Fourth Day

by Lisa Phillips

  There were a number of things she did differently now, regardless of the commentary from other agents—ATF or marshals. Safety was a top priority. It came second, right after coffee. She followed the rules now. Even ones she’d put in place herself.

  “Just funny to me that you’d object. Considering.”

  “That’s so nice for you. I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” Allyson cracked the door and got out, not wanting to participate further in the conversation.

  The front door to the other SUV opened and Niall climbed out. He let Vanessa exit the back and said something to her.

  Vanessa nodded. Then she saw Allyson. They shared a small smile. Vanessa knew that Allyson had her back. Which was exactly what Vanessa had asked for, and why Allyson followed her from a distance as Vanessa made her way through the park like she was tired of police protection and needed to stretch her legs.

  If Allyson had been given any time at all to prepare for this, she’d have changed into running clothes and grabbed her air pods. Much easier to blend in at a park if she looked like she was working out. Not so much, dressed as a cop. So she found an out-of-the-way spot where she could watch and keep hidden.

  “I see something.” Niall’s words came through her earbud connected to the comms radio.

  Allyson had been surprised they even gave her one, but she figured it was a kind of insurance so they didn’t get hurt by something they didn’t know was going down. Rather than just to keep her in the loop.

  She heard Sal’s reply of, “Copy that.”

  Allyson stuck with Vanessa long enough she wondered if any of Kennowich’s men would even show. And then she heard someone behind her.

  Allyson turned, half assuming it was Sal.

  . . .

  Sal started to wonder if they would even show. He walked through the park, headed for the spot where Allyson was to locate cover and keep watch.

  Kennowich had to be motivated to find her. They’d put it out on the wires that the team needed extra police presence so Vanessa could get a walk. Like her getting to stretch her legs was a high priority.

  Not exactly standard procedure for the US Marshals on protection detail. He was mostly banking on the men believing that the marshals didn’t realize who they had. That this witness was far more valuable to Kennowich than the task force thought she was to them.

  The radio was quiet for long enough, Sal said, “Report.”

  “False alarm,” Niall said. “I’ve got eyes on the target. All clear so far.”

  Niall and Haley had set off a few minutes ago, jogging together through the park. Their assignment was to approach from the west. Get line of sight on Vanessa. The team would keep an eye from all angles.

  Up ahead, Sal spotted something on the side of the path. The sun had gone down hours ago—good cover for a witness to stretch her legs, but with the dim lamplight, he couldn’t see what it was.

  As he approached, he saw it take shape. “Contact. Man down.”

  He didn’t say more than that until he’d crouched by the man. Unconscious. Sal took in the state of his clothes and then reported in. “Maybe a homeless guy. He’s been hit over the head.”

  The man stirred.

  “Dazed, but he’s coming around.”

  Dakota replied then, asking for his position. He told her, and she said, “I’ll call an ambulance and relieve you to maintain pursuit.”

  “Copy that.”

  Sal didn’t like leaving the guy. Not even for the minute or two until Dakota could get there. But they were shorthanded. And this was too much of a coincidence.

  It might not make any sense that a random passerby had been attacked, but he and Dakota both knew how the other felt about coincidences. He continued to follow Vanessa’s predetermined path.

  Talia radioed in that all was still well. She had Vanessa in sight, watching from a network of cameras she had set up earlier in the evening.

  There was one person who hadn’t responded yet. “Special Agent Sanchez, report.”

  When she didn’t reply, he said, “Anyone got eyes on Ally?”

  He didn’t care what it sounded like, him using her nickname.

  Dakota replied. “She got out of the SUV. I don’t know where she went.”

  “Ally, check in.”

  He waited.

  “Agent Sanchez.”

  No response. He needed her to respond so that he could go to her and make sure she was all right.

  “Talia?”

  “I’m watching the target.”

  Which meant she couldn’t split her focus trying to find a trained federal agent. And he didn’t want her to take her eyes off Vanessa.

  Talia said, “Target is maintaining position. She hasn’t moved since she stopped. Not a great angle, but I can see her shoes by the tree like she sat down and put her back to it.”

  Good. He was glad that she was safe, and not just for Allyson’s sake. Allyson probably had eyes on her too. Maybe she wasn’t in a position to be able to make noise and give her location away. If only she’d reply, then he would know.

  “All of us are where we should be. And on comms,” Dakota said. “I mean, all of the task force team members.”

  Sal bit down on his back molars. He really needed to talk to them about this “us vs. them” mentality they had going on. Dakota should be ecstatically happy. She was getting married soon, so she should be busy. Or at least have too many other things to worry about than Allyson—where she was, and what she was doing.

  Sal passed a couple of regular folks and nodded to them. They reacted like he was a threat, picked up their pace and hustled on. He shook his head wondering when the world had forgotten basic manners. That was something he preferred about small town life. People might all know your business, but they also cared.

  He spotted two guys up ahead of him. Jeans and thick jackets. One had a ball cap. Their clothes could disguise weapons being carried. He couldn’t be sure if they were the men Vanessa had pointed out, given how far he was from them.

