Free The Last Target by Christy Barritt

came from outside the window.”
    “Outside the window? Like a sniper almost?”
    He nodded. “Like a sniper.”
    “Has anyone found George Anderson?”
    “He appears to have disappeared off the face of the earth. We’ll find him eventually, though. Don’t give up hope.”
    “I haven’t.” Rachel’s gaze scanned the trees, almost as if she expected to see George there, his face camouflaged with paint.
    That was a crazy thought, though. Why would George be hiding in the trees?
    Rachel knew the answer. He’d been a sniper in the military.

NINE
    A farmer, a professor, a scientist.
    Rachel’s mind tried to connect the dots as she blew her hair dry the next morning. Nothing made sense.
    An entomologist, an engineer and a nonprofit director.
    Could it be a college that connected them? A birth date? Did they all visit the same website? What could they possible have in common?
    She sighed and put the blow dryer down. Today was Aidan’s field trip and award. Aidan smiled up at her now, beaming in his Superman shirt. This field trip was all he could talk about last night.
    A crisp knock sounded at the door. It was time to go.
    Rachel looked down at her son and ruffled his hair. “You ready?”
    He nodded.
    The question was—was Rachel ready? Not really. But if she had to spend her whole life here, she might as well just be dead. They had to get out eventually. Jack had assured her that every precaution possible would be taken.
    Rachel hesitated a moment before turning the door handle. She continually second-guessed herself about the wisdom of doing this.
    Jack waited on the other side of the door, his customary slacks and button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to theelbows, gone. Instead, he wore shorts, sneakers and a T-shirt. He looked much more human in the outfit and less G.I. Joe. Still, his eyes held that serious, focused look that Rachel had become accustomed to.
    “Everyone’s ready,” Jack said.
    Rachel nodded and took Aidan’s hand. “Let’s go then.”
    A line of SUVs waited outside, and Jack shuffled them inside one. Denton sat on one side of Rachel and Aidan, while Jack sat on the other.
    “Why the convoy?” Rachel asked.
    “We want to make sure if Apaka knows you’re leaving today, that they don’t know which SUV you’re leaving in. We already had another convoy leave fifteen minutes ago.” He paused. “With everything that happened yesterday, we’re not taking any chances.”
    Rachel tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. Aidan talked on and on about the trip, oblivious to the tension in the air as they pulled out of the gates. Rachel tried to listen to him, tried to nod and smile. But her gaze was drawn to their surroundings. Her thoughts hovered on Nancy, on the destruction of her nonprofit’s office.
    She waited, holding her breath, to see if a gunshot would splinter the glass behind them, or if flames would explode nearby.
    Instead, they rolled forward, going down the road. The SUVs in their convoy slowly split apart. She knew why. If someone were following them, they wouldn’t know which SUV to follow. Hopefully they’d pick the wrong one.
    Rachel glanced behind them, out of the tinted rear window. From the distance, she saw a red car approaching. She watched as the vehicle came closer and closer.
    Jack squeezed her shoulder. “Relax. We’re okay.”
    Again, she tried to swallow but couldn’t. Instead, she attempted a nod. The red car passed them and Rachel spotted amother with two toddlers inside. She wanted to laugh. She’d been scared over a woman who probably lived a life very similar to hers. The driver had been oblivious to anything happening in the SUV, carrying on with what was probably a normal morning activity.
    Jack leaned toward her and said in a low voice, “Agents are covering the park. You won’t see them or recognize most of them because they’re dressed just like us. But they’re watching everything. The zoo has been informed about what’s happening.