Fourth Day

by Lisa Phillips

  The FBI had beaten Sal’s team here. And they thought they, “had it from here”?

  No way.

  She and Sal both shifted. They came to stand side by side in front of the FBI agents, guarding her friend. She was determined not to allow them to take Vanessa with them. As for Sal, she figured he just didn’t want his team shut out.

  The first FBI agent shook his head. “We actually don’t need your permission. This is our case.”

  “If it was,” Allyson told them. “I’d have been called.”

  “Time is of the essence.”

  Sal lifted his chin. “I would’ve known you’ve been investigating Kennowich the minute I ran his name on my computer. Correct?”

  He had a point.

  One the FBI agent had no answer to.

  “This is my friend.” Allyson motioned over her shoulder. “You can back up and be a little less bargy. Then we’ll talk.”

  Didn’t mean she was going to give them squat. But being the bigger person, and at least sounding like she was prepared to come to some kind of arrangement—or compromise—would help people back down on occasion.

  Standing shoulder to shoulder with Sal like this felt good. Almost too good; it wasn’t something she needed to think about overlong. She could acknowledge it, and then she had to move on. Otherwise she was going to get entirely too accustomed to him being right beside her.

  Allyson turned to Vanessa then and saw her friend’s wide-eyed gaze. It was understandable that she’d be flustered. Maybe even a little scared and nervous. But Vanessa gripped the blanket, her knuckles white again.

  This was exactly why Allyson had to not be distracted by Sal right now. Vanessa had to be her focus here, so she could make sure her friend was all right. Make sure these feds weren’t Kennowich’s men impersonating cops.

  Allyson moved toward her. “It’s okay, Vanessa.” She wasn’t sure what else to say, just studied her face to try and read what her friend wasn’t saying. But she couldn’t see anything more than basic fear.

  While she tried to make Vanessa feel better, Sal faced off with the agents. “You guys new in town? Because I’ve never seen you before.”

  Allyson glanced at Sal’s back. Did he also think they might not be who they said they were? What kind of person impersonated an FBI agent? That was just crazy, not to mention crazy illegal.

  “We’re out of Salt Lake. Heard over the wires that Ms. McNamara was here.” The agent folded his arms. “This could be the break in the case we need. The chance to bring Kennowich’s company down.”

  They needed to join the club if that was what they were interested in. Maybe this should be an interagency task force. Sal already had one of those, though it was unconventional to say the least. She didn’t need many more people snapping their proverbial teeth at her case. Like Vanessa was the juicy morsel they all wanted a taste of.

  “You got here quickly.” They had to have found out right away that Vanessa had been located, in order to fly here that fast. It wasn’t a long flight from Salt Lake City, but they’d made it in almost impossible time.

  The FBI agent moved toward Vanessa. He stood at the end of the bed, completely ignoring Sal, who was now openly glaring at him. Like he’d completely ignored Allyson’s comment just now. “We’re prepared to keep you safe, Ms. McNamara. Anything you can tell us…or provide for us…that can help us get a full understanding of what his operation entails, can help us make this case.”

  “Join the club.”

  Sal’s comment almost made her smile. Almost.

  Allyson tried to figure out what they had already. What was their reasoning for looking at Kennowich and his operation? It was definitely something or they wouldn’t have jumped at Vanessa being here. But it was obviously nothing they could make stick, considering they almost seemed desperate.

  How long had they been investigating Kennowich, and they hadn’t realized he had a missing person working with him? Surely they’d run background checks on all of his staff.

  How many people had overlooked Vanessa, not even caring that she might be there under duress?

  Probably fewer people had turned a blind eye to Vanessa’s past than the number of innocent victims of kidnapping or trafficking that would never be located.

  People bought and sold every day. Like Talia had been.

  Allyson had joined the team that raided the house where Talia had been held. When she’d realized who the call referred to, she’d been unable to leave it alone. Even given how the team felt about her. Of course she’d helped, how could she not have? She’d just done it without Victoria even realizing she was there.

