Monster (46 page)

Barrington laughed appreciatively. “Sounds like we may have a breakthrough shortly.”

“And if I fall in love with her, Colonel?” Donaldson ignored McDaniels’ attempt at levity.

McDaniels shrugged. “That ain’t my problem. She’ll be a free woman. Nancy may need a bodyguard for the rest of her life if anyone outside of Mero’s group finds out she set him up.”

“Are you in love with her, Pete?” Barrington asked.

“I’m a special ops guy, Sir. After what happened to my guys, I thought I could act out anything to get the people behind it. When the Colonel asked me to do this I… I thought it would be easier. I’ll get it done. I just don’t know if I can… ah…”

“Stay detached?” McDaniels finished for him.

“Yes, Sir. I wanted to make sure whatever happens between Nancy and me won’t be a surprise to any of you. If you want someone to take over this for me, now’s the time.”

McDaniels clapped Donaldson on the back. “You’re the man, Pete. Just make sure it’s Nancy giving up information and not the other way around.”

“That, you will not have to sweat, Colonel.”

“I won’t speak for the Boss, but it all fits with what I had in mind. How about it, Tom?”

“As you say, it’s the only way we can flush this Mero out. I believe Pete will do what he needs to do. After it’s all over, Tamara will be his to deal with. I know you don’t have much time left with us, Colonel, so I’d sure like this operation completed before you pull out.”

“Pete will have Mero in custody within the week, right Romeo?”

“You know, Colonel, I think Kay’s right about you. You definitely have a mean streak, Sir.”

“So I’ve been told. What say we go out and see how everyone is getting along?”

Tamara looked up when she heard Barrington’s office door open. She had been answering questions Rutledge asked her as Rasheed skimmed over sheets of testimony they had gathered from the other terrorists in custody, looking for differences. Tamara blushed when Donaldson looked at her.

“How’re things going out here?” McDaniels asked.

“So far, so good,” Rutledge answered. “Nancy has been filling in some valuable gaps with details.”

“How much longer you want her?”

“Just a few more minutes, why?”

“I want Pete to take Nancy and go gather up a few suitcases of stuff from his place. She’ll be going back to work in Aginson’s office. Pete will need a lot more clothes for his undercover assignment. Nancy will not be out of his sight until this thing ends.”

“This office is getting to be like Peyton Place,” Rutledge evoked appreciative laughter from everyone but Pete and Tamara. “This is just business, right Pete?”

“I don’t think you want to go down that road, Jen,” McDaniels cut in. “Get moving, Pete. Mero might try to contact Nancy tonight. You said he contacts you by E-mail first and then you go to a bar near your house to await his call, right Nanc?”

“He’s not like Kasyanov. He would never have contacted Dillon from a phone where he could be traced. Things may have changed. Mero may feel he has to contact me by phone.”

“Vlad is mainly an arms and drugs dealer,” McDaniels replied. Donaldson gestured for Tamara to get up. “Those Russian mob guys are getting a little too complacent for my taste. I don’t have to warn you to be careful out there right, Pete?”

“No, Sir, I know they probably have her apartment under surveillance. Hopefully, Mero would question her about me rather than start shooting or blow up her apartment with us in it.”

“Unless he decides to write Nancy off, opting to err on the safe side,” Barrington added. He has to be wondering if Dillon gave him up and you can bet he already knows we have Vlad.”

“I never said this idea of mine contained any exact science, Boss,” McDaniels reminded Barrington with a smile. “We’ll have to play it by ear until we see how desperate Mero gets.”

“I should at least get a team watching him.”

“If he gets even a hunch we’re on to him, put a fork in us, we’re done. Best to let Pete play this out with Nancy. Big payoffs require some risks. You still in, Pete?”

“I’m not all that good behind a desk yet anyway, Colonel. I’d just as soon be out front for this. You’re batting a thousand so far, Sir.”

