by Hinze, Vicki
She squatted beside him on the concrete, searching for injury, pressed her fingertips at his throat. “He has a pulse. Repeat.” Immense relief washed through her. “He has a pulse.”
“Cover for me, Amanda,” Kate shouted, and the vibration in her tone proved she was already running.
“He has a vial of the antidote in his fist.”
“Where are you, Maggie?”
“He was in Daniel Barone’s car. He’s now on the ground beside it,” she said, hearing him groan. Relief flooded through her. “Justin? Justin, talk to me. Who did this to you?”
He was coming around more fully now, blinking, trying to orient himself. “Maggie.” His eyes closed.
Kate burst through the door and ran over to them, her chest heaving, her blond curls tossing in the wind. She collapsed on the concrete beside Maggie. “You okay?”
She was shaking all over. “Fine.” Maggie scooted in, cupped his face in her hands. “Justin? Damn it, Justin, you look at me right now. You’re scaring the hell out of me.” Tears burned her eyes, the back of her nose. “Please, God, please don’t scare me like this.”
Justin opened his eyes, lifted a shaky hand to her face. “Shh, it’s okay, Maggie.” He comforted her. “I’m all right.”
“You’re on the fricking concrete barely conscious with a vial in your hand. You were out cold in Barone’s fricking car. Don’t damn tell me it’s okay and you’re all right. You are not okay, and it’s not all right.”
“I am…now,” he insisted. “You’re here now.”
A tear leaked out and dropped to Maggie’s cheek. “As soon as I know you’re okay, I’m going to kick your ass for this. Who did you let get the drop on you?”
“Linda,” he said, his throat scratchy. “It was Linda Diel.”
Maggie looked over at Kate and she nodded, then stepped away. “Darcy, did you get that?”
She took a second to respond. “Yeah. Security staff is on it.”
Maggie barked out the order. “Activate twelve of the Special Forces and two additional SWAT teams. Have them sweep the facility.”
“Got it,” Darcy said. “Does Justin need an ambulance?”
“God, I hope not,” Kate said on a groan. “But Maggie might. She’s the color of an ice cube.”
“I’m fine.”
“Does Justin need an ambulance?” Kate repeated Darcy’s question.
Maggie lifted a finger, signaling Kate to wait. “Justin, other than your pride, what’s hurt?”
“Nothing. She shoved something over my face, strong chemical smell, probably chloroform. But other than a headache, the effects are gone now.”
“We should get you checked out,” Maggie said. “And when you’re okay and this is over, I’m putting you in training.”
“Getting checked is a waste of time and money, but I’ll take that training. This proves I’ve been in the lab too much.” He sniffed. “My head’s clearing. If you’ll let go of me, I think I can even get up.”
Maggie scooted back, but kept a hand on his arm. She couldn’t bear to break contact just yet. Logically she understood it. From his first look at her, Justin had taken her into his heart. She’d fought it, not wanting to be attracted to him, but she just was, and she cared about him. That was it, and, while she’d have to work on accepting it, obviously what she felt wasn’t going to go away.
Darcy asked again. “Does he need medical attention?”
“Probably.” Maggie exaggerated a sigh. “But he’s too pigheaded to get it. I’m watching him.”
And Maggie would be even more pigheaded, if she felt the need—and no doubt, she would win.
“Justin?” Maggie asked. “Did you see where Linda went?”
“No, I didn’t. Is the car still full of antidote vials?”
“Just the one vial that was in your hand.”
He grunted and groaned and got to his feet. Maggie clung to him. “You okay?”
“I’m fine, Maggie.” He patted her hand on this arm and his eyes softened. “There were hundreds of vials in the car, in Krane’s shopping bags.”
“Darcy, put out an APB on Linda Diel.” Maggie radioed Will. “What kind of car does Linda drive?”
Will and Justin answered simultaneously. “A 2005 green Honda Pilot.” Justin added, “Battery for it’s in Will’s SUV.”
“Okay,” Maggie said. “Darcy, run the car down.”
“Dispatching the orders now, Maggie,” Darcy said.
