No Good Deed

by Allison Brennan

  Adam Dover

  Lucy read the letter twice. Her hands were shaking.

  “Are you okay?” Hans asked.

  “If he’d only named her,” Lucy said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Elise Hansen. Elise is in fact Tobias’s half sister. Jimmy Hunt and Tamara Rollins. It’s all here. We can use this with the AUSA to put Elise in maximum security. And it explains so much about Nicole—and Tobias.”

  She looked at Hans. “Do we have the files? Do they include Nicole’s plans? Did Dover know where she’s hiding out?”

  “Yes, no, and no,” Hans said. “Dover’s boss said the files are documents of drug transactions and shipments, mostly into Los Angeles. There’s very little about Nicole in there.”

  “Okay,” she said, shifting gears. “We need to use Elise as bait.”

  The room grew quiet around her.

  “What do you mean?” Hans said.

  “This whole time we knew that Elise was somehow involved with Tobias and, by extension, Nicole. But we didn’t know why or how they were connected. She’s half sister to both of them. If Nicole has been protecting Tobias for years, because he’s family, she’ll do the same for Elise.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Abigail said.

  “Tobias gave his sixteen-year-old sister a lot of freedom. Power. He had her kill Harper Worthington. He had her screw James Everett and attempt to blackmail him with a sex tape to keep him in line. She set up her own attack—she let herself be shot—to get to the hospital to find out exactly what we know and to set me up because I helped take down her brother’s operation in Operation Heatwave.” It was really because Tobias knew she’d seen him. In her gut, she knew that was the reason. “Through any of this, Tobias could have made Elise disappear—either get her to safety, or kill her. But he didn’t. She’s smart and ruthless and a survivor—but he didn’t kill her because she’s family.”

  Lucy turned to Hans and held up Adam Dover’s letter. “Who knows we have this?”

  “Only the team that raided his apartment. Everyone in this room. Noah and Rick Stockton have copies, Edward Moody, and the DOJ.”

  That was a lot of people, but it hadn’t been released publicly. “What if we have a press conference and release some of this information, but imply that it’s coming from Elise.”

  “You’d put a target on her back,” Abigail said.

  Lucy refrained from saying that Elise had, in fact, set up Lucy to be shot in the back. Instead she said, “This afternoon, the court placed Elise in a group home in Austin. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll walk away at the first available opportunity. But there’s a chance she could still be at court, or at the detention center before she’s transported. We have cause to put her into protective custody, don’t we? Cut her off from everyone, even her lawyer if we say her life is in danger. Have the AUSA read an indictment, we make it up as we go along. Maybe we list charges even if we can’t prove them.”

  “There are so many legal problems—”

  “Nicole is an escaped fugitive. She killed cops and she will kill Sean. And if she finds out that Sean is scamming her, she’ll kill him now. She has no rights,” Lucy said.

  “There is precedent,” Hans said, “if we word the statement right.”

  “Wouldn’t Nicole pick up on that?” Brad said. “She understands how the DOJ operates, the lines we can cross and those we can’t.”

  “We have to take the risk,” Lucy said. “We have information in this letter that Nicole and Tobias don’t know we have. And some, we can extrapolate based on what we know. We issue a statement and imply that a member of the family is turning state’s evidence—then detail things that Dover revealed, but they’ll think that Elise gave us the information.”

  “And then what?” Brad said. “They come in and try to kill her?”

  Lucy wasn’t sure. She wanted to put them on edge, force them to make a mistake.

  “No, I think that Tobias will try to rescue her. How certain are you, Brad, that there’s still a mole in the DEA?”

  “We’re transferring everybody. They don’t have access to any information, and if they did, they’d know we were setting them up. But we’re waiting for the independent review.”

  Hans said, “What if we stated that our witness is under sedation and suicide watch? Then release—internally—the location?”

  “There is no guarantee anyone will come for her,” Abigail said.

