“Okay, to the right.”
They picked up their pace, turning left on the street.
It could be the mole, or moles.
It could be Wei.
Sarah had no idea who she was looking for, but she knew why they’d want her. At this moment, she was the only person who could access that case.
“Here. Take this.” Irene pressed the lip balm camera into Sarah’s hand. “We’re going into this shop up here and I want to watch the street. Don’t look behind you, don’t make eye contact. For now, they only suspect we’ve made them.”
It took every ounce of courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not bolt down the street, screaming for help.
She hadn’t been this scared since that moment in the alley when she’d thought for sure she was about to die. Only then, she’d had Rand to come to her rescue. Sarah had no idea where he was now or when he was coming back. Or if he was coming back.
Irene could be right. There could be others out there, wanting them to fail.
It was all too much. So big and nebulous. All she could worry about right now was putting one foot in front of the other.
Irene guided her into a shop. The display window was crowded with mannequins wearing a variety of yarn creations. Bundles of soft looking fibers filled bins, baskets, and shelves all over the shop.
“Hello, welcome to Cozy Knits,” the sales clerk said.
Sarah waved instead of speaking. She couldn’t get words out.
Irene dropped her arm and began examining a particularly fluffy bundle of beige yarn while Sarah stood back and watched. Irene pulled out one, then another, appearing to consider them.
“White car, on the right,” Irene said softly.
Sarah swallowed and peered out from between the mannequins. Sure enough, the same white car was idling at the corner, windows up.
“It’s a rental,” Sarah said.
“Yup.” Irene pulled out her phone. “Come on, there’s a door on the other side of the shop.”
“What are we going to do? Shop them to death?”
“If we’re going to not only get the case back, but figure out who was behind this, we need to know who’s in that car.”
Sarah had a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach. How, exactly, were they going to figure out who was in the car?
She didn’t think she was going to like that answer.
…
Wei studied the shop façade, the windows, but it was too cluttered to see his targets.
He was being kept in the dark. There were things Ping wasn’t telling him that he needed to know, like how he’d gotten the information about this meet. It was damn frustrating to know that he was only operating with a small piece of the picture.
Sarah Collins was the key to unlocking the information they needed.
They’d set a trap, but wouldn’t know if their quarry was closing in until the time came to snatch them up.
If he had the opportunity to get her now…he couldn’t wait.
What if there was some other snag or hiccup that occurred because he didn’t have all the pieces?
He pocketed the syringe and loosened the catch on his knife. With this many people around he wouldn’t want to use a firearm. Too many ears to hear. Besides, he needed Sarah alive. The agent didn’t matter as much.
Wei merged back into traffic and parked around the corner, out of sight from the shop. They’d seen the car, but not him. Now, would they go out of the front? Or the back?
He got out, heading back toward the corner where he could have a clear visual of the front of the shop and where the alley let out from behind the shop. There would be a third escape option out the other end of the alley.
The intersection was clogged with people waiting to cross the street in either direction.
He peered toward the shop entrance.
They could have escaped while he was parking the car, but he didn’t think so. Cornered prey didn’t often bolt at the first clear sign of escape. They were like the hare in the grass, waiting, waiting, waiting until they couldn’t hold still any longer—and that was when the wolf struck.
Wei scanned the sidewalk to his right, toward the alley, then to his left, toward the shop.
Nothing.
The minutes dragged on. He had to be patient. Even if they left out the other side, all was not lost.
The shop door opened. A woman wearing the federal officer’s black coat marched away from him, her stride certain.
Not his quarry. He glanced right. There. The navy blue track jacket.
Wei only caught a glimpse of her, but she was the right size and the right coat. He strode after her, weaving his way through the foot traffic.
It would do him no good to catch up to her in the middle of a crowded street, so he hung back, keeping a dozen or so yards behind her, biding his time.
Chapter Fifteen
Sarah fought the urge to glance over her shoulder.
She couldn’t.
Doing that would only confirm what her gut told her, that Wei was right behind her.
The fuzzy hat was too warm, the wool made her ears itch. She couldn’t take it off. She counted the seconds, ticking the minutes off on her fingers.
Irene had better be right.
What if she was the mole? Despite her story, despite Sarah’s gut instinct, what if Irene was the one who’d sold her out all along? It would make this…this game they were playing that much more dangerous.
She could be walking into a trap.
Sarah ducked left, into a parking garage, and sucked down a deep breath. She could run. Right now. Or she could stick to the plan.
Her hands shook, the keys clenched between her fingers jangling. She cupped them in her palms to mute the sound and began looking for a dark-colored sedan with the coexist sticker on the front bumper.
Footsteps behind her echoed through the garage. Sarah nearly whimpered. Wei was behind her. She knew it. And yet, she couldn’t run.
There. The car.
Sarah quickstepped to the driver’s side, pressed the fob, and slid in, jamming her finger on the lock button.
A woman in heels pushed a stroller by, but otherwise the garage was empty.
She yanked the hat off and shrugged out of Irene’s coat.