“Kate, thanks for the backup. I’ll be with Justin until I’m sure he’s totally stable.” It was just as well that Maggie assume the duty officially. She wasn’t leaving him until the fear in her for him died, and gauging by her stomach knots and shaking hands, that could take a while.
If it were anyone else reacting this way, it’d be quite touching. But it wasn’t. It was about her, and because it was, stark terror tightened the knots.
Maggie and Justin walked back into the building and she checked her watch. Fifteen minutes. Linda had to be GRID’s trigger. Kunz’s point person. And, it scared Maggie to death to admit it, but the odds were high she’d already released the virus. Probably right after putting Justin’s lights out. “Justin, we need to get to Center Court to see if anyone there is exhibiting symptoms.”
That little window. It had to be significant. Had to be.
“Are you really okay?” she asked him.
“I am. Honest.” His eyes shown warmth, appreciation. “Thanks for being there for me, Maggie.”
“It looks like that’s the way it’s going to be, doesn’t it?”
He nodded.
“God help us both.”
“I need to go up to Three. You watch for symptoms here.”
He nodded.
Maggie switched to a private frequency. “Guys?”
Kate, Amanda, Mark and Darcy all responded.
“Keep an eye on Justin for me. He’s watching for symptoms in Center Court. If you see anything, any signs he’s unwell, yell.”
“We will,” Kate answered for the group, and for once, without sarcasm in her voice.
Certain he was covered, Maggie took the private elevator up to Level Three, then walked to the short-stack’s door. Forensics was done and the door had been locked, sealed and coded. But was the short-stack empty? “Darcy, did someone change the code on the short-stack door?”
“I did. After Lester Pinnella and his forensics team left. What’s going on up there?”
“Maybe, nothing. But—” The warning niggle hit Maggie again. “I need to get inside to check it out.”
“Go to the secure frequency.”
Maggie flipped over to it and then waited.
“Three, three, three, nine, seven, eight, three, one.” Darcy relayed the new sequence to Maggie.
“Thanks.” She keyed in the code. “Have we heard anything from the FBI on our outsiders?” The first female and male shoppers who’d left empty bags in the mall.
“Report’s just in. The men all boarded a plane about ten minutes ago for New York. They’re slated to fly on to Jordan. We don’t have enough to detain them. The woman is still in her hotel room watching movies.”
They’d satisfied their assignments. Kunz was running true to form, compartmentalizing. “Justin?” Maggie asked for an update on his observations. “Anything noteworthy?”
“No, Maggie. I’m not seeing any of the symptoms that would signal DR-27 exposure.”
She breathed a little easier and stepped inside the short-stack, wondering how many on the security staff had been compromised and were on Kunz’s payroll. Barone had been doubled, that was a fact. With both of the men in custody, Intel and Special Investigations officers, aided by Dr. Joan Foster, would settle out who was real and who was a double. She’d do her thing with both the Barones, and the truth about their identities would be revealed.
“Maggie! Get down to Level One—now!”
“What’s going on, Darcy?”
“Yellow jackets with shopping bags. The
y’re swarming every entrance. Dozens and dozens of them.”
A walkie-talkie alert came through. “Abandoned shopping bag, Level Two, Station One.”
“I’ve got one on Three at Station Four.”
“Level Two, Station Five. Two abandoned bags.”
“Darcy, sound the bomb alert. I want this building emptied—now!”
Sirens wailed and the public address system boomed, drowning out the Christmas music that had been playing nonstop since opening. “Please exit the mall immediately. Use the nearest stairs to exit the mall immediately. Do not use the elevators. Repeat. Please exit the mall immediately. Use the nearest stairs. Do not use the elevators. Repeat…”
Pandemonium erupted. People screamed and shoved and ran, pouring into the thoroughfares, emptying out the stores, storming down the staircases.
“Maggie,” Justin said. “Something is happening at the pit. The ice machine has shut down. Phil and Harry are freaking out. They didn’t do it and can’t get it up and running again.”
“Code Red, Priority One,” Darcy said. “Level One, Kid’s Row. Code Red, Priority One.”
