“They’ll be on in a minute,” Reskova explained as McDaniels brought a chair over beside her. “Kay already called Jen and Tom in. He heard them talking when the van arrived. They’re sending pictures of the two guys from the van who are still inside. Our other teams watching their movements have the arrival on tape. They’ll be following these guys when they leave. I let them know Dino reacted to the van.”
“I guess things will be speeding up from here. I hope…”
Rutledge’s face blinked on as she piped a feed directly into the laptop Reskova and McDaniels sat in front of. Rasheed and Barrington were seated on either side of her with grim looks on their faces.
“AD Dreyer is getting the go ahead to hit the house at dawn,” Rutledge began. “You two will assist with on-site intel. Dreyer wants to know every movement you two see from now on. If they sneeze, he wants to know time and duration of it, his words. Have you listened to what was recorded earlier yet, Colonel?”
“Not yet. We wanted to do a sweep and see if Dino picked up on anything. I never expected the van. It wasn’t there when we began the walk about forty-five minutes ago.”
“On it,” Rutledge replied. “Our other surveillance teams called it in right away. We have a live feed going from the front of the house you two are in. Dreyer wanted to know if you might have any input for the teams taking the house in the morning, Colonel.”
“Don’t use amateurs. I’ll lead it if he wants me to.”
“He already anticipated your offer. AD Dreyer said he needs live terrorists.”
“Dreyer does realize these clowns have God knows what explosives, doesn’t he?” Reskova asked. “They may have enough to kill everyone in the area.”
“We’re between a rock and a hard place,” Rutledge went on. “If we evacuate the houses around, we might lose the surprise factor. If we don’t evacuate, we might end up with a whole lot of collateral damage. If we take them in route to their target they’ll have the bombs ready to go for sure.”
“Are you sending Kay over to get the janitor?” McDaniels asked.
“No, we have agents ready to hit his house the moment they get the okay from us,” Barrington spoke up. “He won’t ever see the school again.”
“Good, then Kay should be listening in on these guys at the same time as me, with a dedicated line between us, so we can transcribe everything they say in real time, comparing it instantly,” McDaniels suggested.
“I’ll get it set up right through our connection now. Just type on the keyboard as you’re listening. I’ll have Kay doing the same from this end. I’ll split the screen so you can speak or talk while watching what the other comes up with. That’ll leave you watching the visuals, Diane. Are you feeling okay after this afternoon’s performance?”
“The walk helped,” Reskova acknowledged, remembering the team had been monitoring the terrorist house. “Did they buy the act, Kay?”
“They did indeed, Boss. The woman dismissed you as just a drunk and seemed only disgusted.”
“That’s good news. Lets get to work.”
An hour later, McDaniels listened absently for any stray conversation. Although he could hear their movements, the occupants of the house across the street were not talking. McDaniels watched the split-screen intently. He could see Rasheed seated in front of a computer terminal on one half of the screen, and a cursor and notepad on the other half where their typed word translations would appear. McDaniels made sure Reskova was busy before typing one word: Kay.
“Yes, my friend,” Rasheed acknowledged in text.
“Would you and Ansa like a son?”
“You know Ansa cannot have any more children.”
“There is a little boy across the street who will need a new set of parents shortly,” McDaniels typed.
“What… no… I do not want to know,” Rasheed typed, looking into the screen at McDaniels intently. “Tell me what you want of me.”
“Find a way to be driving by the street corner opposite of where our other surveillance guys are at exactly zero two hundred hours. I will have a son for you or I will be dead.”
The two men looked at each other for a moment. Rasheed nodded his understanding. Each man deleted the text of their conversation and went back to listening. McDaniels noticed Reskova trying to stay awake as she watched the video feed from across the street.
“Hey, take a break, Diane,” McDaniels called over to her. He switched off volume to their team’s office momentarily. “Turn your screen my way. I’ll keep an eye on it while you take a nap. I’ll wake you in an hour.”
