Night Watch--A Novel

by Iris Johansen

  “I didn’t.” Kendra’s mother’s voice was angry, strained, and brimming with tension. “I’ve spent the last two hours talking to those idiots at the FBI and trying to find someone there who had it. They acted as if I were some kind of threat to you. I finally reached Griffin and made him give it to me.”

  “Made? Griffin seldom permits himself to be made to do anything. You must have been—”

  “Shut up. Let me talk. Why the hell are you in London when you should be here taking care of Kendra? I’ve never thought it a good idea for you to be anywhere near her, but she says that you’re valuable. Well, you’re not valuable if you’re thousands of miles away from her.”

  “It was necessary that I come here to—” He broke off as the underlying reason for Dianne’s call became clear to him, and he cut to the chase. “And why should I be there taking care of Kendra, Dianne?”

  “Because she phoned me two hours ago, and now she won’t pick up my calls.”

  “And why are you so concerned about it that you caused an uproar at the FBI?”

  “It was a good-bye call, dammit. She was telling me good-bye.”

  Lynch froze. Don’t panic. “Is that what she said?”

  “No, she asked me about my damn seminar. She told me how much I’d meant to her over the years. She was loving and awkward, and it was a good-bye.”

  “You could be mistaken.”

  “I know my daughter. Good-bye. She thought there could be a reason that she might not get another chance to say it. Now why the hell did she make that call? Why is she in so much trouble, and you don’t even know about it? Or do you know and don’t give a damn?”

  “I give a damn. What else did she tell you?”

  “Just that you were in London. And something about how Waldridge had been so important to both of us. She tried to keep it light, but there was no way. She’s never been any good at pretending.” She paused. “And she said that she loved me.” She cleared her throat. “That’s what it was mostly about. She didn’t want to leave me without a good-bye. Now, dammit, tell me what’s happening.”

  “I don’t know.” But she was frantic, and he had to tell her something. “Waldridge is being held somewhere, and we haven’t found out where. She was concerned.”

  “She’s still concerned,” Dianne said. “It’s tearing her apart. And I’m not sure that she hasn’t found out where he is.”

  That’s what Lynch feared, and it was bringing up a nightmare scenario. “It’s a possibility.”

  “Screw possibilities.” Her voice was shaking. “It was good-bye. And why in hell are you still over there?”

  “Because she didn’t call me to say good-bye. She left me completely in the dark. I don’t know what’s happening. I’ll call you back as soon as I do.” He hung up.

  He took a deep breath. He’d like to think that Kendra’s mother was reacting emotionally but without reason. But he was scared to death that wasn’t true. Dianne was not only brilliant, she had strength and good common sense. And the bond between her and Kendra was so close that she would recognize and identify what Kendra was attempting to do in any given situation.

  Good-bye.

  “Shit.” He reached for his phone and called Kendra.

  No answer.

  He hadn’t thought there would be. She’d evidently wanted to be off radar after she’d talked to her mother.

  He dialed Jessie Mercado.

  No answer.

  He dialed her again.

  She picked up the phone on the sixth ring. “You’ve heard from Kendra’s mom, too? I just got off the phone with Griffin. That’s why I didn’t pick up right away. He’d evidently taken a lot of abuse from her and wanted to know what the hell Kendra was doing.” She paused. “It took a little while to tell him. I had to let him know everything, so he’d realize that he’d have to pull out all the stops to work with us. He didn’t like my answer.”

  “I probably won’t either.”

  “No, you won’t. You were first on Kendra’s list of those I couldn’t talk to about it.”

  “Kendra’s mother was almost hysterical. Why did Kendra call her?”

  “I didn’t know Kendra intended to phone her, but I can see it. Kendra knew exactly what she was getting into. Maybe she wanted to prepare her.”

  “Prepare her for what?”

  “Kendra staked herself out so that Dyle’s men would find it easy to take her. She had me place a transmitter under her skin, so we’d be able to track her location.”