There was a fire on the main floor. Maggie looked for a way down from Level Three that wouldn’t take her forever. At the glass-wall banister, she glanced down onto Center Court, shifting to see past the giant plastic flags that read Winter Wonderland, Happy Holidays and North Pole.
The sprinkler heads caught her eye, and what Justin had said in the auditorium when meeting with the store owners about water activating the virus rushed through Maggie’s mind. She looked at the snow. Fire triggered the sprinklers and water melted snow. The snow. The snow was Kunz’s delivery system!
And if that snow melted…“Oh, God!”
She pushed away from the banister. “Darcy, Will, lock down the sprinklers,” Maggie shouted, shoving her way between, around people, trying to get down there. “Do not allow the sprinklers to come on. No exceptions!”
“Barone and I have the only keys to lock them down, Maggie,” Will said, then immediately followed up with, “Oh, no. It’s gone. My damn key is gone off my key ring.”
The clothesline incident replayed in Maggie’s head. The key could have been swiped from him then. It would explain why the incident occurred. Until now, there’d been no discernable reason.
One bump at a time. She inhaled a sharp breath, blew it out slowly. Think, Maggie. Think.
Secret room. Window. Fire hose. Water.
Window above the pit.
“Oh, God.” The pieces fell into place. “Justin. Justin, the snow!” Maggie shouted. “It’s the damn snow!”
“What? Sorry, Maggie. It’s nuts down here. I can’t hear you.”
“The DR-27 is in the snow!” She gasped. “Darcy, Justin, keep the water off the snow!”
A tall man bumped into Maggie’s arm. She darted a look up at him and beyond him saw the little window—and a face.
Linda Diel.
Chapter 14
Maggie pulled her .38 from her fanny pack, then punched in the security code on the short-stack door.
A knot formed in her throat. She could hardly breathe around it. She should get Donald Freeman to act as backup before going in—he’d returned to work after sustaining that minor injury in capturing the second Barone—but there just wasn’t time.
Maggie eased the door open. It was pitch-dark inside. Feeling beside the door for a switch, she turned on the lights.
Something sizzled, the lights flashed, blowing out the bulbs. Glass shattered and sprayed on the concrete, then darkness again swallowed everything in sight. Her heart racing, Maggie reached for her flashlight. “Darcy?”
No response.
“Darcy, if you can hear me, take over as Primary. I’m in the short-stack. Going in after Linda Diel. I saw her from the stairs through the little window. She’s got to be going for the fire hose to wet the snow. She’s got to be Kunz’s inside contact—or at least his primary one, if Barone is on his payroll, too. I’m convinced she’s the trigger. Water on the snow. That’s all it’s going to take to launch the DR-27 attack for Kunz’s capabilities demonstration.”
In a cold sweat, Maggie dragged in a shuddery breath. “Darcy? Darcy, can you hear me? Can anyone hear me?”
She waited, but no one responded.
Torn, Maggie paused and squeezed her eyes shut. She should wait for backup, but that could give Linda the precious time she needed to wet the snow. Maggie had to go it alone. The costs were too high to risk going back.
Keeping her back flush to the wall, she edged her way through the inky darkness, circling the short-stack perimeter until her shoulder bumped the wall near the outer edge of the dome. “Darcy, please get everyone out of this place,” she whispered, hoping to be heard. “Please get the pit emptied. Please answer me.”
But Darcy didn’t answer.
And worse, no transmissions were feeding in through the satellite system or the walkie-talkie. Why, Maggie couldn’t be sure, but it was as if someone had activated a communications-blocking device. Probably Linda. Kunz damn sure could have provided her with one.
Terrifying thought. One that meant every person on Maggie’s team was acting solo, without any coordination from Home Base or any backup from outside the facility—or within it.
God help them all.
Her mouth dry, her throat raw, she inched her fingers over the rough plywood, sliding…sliding…sliding blindly along the short-stack wall.
Her fingers met with air. She’d run out of wall. Imagining where she was in her mind, she stopped. Fourteen steps and she’d be at the inside wall of the secret room. Then she could slide along it to the slatted opening.
