"I'm not letting you cuff me to that bed again," Faye whispered. "You want it? Come and get it, sweetcheeks."
"I give you full merit for the effort, Faye," he said, narrowing his empty eyes. "But I'm not kidding. Put them down. If I come over there, I'm not going to stop until you're out."
Faye bared her teeth in a slow smile. "Suck my dick."
Winston choked on a laugh before he lunged at her. Faye launched the briefcase at his head and then dove for the duffel bag of guns. She had the Uzi in her hand and pointed it at him as he reached an arm's length away. She pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Winston smiled. "Safety, sweetheart."
He snatched the gun out of her hands and smashed it against the side of her face. She'd seen the blow coming and managed to turn so the blow merely clipped her rather than hitting her dead on. She stumbled to one side. Winston kicked her ankles out from under her and she crashed to the floor on her stomach. She struggled and reached inside the bag again. He was on her in seconds, pinning her, shoving her head down so she couldn't see. She heard a sharp click above her and then the muzzle of the Uzi pressed into the small of her back.
"Stop moving," Winston ordered. "I'm under orders not to kill you, but they didn't say anything about crippling you."
Faye relaxed her limbs one at a time. Winston felt the change in her posture. "Good girl. Take your hand out of the bag slowly."
Faye aimed Kamala's Taser at him and pulled the trigger.
The second she did, she kicked Winston off of her and rolled away. He screamed as the bolts of electricity tore through him, convulsing and pulling the trigger on the Uzi in the spot she'd been a mere second ago. Sharp, rapid gunshots filled the air, punching holes into the hardwood beneath him. Faye squeezed the trigger on the Taser until his screams cut short and he passed out for real this time. His body jerked and twitched, but he stayed in place. Faye kicked the gun out of his grip just to be safe and stood over him, her expression contemplative.
She could kill him. The safety to the Uzi was off. She could pick the gun up right now and be one hundred percent sure he'd never come after her again if she took his life. The police would understand. Everyone would understand.
Except her.
Faye gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. "Stupid."
She grabbed the car keys, the briefcase, and fled the house.
"This is nuts," Detective Carmichael groaned from behind the spread map in his hands. "Absolutely freaking bonkers, Ern."
"Would you have a little faith, man?" Det. Houston replied, his dark eyes fixed on the dirt road in front of him. "It's a solid lead."
"A solid lead," Carmichael snorted. "Let's retrace the steps of this 'solid lead' real quick: you found a shop owner who recalls seeing someone who fit the description of our perp, got the make and model of his stolen vehicle, and then monitored any car fitting that description that left the area within our window of opportunity to when Faye was taken, and then came up with a list of abandoned or foreclosed properties within driving distance of the city, and then checked for any whose power and water had been turned on within the last ninety days."
Carmichael shot a look over at his partner. "This is a lot of things, but solid ain't any of them."
"My gut said it's a solid lead, alright?"
Carmichael shook his head. "Your gut just had Arby's. I think it doesn't know a solid lead from a hole in the ground."
"Keep talkin', fella. You know what's real solid? The ground, after I push you out of this car while it's still moving."
The younger detective rolled his eyes. "Grumpy ass."
"Smartass."
"Look, just focus on the road before you get us both killed out here in the middle of nowhere."
"Yeah, yeah. Just let me know if you hear banjos."
Carmichael laughed. "We're in Massachusetts, for God's sake."
"Still, though. How close are we?"
Carmichael studied the map. There was no reception out here, so their cell phones were useless, as was the GPS in the dashboard. Houston had been rather smug about his backup map that Carmichael often teased him about being worthless. "Looks like it should be a mile up on your left. Dunno why you think this one's any different since we've been wrong about five of them so far."
"Trust me, it'll be different this time."
"Oh yeah? Wanna put money on that?"
"Fine."
"Fifty bucks says it's a bust, old man."
"You're on, rookie."
Carmichael eyed him. "You seem pretty confident."
"Yep." Houston pointed out the windshield. "And there's why."
