Her honest answer seemed to stop him for a moment, then he simply shook his head and glanced at his watch.
Elizabeth glanced at her phone. “They’re calling.”
“Hang up.”
“Come on, Leo, you know how this works. If you don’t communicate with them, they’ll come in.”
“You’re right, I do know how this works and they won’t risk the kids getting hurt. Leave it, I’m not interested in negotiating.”
“He did something to the float,” Jackie whispered.
“What?” Ian asked.
“What time is it?” She had her arm around Lucy and couldn’t see her watch.
He glanced at his. “8:45.”
“We don’t have long. We have to end this.”
“What are you going to do?”
She shot a look at Elizabeth and Leo, who were still going back and forth. What was the woman doing? What was Leo doing? The man was a highly trained ATF agent. There was no way he was going to fall for anything Jackie tried. She wouldn’t be able to lure him in front of a window for a sniper shot and he probably knew all of the negotiating tricks. He’d probably even been involved in some hostage negotiations when explosives were involved and listened in. So what was the deal? She went around and around it in her mind. And saw him take another glance at his watch. “He’s stalling,” she whispered. “He did something to the float and he’s stalling.”
“You mean he lured us away from it on purpose?”
“Yeah.” Elizabeth still had Leo’s attention so she kept whispering. “He wants the parade to start on time. He knew where the kids were staying and he led us directly here. All of the attention is now focused on this area about two miles away from the start of the parade. Far enough away, they might not postpone it because of what’s going on over here. The parade route is in the opposite direction of where we are so the floats won’t be anywhere near here. You still have your cell phone?”
“Yes.” He slid it out of his pocket and passed it across to her behind Lucy’s back. The little girl snuggled closer to her uncle.
Her eyes on Leo, she wrapped her fingers around the device and pulled it to her. “And that doesn’t make sense either. He should have taken our phones, but he didn’t do that.”
“Then your conclusion could be right. He just wants to stall.”
“Will you two shut up before he decides to start shooting?” The woman to her right hissed. Her frightened blue eyes seemed overly large in her very white face. She shot Leo a scared look. “He said to be quiet. Can’t you just do that?”
Jackie patted the woman’s shoulder. Her ID badge read Mrs. Thompson. “I know you’re frightened, but we’re going to get out of this, just give us a chance, all right?”
“Are you a cop?”
“Something like that.”
That seemed to mollify the woman and she sat back, her eyes closed, lips moving.
Jackie leaned closer to Ian. “The virus is on that float, Ian,” she whispered. “I don’t know where, but I’m willing to bet that Leo put it on there on the pretense of inspecting for explosives. He was on there a good long time.”
“We’ve got to stop him.”
She slid the phone down to the floor next to her thigh. In between her and Lucy. She hit the text message icon, then pretended to look down and rub her eyes. While she massaged her forehead with her right hand, she punched in Ron’s number with her left. Then in the message box, she typed,
WE R DISTRACTION VIRUS IS ON TOY FLOAT
“Hey! What are you doing?” Leo’s narrowed eyes met hers as he stormed toward her. “Give me that!”
She hit Send. Leo grabbed the phone from her fingers, threw in on the floor, and stomped on it.
Ron’s phone vibrated. He raised it to take a look at the text message.
WE R DISTRACTION VIRUS IS ON TOY FLOAT
His heart thudded an extra beat and he looked at the time. 8:53. He spun on his heel and made his way through the crowd that had gathered behind the police blockade. He hit the number he’d put on speed dial early that morning.
“Special Agent in Charge Scott Mitchell.”
“I’m at the parade. The virus is on the Manguson Toy float.”
“What?”
“Don’t let anyone on that float. Stop it now.”
“How do you know? Who is this?”
“I’m a friend. Do you want to risk the lives in this city or just cause it a bit of inconvenience? We’re running out of time. Get the float out of the lineup and let the rest of the parade go on as planned.” He kept his voice calm, his temper in check.
“I have a hostage situation going on right now with twelve children involved.”
