Blink of an Eye

by Roy Johansen

  “But you haven’t found him,” she said absently. “Not yet. Still, you’ve come very close. You’ve done great. Jessie will be over the moon as soon as I tell her. I just wanted to make certain that I had the details right.”

  “As right as I can get them. I have to call Kelland now and report into him.” He added dryly, “Which I should have done before this. I just wanted to get the word to you first. But now I can turn Kelland’s agents loose on Dorset and see what they can come up with. No young guy like Dorset lives in a vacuum. We’ll find the others.” He paused. “I did good?”

  “Terrific. Now call Kelland and make certain he knows how terrific you are so that he won’t send you back to San Diego. We need you here.”

  “That won’t happen. Once I officially turn over this lead, I’ll be golden. Bye, Kendra.” He cut the connection.

  She jumped to her feet and was halfway to the door. “I’ve got to talk to Jessie.”

  “Phone her,” Lynch suggested.

  “I tried before. I probably still won’t be able to get in touch with her. Kelland has her closeted with those same Kevlar wardrobe guys he tried to saddle you with. Since she won’t have specially tailored body armor like you did, she’ll probably end up going with the standard issue.” She added grimly, “But I’m going to make damn sure she wears a helmet.”

  Then she was gone.

  It took her a few minutes to locate the room where Jessie was being outfitted. Judging by the seven or eight guys surrounding her, it was going to take another couple minutes to overcome arguments and resistance to actually get to talk to her. It would be easier just to let Jessie handle it. “Tell them to get out,” she called across the room. “Metcalf called and you’re going to like the news.”

  Jessie went tense. “Dee?”

  “No. But we’re closer.”

  In seconds Jessie had all the agents in the room whisked out into the hall with lightning efficiency that bordered on brutality. Then she whirled on Kendra. “Talk.”

  When Kendra had finished giving her Metcalf’s report, she said with a grin, “Stop frowning, Jessie. You’re the one who pulled Metcalf into this and he did a great job. It’s not his fault we want the universe and he could only give us the world. We’re going to get Kelland to fill in the rest of what we need.”

  “But it might not be in time.” Jessie glanced around the dressing room with all the body armor scattered on chairs and tables. “I was hoping not to have to use all this crap. I was thinking maybe a quick ambush that would let us whisk Dee away from the bad guys before we had to run any risk to her.” She shrugged. “Though after listening to her on that Skype call, I’d really like to go after that bitch holding her. She sounded afraid, and Dee’s not easy to scare.”

  “Maybe it was only a pretense,” Kendra said. “She was trying to fool them throughout the entire conversation. Maybe that was only another trick.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel better?”

  “Yes, of course I am. But it still might be true. You know as well as I do how brave she is and how hard she’d fight to save herself…” She hesitated. “And to save you, Jessie. You’re a team, a partnership, and she loves you.” She shook her head. “But you know all that stuff.”

  “Yeah, I know all that stuff.” Her voice was husky. “Just as I know we’re a pretty good team ourselves, Kendra.” She cleared her throat. “That’s why I’m going to ask you to do me a favor. Sometimes things can go south. I don’t know what to expect from those freaks.” She hesitated. “If anything happens to me, I want you to make sure Dee still comes home.”

  Kendra gazed at her, stricken. It only lasted for an instant before it turned to outrage. “You idiot. That sounds like something Lynch might say. Nothing is going to happen to you. How many times have you saved my ass when I thought I was dead? How often did you get medals for saving your buddies in Afghanistan? How much more of a reason do you have for saving Dee? There’s no way you’d let her die.” Her voice was starting to shake. “Any more than I’d let you die. So just stop talking bullshit.” She took three steps toward her before enveloping her in a fierce embrace. Then she turned on her heel and headed for the door. She stopped and gave a last glance at the body armor scattered over the room. “In fact, you’re so tough you’d hardly need all this junk, but I suppose you’d better wear it.”

  “You think?” Jessie’s lips were twitching. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’ll definitely wear it.”

