Harness called him within two or three minutes of Ladder’s call to base. “Whassup, Ladder? You just caught me, I’m about to go off duty.”
Ladder explained. When he finished, he added, “Doc is on her way. Base is sending an ambulance. Can you get here, too?”
“Can I? Absolutely. I’m on my way. If the guy wakes up, kick him again. Or at least, use his gun to keep him subdued. I’m no more than five minutes away.”
Ladder leaned against the side of his pickup for support as his adrenaline rush eased. His knees were shaking. He had often been bullied, taunted, and his step-uncle had often threatened to hit him; however, this was the first time he’d been physically attacked, and the first time he’d used his training for real. He sat on the bottom of the pickup’s door sill as his legs gave way. In the distance he could hear sirens. His assailant had not moved.
Kelsi arrived seconds before either Harkness or the ambulance. She slammed her car door and rushed over to Ladder.
“Are you all right?” She looked down at her colleague, still seated on the door rim. She ignored the unconscious body on the ground.
Ladder tried to laugh. “My legs gave way. Apart from that, I’m okay.”
“Let me check. Here, stand up.” Kelsi helped him to gain his feet. “No pain? No bruises? Some shock?”
“I’m all right, Doc. He tried to hit me. I hit him. Hard. He’s probably got sore testicles, a dislocated elbow, and possible concussion, if not a fracture.”
Kelsi straightened Ladder’s T-shirt and patted his shoulder. “When you break out, you really do it, huh? I’m pleased it’s not you on the ground. You can walk?”
“Sure. I think.”
“Here’s the lieutenant and the ambulance.” She waved and the two vehicles edged closer, their lights adding to the parking lot illumination.
Harkness reached them first. “Well, Ladder, what have you been up to?”
“I told you. Oh, here’s his gun. He hasn’t moved.” He handed over his assailant’s weapon.
The police lieutenant squatted beside the unconscious body. “He has a pulse. It’s weak. Ladder, you must have whacked him really good.”
Ladder looked at Harkness. “I—I’m not in trouble, am I?”
“No, he attacked you, and you defended. He had a handgun. You were unarmed, in fear of your life. We’ll charge him once he recovers. We’ll get a statement from you, of course. Remind me not to tangle with you in future, though.” The lieutenant’s smile took the sting out of his words.
Kelsi and Ladder watched as the two paramedics rolled the gurney with their patient to the ambulance. Harkness accompanied the paramedics; he would follow their vehicle to the hospital. He told Ladder he would organize a police guard until the assailant was recovered enough to move to the Redmont jail. Ladder would have to return to the police station where Harkness would take his statement.
“What now, Ladder?” asked Kelsi, after the others had departed.
“First, I’ll go give my statement. I need to eat. After that, home. Although—” He stopped. Half-formed plans to drive to Boston drifted into his mind. He’d first need to collect some clothes from his home. He had to find Alex and tell Anna and possibly General Schmidt about this attack. The words his assailant had used—he thought they might be Arabic. Perhaps the men who had attacked Alex were not Russian, but instead, had ties to the Middle East.
“Although?”
“Ah, nothing. I was thinking aloud.” Perhaps he could learn more about Cerberus if he went to Boston.
When Ladder reached Boston, he parked around the corner in a side street next to the apartment building where he knew he’d find Alex and her friends. He checked his watch and decided 4:00 a.m. was far too early to visit. He curled up on the worn seat of the pickup and tried to relax. His mind was full, jumping from the assault, concerns about the condition of his assailant, worries about his new friends and their safety, Cerberus, and back again until finally he drifted off into a restless sleep.
Chapter 26
Alex stirred and raised her head off her pillow, listening. She was sharing a bed with Gabrielle.
“Go back to sleep,” her friend muttered. “You’re safe with us.”
“Listen—can’t you hear?”
Gabrielle sat up. “Hear what.” She yawned.
“I think it’s Ladder. He’s here in Boston. He’s worried about me—us.”
The two girls were silent for a minute, intent, focused.
“Let me get Niland. He might know—” Gabrielle padded out of their bedroom in her PJs and extra large socks and returned with a yawning Niland.
“Problem?”
“Alex thinks she can hear Ladder, that he’s come to Boston because he’s concerned about us.”
“Be quiet, and we’ll see.”
Silence fell on the three children. A minute later Niland said, “We’d better get dressed. I think he’s in danger. Gab, go wake Anna, we need her advice.”
Anna joined them a few minutes later; she was trying to suppress a yawn. She looked at the group of children, all dressed in their day clothes and with worried expressions.
“Niles said you think Ladder’s in danger?” Anna yawned again. “It’s only four-thirty.”
Gabrielle said, “Alex thought she heard Ladder. Now we all think we can hear him. He’s nearby. We want your advice. What should we do?”
“It could be your imagination.”
“That’s why we woke you.”
“Hmm. Very well. Join hands. Let’s see what we can hear.”
The three children and Anna joined hands, forming a small circle. The formation was more for comfort than necessity. The children followed Anna’s lead, relaxing, focusing on the lab technician. After five minutes Anna released her grip and shook her arms.
