Zack (In the Company of Snipers Book 3) (21 page)

“Step it up, kittens. I can’t wait all day,” he ordered impatiently. “You’ve got to the count of three before I come out and finish the rest of you. One!”

He cocked his head to listen, but still no answer. “Sitrep,” he snapped to Ember and Todd.

“Backyard is clear,” Ember answered.

“Too much smoke in the front yard,” Todd reported. “Looks like someone popped a smoke grenade. Too murky to see. Alex called. ETA in sixty seconds.”

Zack held his breath, still on his side and still trained on the deadly silence outside. There was no way he’d killed all the Tigers. Someone grunted. Another cried about someone hurting him, and Zack dared to hope. The police weren’t there yet. Was Alex?

“All clear,” David Tao’s friendly voice finally sounded.

“All clear,” Zack echoed. “You coming in?”

A ramrod straight shadow evolved out of the smoke into Alex Stewart.

“You sure shoot your mouth off when you’re seriously outnumbered, don’t you, Lennox?” he scolded his agent.

“It’s a little trick I picked up from a sniper friend of mine.” Zack clasped Alex’s proffered arm and pushed off the floor. “An old guy once told me what your enemy doesn’t know–your enemy doesn’t know. Sometimes all you’ve got left is ego. Praying like hell doesn’t hurt, either.”

“An old guy?” Alex offered an arched brow.

“Damned glad to see you, Boss.” Zack let Alex pull him into a man hug, more of a shoulder and chest bump than a hug. The police had arrived. Some of the smoke outside had cleared. It looked like David Tao had the scene under control.

Ember emerged from the smoky kitchen, stepping over the debris from the grenade, her pistols holstered. “Hey, Alex. Took you long enough getting here.”

“Where’s Todd?”

“Here.” Todd raised one hand from the bullet-pocked picture window. “Mei and Song are in the safe room. We’re all good.”

“Where are
they
?” Alex growled, his nostrils flared as he took in the scene of his now-destroyed safe house. “Where’s that sonofabitchin’ reporter?”

Zack turned to the ridiculous scene of a smart-assed reporter on her hands and knees, hiding behind her cameraman who himself cringed behind his camera, like that was any kind of tactical gear. “Alex Stewart, meet Ms. Victoria Levitt, ace reporter of some piece of shit rag in town.”

She actually scrambled to her feet and smoothed her hand over her disheveled hairdo, like Alex cared what the hell she looked like. Stepping forward with her chin tilted up, she offered a dazzling smile and her hand, which promptly crumpled against the hard wall of Alex’s chest when he stepped into her comfort zone.

“You risked the lives of my team, an innocent woman and a child to get your damned story,” he bit out, towering over her enough that she had to take a step back.

“The press has the right to report on any—”

“Your press privileges ended when you set foot on private property, Ms. Levitt,” he hissed. “You recklessly endangered civilians. You could’ve gotten killed yourself, not that I give a shit about that. There will be consequences.”

Again with the chin tilt. Ms. Levitt ran her gaze up and down the angry man in her face. “Freedom of the press,” she said. “I know my rights. You can’t threaten me.”

“Get the hell out of my house,” he spat. “I’m not threatening the likes of you. I’m promising.”

“I...I—” She straightened her hair again, looking for her microphone. “I was just leaving.” It took her all of one second to grab her mike off the floor and catch up with her cameraman, who was already out the door and in police custody.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have saved her life after all,” Todd muttered as he nodded toward the reporter, herself now in cuffs and screeching up a storm of protest.

Zack headed down the hall to retrieve Mei, but before he did, he needed to make sure. “We all clear?” he asked one last time. If nothing else, he wanted to assure Mei the battle was over and the good guys won. She might have to hang back until the debris was cleared, but the good news would help her calm down.

Todd stepped to the front door, now blackened and hanging off its hinges. He waved to David. “Hey. How’s it going out there? You need a hand?”

Zack glanced back. Leave it to Todd to always ask if he could help. The damned kid would be senior agent in no time. Zack never heard David’s answer. All he saw was the hit. Todd jerked backward, his hand to his chest and his mouth opened in surprise like he was horsing around. Like he couldn’t believe what was happening. Like he wasn’t shot.

Alex grabbed him before he hit the floor.

Ember screamed. “Todd! Oh, my God! Todd!” She was suddenly across the room and on her knees beside him, her hands covered in dark red blood, the kind of blood that pours out of a man’s pulmonary veins. Alex cradled him, checking for pulse and hope. Zack caught the bleak stab of pain that flashed in his boss’s eyes.

