Noble Intentions: Season Three
Page 27
The orange blaze cast unnatural light and shadows over and around them.
“Are you OK?” Jack said again.
“I’m OK,” Alex said.
Sasha rolled over to her side. She managed to get to her knees, then reached to Jack for assistance. He pulled her up, steadied her. She stood for a moment, then stumbled into him, and they stood for a moment in a tight embrace. The heat from the fire was intense. Sweat trickled down his face, came to a rest and pooled with hers at the spot where their cheeks melted together.
The fire crackled. Wood groaned as it bowed and snapped like matchsticks.
“Let’s get to the front,” Alex said.
Sasha pulled back. Jack slipped an arm under hers and around her back. She leaned toward him for support. They followed Bear and Alex, at first away from the house, then toward the street. Jack glanced back. The fire rose maybe fifty feet into the air at times.
Mason stood in the middle of the street, stared at the blaze. His blank expression told Jack the man was in shock. Or a great actor.
“Where’s Jon?” Alex said.
“Don’t see him,” Sasha said.
Jack scanned the area. Didn’t see any sign of the man. With everything that had occurred, it would be a blow to Alex to lose his closest confidant and best friend.
They stood in the middle of the street, each staring off in a different direction. Alex called for Jon several times. The fire responded with hisses and crackles.
“There he is.” Bear pointed to the other side of the street. Jon had been lying in the ditch and had just stood. Either he had the wherewithal to dive into it when the explosion happened, or he had been thrown there.
Alex took off toward Jon.
Jack, Bear and Sasha went to Mason, pulled him away from the house. From what Jack could tell, there were no other survivors.
“What happened in there?” Jack said.
Mason shook his head, said nothing. Jack wondered if the man could think through the shock.
“Did you see anything, Mason?” he said.
“I…” The man paused. “Need some water.”
Sasha slung her pack around and pulled out a bottle of water, handed it over.
Mason took a long drink, then emptied the remaining contents over the top of his head. He dropped the bottle and stared at it while it rolled toward the ditch.
“Mason,” Jack said.
Mason looked up, nodded. “We stormed the house. I located Naseer, fired a warning shot. That was the first shot as far as I know. I had heard from the team in the field a moment before, and they were ready to take out the PAT.”
Jack nodded, said nothing.
“After I fired, all hell broke loose. Naseer ducked into a room. Yafi and Samir fled to the back of the house. We pursued. Two targets were eliminated, and Naseer was alive, as requested.”
“Then what happened?”
“I began preparations to transport Naseer, and then, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Mason looked down, closed his eyes. His hands balled into fists and shook in front of him. He turned in a half-circle. “I turned around, and he was standing there.” Mason’s right arm lifted and he extended his index finger.
“Naseer?” Jack said.
“Yeah.”
“Was he armed?”
“Kind of.”
“How is someone kind of armed?”
“No gun. Explosives strapped to his body.”
“Why would a billionaire blow himself up?” Sasha said.
Mason shrugged. “I don’t know if that was his intention. I think maybe he was trying to leave. He said something to that effect.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that he wasn’t afraid to use the device. He was prepared to die. He wanted to know who the leader was and then he was going to take them with him. Otherwise, he threatened to use the device.”
“And he followed through with the threat,” Jack said.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Then what happened?”
“My guy shot him.”
“Who?” Sasha said.
Mason cocked his head, said, “Naseer.”
“Which guy shot Naseer?” Jack said.
“Oh, Kemp. Ben Kemp.”
Jack looked at Sasha. She nodded, understanding Jack wanted to know if they’d been watching Kemp.
“Did he kill him?” Jack said.
“In the end, yeah.”
“Meaning?”
“It was a bad shot. Fatal, but not instant. He rushed it. Naseer fell back. He looked down, saw the severity of the injury. He closed his eyes and then started, I don’t know, chanting or something. I couldn’t understand what the heck he said. That’s when I came on the radio and started yelling for people to get out. Then Naseer, he opened his eyes and locked on to me. He grinned. He held out his hand, lifted his thumb over what I guess was the device trigger. I didn’t stick around long enough to see him set it off. I was maybe ten feet outside the house when it happened. The blast knocked me into the air. I remember flying and then crashing. I came to on the street there.”
Mason lifted his arm. The flesh had been torn from his right forearm and hand. Jack glanced down and noticed the man’s pants were shredded below the knee. He nodded toward Bear, and the big man guided Mason across the road.
Jack and Sasha walked down the street, away from the house, into the dark.
“What do you make of that?” Jack said.
Sasha rubbed the side of her head, blinked hard. She reached out and grabbed Jack’s forearm. Her touch felt cool.
“You OK?” he said.
She nodded. “Yeah, just a little dizzy now and then.”
“We’ve got to get you checked out. You might have a concussion.”
She smiled slightly. “I’m sure I have a concussion, and I’m not getting checked out, not after all this. There’s no time.”
Jack said nothing.