Carmichael's jaw dropped as he saw a green nondescript vehicle tearing ass down the dirt path beeping its horn and flashing its lights madly as it approached. Houston grinned and pulled the cop car over after blinking his lights twice.
The door to the green car flew open and Faye spilled out, racing towards the detectives in a full sprint. Without hesitation, she threw herself into Houston's arms.
"Dammit, girl," he said as her slender arms squeezed him with the strength of a linebacker. "I'm on Obamacare. You can't be breaking ribs, now."
"Oh God," Faye sobbed into his shirt. "Oh God, I'm so glad it's you."
He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back, his voice soothing. "Hey, hey, it's alright now. You're safe, okay? We've got you."
It took her a moment or two, but she managed to calm down and drew away, wiping her eyes. She gave the shocked Carmichael a watery smile. "What's that look for?"
"You..." He swallowed hard. "How the hell did you get away from a professional hitman?"
Faye faked a cavalier shrug. "I'm smarter than I look."
"No shit," the blond detective said. He shook himself a little, slipping back into his usual cool-as-a-cucumber attitude. "You ruined our rescue mission. I had a cape in the trunk and everything. I was so sure you were going to fall in love with me that there's a priest waiting for us at the precinct."
Faye laughed hoarsely and hugged him as well. "If it makes you fell any better, I'll tell everyone at the precinct you saved me. I'll cry and everything."
He took off his sport coat and draped it around her shoulders, nodding towards the house. "What's left of him in there?"
"Long story, but you'd better hurry. He was out when I left, but he's like the fucking Terminator. Any chance you can get some back up to raid the house?"
Houston shook his head. "No, we're on our own. He and I came out here on a hunch."
Faye bit her bruised lip with worry. "How far are we from the city?"
"Twenty miles. Best I can do is wrangle local P.D. for this county and hope they arrive in time. For now, we'll go set a perimeter and make sure he doesn't leave the premises. Once SWAT's here, we'll take him down."
Faye hugged Carmichael's coat around her. "Can you...get me out of here? Please?"
Houston touched her shoulder. "Absolutely. Hop in the back. I'll have one of the officers take you back to the precinct first thing. You did good, Ms. Worthington. Better than any civilian I've ever seen. We'll take care of you. I promise."
"Thank you." She touched his hand and then folded herself up in their cop car. The two cops got back in, re-parked the car closer to the house, and then called it in on their radio, watching the property carefully the whole time.
Within fifteen minutes, the local police department rolled up en masse as well as an ambulance for her, though she insisted it was unnecessary. She was reticent about climbing into another one of them after her last experience, but she reluctantly did. They cleaned the abrasion on her cheek, made sure she didn't have a concussion, and then the detectives sent them on their way, promising to check on her as soon as they could. She curled up on the stretcher as the ambulance pull away, watching the blue-and-red lights flash until they were gone from sight.
Faye hated waiting. She hated it more after enduring the most traumatizing day of her life.
An hou
r stretched by slowly, painfully, as she sat at Carmichael and Houston's desk, her slender fingers wrapped around a cup of coffee. They hadn't managed to dig up a cell phone battery just yet, so hers was still off, but she had Kamala's number memorized as well as her parents. She called them from the desk phone. As predicted, her mother Collette was hysterical and told her she'd be flying back to the states on the first thing smoking. Faye tried to talk her down, but she wouldn't hear a word of it. Her father Brad had a more subdued reaction, but he too promised to be there in several hours to check up on her. She regretted having to have the divorcees in the same place at the same time. It would no doubt end in an argument she was too tired to listen to, but she didn't really have much choice.
Kamala didn't pick up, so she left a voicemail. She thought about calling Jack, but everything was still too raw. She didn't want to hear his voice so close to her kidnapping. She might break down.
She glanced up as she heard commotion in the nearby hallway. A moment later, Carmichael and Houston appeared wearing their police vests over their usual civilian clothes. Dark expressions clouded their faces. She sighed quietly as they walked over to her.
"He got away," she said.
