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There was a pause, then the sound of a lock being thrown. A tall, well-built guard in a suit opened the door to admit her. Somewhere beyond him a TV was playing what sounded like a war movie at a high volume. “I didn’t call for—”
She dropped the towels and punched him out.
It was so fast he never even saw it coming. He dropped like a stone. Loup caught him and eased him to the floor, determining with one quick glance that they were out of the line of sight of anyone in the suite beyond the foyer. She reached into his shoulder holster and plucked out his pistol, then opened the door soundlessly and beckoned.
Pilar entered, lugging the duffel bag. She set it down quietly and took the pistol Loup handed her. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and nodded.
They sidled into the suite.
It didn’t have a hot tub, but it had an enormous wide-screen TV. Miguel Garza and another guy in a suit were sitting side by side on a big black leather couch playing a video game, wireless consoles in their hands. They both looked up.
“What the fuck?” The guard put down his console and stood.
“Freeze!” Pilar took a shooter’s stance, the pistol braced.
Miguel stared past her, thunderstruck. “Loup?”
The guard reached for his holster.
“I mean it. ” Pilar levered the safety, her hands and voice steady. “Don’t move. ”
“She means it,” Loup agreed. “Hi, Mig. It’s good to see you. ” She approached the guard, who eyed her with stunned perplexity. “Sorry about this,” she said to him. “It’s nothing personal. ”
“What—”
She took him out with a judicious punch. “Whoops!” She caught him on the descent, wrestling him sideways. “Don’t want you to hit your head on the coffee table. You’re gonna feel bad enough as it is. ”
“Loup?” Miguel repeated, still staring. “Am I fucking hallucinating?”
“No. ” She went back to retrieve the duffel. “C’mon, we’ve got to hurry. ”
“Jesus, Ecchevarria!” He shifted his dumbstruck gaze to Pilar. “A gun? A fucking gun? Do you even have the faintest idea how to use that thing?”
“Yep. ” Pilar checked the chamber, then ejected the cartridge and handed it to Loup, who was rummaging in the duffel bag. She unbuttoned the Hawaiian shirt and shrugged out of it. “Grab me that other guy’s gun, will you?”
Miguel fished it out gingerly. “Why are you wearing a shirt with Loup’s picture on it? And why does it say Kate?”
“We’ve got one for you, too, big boy. ” Pilar ejected the second cartridge. “Got everything, baby?”
“Yeah. Here. ” Loup handed Miguel a Kate T-shirt and baseball cap. “Put those on. ” She glanced at his khaki pants. “Do you have any jeans? You’d blend in better. ”
“Um… yeah. In the bedroom. ”
She shoved him. “Go, go! Hurry!”
He went, stumbling with shock.
Loup stripped off the maid’s uniform and yanked on jeans and a Kate T-shirt, shoving her feet into sneakers. Pilar took the elastic ponytail holder from her hair and handed it to Loup, who put her hair back. They crammed everything else into the duffel bag. At least at a casual glance, they weren’t readily identifiable as the same two who’d entered the suite.
“The fuck?” Miguel emerged in T-shirt, jeans, and cap. “What are you fucking doing here? I thought the two of you were off on some nauseatingly cute lovebirds’ honeymoon tour of Western Europe!”
“Rescuing you,” Loup said simply. “And testifying to Congress, maybe. ”
“Goddamnit!” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Goddamnit, you fucking little freak! You were safe where you were! Why didn’t you stay there and let Jane fucking Bond here testify!”
She batted his hands away. “Are you done yelling at me? Because we really have to go. ”
“I need to pack!” Miguel protested.
Loup shook her head. “No time. C’mon, let’s move. ”
“Radio, baby,” Pilar reminded her.
She touched her earpiece. “It’s on. ”
“No, theirs. ” Pilar checked guard number two. “Got it. I’ll monitor it. ”
“Okay. ” Loup slung the duffel bag over her shoulder and put on a pair of oversized dark sunglasses. “Let’s go!”
They made for the fire stairs, dragging a bewildered Miguel behind them.
“Hey, Bill,” Loup said into her earpiece. “We’re on the move. Okay. I’ll let you know when we’re about to hit the main floor. ” She glanced behind her. “C’mon, Mig! Hurry!”
He huffed and puffed. “Why not take the elevator?”