“It’s a distraction. The man who’s holding everyone hostage is just waiting for the parade to start. Somehow, when the float starts moving, it’s going to release the virus.”
Silence. Ron let the clock tick. There was nothing else he could say. Either the man would believe him and act. Or he wouldn’t.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Ron hung up and dialed David’s number. 8:59.
“Is Jackie all right?”
“Not yet. Nothing we can do for her at the moment.” He gave David a fifteen-second summary of his conversation with the Special Agent in Charge. “I don’t know if he’s going to stop it or not.”
“Then Adam and I’ll have to find a way.”
“It’s 9:00, David. Hurry.”
Ron hung up and looked back at the warehouse. “Come on, Jackie,” he whispered. “Do something. Just don’t get killed doing it.”
“We could get killed, you know that right?” Ian whispered.
“We could, but we have skills. It’s time to use them.”
Ian started to respond, then snapped his lips shut when Leo turned his attention from his watch to his hostages. “Just a little longer folks, then you can all leave.” He gave them a grim smile and focused back on Elizabeth. Ian caught the agent’s eye. She looked back at Leo, but Ian thought she might be watching him from the corner of her eye. “You grab Lewis, I’m going to knock his feet out from under him and get the gun,” he said to Jackie.
She nodded. He stood slowly, ever so slowly, not wanting any movement to catch the man’s eye. Jackie did the same.
Ian looked at the adults who were watching and held a finger to his lips. Some frowned, some shook their heads, eyes pleading for them to sit back down. Ian tensed. The children whispered amongst themselves, but Leo didn’t seem to care if they talked. And their whispering covered any slight noises he and Jackie might make. However, if any one of the hostages called out—
Jackie stepped softly. Elizabeth drew in a deep breath and turned her body, keeping Leo’s attention on her. Ian knew the parade had already started, he could only pray Ron managed to stop the toy float from being a part of it.
“What is it you’re waiting on, Leo? The parade to start? Well, it has. Now what?”
“Just a little longer.”
Ian needed Elizabeth’s help. He held his hand in the universal shape of a gun and gestured to the right. Leo still held the weapon on his son and he needed it to be aimed at Elizabeth. Please let her understand. Then he changed his hand shape and pointed to her, then the floor. Would she get it? Was she even watching?
Elizabeth’s facial expression never changed. Not even a twitch or a blink. “I think it’s time for me to pull my weapon and call your bluff.”
Leo went still. “What?”
Elizabeth’s hand crept toward her shoulder holster. Leo swung the gun away from Lewis to aim it at the agent.
Ian exploded into action. He pulled his leg back and kicked straight out, catching Leo in the trunk. He cried out and staggered, but didn’t go down. Elizabeth hit the floor.
Jackie snagged Lewis from Leo’s left arm even as the man spun around, swinging the weapon with him, aiming at Ian’s solar plexus. Center mass. She bent with the child in her arms and gave a backward kick, keeping her body be
tween the gun and the child. The side of her foot caught Leo in the throat, then scraped up and hit him in the chin. Holding Lewis knocked her off balance and she fell, rolling, protecting the boy.
She could hear Leo gagging.
And saw that Ian didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and grabbed Leo’s arm with his left hand, turning his body clockwise and pivoting on his left foot. He grabbed Leo’s right hand and moved his left foot backward, throwing Leo off balance. The move allowed Ian to shove the gun aside, aiming the weapon up and away from his face. With one last move, he pulled, then twisted Leo’s hand. Leo went down with a hard thud on his back, his fingers flexing, leaving Ian in possession of the gun.
Which he pointed at Leo’s shocked face.
Jackie passed a shaking and whimpering Lewis to his weeping mother. She then spun back to the scene where Elizabeth had drawn her weapon and now held it on the subdued man who was still trying to catch his breath. Jackie grabbed Ian’s phone from her pocket. 9:06.
“We’re too late,” she said.
Leo gasped a pained laugh and said something.