Okay, so maybe Wei wasn’t behind her, but if he wasn’t following her, that meant Irene was in mortal danger. Sarah had no doubt in her mind that Wei was responsible for Charlie’s death, she wouldn’t let him take Irene from her, too.
Sarah started the car, shifted into drive, and gassed it. She maneuvered the car out of the garage, sliding out between two vehicles.
Irene had said she would take a left, then a right, and another left, which would put her on the northbound side of the street at the same time as Sarah. If they timed it all right.
Sarah had lost count of the minutes, but a rough estimation put her…behind.
The light ahead of her flipped to yellow. She pressed the accelerator. The light went red. She coasted through to a chorus of horns.
“Irene, where are you? Come on, come on, come on…”
Sarah searched the pedestrians, but didn’t see her blue track jacket.
She slowed to a crawl and eased over into the parking lane, nearly clipping other cars with her mirror.
Irene should be there. Where was she?
A bit of movement in the rearview mirror caught her attention. She jerked her head up. A hand slapped against the passenger window.
Sarah jumped, gasping, and punched the wheel. The horn blared. Irene jerked at the passenger door. Sarah jabbed the unlock button.
She wasn’t wearing the coat.
Or the hat.
Irene spilled in, barely managing to get the door shut. “Go,” she wheezed.
Sarah jammed her foot on the gas and shot forward, nearly hitting pedestrians.
“What happened?” Sarah glanced at Irene.
Is that…?
“Walter Reed. Now.” Irene pulled her h
and from her abdomen, covered in blood.
…
Rand rushed into the ER waiting room, Hector at his back. He turned in a circle, searching the faces of the people.
“Rand. Here.”
He jerked his head toward the voice. Sarah leaned out of a door, only part of her face visible, her hand outstretched.
Rand jogged down the hall and barreled into her, wrapping his arms around her, backing her into what appeared to be a small waiting room. A hospital security guard stood just inside, one hand on his hip.
“In,” Hector barked. He flashed his badge at the security guard. “Leave. Please.”
“Are you hurt? What happened?” Rand held Sarah at arm’s length. Blood stained one side of her shirt. Dried flakes were on her arm.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. How he found us. Oh, God.” Sarah wiped her face, hands trembling.
“How’s Irene?” Hector asked.
“They took her back a few minutes ago. She—she walked in on her own.”
“Sarah. Look at me.” Rand ducked his head, staring deep into her eyes. She seemed to latch onto him, lifting her chin a bit and staring right back. “Good. Take a deep breath with me.”
He sucked in a breath, and she followed suit.
“There. Breathe. Sit.” He nudged her toward a chair and crouched at her knee.
Hector paced back and forth.
“What happened? How’d Irene find you? Start at the beginning.” The last Rand had spoken to Sarah, she was going to wait out his meet at a coffee shop.
“I…I called Irene.” Sarah closed her eyes.
“Shit,” Hector mumbled.
“I know—I know what you said, but—she’s not the bad guy here.” Sarah glanced at Hector, her mouth working silently.
If Irene wasn’t the source of the leak, the person who burned Sarah, then things were a lot worse than they appeared. Rand wasn’t sold, though. A superficial knife wound wasn’t much to sell a story.
“She came to see me at the coffee shop. We talked. I briefed her. Then I…I don’t know. I just got this…feeling. You know? I glanced up and there was this white car, newer model. The driver’s side window was rolled down and someone was staring directly at us with binoculars. Really big ones.”
Rand could name a few models he’d use to get a visual like that. The shop he’d left her in would force someone to reveal themselves to get an eye on her.
“Irene had us go out the back door. We walked down the side street and the car was there again. So we ducked into this shop and watched. After a couple of minutes, she buys two hats, has us change coats. She gave me her keys, said to walk to where she’d left her car while she’d go out the back. Oh my God, Rand, I was so scared. I just knew I was making a mistake, that he was going to be behind me.”
“It’s okay. Breathe, Sarah. Breathe.”
“By the time I got to where I was supposed to pick Irene up, she wasn’t there. I guess, from what she said, he caught up to her right before she got to the street, saw it wasn’t her, and stabbed her. Why?”
“You two need to go,” Hector said.
“Where? Where can we possibly go?” Tears streamed down Sarah’s cheeks.
Rand hated the fear, hated what he had to ask her to do, but he had to. To protect her, they had to go into hiding. Just for a few days. Until they could get the case back and cut off the head of the snake.
“We’ll get our things from the house, tell your friend we’re headed out of town, then we’ll find a place.” Rand would think of something, and in a pinch he could call on Andy or Noah for help. The problem now was that their presence put not only themselves at risk, but anyone who came into contact with them. They had to go back and leave a trail to protect Julie, Sarah’s coworker and friend.
“Take my car.” Hector pressed his keys into Rand’s hand.
“Thanks, man.”
“I’ll report it stolen in two hours. That gives you time to dump it. I’m going to check on Irene. When I get back, you better not be here.” Hector pushed out of the door, leaving them alone.
