Carlotta scowled.
“Don’t forget,” Pablo added quickly, “she isn’t doing us any harm. I suggest you leave her be.”
“She does indeed do us harm. We keep our people loyal by punishing those who break our trust. And we’ll make an example of her when we catch her again. For the moment, however, we have more important things to worry about.”
Chapter 28
Athena’s South Park ranch
Vanessa Carter texted Athena back on the encrypted network. I’m more than happy to investigate any DOJ screwups you know about. Call me at 888-761-4356 using a new burn phone.
Athena did and routed the call through several bulletproof VPNs to hide her location. She identified herself only as a disgruntled former DOJ staffer and told Vanessa in the third person about her whole damned nightmare with Dominique Santiago and the follow-up attacks by Carlotta against herself, Roger, and Viola. For the moment, she left Martin’s name out of the conversation.
When she finished, Vanessa said, “Wouldn’t it be nice to get a little justice from Justice?”
That single comment told Athena that she’d contacted the right reporter. “Amen, sister. Check out what I’ve given you so far, and if you believe me, send me an encrypted text. If you want to follow the story to the end, I have more shocking details.”
“I’ll get back here right after talking to the managing editor. We don’t want to get out too far over our skis, but if your facts check out, I’m sure we’ll be interested in publishing everything you’ve got.”
-o-o-o-
Sunday
Over the next six days, Vanessa followed up with a flood of questions from a team of seven Post reporters assigned to the story. They wanted to confirm everything, including the names of corroborating witnesses and copies of supporting documents. Athena didn’t hold anything back, except her name, but she suspected that the reporters had figured out who she was anyway.
By midweek, word of the upcoming exposé must’ve filtered back to DOJ because Chen began leaving encrypted messages for Athena. He admitted that they should’ve moved more aggressively on Martin, but it was too late. She doubted she could stop the Post investigation from going forward, even if she wanted to. Which she didn’t. Revealing her story to the newspaper had been a final cry of anguish.
Vanessa kept saying, “We’re either going to win a Pulitzer or get sued for millions. Maybe both.”
Athena had no doubt she’d be sued, too, but she was past caring. And most of her assets were well hidden offshore.
Right after lunch, Vanessa sent a text. All systems are GO. We launch in fifteen minutes. I’m contacting DOJ’s spokesman now to ask for any final comments before we nuke them. You might want to hunker down for a few years! I hear that Minorca is a great place to lay low.
Life at the ranch had become serene over the last week, but that was about to end. Everyone would be looking for her again soon. Athena replied with Roger’s comment, Fuck them all.
She set a timer on her phone for twenty minutes to check the Washington Post’s website. When the buzzer rang, she looked online. The headline at the Washington Post read: EPIC, DEADLY FAILURE AT DOJ.
The subtitle said the article was part one of a five-part series. A second article appeared next to the first with a similarly large headline, DOJ ARRESTS ALLEGED CARTEL SPY IN ITS MIDST. As Athena read the first article, she realized it didn’t concern her at all. Vanessa and the others focused on the Santiago cartel’s spread into every city across the western United States.
Athena’s tongue tingled as she read. The second article contained only two paragraphs that had obviously been hurriedly written as a result of Vanessa’s final call to DOJ. It said the FBI had arrested Donald Martin, a supervisor in Main Justice’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section on five counts of espionage and felony murder. More charges to follow.
When Beau wandered by her office, she told him the news. He froze for a second. “Life with you is always an adventure. I’ll tell the guards that it’s likely entire packs of hitmen will be looking for us soon.”
He pretended like he was joking, but she knew he wasn’t.
-o-o-o-
Monday
Well before dawn, Athena was woken by a sharp rap on her bedroom door. She and Beau bolted upright at the same instant.
Lance entered without waiting. He was wearing full armor.
“Brent is patrolling outside. Sorry to say, but it looks like we may have a serious problem. I got a mortality alert.” He pointed at what looked like an electronic wristwatch. “This monitors my pulse and signals our network when it stops. Could be a glitch, but that’s rare. I recommend you go to the basement while I check things out. If everything’s okay, I’ll send you a text including the word Alamo.”
Beau got up and started to put on his body armor. He had one complete suit, including a helmet with night vision goggles.
“Wait,” Athena whispered. She put on a robe and lifted the sleeping Leo from his bassinet. “What if an assassin sets the house on fire? We would be trapped down there. There’s no windows to escape out of.”
Lance shook his head. “A hitman will need proof of death. A charred body won’t work.”
Without explaining any more, he stomped down the hall to the stairs and down.
“He’s right.” Beau pushed his bare feet into his shoes and strapped his .44 Magnum’s holster over the armor. “An assassin needs to be able to prove he did the job. He’ll want a picture of you, obviously dead, or he’ll simply take your head. Grab Viola. We need to hurry.”
Athena alerted Viola then used a portable phone to call the Park County Sheriff’s Department. “I think there’s an intruder at my ranch. Can you send somebody right away?”
“Why do you think somebody’s there, ma’am?”
Time was short—no point in being coy. “I’m under witness protection, and our guard heard someone outside. Please, send help!”
