a sliver of their conversations. But he stopped himself and remained hidden in the middle of the crowd.
    Soon, Stefan. Soon you will be back in your comfort zone.
    Lars Karlsson thought that Danny Cavanaugh and Sydney Dumas were headed toward Washington, D.C. As he continued walking, Taber reviewed his second phone conversation with Lars Karlsson, the one they held over a secure phone line.
    “Sir, Sydney and Cavanaugh are wanted for the death of Senator Halsey. Why would they go to the head of American government?” Taber had asked.
    Taber remembered the vagueness of Karlsson’s answer. “They have information, and they feel that information needs to be heard.”
    Taber had pressed him. “Heard by whom?”
    “They haven’t gone to local authorities or the media yet, which means they could be headed straight to the top.”
    “The president of the United States.”
    “Correct, Mr. Taber. But that is not your concern. Your concern is the directive I have for you.”
    Taber reached the baggage claim area and threaded his way through the crowd until he found the exit signs. Once outside, the attendant at the taxicab stand took one look at him and hailed the next cab in line. None of these people, from the self-absorbed travelers to the minimum wage workers, knew what The Group had in store for them. Who had said that line about ignorance being bliss?
    Taber was in the backseat of the vehicle within seconds. The cab was already in motion before the cabbie asked for his intended destination.
    “Where to, sir?”
    Taber contemplated Karlsson’s marching orders. He was to find Sydney Dumas and Danny Cavanaugh and stop them by any means necessary. Then he focused on his other orders, the same ones that had included his last minute directive to shoot and kill Senator Booker Halsey. He considered the fading sunlight that flirted with the Potomac River’s choppy waters and then gave the cabbie his answer.
    “The Georgetown waterfront, please.”

Chapter 60
    Standing outside the 747’s landing gear compartment, Sydney stared at Danny with horror staining her face. She had spent the entire trip helping him to calm down. She used meditation techniques such as breathing exercises while she rubbed his temples. She even sang him a French lullaby during a long stretch of turbulence. Now though, it was Sydney who needed to calm down. Danny was sure she wanted to climb back into the Monitor and take her chances hiding from the police.
    Her eyes fell on the inflatable life raft once more. “No. Not this. There has to be another way, Danny. You might want to commit suicide, but I don’t.”
    “Sydney, there’s no other way. Federal agents will be swarming this plane the minute we land. If we stay in the plane, we’ll get caught for sure.”
    A gasp of impossibility coughed out of Sydney’s body. “But Danny, it’s insane. I mean, it’s insane enough that we are jumping out of an airplane in a life raft, but now you’re telling me that we can’t even inflate it until we’re already out? We’ll never make it alive.”
    “It takes no more than five seconds for this thing to fully inflate,” Danny assured her. “Figure we’ll be falling at ten feet or so a second. So, it should fully inflate by the time we hit the water.”
    “ Should is not the same as guaranteed to, Danny,” Sydney replied.
    Before he had a chance to answer, the sound of hydraulics overpowered them. They both jumped and stared into the window of the access door. The plane shuddered underneath their feet as air exploded into the landing gear compartment.
    The landing gear began to lower. Danny caught a glimpse of the night sky, and his body instantly reacted to being thousands of feet in the air. The backpack suddenly felt like it was getting tighter on his back, the straps digging deeper into his shoulders. His breathing accelerated as