"We got us a prowler," Espinosa yelled from the top of the bas.e.m.e.nt stairs.
"Move over, Vinnie!" Debargio growled. "You"re in my way."
BLAM! Another volley peppered the sheetrock around Zack. Dust and plaster flew. Wood splintered, hitting the back of his head and neck enough to pepper him, but not enough to knock him out. He brushed it off. Dying in Lord"s bas.e.m.e.nt was not an option.
"I got him!" Vinnie yelled.
Zack charged, his Ruger spitting round after round as he dived to the floor, aiming his weapon up the staircase and into the hefty bodies blocking the door. He saw one round hit the center ma.s.s of Espinosa. The man didn"t go down, even as the narrow chute of the stairway transformed into a shooting galley. Zack expelled his spent magazine and reloaded his spare in one smooth move, not willing to waste a second of the time he had left.
The d.a.m.nedest thought flashed through his head. I should have married Mei.
Espinosa fell, or was shoved to the side by Debargio. Zack could not tell. All he knew was Espinosa was no longer shooting. Debargio filled the doorway, aiming a d.a.m.ned big .45 Magnum down the stairs. Zack took careful aim, but Debargio dropped to his knees, the side of his face gone in a splash of red spray. Both men were down.
What the h.e.l.l?
Zack rolled to his knees, his smoking hot weapon still pointed to the second floor where the nice clean kitchen had once been. He had to be sure. With his ears ringing, he climbed the steps, his Ruger extended in both hands, ready to finish the job once and for all. It became quickly apparent who"d saved the day.
The north facing windows were shattered. Both gangsters were missing parts of their skulls, some of their brains, and a lot of blood. He"d gotten a few body shots in, but it was David and Roy who"d sniped these thugs. Through the kitchen windows, no less.
Zack stepped over the sprawled remains, d.a.m.ned ready to get the h.e.l.l out of the Lord estate. The ringing in his ears cleared as he made his way through the kitchen.
"You copy?" David"s voice was as calm as ever in Zack"s earpiece.
Before he could answer, Murphy shot back an angry volley. "Sonofab.i.t.c.h! Do I copy what?"
"Zack."
No wonder Murphy was spun up. David was so calm, while Murphy was pinging. The two did not mix well. Zack opened his mouth to advise his status, but once again his anxious second-in-command pre-empted him with an angry bellow. "d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l, David! You got Zack or not?"
"Yes, Murphy. Got him in my sights. Safe and sound."
Zack allowed a weary smile when Murphy snarled back to David. "I am too d.a.m.ned old for this bulls.h.i.t!"
Ah. The brotherhood of men who"ve got your back. Nothing in the world like it.
He pushed open the side door and stumbled into the fresh December air. Cold had never felt so good. But like he often did after the battle was done, he grabbed his knees and threw up. After he wiped his mouth, he holstered his pistol as Murphy roared up to him, mad as h.e.l.l.
"You okay?" Zack eyed the older man as he peeled his earpiece off.
"Me? Am I okay?" Murphy was steaming. "How about you tell me why you shut your comm link off and left me high and dry without a word outta you?"
Before Zack could answer, Murphy pushed him back a foot as adrenaline took charge. The older man was shaking. Zack got it. He was shaking, too.
"Next thing I know, all h.e.l.l breaks loose. You don"t answer me and all I hear is the whole d.a.m.ned world falling apart, only I don"t have a clue where you are or what you"re doing!" Murphy yelled, stabbing a finger in Zack"s chest with every step he took. Before he was done, Zack was back at the side door, too weak to resist his friend"s panic-motivated battering. "What kind of bulls.h.i.t is that, Lennox? You want to tell me?"
Zack accepted the brunt of Murphy"s wrath. He"d just crawled out of the mouth of h.e.l.l. He didn"t mind the b.u.t.t-chewing he was getting. Murphy was scared. h.e.l.l, he was scared. Finnegan"s wrath was nothing compared to what could have happened down in the cellar. Zack huffed the only answer he had. "Interference...from their furnace motor...I think. All I know is, I lost communication...when the furnace cycled on. Couldn"t hear any of you."
Murphy stared, blowing out great plumes of vapor into the frigid air. He was still shaking with too much anger and not enough relief, his fists clenched, and Zack prepared for a literal beat down.
Go on, Murph. Hit me. Maybe then I"ll feel better, too.
"I"d never not check in with you." Zack panted his own adrenaline away. "d.a.m.ned glad you got through to me. You saved my life."
Murphy brushed Zack"s hand off and stalked away, muttering, "d.a.m.n kids. You think you"re all so sonofab.i.t.c.hin" smart."
