She nodded.
“Does your mom have friends she likes to hang out with?”
“She doesn’t have any friends.”
“Why’s that?”
“I guess she doesn’t trust people.”
“Sounds familiar.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means she’s like us.”
“She didn’t love him.”
“Your mom didn’t love your stepdad? Why do you think that?”
“I could just tell.”
They sat in silence while they finished off the sandwich. Nathan saw that she had good table manners. “I tried to kill another man tonight. Are you okay with that?”
“You mean at the grocery store? But he was trying to kill you. That makes it okay, right?”
“You know why I’m asking?”
“There might be more bad guys trying to kill us, and you’ll have to kill them first.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you really my uncle?”
“If you’re asking me if I believe it without any proof, then yes. Our eyes are nearly identical. My father, your grandfather, is a United States senator. He’s a very important political figure.”
“Seriously?”
“You said your mom is from Korea. My father was a Marine. He served over there during the war.”
“This is too weird. Why wouldn’t she tell me about you? You seem like a nice man.”“I have my moments.”
She didn’t say anything.
“I’m sure your mom has her reasons. Hopefully we’ll find out soon. But until then, don’t tell anyone we’re related unless I say it’s okay. Never even mention it.”
“I won’t.”
“Thank you for telling me the truth. Remember when I told you my girlfriend is a special agent in charge in the FBI? Her name’s Holly Simpson. She runs the Sacramento field office. I’m telling you because she’s going to help us figure out what’s going on. So if you think of something important or remember anything else, no matter how small it seems, you tell me right away.”
“I will.”
“You’ve seen a lot of violence tonight.”
“I’m not freaked out or anything, if that’s what you mean.”
“Things could get worse.”
“We’ll be together, right?”
“Yes, but you could slow me down, and that could put both of us in danger. So if I tell you to do something, you have to do it without question. It’s like a Marine following orders. Are you okay with that?”
“I guess.”
“There’s no room for guessing. It could be a life-or-death situation. I need to know you’ll do exactly what I tell you without questioning it.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Now take these plates to the sink!”
She threw her napkin at him.
“At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.” He held out his hand, and she shook it, her expression sincere. “Let’s take a look at that motorcycle.”
Chapter 12
He opened the garage door and watched Lauren’s eyes widen.
“OMG. We’re riding that?”
“Holly’s helmet will be a little big for you, but it should be okay. I’ll be right back. I’m going to reload my SIG and stock up on ammo.”
“Can I come with you?”
“I’m just going down the hall….” Nathan stopped when Lauren’s face went blank. He’d seen this expression before, in Nordstrom. There was no harm in letting her tag along. She stayed close as he walked down the hall to the master bedroom.
“This house is really cool. I like your antique furniture.”
“Holly told me the same thing, almost word for word. I’ll have to show you my La Jolla home sometime. My giant schnauzers are going to love you. You’re about the same size.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I weigh eighty-three pounds.”
“Like I said….”
In his bedroom, he reloaded the SIG’s magazine and put three, fifty-round boxes of subsonic ammo in his left thigh pocket. The right side still held the SIG’s suppressor and spare magazines. Lauren watched in silence. He knew she was evaluating his every move, looking for uncertainty or weakness. Understandable, given their circumstances.
“Lauren, your lavender shirt isn’t dark enough for a night op. I need you in black, at least your top half.”
He removed a black T-shirt from his dresser and asked her to put it on. It hung to her knees. She cocked her head to the side, pursed her lips, and started at him. No words were necessary.
“What’s wrong? It looks great.”
“I can’t be seen like this.”
“Don’t worry, that’s our goal, remember? Come on, I’ll cut the excess off in the kitchen with scissors.”
“With scissors…”
Fighting a smile, he grabbed Holly’s helmet from the hall closet and handed it to her. “Try it on.” She fumbled with the chin strap, so he showed her how to fasten it.
“There’s a microphone.”
“Voice-activated Bluetooth.”
“Okay, now I’m impressed. This is seriously cool.”
“It’s really important you don’t lean while we’re riding. Just stay upright behind me, okay?”
“I will.”
“I need to check the front yard before I open the garage door. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in twenty seconds.”
Nathan retraced his steps through the backyard and scanned the front of his house. All clear — no sign of the menacing black sedan. Feeling confident he’d destroyed the only tracking bug and his cell hadn’t been the culprit, he went back inside. Lauren looked silly wearing the huge helmet and baggy shirt. Clearly, she was thinking the same thing.
“I must look like a total geek.”
“If we crash, at least your noggin’s protected.”
“That’s not very encouraging.”
As promised, he trimmed about eight inches from the bottom of her T-shirt.
She looked down at herself. “At least let me tuck it in.”
Nathan waited while she retreated to the bathroom to do it. He grabbed his keys to First Security and took her into the garage, where she approached his motorcycle in a manner resembling reverence.
She ran her hand along the gas tank. “This is a custom paint job, isn’t it?”
