by David
Out of his view now, she answered his question. "Here's my unshakable reasoning. You ran to Mexico and back, crawled around the desert for the good part of two days, then went hand-to-hand with a wolf. Obviously you're going to get the bathroom all filthy and muddy and it will take hours to get it clean again. I can be in and out of there in ten minutes. Besides, you can get breakfast started. You think you make better coffee than I do, and you've got to be hungrier than me."
"That's the truth," Lee yelled as he heard the bathroom door close. He was already in the kitchen area.
"What's wrong with my coffee?" Diane yelled back, getting the last word before the water started running in the shower.
As Lee added coffee to the small percolator, he thought about how much he was getting used to spending time with Diane.
Not much more than forty minutes later Lee walked back into the kitchen area. A fresh coat of sunblock, clean clothes, and the .45 in his pocket made him feel invigorated and at ease. He'd developed the ability long ago to go without sleep for days at a time. Diane was buttering the French toast he'd begun earlier while sipping on a mug of coffee. He picked up his own mug, topped it off again, and took a long sip.
"Well, we know from what Logan told us that Elka was watching Rogers. I'd say that tends to rule out you, me, or the President as targets, wouldn't you?" Diane asked, handing him a plate with six pieces of French toast and several pieces of microwaved bacon.
"Hell if I know." He took the plate, then joined her at the table, handing her the maple syrup. "Muller apparently communicated with her during the time he was in New Mexico, but we have no way of knowing how much, if anything, she knows about us. Elka might be on somebody's payroll right now. Paul Rogers must have made a lot of enemies when he was a case officer in the Company. Even when Muller and his people were after us they kept their focus pretty much on the job at hand."
"If she's not here on a personal vendetta, that means her target has to be Rogers or the President."
"Rogers is ex-CIA. Anybody in the Middle East who's been a target of the Agency could have hired her. Or maybe she's just out for revenge. She was watching him, not us. Then again, what we did had some lethal consequences that led to the death of her husband, brother, and his wife. So we may be on her list somewhere, but unless there are more in her family the CIA doesn't know about, it's just Elka now."
"And now that her presence in known, her plans could change," Diane said.
Lee nodded; then, after a moment's pause, he spoke. "For the next few days, in addition to our work on the Silver Eagle case, we need to keep an eye out for anything that might indicate that there's a link between what happened to Muller and his people and the President's visit. We have to make sure the President is protected. As for Rogers…"
Diane nodded. "He has his own stepped-up security and, as a CIA case officer, should know how to protect himself at some level. The only problem is, a vampire is many times more dangerous than a simple trained assassin. And we can't tell him what he's dealing with."
"Agreed," he said. "I recommend that we press your SAC to recommend that the President cancel his visit or send someone else in his place. But there's a problem with that too."
"If Elka is really targeting the President and is tailing Rogers just to create a diversion, she'll make her move later on in some other state, or D.C., and we—well, you—won't be around to counter her special abilities," Diane said.
"Yeah, it puts us in a tough situation. Then again maybe she's doing all this just to smoke us out," Lee suggested. "Muller could have told her all about us before he died. What if it's personal, and everything else is the diversion?"
"I hadn't thought of that. Meanwhile, we have this other little matter to deal with—skinwalkers and cop killers."
"I know." He glanced at his watch. "Guess we'd better finish up here and head for the office. We're going to have to spring the trap, and for that to happen, we'll have to convince Silver Eagle to change their delivery plans." Lee swallowed the last bites of French toast, washed it down with coffee, then sat back while Diane continued to eat.
"You don't have to wait for me," Diane said. "Start cleaning up and loading the dishwasher and I'll join you in a minute. Then make that call to the local state police office and let's see if we can get the ball rolling."
As soon as they arrived at their downtown jewelry business Diane made a call to the Silver Eagle number, with Lee listening in case something was said in Navajo in the background. Stump answered almost immediately, and Diane looked over at Lee, who shrugged. They'd both been expecting Angela to answer.
Diane requested an additional set of matched stones for squash blossoms and was told that they were already separating the order placed two days earlier. They should expect a delivery later in the day and to have the cash ready.
"There's a complication I think you should know about," Diane said before Stump could hang up.
"We don't like complications. You'll only get what you can pay for. Don't make me have to tell my boss about this," Stump grumbled.
"It has nothing to do with money." Diane looked over at Lee, who held up his hand, palm first, to remind her to wait and let Stump think about it for a few seconds.
"Get to the point then," Stump pressed.
"An officer from the state police department called us this morning as soon as we arrived at our business. He had all kinds of questions about some illegal activity in the local jewelry wholesale business, and because we're new in the business he wanted to know if anyone had approached us about making deals under the table. I think you're being investigated. Is that going to be a problem? We don't want to have the stuff delivered, then as soon as we open our wallets a SWAT team kicks in the door," Diane added.
Lee smiled.
"Shit. Think they're watching your building?"
"I doubt it, they can't have anything on us, not unless one of your people rolled over on us and, even then, nothing has changed hands yet. It may have just been routine because we are new. But let's try to come up with something without talking about this on the phone. If they get suspicious and bug our telephone line, then we're all screwed," Diane emphasized.
