Out of the Shadows (Falcon) (23 page)

Wheeler
, on the other hand, seemed imbedded in Ron’s camp. Everyone on Capitol Hill knew Ron planned to be the man in the Oval Office one day. Davis wondered how far Ron would go to make that possible. Davis didn’t want to think those thoughts.

He said,
“Regardless, Frank Hamilton, and the agents with Falcon Securities are going to be in El Paso to help with security.”

“What?” Scott asked. “Why would they be there?”

“I think it’s a great idea, sir.” Doug smiled. “Hamilton has the best agents in the business.”

“Thank you, Doug.”

“Sir, do you have a reason to think something could go wrong? Is there a problem with our security?” Scott’s features turned hard and malicious.

“N
o. But Falcon Securities does work for my office, and I simply asked for Mr. Hamilton’s help. They’ll take a lot off you and your men’s shoulders.”

With a frown, Scott asked,
“Who’s lead, sir?”

“They are
.”

Scott Wheeler’s jaws tightened
, and his brown eyes narrowed. “I just want to make that clear should anything happen.”

“
Falcon is there to make sure nothing happens. I have complete confidence in the Secret Service, as well as you and Doug. We’re just taking extra precautions. Vince Colanglo is more comfortable with Frank on board.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Doug said. “Frank has
earned his good reputation the hard way.”

“Yes, he’s never let me down.”

***

“It just pisses me off,” Wheeler said. “
That goddamn Falcon Securities is always sticking their noses where it doesn’t belong.”

Scott
and Ron sat in the vice president’s office, both enjoying a glass of scotch and a cigar.

“Don’t worry
.” Ron said, looking at the glowing end of his Cuban. “No one can stop us from achieving our goal. Kill the president and put me in his chair.”

“I don’t know.
” Scott downed his drink in one gulp. “Frank Hamilton’s guys bring a different element to the table. They could cause problems.”

“Not when it’s revealed
that one of their own agents assassinated the US and Mexican presidents.” Ron took a pull on his cigar and blew out several smoke rings. “Once I’m in office, I’ll make sure Frank Hamilton doesn’t have the nerve to show his faces again.”

“I
’d like to see them all six feet under.”

While Scott sat tense on the edge of his seat, Ron leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the large oak desk.
“Don’t worry. Once we get to El Paso, you contain those Falcon agents anyway you have to. Put them in a room and keep their asses locked up tight. Take control. Fuck the president. He won’t be around to reprimand you later.”

“Doug Morgan is the p
resident’s man, and he’s all for Falcon coming in.”

“Well, maybe something needs to happen to Doug while he’s in El Paso.”

Scott smiled, leaned back, and relaxed his shoulders for the first time in days.

Dallas, TX

Frank
sat at his desk and looked over the list of everything they’d need for their trip to El Paso. Zoe took the chair across from him and smiled. Hell, when didn’t she smile?

It would break her heart if she knew the guys often refe
rred to her as Pollyanna. And he didn’t like it either, but she never saw anything in a negative light. And in his business, the whole fucking world was dark.

Because he loved her like a daughter, t
hose words would never cross his lips. She’d had a rough life for a while, but he was proud of the way Zoe had completely turned her life around. “Make sure we have everything on the list.”

“I always do.”

“And get Lucas in here to cover my office while I’m with the president.”

iP
ad in hand and her fingers flying like magic, Zoe paused, looked up, and asked, “Not Tony?”

“
I have a better use for him. This assignment is right up his alley.”

“Just you, Mac and Tony?”
she asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay, you’ll be staying at the Camino Real Hotel. You and Tony will be on the fifth floor.”

“
After picking up Brody and Kate Stone, Jake will be with us as well.

“So
Brody and Miss Stone are going to be there?”

“Yes. S
end a credit card to the hotel for Kate and Brody. I don’t want anyone to know they’ve left Mexico.”

“I’ll set them up in the Radisson nearby.”
Zoe’s brow wrinkled. “Do you suspect something will happen?”

“There’
s a sleeper in that area somewhere.”

“One of Chavez’s men?”

“I don’t know, but Brody will flush him out.”

Taking the pencil from the knot on top of her head,
Zoe said, “I have you and Tony in rooms on each side of the presidential suite. Mac is one floor down.”

“What about
President Gomez?” Frank asked.

She waved the pencil around like a wand.
“The hotel hasn’t confirmed what room they plan to put President Gomez in, but the manager said it would be on the fourth floor where we have Mac staying.”

Becoming dizzy,
Frank forced his eyeballs away from following the damn pencil. “Okay, we can all switch around if we need to.”

“Brody, Kate
, and Jake are staying at the Radisson near Fort Bliss. I’ve notified the base to stand by should we require their assistance. The Commandant assured me we have his full cooperation.”

Frank chuckled. “You’re really good at this.”

Zoe blushed and smiled. “Thank you, boss.”

Before it could get mushy,
Tony walked in, much to Frank’s relief. “I’ve got us a closed circuit security link to the hotel.” He went to the laptop, typed in several codes, and up came a live feed of the hotel’s halls. “These are the three floors we’ll be covering. This is the door to the president’s room.”

“You have the front door?”

“I have that and the back alleyway, the kitchen and the front desk.” Tony bent over the computer. “Also several places in the Convention Center.”