“What do I make of it?” she said. “We have a directive to take Naseer alive, but he comes out in a jacket made of explosives with a threat to blow the place up if they don’t let him go. I’m thinking that Mason’s goal would have been to stall, buy some time by talking to Naseer. Worst case, go with him and let us do what we do best. We had the road blocked on either end, he wouldn’t get far. But then Naseer gets shot, fatal but not immediate. And then the house explodes.”
Jack nodded, said nothing.
“I don’t like it, Jack. Not one damn bit.”
Jack looked past her, toward the man. Mason stared at the blaze. His face lacked expression. Did that indicate guilt or shock?
He said, “You think Mason shot him then detonated the device?”
She said, “I’m not saying he didn’t. And it’s not our place to find out. Despite what Jon did on the way out here, we have people dedicated to questioning our agents. Jon shouldn’t have stopped in the woods and questioned him. Especially not at gunpoint. That was unscripted. You know that right?”
“I could tell.”
She shook her head. “I could have slapped him for that. It’s just like him, getting hot-headed and doing something stupid. Maybe if he hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be standing out here while six of our men roast in there.”
“Again, assuming that Mason had something to do with this, and that it was Jon’s actions that drove him to it.”
“Jack, can you honestly say that he didn’t have anything to do with this?”
“No, I can’t. But I’m not ready to tie him to the stake just yet.”
He heard the faint sound of sirens. They grew louder. Blue lights bounced off the trees. The fire engine stopped in front of the house and five men went to work unwinding the giant fire hose. Jack left Sasha to deal with the police car that arrived a few moments later.
Jack found Bear, and together they found Jon and Alex.
“Naseer and at least two of his men are dead,” Jack said.
“And six of Mason’s agents.”
“How is he?” Alex asked.
“Shock for sure. Guilt, possibly.”
“Guilt?” Jon said. “You think he had something to do with this?”
“That’s what we’ve got to figure out.”
Jon shook his head. He looked toward the house, then the fire engine. “I’m going to have that cop take me to the van. Anyone want to tag along?”
No one responded.
“Very well.” Jon left and went to where Sasha and the police officer were standing. He and the cop got into the cruiser and drove off. Strobe lights faded behind the curtain of smoke.
Jack watched the firefighters battle the blaze. Orange flames retreated and left charred remains in their wake. Some house, some human. Plumes of white smoke rose into the sky as section after section of the fire died.
He noticed Alex pull his cell phone out. The screen lit up and Alex dragged his finger across the display, then placed the phone to his ear. The man nodded several times and said nothing. Jack thought some of the color drained from Alex’s face.
“What is it?” Jack said after Alex tucked the phone away.
“He said it’s not over.”
“Who?”
“We took out the wrong guy.”
“Naseer?”
Alex looked at Jack, shook his head. “And he said, I’m next.”
CHAPTER 53
Jack placed his hand in between the Prime Minister’s shoulders and shoved him toward the fire engine. He pulled the door open and said, “Get in there.”
“What are you doing?” Alex said.
“We don’t know who’s on our side and who isn’t. You got that? There could have been more than one.”
“What? One what?”
Jack slammed the door shut. He held his Beretta in his right hand. The weapon brushed against his thigh, reassured him. The surrounding darkness didn’t.
Bear and Sasha jogged toward him. They looked concerned and confused.
“What’s going on?” Sasha said.
“He got another threat. They told him it’s not over, we got the wrong guy, and he’s next.”
Sasha looked all around. “Where’s Jon with the van?”
Jack and Bear looked at one another. Bear’s mouth hung open an inch.
“You don’t think?” Jack said.
“Son of a bitch,” Bear said.
“He was right there the whole time. Right under our damn noses. Now he’s got a head start.”
“Jon?” Sasha said. “There’s no way. Look, I know he’s a bit rough around the edges, but his top priority is keeping Alex safe.”
“Then why isn’t he here now?”
“None of us are thinking straight.”
Jack shook his head. “You stay here, Sasha. Keep him inside the truck.”
“Where are you going?”
“Not far.”
Jack and Bear headed toward the rear of the fire engine, split up. Jack walked to where Mason stood. The guy had a blue blanket draped over his shoulders and wrapped around his body. Mason’s gaze followed Jack as he approached.
“Tell me the truth, now,” Jack said.
Mason said nothing.
“If you had something to do with this, you’re better off letting me know than having them extract it from you.”
A smile formed on Mason’s lips. The dying fire reflected in his eyes, cast shadows across his face.
“Dammit Mason, talk to me.”
“I left six of my men to burn, Jack. And why? Because I couldn’t pull a damn trigger? I was too afraid that son of a bitch was going to push a button and blow us all to hell.”
“You were following orders, that’s all, Mason.”
“Orders? What orders said kill half a dozen men?”
“You were told to bring him in alive. He changed the plans, and you had to improvise.”
“I froze, Jack. That’s what I did.”
Jack said nothing. What could he say?
“And now you want to know what I had to do with it. Nothing, that’s what. If I did, I would have taken him out clean and let those men live.”
Jack felt the pain of the man’s words, but he knew that if Mason were involved, all evidence of it was destroyed. No better way to do that than blowing up the house that held the truth.