  Lynch began to curse. “I might just strangle you. Why did you let her do it?”

  “I couldn’t stop her. Do you think I didn’t try? She was afraid Waldridge would die. She kept saying that we had to move faster.”

  “And you couldn’t call me and let me try?”

  “Not if I wanted her to not walk away from me and do it by herself. Waldridge means a lot to her.”

  “I know. What’s happening? How much time do I have to get hold of her and persuade her to—”

  “It’s already gone down, Lynch.”

  He froze. “What are you saying?”

  “An hour ago, her car was involved in an accident near her condo. When the police got to the scene, Kendra was gone and so were the passengers of the truck. A witness said that the woman in the Toyota was removed from the scene by two masked men who took her away in the truck.”

  “My God, Jessie.”

  “I know,” Jessie said harshly. “Do you think I don’t know that I should have been able to stop this somehow? I risked having her find out that I was keeping an eye on the studio. But she would have realized that I was following her car. She was on the alert and watching. She was ready for it.”

  “And she got it,” he said grimly. “I’ll catch the first flight out of Heathrow and be there asap. You’ve brought Griffin on board? When did you get the first GPS transmission after the accident?”

  “We had a steady reading for thirty minutes after she was taken. They were heading east. Out of the city.”

  He tensed. “Only thirty minutes?”

  Jessie didn’t answer.

  “Jessie.”

  “We didn’t receive anything after that.” Jessie paused. “The device doesn’t appear to be functioning anymore.”

  * * *

  WALDRIDGE WAS SITTING BESIDE Kendra when she opened her eyes.

  “Hello,” he said softly. “This is not how I wanted us to meet again.” His hand reached out to gently stroke her hair back from her forehead. “Believe me, I did everything I could to prevent it, Kendra.”

  He was alive.

  Through the dizziness that was still clouding her mind, that was the only thing that was clear and important. His face looked leaner, there were circles beneath his eyes, his lower lip was split. But she reached up to touch his hand, and it was warm and strong and alive. “Are you okay?”

  “Shh.” His lips tightened. “That’s what I should be asking you. You were out longer than you should have been from that shot those gorillas gave you. It was beginning to worry me. It was too much to hope that they knew what they were doing. If they’d overdosed, they could have killed you.”

  The truck. The two men running toward her, the smothering black hood. “Well, evidently they didn’t do that.” She tried to sit up, but another wave of dizziness swept over her. “Bathroom,” she gasped. “I have to throw up.” She struggled to get to her feet.

  “It’s across the lab.” Charles was beside her, holding her as he hurried her across the room. “Damn, I knew they’d screw up the injection.”

  She’d reached the bathroom, and she slammed the door and headed for the toilet. When she’d finished, she splashed water in her face, grabbed the glass on the vanity, and rinsed her mouth.

  “Kendra. Open this door. I’m a doctor, for God’s sake. Are you okay?”

  She opened the door. “No, but better. Still dizzy.” She was weaving her way back across the lab toward the cot. He slipped his arm around her waist until she
reached the cot and he got her settled. She closed her eyes for an instant. “Do you know what they gave me?”

  “Yes. Pentobarbital. Ted Dyle gave me a blow-by-blow description of how they intended to take you.” His lips curled bitterly. “He wanted to make sure I knew how helpless I was to stop anything he chose to do. That’s been his latest game plan.” He added harshly, “I was praying that he wouldn’t be able to pull it off. You’re so damn smart, you had to know there would be a threat to you. I knew there wasn’t a chance that you wouldn’t be searching for me. I was just hoping that you’d realize you’d have to watch out for yourself.”

  “You’re right, there wasn’t one single chance in the universe I wouldn’t try to find you.” She shook her head to clear it and looked around. She’d been aware they were in a lab of some sort. Now she saw that it was a large laboratory, with long worktables containing test tubes, incubators, instruments, and other equipment. A desk with a computer occupied the far wall. No other furniture except the cot on which she was lying. “And I do watch out for myself.” Her gaze was still scanning her surroundings. “Dyle didn’t give you very luxurious quarters, did he?”

