Текст книги "Заговор мечей"
Автор книги: Джейн Doy Press
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Текущая страница: 38 (всего у книги 40 страниц)
The center of each level held the elevators that took people up to the surface, which sat in the middle of a cluster of hotels and office buildings. The second floor was no different, and there were several cars surrounding the elevator. The car Davies was driving didn’t stop there, however. Teren pulled into an open space, and kept an eye on their quarry which had continued on into a car corner which was fairly deserted. The only other car was a black limousine.
As the Taurus stopped, a man stepped from the front seat of the limo, and opened the back door. John Treville left the back seat, straightening the lapels of his jacket as he did so.
Alex pulled her gun, and checked the cartridge. Ken did the same, snapping the safety off. Teren sat still, her phone in her hand. When it rang, she lifted it and said simply, “Level two, northeast corner. Do not fire unless fired upon.”
“Check.”
She turned the phone off again and tossed it on the dash.
“Ready?”
Alex nodded, her eyes never leaving the figures in the corner of the lot. Teren glanced at Ken and raised an eyebrow. He nodded once, and reached for his door handle.
Teren led them through the cars, telling them to keep low. When there was only a single vehicle and the driving lane between them and their quarry, she held up a hand.
“We wait here. Redhawk should be here any second.”
Even as she spoke, there was the sound of several car engines and vehicles began to pour down the ramp.
Alex, who’d been watching Treville and Dawkins, saw the men scatter. Dawkins and his two staff members jumped back into the white sedan. Treville and Davies, along with Treville’s chauffer dropped behind the limo.
The CIA vehicles turned to face Treville and company. Agents opened their doors, and slid out of them, weapons at the ready. Teren stuck her head over the trunk of the car, and aimed her gun. Alex did the same over the hood of the vehicle, shouting as she did so.
“This is the FBI. You are under arrest. Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head.”
The answer came in the form of a shot, which struck the car she was hiding behind. Immediately, there was return fire, and Alex cursed. With this much lead flying around, it would be difficult to take any of the men alive – but that was exactly what they needed to do.
She slid down the length of the vehicle, to Teren’s side.
“Do any of your pals have a megaphone or something? A PA? Anything?”
Teren nodded. She grabbed Ken’s shoulder and told him to cover their movement. He raised up partly over the car and fired several successive shots, emptying his cartridge in an attempt to hold the other men’s fire.
Teren pulled Alex to a stop beside a man with a rifle and a black hat with a red circle on it.
“Redhawk, this is Agent Reis, FBI, currently on assignment to the Agency. She wants to know if you have a PA.”
He nodded. “In the car, ma’am. You want to try to talk to them?”
“Yeah.”
He crawled into the front seat, and flipped a switch on the radio. Then he pulled the microphone toward them, handing it to Alex. She keyed the mic once to make sure it was working, and heard the squawk over the come over a loudspeaker that she couldn’t see.
“Treville. This is Agent Reis, FBI. Hold your fire.”
There was no answer, only more shots.
“You’re trapped, Treville. There’s no way out of here. If you wanna walk out of here, you’ll have to drop your weapons.”
Teren put a hand on Redhawk’s shoulder. “Tell your men to hold their positions, and their fire. Let’s give Alex a chance to talk these guys out of there.”
He nodded, and pressed a button on the headset he was wearing. “Hold your fire. Repeat, hold your fire.”
The gunfire in the garage tapered off into an occasional burst from behind the limo. Then that stopped as well.
“Treville? You there?”
She waited, crossing her fingers.
“I’m here.”
“You’re trapped, John. You must have realized that already. You really wanna go down like this?”
“I wouldn’t mind. Long as I can take you with me.”
“What about your wife, John? Think she’d want you to die like this? Don’t you think she wants to see you again?”
“I should have known, Reis, that you’d bring my wife into this. You’re a dyke after all.”
Alex saw Redhawk raise an eyebrow. She worried for half a second what his reaction would be, then ignored him.
“Dawkins? How about you? You wanna die in that car?”
