“What if something arrived while we were talking?”
“That’s possible, I suppose.” Lane took out his phone and had a brief conversation. “No. There was nothing new today.”
The prickling at the back of my neck was worse. “When M—Khalil’s bomb arrives, you should stop it. Don’t let it in.”
“Impossible.”
“Why? You didn’t let the big truck bomb in.”
“No. But it came by road. It already had an escort. Khalil’s is being flown in. It doesn’t have an escort. It can’t go on the public roads without one. What if there was an accident? And it’s full of chemical weapons? And people die? Because we sent it away, against procedure, and with no good reason. Based entirely on your whim.”
“It’s—”
There was a knock on the door and another agent stepped into the room. A much younger guy. He looked freshly pressed and eager. “It’s here, sir. The device from Texas.”
“Excellent.” Lane stood and made for the door. “You stay here. Keep Mr. Reacher company. I’ll be back as soon as the device has been processed.”
* * *
—
I thought about the truck bomb. Lane had called it a city destroyer. That didn’t sound good. Not good at all. I was happy it was no longer here. And I figured it must be the one Michael’s bomb was supposed to trigger. It had to be. It was the only one that hadn’t been inspected, and all the others had been free of transponders. Then I realized something else. The truck being sent away could explain Dendoncker’s sudden change of heart. Why he told me to keep the smoke bomb at the hotel. If he had someone watching TEDAC, he would know there was no point sending a second transponder.
I turned to the new agent. “The city destroyer. The one that wouldn’t fit in the workshop. When did it get refused? I need to know exactly. To the minute.”
“Let me find out for you, sir.” The agent called someone. There was a lot of nodding and gesticulating and changing of facial expressions before he hung up. “The destroyer’s still here, sir. It actually never left. One of its escort vehicles broke down and they still haven’t sent a replacement.”
“Where is it, exactly?”
“Parked between this building and The Building.”
“When did it arrive?”
“Around midnight, last night. I believe.”
“OK. Call Agent Lane. Tell him not to let the new device onto the site. Not under any circumstances.”
“If you’re worried about the destroyer being here, sir, then please don’t. It’s been made safe. Emergency procedure. It had three detonation systems, and they’ve all been disconnected.”
“Was one a transponder?”
“No, sir. It had cellular. Magnetic. And photosensitive.”
“Call Lane. Right now. No time to explain.”
The agent dialed a number, held the phone to his ear, then shook his head. “Line’s busy.”
“Call the driver.”
“OK. What’s his number?”
“No idea.”
“His name?”
I shrugged.
“No problem.” The agent started tapping and swiping at his phone’s screen. “I’ll go on the intranet. See if I can find a roster.”
“No time. What kind of truck is the destroyer?”
“It’s ex-military. An M35 deuce and a half, I think.”
“Which is farther? The truck, or the gate?”
“The gate.”
“Then you take the gate. Go now. Run. Keep trying Lane’s number. One way or the other, stop him.”
Chapter 54
I rushed into the corridor. Sprinted to the exit. Burst through. Ran to the space between the two buildings. And saw the truck. Tried not to think about its cargo. Ran to the driver’s door. Tugged on the handle. And couldn’t get it to move. Which was weird. That kind of truck doesn’t have locking doors. Then I noticed the problem. A padlock had been added. The hasp went through a hole in the door skin. It must have been attached to the inner bodywork.
I looked around. There was a border running along the bottom of the wall of the building. Filled with rocks. Some white, decorative kind. I grabbed the biggest one I could see. Smashed it down on the padlock. Hit it again and the lock sprang open. I pulled it free. Tossed it aside. Dropped the rock. Climbed up. Jammed myself into the seat. Which wasn’t easy because there’s no adjustment. I pushed down on the clutch. Then tried to remember how to get the motor started. It was years since I’d been in a truck like this one. I knew there was no key. There were three steps to follow instead. I scanned all the knobs and levers and gauges. Most had no markings. The few that had labels were in Arabic, which didn’t help me. I spotted a lever near the center of the dash that looked familiar. I turned it. About twenty degrees, counterclockwise. Which was as far as it would go. I found a knob on the left, with a spade handle. It was sticking out. I pushed it in. Then hit a red button, low down on the right. The heavy old diesel cranked and coughed into life. I found first gear. Which is where second is on most vehicles. Released the parking brake. Lifted the clutch. And the truck shuddered forward.