But Jack could not deny Mason’s apparent mental state. His words sounded true, not a fabrication.
Mason turned his head. Jack looked back to see what the man had noticed. Headlights approached. As they neared the house, the van came into view.
“Wait here,” Jack said. He stepped into the middle of the road. It forced Jon to stop beside the fire engine.
Jon jumped out of the van, looked around, and then ran up to Jack. “What’s going on? Where’s Alex?”
Jack stepped sideways in a half-circle. Jon followed, turned his back to the truck.
“Who’d you call while you were gone?”
“Call? What the bloody hell are you talking about?”
“You made a call. Who was it?”
“I’m not telling you a damn thing. Where’s Alex?”
Jon started to turn. He buckled forward when Bear hit him from behind. The men crashed to the ground. Bear wove his arms between Jon’s, yanked him up.
“What are you doing?” Jon kicked and thrashed, but could not break free from Bear’s grasp.
Jack stepped forward. The men were face to face. Inches separated them.
“Who did you call?” Jack said.
“What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Jon said.
“Dammit Jon, you left and less than ten minutes later Alex got another threat. None of us called in to report this. It had to be you. So tell me, who did you call?”
Jon thrashed side to side in an effort to free himself. Every movement he made resulted in Bear tightening his grip.
“Get him off of me,” Jon said.
“Not till you tell me who you called.”
“Nobody, OK. Take my damn phone out of my pocket and you’ll see I didn’t call anyone.”
Jack nodded at Bear. The big man released Jon, who pulled out his phone and handed it to Jack. A few flicks of Jack’s finger confirmed that no call had been placed.
“He could have erased it,” Bear said.
By this point, Sasha had joined them. “Let me see it.”
Jack handed her the phone. She tapped on the screen a few times and activated the speaker. The phone rang and a moment later a man answered.
The guy said, “What are you guys doing out there?”
They all turned toward the fire engine and saw Alex looking at them through the side window. He had his cell pressed to the side of his head.
“What was the time stamp on the last call between them?” Bear said.
“Hours ago,” Sasha said. “Unless he’s hiding another phone, it wasn’t him.”
Jon turned his pockets inside out. “Search me. Search the damn van. I’m telling you for the last damn time, I didn’t call anyone.”
About that time, Mason walked over. He stared through them, past them. The expression on his face was null and void. “Couldn’t help but overhearing your conversation. I called and reported this to Mills a few minutes after the fire truck arrived.”
“Who is Mills?” Jack said.
“His boss,” Sasha said.
CHAPTER 54
The four of them stood in silence for a beat. They looked from one another until all stares fell upon Mason. The moment seemed to snap the man back into reality. His blank expression turned to fear, then anger.
“Wait a minute,” Jack said. “Mills is your boss? Mills would have been the one who issued the no kill order then. Right?”
Mason nodded. “It came through him, at least. Could have been from his boss, though. Maybe even another on his level. Maybe outside the organization.”
“That would be us,” Jon said. “Or them.�
�� He pointed toward Sasha.
Jack made eye contact with Sasha. “This whole time you’ve been watching Mason and his partner, did you ever hone in on Mills?”
She looked at Mason, then back at Jack. “I can’t discuss that with him around.”
Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her away. They walked until they were beyond the bright pool of light cast by the fire.
“This good enough?” he said.
She looked back, took a deep breath. “We’ve had Mills under surveillance for over twelve months. He’s clean, Jack. I’ve got nothing to support any notion that he was working with Naseer.”
“But you can’t say that for sure, can you?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Can you say with certainty that Mills isn’t the one that’s making threats on Alex’s life?”
She said nothing.
“Can you?”
She remained still for a moment, then shook her head. “That doesn’t mean we can go in and detain him.”
“Like hell you can’t,” Jack said. “So this is what we know. Mason called Mills and told his boss what’d happened here. We’ve got a gap of what, twenty minutes? Maybe thirty since then? How far could the info have traveled during that time? How high up the chain? And how far up were you looking?”
She said nothing, crossed her arms.
“Look, either Mills called Alex just now, or someone he was in contact with did. We need to find out who he’s talked to, and we need to know now. Can your people do that or am I wasting my time?”
She stared at Jack for a few seconds, then pulled out her phone. “Carrie, listen to me. I need you to get the records of every call Cameron Mills placed and received starting three days ago. Yes, all of them. Home, office, cell, tin cans. I don’t care from what, I want to know where to. Call me back.” She hung up, glanced at Jack, placed a second call. “Send a team to detain Cameron Mills. No, don’t bring him in. Keep him wherever he is. Yeah, even if he’s on the toilet. Don’t be a jackass. Detain him in his house if he’s there. Call me when you’ve got a location, and then again when you’ve got him.”
She hung up and forced a smile at Jack. Despite the gesture, she did not look pleased at being told to do her job by him. “Mills isn’t going anywhere.”
“OK. We are. Let’s get out of here before someone realizes that’s the Prime Minister in the fire truck.”