True to her word, Rainey took all precautions. Four blocks away from the target house, she stood at the back of the Charger gearing up. Her Sarkar IV, bulletproof vest came with removable attachments. She rarely wore the extra protection, but considering the amount of firepower that was going into this situation, she feared being shot in the crossfire more than she feared Chauncey. She added the upper arm and throat pieces, along with the collar. She even put on her helmet, which she never wore. Mackie helped her get the collar to stay on right. He wore his normal vest, but he made Junior wear the collar on his, and borrowed a helmet for him from the fugitive apprehension team.
In order to make this work, Rainey had to take custody of Chauncey. The police could go in first, if he broke a law, but could not enter the house without a warrant. He had not violated his bond, yet. Rainey needed to get him to come out the door voluntarily. The plan was for Junior and Mackie to go around back with two guys from the fugitive team, while Rainey knocked on the front door. She would have four officers with her. The police presence could convince Chauncey to surrender peacefully, or send him over the edge into the "going out in a blaze of glory" mentality. Rainey hoped everything went easy. She sure didn"t want to shoot the guy.
Junior"s cell rang. He answered it, listened for a few seconds, and then said, "All right, we"re comin" in." He hung up and looked at Rainey. "Chauncey"s getting" antsy. He don"t want to wait. Says the boys can bring him the money later. Bobo says he"s messed up on somethin". There"s three people in the house. Bobo says don"t f.u.c.k up and shoot him, he"s wearin" a NC State hoodie."
"Okay, I guess we better go. He"ll be in the wind if we don"t." Rainey pointed at Junior. "Let the other guys know Bobo"s a good guy and what he"s wearing."
When they were alone, Mackie got Rainey"s attention. "You don"t have to do this. Let me go in the front."
Rainey had not told Mackie about the copycat, yet. She wanted him focused on the task at hand.
"No, he"ll probably run out the back. I doubt he"ll come at me with four cops on my hip. Let"s just try and talk him out of there."
"It"s your call, but if he flinches..."
Rainey nodded. "Chill out, big guy. I"ve been face to face with worse than Chauncey Barber."
"Don"t get c.o.c.ky," Mackie warned.
"You"re the second person to tell me that in the last hour."
Mackie stared down at her. "Then, I guess you better heed the warning."
Three minutes later, Rainey stood at the end of the walkway leading up to the little white house. The place belonged to Chauncey"s grandmother, who was at Bingo for the moment. On either side of Rainey, two officers with rifles, trained on the front of the house, kept pace with her as she walked up to the porch. She stopped on the top step, watching for signs of movement. Her pistol was drawn and secured with both hands. She listened for a moment before moving closer to the door. She could hear male voices coming from the front room on her right. She moved to the left of the door and waited for the four officers to take positions.
"Chauncey!" Rainey yelled. "Chauncey come on out. It"s Rainey Bell... I got to take you in ... Back on out this door with your hands in the air... You hear me Chauncey?"
There was movement behind the door. A scared voice said, "Hey man, don"t shoot my a.s.s. I"m comin" out. I ain"t Chauncey, but I don"t want to get my a.s.s shot. You feelin" me?"
"Yeah, I feel ya"," Rainey yelled back. "Open that door nice and slow. Back out with your hands clasped behind your head. You flinch and four of Raleigh"s finest are going to light you up. You got it?"
"Okay man, here I come."
One of the cops grabbed the storm door and held it open. The wooden door creaked open slowly, revealing Bobo in his red hoodie. He backed out and went to his knees on the porch, hands quickly placed on the back of his head. The wooden door slammed shut again.
Bobo looked up at Rainey. "Man, he"s nuts. Y"all better call some more cops. He ain"t coming out of there."
One of the cops patted Bobo down and then told him to get across the street. Rainey looked at the four men holding rifles on the front of the house. Each man nodded it was time to make a move.
"Chauncey, don"t make me have to shoot you," she tried one more time. "Come on out and we"ll go straighten this out at the courthouse. You could be back on the street by suppertime."
"f.u.c.k you! You come in that door, b.i.t.c.h, and I"m going to blow you up," Chauncey shouted from behind the door.
"Is that a threat, Chauncey? You packin"? You know that"s a violation of your bail. Now the cops can come on in. Are you sure that"s what you want?"
Rainey moved as she talked. She slid down by the door handle, with the wall protecting her back. She signaled the cop to her right, who in turn said into his headset, "Go, go, go."
They heard the back door splinter, as Mackie and the others gained access rather rapidly. Rainey turned the handle on the door and the four cops entered one behind the other. By the time Rainey made it into the house, Chauncey was face down in the floor. He had been too drugged up to take the safety off his gun.
Rainey was standing in the hallway, holstering her weapon, when Junior said, "Where"s the third guy?"
She heard the distinct click-click of a revolver being c.o.c.ked behind her. She looked up at the top of the small staircase to see a young boy, probably thirteen or fourteen, with the barrel of a gun pointed squarely at her.