A different voice called back. “No! Don’t shoot! I’ll come out —”
“Shut the fuck up, Dawkins!” There was a gunshot, and the sound of shattering glass.
Alex motioned Redhawk forward.
“He’s gonna kill Dawkins. That’s why he was here in the first place. Can we get agents up to that car and get those three men out?”
“Are you sure Dawkins hasn’t been firing as well, Alex?” Teren asked.
Redhawk held up a hand, and waited for a moment. Then he looked up at Alex. “I’ve got a report that one man in the sedan is injured, possibly dead. He’s slumped over the wheel. The other two have not been firing. There’s a possibility one or both are injured. Their friends fired several shots at them even before they jumped in the vehicle.” He paused a moment listening to the voice in his ear. “My men think they can get up to that car, and take out the shooters from behind. They can also get the injured men out of there.”
“And if they’re wrong, and they’re fired upon?”
“Then their backup will pull them out, and I’ll tell them to load with APC’s.”
Alex frowned. “What’s that?”
“Armor piercing bullets. It’ll go through the car, the men, and out the other side.”
She hesitated, glancing up at Teren. But she made her decision.
“Send them in. I’ll keep talking on the PA, and try to cover their movements. You tell your men, I want them alive if at all possible.”
“Got it.” He nodded at Teren and moved away slightly to give the orders.
Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Treville?”
“What?”
“You killed Radcliffe, didn’t you.” There was no doubt, and no question, in her voice.
“White killed him. His fingerprints were on the gun.”
“No, you killed him. Because Radcliffe could identify you, and you figured, since it was all unraveling, why not make sure all the people who knew you and CJ were gone. That’s why you wanted Brogan dead.”
There was silence.
“But, you see, it won’t work. We have the papers from Franz Eisenbein. Your name is on them – even a letter from you, Treville. I have White, but I don’t need him, or Dawkins, or anyone.”
“They won’t let you use those in the US courts!”
“Maybe, maybe not. But the Bundeskriminalamt can certainly use them. And I’m sure we can push the paperwork through for your extradition.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you hanging for your crimes. The BKA was specifically set up to combat Nazi activities. And the US government wants to keep Germany as an ally, so you’ll be on a plane for Germany before you know it.”
She waited, wondering if she’d gotten through to him at all.
“What do you want, Reis?”
It was a different voice, but one she recognized easily. “Davies? From you, I want your badge – nothing more. From Treville – I want CJ.”
Treville’s voice cut through the garage again.
“If I give him to you, will —” There were two quick shots that stopped his question, and then the sound of a motor revving up. The limousine began to move away, gaining speed, crashing through two other cars. Taking a quick turn, it headed for the exit ramp.
As it did so, Alex saw three cars pull into position, blocking the vehicle’s escape route. At the last possible second, the driver in the limo yanked the wheel, away from the ramp heading up to the exit, and onto the ramp leading down to the next level.
It wasn’t soon enough. The right front tire hit the curb, lifting the front of the long car. The back wheel did the same, and the car entered the tunnel at a high rate of speed, on two tires. The tires that were up in the air hit the side wall, and the car flipped, just as it dropped from Alex’s sight. There was the screech of metal on cement, and a loud crash.
Alex glanced at Redhawk who was listening intently. After a moment he raised his head.
“One body in the car. Dead from massive head wounds.”
She nodded, and looked over at the area where the limo had been parked.
Treville lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. There was a perfect hole in the center of his forehead, and a growing puddle of blood spreading out from under his head. The chauffeur was lying a few feet away, his throat torn open by a bullet.
Dawkins and another man had been pulled from the sedan, and were being handcuffed. Ken was there, reading Dawkins his rights, even as another agent strapped a bandage around the prisoner’s bleeding arm.
Alex felt a hand come down on her shoulder. She flinched, then realized who it was, and sighed. “You alright, Teren?”
“Yeah. You?”
She nodded.
Teren squeezed her shoulder again. “We got Treville, Alex. There’s only CJ left. And with Dawkins in custody, we’ll get him. Don’t worry.”
