Yep. The others behind bars could wait, because unless that color was misleading her, the two who were out, about, and still very much capable of causing death and destruction seemed to happen to be the two whose networking to end up in the group hadn’t just landed them with a connection to Black Shadow. It had also resulted in another alliance. That burgundy was very specific. An intense, loyal, alliance.
Interesting. And she doesn’t know that Flint Lewis is Beo. How coy.
Unfortunately for one person in that incredibly infatuated, trusting alliance, only she subscribed to it.
‘He’ll be proud of you, huh?’ Jenna said. ‘Beo?’
‘Why the hell do you care?’
‘Why would you want the man who ordered your husband killed to be proud of you?’
Ashlee blinked, cocked her head. ‘What are you talking about? Ishmael. Ishmael ordered Atticus to kill anyone who stayed their hand during a raid. That’s why JP was killed.’
‘Oh,’ Jenna said. She pouted her lips, gave Ashlee a mocking frown. ‘You didn’t know.’
‘Know what?’ Ashlee said, her voice rising in irritation.
‘Ishmael, Ashlee. He’s Beo. Ishmael is Beo,’ Jenna said, stopping short of revealing the other role Beo stepped into from time to time. As much as they needed to find a way to keep Ashlee from blowing hundreds of people sky high at the Jefferson Memorial, they didn’t need it’s reprieve to occur because Ashlee Haynie learned Beo also masqueraded as Flint Lewis and had done so that day to try to get away scot-free after she was out of the picture. And maybe Flint did deserve an intimate date with C4 instead of the one he’d inevitably have with Butchie McPantsdown in prison, but his wife Ruthie didn’t deserve it. Or little Nell. She deserved so, so much more. Unfortunately, though, Ashlee would be so angry and ready to send Flint to the moon that she’d likely slice through every wire keeping that bomb live by the time Jenna so much as opened her mouth to mention the latter.
Ashlee’s face went blank, and she shook her head slowly from side to side. ‘That fucking dick.’
I couldn’t agree more.
Ashlee threw her hands up. ‘So, what now? I’ve fucking lived for this cause for so long …’ The word caught in her throat as she turned her back on Jenna, took a few steps away. She shook her head hard, kicked at the ground as she barely whispered. ‘You motherfucking, lying, bag of dicks.’
Jenna moved to her, touched her shoulder. ‘My supervising agent is on her way with a bomb unit. We can get this thing off—’
‘I already told you,’ Ashlee cut in, ‘It’ll set off the bomb attached to the Lewis family.’ She leaned her head back, eyes squeezed shut. ‘Fuck!’ She opened her eyes, looked at Jenna. ‘I don’t want to kill any more people because I listened to that paranoid egotistical spaz maggot.’
‘But if we don’t diffuse the bomb, you’ll still do just that.’ Jenna gestured her arms wide, reminding Ashlee of the hundreds of people who would be victims if the bomb blew.
‘So what do you propose, then?’ Ashlee snapped.
Jenna squeezed her hand, then led her back to the bench. ‘I say we sit tight and you tell me some stories about you and Mitch as kids while we wait for the bomb team. The people running the government might not all have common sense or a degree in astrophysics, but the people coming to help you are some of the smartest the country has to offer – both by books and raw talent. Trust me, Ashlee. If anyone can figure a way out of this, it’s the BAU.’
Forty-five
Within five minutes of radioing Saleda, Jenna saw her superior through the filter of scraggly branches covered in pale pink blooms raining so many petals into the wind it almost looked as though Saleda was jogging through snow. Jenna stood up, waved both her arms so her Special Agent in Charge would find her faster.
Still seated on the bench, Ashlee made a small noise. A squeak of sorts. She had to be scared. And she should be. Just because she’d been duped didn’t mean she wasn’t still a horrible criminal. Black Shadow hadn’t just killed men and women who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They’d also offed every child in their path, too. Hell, even Isaac Keaton had spared the kids.
But still, no matter what this woman had done, she was still a human being, driven by grief, anger. Jenna could be kind to her at what had to be one of the most terrifying and uncertain moments in her life. Plus, Jenna needed her to cooperate a bit longer.
