by L. T. Ryan
The small contingent jogged to catch up with Javier. By the time they reached the door, the man was already on his way up the first set of stairs, taking three at a time. His footsteps echoed in the empty space. By the time Sadie reached the second landing, Javier was gone.
They reached the third floor. Sadie followed the sounds of a girl and her father’s sobs. Low chatter rose to full voices as they traveled down a wide hallway and into the room at the end of the corridor. It opened into a large space with exposed brick columns and boxes stacked haphazardly along the walls. The carpet had been ripped out. Garbage and dust littered the floor. Vasquez had clearly not used the building, or at least this level, for some time.
When Sadie turned the corner, her eyes immediately zeroed in on Javier and Camila. The girl’s brown hair was greasy and matted. Dirt and grime coated her face. But her eyes shone brightly against her skin. She was crying as her gaze locked on her father. She didn’t seem terrified though. Javier had settled the girl. Whatever happened, they faced it together.
Calderon urged Javier to get back so their men could do their jobs. They were as experienced as any Sadie had met. The device didn’t appear to be anything sophisticated, so better to let them work and get this ordeal over with. Javier recognized this. He rose, leaned over, kissed his daughter on the cheek, then took a few steps back.
“I’m here with you,” he said. “Right here.”
She stared at him, oblivious to the world around her at that moment.
Sadie circled around to the side to better take in the scene. She was in it until the end as well it seemed. Two men worked quickly and cautiously on the vest draped over Camila’s chest. They had to disarm it before they could take it off.
Within a few minutes they had freed the girl from the device. The entire room exhaled in relief, watching as the tech carried it out of the room while the other checked Camila’s restraints for triggers. Finding none, he cut her free and smiled as she fled to her father.
The pair collapsed into each other’s arms and sunk to their knees, crying and laughing and whispering I love you over and over again. Some of them turned away from the raw emotion, but Sadie drank it in. This was what she lived for. This was why she had become an agent in the first place. She had done some terrible things for Goddard while undercover, but it had always been with the bigger picture in mind. This right here was what made it all worth it.
The group trickled out of the room, making their way downstairs and outside into sunlight peeking through the trees. It had never felt so warm and comforting. Sadie flipped open her phone and shot a text to Jack.
Camila is safe. Vasquez had planted a bomb on her, but Javier’s men dismantled it. They’re reunited. All good.
She hit send and watched as the note flitted off. Unable to stop bubbling anger from reaching the surface, she tapped out another message.
Kick his ass for me, will you?
Chapter Thirty-Four
I dropped Jack off in front of a couple of tall palm trees. Exhaust-ridden air milled about the Land Rover’s cabin. The taste lingered in my mouth and throat even after I swallowed down a mouthful of cola. Jack hopped a guardrail and blended in with a mixed crowd of tourists on their way to the entrance after departing their bus.
The plan was straightforward. We had narrowed down three flights going out of the Juan Santamaría InternationalAirport and heading into Miami. Two of them were on American, the third on United. All left within the next hour or so. If Jack was right about Vasquez, the guy was already at the airport.
Noble’s job was to run inside and get a ticket. Any ticket to anywhere using an identity no one knew about. After today he’d have to burn it. With the ticket in hand, he’d have to get through security and track down Vasquez before he boarded his flight. I had a feeling that once the man was gone, he might not come back. Why would he? Chances were Javier would not let this go.
I was tasked with getting Vasquez on the phone to home in on his location. We figured the guy was in the airport, so if we could get some clue from the call, an announcement over the speakers perhaps, we could locate him. I had to keep him on the phone as long as possible.
I dialed the number and put the call on speaker. The wind and sounds of the road would be audible to Vasquez. Which was perfect. I wanted him to know I was in the car, let him think he was safely out of reach behind the security checkpoint.
Vasquez answered on the third fuzzy ring. “Hello, Jack.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I said.
“Ah, Riley Logan, I presume? Should I call you Bear?”
“Only my friends call me Bear.”
“I’d like to think one day we could potentially be friends, Riley.”
“You have a lot to live up to, man. My friends don’t kidnap ten-year-old girls.”
“We all do what we must,” Vasquez said. “Besides, it wasn’t me that did the act. Garcia did it. I saved her life.”
“You didn’t exactly set her free.”
“Like I said, we all do what we must. I gave up her location in good faith, trusting that you did, indeed, kill Goddard.” He spoke hurriedly. Was he getting ready to board?
“The senator’s dead.” I swerved to pass an old man driving a large sedan who had stopped in the middle of the road. “We kept our word.”
“As did I. Have you tracked her down yet?”
I turned the corner into one of the many parking lots at the airport and began searching for a spot. “They’re closing in. Jack had a head start on me. I had some trash to throw out.”
“Well, lucky me then.” Vasquez paused and the phone amplified the background noise in the airport, though I couldn’t make anything out. “I’m a little perplexed at the moment. Tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“I want to know your plan from here on out.”
Vasquez laughed. It sounded genuine to me, as though the man was delighting in the fact that I’d been so upfront with his request. “You know this only works in the movies, right? I’m not going to divulge my secrets to you.”
“Not even to a potential friend?”