“Right.” Alex shrugged the hand off her shoulder and approached Ken, who was still watching Dawkins get his arm bandaged.
Ken saw her and turned. “Hey, Alex. It must have been Davies in the limo – he’s the only one not here.”
“Uh-huh.” She stepped past him and grabbed Dawkins by the lapels. Yanking him up from his seat, she pushed him back into the hood of the car, scowling at him.
Ken frowned and reached over to stop her, but Teren held his arm. He looked at her and she shook her head, no.
“There’s only one thing I want from you, Mr. Dawkins. And that’s a name. Do you understand?”
“Ummm, I think —”
“No, don’t think. Just listen. I want a name. I want you to tell me who CJ is. And I want you to do it now.”
“Agent Reis,” he stopped and licked his lips. His eyes were wide and glassy. “I’m afraid I can’t.”
Her jaw clenched, and she glared at him. “Why not?”
“Well, because I don’t know. None of us did. Only Treville knew his real name. He never told the rest of us.”
Dawkins flinched at the fury in Alex’s eyes.
“You know he works for the FBI?”
“We believed so, yes.”
“Believed? You didn’t know for sure?”
“No. It was hinted at, but never confirmed.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry, Agent Reis. Treville could have told you – but I can’t.”
“Is there anybody else who knew? Anyone who knew his real name?”
Dawkins started to shake his head, then stopped.“I’m not positive, but Martin might know.”
“Martin? Richmond?”
“Yes. He and Treville were very close. I think Treville introduced him to CJ. He might know who he is, but I can’t be sure.”
Alex let go of Dawkins, and motioned to him to sit down. She moved away, fists clenched. Teren followed, and Ken trailed behind them.
“Alex? Where we going?”
She turned and glared at him. “You’re staying here. You make sure nothing happens to Dawkins. He and White are the only two witnesses, and we need to keep them alive. Got it?”
He nodded. “What about you?”
“New York. Teren and I are gonna go ask Richmond who CJ is.”
“And if he won’t tell you?”
She glared at him, her fury evident in the twisted features. “Then I’ll kill him myself.” She stalked off towards the car, not waiting for Teren.
The taller woman turned to Ken. “Stay with Dawkins. Redhawk has his orders, and he’ll be taking him to a safehouse. You go with, find out everything you can.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll take care of Alex.”
“Alright. You might wanna start, though, by telling her that Richmond isn’t in New York.”
Teren stared at him. “Where the hell is he?”
“He’s here. For Stephen Radcliffe’s funeral – same reason Dawkins was flying in.”
Her eyes widened. “Think Alex knows that?”
Ken shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Thanks, Ken. Talk to you soon.” Teren gave him a slight wave and started jogging towards her partner who was halfway across the parking lot.
Ken shook his head and moved back towards Dawkins.
Chapter Forty-one
Teren let Alex take the wheel, hoping the driving would help to calm her friend.
“Alex? Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
Well, that worked. She sighed. “Alex. You can’t just barge in and threaten to kill him. You know that.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.” Teren kept her voice quiet and soft. “And I don’t think that’s what you want.”
“What I WANT,” Alex yelled, “is for this to be over! To not have to worry about my friends, my career – my partner! I’ve had it, Teren.”
“I know. I feel the same way.”
“No you don’t! You didn’t have to see someone you love bleeding on the ground from a bullet to the head! You didn’t have to watch your partner get shot, or —”
“No, I just had to shoot mine.”
Teren’s quiet voice stopped Alex cold, and she felt some of the anger drain away. She was breathing hard, gripping the steering wheel tightly, but suddenly the fog had been penetrated, and she could feel something other than the fury that had enveloped her.
She stayed quiet for a moment, concentrating on driving. When she had to stop for a red light, she finally leaned back against the seat and glanced at Teren. “I’m sorry, Ter.”
“No problem, Alex.”
“Thanks for letting me rant a little.”
“Anytime.”
They were quiet as Alex pressed the accelerator.
“By the way, do you really want to get on a plane for New York?”
Alex glanced towards her. “How else are we going to talk to Richmond?”