"Don"t worry. He"ll cool off," Roy offered. "It just scared the h.e.l.l out of us when we lost contact. Almost came in after you."
Zack nodded, still blowing the excess adrenaline away. "Me, too. Man, what a mess."
"We saw the tubs Debargio and Espinosa hauled out," Roy said, nodding to the open carriage-house garage doors. "Were those what I think they were?"
"Yeah. Lord and his wife. Guess Dom and Vinnie got stuck doing their own dirty work."
"Are you okay?" David peered into Zack"s face.
"You need a minute?" Roy asked.
"My ears are still ringing," Zack admitted. h.e.l.l, my whole body"s ringing.
"What happened?" Murphy was back, his eyes sharp and red-rimmed. "After you lost contact. What happened?"
Zack recounted the gory comedy of Dom and Vinnie. "They must"ve seen me. All I know is I heard your warning come through and the next thing, Debargio and Espinosa are firing at me. b.a.s.t.a.r.ds d.a.m.ned near hit me." Zack turned his head to show where the splinters had imbedded into the back of his head and neck. "I got a couple hits in, but man, those guys were big. They just would not go down."
"So how"d you get out of there?" Murphy had his arms crossed, still a little hot under the collar.
"I had some help." Zack nodded his chin toward David and Roy.
David gave one short, quick nod.
"Thanks, man." Zack clamped his shoulder. "d.a.m.ned good shooting through the back window. And you." He turned to Roy. "I owe you guys."
Roy wiped his eyes. "Nah. Couldn"t let you get yourself killed now that you finally got something worth living for, could I?"
Zack gulped at the very accurate a.s.sessment of his life. Roy was spot on. He had everything to live for and these two snipers to thank.
"You"re a stupid kid, you know that, Lennox?" Murphy grabbed Zack by the back of his neck and hauled him in for one of those chest b.u.mp kind of man hugs. "Thought you was smarter than that."
Speechless, Zack could only slap Murphy"s back and endure the fatherly praise.
"So who were these guys waiting for?" Roy asked.
"Don"t know," Zack muttered. "Debargio mentioned they had a boss. You guys know who that might be?"
"No," Murphy replied. "With these two dead, seems to me we"re running out of bosses."
"We may never know." David glanced at the house. "It"s a crime scene now. Re-entering would be tampering with evidence. It"s up to the police."
"How do we explain us being inside?" Zack asked. He hadn"t worried when it was just breaking and entering. Murder gave it a whole new spin.
"We tell the truth," Roy said calmly. "As far as the police are concerned, we were following up on an Interpol operation. We noticed Dom and Vinnie"s van and we suspected foul play. Heck, tell "em about Gus and d.i.c.k, Lord too. Let Peters do some explaining for a change."
THIRTY-ONE.
"Tell us what they said again," David asked.
"Debargio distinctly said their boss didn"t want them to set Lord"s place on fire. Vinnie argued, but Dom said the boss wanted time to get out of town," Zack answered.
The TEAM had reconvened back in their own Situation Room the next morning instead of reporting to Director Peters. The fire department had released the office portion of the arson crime scene, as long as everyone entered through the lobby and utilized the front stairway. The elevator and parking garage were off limits but the office was intact, more or less.
Kelsey called earlier to let Murphy know Alex was doing better. He"d had a good night"s sleep and except for his hearing loss, he was feeling better. She"d laughed. He insisted he was going to install a hot tub in their backyard while he was off work and recuperating. Even sick, the man couldn"t hold still.
David had invited all agents to the conference table, even junior agents Mark Houston and Harley Mortimer, who"d barely returned from Afghanistan and had their own debriefing to look forward to. Mother and Ember attended as well.
"h.e.l.l, who"s left?" Roy muttered. He ticked the names off his fingers. "First Brown, then Carducci, Gus, d.i.c.k, Senator Lord, his wife, Debargio, and Espinosa. That"s eight murders, not counting the baby in the morgue. Am I missing anyone?"
Zack rubbed a hand over his head. "Todd," he muttered, surprised Roy could have forgotten.
"You"re right." Roy added another finger. "Sorry. d.a.m.ned near Alex too. That"s nine murders and one attempted."
"Maybe Dom and Vinnie were sick of working for Lord," Murphy offered. "You guys know how gangsters operate. They"ve got no problem killing each other."
Zack spoke up. "No, they were following someone else"s orders. Someone is still out there running the show. Besides, I was there. I saw those guys in Lord"s bas.e.m.e.nt. They weren"t bright enough to hit a U. S. Senator without being told or paid to do it."
"It"s like we"re going around in a big old circle here, only we keep ending back at Lord," Murphy muttered.