“Good work, Tony.”

“Once they sweep the president’s room I’ll bug the others.”

Frank shook his head.
“I wish we could sync all this with the Secret Service.”

“We could
with Doug, but not Scott. I don’t trust him,” Tony said.

“I want you
to put ears on Scott’s room before he gets there. Zoe knows where everyone is except President Gomez, and we should know that later today.”

“Okay.”

“Be careful. Scott’s a smart guy. He’ll know where to look.”

“Yeah, but I know
places he’ll never consider, much less find,” Tony said, grinning.

“Wish
Doug was in on all this. He’s put in a lot of good years with the Secret Service.”

“I’ll brief him at
the hotel. Also, I can arm him with one of our feed lines to keep him in the loop.”

“Where’s Mac?” Frank asked.

“Gearing up. He left for El Paso this morning. He’s gone to hunt out the most likely spot the sniper will be. If indeed a sniper is used. He’ll also check out Chamizal National Park.” Tony looked at Frank. “If there is an assassination planned, that’s the most likely place. Mac will know that place like the back of his hand in less than six hours.”

“Yeah, we need to find out exactly
how they plan to pull this off, because if the sniper isn’t in the Park, Mac will have to extend his search,” Frank said.

Tony’s cell phone rang. He answered it, listened for a moment, and then put the phone back in his pocket. “I have a guy running d
own a lead. I’ll let you know how it pans out.”

“I’m concerned about the v
ice president. God only knows what’s going on in his head.”

“I learned
his regular bed partner is a Monique Sutherland who works in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs,” Tony offered.

“We know anything about her?”

“Not much. She’s also sleeping with the Assistant Director of the CIA.”

“Well, that connects Ron Rafferty and Benjamin Reed. You think they both know?”

Tony Shrugged. “If the two are in on anything, why share the same woman? Unless one knows and the other is in the dark.”

“Reed knows everything. He’s a stickler for putting his n
ose in other people’s business,” Frank said.

“I have John O’Shea tracing down everything the NSA
knows about Monique Sutherland. If we can find out her agenda, we might get a better hold on what’s going on.”

“Everything ready
?”

“Jake
will pick up Brody and Kate and fly them to El Paso.”

“What about Chavez?”

“I think he’ll be at the conference. He has a valid passport and a private plane.”

“So
, I wonder what’s going on in Mexico,” Frank said, quietly.

“I’m not sure. But one of my sources claims Angel Diaz is
encamped with Chavez. I don’t know if he has a dog in this fight or if he’s just an opportunist.”

“Isn’t he a confidential i
nformant for the FBI?”

“I heard he got greedy and they cut him, but I know he’s goo
d friends with Reed. They did some work in Columbia.”

Frank moved to his laptop and sent several emails to people he’d need to be on their toes. He als
o notified El Paso PD that the president was coming and they’d need an escort and some security help.

“
Is Diaz dirty?”

“Filthy
...and mean.”

Frank looked up.
“The player list is getting longer.”

“It always does.”

“I’ll see you in El Paso.”

“Will do,
” Tony said.

“Oh, by the way, Tony, I want you and every agent on this mission
to be extra careful. I don’t want carnage, but nothing, absolutely nothing, happens to the president.”

“Roger that.”
 

CHAPTER TWENTY
ONE

“
It’s kind of sad to be leaving, isn’t it?” Kate asked, looking around the village.

Brody’s eyes followed her gaze. “
In a way. But our job continues in El Paso. Hopefully we’re leaving the villager’s in better condition than when we found then.”

As she packed
to leave, she smiled. “We did make new friends.”

“Now they’re stronger. They know what needs to be done to keep their families safe.” Brody looked toward La Hacienda. “And
Chavez won’t be coming back.”

“I’m glad we came. It’s been a tough fight, but I think we’ll win this
one.” Kate said.

“I know we will. After talking with Frank
, letting them take A.J. was the smart thing to do. He’s equipped with a tracking device, so we’ll be able to find him.”

“I’m
still can’t figure out what they plan to use him for.”

“Usually when something like this hap
pens, the hostage is used as the fall guy.”

“That makes sense. I hate knowing they’re taking him away. Did you say
Tony said they’re flying towards El Paso?”

“Yes, and we’ll be there soon. We won’t
be staying at the same hotel with the other Falcon agents, but we’ll be in reserve should they need us. We’ll have to maintain our cover, but there’s no doubt we’ll pay a role somehow.”

Kate chewed her bottom lip. “Always in the thick of
the action.”

“
I’m going to say good-bye to Manny, Alberto and Salina,” Brody said.

Standing by the well,
Kate watched as Brody entered Alberto’s stucco home. She hated to think the day was fast approaching when she and Brody would have no reason to be together.

The padre approached.
“Hello, Miss Stone.”

Kate nodded. “Father
.”

With his hands folded behind his back, Father Ayaaya said, “May I ask you to come to the church. I’d like to say my good-byes there.”

Smiling, Kate fell in beside the priest and together they walked to the dark interior of the building. Kate liked the older gentleman and admired him for giving up his life to serve the villagers in the area.

Entering the small
, unadorned church humbled her. These people had so little, and yet their unwavering faith remained. She followed the padre down the steps to his office, but refused his offered wine.