She leaned closer. “What?”
“Yes,” she heard. “You are too late. It’s done.”
The door to the warehouse crashed open. Law enforcement rushed in, rifles held next to their faces, pointing low, ready to raise and fire in a split second.
Elizabeth didn’t look up from the man she still held her gun on. “Ian, pass me the weapon.”
He did and lifted his hands.
Jackie looked around for Lucy. The adults and children still lined the wall. Several wept and laughed at the same time. But Lucy simply huddled against one of her teachers, her eyes bouncing from Ian to Jackie. When she saw Jackie’s attention on her, she pushed away from the teacher and stood. Jackie met her halfway across the floor and picked her up to cuddle her against her. She inhaled her little girl fragrance. “Thank you, God, for keeping Lucy safe.”
“For keeping all of us safe,” Lucy whispered.
“Amen.”
Lucy leaned back and cupped Jackie’s face. “I want to see my mom.”
Jackie’s heart constricted. “Okay, honey, I do too.”
But she had to find out about the float.
37
9:20 A.M.
Jackie followed Elizabeth and Ian to the car. Elizabeth had ushered them out as fast as she could, flashing her badge and talking police lingo.
As they pushed through, she thought she saw Ron in the crowd and broke away. “Wait for me. I’ll be there in just a second,” she told them.
“Jackie—”
She ignored Ian’s protest and grabbed Ron by the jacket sleeve. He spun to gather her in a quick hug. “I’ve got to go,” she said. “Can you get Holly life-flighted to Mount Sinai where her oncologist is? One of Lucy’s teachers is taking her there now and will meet you.”
“Consider it done.”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek and bolted back to slide into the car. Elizabeth shot her a dark look, but kept her thoughts to herself.
Jackie had encouraged all of the students, parents, and teachers to vacate the city until they got word that it was safe. Elizabeth had echoed her suggestion.
Please let it be safe.
“Did they stop the float?” she asked Elizabeth.
The agent’s phone rang and Jackie groaned at the interruption. Ian wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She lifted her head and kissed him. “You were awesome in there.”
He shrugged. “Just did what I needed to do.”
“Yes. And you were awesome.” The red tinge that rose in his cheeks fascinated her.
“You were pretty spectacular yourself. That kick was amazing.”
This time it was her turn to feel the heat in her face. “I just did what I had to do,” she muttered.
He laughed, but it was strained. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was. Had they stopped the float or not? Had they found the virus or was there still a danger out there?
Elizabeth looked in the rearview mirror. “Thanks for letting me play chauffeur.”
“Sorry,” Jackie said.
“Yeah,” Ian said. “Sorry.”
Elizabeth grunted. “Right. I hear the sincerity in your words.”
“The float?” Jackie demanded.
“It never moved. It’s still parked where it was when all of this started. It was quite a to-do to get Santa around it, but the parade is on and everything seems to be fine.”
“The virus?”
“No word on that yet.”
“I wonder how Ron convinced them to keep the float from moving?” she murmured.
Elizabeth smiled into the rearview mirror. “Someone stole the keys right out of the ignition. David has them in case they’re needed.”
“Yes!” Jackie hissed and pumped a fist in the air.
Ian nodded his approval.
Elizabeth put her light on the dash and moved through the empty street. She headed for the area where they’d left the float around the corner of 77th and Central Park West. The crowds had been ordered away from the area. Elizabeth had to weave through the mess of NYPD vehicles. ATF and FBI bomb techs, the backs of their jackets identifying their branch of law enforcement, littered the area. Jackie even saw a Department of Homeland Security vehicle.
Finally, after flashing her badge an infinite number of times, Elizabeth pulled the vehicle to a stop and grabbed her handi-talkie, a handheld radio referred to as an HT. Jackie popped the door. She stepped into the street, her gaze flicking from one person to the next. David sent her a concerned two-finger salute. She waved back and gave a nod, hoping he understood she meant she was all right. Two hazmat-suited professionals were visible on top of the float. They’d dismantled the large green dragon.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Scott Mitchell approached with a frown.