  “Except for the headgear, I told Lynch I was going to make sure they’d fit for you. Don’t you dare wear it.” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You go home and get your motorcycle helmet and wear that instead. It will remind you of who you are.”

  Her smile ebbed and then vanished. “The invincible Jessie Mercado?”

  “You’ve got it. Just don’t you forget it.”

  “I’d have trouble doing that after today, Kendra.” Her voice was uneven. “But if I need reinforcement, may I come back and let you remind me?”

  “Nah, that wouldn’t be you.” She opened the door. “You don’t need anyone. Except maybe a friend. Then you come to me.”

  After she’d closed the door, she had to wait a minute to gather strength to control her emotions. She’d purposely not let herself think of the danger Jessie would be confronting until that moment when she’d shocked her with that unexpected request. Now she was having trouble thinking of anything else. It wasn’t that Jessie was a woman and more vulnerable than Lynch. Jessie would not accept vulnerability. It was probably just that Kendra identified with her as another woman. Or maybe in that moment when she’d mentioned how afraid Dee must be, Kendra had realized no matter how strong Jessie seemed, she was also terribly human…

  Screw it. Try to cover all the bases. She quickly punched in a call to Lynch. ”I don’t think it’s enough.”

  “What are you talking about? Jessie wasn’t happy with Metcalf’s report?”

  “Happy enough. But she said something about how afraid Dee must be of that bitch who’s holding her captive. It reminded me that maybe we should have been concentrating more on her. Who is she? How much of a danger is she to Dee? She acts as if she has a certain importance. Will you ask the techs to see if they can nail anything more down about her?” She had another thought. “And contact those Swiss AV experts you mentioned and see if they can pull a rabbit out of the hat that Kelland’s guys are missing.”

  “You are worried.” He paused. “I’d tell you I’d get right on it, but I have to confess I already gave them a call after you went to bed last night.”

  “Without discussing it with me?”

  “You were doing great. I didn’t want to disturb your flow. But more is always better, and the head of that Swiss lab owed me a favor.”

  “Someone always owes you a favor.”

  “Yeah, ain’t it grand?”

  “This time I won’t argue with you. Did he give you any time frame?”

  “Soon. Very soon.” He paused. “You’re not coming back down here?”

  “No, I think I’ll stick with Kelland and his agents until Jessie’s ready to leave. Though she’ll probably be so busy that she won’t even know I’m around.”

  “Oh, I imagine she’ll know you’re there for her. I always do.” He was silent. “Not a bad idea,” he said gently. “I’ll see you there.”

  * * *

  Kendra gazed out the window as a rare evening rain shower fell over Westwood. She was part of a large group packed into a twelfth-floor FBI conference room. At the front of the room, the lectern had been shoved aside in favor of a small table that now held a leather bag filled with the twenty-five-million-dollar ransom. Calderon’s armored car security officers stood next to it, though their authority was somewhat neutered by the empty holsters at their sides. They’d been forced to surrender their firearms before entering the building.

  “Hope they don’t call the ransom drop on account of rain,” Metcalf cracked.

&nbs
p; “Not funny, Metcalf.” Kendra turned from the window. Metcalf was standing next to Lynch, Jessie, and Kelland. Half a dozen other agents were hovering anxiously nearby. Noah Calderon was in the corner of the room typing furiously on his phone. Kendra also knew that, in the large parking lot in front of the building, at least forty more FBI agents and police officers waited in their fleet of cars and tactical vans.

  Lynch motioned toward the bag. “They have twenty-five million reasons not to cancel. We’ll hear from them one way or another. The only question is how.”

  “We know they know how to reach me and Kelland,” Kendra said.

  Lynch called out to Noah, “No trackers this time, right?”

  Noah pocketed his phone. “No trackers. But don’t take my word for it.”

  Kelland nodded. “We didn’t. The guys downstairs spent an hour sweeping it. It’s totally clean.”

  “It’s almost as if you didn’t trust me.” Noah actually looked hurt. “I’ve done everything I could to make sure that stupid betrayal wouldn’t happen again.”