‘Agent Ovarez is bringing the bomb team. They should be here in just a minute or two.’ Jenna sat back down beside Ashlee, patted her hand as the young woman whimpered. ‘I know. Even though you knew this day could come – maybe even would come, nothing can prepare you for how it would feel. Fear, relief, shame, disappointment, defeat …’
‘Suspense, unease. Loss of hope,’ Ashlee replied.
Focus on the now. ‘The best guys in the business are coming to work on this problem, and until they solve it, I’m going to stay right here with you. I won’t leave you to go through this alone.’
Ashlee practically growled. ‘Unlike Beo. He actually told me Ishmael decided to send me to be the one for this attack. Said it was punishment for JP’s mistake.’ She laughed dryly. ‘And the whole time, he just wanted to get rid of me. Use me, then get rid of me. Fuckin’ men.’
Jenna stood up, walked a few steps from Ashlee, biting her tongue. I don’t know, gal. Sometimes it’s not just the men who mess with your head and use you. You can take that one to the bank.
Just then, Saleda stepped through an opening between two cherry blossom trees, let the two young, athletic guys from the bomb squad move past her. Neither were in their full gear; just tactical pants and team T-shirts – as plainclothes as bomb cops could get. Jenna looked from them to Saleda, the question on her face.
‘After talking to Dodd on the way here, we decided to contain and assess for the time being rather than set off a full-scale evacuation. First of all, panic would ensue in the general population – government-induced panic, which could very well play right into Flint’s hands if there happens to be an as yet undiscovered third layer to this little scheme. But in the words of Dodd, while he can’t tell if everything the lifetime Mensa member prick is spewing out of his mouth is true, some of the “malarkey” Flint’s feeding him has him suspicious that Flint has eyes on Ashlee at the park, that maybe he’s got a remote detonator he can blow the second he sees her stand up from a park bench and start walking away with a look on her face that even remotely suggests she’s grown a conscience,’ Saleda said. She looked past Jenna’s right shoulder toward the bench where Ashlee sat, tilted her chin up. ‘That her?’
‘Yeah,’ Jenna nodded.
Saleda cocked her head. ‘I’d have gone with a layered bob, myself.’ Saleda turned to the two bomb techs with her. ‘Come on, guys, I’ll introduce you to our hopefully cooperative UNSUB so you can take a look.’
The two guys and Saleda started toward the bench where Ashlee sat, but Saleda paused. Calling after the guys, she said, ‘Be there in a sec, but remember, look and assess. No hands, no tools until we know more.’ Jenna’s superior turned back and faced her. ‘Speaking of, get Dodd on the phone, will ya? I need to be standing by while these two start their process. By the time General Bullhead Ted gets here and starts throwing his weight around, I want to know every single detail we possibly can about the extent of whatever Flint Lewis has up his sleeve. If Teddy the Turbulent is going to blaze in, ready to stir up a storm, we’ll need to be as ready as we can be to batten down the hatches.’
Jenna nodded.
‘I’m on it,’ she said, her phone already out and dialing Dodd. If it came to that, duck and cover would be about all they could do. No matter what, Devil-may-care Bear would want to steer his own ship, and if the past was any indicator, he’d set his course without feeling like he needed intel from anyone else. They’d have little chance of influencing his opinion, so all they could do was be ready to play for one team only: theirs.
‘Yep, sure has,’ Dodd
said to Jenna after she asked if Flint seemed to have a lot to say. ‘Hang on, though. Let me get a few steps away so he can’t hear what I tell you. All right, now. Yeah, he’s been yammerin’ ever since I got here. A cool cat, though. Nothing so overdone that I think he’s scared, exactly, but—’
‘—but what?’ Jenna cut in, a color she couldn’t quite grasp yet trying to peek its way into her psyche.
‘Well, he’s doing a lot of talking, most of it a rigorous campaign dedicated to convincing me that what he’s said about the bomb attached to him and his family and the one on Ashlee Haynie is true,’ Dodd replied. ‘It’s not so much he isn’t admitting to me that he’s not to blame as it is he’s making sure I can tell that to a judge he’s never met if this thing works out for him.’
