~ A Deadly Agent ~

by

Susan R. Sweet

Devin knew it would take the rest of the day to reach camp. He tried not to think about what he might find, but thought instead of the last couple of days he spent with Penny. If anyone told him a month ago that he would be in love with someone, he would have called them crazy. The truth was he was head over heels in love with her. The last few days they went horseback riding, picnicking, fishing, and walking. Each day revealed a little more of the beautiful person she was. He also began to open up to her, feeling comfortable in sharing these private parts of his life. He found her to be a gentle, caring, and charmingly innocent individual.

He was also surprised at how easily Penny adapted to the rather primitive lifestyle here in the outback. Devin felt that coming from the United States and a much more modern way of life, that she might prefer a more lively form of entertainment. He even asked several times if she might want to go to a movie, out to dinner, and even dancing, but she assured him that she was quite content in the activities they were currently enjoying. This information served to endear her to him even more as he would be uncomfortable in the least, in fulfilling his offer. He had to admit that he was relieved and happy when she declined. They continued to share their personal histories with one another, and he learned how important Aunt Les was to her.

He noticed dusk was fast-approaching, so he turned on his headlights. The air had turned cooler and held a crisp, clean scent. Devin packed his revolver when he left and it was laying next to him on the seat. He was very much aware of the perils he might encounter and this knowledge now kept all his senses on the surrounding environment. The land rolled by, and Devin’s thoughts ticked away as fast as the mileage on the odometer.

He and Ben discovered Frank, his uncle’s handyman, in the clearing behind the house yesterday morning. He died, as far as they could surmise, from a broken neck. The two men agreed to keep this information to themselves so as not to alarm the women. Ben thought they should call the police, but Devin persuaded him to wait until Ned returned. Now he wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do. I guess it depends on what I find ahead, he told himself. He knew the importance of secrecy where the testing was concerned. I did what I had to given the current circumstances, he reassured himself. Anyway, I’ll know soon enough if I made the right decision.

He was about an hour away from the camp when his headlights picked up something pretty large lying in the middle of the road. Slowing down, he reached for his revolver with his left hand. As he drew closer, he saw that the form was a dead sheep. He drove around the sheep and continued on his way, knowing he was not far now from his destination. The corpse in the road, however, reminded him once again the reason for his trip out here. Consciously clearing his mind of all other thoughts--mainly Penny--he concentrated on the road ahead.

All he could see now was the ground immediately in front of the jeep, illuminated by the twin beams of light. Every now and then he caught a glimpse of a wombat. These nocturnal animals were prevalent to this area so close to the river. As a child, he enjoyed watching them playing in the mud, but now was not the time for reminiscing.

He was beginning to think that maybe the camp had moved when his headlights picked up the outline of one of the tents. Strange, he thought, no campfire or lanterns were lit. The entire camp was in total darkness. Quickly, he doused his lights and cut the engine. Silently opening the door, he grabbed the revolver and slipped out of the jeep. Crouching low, Devin dashed into the darkness surrounding the camp. After going several feet, he stopped and listened. Nothing, there was only the sound of the flowing river very close to him now.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could once again make out the outline of the dark tents. Crouched low and moving quietly, he made his way into the camp. Again, he stopped, but heard nothing. He approached the first tent. Looking to his right, then left, he brought himself up to the front opening. It was unzipped, allowing him to slip inside unhampered.

Once inside, he saw that it was deserted. Devin could pick out the form of an empty cot and a couple of backpacks. This was either Uncle Ned’s or his father’s tent. Men’s boots were under the cot, seemingly awaiting the return of their owner. Finding nothing amiss, he slipped out of that tent and headed to the next one. Once inside, he could see that a struggle had taken place. The floor of the tent was scattered with clothes and papers. Someone was hurt he surmised, after finding a small bit of blood over by the cot. His heart was racing now, every sense alert. This was Aunt Les’ tent. A hairbrush was thrown in the middle of a pile of woman’s clothing.

The hair was standing up on the back of his neck as he exited this tent. He decided to hide the jeep and himself until morning. Finding his way back to the vehicle, he looked inside before climbing behind the wheel. Devin left the headlights off as he started the engine, then put the jeep in reverse, and started backing up the road. He turned off the main lane into the thick brush, heading away from the river. His mind was alive with imagined images of murder and mayhem. He knew, however, nothing could be accomplished until morning. He needed the light of day to start tracking his dad.

He decided to hide himself and the jeep in an old dry spring bed he knew was quite a distance away from the camp. Devin hoped his memory was good as driving without lights was adding more tension to his already taut nerves. He found the spring bed after a few wrong turns and backed the jeep under an overhanging tree. I should be well-camouflaged, he thought. Devin then backtracked on foot as far as possible while he obliterated the jeep’s telltale tire tracks. Once back inside the vehicle, he made himself as comfortable as possible in the front seat.

Trying to keep awake and eyes straining to pick up any different sights or sounds, Devin rehashed in his mind what he discovered at the camp. His father and Uncle Ned’s tents showed no signs of struggle. Les’, however, was an entirely different story. The only evidence of a possible struggle was the blood on the tent floor. Apparently the intruder looked for something he surmised. The search left the tent in quite a mess. He could only hope that the blood was from one of the tests that were performed. He prayed it wasn’t his aunt’s blood. Where in the world could they all be? He knew his dad always carried a handgun for protection, as did Uncle Ned. Whoever was responsible for their disappearance surprised them all. Les was the one Devin was the most concerned about, though. The blood in the tent still bothered him. All he could do at this point was speculate, and he knew from past experiences that this was a foolish thing to do. He had to formulate a plan to follow in the morning, but what?

All the confusing thoughts of the last hour or so came crashing down on him. Who or what in the world was he facing? All his dad had disclosed to him in the past few weeks was that he thought they were dealing with very unscrupulous people. Evidently, that was the understatement of the year. Devin had no idea where to begin to look for them. He couldn’t charge in anywhere by himself, he reasoned. His first priority must be to get help, but from whom? The only person he trusted other than Uncle Ned, his dad, and family was Ben. He thought of Kathleen and Kit, but they had the kids.

Who in the hell was he going to get to help him? he asked himself over and over again. Ben, Penny, and Aunt Martha were the only ones, he admitted to himself, that he could trust. He was hesitant to ask any of the hired hands for fear they might be involved in this. He decided to return to Aunt Martha’s in the morning and maybe, with their help, a solution to this mess might present itself. He hated to involve the women, but then decided that it would be best to tell them what was happening. Together, they might come up with a good idea. He decided to return as soon as it got light.

Devin strained to hear and see all around him. Nothing unusual, only the normal night sounds of the animals could be heard. He had only a few hours to wait before sunrise.

The sound of a gunshot jerked him awake. The sun was just coming up over the trees. A fog had rolled in and visibility was minimal. Devin held his breath; he had to pinpoint where the sound originated before he made any moves. There! Another shot. It definitely came from the direction of the camp. He knew he was far enough away that the starting of the jeep could not be heard. Starting the engine, he slowly made his way out from under the cover of the tree. Taking the back trails for quite a distance so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone on the main road, Devin made his way back toward Aunt Martha’s. Saying a silent prayer that everything was all right there, he pulled back on to the main road to make better time after he was sure no one heard him. Please let them be safe, was all he could think of the whole way back.