by Rick Murcer
Manny felt his pulse rise a bit more, fed by the uneasy silence while his crew absorbed his logic. Verbalizing his profile convinced him about how right he was. And there was more to come.
Chloe’s voice rose through his earpiece. “Manny, you said three things. Braxton and I have seen some of what you’re talking about. What else?”
“It’s simple. The killer and the partner, given the lack of mistakes, right down to leaving no traceable evidence, leads me to believe they are mission driven. That’s obvious by their patterns and what drives them to be more than meticulous.”
“That doesn’t sound so simple,” said Josh.
“Like I said, they are bright to accomplish what they did here and their planning for the situation proves it. Again, based on what we can see here, and my research of these kinds of people, I think they’re very mission minded and would rather die than get caught.
Taking a step closer to his team, he paused before speaking again, making sure he was ready to say what he had to say.
But I’m right about this last detail.
“Listen, what clinches it for me is the fact that they showed up here, I believe, with what looks like a large sum of money or gems or whatever, that they never really were going to relinquish.”
“Shit,” said Sophie. “The trifecta you always talk about.”
“Yes. These people have all of the components necessary to make a splash that can put this country on notice, if that’s what they’re up to. They are extremely motivated to control an outcome, whatever the reason. Plus, they are smart and have money,” said Manny.
“I get your line of tinkin’,” said Braxton.
“Good. There’s one more thing that should scare the hell out of us.”
“I’m already thinking about a change of underwear, so . . . what else?” asked Sophie.
“We don’t have a clue, yet, as to who they are or what they want,” said Manny.
Josh nodded. “Sophie’s right about being afraid of what might be next. I’m there too. I also hate like hell what you just said. We really don’t know these people. That fact leads me to the other thing we have to discuss.”
“What would that be?” asked Manny.
“Well, I’ve already told Barb and Braxton and Chloe and Alex and they are aboard.”
“Oh yeah, the last to know. Great,” said Sophie.
“Get to it, Josh. We’ve got to get back to the jet and see what Alex has for us,” said Manny.
His boss and friend raised his hands, palms up. “I hate to do this, but we’re doing what we have to do. I’m splitting the ACTU into two teams.”
CHAPTER-13
Lucretia reached for the chrome handle of the Chevy, flinched in pain as she grabbed her side, then gingerly piled into the front seat.
“Is it done?” he asked. “I wasn’t able to see after she went down.”
“No. We need to leave, now.”
She saw the mild surprise in his face. It reeked of disapproval. God in heaven, she hated that look and what it meant. She, for one, had endured enough of that scathing glower as a child growing up with an asshole father and overbearing mother. She didn’t need it from him. Especially him.
For one brief, almost undetectable moment, she wanted to shoot him directly between those lovely dark eyes. Exactly as she had her own daddy dearest those years ago. Then her mother.
What would she do then? Whatever she wanted, she supposed, but in her own way, she loved this man, this Rhodes, and not having him near her would cause her more pain than the temporary satisfaction of blowing that infuriating expression from his face.
Another sharp pain ran up and down her side, returning her to the reality of the moment.
“We can talk about this now and be interrogated by the police or get the hell out of here and discuss what transpired while you take me to a hospital to see how badly I’m shot. Your choice,” she said.
His eyes darted to her side, then back to her face, giving rise to an enchanting smile. “I see you didn’t care for my reaction to the fact that the woman cop is still breathing. I think you are angry. Angry enough to hurt me?”
“Of course I am. You know me inside and out. The fact that you are still breathing means I love you more than myself. Do we stay or go?”
“I think we’ll pursue the latter,” he said.
Shifting the car into drive, he sped up the street, banked hard to the left, and a moment later entered the ramp leading to I-10 west toward the airport.
She watched as he glanced into the rearview mirror. He repeated that action a moment later.
“It appears we made it out of the neighborhood without a police escort.”
“Good,” she said.
Her voice sounded far away, even to her. She raised her hand to her face, fresh blood covering her hand, the coppery scent thick in the air.
“Does it hurt?”
She nodded. As she did, her eyes lost focus.
“What happened back there? Obviously you were shot, but how?”
Drawing in a fresh breath helped to clear her head. “She saw me coming, but that wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t stepped into a rut on the street. She dove, and I missed her with the first shot. I hit her with the second one, the shoulder I think, then she fired three at me. I was hit with the second one. I started after her, but what must have been her partner showed up, and I decided I didn’t have enough focus to kill them both.”
“So he saw you too?”
“I don’t think so. I turned and ran first. Maybe, though.”
She reached up with her other hand and pulled off the blond wig. “Even if he had, they saw a different shade of hair, not my true hair color.”
“I see. Great thinking on your part, as always.”
There was another rush of searing pain as she swore she felt the bullet move deeper into her side, touching her rib. She leaned her head back against the headrest, fighting the nausea and lightheadedness.
“I need a doctor, Mister Rhodes. I’m losing blood faster than that time in Miami,” she whispered.