“Did you find the virus?”
“We’re working on it.” He glowered at her. “This better not be some hoax you two have hatched.”
Jackie frowned right back at him. “If it was just some elaborate hoax, Ian and I wouldn’t have been running for our lives over the past few days.”
He grunted and glanced up at the two on the float. “Parker! Anything?”
One of the alien-looking agents stepped to the side of the float. “We’ve got a positive. It’s in the bubbles. Right now it’s contained. As long as no one turns on the bubble machine, it looks like we’ll be all right, but we need to get a perimeter set up around the whole float to prevent any particles from becoming airborne and then everybody in the vicinity needs on a hazmat su—”
A loud crack sounded, the man gave a sharp cry and went to his knees as a red stain started to spread across the front of his white protective suit.
“Shooter! Down!” Ian reached for Jackie at the same moment she grabbed his hand and yanked him to the sidewalk, up the stairs of the New York Historical Society Museum’s steps, and under the cover of the building’s overhang. The others weren’t far behind.
Mitchell was yelling into his HT.
Bullets continued to hit the float. David dove for shelter and something fell from his pocket next to the front of the float. Keys? The other agent in the hazmat suit had dropped off the other side. Ian assumed he was hiding out waiting for the assault to stop. Elizabeth was on her HT too.
“Where did he shoot from?” Ian asked Jackie.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Somewhere from this side of the street.”
The gunfire finally stopped. Only to pick back up again. Ian’s ears rang.
“He’s shooting at the tanks!” he yelled.
Jackie paled. “He’s trying to release the virus. We’ve got to stop him!”
Ian glanced around to see David and several other agents had scattered to find cover. The other agent from the float had climbed back on and now worked to pull his friend away from the open area. For the moment the bullets had stopped.
Mitchell broke away fro
m the cover of the building and raced across the street to his agents. “Is he still alive?” Ian couldn’t hear the answer.
Sirens sounded, law enforcement descended once more. His gaze was on the float. “Did any of the bullets hit the bubble tank?”
Jackie drew in a deep breath as she stared too. An ambulance screamed in the distance. And once again, 77th and Central Park West was drop-kicked back into chaos.
But the gunfire wasn’t finished. The dinosaur popped and danced under the hail of bullets. Ian glanced at the keys on the ground. “I’m going to move the float. If the bullets hit that tank of bubbles, the virus will be released.”
“And if they hit you, you’ll be dead!” But her eyes were also on the keys.
With a prayer on his lips, he darted for the keys, ignoring Jackie’s harsh yell for him to stop. He snagged them, rolled under the edge of the float, and yanked the driver’s door open just wide enough for him to slide into the driver’s seat and onto broken glass. The windshield had been blown apart. He prayed he had the right keys. With shaking hands, he found the one he thought would work and shoved it into the ignition.
He turned it and was rewarded with a low growl. He could hear agents yelling at him as more gunfire hit the hood, pinging off the metal. He ducked down into the passenger seat and pressed the gas pedal. The float lurched forward. The bullets stopped. Ian lifted his head and peered through the tiny hole that was supposed to allow the driver just enough space to see, but not enough to ruin the magnificence of the decoration. Of course there were several holes to choose from at the moment, the bullets creating a kaleidoscope pattern. He floored the gas and prayed no one stepped in front of him.
No more bullets rained down. He glanced down to make sure he wasn’t bleeding. Had he really managed to avoid being shot? He’d expected at least one or two bullet holes. Of course when his adrenaline calmed down, he might find one or two.
He opened the door and slid out of the battered float.
The first bullet caught him in the shoulder. He cried out and went down. The second bullet hit the pavement in front of him. He managed to roll under the belly of the flatbed of the float. The fire in his shoulder took his breath away. Booted feet stopped in front of his. The shooter dropped to the ground and dark green eyes met his through the slits in the mask. The gun centered on his forehead.
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