‘Back up, though. You said you don’t think he’s scared though? So the things he’s saying to try to get you to believe him aren’t begging to tell other cops not to attempt to disarm Ashlee’s bomb because it’ll kill him and his wife and kid?’
‘Not exactly.’
‘Exactly?’
‘Well, he doesn’t seem to want to die or anything, but his pleas aren’t so much focused on saving the lives of his family so much as they involve claims of future attacks. He swears the bomb attached to him and his family is real, and his big pitch is that if they stop Ashlee’s bomb and the one on him now detonates, the only person who knows the future attackers and attack sites planned will die here, with his family.’
While he didn’t really want to die, he also didn’t think there was any way he would. His narcissism allowed for him to be positive he was giving the police an offer they couldn’t refuse. He wanted to be relevant. Powerful. To hold information the cops, the FBI, the government, would be frantic for. Suddenly, he’d be valuable to them.
‘And of course, they couldn’t let such an important person die with such an important secret,’ Jenna said, rolling her eyes.
A long pause on the other end. ‘Dodd? You OK?’
Dodd’s voice came back in barely a whisper. ‘Yes, yes. I just … I stepped into the balcony stairwell for a minute. Wanted to tell you one thing, just in case. Might be nothing, but worth keeping on our radar.’
‘What is it, Dodd?’ Jenna asked, standing up straighter, alert.
‘There was … I don’t know, Doc. It’s was something he said. Or the way he said it …’
‘Cough it up, Daddy-o,’ Jenna said.
She heard long, nervous exhales almost too close to the phone speaker. What Dodd hadn’t said yet officially had Jenna’s curiosity maxed out faster than any credit card she’d ever owned.
What is that?
‘Hey, Jenna, get over here. We’ve got company, and I’ve got no doubt I’m gonna need backup,’ Saleda interrupted her train of thought as she tapped her on the shoulder from behind where Jenna had stayed on the sidewalk along the cherry blossom trees to call Dodd.
Jenna turned to Saleda, then followed Saleda’s gaze to where it locked on a tall person striding toward them down the walk.
‘Thanks for the info, Dodd,’ Jenna said. ‘I’m going to have to call you back, though. There must’ve been more protest signs than picnic baskets in the park, because Yogi’s headed our way now, and he looks pissed.’
Forty-six
‘Dr Ramey, SA Ovarez,’ he said, giving them each a curt nod that told Jenna he had no intention of observing niceties. ‘I’d ask why I wasn’t informed of the situation at hand, but to do that would be to suggest I don’t already know I’m being purposefully kept out of the loop. However, someone with authority that supersedes even the mighty FBI BAU wishes me to be informed of all developments so I can report to the secretary. He will want an accurate picture of the threat level and how traditional law enforcement is handling it when he makes his recommendation to the president today, of course.’
The general gestured around him to the people milling about – some tourists taking photos as well as locals enjoying the sun in addition to the protestors closer to the memorial. ‘And why are these people not being evacuated? That’s obviously the first step in a situation like this—’
‘My apologies for interrupting, sir, but the other UNSUB? The one at the theatre? Since your people have done such an excellent and thorough job of keeping you informed, surely you’re aware of his involvement, but in case you aren’t, he has a bomb attached to himself, his wife, and his infant child which will detonate in the event that the bomb on Ms Haynie is disarmed,’ Saleda said. ‘In add—’
‘And what does that have to do with not evacuating hundreds of people in danger from a nearby explosion?’ the general cut in angrily.
Saleda visibly swallowed hard, breathed in one, long, deep breath. ‘I was getting to that, sir. In addition to that particular set of extenuating circumstances, the UNSUB at the theatre – who we also believe to have been the leader who orchestrated this series of attacks – has implied that he is able to monitor her onsite here, and that should she balk on their plan by, say, alerting citizens around her to the danger and, thus, lowering the potential impact the attack might have, he has access to remote-detonate the bomb on her with no warning.’
General Ted was silent for a moment, then walked past them a few feet as if thinking.
Yeah, General Brute Force. Don’t have an answer for that one, do you?
