Read BAD DEEDS: A Dylan Hunter Thriller (Dylan Hunter Thrillers) for Free Online Page B

stunt could backfire and build sympathy for the other side.”
    Juvenile … quixotic. Boggs stared at his battered face in the mirror—a literal reflection of his commitment, of how much he was willing to sacrifice for his convictions. He wondered just how much his friend was willing to sacrifice. But this was not the time and place for that discussion.
    He took in a slow breath. “All right. I’m sorry. I do owe you a lot. I should have warned you.”
    He heard a matching sigh. “Then let’s see if we can put this behind us. Right now, I am preparing for a meeting that is relevant to the issue that mutually concerns us. You will be hearing from me.”
    The man clicked off without saying goodbye.
     
    Back in the vehicle, the rest knew better than to ask about the call. This time when he entered, he glanced in the back and noticed a few members of the core cell were missing.
    “Did the others stay behind at the camp?”
    Jeff flicked a nervous glance his way. “Well, as for Cobra—maybe you saw. He got bashed really hard in the mouth by that guy. Lost some teeth and stuff. It really messed him up. He’s seeing an oral surgeon today. Says he doesn’t know if and when he’ll be able to rejoin us.”
    If and when. He then recalled the giant who had been felled by the attacking man. “How about Bear?”
    Uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. Then Dawn piped up.
    “Bear came to only a minute before the cops arrived. You know he’s got a serious rap sheet. So he didn’t hang around. Before they started taking statements, I saw him slip away behind the building. We haven’t seen him since.”
    “Okay,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “What about Michael? Rabbit?”
    “Michael told me he never expected anything like that to happen. And Rabbit … well, you saw how scared he was when that guy came after him. They both left, too … I’m sorry, Zak.”
    “Scared Rabbit!” Jeff said, chuckling. One look at Boggs and his laughter trailed off.
    They all fell silent again. Jeff followed the street signs back to Route 6, crossed the Allegheny River, then headed south, back toward the forest.
    “I’ve been wondering who those two were,” Boggs said at last. “The man and woman.”
    “I heard somebody call him ‘Brad,’” Dawn said. “And I think someone else called the woman ‘Emmy.’”
    “Naw, it was ‘Annie,’” Jeff interjected. “The lady who owns the diner said ‘Annie.’”
    Boggs watched the fields and trees roll by. The pain had dulled a bit more. But his anger had not. It had been building all night.
    He thought of the man and woman. Unreal how they were attacked like that, by only two people. So fast, too. Like a martial arts movie. And that cocky little smile on the man’s face as he stuck out his chin, taunting him.
    And now, the phone call.
    Juvenile, quixotic actions.
    He clenched his fists in his lap.
    Then another image arose in his mind. The image of the satchel he had transported here secretly and hid in the woods near the camp. He thought about the satchel … and its contents.
    Right then, he knew exactly what he was going to do.
    “‘Brad’ and ‘Annie,’” Dr. Zachariah Boggs murmured through his teeth.
    Who are they? Where are they?
    He would find out. And he would make them pay.

FOUR
    The first thing he saw as they crested a hill was the bright red top of a metal derrick poking above the trees.
    “That must be the place,” Annie said, spotting it, too. “Well, this should be interesting. Thanks for inviting me along. I’m curious to see for myself what this ‘fracking’ business is all about.”
    “Me, too,” Dylan said, peering ahead for the access road. “I’ve read about it. But there’s nothing like seeing things for yourself.”
    “Do you think anyone from the diner will recognize us?”
    “Unlikely. Those people were from their clerical office. They have no reason to come out here to the drilling site.” He spotted the entrance, put