“Go ahead and set up house then. I wish we could give you some way to get in touch with us instantly but we can’t take a chance Mero doesn’t have her apartment bugged. Keep that in mind when you sweep her place. If you find anything, leave it. Remember if he took the chance to bug her place, you can bet he’s watching it too. Do you have anything to detect a hidden camera?”

Tamara gasped. “He wouldn’t…”

“C’mon Nanc, you can’t be that naïve. How about it, Pete?”

“I’ll find them if they’re there. I’ll have to be discreet about it. I’ll sweep for bugs first in the dark. I doubt any cameras Mero might have placed would have infra-red capabilities.”

“It sounds like you have a plan. Okay to let them go, Boss?”

“You don’t have to pretend I’m in charge of this op, Colonel. We all know you’d give me the credit if this works and dive in to take the blame if it doesn’t. I think Jen and I will see about setting up surveillance near Nancy’s apartment anyway. I don’t like Pete doing this without backup until we find out if Mero buys our little con.”

“Yes, it is very condescending of you to speak to the Boss like that, Mr. Reskova,” Rasheed added sternly.

McDaniels sighed as the others laughed in appreciation of Rasheed’s comment. “Go ahead then, Pete. I agree with you, Tom, no use taking too many gambles. Be careful about how you set up. See you in the morning, Pete, unless…”

“I’ll call you right away if anything goes down outside the parameters of your plan, Colonel,” Donaldson finished for McDaniels, heading for the office door with Tamara.

* * *

“You haven’t said a word since we left the office, Pete.” Tamara watched Donaldson slip into the driver’s seat after loading two suitcases from his apartment in the trunk of his Dodge Intrepid. “You didn’t even tell me to stay put or else before you went up to get your clothes.”

Donaldson smiled over at Tamara, leaning back in his seat without starting the car. “There’s no use in threatening you, Nanc. Either you play this to the hilt or we’ll probably be dead. Mero may get us both or just me, but the Colonel will get you.”

“He…he put you up to this… I mean what happened between us…”

“I won’t insult your intelligence, Nancy,” Donaldson interrupted her. “The Colonel predicted everything about this op, including deducing it was Dillon who recruited you even though she never gave you up.”

“You…you were very convincing last night,” Tamara looked away.

“That was the easy part. The Colonel probably even figured out I was in love with you from the moment he saw us exchange glances when we busted you in…”

Tamara let out a little cry as she turned back toward Donaldson, grasping his arm tightly with both her hands, tears starting at the corners of her eyes. “Do…do you mean that, Pete?”

“It would be better if I didn’t.” Donaldson stroked the side of Tamara’s face with his free hand. “Stay focused Nanc or we’ll blow the only chance we have to ever be together.”

“I…I won’t let you down, Pete.”

Donaldson kissed her with passion he had little trouble summoning.

Chapter 33

Deception

Already nearing Tamara’s apartment, Rasheed glanced over at McDaniels in the passenger seat. “It is going very well.”

“This seems a little cold, even for you, Cold,” Rutledge commented from the backseat where she sat next to Barrington.

McDaniels turned around in his seat to look at Rutledge. “No, Agent Rutledge, the bug I put in the bedroom of your apartment was cold. This is just business.”

Rutledge’s face went white. McDaniels stared at her without even the hint of a smile. Only Rasheed, laughing with enthusiasm as he looked at Rutledge in the rearview mirror caused her to glance at Barrington who was smiling and shaking his head. When Rutledge looked again at McDaniels he was grinning.

“You bastard,” Rutledge muttered angrily.

“Yep,” McDaniels acknowledged, reaching back and patting her hand. “Sorry, Jen, but we have to cover all our bases. If Mero suspects Tamara, he’ll have her apartment staked out. I never planned on abandoning Pete. He knows I have his car bugged. He’ll be bugging her apartment himself.”

“Mero could just have her apartment wired to blow.”