“Alex, you’re correct. I’ll phone Schmidt. Niland, call our FBI contact. Gabrielle, you call Winter Security’s control room. Ladder definitely is nearby. He was involved in some kind of altercation in Redmont and he was followed here, to Boston, by people trying to locate us.”
Alex watched and listened as the calls were made. Schmidt apparently was awake and working. He instructed Anna that no one should leave the apartment until additional security was in place. He added that he would be in Boston by late morning, accompanied by a team from the 145th. Niland had to make a series of phone calls to contact the FBI agent; he had been on late shift and was not at all pleased to be woken until he realized who was calling. He promised to have a small Cerberus team at the apartment within half an hour. Winter Security promised a similar response and also would alert their security guard in the building lobby.
Alex hugged Anna after the phone calls had been made. Anna held her close. She placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. She asked, “What was that for?”
“It’s so nice to be with family.”
Anna wrapped her arms around Alex. “We all agree about that. Now, either back to bed or have an early breakfast—what’s the vote?”
“None of us would be able to go back to sleep,” said Gabrielle.
“Breakfast,” said Niland and Alex, together.
“I agree. Come on, you can all help me.”
###
Schmidt called Maeve Donnelly. He knew she was an early morning person and probably would be working on her ever-present and growing collection of Cerberus files. He’d told her she needed to delegate and her response was that she would, once she was familiar with all of the Cerberus operations, which she had informed him, apparently ranged from marine piracy protection contracts to US embassy protection assignments to parental care teams for Cerberus children plus possibly as yet unknown espionage or surveillance activities. She’d said she hoped all the Cerberus activities were legal; at least she had uncovered nothing to suggest people were engaged otherwise. She had added she also needed to find someone capable.
“Morning, Maeve,” Schmidt said.
“What are you doing, call
ing at this hour and sounding so cheerful?”
“I’m always cheerful.” He ignored the response. “I had a call from Anna. A lab technician they met in Redmont apparently has traveled to Boston. As far as they can determine, he was involved in an assault of some kind and decided he should warn Anna and the children they were in danger. The children say he was followed to Boston. They are all are concerned for his safety and think the assault on Ladder was an attempt to discover their location. They’ve contacted the FBI—one of your Cerberus people—and also alerted Winter Security. I’m heading to Boston, too, with a team from the 145th.”
“Any idea who the people are?”
“I suspect they’re involved with the men who killed Leary, that Redmont police officer.”
Maeve said, “You’re probably correct. I’m surprised Linda hasn’t picked up social traffic on this.”
“Likewise. I’ll brief her while I’m traveling. I’ll keep you informed. I’ll be in Boston for a day or two, if you need anything.”
“If you need more Cerberus resources to help, let me know.”
“Good. Anything more on Mark?” Schmidt was growing more and more concerned; they had not yet established the flight plan of the aircraft they suspected had been used to fly Mark on to his final destination. He wanted that location.
“I’m meeting the team at eight this morning to see if we have any new data. I’ll send you an update.”
Schmidt ended the call. He had arranged a car and driver to take him to Dulles International where he and his MP team could catch a scheduled commercial flight to Boston, and it was time for him to leave. He flinched at the recollection triggered by the thought of the flight—one exploding aircraft was enough for any sensible person.
###
Linda Schöner’s internal danger alarm did not alert her until she realized the Uber driver was not following her normal route to the office. Her departure was an hour earlier than she normally scheduled, and the driver had told her that her usual driver was not available because he had an early booking. It seemed a valid reason. She was reviewing overnight emails and messages and looked up as the car halted abruptly at a traffic intersection.
“This is the wrong way,” she said to the driver. She felt her pulse start to race. The lights turned green and the car moved forward.
“Short cut.” He was Asian, she thought, possibly Indian, and he spoke with a heavy accent.
Her alarm bells were now ringing loudly. Linda folded her Microsoft Surface and opened her briefcase. She carefully stowed the computer, and as she did, she pressed the panic button on the small communication device stitched into the side of the briefcase. Her rescue team would be with her within a minute or two. She reached for the door handle. The door was locked. She pressed the button to lower the window. Nothing happened. Apparently it was locked, too.
“Stop here,” she instructed the driver. “I need to get my coffee.”
“Cannot stop. No parking here.”
The traffic lights at the next intersection turned red and the driver again braked abruptly. As the Uber vehicle stopped, a man dashed from a vehicle in the adjacent lane, opened the front passenger side door and sat in the seat. He turned and smiled at Linda. His expression sent a shiver down her spine. She did not recognize the man and realized he was not from her protection team.
“Driver,” she said, raising her voice. “Unlock my door, now.”
The front passenger said. “Sorry, ma’am. Someone wants to speak to you. I think he has a complaint to make.”
The driver accelerated when the lights changed and other vehicles moved forward. Two hundred yards or so past the intersection a vehicle suddenly changed lanes to take a position in front of the Uber car. She sensed another vehicle making a similar move in the rear.
The driver cursed. “Fucking rude drivers. No signals, and they’re far too close—”
His sentence was cut off as the front vehicle braked suddenly. The second vehicle made soft contact with the rear of the car. The Uber driver cursed again as he was forced to stop. The passenger drew a weapon from under his jacket; however, before he could complete the maneuver, Linda had her weapon out and pressed against the back of his head.