She silently counted off three steps and then tried communicating again. “Darcy? Justin? Anyone?” Who would have thought she’d need night-vision gear on this assignment? But, man, she wished she had it now.
No answer.
Four, five, six. She unclipped the walkie-talkie, praying that while she wasn’t currently receiving messages, she could transmit one. That there would be a hole in the block, as sometimes happened. That’s why multiple blockers and systems were used at Regret in the conference room and operations center. Layered coverage equaled added protection. “Will? Will, I need help in the short-stack. STAT.”
No answer.
Damn it. Seven, eight, nine, ten—
A fist slammed into her jaw then sliced at her arm, catching her just above the wrist. Pain shot up to her shoulder. The gun flew from her hand. The flashlight crashed on the concrete and the light went out. Knocked back to the wall, she twisted and caught her balance, then charged with a series of rabbit punches, aiming for Linda’s throat, followed with a kicked gut-shot to her midsection. Her foot connected.
“Awww!” Linda went down hard.
Maggie went after her. They tumbled on the concrete, wrestling for control, banged into boxes that flew off their stacks, spilled and tumbled on the floor. And then a dreaded sound echoed through the short-stack and through the chambers of Maggie’s mind and heart: a trigger being cocked.
She went statue still.
Linda stood. “Move one inch and I’ll blow your freaking head off, Maggie.”
“Okay. Okay.” Maggie didn’t move. Linda’s voice quavered. She was high on an adrenaline rush and not totally in control. “Just calm down.”
“Stand up.” Linda sucked in squealed, sharp breaths. “Slowly, and get your hands up.”
“What are you going to do, Linda?” Maggie gained her feet, her hands raised. “Are you going to kill me now, like you did Cynthia Pratt and Judy Meyer?” If she believed Maggie already knew, maybe Linda would reveal what really had happened to Judy. “Or are you going to just attack me again, like you did Justin?”
“You know it all, don’t you?”
“Damn right, I do. We all do.” Linda believing that the truth wouldn’t die with Maggie could save her life. “If the sprinklers circling the pit come on, they wet the snow. That releases the DR-27
virus.”
“Oh, it’s a miracle.” Linda’s voice dripped sarcasm. “Give the captain a medal. She’s finally gotten that she should fear the snow.” Linda guffawed. “They warned me to be very careful around you, but I have to say, you’re much slower on the uptake than they think.”
“I’m fast enough to know you saw that the sprinkler heads skirted the pit, so you needed the secret room and the fire hose to get sufficient water down to the pit fast—before everyone could evacuate.” Maggie kept talking, giving Linda time to calm down, to get rational and realize she wasn’t going to walk away. She would be held accountable. “Without the additional water, too many would get out. That would seriously reduce the number of people killed and maimed, which would totally screw up Kunz’s capabilities demonstration showing huge numbers of fatalities.”
“He’ll get them,” Linda swore. “By, God, he’ll get them.”
Maggie ignored her and talked on. “And that would devalue the DR-27 virus on the black market. Naturally, Kunz wants maximum dollars, and for that he needs maximum fatalities.”
“I told you, he’ll get them!”
“Yes, indeed you did,” Maggie agreed with her. She was listening; that was a good sign. “So your assignment was to get the kill numbers as high as possible. To do that, you had to spray additional water through the window get water on the snow quickly to activate the virus while chaos reigned and people weren’t yet thinking about a mass exodus. But you failed.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“The mall’s being evacuated, Linda. It’s too late.”
Linda looked outraged. Even in the diffused light, her face twisted and looked red-hot, and her eyes stretched open overly wide. “You’re wrong, Maggie.”
“No, Linda. I’m not.”
Linda stopped, grunted and sloughed off her anger. “You’re slow, but overall, very good. You almost had me. Almost.” Linda held the gun aimed at Maggie’s chest. The tip of the barrel shone in the beam from her flashlight. The damn gun was shaking so hard, if Linda fired it, only God knew where it’d hit. “I suppose your ability to deduce his plans explains why Mr. Kunz doesn’t want you dead.”
Now that was useful information to know, even if it conjured horrible visions of torture.