“That’s true but I believe he will want to make sure he’s lost her first. I doubt there was a higher infiltration anywhere than what he accomplished in Aginson’s office. Mero won’t like blowing up the gold mine before he’s sure it’s tapped out. He’s in the dark as to whether Vlad or Debbie gave up the rest of his nest. If he knew, he’d already be on his way back to Syria and he’s not. Mero has no way of knowing anyone would take his peoples’ interrogation to the point I did. He probably thinks Vlad and Debbie are sitting in cells, waiting for the ACLU to send over a team of other traitors to defend them.”

“We were lucky the apartment down the hall belonged to a lieutenant working in the Pentagon,” Barrington said. “He had a top secret clearance. We could have given him a hint about what this is all about.”

“You don’t think shipping him out instantly to the west coast on a two week sojourn was acceptable? Diane thought my idea was very inventive. As you say, he has no idea what’s going on or why he can’t even pack up his things.”

“Colonel, the guy thinks he’s getting an emergency billet on an aircraft carrier heading out to the South China Sea.”

“Poor baby. We could have sent him to Afghanistan. Besides, he’ll be back at a desk in no time. You and Jen make sure his apartment doesn’t get trashed while you’re manning our listening post.”

“I know Tom and I are less conspicuous than you and Kay but you still haven’t told us what you guys will be doing,” Rutledge remarked.

“We’ll be looking around the neighborhood. Kay and I are going to see if we can spot Mero’s people before he sets up Tamara. You two will be letting us know if we miss. Mero will want to get her out of the apartment and meet her somewhere close by where he can decide if she’s compromised or not.”

“This Syrian will not let her bring young Pete along,” Rasheed said. “If they take her before we get in place, she will blow this whole thing instantly. She is broken.”

“Pete will have a transmitter on her. You’re right though, we can’t depend on Nancy to take too much before giving us up. If the meeting place is anywhere but some public place it will mean Mero means to grab her. That’s why Kay and I will have to be nearby.”

“We’re really swinging out in the breeze on this one.” Rutledge leaned back in her seat.

“Better get ready.” McDaniels turned around in his seat. “We’re going to drop you two a block away.”

“Don’t park too far away, Cold.” Rutledge looked into the back of Rasheed’s SUV at their equipment and clothes packed into three large suitcases.

“The suitcases have wheels, Jen,” Rasheed said with some exasperation in his voice. “It is not like you are being asked to trek over the mountains.”

“Shut up, Kay,” Rutledge reached up to give Rasheed a light tap on the side of his head with her hand before exiting the SUV.

With Barrington and Rutledge plodding toward Tamara’s apartment building Rasheed turned down the next street to the left. Rasheed drove the SUV around the block while he and McDaniels took stock of the area. They proceeded slowly down the street where Tamara’s apartment lay off to the left, McDaniels scanned the storefronts and building entrances on the opposite side of the street through the SUV’s darkly tinted windows.

“The brand new black Cadillac Escalade ahead on the right,” Rasheed pointed out. “It appears out of place here.”

“Yes it does. The Cad’s parked perfectly for watching or filming the front entrance to Nancy’s apartment. It’s so new it only has a dealer license plate.”

McDaniels touched the transmitting button on the bottom part of the headset he was wearing. “Pete, I think we’ve found something. Black Escalade across the street from Nancy’s apartment. Clear your throat if you read me.”

A moment later, Donaldson cleared his throat.

“Tom and Jen are in position to monitor. By the way, you’re a natural at this, kid. Maybe we need to get you into the movies.”

Donaldson gave a short laugh. He cut it off abruptly as he saw Nancy glance over at him curiously.

“What’s funny?” Nancy put a hand on Donaldson’s right thigh.

“Nothing much.” Donaldson smiled at her as they pulled into a parking place less than a hundred feet from Tamara’s apartment building. “I was just thinking of something the Colonel told me about an annoying habit he has of making irrelevant and childish comments at inappropriate times.”

Rasheed laughed happily at Donaldson’s rebuke of McDaniels.

“I think you are right, my friend, young Pete is a natural at this. Do you wish me to stop?”

“No, let’s finish our sweep and then park where we planned to. I’ll ask Tom to monitor the Escalade. They have the same window view Nancy has from her apartment.”