“Well, it might be easier if we stay here. After all, Ken just told me that he flew in for Radcliffe’s funeral.”
Slowing for another red light, Alex took a deep breath and forced her hands from the steering wheel. “He’s here?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Not sure. Probably wouldn’t be too hard to find out, though, don’t you think?”
Alex nodded. “Hand me your cell phone.”
Teren did, and watched at Alex dialed a number.
“Ben? Hey, good to hear your voice.”
“Jesus Chr– Alex? Where the hell are you?”
“I’m back. Didn’t you hear that?”
“We heard you were back, and Cliff said the bastards had taken your badge. Everybody’s pissed about that.”
“That’s nice to hear, Ben.” The light changed, and she guided the car forward.
“Hey, ‘d’ya hear about Rudy and Tom?”
“No,” she said. “What about Rudy and Tom?” She glanced over at Teren who had raised an eyebrow.
“They found both of them dead. Not sure what happened, just that they were both killed. Cliff said it was being looked into, and he wasn’t sure if it was cause of the case or not.”
“I see.”
Ben paused. “You don’t sound too surprised, Alex.”
“I don’t think anything can surprise me anymore, Ben.”
“Bet you’re wrong.”
She could tell he was smiling. “Well, you can try to surprise me later, Ben, but right now I need a favor. I’m betting you know where Martin Richmond is. Can you tell me?”
“Shoot, course I can, ” he chuckled. “That’s part of the surprise.”
“What?”
“Mark and I did what you told us to. We figured there was somebody in the Bureau who was railroadin’ you for their own purpose. So, we just kind of did what we did without talking to anybody.”
“Which was?”
“Follow the money. And you’ll never guess where it lead us.”
Her mind made the connection, but it took Alex a moment to say it. “To Richmond?”
“Yup.” The older man sounded smug, and she could practically see the wide, satisfied grin on his face. “Didn’t trust nobody with the stuff when we found it – not even Cliff. This morning we high-tailed it over to the Justice Department, to Melissa Kimball, you remember her?”
“Yeah, I remember. I thought she’d been on vacation.”
“She was. Got back just yesterday. Mark and I met with her first thing, and laid out everything we had.”
“What did she say?”
“She issued an arrest warrant. We were just about to leave to go get the son-of-a-bitch. Wanna come?”
Alex put the phone down and yelled in the car. Teren reached for the cellular, but Alex grabbed it first, hearing Ben’s laughter.
“Okay, I’m surprised, and you bet your ass I wanna be there. Where the fuck is he?”
“Now, you watch your language, young lady.”
“Right, excuse me. Where in the hell is he?”
Ben laughed again. “Marriott, near National airport. If you get there ‘fore us, you wait, you hear?”
“You do the same, alright?”
“Sure thing. See you soon, kid.”
She hung up and tossed the phone at Teren, a grin on her face.
“Want to tell me what’s up?”
Alex nodded. “Richmond is at the Marriott, by National.”
“Okay. Is that what made you scream?”
“No. You remember how we talked, on the plane, about who we had evidence against, and who we didn’t?”
“Yes.”
“And we agreed that Richmond would be the last one we’d go after, because we didn’t have much on him. The papers from Eisenbein only mentioned him once or twice.”
“Right. So?”
“So, Ben and Mark followed the money trail, and got the evidence. They also got a warrant for his ass. They’re on their way to arrest him.”
Teren whooped.
They did get to the Marriott first, and Teren thought she might have to restrain her partner to stop her from going right after Richmond. When she saw Ben and Mark pull into the parking lot, with several cop cars behind them, she sighed with relief.
Mark slammed his door and jogged over to Alex lifting her in his arms. “Reis! Goddamn, you had everybody worried.”
“I’m sorry, Mark.” She patted his shoulder and gave him a hug. “I was a little worried myself, for awhile.”
She moved over to Ben and kissed him on the cheek. “Good to see you, Ben.”
“You, too, kid, you too.” He pinched her chin between his thumb and fingers and looked in her eyes. He frowned at what he saw. “You need a vacation, Alex.”
