Night Watch--A Novel

by Iris Johansen

  “Amateur hour for anything electronic.” Jessie bit her lip. “When I was Delilah Winter’s security director, there was a tech startup in Orange County that was trying to get me to buy their GPS tracker. It goes underneath the skin.”

  “Does it work?” Kendra asked.

  “It seemed to, but power was a problem. It took a special battery that needed to be taken out and recharged every day or two. I didn’t think it was ready for prime time.”

  “But it could be just what we need,” Kendra said.

  “No. What we need is to get a grip. This is not the answer, Kendra.”

  “It’s the only answer I have.” She grimaced. “Believe me, I’m not crazy about it either. If there was any other way, I’d—”

  “There is,” Jessie said. “We take Dr. Biers here and go talk to the FBI. We let them look for Waldridge.”

  “We’ve already discussed all the other options. There’s not enough time. If Dyle thinks we might be closing in on him, he might get desperate … and reckless. Charles could die.”

  “So could you.”

  Biers put his hands on Kendra’s upper arms. “Think about it this way. Would Waldridge want you to take this kind of chance on his account? Kendra … if he were here, what would he say?”

  Kendra gazed at him in disbelief. She was clearly not getting through to him if he thought she was going to be influenced. “What else? He’d say the same thing that Lynch would say. The same thing as Griffin. Stay the hell away.”

  “Exactly.”

  Kendra turned back to Jessie. “But why should I start listening to any of them now? I’ve told you that I’m going to do this one way or another. I could really use your help. If I’m taken, I’ll need you to track me and coordinate any rescue with the FBI. I can’t tell them about this before it happens. They’d never go for it.”

  Jessie looked away. “I shouldn’t go for it either.”

  “But you will. Because you know how important this is.” She stared her in the eye. “How important he is. If not because he’s a decent, caring human being, then for what he can give to everyone.”

  “And maybe because it may be a little important that you get through this alive?”

  Kendra smiled. “That’s a good reason, too.”

  Jessie muttered a curse before finally nodding. “Yeah. I’ll help.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. If it gets out that I helped Kendra Michaels get herself killed, it’s going to be really bad for business.” She added, “And I take it you’re not going to let Lynch know about this? That’s a mistake. We’ll need him.”

  “We do without him. He’d get in my way.”

  “That’s the truth. He’d never let it happen.”

  “And that’s why you want him here.”

  “Right.”

  “We do without Lynch. You don’t communicate with him. If he calls you, you don’t tell him anything.”

  “When he finds out, he’ll break my neck.”

  “If you tell him, I’ll cross you off and go my own way.”

  Jessie drew a deep breath. “Shit.”

  “I agree. But that’s the way it has to be.” She turned to Biers. “We need to keep you safe. Jessie, can you find a safe house for him?”

  “He can stay at my place.” She added grimly, “I can’t see my being there for the next couple days.”

  “I can’t either,” Kendra said. “You need to drop me off at my condo, then get hold of that GPS device.”

  “You want to go back to San Diego?”

  “I want everything to appear normal. I’ll go to my studio, take my appointments, and wait.” She added, “And after you get me that device, you back off. I don’t want anyone to see you near me.”

  “Kendra.”

  “Back off.”

  “Dr. Michaels, this isn’t wise,” Biers said. “Please. Reconsider.”

  She shook her head and started down the pier. “I can’t reconsider. I won’t let this go on.”

  * * *

  JESSIE ARRIVED AT KENDRA’S CONDO a little after nine that night. She was carrying a worn leather satchel over her shoulder.

  “Did you get it?” Kendra asked.

  “I got it.” She patted the satchel. “And now I know more about subepidermal tracking devices than I ever wanted to know in my life. They think there could be a big market for parents tagging their children. Those guys are very proud of their gadget.”

  Jessie rested the satchel on Kendra’s dining table and reached into it to produce a small velour box of the size and type one might expect to hold earrings or cuff links. She flipped up the hinged lid and revealed a flat, flesh-toned disk about the size of a quarter.

  Kendra picked it up. “This is it?”

  “Yes. It goes under your skin, sort of like a pet ID chip. But this is much better. It connects with GPS satellites and continuously transmits your location.”

  Kendra rested the tiny device on her forearm. “How am I going to get this inside me?”

  “I’ll make an incision in your hip and slide it in.”

  “You’re going to do it?”

  “Yes. When they bring it to market, doctors will be doing it. But they showed me some instructional videos. I can do this.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do.” Jessie pulled a vial from her bag. “They also gave me a topical solution that numbs the skin and a cover-up to blend it so that it will be completely indiscernible. It shouldn’t hurt.”

  “You don’t sound all that certain.”

  “You’re about to go into the lion’s den, and you’re worried about this?”

  Kendra made a face. “You’re right. Let’s get this over with.”

  Jessie glanced around. “We need a firm surface. Lie on your stomach on the floor.”

  Kendra stretched out on her rug. Jessie pulled down the edge of Kendra’s waistband and rubbed on the topical solution.

  “Okay. Do you feel this?” Jessie asked.

  “Feel what?”