Reskova smiled her thanks. She immediately turned her screen toward McDaniels. She stretched and walked over to the coach to lie down. Five minutes later McDaniels chuckled as Reskova began to snore. He looked at the screen clock. He leaned back in his seat, watching Reskova’s screen as he adjusted the volume to their office again. Rasheed glanced up at McDaniels with a grin, shaking his head as he heard Reskova snoring.
At midnight, Reskova was back at her terminal. All lights had been out at the house for almost an hour. McDaniels had not heard any conversation since the terrorists had shared a meal together nearly three hours earlier. They had mentioned nothing about their plans at any time. The men from the plumbing van had left before the meal. They were followed. Reskova left her seat and walked over to where McDaniels sat.
“I think we can call it a night,” Reskova said, for both McDaniels and Rasheed to hear. “You had better get some sleep, Kay. It will be a long day tomorrow.”
“As you say, Boss,” Rasheed replied, taking off his headset and waving at the screen before walking out of sight.
“You go on to bed, Diane. I’ll sleep down here in the chair with the headset on.”
“Okay,” Reskova yawned. “Remember, we have rotating teams watching the house anyhow.”
“I know but better safe than sorry. I’ll be comfortable enough here. You go get some sleep.”
Reskova nodded and walked out of the room. McDaniels smiled as Dino also jumped up, looked at him for a moment, and then followed Reskova. The bedroom was on the second floor. McDaniels listened to her footsteps until Reskova ascended the stairs. McDaniels put his headset down quietly, thinking it would also be an eternal night for the terrorists. He walked over to the entryway closet and quietly retrieved one of the bags he had brought along with him.
* * *
Rasheed slowed his small Ford Escort as he approached the intersection McDaniels had indicated. He flashed his lights off and on again once. A huge dark shadow detached itself from the side of a house and approached the Escort quickly. Rasheed stopped his car. He hit the unlock button for all the doors. McDaniels, wearing all black including a pullover black head mask, squeezed carefully into the small passenger seat of the Escort. In his arms he cradled a small bundle wrapped in a baby blue blanket. McDaniels handed the bundle over to an eager Rasheed carefully.
“He is a beautiful boy, Kay.”
“Oh, my friend, they will surely lock you away for all time.” Rasheed opened the blanket. “How do you do these things?”
“Hey, the little bugger’s looking right at you,” McDaniels said, seeing the baby’s eyes reflect the light from the street lamps. “I think Ansa and Suraya will like the little addition.”
“They will go mad with happiness,” Rasheed whispered, touching the baby’s grasping fingers. “He is very quiet. What of his parents?”
“He is an orphan,” McDaniels answered simply. “I have to get back. They have the explosives stashed in the basement. Get the little boy to Ansa. I will secure the site and call in the troops early.”
“Do not get killed.”
“If I get killed tonight, it will be because the Boss gets so pissed off over my alteration to our orders, she puts a round right between my horns,” McDaniels replied, opening the door.
“You will be missed,” Rasheed said, waving at McDaniels.
McDaniels shut the passenger side door with a chuckle at Rasheed’s
remark. A moment later he was gone. Rasheed looked down at his new son with his heart pounding.
“I will name you Jeremiah McDaniels Rasheed,” Rasheed told his new son. “Perhaps you will also be a Cold Mountain one day, my son.”
* * *
“Res… uh… hello…” Reskova said into the phone, which she had grabbed up sleepily from the bedside table, running her hand through her hair.
“Hi, Boss,” McDaniels’ muffled voice greeted her.
“What the hell… Cold… is…”
“Listen up, Boss. Call the cavalry. I’m barricaded in the basement with the explosives. The only guard they had watching the place is no longer with us. Tell them to hurry, but not to worry too much. The only things they had for electronic warning were a couple of Radio Shack motion detectors. I also have all their weapons down here with me. Don’t waste time talking to me.”
Reskova hung up the phone and immediately dialed the hotline number she had for Assistant Director Dreyer. He answered groggily on the third ring.