  He saw one motion to the other, though, and so picked up his pace to close the gap. Just in case.

  The two men headed for where Vanessa had been told to plant herself. Exactly where she should be. Like they knew precisely where she was sitting, even now.

  Before the two men could close in on her, Sal called out. He didn’t want them to get near her.

  The two men pulled guns even as they spun around. The second they spotted him, they opened fire.

  Sal dove to the ground and rolled. The impact jarred every joint in his body, but he got behind the cover of a trash can beside a bench.

  The men kept firing.

  He drew his weapon and waited for a chance to shoot back. They never stopped firing for even a second so he could lift up and squeeze one off. Pretty soon one of them would…

  There it was. The telltale click of an empty magazine.

  Sal lifted up, aimed and took a shot.

  The man moved at the last second, and Sal missed. If they kept this up, someone was going to get caught in the crossfire.

  He ducked back down as the shots started up again. They needed to box these guys in. Sal got on the radio. “Do the aquarium thing.”

  “Copy that,” Dakota replied, breathy from exertion.

  Josh said, “Copy.”

  Niall and Haley both replied as well. Niall would help, but Haley was headed to where Vanessa and Allyson should both be.

  Sal spoke a quick prayer for all of their safety. They had new team members since the aquarium, but he figured their significant others could explain what they’d done. Or they would get the idea fast.

  Sal lifted up a second time and managed to get off two shots. He caught one guy in the leg, and he went down.

  As he did, Sal spotted Niall and Josh creeping out with their guns drawn.

  “Police!”

  “Put it down! Put that gun down!”

  Together they arrested the men.

  “Target is on the move.”<
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  Sal glanced in the direction where she should be. “Haley?”

  “On it.” Her voice sounded breathy as well now.

  “Gun down!” Niall’s voice rang with an edge of frustration. He’d been laid out only a few days ago, left unconscious by men who had taken Talia. No concussion, thankfully. Just a bad headache.

  One of the men made a break for it. Sal chased the guy, but Dakota lifted one arm just as he closed in on her. The man slammed into her arm and she laid him out on the ground.

  When she flipped him and put a knee in his back in order to put on cuffs, she looked up. “Why do I always get the stupid ones?”

  “I need to find Allyson.”

  Sal walked away to check the spot where Vanessa was, walking faster than his body wanted to go considering that tuck and roll. On the way, he asked Haley for a sit rep.

  He saw her before she could reply, standing by a tree off in the grass. Their office manager saw him approach. “Vanessa is gone, and I don’t know where.”

  “Talia, where did she go?”

  Haley said, “I was just about to ask her that.”

  Talia replied. “To the northwest.”

  “By herself?”

  Haley shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Go after her.” Talia sounded mad.

  Sal knew she would do everything she could to get her back in their grasp. Not leave her to the gunmen.

  “What about Allyson?”

  “North side of the park.” Talia barked the word. “Now.”

  Sal took off running, Haley with him every step. She was actually faster than he was, but they only got there in time to see Vanessa and Allyson getting shoved into an SUV by three men.

  “Ally!”

  The van drove off before he could reach them.

  Chapter 11

  Allyson blinked and saw the linoleum floor. Both her arms were at funny angles, her shoulders bent back. She was moving.

  Or being moved.

  Legs dragging behind her, she was carried down a hall to a room. A house, like the one where they’d found Vanessa out back?

  Vanessa.

  The noise that emerged from her thick throat sounded guttural. Like she had strep…or like someone had smashed her throat. The tingling in her extremities told her she’d also been stunned.

  She blinked again, and the floor was different.

  One of the hands on her arms let go and her body tumbled. Thrown down. She rolled and the back of her shoulder hit the wall. Allyson let out a breath and another moan.

  The last she remembered, she’d been in the park.

  Told you all this was a bad idea.

  Too bad none of them were here for her to actually say, “I told you so.” And wasn’t that a crying shame? Allyson took a breath and tried to swallow. Her throat was swollen and painful.

  Allyson shifted to sit up. Twinges in various places caught her attention, but she wasn’t going to think about how she’d gotten them. Falling. Being thrown around. Landing on things that had been in her pockets, like her phone and the cred pack that held her badge. What had they done with her badge, tossed it away? That meant that at least these people knew exactly who she was—and that she wasn’t just Vanessa’s long lost friend.

  She splayed her fingers on the floor. They hurt like they’d been twisted the wrong way. As much as she could figure how it all played out, a punch to the throat, gun twisted out of her hands. They’d disarmed her fast, took her gun and phone, and tied her up. Subdued. By the way her pants looked, she’d been dragged to a vehicle and then driven here. And again dragged into this room.

  Dust and debris on the floor. Spider webs on the window. It looked like an abandoned house.

  This wasn’t good. She screamed at the voices in her head that said she would never be found. She doubted she would see her phone again, or that it was even in any condition anymore to track her. But she had to remember that Sal and his team would be looking for her—they were professionals and this is what they did. They found people. They made things right.