“Yes, ma’am, as soon as we can, but we’re very thinly staffed during this time of the night. Terrible budget cuts. It may be…a while. Shelter in place.”
Athena hung up. Like at the Alamo, they were on their own. Fuck!
She grabbed several extra blankets because the basement was cold, even in the middle of summer. Beau and Viola followed Athena as she carefully hobbled down the stairs to the main floor. This was no time to be careless. Beau carried her cane for her so she’d have a free hand to hold the railing.
As soon as they reached the main floor, they proceeded to the basement door. From there, rickety wooden steps led down into the unfinished cellar.
Partway down the steps, Beau pulled a dangling chain that turned on a small bulb. The step below Beau was cracked in the center. He pointed it out so they could avoid it.
The rest of the basement contained old furniture and dozens of cardboard boxes stacked along the far wall. Many of the boxes were labeled Books, and Athena had opened a few earlier while searching for something interesting to read. Among other things, she’d found a forty-year-old set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Beau led Athena, Leo, and Viola to the opposite wall, behind the stairs. He laid out one of the blankets and handed Athena her cane. “We don’t have much time. I’ll be facing the stairs from behind the boxes across the way.” He pointed at them. “If the Viper shows up, he’ll likely use night vision goggles to search for us. I’m going to move the stuff away from the wall and hunker down behind it. He’ll probably be wearing armor, too, but the Magnum’s bullets may still penetrate. Getting shot will certainly make him clumsy. Our best bet is for me to open up when he’s coming down the stairs. Even if the bullets don’t get to the armor, they may knock him around enough to make him stumble.”
The plan sounded like a long shot at best, but Athena wasn’t going to discourage Beau from trying. “Great. What if that doesn’t work. What’s Plan B?”
“Up to you. If he takes me out, wait for him t
o approach me. He’ll want to be sure I’m done before he looks for anybody else. While he’s focused on me, sneak up and hit the back of his neck. That’s the armor’s weak spot.”
“With what?”
“Your cane. A good whack should break his neck.”
That would be a one-in-a-million chance. If Beau couldn’t take the Viper out, the rest of them were doomed.
Athena shivered but nodded. There wasn’t much else to say, except, “I love you.”
“Je t'aime à la folie.”
He loved her madly, as much as she loved him. And a sharp pain shot through her as she realized those might be the last words they would ever speak to each other.
Athena held Leo close and prayed that the baby would stay asleep. Then she leaned against Viola, and they both shivered against the cold basement wall.
Viola whispered, “Give me Leo so you can focus on hitting the Viper if you need to.”
Athena kissed him and handed her newborn over.
Beau hurried to the opposite wall and pushed the boxes along the wall out a few feet to make some space for him. Hopefully, the stuff in those boxes would stop any bullets the Viper would fire.
When Beau had finished his makeshift fort, he climbed the stairs and unscrewed the lightbulb, leaving the basement in complete darkness.
“From now on,” he said as he turned on a penlight and returned behind his boxes, “stay as silent as possible.”
Several shots rang out in the distance. Athena waited for a text from Lance saying that he’d gotten the guy, but her phone stayed quiet.
Chapter 29
Leo remained asleep, but it had been several hours since he’d nursed. He could wake up at any moment. Athena held her cane with both hands. She would use it to fight to her last breath.
And still, no text from Lance. Fuck.
Hopefully, he was okay and the neighbors had heard the gunfire and called it in. They’d know that no one would be hunting or target practicing in the middle of the night.
Fear blasted through Athena, and her whole body began to shiver. Her tongue tingled from a burst of adrenaline. She’d finally had too much stress.
But her meltdown was interrupted by a creaking floorboard overhead. The house was old, and it was impossible to move around in it silently. Her shivering stopped. She had to focus to take advantage of whatever small chance they had to survive the night. Slowly, she raised into a squat, still leaning back against the wall, and waited for whatever came next.
More creaking upstairs. That had to be the Viper, but he could have others with him. She listened carefully as the person moved from room to room. Thankfully, she only heard one set of footsteps.
Then, the creaking stopped. Maybe the killer was checking the house’s second floor.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the footsteps above began again near the bottom of the main staircase. The steps came closer, toward the basement door. Athena wanted to tell Beau, but she didn’t dare try. He had to have heard what she had.
The old cellar door’s hinges moaned softly. Athena held her breath. Viola leaned against Athena’s side and froze.
No light shone down from the main floor. Beau had to be right. The assassin was wearing night-vision goggles.
Athena struggled to keep from screaming, couldn’t stand this anymore. It took all her willpower to stay silent.
Suddenly, gunfire boomed and lit the basement. The continuous roar was deafening. The Viper had a fully automatic rifle. Athena jolted but stayed against the wall.
Leo shrieked at the top of his lungs. Viola whimpered.
The spray of bullets blasted chunks of concrete out of the wall behind Beau. Debris filled the air as the assassin’s bullets shredded the boxes protecting her boyfriend. In the dim glow from the rifle fire, she could see that the bullets weren’t concentrated on the specific spot where Beau was hunkered down. The asshole probably hadn’t spotted his target yet.