There was a pause while Stump was obviously speaking to someone else. But he must have had his hand over the mouthpiece, because they couldn't hear anything. Fifteen or twenty seconds went by, and then he spoke again. "At nine tonight be where you were when we first met. Then we can arrange a place for the delivery. Bring the cash with you," Stump added.
"I was hoping to get this done earlier. How about this afternoon instead?" Diane responded.
"Nine tonight or never."
Diane shrugged and Lee nodded reluctantly.
"Fine. But no goods, no money," Diane replied.
There was another pause. "Just be there. And don't bring any company except for your partner. We won't be alone." Stump hung up.
Lee and Diane both hung up. "There goes our hope of goading them into a shootout during daylight. Had it gone down that way, we could have put them out of business forever," he said. "I wonder if they want to make the transaction in the parking lot at Cabezon's? We can't risk a fire fight in a crowded place like that."
"If they're paranoid now—and they have good reason to be—they'll probably bring the stuff in a separate vehicle. Once they confirm that we're alone, they'll send us to another location to conduct business. They'll probably have some of their people watching us too. I'd guess some isolated location, with some of the watchers shape-shifted," Diane answered.
"It'll make it a lot harder getting any backup close enough to be any help. If some are in wolf mode, they'll have a better chance of getting away too. Our people aren't likely to shoot what they think is just a big dog unless it attacks us or them."
"So we'll have to take the responsibility ourselves, even if the animal rights groups are going to hear about it," Diane said. "We can't just shoot those who are in human form without provocation. Any ideas on how to set them into a
frenzy to make sure they get hostile?"
"No sweat." Lee smiled, knowing she'd know exactly what he meant.
CHAPTER 16
« ^ »
Less than an hour went by before they received another call. Lee picked it up. "You recognize my voice?" Stump snapped.
"Yes. Recognize mine?" Lee replied, pressing the button on the speaker so Diane could listen in.
"Smartass. We won't be meeting with you tonight."
"Why not?"
"It's crowded in that neighborhood today. Check the news. We'll meet at the same place and time tomorrow night instead."
Stump hung up.
"All the law enforcement roaming around the area must have bothered them. The Corrales patrolman was killed within a mile of that restaurant," Diane said. "And he's probably thinking about our phone being bugged. He didn't want to name another meeting place. Notice how cryptic he was?"
"It's all for the better, I guess. The President is still coming in tomorrow for the ceremony at the base," Diane added, "and the search for Elka has moved farther south, closer to the airport and base. This change of plans by Silver Eagle will give us the opportunity to humor Logan and spend some time out of the office searching for any sign of Elka Pfeiffer."
Lee nodded. "In a metropolitan area with nearly a half-million people, there's only a slim chance that we'll come across any of the skinwalkers. Hopefully by the time we make our last move on the Silver Eagle pack, the President will be safely on the way to Washington, Texas, or wherever he's going next."
After coordinating their efforts with other law-enforcement officers in order to eliminate duplication of efforts, Lee and Diane cruised through all the city neighborhoods within rifle reach and sight lines of the airport. Diane went door to door to question people at home while Lee checked out those businesses where he could go inside, out of the sun. No one reported having seen a stranger in the area matching Elka's description.
Later that afternoon, the Corrales police officer's body was discovered in the Rio Grande bosque north of Corrales. Then, around five-thirty, as downtown parking garages finally emptied for the day, Elka's car was discovered by an attendant. Both sites had immediately been inundated with personnel from several agencies, so Lee and Diane stayed clear.
A building-to-building search began in the downtown area, but Lee doubted Elka was huddled somewhere in an office or the shadow of a building. Three cars had already been reported stolen in the area, and one had probably been taken by the vampire woman.
"Well, if Elka Pfeiffer has a partner, all she would have had to do was call and arrange for a meet in the underground parking area. Or there could be a fourth stolen car that hasn't been discovered missing yet. Security cameras in the garage don't show any problems, apparently, but they didn't cover the entire level, just the entrances and exit. There re lots of possibilities," Diane said.
"She could be anywhere, and once the sun sets, in about a half hour, Elka will be free to roam. Your suggestion to Logan that base security bring out their night scopes to check for a sniper tonight was a good one," Lee said.
"What do we do next? Silver Eagle is on hold until tomorrow," she said. "We could always check with the hotel and motel desks in the metro area and see if anyone recognizes Elka."
"APD and the sheriff's department have people working on that, supposedly. Why don't we pay a visit to the CIA man, Rogers? Maybe he can tell us something he doesn't even know he knows about Elka and the rest of her terrorist group."
"I'll call and find out where he's staying at the moment, then let him know we're coming." Diane made a quick call to the Bureau's local office, then contacted Rogers at the number she was given—a local hotel.
They were headed south on I-25, less than a mile away from the new high-rise hotel just northwest of the airport, when an ambulance, sirens wailing, flew by on the northbound section of the freeway. The emergency vehicle was escorted by two police cars, following close behind.
"Oh crap, Diane. You think something's happened to Rogers?" Lee glanced in his rearview mirror. "There are two hospitals in that direction."