"Chauncey, who"s this young man with the weapon aimed at me?" Rainey said, as calmly as she could muster.
"That"s my sister"s boy. Don"t shoot him."
"I"m more worried about him shooting me at the moment, and you know these guys are going to blow him away after that, right?"
"Darnell, put that gun down fool," Chauncey said. The cuffs seemed to have cleared his mind some.
Darnell was trembling, the gun barrel wavering in the air. He looked like a child with a toy, but the voice that spoke was not childlike. "I"m going to pop this b.i.t.c.h. I"ll make my bones and be out in seven years."
One of the cops peeked around the corner at Darnell and Rainey. He tried to reason with the kid. "Son, that "b.i.t.c.h" is a former FBI agent. You don"t know the world of hurt that"s going to come down if I let you shoot her, so I"m not going to let you do that. You"ll be dead before you can pull the trigger. Now drop the weapon and no harm done."
"s.h.i.t, I"ll be famous if I pop a FBI b.i.t.c.h and if you shoot me I"ll be a legend."
"Then dead it is," the cop said.
Rainey saw the grin creep across Darnell"s face. She saw his finger twitch and knew she was about to be shot. It all happened so fast. In one move the cop stepped in front of Rainey, as she dove for the floor. He fired his weapon at the boy. The bullet from his gun crashed into Darnell"s leg milliseconds before the bullet from his revolver smashed into Rainey"s right shoulder. The force of the bullet rolled her. She lay there taking stock of her condition. Her shoulder hurt like h.e.l.l, but when she looked she could clearly see the end of the bullet sticking out of the ballistic material on the shoulder pad she had added.
"Thank G.o.d for small miracles," she said under her breath.
Darnell was in a pile at the top of the stairs. He dropped his gun and was now screaming like the kid he was. The cop stood over him.
"Shut up. You"ll live a long and happy life in prison. Maybe your uncle there will teach you the ropes when you get to the big house."
Mackie was suddenly standing over Rainey. "You all right?"
"Yeah, the shoulder pad caught it. Gonna bruise like h.e.l.l. What the f.u.c.k? I thought one of those guys was supposed to clear the upstairs."
"That young one was supposed to, but I think he got excited," Mackie said, nodding toward the young cop being chewed out by an older one.
Rainey could hear the sirens coming. "s.h.i.t. Katie."
Mackie looked confused. "What about Katie?"
"You know this. .h.i.t the scanner. The news trucks will be here in a minute. I have to call her, before she sees this."
Mackie helped her to her feet. She walked out onto the porch and dialed home. Katie picked up on the first ring.
Rainey spoke quickly, "It"s over. Everything"s all right."
"Then, why do I here sirens in the background?" Katie asked.
"Cause the guy"s nephew decided to shoot at me and one of the cops shot him." No sense in lying, she would see the news.
Katie"s voice was strained with worry. "Are you okay? Did he hit you?"
"Just a graze on the shoulder. It hit the vest, so no harm done. I wanted you to know I"m okay, in case the news trucks show up. You good?"
"Rainey, can we seriously talk about you getting shot at all the time? I mean is this normal?"
"Honey, we"ll talk when I get home, okay? I love you. I have to go."
"Okay, but we"re going to talk about this."
"I gotta go, Katie. Bye."
Rainey didn"t want to talk about it now. She wanted to get this a.s.shole booked, along with his wanna-be gang banging nephew, and get home. Her boxes were coming open, and her walls were crashing in.
Paperwork and interviews with the police about the incident took up the whole afternoon. When she wasn"t dealing with the police, she explained to Mackie who Dalton was and how his copycat might be after her. Mackie did not appear surprised; in fact, it seemed he had been expecting it.
"Baby girl," he said, his big ba.s.s voice rumbling in the narrow hallway, "We knew this day could come. You got a plan?"
"I had a plan, but that went out the window when I met Katie."
"Sounds like your plan was, "bring it on, let the a.s.sholes come," but now that you have Katie, your life means more to you."
Rainey"s father had been killed just weeks before the attack that nearly killed her. From that moment until she met Katie, Rainey was prepared to challenge all comers. She didn"t care if someone from her past came looking for her. If she survived the next attempt on her life, great, if she didn"t, then so be it. That type of thinking did not jive with the added responsibility, for not only Katie"s life, but also their lives together.
"Mackie, I"ve never been accountable for someone else"s hopes and dreams. It"s overwhelming sometimes. I"m afraid I can"t protect us both."
Mackie lowered his voice. "You"ll be surprised at what you can do when you love someone. Loving someone gives you strength. Your daddy didn"t survive the jungle because he was some bada.s.s. n.o.body was going to kill him, because he had to get back to his baby girl."
"Dad was never afraid of anything."
"Not true. He just channeled his fear into action. As smart as you are, you should know that fear can do two things. It can paralyze you, or it can be a powerful motivator."
"Everything is happening so fast. I can"t think."
"Let your instincts kick in. It"s like when you are in an accident, how everything slows down. You see it all happening in slow motion."