“Yeah, well, I think I might just take one, after we finish this thing.”
“You better – or I’ll hog tie you and take you down south.” He grinned, and hugged her. “Glad you’re still in one piece.”
Her eyes stung, and she blinked them several times. With another smile for Ben, she turned to Teren, to see her in deep discussion with Mark Garnett.
“Oh, boy,” she whispered.
Teren had watched her friend be greeted by her fellow agents, smiling at the obvious concern they showed. When Garnett turned and walked toward her, she steeled herself for his anger and disdain.
She was pleasantly surprised when he held out his hand. “It’s good to see you, Teren. How are you?”
Teren shook his hand with a smile. “I’m okay, Mark. You?”
“Not bad.” He pointed at his face. “The eye healed.”
She chuckled. “I’m glad.”
Mark leaned a little closer, and whispered, “How is Alex, really?”
Her smile faded a little. “Struggling. It’s been rough on her. On both of us. I’ll be very glad when this is over.”
He nodded, and put a friendly hand on her arm. “You look like hell, Teren. Let’s go get this bastard, so you and she can rest, eh?”
Teren raised an eyebrow and regarded him thoughtfully. He winked at her, and she smiled.
“You know, you look like someone mistook you for a weed, Agent Mylos,” Ben called.
“Yeah, I know. I ducked when I should have dived.”
They shared a chuckle, then Ben’s expression turned serious. “Alright. You and Alex can come on in with us, but you can’t be part of the arrest, okay? You need to just kind of stay in the background.”
“Fine,” Alex said. “We just want an answer to one question. Give us a minute to get that, and you can have him.”
“What’s the question?”
“Who’s CJ?”
Mark frowned. “CJ? Who is that?”
“He’s the ring leader of this whole organization, Mark,” Teren answered. “The problem is we don’t know his real name – just CJ. We don’t know if it’s his initials, or a nickname.”
“Hm.” Ben nodded. “We’ll be sure to ask.”
They entered the lobby of the hotel, and Ben got the room number from the front desk. Together, they took the elevator to the sixth floor.
The man who answered their knock tried to tell them that Richmond couldn’t be disturbed. Mark and Ben pushed past him, announcing they had a warrant. Alex was nervous and worried, and kept her hand on her gun until she saw Richmond stand, and Agent Cleves placed the cuffs around his wrist. Then she relaxed.
Richmond, in a soft voice, told his secretary to call his lawyer. Then they led him away.
As they stood waiting for the elevator, Alex leaned over and asked Teren, “Why is it that we always get the ones that shoot back?”
Teren smiled and whispered her answer, “I don’t know, Alex. Maybe I’m a jinx?”
“Nah. You didn’t even show up ‘til after the shooting started.” Alex sighed. “I think it’s cause we’re women, and no one takes us seriously.”
The smile on Teren’s face turned to a grin. “You may be right, Alex.”
The four agents got on the elevator with Richmond. They hadn’t gone down very far, when Ben reached over and pulled the emergency stop button.
“Mr. Richmond, this here is Alex Reis. She’s gonna ask you some questions. Now, she’s no longer with the Bureau, so you don’t have to answer her – course, if you don’t, Agent Mylos here, who’s with the CIA – well, she’s gonna be a little pissed, and we might not be able to stop her from ripping you a new asshole.” He grinned at his prisoner. “Go ahead, Reis.”
“Just one question, Mr. Richmond. Who is CJ? What’s his real name?”
Richmond shook his head. “Can’t tell you.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
He gave her a half smile. “I wouldn’t – even if I could.”
Teren slipped behind him and put an arm around his throat, pulling him back against her. He gasped for air as she slowly put more pressure on his windpipe.
“I don’t think he heard the question the first time, Alex. Try asking him again.”
“Who’s CJ?”
Richmond gasped, and squirmed in Teren’s grip. Finally, he sucked in all the air he could, and answered.
“I don’t know.”
“Dawkins said you did.”