“Our receptionist’s husband does it for a living.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
The gas tank on his Harley went from pure white on the front end to pure black on the back, with a perfectly blended transition in the middle. The frame followed suit with a much longer blended area. Tons of chrome sealed the deal. He had to admit, it was an awesome-looking motorcycle.
“Wait until I fire her up. Remember, don’t lean. I’ll grab Holly’s leather jacket for you. It’s not too cold out, but riding creates a windchill.” The jacket also prevented road rash in case of a spill, but he didn’t need to share that.
Nathan put on his jacket, opened the garage door, and mounted the bike. When he turned the ignition, Lauren grinned at the deep-throated rumble. Out of respect for his neighbors, he didn’t rev the motor in the traditional Harley-Davidson manner. It was also better to let the big twin warm up gradually. He pulled on his helmet and activated their Bluetooth units.
He spoke into the microphone boom at a normal conversational level. “Can you hear me okay?”
“Uh-huh, perfectly.”
“Okay, climb on.”
She immediately reached around his waist and bear-hugged him.
“Lauren, you don’t have to hang on that tight. Just sit up, hold my sides, and don’t fight it when the motorcycle leans into a turn.”
Idling on his driveway, he pressed the remote on his key chain and waited until the garage door was all the way down. Using his iPhone, he rearmed the security system to his house.
A twist of the throttle sent them on their way.
> “This is so cool!”
“Glad you’re having fun back there.” Nathan didn’t know with certainty what caused it, but riding gave him a strong sense of security. Maybe it was the open air or the illusion of power, or something far more intangible, but this merging of flesh and machine felt good. It was as simple as that. He experienced the same sensation in his helicopter.
Following the same route they’d taken on foot ten minutes earlier, Nathan returned to the site of the shooting at the grocery store. As he’d suspected, several police cruisers were on scene, along with two fire department engines and an ambulance. He didn’t see the gunman or the cab driver. Maybe they were already secured in the ambulance. There was nothing to be gained by hanging around, so he took Mount Acadia Boulevard down through Tecolote Canyon.
They hadn’t gone three miles when he felt his phone vibrate.
“Why are we stopping?”
“My phone. It’s probably Harv.” He pulled into a small retail center, killed the engine, and removed his helmet.
It was Harv. “What’s your situation?”
“We’re good.”
“According to Holly, Lauren’s kidnapping was reported by an anonymous source. A woman reported seeing a man abduct her from her front yard, kicking and screaming, and force her into a black SUV. The police activated the Amber Alert based on that report, and they reported it to the FBI.”
“Jin probably made the call. Lauren’s story doesn’t agree with the report, though. She said the guy knocked on her door and claimed to be from the witness security program. She wasn’t taken by force.”
“Maybe Jin had to report it that way or the police wouldn’t have activated the Amber Alert system.”
“That sounds right. The question becomes, how did Jin know about the kidnapping? Lauren said she hadn’t seen her mom in over twenty-four hours. If Jin witnessed it, why didn’t she intervene?”
“Maybe she was outnumbered or wasn’t armed.”
“Probably both. Calling it in could’ve been her only option.”
Nathan updated Harv on what Lauren had admitted about Jin’s having pointed him out the year before so Lauren would know what he looked like.
“I don’t like the sound of that at all.”
“Me either. It’s a colossal security breach. We’re both careful, but neither of us has had any reason to believe we’re under surveillance. Now I have to wonder.”
“Unless we determine otherwise, we have to assume Jin knows everything about us. Where we live, where we work — everything.”
“Agreed,” Nathan said. “It’s unsettling enough to find out I have a half-sister. But this security issue?” He shook his head and imagined Harv doing the same.
“I hope your dad doesn’t know about Jin. It’ll be a lot easier to stomach. It’s hard to image him hiding this from you all these years. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Don’t spend a lot of time at your Clairemont house.”
“We’re already on our way to First Security to get a few things. I pulled over to take your call. We’re on the Harley.”
Harv half-laughed. “You’ve got Lauren on the back of your hog?”
“My Mustang’s out of commission. We’re a little short on options.”
“Switch over to a company Taurus at the office. The keys are in Gavin’s desk drawer, right side.”
“I’m planning to.”
“Candace found me a nonstop to LAX on Turkish Air. It leaves in four hours. I didn’t consider the customs delay when we spoke earlier, so count on me arriving in San Diego in about twenty-two hours.”
“What about a chartered flight? You could land directly at Lindbergh.”
“That’s a good idea. A smaller jet will need to make additional stops, but it could be faster. I’ll have Candace look into it right away. Oh, I also relayed your description of Lauren’s kidnapper and his men to Holly. I told her to go up the chain of command to Director Lansing in Washington, if necessary.”
“Harv, I’m not sure that level of involvement is warranted.”
“This whole thing’s bigger than just you and Lauren. Think about the border murders and the dead girl Lauren saw in Marchand’s warehouse.”
“Lauren’s kidnapping may not be related.”
“What does that finely honed intuition of yours tell you?”
Nathan didn’t answer.
