Dangerous in Motion

by Sidney Bristol

  Adam glanced down at Heidi. And now, he had her again. The future was brighter. He couldn’t wait for quiet evenings at home with her, talking about the years they’d missed, catching up about everything. His parents were going to be thrilled. They’d always liked Heidi, even if they’d never truly understood her.

  “Adam.” Heidi reached back and grabbed his wrist. It was the tone of her voice, the strained, alarmed notes.

  “What?” He stopped in the middle of the terminal, gaze searching the people ahead of them.

  “The man in the blue coat—that’s Léo.”

  There was only one man in a navy coat ahead of them. He wore a ball cap and jeans. Nothing about him was familiar.

  “Are you sure?” Adam began walking again, keeping his pace slow.

  “Yes. He came out of that bathroom, glanced at us, and started walking.”

  Adam continued walking, but not with any haste. He doubted they were going to run into Léo here. Alone. When the whole city was looking for him. This was probably stress and lack of sleep making Heidi see things.

  “What are you doing? Go faster,” Heidi said.

  “I don’t—”

  The man glanced over his shoulder, his gaze locking with Adams.

  Fuck.

  Léo lurched forward, shoving a man aside and bolted.

  “Stay here,” Adam ordered.

  He side stepped the wheelchair and broke into a run.

  If Léo was in the airport, then it must factor into the larger plans. Atlanta was a major travel hub. Hell, his team was in and out of here so often they had the terminal map memorized. Some of the gate staff knew them by name.

  Adam pumped his arms. People skittered out of his way.

  There wasn’t anywhere for Léo to go except on a plane or on one of the rails.

  Léo vaulted over the rail on the escalator heading down. Adam bypassed the clogged escalator and took the stairs two and three at a time, but there were still too many people. Léo was drawing further away.

  “Move!” Léo shoved through a family at the very bottom.

  He tripped over a child’s rolling luggage and sprawled on the marble floor.

  Adam threw himself down the last few stairs, tripping over his own feet, and landed squarely on top of Léo, driving a knee into the smaller man’s back.

  “What are you doing here?” Adam snarled. He grabbed Léo’s hands and wrenched them up almost to his shoulder blades.

  “Ow! Help!”

  “The whole state is looking for you. You think anyone’s going to help you?” Adam crouched next to Léo and hauled them both to their feet.

  He glanced up at a line of people, cell phones out, cameras aimed at them.

  “Someone call 9-1-1,” Adam ordered.

  “Novak—you got him?” Grant called out.

  “Move, everyone. Move!” Riley hit the bottom of the stairs and began ushering people away.

  “I’ve got Abigail,” Grant yelled over the noise.

  Léo wasn’t even struggling now. He stood with his head bent and shoulders slumped.

  Why was he giving up? What was he up to? Had they just played into a trap?

  “Guys—where’s Heidi?” Adam glanced around.

  SATURDAY. JOINT FBI-CDC-DOJ task force office, Atlanta, Georgia.

  Heidi was fairly certain her hand would be permanently warped by how tight Adam held onto her. Still, after the way he’d scooped her up, fear shining from the depths of his eyes, she couldn’t tell him to ease up.

  “We have officially missed our flight,” she mumbled.

  Adam didn’t reply. Grant and Riley were both equally silent.

  While the terminal was shut down and everyone inside held until the CDC could clear them for travel, their team had been removed by the FBI with Léo. The last they’d seen of him was an agent hauling him off in handcuffs under the protection of a police riot shield.

  News about the intentional infection of the airmen had spread and there were plenty of people who wanted someone to pay for the disease now spreading through the Marietta hospital and the reserve base.

  Heidi wished her superiors would allow her to do something, but until she was thoroughly cleared and the internal review done, she might as well be out of a job. At a time when the one thing she could do to help was taken from her, it was a very helpless place to be.

  “Do we think he was there to infect people?” Heidi asked.

  No one answered.

  The picture of the fearful man standing there with his head hung low was not the Léo she’d come to fear. Something wasn’t right.

  The only door to the room opened and the FBI agent, Brooks, and Adam’s coworker, Abigail, entered, their faces grim.

  “What’d you find out?” Heidi asked.

  “He wants to talk to you,” Abigail said.

  “Me?”

  “No,” Adam snapped and his hold on Heidi’s hand tightened.

  “Ouch. Ease up before you break my hand.” She stroked his arm then turned her attention to the two who were running the show. “What do you mean, he wants to talk to me?”

  “We’ve asked him dozens of questions but he keeps saying he wants to talk to you. That you’re the only one who will understand. Does that mean anything to you?” Brooks asked.

  “No.” Heidi frowned. “That’s really all he’s said?”

  “To the word. If we’re going to get anything out of him, we’re going to need your help,” Abigail said.

  “Absolutely not.” Adam sat up straighter. He was about point five seconds from getting up and pacing.

  “I wouldn’t be alone, right?” If Heidi could do something, if they could give her a way to fix this, she’d take it.

  “You can’t really want to put her in a room with that guy.” Adam was fuming to the point she could practically see smoke coming out of his ears.