Rand stared into her eyes, and he hurt for her.
Sarah was at the end of her rope, as far as she thought she could go. And now he’d have to ask her to push on.
“Hey? Deep breath. We’ve got to walk out of here, and if you’re crying that’s going to draw attention. We need to leave quietly. Got it?”
She nodded and wiped at her cheeks.
Rand stood and offered her his hand. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. She was so much stronger than she realized, he just wished she never needed to be. That she’d had a normal life, far away from all of this.
He walked them toward a side exit, pausing for a moment to snag a couple sets of gloves from a box mounted on the wall for hospital staff before exiting into the parking lot.
First things first, he needed to get Sarah in the car and them on the road. After that, they could sort out their next move, but not until after they dumped the vehicle. It was too dangerous to have another face-to-face with anyone they didn’t have to.
It could so easily have been Sarah instead of Irene.
“In.” Rand nudged Sarah toward the car. “Gloves on first.”
He’d have to wipe down the passenger side, just in case. If Wei was this close to them, so were others. North Korea and China wouldn’t be the only ones interested in the information, much less Sarah.
Rand guided the car out onto the road, then the highway, going in the opposite direction of the rental house. He backtracked a few times, winding his way through the city until he was satisfied. Sarah was content to stare out the window, shoulders slumped, so much defeat etched into her posture and face.
They were going to come through this. He was certain of it. But they had to be willing to fight.
“You still have the gun?” Rand asked.
“Yes.”
Good. If push came to shove, he hoped she remembered to defend herself. “When I stop the car, I want you to get out and walk to that bus stop, okay?”
“What are you going to do?” Sarah peered at him.
“Clean the car. Go. Now.” He pulled into a parking spot at a paid lot with no intention of paying.
Sarah got out, never glanced back. Rand used the arm of his coat to wipe down the dash, the center console, the passenger side door. Anywhere he might have touched. Satisfied, he got out, following after Sarah. He stripped off his gloves and tossed them. Sarah fell into step with him, removing her gloves as well.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Get on the metro, brainstorm our next move, then clear out of your friend’s place. Sound good?”
“Yeah.”
“Hector’s going to put a protective detail on our families. Now that the Chinese know who we are, they’ll be searching for pressure points. Things they can use against us.” It’d be a Hail Mary with the auction coming up, but it wasn’t unheard of. Especially with someone like Wei in the picture.
“I hadn’t even thought about that. Do you think Matt and Emily will be okay?”
“They’ll be top of the list.” The kids would be highly motivating if they wound up in trouble.
“What will we tell them?”
“Nothing. They won’t even know they’re being watched.”
They walked the block, down another street, and back again before descending the stairs to the metro. Now more than ever, caution mattered.
Someone had found out where Sarah was when he’d been positive they weren’t followed. Which meant either someone had tailed them, Irene was the mole, or someone had followed Irene. There was no telling at this point, because they couldn’t trust anyone.
“Irene said Hector was dangerous, that he gets his people killed.” Sarah peered up at him, the halogen lights washing all the color from her face. “Are we doing the right thing?”
“What we do is dangerous. Sometimes we die.” He couldn’t begin second-guessing himself now. That would le
ad to more problems. He knew Hector was on their side, end of story.
“I’m scared Rand. I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can.” He handed her the metro card from earlier. They pushed past the turnstiles and headed to the platforms.
“What’d you find out?” She hunched her shoulders and let him guide her to one platform, then another without protest or explanation.
“Andy confirmed there’s going to be an auction. Noah’s looking into it. His cover gives him some access to events like this. He thinks he can get us in, but not Andy.”
“It’s stupid—suicide—to go in. They know who we are.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the only one who can open the case, so I figure we have a better chance of getting the contents of the case out instead of the case. Therefore, you have to go in. And if you go, I go.”
“I hate all of this.”
“Me, too.”
They stopped finally on a crowded platform. He pulled her toward him, kissing her widow’s peak.
“Why would they sell the briefcase? They paid for it. That doesn’t make sense.”
“If they can’t get into it, they don’t want to be caught with it. And the information inside is time-sensitive. If those protocols aren’t initiated in another week or two, all the assets are dead in the water. The informants we don’t have identities for will disappear. Then our agents in the field will be left without instructions. It’s over. That’s why they have to shit or get off the pot. I mean, look at me. If I hadn’t gotten the package from you when I did, my informant would have turned around and told the MSS about me, effectively scrapping years of work because of one missed deadline.”
“It could be a trap,” Sarah said. “They know we need it, so they offer it up.”
“This isn’t a movie. Things like that don’t happen very often in real life. They’ll never expect us.”
“I just…have a bad feeling about all of this.”
So did he, but he couldn’t tell her that.
…
Sarah wasn’t so sure Rand had much of a plan, but she appreciated his resolve in claiming he did. It went a long way in calming her nerves. One of them had to know what was going on, and it sure as hell wasn’t her.
“Zip your jacket up and give me your hand.” Rand’s steady voice was a comfort in an otherwise hellish day.
Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes) Page 20