  Vanessa grabbed her hand, jolting Allyson out of her thoughts. “Don’t let them take me. I don’t know them. I only know you.”

  Sal shrugged. “I don’t know them either.”

  Allyson lifted her chin. “FBI all start to look alike to me after a while.”

  She also felt like they traveled in packs. At least that was the way it seemed to her. The ATF was tiny in comparison. They worked closely with local police, and sometimes the marshals as well, but the FBI worked entirely different cases. Usually.

  Allyson glanced at Sal. “If you don’t know them, then I want to verify their IDs.”

  “Talia can do that.”

  “It doesn’t matter if they are who they say they are,” Vanessa said then. “I don’t want to go with them. I want to stay with you guys.”

  Allyson turned to reassure her. “Of course you do. We aren’t going to let these feds we don’t know take you away, okay? Everything will be fine because we’re going to personally make sure you stay safe.”

  She and Sal. His team helping. Her team providing assistance they might need.

  Vanessa nodded. “Thank you.”

  Vanessa was clearly scared, but seemed to think they were…not bad guys. More like just strangers. But what if her instincts were right? Both she and Sal seemed to feel like these guys were “off” somehow…

  Allyson intended to tread very carefully.

  She twisted to face the FBI agents then. “You aren’t taking this woman anywhere. If you’d like to talk to her, then you can contact his director.” She waved at Sal, willing to trade on Victoria’s reputation to get what she wanted done. “Victoria Bramlyn is who you’ll want to ask for.”

  She was tempted to wish them luck, but that would be unprofessional.

  His team wasn’t getting her case. They could help, though.

  She caught Sal’s glance then and saw on his face how he felt about her throwing around his boss’s name instead of hers. Amused. Slightly annoyed.

  It wasn’t like her boss was going to take this on. Daulton had no idea what this even was, or how it was connected to the Northwest Counter-Terrorism Task Force’s ongoing operations. He’d probably never even heard of Cerium, or Kennowich. And he wasn’t the kind of group supervisor who liked to wade in other people’s messes.

  Allyson said, “You guys can make that call, and then you can try again. Without the ambush next time.”

  They left, thankfully. But not without shooting dirty looks at both her and Sal. Allyson didn’t much care about whether a couple of feds were happy or not.

  She caught Sal’s gaze then. “We need to get out of here.”

  He nodded. “We need to find that flash drive.”

  . . .

  Allyson was in the back again, as she had been on the way to the hospital. Sal drove her and Vanessa, released from the hospital and now wearing a change of clothes Allyson had brought for her, to the first place Vanessa had mentioned she’d seen after leaving the bus station. A bowling alley.

  Not too many of those around, and less that had a famous coffee house close by. So that was where they would start the hunt for the alley where she’d stashed the flash drive.

  Sal’s phone started to ring. He dug it from his back pocket, his other hand on the steering wheel, and handed it over his shoulder to Allyson. “Put it on speaker.”

 
“Sure?”

  Would he have asked her if he hadn’t been sure? He figured if there was anyone with which he had nothing to hide, it was her. “Just answer it.”

  Vanessa was beside her in the back. When he pulled up to a stop light, he glanced over. It seemed like she was sleeping. Or just resting her eyes.

  A crackly female voice came through the phone. “Alvarez?” It was Victoria.

  “I’m here,” he called to the phone that Allyson held by his shoulder. “So is Agent Sanchez.”

  “Great.” She almost sounded disappointed. Which of course made Allyson snort, like Victoria’s opinion meant nothing but a source of mild amusement. “I got the rundown on those FBI agents. You don’t think they came from Welvern’s office?”

  “They said Utah. Can you find out for sure?”

  “If you’ve got badge numbers and names, then I can call their office right now. If you’re going to make Talia pilfer security footage from the hospital and then run grainy pictures through facial recognition, that’s going to take longer.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “So that’s a ‘no’?”