“I don’t know who you are and I don’t care if I spread your brains across the front of the car. Drop your gun.”
Two men exited the vehicle in front and two came from the vehicle behind. They had weapons drawn. One man opened the driver side door and grabbed the driver and pulled him out onto the road. Another man did the same for the front passenger. They stood over their victims, their attitude threatening. A third man opened Linda’s rear-side door, leaned in, and said, “Miss Schöner, 145th to the rescue.” He had a broad smile on his face. “I’m Sergeant Vendel—we were at the restaurant—”
“Thank you.” She returned her handgun to her briefcase. “Yes, I recognize you, Sergeant.” She indicated the men on the road. “They definitely were abducting me. If someone could drive me to the office?” She was surprised her hands were steady. She took a deep breath.
“Certainly, Miss Schöner. I’ll drive you. My team will continue as your escort, in case these guys have a back-up plan. Our guys will find out more; these two are now our prisoners and we’ve got a van for them. I’ll be interested to hear what they have to say when we get them to Camp Brewer.”
A police car, apparently alerted by the traffic build-up caused by her rescue team’s efforts, stopped alongside the front vehicle. A policeman got out of his car and cautiously approached.
Sergeant Vendel straightened and said, “Officer, we’re MPs from the 1145th Battalion, based at Camp Brewer. This is an Army matter. We’ll clean up here and be on our way in two minutes.” He held his Army ID for the police officer to examine.
The officer looked dubious. “You guys don’t normally get involved in civilian activities.”
“These men are deserters. We were escorting Miss Schöner and they attempted to abduct her. Clear cut task for us.”
The officer was not inclined to argue. The two prisoners were already handcuffed. An Army van had pulled alongside, and uniformed MPs had the rear door open and were boarding the prisoners as he watched. The escort team members had returned to their vehicles and were ready to leave. He looked at Vendel and said, “All right, Sergeant. Try not to stop traffic next time. Get out of here.” He returned to his vehicle, signaling for the convoy to move.
Vendel climbed into the driver’s seat and said, “We’re fortunate he didn’t ask for vehicle details. I’ve no idea who’s the owner of this. We’ll sort that out after we get you to your office.”
Linda leaned back. She’d had enough excitement for the day. She sent a message to Maeve Donnelly that she was running late.
Chapter 27
Ladder woke from a deep although dream-disturbed sleep when a police officer tapped on his driver side window. He wound the window down. The officer had parked his motorcycle two yards away. Ladder tried to hide his nervousness.
“Yes, officer?”
“This parking lane is designated no parking after 6:00 a.m. It becomes a full-flowing traffic lane. You have ten minutes to leave. However, as a special favor, there’s no ticket, not even a warning, this morning. By the way, your FBI friends said to make your way to this address—turn left, left again, and then right. It’s a tall apartment building called Essington Towers, about a hundred yards after that last turn. You’ll be allowed to enter the underground parking section; this is your entry authority. Someone will be waiting for you. Park your pickup when you’re on the second level. Understand? If anyone’s watching you here, they’ll think I handed you a ticket, so pretend to sign your acknowledgment on this form; it contains the address. You’ll be safe. A security firm is also watching out for you.”
Ladder’s hand shook as he pretended to sign a form. He folded the sheet of paper that the police officer handed to him. He waited until the officer mounted his motorcycle and rode off. He started the pickup�
�s engine. Ladder carefully drove down the narrow street, following the directions he’d been given. He tried to stop his hands from shaking. He checked; however, no one appeared to be tracking him.
Perhaps he should have stayed in Redmont. If his attacker from the evening before had friends, and they followed him, perhaps he had placed Alex and Anna and her two children at risk. It would be better if he simply returned home. Too many what ifs, he decided, and pushed away his panic-driven worries. He continued to follow the directions.
The parking attendant raised the barrier at the entrance to the parking levels of Essington Towers, and Ladder drove down to the second level. He parked in a far corner of the area marked for visitor parking and exited his pickup. He debated silently with himself for a moment and then grabbed his backpack and closed and locked the vehicle door. There was an arrow pointing to the elevators and he headed in that direction.
A woman stepped out from beside a large SUV, a Suburban. Ladder jumped in fright and was tempted to head the other way. The woman smiled and said. “Ladder—or should I say Oxley? There’s no need to be concerned. I’m an FBI agent—my name’s Renshaw. Here’s my ID and badge.” She held out her wallet, open, with her badge displayed.
Ladder examined the ID card, giving it the same degree of attention he’d given to the ID submitted by Agent Prentice. He said, “Thank you, Agent Renshaw.”
“Good. Come with me.” She returned to the SUV and opened the rear door. The windows were heavily tinted. The agent said, “Hop in.”
“We’re not going here?” Ladder indicated the elevator bank, fifty yards away.
Agent Renshaw laughed. “No, we still don’t know if you were followed or whether there is a tracking device on your car. We’ll get it checked for you and make sure it’s clean. We’re close to Anna and the children. They’re only a few blocks away. Come on, hop in.”
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