Rules of Engagement

by Ken Fite

  “You think Taylor’s in there?” asked Jami.

  I shrugged. “These guys all work the same. Hope I’m wrong,” I said and got ready to work on the trunk, but had a better idea and stepped to the driver’s side window. I brought my arm back and swung hard. The blade pierced the window. The glass cracked like a spiderweb and the ax got stuck inside the glass. I pulled it out and swung again. The glass shattered. I got the door open and reached inside to pop the trunk.

  I went to the back and looked inside. “It’s empty,” I said as I pushed it closed and leaned on the back of the car with two hands. I looked up at Jami. Her eyes grew wide as she looked past me and reached for her weapon. A gun fired from behind, causing me to flinch. I watched Jami fall to the floor. “No!” I yelled.

  FIFTY-FIVE

  I TURNED BACK and saw Bill Landry standing behind me, smiling. I started to go to Jami as Landry fired at the floor next to me. I raised my hands and kept my eyes on Jami, looking for any sign of movement.

  “Turn around, Jordan,” said Landry from behind me, firing again. “Go ahead. Nice and easy. That’s it,” he said in a low voice as I turned to face him, and I realized that he could see my weapon stuffed into the back of my jeans. “The gun,” he continued, “on the ground, real slow like. Then kick it over to me.”

  “You killed her, you son of a bitch,” I said, my heart beating faster and harder than it ever had in my life.

  “The gun,” he repeated. “Do it now.”

  I did as the man asked. I slowly reached for my weapon, lowered it to the ground, and kicked it to him. I watched it slide across the concrete. Looking at Jami over my shoulder, I heard Landry kick my gun farther away. I turned back and watched him shrug. “She’s gone, Jordan.” Landry stepped closer. “I’ve waited a long time for this,” he said as he brought his weapon to his face. He admired it briefly, turning it from one side to the other, thinking. While he wasn’t paying attention, I took a small step to my right. I wanted to be able to see Jami and get Landry’s back to the elevator doors for when Chris Reed returned.

  “I know what you’re doing, Landry,” I said and glared at the man. “I know how people like you work.”

  Landry smirked.

  “You saw an opportunity and you took it. You want power,” I said and shook my head. “You think you can just get rid of Mulvaney and assume control of the entire FBI? It’s never gonna work.”

  “Really?” He laughed, stopped admiring his gun, and used it to point at Jami. “Plan’s working good so far.”

  I took another small step, slowly, trying not to show my hand and what I was doing. Landry started to pace back and forth. “I know about your plan, Landry,” I said, trying to distract the man so he wouldn’t realize what I was trying to do. “Dimitri told me all about it. Right before I put a bullet in his forehead.”

  Landry raised his eyebrows, then shrugged again. “Dimitri Ivanov was just a puppet. Someone I needed to help distract you and your president for a little while, that’s all.” He smiled. “All you did was take care of a loose end I would have had to deal with.” He lifted his weapon in the air and moved it around in a circle, using it to point to the ceiling. “Everything that happens here today will be blamed on him, anyway.”

  “How do you plan on doing that?”

  Landry smiled again and shook his head, amused by the question. “Easy, Jordan. I’ll tell the truth. I’ll launch an investigation. Findings will show that terrorist Dimitri Ivanov traveled from Russia to Cuba, boarded the Viktor Leonov, and exited the ship as it made its way up the US coastline. Got picked up by Russian men living in the United States who had connections to his terrorist father. His motivation? The guy wanted to avenge his father’s death.” He paused to think as I took another step to my right. “His men got a bomb into the DDC field office.” He laughed to himself. “Some fine agents, such as yourself, found Ivanov and his men and took them out—but not before they found a way to get another bomb inside the FBI’s Hoover Building.” He paused and stared at me. “The agents died in the blast as I stepped out to pick up breakfast for the hardworking DDC and Bureau teams. By chance, I wasn’t here when it all happened.” Landry grinned. “Mulvaney’s killed and I take over the world’s most powerful law enforcement agency. I rebuild the Bureau with like-minded people.” His smile faded. “I take back my country. Like I said. Easy.”