The general turned back around. ‘And how do we know she isn’t the mastermind and all this isn’t some scheme to ensure she stays within full range of victims until she decides to make her move and blow everyone sky high?’
Brilliant profiling work, genius.
‘Our investigation has already confirmed that the other UNSUB, Flint Lewis, is the leader of this organization. If Ms Haynie were the actual leader, why would she attach a bomb to herself that was on a set timer? Suicide bombers detonate their own vests. Ms Haynie here may have taken part in the acts of Black Shadow, but she definitely did not lead it,’ Jenna said.
‘And she now realizes she has been misled by Mr Lewis this whole time in an effort to manipulate her into taking part in this, and while she understands this in no way exonerates her from her culpability, she has agreed to cooperate with us to either disarm both bombs or remove hers in such a way that doesn’t bring harm to the other lives attached to it,’ Saleda finished.
‘Oh, right! Let’s not bring harm to the killer responsible for the massacres in the name of their so-called “cause”. That would be simply dreadful!’ the general said, walking a circle around himself, throwing his arms up.
‘Sir, please keep your voice down,’ Saleda said, so strong it was more instruction than request. ‘Lewis claims other attacks are already set to take place even without him, but if he dies, so would the only person with information to prevent them.’
Jenna glanced over at Ashlee on the bench, who was craning her neck in their direction, trying to see what was going on. The general’s rant must have caught her attention.
Jenna turned her gaze back to General Ted. ‘Even if Flint Lewis wasn’t holding future attacks over our heads, and even if it was ethical for law enforcement to choose to blow up one citizen over another without due process, I’d think even you would draw the line at sacrificing a pregnant woman and an innocent thirteen-month-old baby girl. I’m pretty sure little Nell Lewis didn’t ask for a bowie knife and a ski mask for her first birthday. So, let’s just hang tight, supervise, and enjoy the scenery while we let the bomb techs do their jobs.’
The general looked her square in the eye, giving her a smug, condescending smile. ‘Dr Ramey, our national security is at risk. As difficult as it is to make life or death decisions, I’m charged with protecting our country. It’s why we don’t negotiate with terrorists, Doctor. Because if the life of one or two – even one of an infant – can secure hundreds or thousands, I am charged to make that pragmatic call. Now, I am taking control of this matter so that we can end this horrible day with the hundreds in this park intact, including Ms Haynie.’
&
nbsp; ‘And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?’ Jenna asked, unable to keep the bite out of her voice. She couldn’t help it. Regardless of how many wars or medals of honor the general could boast, the terrorists groups he had experience with weren’t like Black Shadow. These weren’t radicalized religious zealots, or nationalists.
‘Black Shadow isn’t your everyday, issue-driven terrorist group,’ Jenna said. ‘Most issue-driven groups unite because of an intense passion for a single cause like environmental extremists, fanatical animal rights groups, and even militant pro-life advocates. While Black Shadow did join together to fight for a shared cause, the reasons they came to be passionate about that cause were far more personal. The cause they all ended up supporting was only very indirectly related to the individual, intimate, and painful reasons they each came to fight for it.’
‘What are you driving at, Dr Ramey?’
‘Despite their different circumstances, every single member in Black Shadow ultimately ended up believing that the lack of intelligence in the government and in society was to blame for whatever in their past had harmed them in ways they would never forget or forgive. But how do you think they made that jump? To be so incensed by it that they were willing to massacre innocent people to take a stand against it required two things: a grieving victim filled with pain and anger, and someone to manipulate them into believing that mass murder was somehow the answer to that pain and anger.’
General Ted threw his arms up again. ‘Well, they’re still killers, Dr Ramey! How does this have anything to do with how I handle the matter so that everyone here at the memorial today will go home safe and sound – including our female mass murderer over there?’
‘It matters because, right now, Ashlee is cooperating freely, and we’re working to keep everyone safe because of that,’ Saleda cut in. ‘But emotions are running high, and there are a lot of feelings in play surrounding this issue. You may feel you have the upper hand, but without knowing her mindset, her pathology, her background – let’s just say making the right move here is critical.’
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