The Rescue(67)

Pierce lowered the barrel of his rifle a few inches to look over the magnified sight. “Why the hell would you want to kill me, Ryan?”

“I talked to Penkin.”

“Sounds like you did more than just talk to him.”

“He told me an interesting story.”

“I bet he did.”

“Meghan Steele was kidnapped by a group of American mercenaries and handed to him for disposal, but they figured out who she was and kept her for future leverage.”

“It sort of explains why she was still alive and there were no ransom demands,” said Pierce.

“We get hired to find her by Senator Steele after the FBI investigation hits a wall,” said Decker, “and pull off a near miracle by locating her.”

“It was pretty miraculous,” said Pierce. “What’s your point?”

“We were never meant to find her. Penkin told me that the mercenary group got back in touch with him a few days before the Hemet raid, furious that she was still alive. He claims the mercenaries were behind the explosion. That it was a deliberate trap.”

Pierce lowered his rifle a few more inches. “How did they know we found her?”

“That’s what I came here to ask you.”

“Me?” said Pierce. “You think I ratted us out?”

“Somebody did.”

“The Russians got the jump on us. Plain and simple,” said Pierce. “They fed us intel about a new shipment of kids to buy enough time to rig the place with explosives. They outplayed us, and it sounds like Penkin continued to play you until the very end. A mystery mercenary group behind everything? I don’t think so.”

“I wouldn’t have believed it, either, until about forty-eight hours ago,” said Decker. “I’m pretty sure the mercenaries worked for Aegis Global.”

Pierce studied him for a moment before slinging the rifle over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your wife and son, Ryan,” said Pierce. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry. But you’re starting to sound a bit unhinged. I don’t know how else to say it.”

“I have evidence linking them to the Hemet explosion.”

“Aegis Global’s CEO recommended us to Senator Steele. We’d done work for them in the past,” said Pierce. “They knew we were the best in the business. Why would they hire us if there was any chance we could find Steele’s daughter?”

“Because they didn’t know she was still alive when they hired us,” said Decker. “As far as they knew, there was no chance we could find her.”

Pierce sighed. “There’s no conspiracy, and nobody ratted us out. The Russians just hammered us! Repeatedly.”

“Then how did you make it out unscathed?” said Decker. “You’re the only other survivor. It’s hard to get past that. Everyone else lost family that night, and everyone else ended up murdered—or they took their own lives.”

“Wait. You actually think I’d be okay with getting my friends and their families killed?” said Pierce. “What is wrong with you?”

“You never went to trial, and the Bureau of Prisons has no record of you outside the Municipal Detention Center. You vanished a few months after Hemet, reappearing once to fake your family’s deaths. Oh yeah—and to publish a bunch of articles about your phony release from prison.”

“I didn’t betray you, Ryan,” said Pierce, slowly shaking his head. “I gave our files on the Bratva to the Department of Justice in exchange for my release. I also promised to testify against the Russians in court.”

“What? They would have obtained those files anyway through their investigation of our firm.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” said Pierce. “They technically weren’t germane to the charges filed against us, and the encrypted cloud service used to store the information wasn’t subject to US laws.”

“The cloud service was based in San Jose—wait, you totally suckered them,” said Decker, unable to suppress a grin.

“I tried to wrap everyone into that deal, but the feds wouldn’t bite. I had to take it. Nobody was protecting my family. It was only a matter of time before the Russians got to them.”

“Can I put the cooler down?” said Decker.

“As long as you don’t plan on shooting me.”

Decker lowered the cooler to the ground, shaking his head. “I’m embarrassed that the thought even crossed my mind. Sorry, Brad. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Pierce shook his head. “What the Russians did was unforgivable. But we have to move on.”

“I can’t move on. I have to finish this.”

“Penkin is dead, right? I assume you kidnapped him,” said Pierce. “What else is there?”

“They used Penkin like the rest of us. There’s more to the Steele kidnapping than the Russians. A lot more.”

“Who’s they? Aegis? Mercenaries?” said Pierce. “Come on, man. It’s over.”

“Did you have breakfast yet?”

“No. You kind of interrupted my breakfast plans.”

“Is there a place we can sit down and grab a bite to eat? I need to show you a few things,” said Decker. “Somewhere with decent coffee, maybe?”