“I can see that. Fortunately, we have a friend in Luling who could patch you up.”
“Good. Let’s get there.”
She leaned back into the seat, grateful for the man who looked out for her as she did for him.
They were a perfect team.
The intent for each of them, the true purpose for why they were alive, had only cemented the bond they had formed. New Orleans, and then the rest of world, would soon discover how true that bond was. It didn’t hurt that their relationship was fulfilling in so many other ways. She even loved the sound of his smooth, deep voice. It gave her comfort and—
“Fortunately, we have a friend in Luling who could patch you up.”
Could patch her up?
Her eyes flew open as she reached for the Beretta in her pocket.
***
Poor Lucretia. She’d made one mistake too many.
Despite his affection for her, no one could be allowed to endanger his true mission. Not to mention, her wound had taken away her sharpness. In fact, he might conclude, she wasn’t sharp to get herself shot in the first place.
He watched her as he reached into his shirt pocket.
In a normal state of mind, she would have had her weapon resting uncomfortably in his right ear by now. But she wasn’t herself. Throw in the murderous look she had tossed his way when she got into the car, and he could no longer assume the best from her. That fact, more than any other, would cost her.
Pity.
His companion’s eyes flew open while her left hand searched her jacket pocket.
With the speed his previous training had honed, he thrust the blade deep into her neck and twisted.
Her eyes grew wider, then unhurriedly rolled up into her head. Her body convulsed twice before slumping into her seat.
“Goodbye, my love. You’ll not be forgotten,” he whispered.
CHAPTER-14
Manny settle
d into the front passenger seat of the black SUV, getting his mind around the last few minutes and Josh’s new twist on what was coming next for the ACTU. He couldn’t help reflecting on an old idea that a house divided was doomed to fall. Then again, another one said to play the hand you were dealt. Something he understood all too well.
A moment later, Sophie threw open the driver’s door and hopped in, her face contorted, reflecting the way Manny’s guts were feeling.
“What the hell does that actually mean for us?” she said.
“Good question. Just hang tight while I think it through a little more. I will say that splitting us up into two teams allows us to cover more leads.”
Sophie started the vehicle, the air conditioning going to work immediately to help alleviate the heat inside the vehicle and, to an extent, the heat building inside Manny.
“I get that. We’ve been around a couple of blocks ourselves, but this terrorism take is a little different than playing games with some of the sick bastards we’ve dealt with in the past,” she answered.
“It is. It’ll help to have Alex still doing the data analysis for us, plus Josh said he’s bringing in Belle Simmons to help. She should be here in a couple of hours.”
“I don’t know how he pulled that off, but we’ll take it.”
“He said she’s got no real caseload yet for the BAU, so she’s coming here,” said Manny. “But if she gets a case, she’s gone. This isn’t her deal.”
“So Braxton and Barb and Chloe go with Josh. That’s okay. He’s right in keeping you and Chloe away from each other, like Barb and Alex, in case something happens,” said Sophie.
She hesitated, no doubt recalling how awful the inference that “something happens” could mean. Another reminder of Dean’s absence. His strong friend regained her composure.
“Still, I’d like to have someone with experience on this team dealing with these terrorist psychos,” she said, her hand tightening on the steering wheel.
Sophie had two good points. No need to leave Ian and Jen alone in this world if both Chloe and he were killed. And as far as splitting the unit, Josh’s idea was sort of six of one and a half dozen of the other.
Josh had said that one team shouldn’t be hampered by old methods and ideas used in fighting domestic terrorism. A fresh look and untainted analysis might bring better results in finding these two killers, if there were only two. Something Josh had been preaching since before they’d left Lansing. Manny agreed with that; thus, by adding Belle, for however long that was, three of them would be more likely to do a better job profiling and following unconventional leads. And who wouldn’t want Alex sifting through the immense data available to them?
That form of logic made sense, if nothing else applied in Josh’s decisions regarding each team’s make-up. Yet, rookies might be prone to rookie mistakes.
“We’ll manage, Sophie. We’ll just have to get Alex’s butt more involved.”
She looked at him and offered a wry smile. “He’ll hate that. Less time to eat and all.”
“You know, the one thing I like about these communication earpieces is that I can almost hear you think. Both of you,” said Alex, his voice as clear as the proverbial bell in Manny’s head.
“Hey, Alex,” said Manny.
“Oh, we forgot you were there, Dough Boy,” Sophie said. “So, what am I thinking now?”
“You’re wondering how a man like me, who was born with so many talents to go along with his rugged good looks, would put up with your crap. My own general thoughts here on top of this new development? I think you’re both a little nuts.”
“What? Us? Did you pass the last part of the annual psych exam? The part about having hallucinations and delusions? You’re messed up.”
“Could be. But it’s not me. You do know I can turn whomever I want on and off this communication system with just a little flick of a switch? If I don’t want people to hear the crap coming from your lips. And yes, by the way, I passed with flying colors. I did hear you had trouble passing the drug test though, right?”
“Damn right. I got the tech to overlook it though. He likes Asians with big knockers.”