  “There was no time to take photos of them,” Allyson said. “And they weren’t exactly handing over badge numbers, even when I suggested we’d need to check their credentials.”

  “So were they legit, or no?” Victoria’s voice held an accusatory tone. She wanted them to make that judgment right now.

  Allyson was the one who spoke next. “Why, are you about to hand your case against Kennowich over to them?”

  “Of course not.” Victoria let out a frustrated noise.

  Sal almost smiled. Touché.

  Victoria continued, “I’d like the witness brought to the office. She needs to be debriefed and kept safe.”

  “We’re making a pit stop first. Trying to get the flash drive.” He took a right turn. “No point in not picking up the evidence on the way.”

  There was a shuffling on her end. “I’ll send backup.”

  “No need. Allyson is here.” Sal pressed his lips together. He knew how that was going to sound and how Victoria was going to react.

  “Fine.”

  Seriously, that was all she was going to say? He was almost disappointed—would have been without knowing there had to be a reason she’d stood down. Victoria never did anything without a reason.

  Victoria didn’t back down all the way, though. “If we could trust her, you’d have asked that she be considered for the open position back when we had one.”

  “Not when I knew she wasn’t interested,” he said, fully aware Allyson was listening to this. Probably intently. “All of our federal partners don’t have to be brought onto the team.”

  It helped, but it wasn’t necessary. Besides, he liked working with other agencies from time to time. It got him out of the task force bubble and doing something different. “That’s not what this is.”

  Sal had always been on the edge of the team. He loved each of them and had protected all of them. Usually in his own way. On his own terms. But the result was the same. They were each whole and healthy, and in loving relationships. Two were engaged, and Dakota’s wedding was coming up fast. They worked alongside their partners in work and life. More than ever before, Sal felt like the odd man out. Only in part because he was still single. He’d carved his own path, and they seemed to have accepted it.

  “I’ll call the interim assistant director at the Seattle office and find out if he sent anyone to the hospital.” Victoria paused. “Then I’ll call Salt Lake City. Between the two of them I’ll find out who those agents were. And in the meantime, I’ll have Talia get their pictures and run facial recognition.”

  He heard Allyson give a little chuckle behind him. Despite all her bluster, Victoria was going to do exactly what she’d said she would. What they’d asked for.

  Allyson spoke then. “Can you find out if anyone at the FBI is investigating Kennowich?” She was quiet for a second. Then Allyson said, “Please.”

  He knew what it cost her to say that. Especially when she only thought she grasped the level of animosity Victoria had toward her. All because he’d been hurt on the job. Like that didn’t happen to cops every day.

  He shot her a smile then, in the rearview mirror, and she nodded. They understood each other, almost better than he thought the team understood him. At least that was true now that they all had significant others. Even Victoria, considering the way she and Welvern were with each other.

  He and Allyson were both cops. The kind who beat the street. Knocked on doors. Tracked criminals. Built cases, and ultimately got convictions. He loved what Talia did, and it certainly had its uses. But Sal was old school.

  “We’re here,” he told her. “Gotta go.”

  As he pulled over, Sal had to wonder if the thing between him and Allyson—he wasn’t going to bother denying that there was a thing—was more than just them both being a similar kind of cop.

  It had to be. After all, Dakota was the same kind of cop. And Niall. He didn’t have with them what he had with Allyson.

  Had he found something special with Allyson, or was she just a convenient friend? And why now? She didn’t fit with his most current plan to leave the team and retire to the mountains of Wyoming.

  Sal parked. He could hear Allyson rouse Vanessa from her rest.

  They fit. Maybe he should quit trying to deny it and see what she thought about giving a relationship between them the green light. Did she even have feelings for him, other than as friends and colleagues? He wasn’t sure but thought he might have seen something in her gaze a few times over the years.