“He’s wrong,” Richmond wheezed. His voice was an octave higher than normal, and very raspy. “The only one who knows CJ’s real name is Treville. He never told anyone else.”
“What can you tell me about him?”
“Nothing. I won’t tell you anything.”
Teren increased the pressure, and Alex frowned. “You could help yourself by telling us who he is.”
He managed to shake his head, struggling to breath.
Alex reached for her gun, but Ben stopped her. He looked back at Teren.
“Let him go.”
She hesitated a moment, but did so. He straightened, shaking his head, and taking huge lungfulls of air.
Then he grinned at them all, smugly. “Doesn’t matter what you say. See, all I have to do is call him, and I’m out of here.” He chuckled. “And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
Mark moved forward to strike him, but Alex grabbed his arm. “Don’t.”
She glanced at Ben, who punched the button. They resumed their journey to the ground floor.
Alex kept her gaze on Richmond all the way down. Her mind kept going over his last statement, time and time again.
When the elevator doors opened, she stood aside as he was taken through the lobby. She and Teren trailed behind everyone.
She couldn’t get his words out of her mind.
Ben turned back to her and Teren as Richmond was being pushed into the car.
“I’m sorry, Alex. I couldn’t let you pull your gun on him.”
“I know. It’s alright, Ben.” She let her gaze drift to the ground, and ignored everyone around her.
Teren eyed her partner in concern. She looked up at Ben with worry in her eyes.
Ben saw it and grinned. “I’ve seen her like this. Means she’s got an idea, and it’s eatin’ at her. When she figures it out, she’ll let you know.”
She nodded and smiled at him, extending her hand. “Thanks, Ben. I appreciate you letting us tag along.”
“Ah, no problem.” He turned serious for a moment, and tightened his grip. “You take care of her, Mylos. You ain’t the only one who knows how to make body disappear.”
He shook her hand again, and let it go. Teren watched him climb into a car, and leave.
Alex was still staring at the ground.
“Alex?”
“Hm?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, fine. Just thinking.”
Teren waited, then finally sighed and took her partner’s arm. “Come on. You can go think in my car.”
“Right.”
Alex was still glassy eyed as they reached the small car, and she didn’t even notice when Teren pushed her into the passenger seat. She just sat there, hearing Richmond’s words over and over again.
See, all I have to do is call him, and I’m out of here.
all I have to do
call him, and I’m out of here
call him
“Holy shit, that’s it!”
Teren, who had just crawled into the driver’s side, jumped. “What?”
“Give me your cell phone.”
“What for?”
“Just give it to me!”
Teren handed it over and Alex turned it on and dialed.
“Ron? Alex Reis. You know what happened earlier, right? You know Treville is dead? Okay, listen to me. I want you to find out where all of Treville’s personal effects would be, okay? I mean, everything. From the limo, off his body, all of it, got it?”
She listened for a moment. “Fine. We’ll meet you there. Ten or fifteen minutes. Bye.”
Alex turned off the phone and looked at her partner.
“CIA building. Graves is going to meet us there. Let’s go.”
Teren started the car. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Not yet. But if I’m right, Richmond just told me how to find CJ.”
Teren nodded. “Secret code that I’m not privy to?”
“No. Just a stupid boast that made me think.” She grinned at Teren. “See, it’s easier to think when you haven’t tried to use your head to play ping pong with a bullet.”
Teren frowned. “Shut up, Alex.”
It didn’t take them long to get to the offices, and Teren led Alex up through a back door to a security check point where Graves was waiting for them.
“I wasn’t sure what exactly you were looking for, Alex. I’ve been having my men go over the stuff, but they haven’t found anything. No phone numbers, no address book, no notes, nothing. What are we looking for?”
“A cell phone.”
“A cell —” he stopped and stared at her. “Yes, he had one. We found it in the back seat of the limo. Why?”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure.”
Graves led them through the checkpoint, and down into a holding area. Several agents were going over Treville’s belongings, logging them in. Graves spoke to one of them, and was handed a small black folding cellular phone.
“Here you are. Care to tell me what’s so important?”