“Exactly,” Harv said. “My gut still says it’s some brand of organized crime. I think it’s fair to assume the only reason Lauren’s kidnapper didn’t have her killed right away is that she has or knows something he needs.”
“The piece of paper….”
“Can you scan it and send it to my cell phone?”
“Yeah, I’ll do that from the office. If Lauren had it when she was kidnapped, why didn’t her kidnapper just take it?”
“Good question.”
“Harv, hang on. Lauren, that piece of paper…did your kidnapper ask about it?”
“No. My mom said not to tell anyone I had it.”
“Harv, did you catch that?”
“Yes. Send it to me ASAP. I’ll take a look. I think it’s fair to assume he didn’t know Lauren had it, or even suspect she did, or he would’ve taken it.”
“Agreed.”
“Well, hopefully Holly turns up something more about Lauren’s kidnapper. She’s also got her people all over the Marchand angle. I’ll call you back once I hear from her.”
“Make it a three-way. I’ve got a bunch of questions, starting with the unconscious bad guy I left in the grocery store parking lot. When you talk to her, ask if the police have him in custody.”
“Will do. Now, keep your head down until I get there.”
Nathan put away the phone and merged into the northbound traffic. “Lauren, are you sure you don’t know what the numbers on the paper mean? Your mom never talked about it?”
“She said not to tell anyone I had it. I wasn’t even supposed to tell you. She called it her insurance policy. Does that help?”
“I think your mom was speaking metaphorically. It’s not an insurance document.”
“What’s metaphorically mean?”
“It means using a metaphor.” Nathan paused to think. “A metaphor is like a comparison. You say something is something else, but you really mean that they’re similar in some way.”
“I don’t get it.”
“What would be a good example? Okay, here’s one: true friendship is granite.”
“So it’s kinda like a synonym.”
“Right, but using two totally different things with something in common. Think about the ring you’re wearing. How could you use it metaphorically in a sentence?”
“I don’t know.”
“If I said life is an alexandrite, what would that mean to you?”
“That life changes color. Oh, I get it now. That’s totally cool.”
“When did your mom tell you about the piece of paper?”
“Last night. Right after I saw the dead girl.”
“So she told you to take it after you told her about the dead girl?”
“Uh-huh.”
Unfortunately, Nathan wasn’t getting any closer to learning the significance of the numbers. Harv was good with this sort of thing and had an uncanny ability to see order in chaos. Hopefully he’d see something.
“My security company is in Sorrento Valley, near the 805 freeway. How’re you doing back there?”
“This is really fun.”
“Are you cold?”
“A little, but I’m okay.”
“We’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
“Can I call you Uncle Nate?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Okay, Uncle Nate.”
He gunned the engine, and she yelped in fear.
“Hey, that was mean!”
“Just letting you know who’s in charge.”
Chapter 13
Nathan kept their stop at First Security brief. Lauren asked tons of
questions, mostly about all the “cool” equipment in the Bat Cave — First Security’s high-tech countersurveillance garage. Kids never ceased to amaze him. They might not know how to use a pick and shovel, but they sure knew their way around computers. Lauren helped him scan and email the document to Harv’s cell phone. Half a minute later, Harv sent a text saying he’d received it.
Nathan left his Harley in the Bat Cave, picked up a prepacked duffel bag, and was preparing to lock the place up when he realized that he’d forgotten something. He went back inside and found what he needed: a small plumber’s torch.
Five minutes after arriving, they were back on the road in a company Ford Taurus, their destination Otay Mesa, near the Mexican border.
During the drive, Lauren went quiet again. Nathan didn’t mind and actually preferred it. It gave him a chance to think about his plan of action at the warehouse. Gaining entry topped the list. In a nutshell, he intended to get in, learn as much as possible, and get out. He didn’t want to be inside the building more than ten minutes. The warehouse might employ a silent alarm system or other security measures, and police response time was impossible to predict. It could be anywhere from thirty seconds to thirty minutes.
A glance in Lauren’s direction confirmed that she was close to nodding off. He’d hoped to use the travel time to ask more questions about her mom, but he figured a little shut-eye wouldn’t hurt her. With rush hour long gone, Otay Mesa ought to be a thirty-minute drive.
His cell vibrated.
“I’ve got Holly on the phone with us,” Harv said.
Nathan kept his voice low. “Hi, Holly.”
“Hi, Nathan. What’s your situation? Are you and Lauren secure?”
“Yes, we’re on our way to Marchand’s warehouse.”
“You might want to rethink that,” said Holly. “I don’t have anything conclusive yet, but we’ve started digging into Marchand Patio Supplies, and I don’t like what we’re seeing.”
Nathan glanced at Lauren. She looked asleep. He kept his voice low. “Such as?”
“Lauren’s stepfather was only part owner of his company. A minority owner.”
“Okay…who owns his company, then?”
“Three separate corporations, which themselves are owned by a combination of other foreign companies. We’ve only begun to untangle this mess, but a couple of the shell companies have high-level flags associated with an internationally wanted criminal who’s well known to the Bureau.”
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