The Egyptian continued to stare into the mirror and thought his passenger resembled Satan. A nod to him was given before he started the car. “And how could this possibly be good for me?”
The car moved out and accelerated. “Simple. Drop me off a block from the FBI and I’ll walk in.”
“And be picked up on all the cameras? No thank you.”
“Then you pick a spot and my friend will leave me his burner phone. I’ll call in. When I’m picked up, I’ll tell them the kidnapper wore a Star of David. That will get them buzzing. Ditch the car and go wherever you planned to go in the first place. Egypt will still be in the clear and I’ll still make good on my promise to continue funding your corrupt government.”
“And the evidence?”
“Exploded or incinerated. If help was on the way they were too late. Maybe we managed to take a few of those Secret Service bozos out if they made it inside.”
Amon frowned over at the speaker as he sped through a blinking red light. “Those ‘bozos’ laid down their life for you every day.”
“Don’t get all touchy feely, Amon. If I remember right, you had one of them killed across the street from my house.”
~~~
The flames engulfed what was left of the warehouse. The rain did little to quench its thirst for destruction. The wind fanned flames to an adjoining building as first responders began arriving. Distant rumbles of thunder went unnoticed as the Enigma team stood looking into the darkness. Tessa let Zoric pull her body against his and circled her waist as if he were afraid she’d escape and head toward the flames. They all stood with an almost robotic stance.
The Liberty crew shook their head in disbelief, knowing one of their own perished in hopes of saving them. Their shoulders slumped and they found they needed to lean on each other for support.
Even the surviving Egyptians looked on in horror. The realization they might have ended up on the bottom of a concrete pile if the Americans had not arrived, brought home they had been duped. They also knew that the rest of their days would now be spent in some place called Guantanamo.
Smoke swirled toward the survivors as search lights flooded the exterior of the wreckage. The smell of a burnt disaster made several of the team cover their faces, but their bodies stayed ridged with anticipation.
Director Clark jumped forward as his hand went to his ear.
Enigma eyes turned to him in confusion.
The director’s eyes squinted as he stepped forward again. This time several others touched their earwigs.
Tessa felt Zoric push her aside as he ran forward. Then the others started toward the flames.
She ran after them, not knowing the sudden emergency, but only that she must follow.
Figures appeared like ghostly aberrations, staggering through the smoke. A man cradled another body in his arms. His uneven steps continued from around the side of a wall that looked like an accordion fan. Tessa recognized the spot where she’d been dragged from a car. Her legs picked up speed and without knowing why, she started screaming his name.
“Chase! Chase!”
He carried her uncle like a baby even though he was wounded. He managed to clear the danger area by the time Enigma reached him. Tessa’s uncle was taken from Chase’s arms and she somehow knew paramedics would look after him. Zoric tried to grab his friend but Chase reached out to Tessa.
“Chase.” She caught him in her arms as he fell to the ground pulling her down with him. His chest, covered in blood, spoke of no tomorrows. “Oh Chase. Open your eyes. Open your eyes.” The nightmare she’d dreamed each night unfolded into reality.
With great effort he opened his badly swollen eyes. His twisted nose and soot covered face exposed blood trickling at the corner of his mouth. Lifting his hand his fingers touched Tessa’s face.
“Closer.”
“Don’t you dare leave me, Chase. Don’t you dare. Do you hear me?”
“I need to tell you how I…” he licked his lips. “I feel.” He closed his eyes.
In the first hint of morning’s rays, Tessa thought his lips appeared blue. “You’ve got to live.” She bent down and whispered a promise into his ear. His dark eyes opened as his hand fell to his side. “I…”
Zoric pulled her back so paramedics could reach him. Grim faced, they took his battered body to a waiting ambulance. “We’ll go to the hospital as soon as we finish up here, Tessa. Your uncle was badly hurt, but alive.”
“How did they survive?” Tessa let Zoric hold her as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Sam and Carter walked up.
“They must have made it out the back where we came in.” Sam pointed into the chaos. “Looks like they hid behind some concrete barriers stacked a few feet from the door. Probably saved them.” Sam nodded toward the fire. “How’s Chase?”
Zoric didn’t answer, not really knowing how badly his fried was hurt. He chose to lock eyes with her instead. She turned and strode away with Carter at her heels.
Director Clark fell into giving orders to his team, FBI and Secret Service that had assisted. The Liberty crew went to the hospital for observation while measures were taken to secure the prisoners.
Agent Martin of the FBI put out a notice that the Speaker of the House might make an appearance. He was to be filled in on the condition of the president immediately as well as the vice president. Questioning of the prisoners and Speaker Gault, if he showed up, would take place as soon as possible. They wanted to know who was involved before more mayhem ensued. The quicker they rounded up the terrorists the sooner Wall Street, NATO and NORAD could go back to a boring existence. Knowing now of the speaker’s involvement, they wanted to keep their plans close to the vest.
~~~
Montgomery and Cooper watched from their parked car as the dark sedan let out a tall, muscular man at Union Station. Cooper got out and followed.