“No!” Ember had her hands frantically all over Todd, her cheek to his cheek, her breasts to his chest, her mouth on his mouth, trying to pour life back into him. She cupped his chin. “No, no, no! Don’t leave me, baby. Don’t go!”

Zack moved away from the safe room in slow motion, his body turned to lead and heartache. Mei didn’t need to see this.
God, no.

Todd lifted a bloody finger to Ember, tracing her lower lip. His mouth moved. Zack wasn’t close enough to hear what he said. The pain on Ember’s face was bad enough. Todd’s hand dropped. The sound that ripped from Ember stopped Zack cold. He’d heard it before, an angry, pain-filled keening hurled heavenward from the shattered heart of a buddy or a loved one left behind.

Alex pulled her against him, his eyes dark and hard.

“He’s leaving me, Alex,” she sobbed. “He’s...already gone.” She collapsed on top of Todd, and suddenly Zack heard the sound of triumph from the front yard.

“I got him! I got Lennox!” a man’s voice crowed.

Zack stepped around Alex and Ember with murder in his heart. When he cleared the door he saw the braggart; a Tiger with his face to the ground while two policemen muscled him into submission. Still he yelled. “I got him! I got him!”

“Who are you talking about?” one of the officers asked.

“Five K for Lennox.” The braggart’s sweaty face glistened with pride. “That’s the deal. Sweet. It’s all mine.”

“Oh, yeah? Who’s paying a bounty for Lennox, tough guy?” The officers handcuffed the killer and pulled him to his feet.

“Who do you think?” the gangster sneered.

Zack barreled into the gangster, taking him back to the ground with his fists in the man’s ugly face. “That man you just murdered ain’t Lennox, you freaking dumb ass! You killed the wrong man!”

The police pulled him off and pushed him away, but Zack launched himself again, this time his hands at the man’s neck, choking him with all the strength his mangled fingers had left.

“You’re Lennox?” the fool gasped. “You?”

“He was my friend,” Zack growled when David Tao pulled him away, his hand in the middle of Zack’s chest. “He was a kid! You killed the wrong man!”

“Settle down,” David said, his own dark eyes glistening. “Ember needs you. Mei needs you. We all need you. Settle down.”

“No!” Zack choked, raking his fingernails over his head, full of anger he was not yet ready to release. But David was right. Ember’s sad lament echoed from the inside of the house.

“He’s dead,” Zack told David. “Todd is...dead.”

David nodded. No more words were necessary. Zack swallowed his anger and turned to the awful scene where Alex still cradled his newest agent and the woman who’d loved him. Todd never felt the bullet that pierced his heart, that left him gasping for life already gone. Sirens wailed in the distance, bringing medics for whom there was no longer a patient to save.

“God.” Zack rammed his back into the wall behind him, still ready to fight the world. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t swallow. Worst of all, he couldn’t face Ember.

Paramedics scrambled around the crime scene. Alex relinquished his hold on the young man, crushing Ember into his arms until she had no choice but to let Todd go. There was no miracle cure this day. No way to change the awful thing that had happened.

Junior Agent Todd Chandler had fallen in the line of duty.

The only one missing was Ember.

Zack stood with Mei at the grave, the rest of his somber teammates all within arm’s reach. Together they watched the honor guard present arms and take the twenty-one shots with such perfect accuracy that the sound of their report evolved into three single volleys.

Job well done, reservists.

Thirteen folds to the flag of glory, and twenty-one shells tucked within the heart of the red, white, and blue.

Good job, Marines.

A short but precisely measured walk to the grieving parents, and the flag that had covered Todd’s heart was now pressed against the bosom of the mother he loved. And who loved him. Her son. Her boy. Her darling baby. Silent tears fell into the folds of color. His father held his mother tight.

God bless you, Agent Todd Chandler. Fellow soldier. Hero. Friend.

Mei sniffed. Zack steeled his heart. He’d stood here too many times in the past. It always hurt. He saw her step out from a small black sedan then, her slender shape shrouded in billowing black. Ember. She didn’t join the rest of The TEAM. His heart ached so much worse with her all the way over there, alone.

At last, the leaden December sky relinquished its hold on all the sorrow of the day. The ice cold rain fell on restless and resting alike. Ember pivoted on her heel and walked in the opposite direction. Uphill. Toward the Arlington Amphitheater. And solitude.

Zack stood with Mei, watching her go.

“Poor Ember. I must talk to her,” Mei offered.