  I took another step as Landry looked across the garage to make sure nobody was coming. I looked past Jami and noticed something I hadn’t seen before—a hidden security camera up in the corner. I nodded to it. “Not sure it’s that easy. The Bureau’s got eyes on you. My guess is your speech will be exhibit A.”

  Landry slowly shook his head. “You know what the problem is with you, Jordan?” he asked sarcastically. “Everything is so damn black and white with you. There is no gray. There’s good and then there’s evil. Right and wrong. Heroes and villains.” He paused a beat. “Don’t you think I would have thought about the cameras? Don’t you think I would have covered all of my bases if I returned to the building minutes before the whole place is blown to nothing? Before I killed a DDC agent?” He glanced to his right at Jami’s body before he laughed again. “Security doesn’t monitor the garage. The footage goes straight to a hard drive that’s stored upstairs. What do you think happens to that hard drive when the building no longer exists?”

  I narrowed my eyes. Something he said bothered me. “Why did you return to the building, Landry?”

  Landry shook his head. “Loose ends, Jordan. Come on, you’re smarter than that.” He paused. “Meg Taylor and Charlie Redding—I believe you may know the man?” He laughed to himself before continuing. “They’ll be so close to the blast, they’ll never find their bodies. Two missing persons. Nobody will care.”

  I paused for several seconds and glanced at Jami. Her eyes opened as she looked at me, then to Landry. My heart started to beat even faster as I saw her hand move closer to the weapon next to her. Landry started to look at her, so I asked another question to distract him. “The bomb—where is it?” I asked.

  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  “You leaked my file to Meg Taylor, didn’t you?” No answer. “Why haven’t you killed me yet?” I asked.

  Landry looked at his watch, and as he did, I saw his demeanor change immediately. A concerned look fell over the man as he gripped the weapon with two hands and straightened his arms, more determined now.

  “You’re right—I should get on with it,” he said as he started to squeeze the trigger while I turned my head and closed my eyes. A shot was fired and I jerked again, unsure for that brief moment if it had come from Landry or from Jami. I looked back and saw Landry flinch and take two steps backward. Jami had missed.

  I dove to my right, in between two cars, as Landry fired several rounds in my direction before firing back at Jami. I got behind one of the cars and saw Jami duck behind Landry’s vehicle and fire two rounds at him. I started looking for my weapon and found it underneath the car that I was hiding behind. Looking up, I saw Landry approach Jami. He fired at her again as I dropped to the floor and reached for my weapon.

  The pain from my hurt arm was excruciating. I stopped and went for it with my left. My fingers touched the butt of my weapon. I heard more shots fired, but wasn’t sure who they had come from. I stretched my arm and, with my fingers, turned my Glock so that I could grab it. I gripped it with two hands and stood.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Jami as I stepped out. Landry was gone, and I saw his weapon was on the floor.

  Jami got to her feet, kept a hand on her weapon, and unzipped a thin jacket to reveal the Kevlar vest I had given her hours earlier. I nodded and looked over to the security camera and noticed something else. Directly underneath, near the corner, was a closed door leading to a stairwell. “I’m going after him, Jami.”

  “And I’m going with you,” she said as I picked up Landry’s gun and confirmed it was out of ammunition.

  “No,” I said.
“Chris will be back any minute now. I need you to stay here and tell him what Landry said. That bomb’s about to go off and we still have to figure out how to get everyone out of the building, Jami.”

  She turned away from me, walked to the pull station, and yanked it, and the fire alarm went off. “Done,” she yelled over the alarm. “That’ll get everyone out and get security to check the cameras. I’m going with you.”

  I nodded and moved to the door as Jami followed. I leveled my weapon, opened the door, and went inside.

  FIFTY-SIX

  ONCE INSIDE THE stairwell, I swung my weapon from side to side, scanning the interior before I climbed the steps. We moved carefully, unsure about where Landry had gone. I aimed my weapon above me as we got to the second floor and stopped outside the door. I pulled the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “I think there’s only one more floor,” I yelled over the loud alarm as it echoed inside the narrow stairwell.

