Free The Devil Colony by James Rollins Page A

face of strong winds. And a storm is certainly brewing around you.”
    This earned him the shiest of grins.
    Hank headed over to his horse. Though twenty years old, the mare was as sure-footed as any steed. He mounted up with a slight complaint from his hip.
    He waved for Kawtch to lead the way. With the mountains being combed by armed hunters, he didn’t want any more surprises. Kawtch would alert him if anyone came too close.
    Turning in the saddle, he offered an arm to Kai. She eyed the mare with suspicion. “You’ve never ridden before?” he asked.
    “I grew up in Boston.”
    “Okay then, grab my arm. I’ll pull you up behind me. Mariah won’t let you fall.”
    The girl took hold of his wrist. “Where are we going?”
    “To turn you in.”
    Her smile vanished. The ember of fear flared brighter in her eyes. Before she could protest, he yanked her up, earning a sharp twinge from his shoulder.
    “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to face what you did.”
    She climbed into the saddle behind him. “But I didn’t cause the explosion.”
    He twisted to face her. “True. But, aborted or not, you were still about to commit an act of violence. There will be consequences. But don’t worry. I’ll be at your side . . . along with a slew of Native American lawyers.”
    His words failed to dim the fear shining in her eyes.
    There was nothing he could do about that. The sooner he got the child under custody, the safer she would be. As if it had heard his thought, the bell beat of a helicopter thundered out of nowhere. As he scanned the skies, a pair of scared arms circled his stomach. He never had a child himself, but the simple gesture warmed through him, igniting a paternal need to protect this frightened girl.
    Off to the north, a small military chopper crested out of the neighboring valley and flew slowly over this one, dipping lower as it cleared the ridge, plainly searching. It looked like an angry and persistent hornet. Even without the military green of the craft, Hank recognized it as one of the Utah National Guard helicopters, even knew it was an Apache Longbow.
    He took the name of the chopper as a good omen, not that either of them were Apache. He nudged his horse toward the edge of the pine forest, toward an open meadow.
    Might as well get this over with.
    Those arms tightened around him.
    “Just stay low,” he told her. “Let me do all the talking.”
    He kept Mariah to a slow walk, her flanks rolling as they headed toward the sunny spread of grass. He didn’t want anyone being surprised. Even before they reached the edge of the dense forest, the chopper banked abruptly and swung toward them.
    Must have infrared aboard. Picked up our body heat.
    He walked the mare out of the forest and into the open glade.
    The helicopter dove toward them, nose dipping, blades cutting the air with a deafening chop. The noise was so loud, he could only stare as twin rows of grass and soil blasted upward, silently chewing across the meadow toward their position.
    At last, he heard the rattle of the chopper’s chain guns.
    What the hell . . . ?
    Shock and disbelief froze him for a breath.
    They were being fired at.
    With a yank of the reins, he swung Mariah around.
    A shout burst from his lips. “Hold tight!”

Chapter 5
    May 30, 5:14 P.M.
Washington, D.C.
    “Still no luck tracing your niece’s cell,” Kat announced as she stepped into Painter’s office. “But we’ll keep trying.”
    He stood behind his desk, checking the contents of his packed briefcase. The jet was set to take off from Reagan National in thirty minutes. It would get him to Salt Lake City in four hours.
    He studied Kat’s face. A single crease across her forehead expressed her worry. He shared it.
    It had been over half an hour since his niece’s frantic call had suddenly cut off. He’d been unable to raise her again. Had she dropped out of cell reception? Had she turned off her phone? Kat had attempted to track the cell’s trace but clearly was