“No. Let her go. You know how it is. She wants to be alone.”

He turned with Mei and walked away.

Arlington was quiet once again.

Two new agents were assigned to guard Mei and Song. Junior agents Rory Dennison and Connor Maher were a couple of the best. Alex had moved everyone to a secure hotel suite in Alexandria, not far from The TEAM’s office, so Zack went back to work. He was the early bird, like Alex. It was just the way some folks were made, hard-wired to greet the morning sun and start the day. No more lying on the couch. No more downtime. Injured or not, Zack was a man at war.

The office was silent when he arrived. Mother sat staring at the blank screens in front of her. She was the privileged one. She had to know it. Alex pretty much gave her whatever equipment she asked for without question or hesitation. He trusted her implicitly and because of that trust, her workspace became the heart of The TEAM, the place where everyone eventually came for technical expertise, support, and sometimes gossip. She excelled at it all. Not today. Zack avoided her. She might want to chat. He didn’t.

Want to or not, he watched her. For the first time in a long time, some of her screens were dark, while others transmitted static and snow. Only a couple relayed images, and even they were muted. Nosy, I-know-something-you-don’t-know Mother didn’t seem to see them. She shrugged out of her black suit jacket, letting it fall to the floor.

Only a week ago, he’d watched Todd sitting with Mother and Ember as they unraveled the mystery of the Black Dragon Conquest. Zack could still see the unmasked delight in his friend’s green eyes when he’d discovered the Easter eggs. And now he was gone.

After the hours they’d worked, after all the good they’d accomplished, karma should have been a hell of a lot kinder. Absentmindedly, Zack rubbed tender fingers over his ragged lips. Everything hurt. His hands. His mouth. His heart most of all.

Mother sniffed. Great. The last thing he needed was to hear someone releasing their grief while he bottled his inside.

“I’m sorry,” she said sadly. “I didn’t know you were already here.”

Zack looked at her to see who she was speaking to. He should have known. Alex was already here. He must’ve spoken to Mother. She answered, “I’ve usually got more energy. In no time at all I’ll be able to leap tall buildings again, and run faster than a speeding bullet and...and...”

Zack cringed. Mother’s overabundance of words had just sabotaged her.

“I’m sorry, Boss,” she cried. “I can’t do this today.”

I should’ve stayed home–if I had one.

“Why don’t you come into my office?” Alex offered gently, nodding toward his open office door. “Zack? You too. Come on.”

No. Not yet. Not now.

He saw the glint in his boss’s eye. Alex wasn’t asking.

“Coming,” he growled.

“I’ll be okay.” Mother blew her nose into a couple tissues. “I just need a minute.”

“Come on, Sasha.”

Great. Mother grabbed her box of tissues and followed Alex like a whipped puppy. It was a rare day when anyone called her by her real name. Alex was being kind today, the last thing Zack needed. Kindness offered was the toehold that would crack the door to everyone’s grief, and he did not want to go down that road. Work was a better remedy.

Work your guts out. Try to forget. Never let ’em see you cry.

Zack followed anyway. He’d barely sat down at the smaller conference table when Murphy entered, quiet and somber. Then David. Within minutes, Alex had everyone in his office except poor Ember. Who would have ever guessed her sweet love affair would end this way?

Kelsey must have baked because there were homemade cinnamon rolls on Alex’s table, and he’d made a pot of coffee. It smelled good, but no one made a move. The frosted rolls sat waiting for Todd to show up and snag the first one. Like he always did. Before....

“I’m proud as hell of you guys,” Alex said.

Good way to start, Boss. Kick us when we’re down.

Zack clenched his fists in front of him at the table. Stitched and broken fingers complained at the pressure. He did it again. Everyone’s morale was low. He’d lost enough people and friends in his life to understand where their heads were right now. They’d done their best. Damn it. They should be doing a victory dance instead of mourning. But life can change on a dime. That’s just the way it was. He stared at his hands, clenched them again, and planned revenge.

“How’s Chai Yenn, David?” Alex turned to the senior agent at his side.

The question must’ve surprised David as much as it did Zack. He looked sheepish, like he’d been caught. Zack watched the cat and mouse game begin that Alex was so good at.

“She’s...she’s living with my family,” David said, gulping as he faced Alex. “Once Nancy heard—”

“You’re her foster parents then, right?” Alex asked calmly.

“Yes.” David looked guilty. “She never went into a foster home. I couldn’t let her.”

Mother reached over to squeeze his hand.

“Congratulations.” Alex didn’t miss a beat. “Chai Yenn is a lucky little girl. I’m glad you and Nancy have her.”