“Reskova here. McDaniels is in the basement of the Mercado house with the explosives and the terrorists’ weapons. He’s killed the only guard they had. He wants you to send the troops in quickly.”
“Jesus H. Christ!” Dreyer exclaimed angrily.
The line went dead in her hand. Reskova grinned. She walked over to the bedroom window and looked down at the darkened Mercado house.
“The only person in more trouble than me is you, Mr. Mountain,” Reskova muttered, shaking her head.
Black clad figures burst through the front entrance of the Mercado house less than an hour later. The terrorists were caught completely unawares. They reached for weapons no longer within reach and were subdued quickly. The FBI team methodically cleared every inch of the house while gathering the hapless terrorists who were roughly herded to the living room of the house where AD Dreyer and Reskova waited. The team leader brought the last of the captives down.
“Three dead,” the agent told Dreyer. “One in the living room, a man and woman in the bedroom, all with their throats cut. They were Tasered first.”
“What about the baby?” Reskova asked.
“The crib was in the parents’ room but there’s no sign of the baby.”
“Have you found the basement entrance?” Dreyer asked.
“Yes sir, it’s in the kitchen. I figured you would handle McDaniels after we cleared the house.”
Dreyer motioned for Reskova to follow him. At the basement door, Dreyer gestured for Reskova to take over. Reskova walked over and knocked on the basement door.
“Cold, we have the house secure. Come up!”
The door opened a moment later. McDaniels walked out with his hands clasped behind his head. “You could have called me on the cell phone.”
“Shut up, Colonel!” Dreyer shouted, pointing a finger at McDaniels. “I ought to have you shot right here. We can say the terrorists did it.”
“Where’s the baby, Cold?” Reskova asked.
“Safe with Kay. I ordered him to meet me on the corner a couple of hours ago. I gave him the baby. He knew nothing about what I had planned.”
“You murdered the Mercados,” Dreyer raged on. “Are you out of your mind? We needed them alive.”
“Their cohorts know as much as they do. I didn’t want the baby hurt,” McDaniels said simply. “I left the rest of them alive. You suffered zero casualties and zero explosions. The baby’s safe and Kay has a new son. It looks like a win, win, win situation to me.”
“You arrogant… Jesus…” Dreyer turned to the leader of the FBI assault team, who was looking at McDaniels with a mixture of awe and respect. “Put this prick in cuffs, Donaldson, and get him out of my sight.”
“Yes sir,” Donaldson acknowledged. “Do you have any weapons, Colonel?”
McDaniels shook his head and put his hands behind his back as he turned around, glancing over at Reskova. “Take care of Dino for me. You’ll need him.”
Donaldson cuffed him. He led McDaniels away. Reskova, who had kept silent, now spoke up when McDaniels had been taken out of earshot.
“He’s right, you know, Sir. The baby is an American citizen unlike his terrorist parents. Now, he’s safe, and…”
“One more word out of your mouth, Reskova, and you’ll be joining him,” Dreyer warned her. “He compromised this mission. His actions led to the deaths of the two most important figures in this mess. On top of that, McDaniels killed them on purpose.”
“He’s an assassin. You and Director Aginson knew it when you put him on my team,” Reskova replied calmly, ignoring Dreyer’s warning. “He’s with me for situations just like this one. We already figured the Colonel is our resident scapegoat on the team. He can be counted on to do exactly what you and Aginson want done, all while taking the rap for any fallout. It might be to your advantage to call Director Aginson. Present it to him as a fate accompli. God knows you can paint this in an extremely positive way if you take a moment to get over yourself.”
“Get out of my sight, Diane!” Dreyer seethed. He turned his back on her and walked away, calling out over his shoulder. “If I find you anywhere around here I will, as God is my witness, have you brought up on charges.”
Reskova reluctantly turned to leave. Donaldson walked toward her from where he had given McDaniels over to agents outside the house. Donaldson stopped her.