  Jessie rolled her eyes. “Don’t even start.” She was dressed in a black Kevlar suit, much like those worn by FBI tactical teams. She flexed her arms to ease the stiffness.

  “Is the jacket okay?” Lynch said.

  “Fine. Maybe not up to the standards of your Abu Dhabi armor specialist, but it’ll work. It’s very lightweight. I wore something similar in Afghanistan.” She turned to Kelland. “Still no leaks to the press?”

  “Not as far as we know. This won’t be like last time. The only people following you should be us.” He stepped closer to Jessie. “You know…you don’t have to do this.”

  Her lips tightened. “They asked for me.”

  “I know. And the more I think of that, the less I like it. We don’t have to accept their every term. We can negotiate. We have a roomful of agents here, and any one of them will do it.”

  “No, it should be me. I have to do this.”

  “Okay, it’s your—”

  She held up her hand to cut him off. “Don’t say it’s my funeral.”

  He smiled. “I was going to say it’s your decision. But if that’s where your head is at, maybe another reason to reconsider.” He checked his watch and called out to a young assistant. “You’re sure my phone has been patched through to ring in here?”

  “We won’t need your phone,” Jessie said.

  “What makes you say that?”

  She raised her iPhone for everyone to see. The screen was illuminated with the caller ID: DELILAH SAYS HI.

  “Just like mine the other day,” Kendra murmured.

  The room quieted as Jessie pressed the button to put the call on speaker. “This is Jessie Mercado.”

  “Hello, Jessie.” It was the same electronically altered voice they’d heard from the earlier call—the one Kendra had identified as a woman.

  Kendra exchanged a quick glance with Lynch. He nodded.

  “So, are we gonna do this?” Kendra could see Jessie struggling to rein in her anger and impatience.

  “Yes, we are. I’m sure you’re surrounded by a small army of L.A.’s best and brightest. Hello, everyone. I’m going to ask you fine people to exercise some restraint this evening. I’ll be asking Jessie to start our adventure downtown, at the Art District Dog Park. She must be alone. I don’t want to see any of you within two blocks of her. And I don’t want to see any helicopters in the area.”

  Kelland stepped closer to the phone. “I can guarantee the first, but we don’t control all of the flight traffic over downtown L.A.”

  “You will tonight. You have sixty minutes to make it happen. Jessie, I’ll call you at the Art District Dog Park in one hour. It’s at Fourth and Molino. You’ll be alone, and you’ll have the money with you. Are my instructions clear?”

  “Yes.” Jessie paused. “And once you have the money, you’ll release Delilah?”

  “You’ll see her tonight. You have my word.”

  Jessie looked hopefully at Kendra. “Good. I’ll be there with the money in an hour.”

  The caller cut the connection.

  Kelland sprang for his phone. “I’ll get tactical teams in place.”

  “None closer than two blocks,” Kendra said.

  Kelland punched the extension number. “Not our first rodeo, Kendra. My guys know what they’re doing.”

  Lynch joined several other agents at a wall-size map of Los Angeles at the end of the room. They’d already identified the rendezvous point and were marking possible surveillance positions on the erasable board.

  Jessie turned toward Kendra. “It’s happening.”

  “I wish I was going with you.”

  Jessie smiled as she tightened her flak jacket cuffs. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.”

  “Oh, I’ve noticed.”

  Kelland put down the phone. “Okay, Jessie, I’m riding with you and the money in the armored car.”

  Noah stepped quickly forward. “Where my money goes, I go.”

  Kelland shook his head. “Nope. You can ride in the van with Kendra, Lynch, and Metcalf. It’s parked just off the foyer downstairs. We’ll set up our mobile command center in Little Tokyo.” He twirled his index finger in the air. “Let’s move!”

  * * *

  An hour later, Jessie climbed out of the armored car and the back door slammed shut behind her. The vehicle sped away, leaving her alone on the quiet street holding the brown satchel of cash.