  The idea that it was too late now echoed in his mind, as it had already once today. Sal cracked the door and got out. He probably slammed it too hard because Allyson looked over. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing.” Sal rounded the car to Vanessa. “Doing something like this can be scary. But we’re not going to let you get hurt. Okay?” When she nodded, he said, “Think back to when you had the flash drive in your hand. Then look around. See if you can see anything familiar.”

  Vanessa wandered for a while, turned around and made her way back. Finally, she directed them around a corner. Her demeanor changed. She was growing more and more sure she was on the right path. He glanced at Allyson and saw that she was as excited at the prospect of bringing in both Vanessa and the flash drive as he was.

  She had them walk another couple of blocks, then took a turn. “I think this is where it is.”

  Sal stared at the alley between two brick buildings. At the end, on the right, was the entrance to a basement-level parking garage.

  Vanessa walked to a dumpster, rounded it, and crouched. Seconds later she looked up. “It isn’t here.”

  Allyson moved to her and looked around, even crouching to see under the dumpster. “Someone got to it before us.”

  Chapter 9

  “Seriously? Nothing?” Talia’s stance was all attitude, practically barring the door to the task force office.

  Then she saw Vanessa. She reached out, making a high noise from her throat. “Honey. Let’s go sit down.”

  Talia pretty much pried Vanessa from Allyson, then linked arms with her and walked her to the kitchen area. “Let’s get some tea. Do you like tea?”

  Allyson couldn’t hear her friend’s response. They were too far away already.

  Sal squeezed her shoulder and walked ahead and into the office. Leaving her standing there, doing nothing. Did he think she needed him to commiserate with her? She’d only come here because it made more sense than staying in an alley.

  She was in their office—again—by protest, basically so they could regroup and Vanessa could rest. She would have gone to her own office if it didn’t mean she’d have to leave Vanessa here. Which was tantamount to handing her over to Sal’s team.

  Sal headed in the direction Talia had taken Vanessa.

  “Coffee pot is broken again.” Dakota didn’t even look up.

  Sa
l glanced back at her, giving the Homeland agent a look Allyson couldn’t decipher.

  Niall—the only one she’d never met before—got up from his desk. He pasted on a smile as he made his way to Allyson. He stuck his hand out. “NCIS Special Agent Niall O’Caran.”

  “ATF Special Agent Allyson Sanchez.”

  He glanced over at Vanessa. “Is she doing okay? Do you think she needs to sit down?”

  “She needs to sit down.”

  “How about you? Soda? Water?”

  Ally shook her head. “I’m good.”

  All the while, Dakota stared at the back of Niall’s head. Like he’d grown a second one during the walk from her desk to Allyson and was now waving it back and forth.

  Ally decided she liked Niall. The young agent was personable. He didn’t look at her sideways like some of them, and didn’t just straight ignore her like she wasn’t even in the room as the rest did. And Victoria wasn’t even here. Niall seemed to think this whole situation was hilarious. His friends in the office evidently his source of amusement. There wasn’t anything funny about Vanessa’s situation, but she understood why he watched them all like this was a soap opera.

  Sal glanced over his shoulder at her, the carafe and filter basket on the counter beside the coffee pot which he now had on its side. Because she existed, and so he acknowledged her. Sure it was probably more than that when she thought about it. However, now wasn’t the time to overthink it.

  Talia found a spot for Vanessa to sit.

  “I’m sure Sal will have the coffee pot fixed soon enough. Do you want tea in the meantime?”

  Before Vanessa could respond, Allyson had an idea. She asked Niall, “Do you have a pad and pen?”

  Niall got them for her. Allyson moved to an open seat in the waiting area and lifted her foot to her opposite leg so she could lean the pad on her knee.

  She wrote down everything she knew about Vanessa’s disappearance. Then she flipped the first page over and wrote every question she needed Vanessa to answer, as soon as she could work through them with her friend.