The next stop was near the capital building. Speaker Jim Gault got out then bent down to say something to the driver. After slamming the door he flipped off whoever drove away before punching in some numbers on the cell phone. The soldier watched him lift a phone to his ear, then look up at the sky streaked with morning light. His tapping foot displayed impatience, not fear.
Montgomery pulled away from his location, determined to find the third man in the car. He’d driven only a mile when an explosion caught his attention. Hitting the brakes he saw the sedan in front of the Smithsonian’s American History Museum. Pulling his weapon, he ran to the dark sedan engulfed with flames. He didn’t wait. No one could have survived. He backed toward his car at the sound of more sirens. He did not want to be caught in this precarious position. If he was caught on camera he would have some explaining to do.
~~~
Ari drove through the empty streets of Washington D.C. after returning the prime minister to the Israeli Embassy. He had switched cars three times before applying a dark sticky film to the windshield and side windows of the white rental car. The black ski mask barely fit his large head. The leather gloves were hot as was the black turtleneck tee shirt that covered his chest.
He’d covered the plates with a car dealer’s decal. For good measure he fixed a bumper sticker to both sides on the car. One read If it can’t be grown it has to be mined. The second had a coiled snake and the slogan Don’t Tread on Me. He didn’t really understand the significance nor did he care. With the added touch of an American flag on the back window and some cartoon character kneeling at the Jesus cross, Ari felt confident that if any cameras were still working, the farce would be enough to conceal his identity.
The car pulled into the underground parking lot of the Air and Space Museum. There was a great deal of standing water preventing him from going down. Ari came to a stop and let the car idle. The passenger door swung open and a man jumped inside panting. With a quick look into the rearview mirror, Ari backed out of the garage as if he’d taken a wrong turn.
“Are you Ari?”
Ari turned his covered head toward his p
assenger. “Do not speak to me.”
“You think you are better than me because you are Israeli?”
The acceleration of the car suddenly stopped, throwing the passenger forward against the dashboard. “I am better because you are Egyptian, Amon. Keep your mouth shut and do what I tell you. I thought throwing you into the Potomac River was a much better idea than this. But I suppose holding you under in the Jordon River will be just as good. Imagine dying in the land of the Israelis, Amon.”
Amon fastened his seatbelt and stared out the windshield for the rest of the trip.
~~~
“You are insane bringing that Egyptian here.” David handed the prime minister a cup of coffee. He was the only person who could survive such an insult.
The prime minister shrugged. “What is the saying? ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?’ I am but following that advice. Besides we are guaranteed he gets out of the country this way. He flies home on our aircraft, then we smuggle him across the border. Simple.”
“Nothing is simple about this. Amon was playing both sides. When it blew up in his face he tucked his yellow tail and claimed to be trying to get us information.” David snorted in disgust.
“Yes. That is regrettable. We were not able to protect the president after all. Jake Wakefield tried but failed. At least the Liberty crew survived.”
“And they will get their fifteen minutes of fame shaming Israel for what we did decades ago.”
Gilad Levi took a gulp of coffee and smiled. “Very true. But the real story is who tried to kill the president. The news media will salivate over that one for weeks. No one cares about these Liberty men. It will be a ninety second flash in the pan on the news networks and then back to the hunt for the vice president’s wife murderer. That’s a much more interesting story. Americans love drama.” The prime minister frowned. “I rather liked her. She was a good woman. Her killer needs to be punished.”
“When?” David refilled the prime minister’s cup.
“Soon.”
“And Amon?”
“I owed him a debt.”
David leaned against the buffet and looked up at the ceiling before rubbing his eyes in frustration. “Yes. But he will continue to taunt you about his sister and the child she bore you. If she had not died in childbirth do you think she would have given you the baby?”
Gilad waved him off. “We shall never know. As long as I have breath, my son will be protected. Amon’s days are numbered.”
~~~
Tessa looked in on her uncle. Doctors said he would make a full recovery. His shoulder sustained a serious gunshot wound. The broken arm would enable him to predict the weather in the future. He slept soundly as she placed a kiss on his forehead, satisfied he would heal.
The Director of Enigma wanted her to hold off on contacting her parents about the events landing him in the hospital. Dr. Wu suggested she needed time to process a story to feed everyone before running into press and friends. The director agreed and delivered a severe warning to Tessa if she did not comply. He had already made sure her two friends from home were being fed a line of misinformation concerning her whereabouts to keep them satisfied as to her whereabouts.
Tessa’s husband was not as easily swayed. With numerous frantic calls and threats to go to the police, the director stood by while she called home to reassure him she was more than okay.
“Chase was awake earlier, Mrs. Scott.” Dr. Wu walked her toward his room. His calm demeanor reminded her of a thoughtful Buddhist monk. It was only the pistol bump under his loose Asian style jacket that kept her from running down the hall like a silly school girl. “Do not stay long. You have a lot to do at Enigma. I will wait outside the room until you have finished. I too, must speak to the captain.”
Nodding, she pushed the door open to Chase’s room. Propped up against several pillows he appeared to be sleeping. Except for a sheet half draped across his abdomen he was bare chested. There was a bandage over his nose and left eye. A saline drip was attached to his arm and for the first time, Tessa could easily see the tattoo on his right arm. She needed to remember to ask him what the Chinese characters meant, but decided she’d copy them and find out for herself.
