“Let’s hope she falls for the same trick her husband did. It won’t be as easy with her because she’ll be looking for us.”
“She’ll be looking for you. She doesn’t know what I look like.”
“You think she doesn’t,” the woman said warily. “The real question is whether she’ll cooperate once we get to her.”
“To keep her husband alive, she’ll do whatever we ask,” he insisted. “There had better be as much money in Ramir’s accounts as you think there is.”
“More than fifty million,” she said confidently. “More than enough for us to disappear if we want to.”
“Or we can make sure no one is left behind who can identify us.”
“That would work too.” The sound of a chair scraping against concrete sounded. “Are the explosives set?”
“Yeah. The charge will go off if anyone tries to get through the door . . . or if you press the magic button on the detonator.”
“Excellent. In that case, make sure he can’t get out of here. It’s time to go.”
“He’s tied up, the room has no windows, and the door is wired with explosives that can only be disarmed from outside. He’s not going anywhere,” the man promised. “If you really want, we can leave Luis here to watch him.”
“Are you sure you don’t want him to come with us?” she asked. “We can’t be sure if she will have help with her.”
“The girl with her is just a paper pusher. As for the new Navy SEAL, we don’t need him, so we shoot to kill.”
“Just make sure you don’t take out Johnson, at least not until we have what we want from her.” The woman lowered her voice. “Does Luis have any idea what we’re really after?”
“Not a clue. He’s happy to take our money and do whatever we ask.”
“In that case, lock the door and let’s see if your plan will work.”
* * *
“There isn’t any sign of him on the airport security cameras,” Quinn said, concern evident in his voice.
“Seth would avoid the cameras,” Brent said. “There’s no way to be sure when or where he was captured.”
“Regardless of when he was captured, I’m sure he’s here in Maracaibo,” Vanessa said, clearly fighting to keep her voice calm.
“How do you know that?” Brent asked.
“The camera feed. This particular device only has a range of five miles.”
“That’s still a lot of area.”
“Not really.” Damian pointed to Vanessa’s tablet. “Pull that feed up again.”
Vanessa complied, clearly struggling against the images on the screen as she replayed the recording of the earlier transmission.
“We’re pretty much in the center of the tourist district,” Damian said.
“So?”
“Look at where he’s at. The floor is concrete, and the lighting looks fluorescent.”
“It looks like a basement to me,” Jay put in.
“Exactly,” Damian agreed. “Most of the buildings in this area have underground parking, and basements in general aren’t common. Not to mention that half of our search area is in Lake Maracaibo. Clearly, he’s not there.”
“I’ll do a building search for this part of town,” Quinn said, accessing the Internet on the laptop Paige had lent him.
Damian stared at the image of Seth, desperately searching for anything that would help him narrow the search further.
Paige stood beside him, apparently content to watch the activity around her. She put a hand on his back, and Damian felt her silent support.
“I don’t see anything nearby that matches this,” Damian said, frustrated as he conducted his own search on his phone.
“What about a laundry room or an unfinished storage room in one of the hotels?” Brent asked.
“Wait. I think I found something.” Quinn shifted so he could show the computer screen to everyone else. “There’s an office building a couple miles away. According to the specs, it has a basement. The parking garage for the building is next door.”
“Any other possibilities?” Brent asked.
“Not that I can find. Damian’s right. Most of the buildings through here are hotels with underground parking or businesses that don’t have basements.”
Damian felt a sense of pride at Quinn’s words. Maybe he was finally going to make a difference here. Maybe he could find his place.
“I hate to say it, but this feels like a trap,” Paige said, interrupting his thoughts. “Assuming Andrea Kemper is behind this, she would know the range of the camera and be aware that Vanessa has been trained as an operative. Anyone with that training knows the camera feed can only go five miles.”
“Paige is right. We have to think they’re going to be waiting for us,” Vanessa said. At Damian’s confused look, she added, “Andrea had a reason for sending us an image we could identify so quickly. She wants me there.”
“Maybe you should stay here, then,” Damian said.
“No, I’m coming. You may have to use me as bait.”
“Are you kidding? Seth would kill us if we did that,” Quinn said.
“Not if he’s dead. I’m not going to let anything else happen to him,” Vanessa said. “I’m coming. Besides, she’s expecting me. Not all of you.”
Brent didn’t dispute her claim, taking charge as Quinn pulled up more information about the surrounding buildings and they began formulating a plan. Damian found himself in the middle of the discussion, his knowledge of the city proving useful.
“We need transportation,” Brent said finally. “We can’t be sure of Seth’s condition or if he will be able to walk, much less run.”
“We can use my grandfather’s truck,” Damian offered. “It’s parked downstairs.”
“Great. We’ll have you drop us all off near the building. Then you can park and join us.”
“I’ll have to go a few blocks away to park unless you want me to use the building’s parking garage.”