Carmichael unstrapped his vest and threw it down in his chair. "There was a hatch underneath the bed in the basement that led to the crawlspace. He went out back and straight into the woods. Blood trail confirms it. Must've woken up not long after you hit him with the Taser. Tough son of a bitch."
"Yeah," she said weakly. "You have no idea."
"Chopper's sweeping the area," Houston said as he took off his own vest. "We put out an APB as well. He's a slippery bastard, but he's not perfect. We'll find him and we'll bring him in."
"Thanks, guys," she said a bit sadly. "But let's be honest here. He's a pro. He'll know your system. He'll be in the wind long before you catch his scent."
Houston squatted in front of her, resting a large hand on her shoulder. "Hey, look at me."
She did. He smiled. "We went past the point of coddling you a long time ago. You did something almost no one on the planet would have been able to do. I think we have enough intel to bag the asshole before he skips town and you can believe that we're not going to rest until his sorry ass is in handcuffs sitting in that chair where your pretty little self is right now."
She almost laughed. "Aw, you think I'm pretty even with this shiner I got?"
He squeezed her shoulder. "Damn right. You did the impossible. It's only fair we do the same to bring this creep to justice."
Faye nodded. "Okay. But that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. I don't understand why his employers tried to take me at all. I'm a nobody. I couldn't possibly be the proper leverage to get them the dragon. Have they even caught it yet?"
Houston glanced around at the bullpen to make sure his boss and Agent Dunham weren't around. "Yeah, the Japanese got her back. Word is they're cleaning up the Suicide Forest of not one but two different yakuza clans. There was some kind of in-fighting that led to them basically canceling each other out. Your friends got out okay, though I hear Jackson's in the hospital with a GSW to the side."
"Shit," Faye whispered. "Then what's this all about?"
"Revenge," Carmichael said, taking a seat on his desk facing her. "Did you ever hear the name Aisaka Tomoda?"
Faye thought about it. "Yeah, I think that was Okegawa's second-in-command when Kam and Jack were still investigating Pete's abduction. What about her?"
"Well, your friends put her boss in the hospital in a coma they don't ever think he'll wake from. I did some digging before we found that lead to the house. Reached out to some old service buddies stationed in Tokyo. Word on the street is she was trying to find anyone connected to both of your friends with the intention of making them suffer. This was never about the dragon. That's just what she told the hitman she hired, since it sounds good on paper. He could feed you that information hoping it would get you to cooperate."
Carmichael smirked. "And we see how well that worked out for him. Tomoda pulled the strings for your abduction as a way to get back at Jackson and Kamala."
"But why me? What about their parents? What about the woman who actually put Okegawa in the hospital directly?"
"Harder to say, but I've dabbled in profiling here and there. Tomoda wanted to make it personal. She wanted you because you were young and seemingly helpless. Targeting their parents would be a harder sell, since they're older and while it would devastate them, it wouldn't be as painful since they'd lived full lives. You're in your twenties. It would be a bigger blow to them if you got hurt. Tomoda was unbalanced to say the least."
Faye's eyes widened. "Was?"
"Yeah. She's six feet under. They pulled her out during one of the search parties not long ago. Don't know if it brings you any comfort, but you should be safe from her for the time being."
"It's not her I'm worried about," she said. "I spent a lot of time with the hitman. He wanted me to call him Winston, as in a hitman character from an old movie. He seemed...impressed with me. Not in a sexual way. Like he hadn't met a girl like me before. I don't think this is the end of it."
"Well," Houston said, easing into his chair. "That's the good news, then. We'll get you fed and a change of clothes and then we're going to go over every last detail of your abduction. We're going to get to know this asshole front, backwards, upside down, and inside out. We'll make sure there's nowhere he can hide from us. You up for that, Ms. Worthington?"
Faye dug into her purse--which uniforms had apparently recovered at the scene of her car crash--and handed Carmichael her Starbucks card. "Double-shot espresso, milk, no foam, and a double-chocolate brownie. Treat yourself to whatever you and Houston want as well. Let's get this shit done, fellas."
"Atta girl."