"There's a police escort, and that's unusual. Hang on, I'll call."
Diane listened to the phone ring, then finally someone answered. "Okay. We'll be there in a few minutes," she answered in a clipped tone, then turned to Lee. "Rogers was just attacked, but apparently he escaped injury and is back in his hotel room. I'm speaking to one of the security people."
"See if you can find out who's in the ambulance," Lee pressed, taking the freeway exit east, then turning onto the street where the hotel was located.
"Right. If it's Elka, then she won't be hurt for long."
"Damn, he hung up." Diane started to redial, but had to stop and hang on as Lee made a quick turn into the motel's parking lot. A police car with emergency lights flashing was blocking a row of vehicles and an EMT vehicle was beside it. "Never mind, we're here."
Diane got to the sidewalk first, stopped, and held out her badge as two security people in black jackets came forward, blocking her way to the ground-floor hotel room behind them.
Lee noted the men were both over six-four and as solid as rocks. They were also on high alert. Both had a hand on the grip of their weapons when they saw him right behind Diane.
"Paul Rogers. He's inside and okay?" Diane asked. "I need to ask him about the perp. Where is she?"
"How'd you know it was a woman?" One of the guards, an older man with gray around his temples, took a step forward, his eyes narrowing.
"The flyers," his partner muttered, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Where did it happen, and what did she do?" Lee wondered why Rogers wasn't dead if Elka had been the attacker.
"That Pfeiffer woman jumped him under the breeze-way leading to the restaurant," said the young, black guard, who looked ex-military. He pointed to a covered area between two buildings which led into a restaurant.
Two EMTs were picking up their gear while police officers strung yellow crime-scene tape around the section of covered walkway. "The woman wrestled our client to the ground, screaming and calling him a traitorous bastard. They squirmed around so much neither one of us could get a hold on her."
Diane looked at Lee curiously. "That doesn't sound like Elka to me."
"That's the name Rogers… the client used. He recognized her right away," the older guard answered.
Lee shook his head. It still didn't make sense. "What happened to the perp? She was hurt, right?"
"While they were rolling around she grabbed Rogers's gun. He managed to turn the muzzle around, and it went off. She was gut-shot," the black man said. "The ambulance is taking her to the university medical center."
"Stay close, she may have a partner," Lee said, then motioned toward Diane as a bright light came on. "Time to leave," he added, turning away. There was a television news team on the scene now, and neither one of them could afford to show up on a local broadcast.
"Let's hope we get to the hospital in time." Diane nodded, stepping away quickly.
"She looked pretty far gone to me," the older guard called out, but Lee and Diane were already hurrying for his car and didn't respond.
Lee pulled out onto the street as Diane adjusted her seat belt and reached down into her jacket to verify that she still had her big lockback knife. "If that really was Elka, why didn't she kill Rogers? She had to be holding back."
"Yeah, unless it really wasn't Elka, despite what the security said. A vampire, male or female, can kick any normal human's ass in hand-to-hand. There's no way he could have twisted a gun around in her hand so she shot herself. Either she's playing some kind of game, or we have the world's biggest coincidence."
"We don't believe in coincidences." Diane nodded. "Think we can get there before Elka, if that's really her, heals herself?"
"I'm working on that." Lee had already reached the freeway ramp, and was now accelerating up onto I-25. The hospital exit was less than three minutes away, so the ambulance
was already there.
Diane was on the cell phone again, trying to raise someone at University Hospital who could alert additional security. It was completely dark now and Elka would be much harder for a mortal to locate if she managed to get away from the lights.
"I'm parking in the emergency area," Lee said as they roared east up Lomas Avenue, weaving back and forth between lanes as he fought drive-home traffic. "Damn, I wish I had my department unit right now."
Barely missing a red light, Lee cut across traffic and screeched to a stop by the emergency-room entrance. He jumped out and ran toward the double doors, going slow enough not to give away his speed capabilities, but faster than most humans could move. Diane was somewhere behind him.
Lee came to a quick stop inside, almost colliding with an orderly pushing a wheelchair across the small emergency room lobby. "Excuse me, where did they take the woman who just arrived?" he asked.
Diane entered just then, her badge in the air. "FBI. We need an answer now!" Lee was already moving toward the double doors that had the words emergency room painted upon them.
"Hold on!" A stern-looking Chicano woman in her forties stood up from behind a counter just to the right of the entrance. "Two officers are already inside with the patient. Wait right here," she insisted.
Diane got right up in her face. "Two aren't going to be enough when she wakes up." She reached down over the counter and pressed the button that released the lock.
There was a loud thud that shook the wall, then the clanking ring of metal.
Lee was first through the door. One APD officer was lying on the floor, clutching at his chest, his legs moving in slow motion as he groaned in agony. The other was facedown, blood running out onto the tile floor from his head. A nurse in scrubs was screaming, trying to support a doctor who was down on his knees, gagging. Stainless-steel tools and pans were all over the floor.
A heavy wooden door had been kicked open so hard it had splintered, the glass and wire panel in the middle shattered. Beyond was a dimly lit corridor and stairs leading up.