  “You just answered my question. I’m going to just break the surface of the skin with this scalpel and make a small pocket. I guess I should be wearing gloves.”

  “Now you tell me. I have some latex evidence gloves in the top drawer of my—”

  “Too late. I just made the cut.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. And I just slid in the tracker. Now I’m applying something like superglue with antibiotics to close it without stitches.”

  Kendra looked over her shoulder and saw Jessie peeling off the backing of a square bandage. She applied it and leaned back. “All done. You should be able to take off the bandage tomorrow morning.”

  “Wow, that was incredible. You missed your calling as a surgeon.”

  “Nah, I’m just a quick study.”

  They stood up, and Jessie pulled her iPad from the satchel. She launched an app and stared at the screen. After a moment, a tone sounded, and a green dot pulsed on a map overlay. Jessie pointed at the dot. “This is you. I’ll keep checking today and tomorrow to make sure it’s working the way it should. It’s set to notify me every time you move to a new location.”

  Kendra studied the screen. “Thanks, Jessie. This makes me feel a lot better.”

  “It shouldn’t. I don’t want you to feel better. It’s still risky as hell.”

  And it had been difficult for Jessie to go against her every instinct to help her, Kendra realized. “But then, some people are just worth the risk.” She met Jessie’s eyes. “Aren’t they?”

  Jessie opened her lips to reply and closed them again. Then she nodded wearily. “Yeah, they are.” She turned and moved back across the room and sat down at the dining-room table. “Okay, come over here and sit down. If I can’t talk you out of this, I’m going to go over possibilities you might face in captivity and your best method of overcoming them. I learned a lot while I was being held by the Taliban. Some of it works. Some of it doesn’t. But I came prepared to
night if I couldn’t talk you out of this. None of what I’m going to say is going to be pleasant, but you’re going to listen. And I’m giving you everything I can think of to help you come out of this alive.”

  Kendra slowly came toward her. Sharing those terrible experiences was going to be painful for Jessie. It would not only stir memories, but reveal her vulnerabilities. It just showed how remarkable a woman she was that she would offer to share them. Kendra sat down opposite her at the table. “I’m listening.” She folded her hands on the table and braced herself. “Tell me what I have to know.”

  * * *

  JESSIE CALLED KENDRA AT NOON the next day. “The tracking device is operating loud and clear. You’re still at your studio?”

  “Yes, I’ll be here all day and keep my normal appointments. I’ll leave at the usual time to go back to my condo.”

  Silence. “We can still do this some other way, Kendra. Let me, at least, come and stake out your studio. I swear no one will know I’m there.”

  “And if they do, then they may not come after me. I can’t take that chance. This needs to be over.”

  “I’m good. They’d never know. I swear that—”

  “No,” she said sharply. “You heard Biers. He said they’re probably torturing Charles. He’s trying to do something that’s going to save the lives of millions of people, and they’re hurting him.”

  “I realize that,” Jessie said. “And I know how much that’s hurting you. But we can go about it another way. Let’s scrap all we talked about. Just give me a little time.” She paused. “Or let me call Lynch.”

  “No way. Don’t keep bringing it up. I’m not waiting. I can’t wait. Monitor that device. When you see where they take me, bring in the troops.”

  “And what if we’re too late?” Her voice was suddenly rough. “For God’s sake, you could die today, Kendra.”

  “Then you’d better make sure you’re not too late.” She drew a deep breath. “But if you are, none of it will be your fault, Jessie. I know you’re right. I know that what you’re saying is reasonable, but I can’t be reasonable right now. I owe Charles too much. I can’t stand the thought of their hurting him, perhaps even killing him, because I waited too long.”

  Jessie was silent. “Crazy.” She cleared her throat. “But I see where you’re coming from. I just hate it. Call me if you change your mind.” She hung up.

  Yes, Jessie would understand, Kendra thought as she hung up. She came from a military background and was aware of the duties to family and comrades. And Charles Waldridge was so much more than a comrade to Kendra.

  You could die today, Kendra.

  That was also true. One faced possible death every day from accidents or illness, but it wasn’t often that you knew that you might be seeking it out.

  Rye had not known he would find death that night, but he must have realized it might come. Yet he had faced it alone, with no good-byes, like a drop of rainwater merging into a great ocean.

  She did not want to be that drop of rainwater. She would do everything she could to stay alive, but she would not leave the people she loved with no good-byes.

  She had two hours before her next therapy appointment. Make them count. She sat down at her desk and pulled out a piece of stationary. She started to write.

  My dear Olivia,

  I hope we’ll sit down and laugh when I pull this letter out of the drawer in a week or so. You’ll probably make fun of me, then you’ll get angry that I did something that I thought this might be necessary. But just in case, my friend, I wanted to tell you how much you’ve meant to me through all these years. You were the light in my darkness, the warmth when I was cold, the humor when I took myself too seriously. And so many other things that made my life worth living …

  It was almost twilight.

  All the therapy sessions completed. Everything she’d planned to do was done. Time to close up the studio for the day.

  Only one more thing to do before she left the studio. No letter for her mother. Kendra wanted to hear her voice.