  “The facts are, we don’t know where John has gone with Cindy, what they’re aiming to do, and right now Léo is our best source. If we can get him to talk, we have to gamble. I wouldn’t put you in there alone, and he won’t have any direct contact. He’s in a containment unit we see how this plays out.” Abigail stared back at Heidi. She was a cool cookie. Heidi liked her.

  “Then there’s no risk to me.” Heidi stood and turned to Adam. “We’ll be separated by a wall.”

  “I’m coming with her then.” Adam stood.

  “We’re going, too.” Grant pushed to his feet.

  “I’m sorry, no. There’s not room for more than the necessary people,” Abigail said.

  “I’ll be fine.” Heidi squeezed Adam’s hands. “You’ve kept me safe, now let me do this, okay?”

  Adam’s frown lines grew deeper. He wasn’t happy, and she knew she’d hear about this later, his overbearing protective nature commanded he shield her at all times. They had no other option. For a long moment they stared at each other. What she saw surprised her.

  Fear.

  He was afraid.

  Of what?

  She swallowed and leaned toward him, kissing his cheek.

  “I’ll be okay,” she whispered.

  Adam let go of her and sat, staring at the ground.

  “I’ll be right back.” Heidi took a step toward Abigail.

  Adam remained seated. He’d been her protector through school, always by her side. He hadn’t changed all that much. He still wanted to shield her from threats bigger than both of them.

  God, she loved that man.

  She ducked out of the door, walking as fast as she dared. Her feet ached, but the pain was good. She was alive. She could feel. And she had hope.

  “Do you want this?” Abigail closed the door behind her and gestured to the wheelchair folded up by the door.

  “Don’t even.” Heidi swiped at her cheeks. “I’d rather limp around than sit in that thing anymore.”

  “In your shoes, Luke would do the same thing. Insufferable, the lot of them.” Abigail rolled her eyes and chuckled, kindly ignoring Heidi’s
tears.

  The two women began walking in step, the pace slower for Heidi’s benefit.

  “I thought Aegis Group was a bunch of body guards and stuff. What is it you do?” Heidi couldn’t place Abigail on the scale of military she’d met and worked with. She was something different.

  “Every company has to grow and change to survive. I’m part of that change.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  Abigail shrugged.

  Heidi didn’t like the idea of Adam in danger. She never had. They’d fought about it some when they were younger before she realized how dug in Adam was to the idea of being a SEAL. Now, she wished he’d do something that didn’t put their future in jeopardy as much.

  “Is this change going to put Adam at greater risk?” she asked.

  “Risk is part of life.” Abigail swiped a security card in the elevator, granting them access to the controlled floors. “I’m no fortune teller, but we never knowingly send our teams into situations they can’t handle.”

  “What about the job that got three of Adam’s team hurt?”

  “That was an exceptional case. Our initial evaluation was that it might be a little more dangerous, but not more than they could handle. Once they were on the ground, the situation kept changing, getting more dangerous. I advised Kyle to get out, but that was their problem all along. Leaving was dangerous.”

  Heidi stared at the floor. Could she do this? Live with the knowledge that each and every time he went to work, he could die?

  If it boiled down to having Adam in her life or being alone, she knew she wanted him.

  That was a fact burned into her soul.

  They got off on one of the lower levels. Down here it was layer upon layer of security. Badge wearing people along with very tense CDC officials stood around.

  Brooks waited for them outside one of the quarantine units with a clipboard in hand.

  “Did she brief you?” Brooks asked.

  “Léo wants to talk to me. What else is there?” Heidi glanced at Abigail.

  “We need to know what John is planning and who else in the CDC he’s working with. If we can get him to tell us where John’s people are, or John himself, that would be ideal.” Brooks handed her the clipboard.

  “We’ll be recording the whole thing, so don’t bother writing it down. Focus on him. If Léo wants to see you, there’s a reason for it, and if we’re giving him what he wants, we want to get as much information from him as we can. Got it?”

  “I guess so.” Heidi took the clipboard.

  She needed to treat this like she was looking at a patient, asking them where they’d been, what they’d done, the severity of their symptoms. This problem was just another sickness that needed a cure. Never mind she couldn’t fix this even if she uncovered the root cause.

  What if Léo had other intentions? What if she was walking into a trap?

  She swallowed down the fear.

  Nothing was going to happen to her. Everything would be fine. This time, it was Léo who was a prisoner. Not her.

  “Do you need a moment?” Abigail asked.

  “No, let’s do this.” Heidi set her gaze on the door and walked forward.

  This was one, small thing she could do to help make everything right again.

  LÉO PACED THE SMALL room. It was more like a glass cell with a bed, toilet and a sink. The light was tinged blue, probably some sort of UV. Half a dozen law enforcement lined the walls, watching him, whispering, taking notes, while the doctors stared at monitors. They’d finally taken the sensors off, though he hadn’t given them much choice.

  He wasn’t sick.

  He wasn’t the risk here.

  He needed to talk to Heidi. She might not understand John, but she was his best hope. John had considered her a friend. If anyone could help him save John, it was her.

  The dry air was getting to him. He went to the sink and got yet another glass of water. He couldn’t wait to piss with an audience.