  “No, there isn’t,” Lucy said. “There’s no guarantee that Nicole hasn’t already killed Sean. If we can draw Tobias out, we can arrest him on sight. Until we find Nicole’s safe house we can’t just sit around and wait for information!” She forced herself to calm down. Emotion was her enemy. “Also, if we let Elise watch the press conference, I have a feeling she’ll get so angry, she’ll tell me anything I want to know. She’ll be livid that her plan didn’t work exactly like she wanted. I suspect that’s the only way we’ll get her to trip herself up.”

  Zach said, “I’ll call the detention center and find out when she’s being transported.”

  Abigail said, “I need to clear this with Ritz and Edward.”

  Hans said, “I’ll approve the operation and notify DC. Inform Ritz and Edward what we’re doing, but it’s need-to-know. We’ll release the information selectively to the list.”

  Abigail nodded and left the room.

  “List?” Lucy asked.

  Hans glanced around. The only people left in the conference room were her, Brad, Nate, and Hans. And Zach, in the corner on the phone.

  Hans said, “I’ve already set a trap for the mole in the briefing papers I distributed this morning. I emailed documents the night before to a list of people who had access to specific information that we have reason to believe has been leaked to the drug cartels. Because the FBI only assists the DEA in these operations, the list was surprisingly small—a dozen people, including civilians. Each document was slightly different. Kate wrote a virus program so if any document is shared electronically, we can trace it. So far, no one has forwarded the email to anyone else. However, to minimize being discovered, Kate said the traitor would most likely print it out and share it. That’s harder to track—unless we can reclaim the physical document. Each one is slightly different.”

  “And you want to release what? Different locations to this list?”

  “We’ll only have one shot. We’ll need to make each location look like it’s real, which means lots of resources. We’re spread thin now.”

  Lucy didn’t want to do it—but she realized that she might have information important to the case that she didn’t realize was important. “May I look at the list?”

  “Are you sure? We talked about this yesterday—”

  “I’m sure.”

  Hans nodded. “Let’s go to Juan’s office.”

  Zach jumped up from his workstation in the corner. “Uh, Dr. Vigo?”

  “Yes?”

  “Elise Hansen was processed out of the detention center by Dr. Barbara Oakley. They left ten minutes ago. They’re currently on their way to Austin.”

  “Ten minutes ago?” Brad asked. “That was fast.”

  “They?” Lucy asked. “Dr. Oakley is in the transport van?”

  “Dr. Oakley is driving, there is no transport,” Zach said.

  “Get Oakley on the phone, stat,” Hans said. “I’ll convince her to turn around.”

  Zach immediately pulled up her numbers.

  “The judge gave the defense everything they wanted,” Lucy said. “I tried my best, but the judge wouldn’t accept what I had to say.”

  “Judge Axelrod almost tossed Lucy in jail for contempt,” Nate added.

  “Axelrod?” Brad said. “The judge was supposed to be Goodman. I know Goodman well, he would have given Christine Fallow nearly anything she wanted, within reason.”

  “We asked for three days to prepare charges because our lead agent had been killed,” Lucy said.

  “And sh
e didn’t give it? Un-fucking-believable.”

  “Dr. Vigo?” Zach said. “Dr. Oakley’s not answering her cell phone.”

  “Trace it.”

  “Sir, we need a warrant.”

  “Do it,” Hans said. “Her life is in immediate danger.”

  This was the one time that Lucy wished she hadn’t been right. She’d warned Oakley, she’d told the court the truth. And now the woman was in danger … and Elise was going to hook up with Tobias. And with Nicole.

  No one spoke while Zach went through the tedious process. They had the capability to trace cell phones, but legally they were in a gray area.

  Lucy walked around to the map on the wall that outlined every parcel of property in a hundred-fifty-mile radius.

  Where are you, Sean?

  She turned to look at the computer. Every fifteen minutes, Sean’s watch uploaded his location.

  He hadn’t moved in thirty minutes.

  “Nate,” she said, motioning him over. “Look.”

  Sean had spent the last thirty minutes on the far side of Canyon Lake, an hour north of San Antonio. She called Jack and his phone went directly to voice mail.

