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Radley left before Abby made it back and called in a secondary pilot to be there to evacuate her. It wasn’t often that a hunt happened so close to his backyard, and he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to participate in the extraction.
He landed his plane at the estate, this time parking it in a small hangar near the back of the property. Ms. Coleman waited nearby, now without a wheelchair.
She nodded curtly. “Sir. You asked to see me?”
Radley flashed her a smile that she didn’t return.
“How’s our patient?” he asked.
“Stable.”
Radley moved to a door that led to an adjacent hangar, trusting that Ms. Coleman would follow. She did.
“Good. Keep him sedated and here until I get back.”
“Sir. He needs a hospital.”
Radley took in the helicopter in front of him. His true pride and joy. This thing had been used all over the world, but this would be the first time he personally flew the extraction mission.
“After we’re done, we’ll get him to one. Right now, I need as few variables as possible.”
“Sir. How could he possibly ruin this?”
Radley didn’t go into details with her. He didn’t tell her that he’d lied about Beatty dying to ensure Abby would find the resolve to push through. If Abby found out the truth now, who knows what she might do. Radley didn’t know her well, but he knew enough to know Beatty meant a great deal to her. He didn’t intend to be anywhere nearby when she heard the truth. After the specimen was properly secured and Radley was safely back at his estate, he would release Beatty, who would surely find his way to Abby. And that was fine. Just fine. Then. But not now.
“Ms. Coleman.” Radley spun and locked his cobalt blue eyes onto her deep brown ones. “I don’t have time to discuss this. Just do what I ask, please.”
He stopped short of telling her to “do her job,” but knew that the sentiment came across all the same. He paid her handsomely for the work she did. She wouldn’t give that up for one man’s life. Especially a man like John Beatty.
“I’ll be back this evening,” Radley continued, her gaze having drifted downward. “Have my studio ready. This one is big.”
She nodded, not raising her head. “Yes, sir. I’ll make sure it’s prepared.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate everything you do here.” And he meant it. He expected obedience from those he paid, but he wasn’t a monster.
When she didn’t respond to that, he continued. “You’re dismissed. Thank you for the update.”
She shuffled out, a few pegs lower than he’d found her. He had that way with people. It had served him well, working in the shadows, hiring people across the globe to fetch his prizes. Abby and Beatty had been one of his most reliable teams, but the Devil of Misty Lake might have done them in. It was a worthwhile trade in Radley’s book.
Alone now, he went to work preparing the helicopter. He’d already called in the extraction team. They’d meet him there with all the gear he’d need. He just needed fuel. Plenty of it. Airlifting a bear-sized monster over the Seattle metro area wouldn’t be the most subtle way of doing it, but he’d be safely landed before anyone could track him down to question what he was carrying. His trip would be an oddity. Something interesting for people to mention over a glass of beer, maybe. A strange story, not unlike those told about the creatures he collected.
The devil wasn’t the most exotic animal he’d ever snagged, nor the largest. But to Radley Furey, every procurement meant as much as the last one. His collection had no equal, and he took pride in all the “nonexistent” animals he’d managed to dig up over the years. It was a shame he couldn’t share it with the world, but he wasn’t after fame or recognition. He was driven by the act of collecting. Once the devil was stuffed and displayed prominently among his many trophies, he would move on to the next, then the next.
Satisfied that he was as ready as he’d ever be, Radley opened the hangar doors. The aircraft sat on a mobile helipad. All he had to do was get it out of the hangar. He did that with a nearby F350 he kept for the purpose, expertly attaching the hitch and maneuvering the helicopter quickly out of its berth.
He climbed into the cockpit and looked over the controls. It had been a hot minute since he’d flown this thing, but he had confidence in his piloting skills, and even more confidence in his success rate. He wouldn’t fail.
Radley never failed.
He spun up the blades, took flight, and headed towards Misty Lake to claim his prize.