Rainey nodded in agreement and added, "That"s your brain shutting down all the processes it doesn"t need to survive the threat."
"Then clear your mind. Let your training take over. The only thing you need to be thinking about is how to catch this f.u.c.ker, before he makes his move."
"I"ll have a better idea what I"m dealing with after I talk to Danny."
Mackie was making his own plans. He said, "I"ll look after Ernie and the business. Use your training. Profile him and send Danny after his a.s.s." He put his bear paw size hands on her shoulders. "You call me, I come running. You don"t go nowhere alone. Day or night, you call me. You got that?"
"Yeah, I got that." Rainey could barely reach around Mackie"s giant shoulders when she hugged him. She whispered, "You stay safe."
Mackie squeezed her tightly. "You too, baby girl."
"Always."
Three and a half hours after being shot, Rainey pulled the Charger under the cottage. She checked her shoulder in the bathroom just before she left the police station. It was already deep shades of purple and black. The throbbing heat from the bruise was becoming distracting. When she got out of her car, Rainey saw a black SUV, typical of the BAU team, coming down the road toward her. d.a.m.n, she still had to meet with Danny. All Rainey wanted was an ice pack and some Ibuprofen. She certainly was in no mood to deal with Dalton"s copycat, or Katie"s reaction to her being shot. She sighed loudly, knowing the chances of avoiding either one of those things was slim.
Katie was standing on the deck, looking down at Rainey when she emerged from under the cottage. Rainey smiled for the first time in hours.
"That"s Danny coming now," Rainey called up to Katie, as she began to climb the stairs. "I"m sorry, I forgot to tell you he was coming."
Katie rushed Rainey when she reached the deck. She wrapped her arms around Rainey and hugged her tightly, too tightly. Rainey wriggled loose.
"Ouch!" She exclaimed, and rubbed her bruised shoulder.
Katie stepped back. "Oh, I"m sorry. Are you hurt? You said you weren"t hurt."
"Calm down. It"s just a bruise," Rainey said a little sharply, still smarting from the pain.
Katie tilted her head and looked at Rainey. "I"m going to a.s.sume that tone is because you are hurt and hungry. Have you eaten?"
Rainey felt stupid. Near-death experiences tended to make her short tempered and cranky. Katie didn"t deserve the att.i.tude. "I"m sorry. I am hungry and I want to change my clothes."
"Ernie"s still here. Just walk through, be nice, and I"ll explain that Danny"s coming and you need to change. I"ll even make you a sandwich, okay?"
"Come here," Rainey said. Making sure her arm was on the outside this time, she hugged Katie and kissed her. "Thank you. That would be fantastic."
Rainey followed Katie into the house. She detoured into the kitchen long enough to grab an ice pack from the freezer. Ernie tried to question Rainey. Katie interceded, which she greatly appreciated.
"Rainey wants to put on a clean shirt and Danny is on his way in."
"I love you, Ernie, but I know you have a thousand questions, and I just can"t answer them right now," Rainey added.
Ernie looked at Rainey with concern, but she didn"t push the issue. She said, "I"m going to go on home, now." Then uncharacteristic of their usual teasing banter, she added, "I love you, Rainey. Be safe."
"Watch your back, Ernie. I love you, too." Rainey bowed out and went to the master bedroom.
She pulled off the black turtleneck she was wearing, careful of her bruised shoulder, and tossed it into the hamper. She looked in the mirror at the swelling contusion and winced. The bullet may not have pierced the skin, but an object in motion stays in motion until acted upon by an unbalanced force. A thirty-eight caliber bullet could travel anywhere between six hundred and ninety to upwards of eleven hundred feet per second, depending on the load. The law of inertia was clearly visible on Rainey"s skin. She reached down to pick up the icepack from the bathroom sink just as Katie appeared in the doorway. Katie saw the bruise and reacted.
"Jesus Rainey, that wasn"t a graze was it? He shot you."
Rainey covered the bruise with the ice pack, flinching when the frosty plastic hit her tender skin. "It hit my vest. No harm done."
Katie turned pale and looked sick. She backed up and sat down on the trunk at the end of the bed. Rainey followed her into the bedroom. She knelt down in front of Katie, still holding the ice to her shoulder.
"Hey, it"s okay, really. It"s not as bad as it looks."
"Three inches higher and I"d be picking out your funeral clothes," Katie snapped. She looked into Rainey"s eyes and said, "I can"t live like this."
The statement hit Rainey hard. She stood up and took a step back. After a moment, she went back to the bathroom. Katie remained silent. Rainey taped the icepack to her upper arm with athletic tape, splashed water on her face, and then stared in the mirror as she dried her skin. "f.u.c.k it," she said, to no one. She walked into the bedroom where Katie sat, still stunned. Finding a sweatshirt in the drawer of the dresser, Rainey eased it on, careful with her shoulder. She turned to Katie finally.
"Katie, now is not the time to have this conversation. Danny is here and I have to talk to him. So, if you think you can live with it just a little bit longer, I"ll be available to have this discussion in about an hour." The sarcasm was intentional.