  “Hans—” she said.

  Zach interrupted. “Dr. Oakley’s phone is not moving. It’s at the parking lot of the Alamodome.”

  “That’s less than a mile from the courthouse,” Brad said.

  Hans told Zach, “Call SAPD, emergency channels. We’re too far away to get there quickly. Ryan, find Proctor and head there now. Proceed with caution. Stay in contact with SAPD and call in regularly. No one is to go off the grid, understood? Zach is coordinating all agents—where they are, who they’re with, what they’re doing. We’re not losing another agent to these assholes.”

  When they left, Hans said, “I know you wanted to go, but—”

  “No. Look.” She pointed to the computer-generated map with Sean’s GPS. “I called Jack; he didn’t answer.”

  “Dunning,” Hans said, “you’re driving. Donnelly, you’re with us.”

  “Sir—” Nate began.

  “It wasn’t a request.”

  * * *

  Sean’s internal sense of time was well developed, as was his acute sense of direction. Even with the bag over his head, based on the road surface, speed, and traffic sounds he sensed they were heading out of the city. They didn’t stop for nearly an hour, then they parked in a remote area. For a minute he thought they would kill him and dump his body, but when they ordered him to strip and put on what looked like hospital scrubs, he realized they were being extra cautious. Smart. Too smart. He had to dump his watch as well, which meant Jack couldn’t track him.

  Jack was likely ten minutes behind them, but because of the delay in the GPS—for security in case they swept him for any transmitting device—it would be at least fifteen minutes before Jack knew he wasn’t moving. By the time he got here, he’d only find the watch. Sean suspected they were nowhere near Rollins’s safe house.

  The watch had recorded everything since he’d been taken, but he couldn’t upload the data to the server with his hands zip-tied. The kidnappers had talked almost the entire way, some of which Sean caught—such as, they were meeting Contreras by a lake—and some that was muffled because of the bag over his head. FBI technology could separate the voices from the ambient sound and hopefully there were more clues in the data.

  Sean was angry—though this was his idea and he knew it was the best chance of catching Rollins and Tobias, he was furious that he’d been grabbed. If he hadn’t planned to be submissive, he would have fought back. Four against one … not great odds. But he would have fought. He hated being passive.

  He was standing in the heat, though anything was better than the black bag over his head. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but the discomfort was real, the unknown keeping his heart rate elevated and his adrenaline pumping.

  There were four kidnappers, and two walked away under the shade and drank water. He wanted water, but didn’t ask. They retied his hands. Sean could break the zip-ties, but that would defeat the purpose of being taken to Rollins.

  He glared at the kidnappers. They were guns for hire, not too bright, but they obviously did what they were told. Forced him to change then restrained him again. Obviously Rollins came up with the plan. Anyone who could run an international drug operation while working as an agent for the DEA was no idiot.

  Another car drove up only minutes after Sean had changed. It was a two-door pickup truck like thousands of other nondescript trucks. He recognized the man who got out of the driver’s seat.

  Joseph Contreras.

  He hadn’t seen him before, but Lucy’s description had been right on, including the scar on his face, his complexion, and his build. But it was more his manner, the way the others deferred to him, the way he took charge.

  “Sean Rogan,” he said.

  Sean remained silent.

  “You and your family have caused us a lot of problems. That will end today. I will make one thing clear. I am a man of my word. You and your brother are already dead men. I’m sure you’ve figured that out—from what I’ve heard you’re quite the genius.” He stepped closer. Sean itched to hit him. His wrists chaffed under the zip-ties.

  “But I give you this promise. If you retrieve our money without games, I will spare your girlfriend.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I’m being honest here, it’s your problem if you can’t see that. I could lie and say you’ll walk away free and clear after this is over, but you would know I was lying, so that doesn’t benefit us. You’ll die knowing that Lucy is alive—provided she doesn’t come after us. We’ll have what we want—our money and freedom; your dead body; and even more important, taking from Lucy what she loves the most.” He paused. “Consider this, Mr. Rogan. If the situation was reversed and you survived but Lucy did not, how would that make you feel?”

