Scent of Danger

by Judith Rochelle

  “Xena won’t let us get near the windows,” Rick told him.“Having learned what I have about her, I’d say that means danger is outsidethere and not too far away. The cameras show the same gray sedan that the teamspotted passing by twice.”

  “Let me get some more people over here before we do anythingelse.” Mark pulled out his cell phone and speed-dialed a single number.“Scramble Gamma team. Quiet and invisible. I want to leave Alpha in place. Havethem check this entire block and the ones on either side. Whatever disguisethey think will work. I’ll have Rick leave the alarm off until they can searchthe grounds.”

  “Use the power company uniforms and truck,” Rick put in.“That will allow them to go anywhere.”

  Mark repeated that, then hung up.

  “We have coffee,” Kelly told him. “Come on in the kitchen.”

  “Good thing, I think we’ll all need it. Or somethingstronger.”

  “You’d better explain that last remark,” Rick told him whenthey were seated around the table with full mugs.

  Mark rubbed a hand over his chin, his eyes assessing Rick’scondition before he said anything.

  “I’m fine,” Rick snapped, impatience edging his voice. Helooked at Kelly. “Tell him how fine I am.”

  Mark did his best to hide his smile as Kelly blushed to herhairline. “Yes. Well. Glad to hear it. You’ll need to be in shape.”

  “Spit it out,” Rick commanded.

  In short, clipped sentences Mark told them about CharlieGrainger and Matt Caldwell, their visit from the men in black suits and how itcame about.

  “You know Charlie. He’s off the charts, he’s so angry,” herelated. “Dan’s doing his best to contain the situation. He and Mike arepulling out all the stops to reach their contacts and see what they can findout.”

  “Has anyone managed to discover who bought the weapons?”Rick asked. “Usually that information is all over the gossip chain. The buyersare busy bragging about it. I would have expected a shipment this big to appearon the open market, piecemeal if not as a whole.”

  Mark shook his head. “Nope. Not a whisper. Whoever did thishad the buyer already lined up. That’s another big part of the mystery,although finding that gun has given us a clue. Remember what you said yourcontact told you? About a family or tribe in the northern corner of the countryplanning a takeover of lands they used to own?”

  “Yeah but I never got a chance to talk to him again.”

  “Apparently he was right. Suddenly there’s a lot of actionin that area. Three towns have fallen, only we can’t get in there to find outto whom. And no one is talking. I mean no one, which is very unusual.The guards are so strong around those cities it isn’t worth the loss of lifewe’d incur trying to force the issue. If the coalition hadn’t made a guess asto where they’d strike next, we still might not have a clue.”

  Kelly fiddled with her mug. “I don’t presume to knowanything about this except what I see on television but wouldn’t this wholething have taken a lot of planning? A lot of preparation?”

  Mark nodded. “Yes, it would. And the seller would have hadto have information well beforehand to select the buyer.”

  “So what happens now?” Rick wanted to know.

  Mark started to answer him when his phone chirped at him.“Dan,” he mouthed and listened to his partner.

  “Okay,” he said at last. “I’ll take care of things on thisend. Set up what you need to for tomorrow.”

  “What now?” Rick wanted to know.

  “The black suits have descended on Dan. He’ll keep me out ofit for today so I can take care of things here but I guess tomorrow it’s myturn into the barrel.”

  “What about me?”

  “We have to get you out of here, despite the fact you’re thebiggest piece of bait out there.”

  “Negative.” Rick clenched his hand around his coffee mug.“Let’s see what the teams turn up outside here. We need to draw the shooter outand find out who’s pulling his strings.”

  “This is beyond that. I never should have let you come backto this house to begin with, bait or no bait. Now we have no choice. We can’tlet the feds get hold of you until we get a handle on this, so don’t argue. You,my man, are going to have to disappear.”

  * * * * *

  Dan stared at the two men in his office, fighting to controlhis rage and maintain a cold exterior.

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree, gentlemen,” he told them.“Phoenix has an impeccable reputation. That’s why the government uses us onoccasion. We’d never be party to something like this.”