Athena was so rattled that her cane almost dropped out of her hands. How could Beau have survived, even with protection?
Acrid gun smoke burned Athena’s nostrils, and the air was filled with dust and debris.
Athena remained frozen in her crouch. Leo’s cries were the only sound she could hear.
No return fire or movement from Beau. Is he dead?
That thought almost broke her.
The shooter ejected a magazine from his rifle onto the basement steps, and it clattered to the cement floor. He clicked another magazine into place.
Viola tried to comfort Leo with whispers, but his desperate shrieks went on.
During a brief pause as Leo sucked in more air, one of the stairs creaked under a heavy footfall.
The Viper was coming down!
He stepped again, slowly, and again.
But when he dropped another step, CRACK! The tread broke.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The muzzle flash from Beau’s .44 Magnum lit up the basement. Something shuffled on the stairs. A yelp, followed by a thud onto the floor.
Beau turned on his penlight and lit up the assassin in a heap. Beau ran toward the man moving around at the foot of the stairs.
After ripping off the man’s helmet, Beau fired two more times.
Athena screamed.
“The bastard’s done,” Beau said, “it’s okay.”
At least, Athena thought that was what he’d said. It was hard to hear him over Leo’s high-pitched screams.
She let out a massive sigh of relief and hobbled over to see for herself. She got a good look at the killer. “That’s the Viper, all right. I saw a picture of him on a terrorist watch list.”
Beau rolled the assassin over. “No blood down lower. His armor must’ve stopped most of my first three rounds.”
Elated at Beau’s success, Athena kissed him. Then, she hurried back to the baby and comforted him. He wanted to nurse, and she sat with Leo on one of the bottom steps while he suckled.
Another worry came to mind. “How can we be sure nobody else is working with him?”
“We can’t,” Beau said, “but I haven’t heard any more footfalls or movement up there. Hopefully, the cops will arrive soon. Until they do, we should wait down here.”
That was what they did. Athena’s pulse kept pounding in her head, but all was quiet.
A tearful Viola hugged Beau and thanked him over and over. She sat on a box of partially shredded encyclopedias. They’d turned out to be quite useful at stopping hot lead.
When Leo drifted off again, Athena sat next to Viola and put her free arm around the younger woman, who was still shaking violently. “Hopefully,” Athena whispered, “this is the end of the attacks. I can’t stand this again.”
Beau crept up to the top of the stairs, sat, and listened.
-o-o-o-
Eventually, Beau said, “If anyone else was here, they must’ve left. It’s as silent as a tomb in the rest of the house. Are you ladies okay?”
“I think so,” Athena said.
“Much better,” Viola added. “Thanks again, so much, for saving us.”
Leo thankfully stayed asleep. All that screaming had worn him out.
They waited in the dark until sirens wailed in the distance. Beau left them downstairs and greeted the cops.
Chapter 30
When the house filled with voices, Athena carried Leo upstairs to her bedroom and sat at the table. Her baby slept in her arms. She just couldn’t let go of him.
Viola sat silently next to her. The younger woman’s hands finally stopped shaking.
The worst damned thing about this nightmare was that it could play out again at any time. The Viper was dead, but there were other mob hitmen happy to collect the five hundred grand bounty on Athena’s head. That realization made her so angry that her mind clouded. She almost passed out—while holding the baby.
Time to get a hold of herself, for his sake, and focus on a more immediate problem. Her cover
had been blown, again. She had to find a new place to hide, again. And she needed to mourn Lance and Brent, two more brave men who’d died trying to protect her.
Beau came upstairs. “Cops from five different agencies, including US Marshals and the FBI, are swarming the property. They’ll want to talk to both of you soon. They found the Viper’s car parked a mile up the road. It contains a laptop.”
“The main thing I want to know,” Athena said, “was how the son of a bitch found us. I need to see that computer.”
Beau laughed mirthlessly. “You know that won’t happen, but I can promise you the FBI will pore over all of its contents.”
Athena didn’t insist. She didn’t have to. She’d soon know everything that the FBI learned and maybe even more.
-o-o-o-
Hours later, the FBI’s best local computer guy sat at Athena’s kitchen table across from her. The Viper’s laptop rested in front of the agent. He’d made it past the lock screen by using the dead man’s fingerprint.
“So,” she said, “what do you see?”
With a wave of his hand, he shooed her away.
Athena headed to her office, closed the door, and hacked into the tech’s computer. She followed his progress remotely as he connected the Viper’s laptop into her Wi-Fi. From then on, she could see each keystroke the tech typed on either unit and the displayed results.
Soon his research answered her main question. The Viper had found her by tracking Cici’s credit card. He’d first found her when she bought gas in Fairplay on the night she drove to Aspen. Then he’d called all the recent rentals listings in the valley until he found a couple that were no longer available. From there, it was a short hop to locating Athena.
Note to self—no more visits from friends or family until I’m sure this is over.
-o-o-o-
Beau entered Athena’s office and sat at her desk. “How you holding up?”
She fought the tears that suddenly welled in her eyes. “Not so great. I can’t take another night like that without suffering a nervous breakdown. How about you?”
Anointed (Vanished Book 3) Page 20