“Agent Reskova, what will happen to the Colonel? He did a hell of a job in here.”
“It might be good to mention that in your after action report,” Reskova suggested. “It will all depend on how the thing gets leaked to the media. Dreyer wants cover for any bad press Homeland Security and the FBI get out of this.”
“This will get leaked?” Donaldson asked, surprised at her statement.
“It’s possible.” Reskova smiled up at him. “Slitting the throats of terrorists in their sleep and preventing a school bombing makes for a great front page story - just the kind of story that fits in with the legend of Cold Mountain.”
Donaldson laughed uneasily. “You probably shouldn’t have told me that, just for deniability reasons. I don’t think you know me well enough to lay that on me, Diane.”
“I trust you, Pete. You wanted to know, so I mentioned some of the parameters which could become part of the answer. I saw the look in your eyes when you saw McDaniels.”
“Holy crap,” Donaldson whispered, shaking his head in wonder. “He enters a safe house for terrorists undetected. He slits the throats of a guard and two main terrorist moles. He gathers all their weapons and barricades himself in the cellar with all the explosives they were planning to blow up a school with. How do you order the arrest of such a man?”
“AD Dreyer’s been a politician too long, Pete. You left out saving a baby from the list. I’ll be seeing you.”
Reskova began walking around Donaldson. Before she could get by him, Donaldson put a hand on her shoulder. “Count me in to do whatever it takes to back your play on the Colonel.”
“Thanks, Pete. Mr. Mountain will probably need all the help he can get.”
“I couldn’t believe the stuff they’d written about him in the press until now. Watch your back, Diane.”
Chapter 16
Shipped Out
Reskova continued out of the Mercado house. McDaniels was nowhere in sight. A bedraggled Barrington and Rutledge were waiting at the curb, their FBI vests only half fastened in the early dawn light. They straightened as Reskova walked over to them.
“Did you see them take Cold?”
“Yeah,” Rutledge replied angrily. “The bastards had the nerve to put handcuffs on him like he was a terrorist.”
“We stayed out of their way though,” Barrington added. “We figured he had enough trouble without us adding to it.”
“Let’s pick up Dino and get the hell out of here.”
Reskova walked toward the street, motioning her team to follow. “We’ll gather all our gear and meet up with Kay at the office. The news c
rews will be here in all their glory real quick. Just look at the faces in the windows around here. Somebody will tip off the media.”
“What can we do about the Colonel?” Barrington asked.
“How much do you two think we ought to do?” Reskova slowed down so the other two agents could walk beside her.
“Well, let’s see… you, me, and Tom here would be buried in pieces somewhere in the damn woods if not for Cold. I’ll go for anything, including an assault on wherever they have him jailed.”
“Ditto,” Barrington agreed.
“I was hoping you two would feel that way. What say the three of us come up with a fool proof way for the media to add to the legend of Cold Mountain?”
“Meaning some way they can’t trace it to us so we don’t end up in orange jumpsuits by the end of the week?” Rutledge asked.
“Exactly.”
“Consider it done,” Barrington promised.
* * *
Rasheed paced the floor of the team’s front office, his hands clasped absently behind his back. Reskova, followed by Barrington and Rutledge, came through the entrance after swiping their security code cards. Rasheed rushed up to them expectantly, his face a mask of worry.
“Where is my friend?” Rasheed blurted out.
“Calm down, Kay,” Reskova urged. “I…”
“Do not treat me like a child, Agent Reskova,” Rasheed replied grimly, surprising the FBI agents. All semblance of the easy going Iraqi was missing from his manner. “Is he well?”
“Yes, Cold’s fine. He’s been taken into custody for his unscripted part in the mission this morning,” Reskova answered. “We tried calling you.”
“I turned off the cell phone I was given. I thought it best I be unreachable by the people idiotic enough to order the arrest of the Cold Mountain.”
“That was probably a good idea. You didn’t make coffee by any chance, did you Kay?”
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