  “It takes a lot of inside information to plan something likethis,” Black Suit A said in a flat monotone.

  “I agree. But this isn’t where they got it from.” Dan met theirstares with one of his own, equally as chilled. “May I ask what other avenuesyou’re investigating? Surely Phoenix isn’t the only name on your list.”

  “Who and what we’re investigating isn’t up for discussion,”Black Suit B told him. “We’re here to find out the extent of your involvement.You and your partners.”

  “After all,” Black Suit A pointed out, “you’re the ones whohandled everything. Grainger Caldwell is a long-standing client of yours.”

  “We’re in discussion with them too,” Black Suit B added.

  “Oh, yes.” Dan snorted. “Charlie Grainger made me well awareof that earlier today.”

  “All this publicity can’t be too good for you. I can’timagine you like seeing your names everywhere associated with this.”

  “We have nothing to hide. Nothing.”

  A heavy silence wrapped itself around them as they all satsilently, gazes locked.

  “We’ll want to go through all of your files,” Black Suit Asaid finally. “All of them.”

  “Those files are confidential,” Dan told him. “You want tosee them? Get a subpoena.”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  “Fine. Until then, everything in this office is off limitsto you.”

  “You could make this much easier on yourself if you’d justcooperate.”

  Dan ground his teeth. “There’s nothing to cooperate about.Our hands are clean. Find out who bought the merchandise and who they bought itfrom. That’s where you’ll get your answers.”

  “We want your partner,” Black Suit B said. “Eric Latrobe.It’s likely we’ll be charging him with selling those weapons and gear to theenemy.”

  Dan felt the rage bubbling up inside him and used everydiscipline he’d ever learned to maintain control. “First of all,” he said inmeasured tones, “Rick Latrobe is one of the finest patriots you’ll ever meet.He served his country well in the military and continues to do so in privateservice. I will not allow anyone to smear his name.”

  “Nice words, Mr. Romeo,” Black Suit A said. “But that’s allthey are. Words. They don’t mean a damn thing in the face of the evidence.”

  “And what evidence is that?” Dan demanded.

  “Latrobe was the only one in control of the shipment. Headvised Grainger Caldwell what to buy, approved the cargo list, personallyaccompanied it from here to Baghdad and saw to its offloading. He had plenty oftime during his previous visits to make his contacts and arrange for this tohappen.”

  “And I suppose you have the money trail pinned down too,”Dan said in a sarcastic tone.

  There was a heartbeat of silence. “Not yet but we expect toshortly. We’re subpoenaing all his bank accounts and tracing everytransaction.”

  “Listen to me, you idiots.” Dan wanted to throttle both ofthem. “Rick nearly died when this deal went down. Does that sound like someonewho had a hand in it? No. It sounds like someone who needed to be gotten ridof.”

  “Maybe the thieves had a falling out.” The voice was thickwith sarcasm. “In any event, we want him. Everything we’ve discovered leadsback to him. And we want to talk to your other partners as well.”

  “I’ll have the others here tomorrow. Just tell me what time.But Rick is unavailable.” He rose fro
m his chair. “And this meeting is over.Right now we have nothing else to say to each other.”

  “We can have a Department of Justice subpoena to depose himin a matter of minutes,” Black Suit A pointed out.

  “You’ll have to find him to serve it.”

  “I think you’re making a big mistake here, Romeo,” BlackSuit B told him.

  “We’ll see. Meantime, we’re done here.”

  * * * * *

  “But how did this happen?” Zarife asked his father yet onemore time.

  “Someone was careless.” The fury in the elder al-Dulami’svoice was evident. “He has paid for it, believe me.”

  “I have to get out of here,” Zarife told him. “What ifsomeone comes looking for me? What if the seller thinks this is myfault?”

  “No.” The word jumped out across the connection. “That wouldbe the worst thing for you to do.”

  “Why?”

  “Think about it. You just one day quit your job anddisappear from sight? You don’t think that would create too many questions thatwe don’t want answered?”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. Right now our people are very loyal and arefiercely dedicated to what we’re doing. Even though we command these villages,no one has heard our name connected with any of this because no one is talking.Let’s not give them the opportunity to do so.”