  We kept moving up the stairs and approached the third floor. As soon as we rounded the corner, I saw that the door was cracked open. I imagined Landry carelessly rushing through, not stopping long enough to make sure that the door had closed completely. Jami nodded that she was ready as I pulled it open fast. As we stepped through, I held my weapon out and scanned left and right as the alarm suddenly turned off.

  “What happened?” asked Jami as the last pulse from the alarm echoed throughout the large space that I noticed was completely filled with special operations vehicles used by the Bureau’s various tactical teams.

  “Maybe they think it’s a false alarm,” I said quietly, still taking in what I was seeing. “We need to split up.”

  I heard a noise, but couldn’t tell where it had come from. Keeping my right hand on my gun, I used four fingers to point to the left of us, and Jami moved in that direction as I gripped my Glock with two hands and moved to my right. Staying on the periphery of the vehicles, I watched as Jami did the same until I couldn’t see her anymore. I kept moving between the rows of vehicles, desperately searching for Landry.

  I was caught off guard and struck from behind. An arm reached around my neck and squeezed it tight. I struggled to break free, but couldn’t get loose. My vision started to fade as I tried not to black out. I brought my weapon up and Landry went for it. He placed his finger over mine and squeezed the trigger.

  He kept firing until all of the bullets were spent. I dropped the gun, reached behind me, and grabbed his neck. I crouched and used my body weight to slam him to the ground. We struggled and I found myself on top of him. Grabbing his throat with my left hand, I started punching him as I heard Jami running toward me. Landry’s face was bloody. “Where is it?” I yelled, but he wouldn’t talk. “Where’s the bomb?”

  Jami had her weapon trained on him. I brought my fist up and held it there. I was breathing hard and realized that what I was doing wasn’t working. I tried to catch my breath as Landry sneered at me, and I knew he wasn’t going to talk. I looked up and noticed something that might work better. I stood, walked up to the wall, and used my elbow to break the glass. I pulled out the ax like the one downstairs, gripping it tight.

  I went back to Landry. “Last chance,” I said in a low voice. He glared at me as he saw what I was holding. “Tell me where the bomb is or I promise you—” I gripped the ax tighter “—I’m gonna make this hurt.”

  Somewhere behind me, I heard the sound of men running toward us. The expression on Landry’s face turned from terror to relief. “They’re coming, Jordan,” he said as I watched his chest heave up and down. “They’ll be here any second now.” Landry looked at Jami, then back at me. “You’re out of time, Jordan.”

  I raised the ax above my head, determined. “Tell me where the bomb is now, you son of a bitch! Tell me!”

  Landry remained on the floor and raised his hands. “You’re not going to kill the deputy director of the FBI in cold blood, Jordan,” he said as the men got closer. “I know who you are. You wouldn’t do that.”

  I gripped the ax even tighter and blinked several times, feeling my heart beating hard and fast in my chest.

  “Stand down, both of you!” a voice yelled to Jami and me from behind. “Drop the weapons right now!”

  Jami raised a hand and bent slowly to set her gun down on the floor. I tossed the ax and raised my hands.

  FIFTY-SEVEN

  LANDRY LIFTED A hand and pointed at Jami, then me. “Arrest them,” he said to the two officers as Jami and I remained standing with our hands raised. I waited for the men to cuff us, but they stayed still and wouldn’t move. I turned to look at them and saw FBI Director Peter Mulvaney walking toward us. Chris and Simon were walking with him. “What are you waiting for?” barked Landry. “I said arrest them!”

  The officers didn’t say a word. Mulvaney stopped next to them, and they turned to look for direction from him. Mulvaney nodded to one of the officers. He went to Landry and helped him to his feet, spun him around and brought an arm behind his back, followed by the other.

  “What the hell are you doing?” asked Landry as the handcuffs were fastened tight. He was forced to sit back down and glared up at Mulvaney.

  Jami and I lowered our hands and got out of the director’s way as Mulvaney stepped toward Landry. “I heard everything, Bill,” said Mulvaney. He turned to his left to look at Chris Reed and Simon Harris. “They found me upstairs and told me about the bomb. Didn’t believe them. Then a man named Lennox out of Chicago called Agent Reed here.”

  Landry didn’t respond.