Alex sighed. “I didn’t chime in to talk about your knockers.”
Had Alex smiled through that sigh? Manny thought so. Alex would continue to do what he could, in his own way, to help keep Sophie’s mind from focusing on losing Dean. He suspected she knew that.
True friends were always friends, no matter what came out of their mouths.
“You know about the team split, obviously,” said Manny.
“I do. I think Josh has a good idea, and I wouldn’t sweat the lack-of-experience thing. They don’t have what we have, so it will be a good balance. And it’s not like the eight of us will be out of reach if we truly need something done.”
“All true. Okay, enough about that. Let’s get to work. We were on the way to see what you’ve come up with, but the fact that you’re talking to us means you’ve got some more info.”
“See, that’s why you make all of that money. You’re right, sort of. I don’t have any real hits on any of the people in the warehouse. Some general Google references, but nothing that puts us ahead of this game. Still nothing on the woman.”
“That’s unusual about the woman, right?” asked Sophie.
“It is. With the search we’re doing, she should have had some sort of facial recognition or imaging system pop up from public security cameras or traffic videos somewhere in this shrinking world. We’ll keep trying. If nothing else, I suspect we’ll have something from CODIS or AIFAS with her DNA and fingerprints. Still, it’s odd.”
“Have we gotten in touch with the NOPD about interviewing Detective Brooks? She’s probably clean, but we need to talk to her about her husband,” said Manny.
“I left a message for her captain a few minutes ago, so we should have that set up soon.”
“Good. What else?” asked Manny.
“We’ve got a boatload of financial information compiled into separate categories that will help us figure out where these folks banked and how they deposited money to go along with credit-card transactions. But I’ll admit, I suspect those will probably be unhelpful. People like these don’t use credit cards unless they think they can mask the transactions. Again, the exception will probably be Daryl Brooks. So far, he doesn’t seem to have anything to hide, from what I can see.”
“All good points. That line of thinking should help us see who they dealt with online and via the public, but what about private cash transactions?” asked Manny.
“I’d need a crystal ball for that, buddy. But we can trace withdrawals and deposits to locations around the country and cross-reference them to see if there are any criminal events within a day or two of those transactions. Who knows? We might hit something. Again, I’m concentrating on these five and Detective Brooks.”
“That’s as good a start as any. I have a couple ideas myself. We’ll talk about those when we get back to the jet. I don’t want to get too deep though until Belle gets here. She’ll have some thoughts we won’t want to ignore.”
“Got it. But we won’t be using the jet for a control center. That’s changed. It seems they might need the plane for other things, like flying to other crime sites, something like that. So, to let you know, this data and info center, computers and all, will be moving to a private room at the New Orleans field office. I’ve sent you the address. I should be there in thirty minutes or so.”
“Makes sense. See you soon,” said Manny.
Sophie looked at Manny. “About time I got to drive down here. It’s on.”
She reached for the shift lever just as the rear door swung open. Josh leaned inside the SUV, excitement radiating from his face.
“I need you to go to Tulane Medical Center. We might have caught a break in this thing.”
“What? How?” asked Manny.
“Amy Brooks was shot this morning. She’s okay, but she got a look at her attacker.”
“Get out,” said Sophie.
“What?” asked Josh, a puzzled look on his face.
“Get out of Dodge, and then get the hell out of this vehicle. We got shit to do.”
The door barely thumped shut before she slammed the vehicle into drive, the smell of burning rubber wafting through the warm Louisiana air.
CHAPTER-15
The cold ambience of the cell extended far past the lifeless steel, tiled floor, and accompanying off-white walls and ceiling. That cold dove deep inside Anna Ruiz’s heart and captured what remained of the biggest single thing that gave her a reason for getting out of bed each morning.
Hope.
Hope that, one day, all of this would be behind her. What she’d done for most of her adult life would somehow dissolve into some abyss and never return.
Hope that her previous actions wouldn’t rise up and dance through her mind as she ate, wouldn’t invade her very soul while she did something as simple as read.
Never mind the unspeakable haunting as she slept, tossing and turning until the nightmares caused her another life-sucking, sleepless night.
Hell, she wasn’t safe while she sat on the john. There was no escape from her past. Despite it all, she held tight to the notion that she might have an opportunity at redemption, knowing full well how slim those opportunities might be. Still, she held on.
Violent killers, even those who had gone through the wondrous epiphany she had, as rare as that was, would always remain untrusted. Always. She got that. She understood. Monsters of any ilk were nonetheless monsters.
She moved from her bed and walked over to the six-inch-thick, bulletproof glass that escorted the sunlight into her cell. Not everyone in the Florence ADMAX Super Prison got access to this light. Only those who behaved well, whatever that criteria embodied. She was pretty sure it wasn’t formally written that she have sex with a few of the guards for favors, but sometimes a girl had to do what she had to do in order to get what she wanted.
Pressing her face against the warm glass, she closed her eyes and smiled. It felt wonderful, in deep contrast to the cold cell.