17
PLEASE LEAVE A LIGHT ON WHEN YOU GO
There was no welcoming party for Jack and Kamala when they returned home like last time; just a lot of scheduled meetings--with their Principal Investigator Matt, with Agent Dunham and Deputy Superintendent Burns, with Detectives Carmichael and Houston, and then there was the big press meeting for a final statement on the incident. Neither of them were eager to get to any of said meetings. The one thing they were both on the same page about was Faye.
Jack had to stop at the hospital to get his bandages changed out, so Kamala went ahead to the apartment alone, promising to swing back around and pick him up afterward. Her heart hummed in her chest as she kicked off her flats and unlocked the door, walking inside. She heard the murmur of their flat-screen television on in the den. She walked around the corner and found Faye and her father Brad watching an old rerun of Dirty Jobs.
Faye glanced up at her roommate, her periwinkle eyes slightly haunted and glazed over from lack of sleep, her lips dry. "Hey, Kam."
Kamala dropped her purse, walked over, and hugged her fiercely.
Faye froze for a moment. "Um...you're...you're not mad at me?"
"I'm furious with you," Kamala whispered into her friend's hair. "But we'll deal with that later. Thank the gods you're alright, saheli. I'm so sorry."
Faye's arms slowly went around her friend. She relaxed into the hug. "Thanks, Kam."
Faye's father whistled and stood up, pretending to be casual. Brad Worthington was a fairly good-looking man of average height with dark blond hair and a five o'clock shadow. He'd been balancing a Budweiser on his knee before Kamala came in and he took it with him as he inched towards the back porch. "Well, let me give you gals a few minutes to catch up. Holler when you need me."
He slipped out the back door. Kamala gave it several more breaths and let go, gripping Faye's hand between her own. "I know it's a stupid question, but how are you?"
"It is a stupid question," Faye agreed. "But I'm...managing. About as well as I did when the son of a bitch shot at me and Jack the other night. Have you seen the detectives yet?"
Kamala shook her head. "No. I dropped Jack off at the doctor's office and then came str
aight here. I assume they have a case to go over with us?"
"Yeah. The short version is that he got away, but since I nabbed his briefcase, we have some leads. It had the cash he was paid to assassinate Jack as well as most of his fake IDs for the eastern seaboard states. From what they gather, he's a chameleon. Each time he takes an assignment, he changes his appearance, whether it's as basic as hair dye and prosthetics or actual surgery. For that reason, it's hard to get an idea of how old he is and what his face looked like before he became a hitman. I sat with a sketch artist last night, for all the good it'll do, and we went through every minute I spent with him until we had a psychological profile put together. They're gonna tail me for the rest of the week and if nothing happens, I can go back to my semi-normal life."
"So it was never about Baba Yaga at all?"
Faye shook her head. "No. Aisaka Tomoda hired him. We think maybe he was supposed to babysit me on the off chance you guys made it out of the Suicide Forest alive and she could exact her revenge in a more indirect way. The detectives made your parents aware of the situation as well, so they know to keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior, but with Tomoda dead, the threat should be eliminated."
Faye sighed. "Well, for you two, anyway. As for me...we don't know if he'll try to retaliate because I basically made him fail his mission twice."
"Damn it," Kamala whispered. "I'm so sorry you got dragged into all of this, Faye."
The blonde shrugged. "Not your fault. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And besides, maybe this was a sign."
Kamala studied her. "Of what?"
Faye stood and wrapped her arms around herself, facing away from her friend. "I...he had me, Kam. From what we can tell, if you two and Tomoda made it out alive, she would have ordered the hitman to torture me and then kill me as punishment for what happened to that yakuza lieutenant Okegawa. I could have died alone and bloody and in a hell of a lot of pain. But I didn't. I found a way out and I escaped. Whoever I was going to be before this happened is dead. I'm someone else now. What I saw being trapped by that sociopath was that the danger the two of you are facing is more real than I ever knew. You've risked it all to bring these dragons into the world. I've been on the outside looking in and now I understand at least a little of what you're going through."
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