  “So what shall I do?”

  “Go to work. Live your life until this all dies down. Thenwe’ll discuss the future.”

  “And if they decide to question me?”

  “Why would they? There’s no link to you.”

  Only the man who set this up and used me as the conduit.

  “You don’t know who that man is,” al-Dulami said as ifreading his son’s mind. “No one will ever connect him to either of us. Go backto work, Zarife.”

  But long after the call was finished, Zarife still sat onthe bench, staring off into space.

  * * * * *

  “All clear.” Mark had just finished speaking to both theAlpha and Gamma Team leaders and taking their report. “Nobody anywhere around.At least not now.”

  “You checked everywhere?” Rick asked. “All the surroundingblocks?”

  “Everywhere. We even had the Dragon do a check on all yourneighbors.”

  “I can’t imagine any of these people mixed up in somethinglike this,” Rick mused.

  “Probably not. But we’d be missing a beat if we didn’t lookat them.”

  “Not everyone’s home right now,” Rick pointed out. “It’s amixed community. Some of these people are at work, others out on activities orother business.”

  Mark shook his head. “But the Dragon can check where theyare, where they work. And we can eyeball the presence of any unwanted visitors.We found nothing. The most dangerous person around here is a dentist whogambles but not enough to make him vulnerable to something like this.”

  Kelly looked at Xena who was pacing from room to room, noseraised in the air, that low rumble echoing in her throat. “Xena’s notsatisfied,” she pointed out.

  There is still danger.

  The dog’s voice snapped into her brain.

  We can’t find anything. Two teams of men searchedeverywhere.

  He’s there. The shadow man. He’ll strike when you leastexpect him to. Do not let Rick near the doors or windows. Close your eyes andsee what I see.

  Kelly obediently closed her eyes and instantly the image ofthe shadowy figure in black popped into her brain. He was still holdingsomething long and narrow, his face turned away from her. Then a spark, like aroman candle and he disappeared.

  The shooter is coming, right?

  Get Rick away from here.

  Xena lifted her head to look Kelly in the eye, then paddedover to drink from the bowl of water they’d set out for her.

  “What?” Rick asked, his eyes on her face.

  “Xena says we have to get you out of here, so you have to dowhat Dan wants.”

  “Remind me to give Xena a big thank-you,” Mark muttered.“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. Tonight we’re moving you out of here. When it’sdark. Meanwhile, I’m moving Alpha Team out to secure a four-block perimeter.And I think I should stay too. Inside. With both of you.”

  Rick shook his head. “Not necessary. If everything outside’sbeen checked and you’ve got men watching, we can handle it from here.”

  Still Mark seemed reluctant to leave.

  “Go on,” Rick insisted. “We’ll just wait for Xena to let usknow if something’s wrong.”

  Mark shrugged, then leaned down to Xena. The huge dog lookedhim straight in the eye. “Take good care of these people,” he said. When helooked up he shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m talking to a dog.”

  Kelly laughed. “I do it all the time. And she answers me.”

  As if on cue, Xena moved to the front window and the lowgrowl rumbled from her throat again. She moved back and forth across the wideexpanse of glass, nose raised as if a scent had reached her through the solidmaterial.

  “Something’s going on,” Kelly told Mark.

  “If you say so. But I’m telling you, we checked everythingaround here. It’s hard to know who’s where in the daytime because half of thesepeople work but we didn’t find anything unusual around the empty homes. I stillthink I should hang out.”

  “We’re fine,” Rick insisted. “Go. Do whatever you have to.”

  “We have to finalize arrangements for tonight,” Markreminded him. “I think the cabin’s our best bet.”

  “We’ll discuss it after I talk to Dan. Have him call me whenyou get back to the office. I don’t want to interrupt his warm conversationswith the alphabet agents.”

  Mark made a disgusted sound. “Jerks. Okay. I’ll check inwith you later.”

  * * * * *

  They were all edgy the rest of the day. After another shorttrip to the backyard, Xena paced the first floor from front to back, refusingto allow either Kelly or Rick near doors or windows. After Mark left Kelly madea late breakfast which she insisted Rick eat but which she herself picked at.

