While Justice Sleeps(116)
“Ms. Keene.” Vance crossed to where Avery and Ling stood near the center of the room. “I understand your mother is in some distress.”
What is he doing here? Her pulse began to gallop, and Avery summoned every ounce of theatrics she’d ever learned. Jared and Agent Lee were en route to the warehouse, poised to free her mother and capture Major Vance and his henchmen in the act. But the first domino stood in the Oval Office. “Major Vance,” she greeted him stiffly. “Domestic kidnappings are the province of the FBI. Why would Homeland Security be involved?”
“Major Vance has special military training,” the president explained firmly. “More importantly, DHS has broad authority to act in certain matters, and with an alacrity the FBI lacks. He can get your mother for you. Of that, I’m certain.”
The irony of the president’s reassurance shook Avery’s composure. “Major Vance has shown little interest in assisting me,” she argued. “I’d prefer to deal with someone else.”
“Time is of the essence,” Major Vance told her coldly. “If you care to retrieve your mother, you’ll let me handle this.”
“What about the FBI?” she stubbornly argued. “They have the top hostage negotiators. How will you find her faster than they can?”
“Tell me what you know, and we’ll have her home to you by dinner.”
* * *
—
Agent Lee drove with deadly speed along the waterfront. In the seat beside him, Agent Leighton radioed instructions to other units: “Establish a six-block perimeter and hold radio silence until my mark.”
Once she coded off, he resumed his diatribe: “Goddamn it, Jared. I’d expect this kind of stunt from Avery, but you’re a freaking military officer.”
“Former.”
Agent Lee whipped around a parked semi unloading freight. He throttled down the speed, but his hands clenched tighter on the wheel. “Baiting a man who is holding her mother hostage? She might be too green to understand the danger, but you’re not! Rita Keene dies, and it’s on all your heads!”
They’d been in motion for nearly ten minutes, car stereo tuned in to C-SPAN’s satellite coverage of the White House. Agent Lee had been stunned to hear the president’s announcement and Avery’s statement.
Jared scanned the buildings for the one beeping on his handheld GPS. “Avery has a plan. We’re doing this her way.”
“Her way? A law clerk orchestrating a search and rescue? What the hell is wrong with you? And you!” he shouted at Noah, catching him in the rearview mirror. “If she’s already traded Justice Wynn’s job for her mother, why in the hell are you still helping her?” he demanded as the SUV approached the address Jared provided.
“Believe me, she’s thought of that too,” Noah said, placating the FBI man. “She brought you in, Agent Lee, despite having every reason to do this alone.”
“She’s got no right to operate outside the law.”
“Which she hasn’t done.” Noah scooted forward, bracing his arms on the back of Agent Leighton’s seat. Haranguing his way into the SUV had taken all his persuasive skills. But with Avery and Ling at the White House, he wasn’t going to sit at home twiddling his thumbs. Avery’s plan had to work—and he’d be along for the ride. He slanted a look at Agent Lee through the rearview mirror. “Justice Wynn knew what she was capable of. Soon, so will the people who kidnapped Rita.”
Jared gave a brief shake of his head, and Noah subsided. He raised the GPS. “The warehouse is up ahead. We should go in on foot from here. The building is in the second row.”
Agent Lee started hunting for a place to stop, but he continued his rant. “You two will stay in the car.”
“No way.” Jared reached behind his back to the piece he’d retrieved from his apartment before they’d gone into hiding. “I’ve got a special military permit, and I’m an excellent shot.”
“This isn’t a discussion.” Agent Lee jammed the truck into a space and killed the engine. “I don’t take civilians on retrieval operations.”
“You do if you can’t get the coordinates any other way.” Jared cut power to the unit. “Rita Keene is being held hostage, and her only bargaining chip has just been publicly traded away by her daughter.”
Cursing, Agent Lee gave a sharp nod. “But the lawyer stays in the vehicle.”
Noah raised his hands to show no resistance. “Fine with me. Just remember to Mirandize the son of a bitch.”
The agents and Jared emerged from the SUV and met up with several more agents yards away. “Coordinates.”
“Building 73179,” Jared answered in a terse whisper. Training, now encoded in his blood, shifted him into position as they moved in silence toward the building.
The faded green metal-and-wood structure had been marked for demolition, a casualty of the city’s waterfront revitalization plan. Slats high on the walls provided minimal ventilation, and the doors had been welded with no care for covert entry. Agent Lee held up three fingers, sending a team around to the rear. Jared clung like a burr to Lee’s position, determined to go in with the entry team.
A grimy window offered the lone source of light, and Jared tapped Agent Leighton’s shoulder. She nodded in understanding and shifted so he could boost her up to peer inside. She tapped his shoulder, and he lowered her to the ground. Two fingers came up, then shifted into a mockery of a gun.