Vasquez laughed again. “Fair point, fair point.” He paused. “But no, Riley. You’d have to earn a little more trust than that.”
I located an empty spot and backed in despite the sign saying not to. “Do you honestly think you’ll be able to outrun Javier forever? Or that you’ll be able to outrun Jack?”
“No,” Vasquez said. “But I don’t need to. I just—”
He was interrupted by an overhead announcement. A woman’s voice rang out in Spanish. “United customer Rafael Gonzalez please make your way to gate five. That’s United customer Rafael Gonzale—.”
Vasquez seemed to realize his mistake a second too late. The line cut out. But I had all the information I needed. I fired off a text to Jack with Vasquez’s location. It was only a matter of minutes now.
Jack purchased a ticket to Limon, then made it through security in record time. It helped that he had nothing with him. He emptied his pockets into a small tray and stepped in line to go through the metal detector. He smiled at the woman waving people through and said gracias once he was given the all clear.
When he stepped out past security, he had three choices. He could either go left, go right, or stay put. If he walked off in one of the directions, he chanced heading in the wrong one and potentially missing Vasquez if he had to double back and try to catch up with him. Or he might accidentally pass the guy without realizing it, revealing himself in the process. If he stayed put, it meant he could head straight for his target once he heard from Bear, but he still risked not being able to catch up with Vasquez. It also looked suspicious.
In the end, he opted to stay put.
He didn’t have to wait long. A text came in from Bear with Vasquez’s location. He was flying out United, around gate five. Bear texted that Vasquez had realized his mistake and ended the call prematurely. Would the guy be on the move now? Or trying to boar
d his flight early?
As Jack narrowed in on gate 5 he searched for a man he had only seen for a moment in person and a few times in a grainy photo stashed inside a manila folder. Still, Vasquez wasn’t hard to distinguish. He was tall and well-built and carried himself in a manner that said he was above everyone else. Most of the people here were haggard travelers or harried families. Because of how Vasquez carried himself, the oceans of people would part before him. There’d be a ripple effect.
When Jack spotted him, Vasquez was standing outside the restroom. He had his hand on the door and was glancing around. His gaze swept right past Jack without a sign of recognition. Vasquez’s plan appeared to be to wait it out inside a stall. There were worse places in the airport, Jack supposed, but he couldn’t think of one right off hand.
Vasquez had to be banking that Jack and Bear would canvas the airport, think that they’d missed him, then work back outside. A gamble for sure. Then Jack spotted the second man. Made sense that Vasquez would have a scout positioned to relay movements. The guy was dressed in a pair of tan slacks and a white polo shirt. He leaned against the wall outside the bathroom, his head tilted down at the phone in his hand. But his eyes which were no longer hidden by his glasses darted side to side. They were always on the move scanning the space.
Jack found a small store a few kiosks down from gate five. The place was crammed with newspapers, magazines, and paperbacks, as well as souvenir shirts and hats. He purchased a cap and put it on and folded the bag and tucked it in his pocket. He only had to wait a few minutes before a fresh wave of new arrivals filled the area, walking off in every direction. Naturally a large group of them headed for the restrooms. Jack found his way to the middle and kept his head down and his phone to his ear. The man outside the bathroom looked up and scanned the group. From under his ball cap, Jack watched. Their gazes never met. He managed to slide right past the lookout undetected.
Inside the bathroom Jack went to the row of sinks. He used the mirrors to check the handful of stalls behind him. Each one of them was occupied. Wrinkled shorts and pants sat down around the occupants’ ankles atop tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, and one pair of freshly shined black oxfords.
That was his man.
He washed his hands, spent some time at a urinal, washed his hands again. He took off his hat and fixed his hair. He blew his nose. It took a few minutes, but the lull that always arrives finally arrived. They were alone. Jack figured that the guy outside would’ve been tasked with keeping track of how many people had come and gone. Apparently not, though.
Jack pushed open a stall door with the back of his hand and stepped inside. He’d already grown accustom to the smell in the room, so waiting out Vasquez wouldn’t be that big of a deal. He watched the other stall in the mirror through a crack in the rusted door.
He pulled his buzzing phone from his pocket. It was a message from Sadie. Before he could open it, another message hit his phone. Camila was safe. The op didn’t go down as smoothly as they had hoped. The asshole in the stall next door had strapped a bomb to the girl’s chest. He’d pay for that. Jack let out a relieved sigh. Perhaps Vasquez thought it was for natural reasons, unaware that Jack had entered his flow state. He no longer had to hold back.
A few seconds later a toilet flushed, a man rose, pulled up his pants, and unlatched his stall door. Jack watched as it swung open slowly and Vasquez emerged into the empty bank of sinks.
Jack was sitting patiently, not even bothered by the fact he was stuck in a men’s restroom at an airport in San José. He was riding the high that was the image of him punching Vasquez in the face.
A stream of water flowed over Vasquez’s hands. He washed, rinsed, then cupped them and splashed the liquid over his face. He only recognized his mistake a few moments later when he started blindly searching for something to dry his eyes with.