  Driven to try to solve the puzzle that had thrown their livesinto such an upheaval, Rick pulled a pad of paper from his desk drawer in theden and, with Kelly sitting next to him and Xena pressed against them both,began to list everything he could think of relating to Iraq, Grainger Caldwelland the arms shipment.

  By the time the afternoon sun had set and the darkness ofnight settled over them, he’d accumulated pages and pages of notes but nothinghad connected in his brain. Disgusted, he threw down his pen and picked up thesoft drink Kelly had brought him.

  “It’s the damnedest thing,” he said. “It’s like there’ssomething stuck in my mind and I can’t knock it loose. Something I know but Idon’t know.” He looked at Kelly. “Does that sound too weird?”

  “No, not at all. It’s apparent somebody thinks you knowsomething or they wouldn’t be trying so hard to kill you. There’s a reason theythink that.” She pushed the pad of paper way from him. “Give it a rest for awhile. If you try too hard you’ll block it out.”

  Rick and Dan talked three times about the arrangements forleaving but after the last call everything was still unsettled.

  “Get back to me when you figure it out,” Rick said before hedisconnected the call and turned to Kelly. “I hate this, you know. I feel likesome sniveling coward sneaking away from the scene of the action.”

  “Better a sniveling coward than a dead hero. Come on. I wantto let Xena out again and get her taken care of. Let’s give her a few minutesin the yard, then I’ll fix us some dinner. It’s been a long day and we haven’teaten since breakfast. Then we’ll get ready to leave.”

  They both checked their guns and Rick punched the code toturn off the alarm but Xena didn’t seem any too eager to go outside and takecare of business. Instead she hung back, whining.

  “Come on, girl,” Kelly coaxed. “Rick and I want to eat andyou may not get another chance at this before we leave.”

/>   Urging the dog along, she finally got her to move into thelaundry room toward the back door. Again she dug in her claws.

  Kelly looked at Rick who’d come up behind her. “I thinkthere may be something out there,” she said. “You know I don’t usually havethis trouble with her. She’s got all the signs of needing to take care ofbusiness but she won’t budge.”

  “Let me check. Get behind me.”

  “No, damn it. You’re the one they want. Let me openthe door and see what’s out there.”

  But Rick pushed her out of the way and reached around Xenafor the doorknob. He had barely opened the door when Xena leaped in the air andknocked him down, banging his head on the floor.

  “Xena. What the hell?”

  At the same moment he was trying to push the huge dog offhis body, he heard the soft whomp of a suppressed rifle shot and feltthe whisper of air as a high velocity bullet whizzed past him and buried itselfin the wall.

  “Kelly, get down,” he shouted, tugging her to the floor withhim as a second bullet, lower, barely missed him.

  She fell in a heap beside him, kicking the door shut withher foot.

  “Are you okay? Are you hit? Kelly? Answer me, damn it.”

  She gulped in a lungful of air. “I’m fine. You?”

  “Okay. I’ve got to reset the alarm.” Rick managed to roll tohis knees away from Xena and edge to the panel in the hall, then crawled backto her. “Keep down. I’m calling the agency. Pulling those guys from the teamback was a lousy idea. Just be ready to shoot if you have to. I don’t know ifwe got the alarm reset in time or not.”

  “Shouldn’t we move to another room?” she asked.

  “No. There are no windows here for anyone to see through.Anyway, I don’t think our guard dog is going to let us move.”

  He pulled out his cell phone and punched in the emergencynumber for Phoenix. This time it was Mike who answered.

  “Get the hell over here,” Rick snapped. “Now. Use your keyto get in and don’t mind the alarm. Who did you leave in charge here? I need totalk to him.”

  Seconds later he had the team leader on the radio, relayingwhat happened and scattering the team to search the area.

  Fifteen minutes later Dan and Mike came charging in,stopping short at the sight that greeted them. Kelly and Rick were backed intoa corner of the laundry room where they could see front and back doors, gunsdrawn, the enormous Ovcharka pinning them in place.