Read Online The Beginning of the End (Book 1): Toward the Brink by Craig A. McDonough - Free Book Online

again. He answered immediately.
    “Yes sir?” he said.
    “You have Mrs. Dennard with you?”
    “Yes, sir, I do.”
    “I assume she is … all right?”
    “Yes, sir, she’s taking a nap at the moment, you might say.”
    There was no laughter or the slightest interest in sharing a lighthearted moment, and the Tall Man wasn’t expecting any either. It was a feeling of unease that brought about the remark.
    “Good, now tell me of the house.”
    He explained that he’d placed several incendiary devices around the house, turned on all gas appliances, and that it was set to blow in another seven minutes.
    “That will work, but there has been a slight change of plan. You need to get yourself and Mrs. Dennard to the airport. Things are getting worse by the minute all over the state. Martial law has been activated, the National Guard are inbound to all the main cities in the state, curfews and evacuations are going to be the order of the day, Mr. Black, and the panic is going to be widespread. These guardsman are trigger-happy lowbrows and may prove to be more dangerous in the end.”
    There was a moment of silence as the Tall Man contemplated the last statement..
    “What I’m telling you, Mr. Black, is that your employment with Langlie is over. You need to get out of Idaho before it’s too late. I’m already on my way to the capital and will be there in a few hours. You’ll be met at the airport. They’re expecting you.”
    The Tall Man paused for a moment of reflection after the phone conversation had ended then turned in his seat to speak with the unconscious Mrs. Dennard.
    “‘They’re expecting you.’ I don’t like the sound of that. Who the fuck are ‘they’ anyway?”
    # # #
    The white Mazda van carrying Phillip Baer, five top executives, and of course Langlie, was just south of Baker City, Idaho on the 84. They were to board a small, twin-engine Cessna that would take them into Canada.
    “So you are sure Dennard knows how to get there?” Baer asked.
    “Yes, Mr. Baer. I gave him detailed plans on how to get there.” Langlie wondered how many more times he would have to respond to the same question. If he kept it up on the flight out of Canada, he’d probably end up killing the son of a bitch.
    Not before I get what’s mine. Not before I get what’s mine!
    # # #
    The Tall Man slowed down, easing over to the side of the road. The Twin Falls airport was up ahead where a private plane waited to spirit him and the unfortunate Mrs. Dennard away—or did it? The Tall Man didn’t like the change in attitude of the Hidden One or the hints of total chaos. It had been less than an hour since he’d spoken with the man of mystery, and Mrs. Dennard had offered no resistance when he called on her. He’d had no idea of the impending catastrophe, nor did he understand the sudden disinterest in where Baer and company where headed, but it left him with a feeling that this plane trip would be his last.
    Searching his mind for options—one doesn’t just walk away from these people—his train of thought was lost when a mass of green mucus splashed against the passenger side window.
    “Holy shit!” he yelled.
    The wrinkled, chalky-gray skin of Mrs. Dennard’s face came into view in the SUV’s interior mirror. The same green ooze dripped from her black, thin lips, and her eyes were all red, embers from the fires of hell. When the Tall Man heard gurgling sounds coming from her throat, he wasted no time in throwing the door open. He flung himself onto the ground and rolled as he had been trained many years ago. A spray of green drenched the driver’s seat where he had sat a mere second before.
    “Jesus Christ, but you got ugly!”
    He stripped a .357 Desert Eagle from a shoulder holster as he got to his feet. He took several steps back as he stared at the abomination in the back of the car. The back door creaked open, and the Tall Man watched as first one foot then the other was planted into the gravel by the