“No, park somewhere else. I don’t want to take the chance that they might have surveillance in the garage.”
“What about me?” Paige asked.
“I want you to stay here,” Damian insisted before Brent could answer.
“You can handle communications for us,” Brent added before she could object. “We’re limited on phones, and we don’t have any of our usual gear. If we get into any trouble, we’ll call you.”
“What exactly would you want me to do if you do have trouble?”
“If you can’t figure out a solution, call Kel. Actually, you can call Kel now and let him know what’s going on,” Brent said before turning his attention to everyone else. “Let’s roll.”
Damian saw the concern on Paige’s face. He lowered his voice and spoke to Brent. “Vanessa has my keys. She can show you where my truck is parked. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Brent looked from Damian to Paige, apparently understanding there was more going on here than Paige’s feeling abandoned. “Don’t take long.”
Damian nodded. He waited until everyone else had left the room and dug the diamond ring out of his pocket. “Maybe you should hang on to this again.”
She reached out automatically to take it, but Damian captured her left hand and slipped the ring into place. He slid his hand around her waist and lowered his lips to hers.
I missed this. Why such a thought would go through his mind at a time like this was beyond him. It had been barely more than a day since they had stood on the beach of Lake Canaima together, since he had last held her in his arms. How could she so quickly become so central to everything he wanted?
Reminding himself his squad was waiting for him, he broke the kiss and took her hand. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“Be careful,” Paige whispered.
“I will.” He squeezed her hand and forced himself to turn away and leave her behind.
Chapter 38
Vanessa knew it was a risk, but it was a risk worth taking if it would bring her husband b
ack to her. Besides, if these people wanted her dead, they wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to lure her here. Assuming that theory was correct.
Her thoughts continued to fester as she considered Warren, who was so well respected within the intelligence community, whom she had trusted with her life on numerous occasions before. Everything over the past few days pointed to him. So many pieces of information were leaked, most of them ones only he knew.
It’s all circumstantial, she reminded herself. If Warren really was behind this, she needed proof. And she needed a motive.
“Ready?” Brent asked.
“I’m ready,” Vanessa confirmed.
“Tristan and Quinn should already be in position on the far side of the building,” Brent said. “Jay will cover this side, and I’ll watch your back.”
“What about Damian?” Jay asked.
Vanessa didn’t wait for Brent to respond. “I don’t want to wait.”
“I understand, but let’s give him a couple minutes,” Brent said. “As soon as Damian gets back from parking the truck, we can have him watch this entrance so Jay can give us extra backup.”
“I’ll keep watch for him.” Jay took a step back so he was deeper in the shadows of the building next door, where he had a better view of the road.
Not happy with Brent’s decision, Vanessa looked down at her watch. “Five minutes. After that, I’m going in with or without you.”
“I understand,” Brent said quietly. “But we both know there’s no way I’m going to watch you go in there alone.”
* * *
Seth waited until he heard a door close in the distance before he opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. The room was completely bare, the walls and floor made of concrete. A single lightbulb shone overhead, a string dangling down to turn it on and off.
As he’d already heard, the only access to the outside world was through a single door. The hinges were on the inside, but on closer study, he could see the wires attached to whatever explosive device they had rigged to the door.
With the proper tools, he might be able to disarm it, but not without some way of seeing what it looked like.
He knew the likelihood of someone finding him here was slim, but Seth couldn’t take the chance that one of his teammates might miss the signs. Though it wasn’t an easy feat with his hands tied together, he dug through his pockets, searching for anything hard.
A one-piece bolivar became his first choice, but when he tried to tap it against the concrete floor, the sound barely carried. Putting two coins together wasn’t much better.
He took off his shoe and tried that, again with dismal results. His belt buckle became the next possibility. This time, when he struck the metal against the concrete, it sounded clearly.
Though someone would have to be close to hear it, he decided it was worth a try. He settled himself down against the wall beside the door and began tapping out a steady rhythm of Morse code: Door rigged.
* * *
Damian weaved through the traffic, wishing he were already back with his squad. He hated knowing Vanessa was putting herself at such risk, and he didn’t doubt Quinn’s assessment that Seth wasn’t going to be happy about it. He considered how he would feel if it was Paige risking herself for him. That thought alone made him press down harder on the gas pedal.
The parking spaces along the street were already occupied, and he tried to think of the closest alternative. Since a fire had burned several buildings in this section of town a few years ago, many of the businesses had changed. The light in front of him turned yellow. He hesitated only a moment before he ignored the possible consequences and punched through it as it blinked to red. Feeling only a little guilty, Damian continued his search.
He noticed a restaurant down a side street with a parking garage beside it. That’s new, he thought to himself. He turned toward it just as flashing lights appeared in his rearview mirror.
“Great,” he muttered. He pulled off to the side of the road opposite the garage he had been heading toward. He stared at his intended destination and was struck by a moment of clarity. If a parking garage had been constructed here, it was possible that some of the new buildings through here could have basements. With the government corruption over the past several years, it was also likely that some of the building specs hadn’t been updated after the fire.