“In a minute.” She flipped it open, and turned it on. “You see, most people have numbers that they dial over and over again.” She pressed memory and then 1. After listening for a moment, she hit disconnect. “Like your office.” She hit memory and 2, then listened again. “Oops, sorry, wrong number.” She disconnected again.
Teren folded her arms, beginning to see where Alex was going. Graves didn’t appear to be following though, and he was tapping his hand against his jaw in puzzlement.
Alex looked at him. “I think that was his home.” She hit memory and dialed a three. After another moment she disconnected, a disgusted look on her face. “Trixie’s Massage Parlour. A family establishment, I’m sure.” She dialed the fourth memory number and waited.
Teren was watching her face, and saw her eyes go wide. By the time she’d grabbed the phone from Alex, there was a beep, and she quickly disconnected. “Alex?”
“Dial it again, Ter. Memory 4.”
She did so, holding it up so both she and Graves could hear it.
They listened to the message, and then turned off the phone.
Graves nodded. “Well done, Alex.”
“Thanks.” She looked at Teren who was still gripping the phone. “We’ll need to show his picture to Dawkins and White.”
Teren nodded.
“We know who he is.”
Another nod.
“Nothing to say, Teren?”
She lifted her head. “Let’s go get the son-of-a-bitch.”
They smiled at each other.
It was barely six o’clock in the morning when the doorbell rang at Cliff Jackson’s house. He glared at his watch, then hesitated. When the bell rang again, he put his razor down with a sigh. Grabbing a towel he wiped the rest of the shaving foam from his face as he left the bathroom.
He opened the door to find Alex Reis on his door step.
“Morning, Cliff.”
“Alex. Kind of early for a social call, isn’t it?”
“Yes. This isn’t a social call.”
“What’s going on?”
“I know who the traitor is.”
His eyes widened. Then he held the screen open. “Come on in.”
She followed him into the kitchen where he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Got a coke if you want one.”
“That’s sounds great.”
He passed her the ice cold can and then sat opposite her at the table.
“Where’s Teren?”
“She’s in the car, on the phone. She’ll be in when she’s through.”
“Ah.” He sipped his coffee. “Wanna tell me who it is?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, I will. But first, I want to apologize.”
“For what?”
She sighed. “For not believing in you a little more. I let my fears and my exhaustion get the better of me. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”
Cliff frowned. “What the hell are you talking about, Alex?”
The younger agent let her head drop, and she solemnly regarded the sweating can in front of her.
“I thought it might be you, Cliff. I thought you might be the traitor.”
He opened his mouth and then shut it without saying anything. He too stared at the table.
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons. The phone call from your office. You were the only one in Washington that knew where we were meeting Brogan. You told us to get out of Philly, then declared me rogue.” She sipped her coke. “Plus, we discovered that the traitor was known as CJ.”
“And you thought it might mean Cliff Jackson.”
“Right.”
They were silent for a minute, then Cliff nodded.
“I can’t say I like that, Alex. That you thought I could do that. But, then again,” he shrugged, “you were in the middle of a bad situation. From what little I’ve heard, you and Mylos were running for your lives.” Cliff shook his head. “I can’t blame you for being suspicious of everyone.”
“Still. I should have had a little more faith.”
“With those clues? And being on the run? And Teren getting shot?” He snorted. “Not bloody likely.”
They both chuckled quietly.
“Now, you wanna tell me who the bastard is?”
“Yeah, but first, can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Get me another meeting with Collins, this morning. When I get this fucker I wanna do it as an FBI agent, not CIA.”
“CIA?” He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
She explained the cautions the FBI Director had taken to keep her investigation a secret from whoever was the traitor.
“So, you’re not really on long term suspension. Or under any kind of a disciplinary action.”
“Nope. But, I’m not officially FBI, either. Only Collins can change that, and I’d like him to do so before I arrest this guy.”
“You? Why do you get to arrest him?”
“Cause it was my partner that got shot – twice. David’s still on medical leave, and Teren’s not FBI. So, I get to do it. Got it?”