  Jessie looked at the tall buildings lining the industrial area. Kelland’s agents had done a good job discreetly staking out their positions in and on top of those structures, especially on such short notice. Not that their presence would do her a lot of good if things suddenly went south.

  She was on her own.

  The rain fell harder as she entered the small dog park, which consisted of a few dozen square yards of turf, a water fountain, and a waste can with attached plastic poop bag dispenser.

  Her phone rang. Once again, the caller ID read DELILAH SAYS HI. She answered it.

  “I’m here with your money. FYI, you may want to bring an umbrella.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” the electronically altered voice said. “Go to the trash can and lift out the plastic liner.”

  “Something tells me I’m about to be up to my elbows in dog shit.”

  “Just do it.”

  Jessie lifted the trash can’s metal rim and pulled out the plastic bag. “Got it. What now?”

  “Toss the bag aside. It doesn’t concern us.”

  Jessie dropped the bag onto the soggy ground. “Done.”

  “Look into the can.”

  Jessie peered into the receptacle. At first it appeared to be empty, but after her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she spotted a black plastic garbage bag. “I see something. Another bag.”

  “Take it out and open it. No dog feces, I assure you.”

  “Thank goodness for small favors.”

  Jessie pulled it out. It was a heavy black contractor’s garbage bag. She reached in and found a phone and earpiece, black rain jacket, and a waterproof nylon gym bag, like those she’d seen provided to Lynch.

  “Put your money bag inside the gym bag. Insert the Bluetooth earpiece into your ear, then put on the jacket and zip it up tight.”

  She looked up at the falling rain and slid on the jacket. “Considerate of you, but somehow I don’t think you care if I catch a cold or not.” She inserted the money satchel into the large gym bag and zipped it. She placed the earpiece into her right ear.

  The phone rang and she answered it. The voice was now in her ear. “Hang up your own phone and drop it into the trash can. You won’t be taking it with you.”

  Jessie did as she was told. “Done.”

  “Good. We’re finished here. Turn around, exit the dog park, and turn right on Fourth Street.”

  Jessie walked out of the park and took the right turn. She walked up Fourth Street, past a row of what appear
ed to be factory buildings. After another two blocks, she stopped in front of a tall chain-link fence blocking the street.

  “Okay, I’m at a fence. I can’t go any farther.”

  “Yes, you can. Several of the chain links have been cut for you. You can slide through on the right side.”

  She found the opening and slid through. “Why is the street closed?”

  “It isn’t just a street, Jessie.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “You’ll know soon. Keep walking.”

  Jessie realized that the closed roadway was actually a bridge anchored by two tall white art deco spires on each side, decorated by several smaller lighted spires. She crossed over a series of railroad tracks, then found herself over a large concrete channel, perhaps a hundred yards across, filled with rushing water.

  “Stop.”

  Jessie stopped. Standing over the channel was akin to being caught in a wind tunnel, with strong gusts hitting her along with the pounding rain. “What now?”

  “Reach into the right pocket of your jacket. There’s something there you’ll need.”

  Jessie jammed her hand into the pocket and felt something cold and metallic. She pulled it out. “Handcuffs.”

  “Yes.”

  “What are these for?”

  “You’re about to find out, Jessie.” The voice sounded malicious. “This is going to be fun.”

  * * *

  “I don’t like this.” Kendra was watching Jessie through a pair of high-powered binoculars from the rooftop of a medical supply three blocks from the bridge. She, Lynch, Kelland, and Metcalf wore FBI rain parkas that provided only scant protection from the pounding rain. “What is this place?”

  “It’s the Fourth Street Viaduct,” Kelland said. “The bridge has been closed for the past few years. It’s marked for renovation. It crosses the Los Angeles River.”

  She tried to get a better look with her binoculars. “That’s an actual river?”

  “That’s what it’s called, but it’s really a fifty-mile concrete drainage channel. It’s dry three hundred and fifty days a year. But after we’ve had a good rain like this week, it can be pretty ferocious. This is the stretch where John Travolta raced his car at the end of Grease. Remember that?”