Damian quickly grabbed his cell phone and called Paige.
“Is everything okay?”
“A cop just pulled me over, but I need a quick favor.” He gave her the cross streets of his location. “See if you can find anything on updated specs on the buildings here after a fire a few years ago. There might be basements in some of them.”
“I will. What about you?”
A police officer rapped on his window. “I’ll call you when I get done with the cop.”
Damian ended the call and rolled his window down. “Is there a problem, officer?”
The answer was much more extreme than Damian had thought possible when he looked up to see a gun aimed at his head.
* * *
Paige hung up the phone and looked for the information Damian had asked about. An article on the fire came up on her first try, but nowhere did she see information about the reconstruction of any buildings. Trying a different tactic, she searched for images, listing the street names Damian had given her.
This time several results appeared. One included photos of a new parking garage. When she flipped through the additional photos included in the article, she saw what Damian was looking for. The building next door to the garage was still under construction when the photo was taken. Paige could clearly see the framing of the building, including a stairwell descending below ground level.
The Saint Squad knew they were likely walking into a trap, but was it possible they were putting themselves in danger to rescue someone who wasn’t even there? Paige wavered on what to do. She didn’t want to call Vanessa. Even if her phone was on, she wouldn’t want to risk someone hearing it go off if she was trying to sneak into the office building.
Damian said he would call back, but he had no way of contacting the rest of his squad to let them know what was going on. He also couldn’t be in two places at once. If Seth really was at the building near Damian, Damian would have to choose between going to help his squad and trying to find Seth alone.
Paige reminded herself she wasn’t trained for this kind of work, but that didn’t stop her from grabbing her purse and heading for the door.
She flagged down a taxi in front of the hotel and gave the driver Damian’s location. Assuming he wasn’t in a position to answer his phone, she sent a text message confirming his suspicion along with the location of the building she had identified.
The lack of a response sent her nerves into overdrive. What could she possibly do that Damian couldn’t do alone? She nearly decided to have the cab driver turn around when she saw Damian pushed up against the side of a police car, his hands on the hood and his feet forced apart, the police officer standing right behind him.
The moment the taxi pulled to a stop, Paige tossed some bills over the front seat at the driver and leapt from the car. “Help!” Paige yelled, rushing toward the policeman. “My sister is missing!”
She shouted in English, but the volume and panic she forced into her voice were sufficient to get the policeman’s attention. The moment his focus shifted, Damian threw his weight back, brought his elbow up to knock the gun free, and swept his leg out to drop the man to the ground.
In a blink, Damian had the man pinned to the pavement. Damian let out a stream of rapid Spanish. Paige couldn’t understand any of it, but from the intensity of his voice, she suspected this hadn’t been a routine traffic stop.
The man grunted in response but didn’t say anything.
“Get the handcuffs out of his belt.” Damian tilted his head to the left, indicating which side she would find them on.
Damian’s urgency prompted her to act quickly. She unfas
tened the snap that held the handcuffs in place and handed them to Damian.
With surprising efficiency, he cuffed the policeman and pulled him to his feet. “Open the back door,” Damian said, dragging the man toward the police car.
Paige complied and watched Damian shove the man into the backseat and slam the door. “What are you going to do with him?”
“Leave him here.” Damian collected the weapon he had knocked free, engaged the safety, and stuck it in his jacket pocket. “I have to say, your timing was impeccable.”
“Glad I could help.” Her voice shaky, Paige motioned to the police car. “What happened?”
“Best guess is that someone paid this guy to detain me. I ran a red light, but he didn’t have any interest in seeing my ID or collecting a bribe. He pulled his gun before he even looked in the window.”
“Then you probably didn’t see my text message.” Paige pointed at a nearby building. “That building over there has a basement. I found a photo of it while it was being rebuilt.”
“What about the others?”
“I don’t know.” Paige thought back to the photo, trying to remember if she had seen any indications of whether the others had dug basements or not. “I’m pretty sure I remember seeing the one across the street on the edge of the photo, but it had a basic concrete slab at ground level.”
She pointed at a nearby building. “What do we do now? The rest of your squad is very likely walking into a trap.”
“They already know that.”
“But they don’t know that Seth may not be there,” Paige reminded him.
Damian debated briefly. Logic told him he should go get the rest of his team, but a gut feeling urged him to start his search without them. Remembering the way Vanessa had rushed into the warehouse in search of Seth, he suspected his team was already inside the other building.
“Knowing Vanessa, they’ve probably already gone in.” Damian took his keys and handed them to Paige. “I’m going to check out the basement over there. If I don’t come back out in ten minutes, I need you to drive over to the office building. If Seth is there and they get him out, they may need you to drive him back to the hotel.”
Drop Zone Page 24