Jack opened his door and slid up to the man just as Vasquez pulled his shirt up to his face and patted the water away. He dropped his shirt. His eyes moved to Jack’s reflection. Vasquez’s body stiffened.
Jack moved to block his exit. He held his arms loose at his side, ready for an attack. He was close enough to the guy to disarm him should he pull a weapon, and far enough away to avoid a strike.
He said, “I wouldn’t try it if I were you.”
Vasquez said, “What do you want from me? I thought we were done.”
“We would’ve been, but you decided to put a bomb on a kid.”
Vasquez clenched his jaw. “That was to buy time only. Surely by now Javier’s men have determined the explosives were duds. Nothing was going to happen. I even told the girl that myself.”
Jack sized the guy up. Maybe he was telling the truth. It didn’t matter. “You know, for some reason I believe you. Doesn’t change the fact you strapped an explosive to her. Who knows what kind of therapy she’s gonna need when she grows up.”
“We all do what we must.” Vasquez’s words lacked conviction. He sighed, toweled off his hands, and seemed to relinquish himself to having this conversation in the men’s restroom. “How did you find me?”
“That wasn’t too difficult. Did you know Goddard and his assistant, who we have in custody, kept an extremely detailed dossier on you? Right down to how you take your coffee. You should try to stick to only one sugar in every cup. I know you’ve been stressed lately. Still, three is a bit much, isn’t it? Especially on top of the heavy cream. I mean, I love the stuff, but not in my coffee.”
Vasquez’s mouth drew tight. Jack had him right where he wanted him. When the other man didn’t say anything, Jack went for the kill.
“You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now. Luckily for you, you possess skills I’m in need of employing.”
“And what skills would those be?” Vasquez’s tone was measured. He narrowed his eyes.
“The digging up dirt, finding an ant on a mole-ridden ass on a nude beach full of people with mole-ridden asses, investigative kind.” He stopped to grin at Vasquez, who did not return the gesture. Jack shook his head, sighed, continued. “I need some information on a man named Thorne.” Jack pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. It contained all the information they knew about the guy. It wasn’t much, but he figured it’d be all Vasquez would need.
Vasquez took the paper but didn’t look at it. “And if I don’t help you?”
Jack shrugged. “You’ll regret it in one way or another. I’m a good man at heart, but don’t test my patience. I’m a cold-blooded killer when I’m paid enough. Or pissed enough. I can make your life a living hell.”
Vasquez’s shoulders slumped, his chin dropped an inch. His expression was easy to read. Jack could see the way he went through all possible scenarios, all possible escape routes. But the former lieutenant knew what Jack knew. If Noble knew something as inconsequential as his coffee order, imagine what he knew that was being left unsaid.
Vasquez gritted his teeth, nodded, and pocketed the paper. It was all the confirmation Jack needed.
“Perfect.” Jack wagged his finger at the guy. “And one more thing.”
Jack closed his hand into a fist and pulled his arm back. Vasquez had just enough time to register what was happening right before Jack’s fist connected with his nose. There was a satisfying crack as Vasquez’s head hit the sink.
Jack shook out his hand, looked the man up and down, and laughed. “I’m expecting a report from you within a week.” When he turned and walked away, Jack felt certain Vasquez would find a way to get his revenge, but Noble couldn’t bring himself to care.
Chapter Thirty-Five
March 29, 2006
Sadie wiped a trickle of sweat off her cheek with her index finger. She stood under a vent just past the ticketing counter. This was her first flight back to the States in three years. She thought she’d be clamoring to get past security and to her boarding gate, all but guaranteeing she’d make her flight home. But there was something left to do.
She saw Bear first. He stood almost
a head above the average person. Even those close to his height rarely had his kind of heft. His wide muscular frame helped him carry his weight well. He pulled off his cap and shook his hair free, then patted his beard down. Must’ve been a windy ride over.
Jack appeared a few seconds later. He stared down at his boarding pass, then looked up at the various counters, finally pointing at their carrier. As she watched him, Sadie wondered what could have been between the two of them if life had led them on different paths. Always practical, she filed the thoughts away in the cabinet marked death bed. And that was a place she hoped she never lingered.
The men greeted her and they made their way through security and into a lounge. They ate and drank and talked and even laughed a couple of times. She wished the moment could be extended on a shared flight, but that was too risky. Vasquez or Thorne could be monitoring their movements. Better for two to survive should one go down. Sadie had a debriefing scheduled in Langley the following morning. The guys would have to meet with Frank soon, too.
After that? Home. Though she wasn’t quite sure where that was anymore. Most people didn’t understand that sentiment. She was grateful that Jack and Bear weren’t most people.
Their conversation died down. Bear stood, pulled out a wad of cash and threw it down. “It’s about that time. Better get to my gate.” His beard tickled her face as he kissed her on the cheek. “It was real, Sadie. Let’s not do it again.” He saluted Jack. “We’ll get up later.”
They watched him exit the lounge and disappear down the corridor. Would she ever see him again? She lifted her beer to her lips and took a pull. Her gaze drifted to the center of the table, then to Jack’s hand, and finally to his eyes. They stared at each other for a minute. Neither spoke. She was the first to break it off as she reached into her pocket and added some cash to the pile.