“Security cameras,” Pilar said. “They’ll get us anyway, but we’re trying to make them work for it. Plus, according to the specs, security teams check in verbally every fifteen minutes. Standard procedure. If they cop to us—” She touched her earpiece and winced. “And they have. They’ve just figured out your guards aren’t responding. They’re on alert. ”
“Are they moving to block the exits?” Loup asked.
Pilar listened as they clattered down another flight of stairs. “Not yet. They’re sending another team to the suite. ”
Miguel wheezed. “I’m fucking dying here!”
“Jesus, Mig!” Loup slowed. “Why’d you let yourself get so out of shape?”
“Because I’ve been a goddamned hostage!” he growled.
“Only for a few weeks. ”
“You think being in protective custody was any different?”
“I’m just saying. ”
“Okay, code red!” Pilar interjected. “They’re not waiting for confirmation. They’re sending guards to cover all the elevator banks and fire exits on the ground floor. ”
“Plan B. ” Loup keyed her earpiece. “Bill? We’re coming down the escalator. Got a good crowd around it? Great. ”
“You’re kidding me,” Miguel said. “You’re fucking kidding me. You want to ride down the escalator in plain sight?”
“That’s exactly right. ” Loup hit a landing and yanked the door open. “As of this moment, you’re no longer an escaping hostage. You’re escorting your little sister and her best friend to get autographs from their favorite band, because you’re just that kind of guy. In fact, you’re such a nice guy, you’re even wearing Kate gear to humor them. ”
He snorted.
“Move it!” Pilar snapped.
They hurried down the maze of hallways and reached the giant escalator. They had two stages to ride before the final descent to the main floor. Loup peered over the railing into the immense stairwell, trying to gauge the size of the crowd below. “Looks good. ” She straightened, pushing up the sunglasses that had begun to slide down her nose. “Oops. ”
Miguel regarded her. “Why the hell are you wearing sunglasses in here? It’s like the fucking City of Night in this place. ”
“Thought you liked it here. ”
“Are you kidding?”
“Loup’s, um, kind of semifamous with Kate fans,” Pilar explained. “It’s a thing. She’s trying not to be recognized. ”
They stepped onto the last stage of the escalator.
Below, the band was clustered. Randall was holding forth at length, rambling. Donny and Charlie were still signing autographs. A small sea of Kate fans, teenyboppers peppered with a number of laconic hipsters, surrounded them. Beyond them, they could see security guards in neat suits circulating.
None of them gave the escalator more than a cursory look.
“Right behind you, Bill,” Loup said into her earpiece as they descended.
Kate’s head of security gave her a curt nod. His team directed fans to shift subtly, making room for their arrival. Randall began wrapping up his speech.
They hit the bottom of the escalator and melted into the crowd—more or less.
Loup thumped Miguel on the shoulder
. “Try not to look so hulking. ”
“Fuck you! I’m a big guy. ”
“All righty-right!” Geordie Davies said brightly, taking over from Randall. “Everyone had a nice time? Got yourselves some nice swag and all? Well, we’ve got to be off. Let’s give the boys from Kate a big round of applause and see them out to the limo, shall we?”
The crowd shrieked.
“Goddamn!” Miguel complained. “My ears!”
“Shut up. ” Pilar pushed him. “Follow the band. ”
Kate’s security team closed around them. There were guards posted at the main entrance to the casino, but they stood back to let the entourage pass, scanning beyond them. They exited in a swirl of fans.
Two limos were waiting. Loup steered Miguel toward the farthest, while the band took the nearest. She glanced over her shoulder as Miguel squeezed himself through the car door and saw a guard talking into his earpiece with a suspicious look.
“Uh-oh. ” She clambered into the limo after Pilar. “Airport, please. We’re in a hurry. ”
“Hold on, miss,” the driver said, listening to his transmitter. “I’m getting an order from casino security to wait. ”
“Shit!” Loup glanced at Pilar, who looked stricken. It wasn’t a contingency they’d considered. “Route to the airport?”
Pilar fumbled for her Dataphone. “I’ll find it. Go!”
Loup whipped out of the limo and around to the driver’s door, moving in a blur. The crowd of Kate fans clamored in sudden recognition. She jerked open the door and grabbed the surprised driver by the collar, hauling him out. “Catch!” she shouted to the fans, taking hold of the driver’s belt with her other hand and sending him sailing. Half a dozen fans tumbled down under his weight. Loup scrambled into the driver’s seat and locked the doors.
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