"Like we"re being led." Zack frowned.
"d.a.m.n, but you guys have been busy." Harley squinted at the overhead screen, ruffling a hand over his sandy-colored hair as he yawned. "And here I thought only us in the field did any real work."
"You don"t mind if I take over for a minute, do you, David?" Mark snagged the laser pointer and focused on the overhead screen.
"No. Feel free. That"s why you"re here." David leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh. "I think the rest of us are too close to this operation. Murphy and Zack are right. Despite all we think we know, it feels like we"re going around in circles."
"It sounds like it"s been an ugly operation," Mark agreed. "I guess if we follow Murphy and Zack"s gut, the real question is-"
"Who the h.e.l.l"s left?" Zack growled. "What are we not seeing?"
"It"s impossible to quantify feelings." Mark scanned everyone at the table. "Let"s look at the evidence differently. Where"d all this good information come from?"
"Most of it came from me and Ember." Mother spoke timidly as if she might incriminate herself. "The boss asked us to track some transactions. Ember came up with a boatload in the Caymans. They all originated in China."
Zack glanced at Ember, still wearing dark gla.s.ses and plenty of black.
"We"re not worried about you and Ember. Who else provided information?" Mark asked.
"Alex," David offered thoughtfully. "He worked privately with Interpol Director Daniel Peters. Peters gave him the FBI dossiers on Debargio and Lord."
"Definitely not worried about Alex. So what about the FBI?" Mark asked.
"They"re a pain in the a.s.s to work with," Roy offered.
"They don"t share intel," Zack said.
"They"re arrogant," Murphy remarked.
"They don"t do thorough reconnaissance," Harley said.
"They think one death is acceptable collateral damage," Mark answered his own question with a subdued voice.
"And they have the easiest firewalls around to hack." Mother smiled, but then her eyes widened at what had come out of her mouth. "I mean...umm, not that I would ever do such a thing. I might know someone who said they knew someone who mighta done something like that. Maybe. Once upon a time. A long time ago."
Mark cast a sideways smirk at Mother"s unexpected disclosure. "I"m going to pretend I didn"t hear that. Listen folks, I know we don"t care to work with the FBI, and yes, they"re a pain in the a.s.s, but I"d like to think we"re on the same side. What was in the dossiers?"
"Alex didn"t want the information shared." David pursed his lips. "But it did prove the links between Huang, Lord, Carducci, and Debargio."
"But did it prove Lord was Huang?" Mark asked.
"No. It only proved someone in Mainland China made deposits to specific accounts in the Caymans."
"We need to see those dossiers," Zack said. "Then we need Mother and Ember to double-check everything in them. It sure looks like we"ve trusted our federal brethren a little too quickly."
"Like Carducci," Murphy commented drily. "Sure didn"t see that coming."
"We heard about it over in Afghanistan. It"s pretty bad when you"ve got to cross-check the government folks who hire you in the first place," Harley said. "Man, I"m suffering from jet lag something awful. I need coffee. Y"all go ahead with your arguing and I"ll be right back. Clear me a spot on the table. I"m bringing the twenty-cup percolator." With that, he headed out.
"Don"t forget the creamer," Roy called after him.
"Okay, so we talk to Alex, check out what"s in those FBI files, and then we"ll know for sure if Lord is the top dog in this fight, if he"s really the Chinese mastermind known as Huang." Mark glanced at Mother and Ember. "You know that means you two will be doing all the double-checking, don"t you?"
"Not a problem," Mother replied. "It"s what we do, Mark honey."
Ember nodded, and Zack wanted to reach out and give her a hug. Her current choice of black hair dye only made her look scrawny and sad, like she was drowning and no one could save her. Survivor"s guilt slapped him down. That stupid gangster had intended to kill him, not Todd. Looking at poor Ember, Zack almost wished he"d been the one to die that day. Did she wish the same? Did she blame him? He couldn"t help but wonder, because he sure as h.e.l.l blamed himself.
"Enough said about the FBI. What about Director Peters? What information did he provide?" Mark drew a red laser circle around the Interpol director"s name on the screen.
David"s brows furrowed. "Alex met privately with Director Peters several times. I wasn"t privy to those meetings, but according to Alex, Interpol has no hard evidence Huang exists. He supposedly has a private home in China, but no one has a photo of the man. Peters was the one who provided Alex with copies of the Huang emails that originated right here in D.C."
Mark glanced at Ember. "Did you double-check what Peters provided Alex?"
Ember nodded. "I was the one who tracked the IP address to Lord. It was easy. In fact," she turned to Zack, "it was too easy."