  Mulvaney nodded to himself. “Said he was watching a feed from one of the building’s cameras. Asked him to send it to my screen for me to see.” Mulvaney stepped closer. “Where is it, Bill?” he asked, but Landry remained silent. “Where’s the bomb?”

  “He’s not gonna tell you,” I said.

  “Then we’ll detain him here until he does,” said Mulvaney.

  Landry stared back with panic in his eyes.

  “We’re running out of time,” I said and stared down at Landry as he sat on the cold concrete. I studied the man and tried to think through the last several minutes and what he had told me. “You said you came back here to tie up some loose ends.” I turned to Jami briefly. “I know you brought Meg Taylor with you, because Jami was inside your house talking with her minutes before you got there,” I said. Landry shifted his eyes to Jami as I continued. “You already told me that you had her here with Charlie Redding. And I bet wherever you’re keeping them is where we’ll find Lynne May, too,” I added and looked over to Simon.

  “Bill, I suggest you tell us what we need to know,” said Mulvaney. “Or you will be prosecuted to the—”

  “He’s not gonna talk,” I said, interrupting the Bureau director. “I’m telling you, it’s not gonna work with this guy. Damn it,” I said, frustrated. I placed my hands on the back of my head as Landry smiled at me.

  Then I stopped—a thought occurred to me—I turned back, and my eyes scanned the level we were on. I stepped back to Landry. “Why did you run to this floor, Landry?” I asked, and he looked away. “Second floor would have been easier. But you came up one more level.” I paused. “Why the third floor?”

  I turned to Jami, and she nodded. I looked back across the countless rows of vehicles. “It’s here, isn’t it?”

  Landry’s smile slowly faded as I continued to scan everywhere, taking in what I was seeing in front of me.

  Row after row of Bureau vehicles. Countless black SUVs spanned the first several rows, followed by tactical vehicles so far back, I couldn’t see where they ended. The entire level was full of Bureau vehicles.

  “What are you thinking?” asked Mulvaney.

  I turned to Reed. “Chris,” I said and paused for a moment as I tried to put the pieces together in my head. “Landry admitted that he’s responsible for everything.” I paused again, turned back to the countless vehicles located on the third floor, and turned back to Chris. “We were supposed to meet at DDC yesterday. But an anonymous tip came
in about a home with explosives inside. Landry asked you to investigate.” I looked down and stared at Landry. “Nobody called in that tip. Did they, Bill?”

  He remained silent.

  “No, they didn’t,” I said, answering my own question. “You had Ivanov’s people plant those explosives in that house, didn’t you?”

  Landry didn’t respond.

  “I went there. Watched ATF and Bureau agents carry out those bricks of C-4. They loaded that Bureau truck.” Suddenly, I understood what was going on. I turned to Director Mulvaney. “The Explosives Unit—how many of those trucks do you have, and where are they?”

  Peter Mulvaney looked across the sea of vehicles parked in front of us. “We only have two,” he replied. “The one that picked up those explosives waited here while we contacted the officials at TEDAC. Left a few hours ago.” Mulvaney gestured toward a thick load-bearing column. “The other truck’s parked over there.”

  I walked past Landry and picked up the ax I had thrown aside, thinking I might need it. I gripped it tight as I stood in front of Landry. The man’s eyes moved up and down, watching me carefully and trying to figure out what I was going to do with it. I held his gaze; then I turned back to Mulvaney. “Take me to that truck.”

  Mulvaney looked at the officers and pointed to Landry. “Keep him here for me,” he ordered and turned.

  We walked quickly with Jami, Chris, and Simon following close behind. We passed several rows of black SUVs before we turned and cut through the middle of the garage. Mulvaney pointed and I looked past two rows of unmarked sedans and saw the larger vehicles parked. One was marked “Washington Field Office Evidence Response Team.” I saw another large vehicle next to it marked “Federal Bureau of Investigation Mobile Command Center.” Next to that one was a truck just like the one outside that east DC home.

  I ran to the truck. The director caught up to me as I noticed a lock on the back, securing the roll-up door. “That shouldn’t be locked,” said Mulvaney as Jami, Chris, and Simon approached and stood back, watching me. I turned to Mulvaney. His eyes moved from the lock back to me, and he nodded his approval.