  Allyson tried to remember if Vanessa had been taken the same time she was. She thought she had. But why both of them? Hadn’t they only wanted her friend? It didn’t make sense that they grab her too, considering she was hidden away and watching. Surely it would have been easier to just take one of them.

  Unless there was a reason they needed Allyson as well.

  Her body shuddered. That was the only acknowledgment of the fear she allowed. There was no way she could fall apart right now. That wouldn’t help her figure out how to get out of here—or how to stay alive until someone came for her.

  Anger burned hot in her middle. That was good, it would help her focus. Keep her alert when someone came into the room and forced her to fight for her life. Dakota’s face flashed in her mind. That antagonistic tone, and those accusing eyes. All your fault. Allyson was happy to take the blame whenever, but what if this had been Dakota’s plan all along? She had wanted someone to be bait.

  Now she and Vanessa were both in danger and it was all his team’s fault.

  From far away, a sound ripped through the otherwise quiet. A woman. Screaming.

  Allyson’s whole body felt like it turned to stone. Was it Vanessa making that sound? If it was, then she was being tortured. Tears filled her eyes. Fear for herself, and for her friend. Allyson had told her she was going to protect her. Vanessa had felt better knowing Allyson had her back.

  The screaming stopped. Then, a minute or so later it started again.

  A sob worked its way up Allyson’s throat. She needed to keep it together. Like fighting back these tears instead of letting them fall while she wondered what they were doing to her friend. Hearing it was worse than seeing it. Then everything went quiet, and Allyson decided that silence was worse than screaming.

  A short time later, the door opened. A man entered, carrying with him a chair. His knuckles were bruised and bloody. Peter Tines, Kennowich’s head of security. She’d seen his picture back at the task force office. In real life he had a military bearing. A hard face that was craggy, with stubbled lines. Eyes that painted a picture of a man prepared to do anything. As if she couldn’t figure that out from the state of his hands.

  Peter set the chair down in the center of this otherwise empty room. Then he hauled her to it by her armpits and sat her down. Her hands were bound in front of her, but he did nothing to secure her to the chair.

  “Good.” She lifted her chin. “I have a few questions.”

  Peter Tines blinked, then laughed. It had a hollow sound to it.

  “First, I’d like to know that Vanessa is still alive.”

  “She is.” He answered the question, but it was in no way a concession.

  What state she was in was a different line of questioning entirely. “Is this what working for Kennowich is about?”

  He shrugs. “Pays the bills.”

  “I’m sure it does.” She didn’t want to pigeon hole him as a heartless ex-soldier. A mercenary. Maybe he had other sides to his personality, but she couldn’t see them right now. Maybe he had a cat that he loved more than anything, or he took care of his aging mother.

  Probably she would never know the answer to that.

  “What is Kennowich’s plan?”

  “You haven’t figured it out yet?” He almost looked disappointed in her. “I’d have thought you’d put the pieces together by now.”

  “I’m a little busy right now.” She tried not to let annoyance bleed into her tone at the idea that she should have been cleverer. She’d been taking care of her hurt friend. Excuse me for putting a person in front of the job for a few hours.

  She saw the tensing of his body. The shift of shoulders and hips that came before his fist to her face. She dipped her head to the side, too fast, which hurt even before he punched the side of it.

  Allyson blew out a breath.

  Then he hit her collar bone. Her sternum. A couple of punches later, he untucked his shirt. Everything
in her wrenched and her stomach threatened to deposit the last meal she’d eaten on the floor.

  But he just tore a strip of material from his undershirt and wrapped it around his hand.

  And kept hitting her.

  Not trying to get information out of her, it seemed he was just enjoying the chance to hit a woman. Two can play that game. It took a minute, but eventually he got in the right place. Allyson slammed her foot up into his crotch.

  Peter doubled over, laughing.

  Allyson spat blood on the floor. “Where’s the flash drive?”

  They had to have it. But why did they need her and Vanessa? Was this about luring the task force to them?

  How long was she going to have to wait until Sal showed up with the cavalry? Surely they saw the abduction, pursued the vehicle, and were even now outside. Ready to breach the house and get them back.

  Yeah, right.

  Still, Allyson was ready for help to come. If it was coming.

  She just prayed it wouldn’t end up a trap.

  . . .

  Nothing. That was what they had.

  Sal paced the spot in front of the coffee pot. It brewed its second pot in the last hour. That was how long Allyson and Vanessa had been gone. Hours. Not minutes. Every one of those minutes felt like years of his life.

  All night he’d been trying to find them.

  He grabbed the edge of the counter and leaned forward. It would look like he was trying to stretch the muscles in his back, but anyone watching would know the truth.

  He was at the end of himself. Despite running after them, Allyson and her friend were gone. He’d been about to do it, too. Just take off in a run down the middle of the street in pursuit of the vehicle, like some dog chasing a car. But before he could set off, Josh had pulled him back.

  Sal had told Neema to go after her.

  Josh and Dakota, both with him by then, had looked at him like he was crazy, before Dakota explained, “That’s not a command.”

  When he made a move to run again, she’d grabbed his arm. “She’s gone.”