She couldn’t help but watch him. He was beautiful; dark skin, taunt muscles and angular features that spoke of his Cherokee heritage. Although his black hair was cut short, she wondered what it would feel like beneath her fingertips. Would it be as coarse as his manner or would it be soft like the way he sometimes looked at her?
The dim lights drew her to stand next to him. The realization Chase was alive and would live to fight another day made her hand fly to her throat to stop a sob. Looking down at his chest she reached out to touch several long scars, then stopped. There were no fresh gunshot wounds. Why had he been covered in blood? She started to snatch her hand back when Chase reached out and grabbed her wrist and jerked her forward.
Tessa caught her breath as he forced her closer. “Where are your wounds?” She was pulled over his chest now.
Chase cleared his throat. His voice was hoarse. “Disappointed?” Even having been close to death did not seem to vanquish that wolfish grin that now played at the corners of his mouth.
“You were covered in blood. I saw that man shoot you more than once.” There was no keeping the confusion from her voice. He released her wrist forcing her cool hands against his skin.
~~~
He sucked in his breath at her touch. “Damn, woman. Your hands are like ice.” When she started to step away he took her hand and gently tugged her back. “I had on a bullet proof vest.” He chuckled. “Did you think I was some kind of superhero?” Tessa’s eyes began a rapid blink indicating she was slipping into panic mode. “Your uncle was bleeding badly. Anyway, those shots hurt like hell. Took the wind right out of me. I planned to get your uncle and follow you out. The lightning had other plans. I went out the back and took cover. Some debris hit us knocking me out. When I rallied I…. Well you know the rest.”
There was no sense in stating the obvious. Besides, the way Tessa was looking at him made his chest hurt in a different way. Those blue eyes of hers swallowed any attempt at hiding his feelings. He met her gaze and dared touch her tosseled hair. She needed a shower and some clean clothes. Someone had given her an oversized FBI jacket and she’d zipped it to the top. In his head Chase somehow remembered how she’d looked in the black dress. He imagined her a goddess, toying with any self-respect at hiding his feelings.
“Thank you for saving Uncle Jake,” she whispered laying her hand on top of his.
Chase could feel his body stirring and knew he was going to make an ass out of himself if he didn’t take charge of the situation. “I’m not sure I want that old hillbilly in my debt.” Tessa started to smile. “You on the other hand made me a promise, as I remember.”
Tessa stood up so straight it looked like a broom stick had been shoved down her back. Her lips parted, but words froze on her tongue. Chase could feel her hand trying to free itself so he tightened his grip.
“Promise?”
Chase arched an eyebrow and narrowed his almond shaped eyes. “When you thought I was dying. You bent down and said…”
“I know what I said,” she stuttered. “I’m not sure what you heard but...”
Chase rolled his eyes upward in disbelief, feeling her fingers trying to slip away. “Let me think.” He dropped his amused look back to her. “Something about if I’d just stay alive you would…”
Dr. Wu walked in the room. “Mrs. Scott, there’s a car waiting for you. The director wants you back at Enigma.” His eyes went to Chase’s hand holding Tessa’s. She managed to jerk away and hurried to the door. Dr. Wu stared at the rosy blush creeping up her face. The doctor watched her leave the room before turning his eyes back to Chase. “Problem?”
Chase burst out laughing causing a confused look to appear on the doctor’s face. “You might say that. A problem I have every intention of solving.”
Chapter 30
P resident Buck Austin smiled when his wife kissed him on the cheek. He was pale, but his heart beat strong. He finally told the Secret Service if his wife didn’t stop fussing over him he was going to insist they remove her. When she leveled a dangerous glare at them, they held up their hands and admitted he was safer with her at his bedside.
The team of doctors led by Dr. Kelley had successfully removed one bullet, but decided the one near his neck would have to stay. He admitted the thought of a souvenir of his ordeal made him feel not only invincible, but lucky as hell. Although weak, his spirits were high and his temperament normal. His children were kept home from school just in case the threat against the first family was ongoing and not allowed at Walter Reed Hospital.
When Vice President McCall arrived at the president’s bedside, Mrs. Austin hugged him and started crying. She and Peggy were friends. They shared a partnership with their husbands that few women could understand or accept. At least they had each other in times of loneliness and fear. Now her friend was gone. She tried to comfort the vice president, knowing that it was useless. It wasn’t until the Prime Minister of Israel appeared that Mrs. Austin took her leave.
The three leaders remained silent as the Secret Service left them alone. The sound of the machines monitoring the president’s vital signs and distant sirens on the street below filled the room. Gilad put his hand on the vice president’s back and shook his head. A loss for words was new to him. The vice president nodded a grateful acceptance of the gesture before turning to the president.
“Is it true Jim Gault was behind all of this?”
The president nodded then shifted his eyes to Gilad to continue the story. “My informant told me weeks ago about someone in your government making a power play. I immediately informed the president. The investigation indicated the crew of the USS Liberty might be involved.”
The Enigma Series Boxed Set Page 67