  “He considered the cot a luxury. He didn’t want me to do anything but work.”

  “Do you know if this room is bugged?”

  “It’s not. I checked it when I first got here. No reason. Dyle wanted me to perform, demonstrate, step by step. He wanted to film and document so that it could be repeated.” He grimaced. “And I guarantee he knew that the formulas I’d created were too complicated for me to mutter them in my sleep.”

  She nodded. “Okay, then I guess we’re safe to talk here.” She looked at the teak door closest to them. “How long do you think they’ll leave us alone?”

  “I have no idea. You’ve been unconscious for hours, much longer than they expected. One of the guards came in ten minutes ago to check on you.” His lips twisted. “And Dyle might want me to sit here for a while and worry a bit about you. A softening process. That’s what this is all about, you know. Nothing else has worked for him, so he thinks that I might cave if he uses some of his charming methods on you.” His hand tightened on hers. “God, I didn’t want you here.”

  “But here I am.” She tried to smile. “And Dyle is a fool if he believes that you’d give up all you’ve worked for to keep me safe. You’ve always known what’s important and how to balance that against the risks you had to take.”

  “And you’re just another risk?” He shook his head. “I might have a problem with this particular risk. And Dyle knows it. He knew that night I let you slip away from the program in Monterrey. Why do you think that I didn’t contact you for all those years? You were a potential weapon he could use against me. I’ve known for years that Night Watch could become a monster.” His gaze was holding her own. “But, Kendra, the potential. It could also become a God that could save lives. I could see it shining and, with every advance I made, it became stronger, brighter. I couldn’t let it go.”

  “I know you couldn’t. No one would want you to give it up.” She smiled. “Miracles, Charles.”

  “Which are now being hijacked by the monster. And you may be one of the victims.”

  “Then we have to make certain the hijack doesn’t come off. Which means that we have to get you out of this place. That’s why I had to be here.”

  “What?” He was gazing at her with horror. “Shit. Don’t tell me that you deliberately let yourself be taken. I don’t want to hear it.”

  “You will hear it. You’d been gone too long, and it was getting increasingly dangerous for you. Biers said that you could be killed and were probably being tortured. We had to get you out.”

  “Biers? You talked to Biers? When?”

  “Yesterday. Jessie Mercado finally located him. He’d been in hiding since he reached California and found Shaw was dead.”

  “He’s safe? I thought he might be dead, too. Dyle kept telling me how he’d gotten rid of all the scientists on the project except me. It was another way to isolate me.”

  “He’s safe. Jessie stashed him in her apartment. After he told us what was going on with Night Watch … and you. He said he could only make guesses, but he assumed that you might still be alive since you were the linchpin of the project.” She gazed searchingly at him. “He also thought you were probably being … hurt.” She lifted her hand and touched his cut lip. “He was right?”

  “That was just a little initiation to show me possibilities.” He made a face. “Dyle got much more innovative after the first session. He got someone who knew about the chemical injections used on prisoners in Iran. Extremely painful, like pure fire in the veins and able to be repeated frequently without danger of heart attack or brain damage. Dyle particularly didn’t want to risk brain damage.”

  “My God. How could you stand it?”

  “Oh, I was a complete coward.” He smiled wryly. “No stalwart Navy-SEAL attitude for me. I’m a scientist, for God’s sake. They had me crying like a baby.”

  “But you didn’t give in to him.”

  “Maybe I got used to it.”

  “Yeah, sure.” She repeated softly, “Coward? And you wouldn’t have told him what he wanted to know no matter what he did to you.”