  She dialed the number at the hotel in Denver where her mother was attending her seminar.

  Noise.

  Voices.

  Then Dianne came on the line. “Kendra, I meant to call you, but things are so busy here. No one I called at the universities in England know anything about Waldridge, but I’ll still keep—”

  “It’s okay, Mom. Lynch is over there now, and he’ll take care of it.”

  “Have you heard from Waldridge?”

  “Not yet. I just wanted to ask how things were going at the seminar.”

  Silence. “What difference does it make how things are going here?” Dianne asked. “Why are you even asking? I know you must be sick with worry about Waldridge. No progress at all?”

  “We’ve found out a few things that might be promising. And your seminar is important, everything you do is important to me.” She tried to keep her voice light. “Why shouldn’t it be? When I should have been the bane of your life, you made me feel that I was always special and loved. You said you remembered that day that I first saw your face, Mom. I remember it, too.” That day was suddenly with her once again, and she could see Dianne walking toward her at Piccadilly Circus. “I don’t think I told you, but I thought, ‘This must be what love looks like.’ Pretty soppy, huh?”

  “Kendra, what the hell is wrong?”

  She’d better get off the phone quickly. Dianne was too smart not to pick up on any false notes, and Kendra was dropping them right and left. “And then you told me I had to call Waldridge and let him join us. I’ll always remember we were there together. He was almost as important to you as he was to me.”

  “Why do you sound like this? Has something happened to Waldridge?”

  “I don’t think so. I hope not.” She was completely blowing it. “I believe everything will be fine. Look, I have to hang up. I have somewhere I have to go. I love you, Mom.” She hung up.

  A complete disaster, she thought, as she got to her feet. She’d probably sent her mother into a panic. She should have written her a letter as she had Olivia. So much for leaving a memory behind for the people you love.

  Maybe a drop of rainwater in a great ocean wasn’t so bad.

  But it would have been for her, and it might have been for her mother and Olivia.

  And now it was time to forget about memories and good-byes and concentrate on life. That call had probably been foolishness anyway. She had no intention of letting Dyle kill either her or Waldridge. Charles Waldridge was too important to the world and, dammit, she was important to her own world, too.

  A moment later, she was locking up the studio and facing the deserted parking lot. All the tenants had left for the day, and there was only silence and shadows.

  Last night she had told herself that she would face the fear and shadows today, and here they were.

  She felt her heart beating hard in her throat. Logically, she knew this was the quickest way to find Waldridge, but she knew the odds weren’t wonderful and could always get worse. What if Dyle turned out to be some nut job who now thought the most effective means of persuasion would be to present Charles with her head? The possibility certainly existed.

  You could die today.

  But she wasn’t going to die. She was going to find Charles Waldridge, the man who had given her so much. She was going to pay back just a little of that debt today. She started across the parking lot.

  Her gaze searched the shadows as she approached her car. Come on, you assholes. Come and get me.

  She opened her car door. She looked around the parking lot again. It obviously wasn’t happening. Not here, not now.

  She was depressed and relieved at the same time.

  Damn.

  She started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

  As she made her way through the city streets, she was tense, her eyes searching. There was no sign of any of the vehicles that had been following her in the past few days. No black panel van
. No white utility truck.

  She felt a chill.

  Maybe it was because they didn’t need her anymore.

  The thought brought immediate panic.

  Maybe they had already gotten what they wanted from Waldridge … Or for a much worse reason. She didn’t even want to consider that possibility.

  She turned down Fourteenth Street to cut over toward her condo. Orange construction cones narrowed the one-way street to one lane, not an unusual occurrence in downtown San Diego. Just before she reached F Street, a large truck backed up from an alley, blocking her way.

  Damn.

  She checked her rearview. It was a one-way street, but maybe she could still—

  Another truck blocked the street immediately behind her.

  “What in the…”

  Crash.

  Her driver and passenger windows smashed open simultaneously, and before she could register the twin events, gloved hands reached in and gripped the inside door handles with well-rehearsed precision. They threw open the doors, and two masked, black-clad men jumped inside.

  She tried to scream, but there was something over her mouth. She instinctively fought, her fists striking out hard as one of the men was suddenly on top of her. Her hand clawed at his mask, and she tore it off. White hair, gray eyes … “Bad move, Kendra,” he murmured. “I’ve been eager to meet you, too. But now isn’t the time. That’s for later.” Then the cover over her mouth was drawn higher, over her nose, then her eyes, then her entire head. A hood, she realized.

  She struggled to breathe. She kicked and clawed at the darkness until something pricked at her right forearm.

  Suddenly, she couldn’t move. It was as if the darkness had become solid, totally encasing her, burying her.

  For a moment, she felt sheer panic as she struggled against her tomb.

  Then she felt nothing at all.

  CHAPTER

  16

  London, England

  WHAT THE HELL?

  Lynch glanced down at the caller ID on his phone, and he was not liking what he saw.

  Dr. Dianne Michaels.

  Any way he looked at it, this was not good.

  “Hello, Dianne. This is a surprise. I don’t even recall your having my number. What’s the—”