  Sean didn’t—couldn’t—respond.

  I’m going to kill you when this is over.

  Joseph smiled, but there was no humor, no friendship. His ruthless grin cut Sean to the quick. “Exactly. Agonizing pain. Rage. Dear little Lucy will be gutted without shedding a single drop of blood. And that makes Niki very happy. And what makes Niki happy, makes me happy.”

  Joseph nodded and the kidnappers put the bag over Sean’s head again, then picked him up as he struggled, partly out of survival instinct, partly because he was so angry he couldn’t remain still. They maneuvered him into the pickup, onto the floor behind the bench seat. There was barely enough room for his six-foot-one frame, and the metal on the back of the seat dug into his back.

  Joseph put the truck in gear, then said, “And Sean, if you fuck with us, I will turn Lucy over to Tobias. You may not be aware, but Tobias has a particularly sick sexual fetish that I’m sure he would be happy to satisfy with Lucy. So not only will you be dead, but she will be, too—after serving Tobias’s needs for as long as she can stay alive.” He paused. “I’ve been told that the stronger girls last weeks. To me, Lucy seems to be very strong, in both body and spirit. But you won’t be around to save her from a fate that is far, far worse than death. I’ve seen some of the women when Tobias is done with them. Even I pity them.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Nate was nearly to Canyon Lake when Jack called Lucy.

  “There’s nothing here,” he said.

  “Sean’s GPS says he hasn’t moved in nearly an hour.”

  Jack was silent a moment. “The van is here.”

  “And Sean?”

  “His watch.”

  Lucy’s vision darkened. She closed her eyes, willed her heart rate to slow.

  “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Stay at headquarters. I’m working with Kate on this. Let us do our job, Lucy.”

  “This is my job.” She hung up. She couldn’t think straight. But she had to.

  Focus, Lucy. Do what you do best.

  “They either knew or suspected that Sean was wire
d or had a tracker,” she said to the men in the car. “Jack said the van is at Canyon Lake as well as Sean’s watch. Ten to one they had Sean strip. They researched him. After they read Dunbar’s memo, I’ll bet they researched Sean and learned about the technology he patented or worked with. They may even think there’s a subcutaneous chip and scanned him, which is dumb. He doesn’t trust the government enough to implant a tracker that he couldn’t easily remove.”

  “They knew,” Brad said. “Or they suspected he was wired.”

  “Not necessarily,” Hans said.

  “We have a mole in the FBI—of course they knew!” Lucy exclaimed.

  “If you were Nicole and you didn’t have a mole,” Hans said calmly, “would you run a search on Sean? Would you strip him and change vehicles?”

  “Of course, but—” She paused. “I see what you mean. She’s smart and cautious.”

  “She knows he’s a tech genius,” Hans said. “Maybe it went too easy at the house. Maybe they think he had a weapon or another cell phone on him that they didn’t find when they searched him initially. Whatever it is, it doesn’t mean they know he’s working with us.”

  “But now we don’t know where he is,” she said. Bile burned her throat; she swallowed and squeezed back threatening tears. “He could be anywhere.”

  “Not anywhere,” Nate said.

  “Nate’s right,” Hans said. “They’ll take him to their safe house because once they get the money, they don’t need to hide anymore. They’ll attempt to flee.”

  “They also won’t need Sean,” Lucy reminded him. She called Kate and prayed her sister-in-law would answer.

  “I’m on the phone with Jack,” Kate said in lieu of hello. “I have no news.” Lucy heard Kate’s fingers working rapidly on a keyboard.

  “Kate, do not lie to me and do not handle me. How much time does Sean have to hack into the FBI and transfer the money?”

  “I don’t understand what you mean. How fast can he do it?”

  “I thought you had a plan! How long can he stall? How long before they kill him?”

  “Lucy, stop. You’re going to make yourself sick thinking about the worst.”

  “Just give me a fucking answer!”