  “Well, it helped that I thought that after he got what he wanted, he’d kill me anyway. You’re making me out to be some kind of hero.” He smiled faintly. “You always made that mistake. I’m only a man who has a skill and sometimes a dream. I’m flawed in so many ways. I’m driven, and sometimes I can be ruthless. I’ve never been able to maintain relationships unless they were connected to my work. I’m a workaholic, and I expect everyone around me to be as—”

  “I always knew you were no hero,” she interrupted. “I wasn’t that blind. But I learned who and what you were, and that was always enough for me. And I’m learning more all the time, so stop treating me as if I’m a gullible child. Yes, I came because I owe you. But I also came because you’re one of the good guys. There aren’t that many left in the world. We have to make sure that they don’t become extinct. So stop lecturing me on why I shouldn’t have come to help you, and let’s think of a way to do it. You said you don’t know how much time we have.”

  He was silent; and then he nodded. “Point taken.” Another pause. “And if you decided to bust me out of this place, I trust you have a plan or assistance?”

  “I thought I had.” Now that the haziness was dissipating, she realized that she was experiencing a dull throbbing ache in her left side. Not good. There had been no pain after the first few hours when Jessie had inserted the device. She shifted and pulled her shirt out of her pants.

  A bandage was taped over the incision formerly containing the device. “Shit!” She ripped it off and looked down at the neatly stitched wound. “A GPS device was inserted under the skin that should be sending out a message to Jessie and the FBI. It looks as if it was found and removed.”

  “Let me take a look.” He moved closer and examined the wound. “At least, it looks clean and professionally stitched. As I said, those goons Dyle has working for him aren’t usually this careful.”

  “Jessie made it almost impossible to detect. I was hoping that…” She shook her head. “We’ll just have to find another way.”

  “So you’re caught, too. Dyle is always careful. He must have run a test and found that signal. You’re lucky he didn’t have his men just rip it out. As I said, some of them are gorillas.”

  Yes, she was caught. The only ace in the hole she’d possessed was no longer available. So find another way to go.

  And that other way was sitting in front of her.

  Charles Waldridge.

  “I’m sure you’ve not just been sitting here waiting for someone to rescue you, Charles. You were here, observing, paying attention to routine. What were you going to try as soon as you got the opportunity?”

  His lips tilted up at the corners. “No, I wasn’t just sitting around waiting. Dyle managed to keep me fairly
occupied in the last few days.”

  Torture. She didn’t want to think about that right now. It made her too upset. “That wouldn’t have stopped you from thinking of ways and means. What can we use?”

  “I do love the way you discard inessentials and go for the jugular.” He shrugged. “I’ve played over a dozen escape scenarios in my mind, but unfortunately most of them result in my violent death.”

  “Okay, we can immediately eliminate those. What about the ones that don’t end with your dying?”

  “Still problematic. But there are some things in our favor. This facility seems to be operating on a skeleton crew. At any given time, there are only perhaps four armed guards present.”

  “Only?”

  “Dyle could afford an army, but I’m guessing he wants to minimize the number of people who know about this operation. They’re probably private security officers he uses in his riskier overseas trouble spots. As far as I can tell, John Jaden runs the entire team. White hair, tan, gray eyes, about forty. He has a special place in Dyle’s organization.”

  Kendra stiffened. “I think he must have been one of the men who took me. I recognize the description. What kind of special place?”

  “He’s a combination of enforcer and executive troubleshooter. I only knew him in the latter role when I was in London. It was only when Dyle decided he needed more firepower after we took off for California that Jaden showed his true spots. He’s quiet, superb at his job, intimidating in an iceman kind of way. He sometimes leaves the team and does private jobs for Dyle.” He added grimly, “I’d bet Shaw was one of those jobs. It was Jaden who took me down in my hotel room that night. I didn’t have a chance against him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was the one who planned and carried out your abduction. Dyle was very disappointed that the first attempt against you failed. He’d want a sure thing this time.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Only that each one of those men carries an automatic rifle.”

  “… which brings us back to your violent-death scenarios.”

  “Exactly.”

  Kendra glanced around. The two entrances were situated on each end of the long room. “Any idea what’s on the other side of these doors?”