  The door to the outside world opened and two people entered. A man he didn’t much care about—and Heidi.

  Léo downed the water then tossed the cup. He crossed to the only chair in the room, right in front of a microphone and speaker that allowed him to communicate with those on the outside.

  Heidi kept her eyes on him. She was still wary of him. He couldn’t blame her. To him, she’d been a means to an end, a way of keeping John happy. Now, if he was lucky, she would be the tool by which he would save his father.

  She leaned forward and flipped a switch. The speaker on his end hummed.

  “They said you wanted to speak with me?” Heidi said.

  “Yeah.” Léo scrubbed his hand across his jaw.

  It’d come to this.

  Where did he start?

  How did he begin?

  “Can you tell me a few things first?” Heidi glanced at her clipboard.

  “No. Not yet.” He leaned forward. “How long have you known John?”

  “I don’t know. Years?”

  “Would you call him a friend?”

  “Before this week, yeah.”

  “You might not believe me when I say this, but John did this—all of it—because he cares about you.” Léo knew that to people unlike them, this would be hard to understand. John looked at Heidi and saw another child in need of saving. That was the god complex showing through. Heidi didn’t want saving. Léo had seen that the moment he laid eyes on her.

  “He—what?” Heidi’s mouth gaped open.

  “I’m willing to tell you where he is, who is working with him, everything—but I want a deal.”

  “I’m not—that’s not what I do...” Heidi glanced over her shoulder.

  Léo could hear the voice of the man who’d entered with her speaking, but not what he was saying. The man clicked Heidi’s microphone off and Léo watched them put their heads together and speak.

  He wasn’t kidding when he said he could give them everything. John hardly knew what their resources were, only the results they could deliver. Léo was the operations guy. He might not know everything about John’s pet project, but he could fill in the blanks. If nothing else, he still had the Williams card to play. The scientist was just as dirty as John, just as liable, and Léo could use that.

  The speaker crackled to life again and this time the man spoke.

  “Léo, my name is Ryan Brooks. I’m with the FBI. At this point the DOJ wants to treat you as a terrorist. The Unites States does not bargain with terrorists...”

  “I hear a but in there.” Léo tilted his head.

  “If your information is good, we could offer you something.”

  Another person stepped forward, this one without the FBI badge on their hip. The speaker clicked off again.

  Léo leaned back and focused on Heidi, who was still watching him. There was intelligence behind those eyes. She couldn’t be won over easily. It’d taken John years to wear her down, to confide in him. He’d missed the signs with her, somewhere. She didn’t want their brand of saving.

  Did she understand yet? Did she know?

  He didn’t think she did. John hadn’t gotten the opportunity to try his hand at turning her. He was the one that had the way with people, not Léo.

  The speaker crackled once more.

  “Mr. Peloquin, if the information you give us leads to an arrest and dismantling your organization, I am prepared to authorize a deal,” the suit wearing man said.

  Music to Léo’s ears.

  “My terms are simple.” He kept watching Heidi. She was the only one who mattered. “When you catch John, I want him taken alive and unhurt. No death penalty, understand? He lives out whatever sentence he’s given in comfort and care. Those are my terms.”

  In the greater scheme of things, he had to protect dad. Léo’s bargaining power only went so far. One of them would have to take the fall, and if he could pick, it would be him, not John. Whatever his lot was, he’d take it if it meant John was spared.

  “I’d autho
rize that,” the man said. He nodded at the agent seated next to Heidi, then backed up.

  “Where is John, Léo?” Agent Brooks asked.

  “To understand where he is, you need to know where he’s been. Where we’ve all been.” Léo leaned forward, willing Heidi to understand. “Did he ever tell you about his parents? Growing up?”

  “Y-yes,” Heidi said. Her eyes were large, so deep and dark Léo could fall into them.

  “Then you’ll understand that when we met—”

  “Which was...?” Heidi glanced at her clipboard. That must be one of their questions.

  “I met John in Nicaragua in 2000. I was fifteen. My parents were there to make plans and review bids for some tourist traps they wanted to build. Dengue Fever was a major problem, and they both came down with it. By the time they wanted to get help the hospital turned them away, directing them to the CDC facility. They were in pretty bad shape so they were taken in immediately while I waited my turn. I wasn’t sick, but they wanted to check me out, anyway. The nurse made me take a test and then wanted to check me over. There was no hiding my multiple broken ribs or the bruising. The nurse went to get a doctor. John walked in and...he recognized me. The same way he recognized you.”

  “I don’t understand. Are you saying your relationship with John is based on-on what happened when you were kids?” Heidi’s voice grew tense. She didn’t want to examine her own history.

  “Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”

  “I don’t get it. I never—my parents never did that to me.”

  “Not your parents, no. Your husband. John wanted to save you from an empty marriage that hurt you. Damaged you. He also wanted you to work with us, which was the only reason I agreed to this mad scheme. I won’t pretend to know your whole story, but over the years John knew you he grew to care for you. He’d talk about you. He wants to protect you, just like he protected me.”

  Heidi stared at him, her mouth open.

  John’s ego had gotten in the way. He’d wanted to acquire Heidi as a devotee, someone who believed in him, without considering if she would be willing.