Me, too.
Zack nodded toward David, a man’s unspoken approval. David understood. That’s why he was senior agent.

Alex turned to Mother. “Tell me about Tony Brown.”

Here we go.

Mother didn’t need prompting to continue. A good manager knows how his people think, and Alex knew talking was her therapy. Who didn’t know that?

A light flickered in Mother’s blue eyes. “Remember the button Zack found?”

“I do.”

“Okay, so I checked the list of customers at the shop in Paris, and Tony Brown was on the list all right. Only the suit he ordered was a forty-eight regular, and Mr. Brown wears, umm, sorry, wore a thirty-six long.”

Zack turned away. Too soon those knowing blue eyes of his boss would catch him in their beam. He wasn’t ready.

“So then I checked a couple other things,” Mother rattled on. “Do you know why he was in Paris in the first place?” She didn’t give Alex time to answer. “Well, I’ll tell you why. Tony Brown was on ATF business with his boss, Director Carducci. You want to know who wears a forty-eight regular?”

“Carducci.” Again Alex’s voice was incredibly calm.

“Right. So I got to thinking. If the little girl from the dumpster had a button from Carducci’s suit in her hand, he must’ve had a hold of her right before she was dumped, don’t you think?”

“Whose skin cells besides Zhen Ting’s were on the button?” Alex asked patiently.

“Still don’t know, but the spectra-analysis proved that person is diabetic. And do you want to know who’s diabetic?”

“Carducci?”

“Right again.” Mother didn’t crow like she usually did when she impressed her boss, but Zack could tell she was pleased. She had a way of radiating when she was right. An annoying way....

“Good job.”

“But there’s more.”

“Okay, what else?” Alex was infinitely kind today.

Zack understood. Really, he did. He’d been in this exact situation too many times in the past. The most important thing everyone needed was to acknowledge their grief and their strength. It made sense. The only way forward was through. Zack just wasn’t ready to go through. Not yet. He had work to do.

“I’ve been checking on Tony Brown. You’re right. He was on the mission to China with his parents, but I got to thinking.” Mother was on a roll now. “He didn’t seem like the kind of kid to get involved in child trafficking. I mean, one minute he was trying to help the orphans in China, and the next minute he smuggled babies? It didn’t feel right, so I ran his cell phone records again. He only called Richards one time while he was in China. You want to know who called Richards a couple times a week during the same time frame?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Carducci again?”

Mother nodded.

“Did I tell you I don’t pay you enough?”

Now you’re just sucking up, Boss.
Zack drummed his fingers together. Much more of the mutual admiration society BS, and he’d have to ask to be excused.

Alex put a hand on Murphy’s shoulder. “How’s the van coming, Murph?”

The older man looked tired as he spread a diagram in front of Alex. That piqued Zack’s interest. “Found this inside the backdoor. I had a hunch before, but now I know how the little gizmo works. Look at this little arm right here. It’s an aperture that springs the latch. It’s remote operated. It proves someone wanted our guys to see the door pop open at that exact moment. Zack and David were set up. Chai Yenn was bait.”

“Do we know who triggered it?” Alex asked.

“Well now, that’s tricky. It’s triggered by a cell phone signal, so I asked Mother to track all the cell towers within the area of Espinosa’s hangout. Looks like David and Zack had company that day.”

Zack straightened in his seat.
What sonofabitch did that?

Murphy slid an eight-by-ten photo across the table. Zack craned his neck to see. It showed the plate glass window of a storefront a couple doors down from the Espinosa hangout. A black Lincoln sedan reflected in the window. Zack leaned closer. This windshield he could see into. There was a man at the wheel of the vehicle holding a cell phone up to his face.

“Looks like Carducci needs reading glasses,” Alex commented drily. “Anything else?”

Carducci? The bastard who wanted me fired?
Zack’s blood began to boil. Now he knew where he was going after this meeting.

Murphy continued. “The FBI wants to talk with you about Shawn Washington, you know, the gangbanger who killed Todd. Washington claims he’s got a big fish on the hook. He wants immunity first. The FBI wants you there when he talks.”

“Immunity for the punk who killed one of my agents?” Alex shook his head. “I don’t think so. Tell them no deal. We’ve got enough evidence to put Carducci away with Washington and Richards as it is.”

Murphy pushed back from the table. “One last thing. Remember all those furs that came out of the van?”

“Yeah. What about them?”

“Metro PD tracked them to an estate sale in Vermont. An elderly gentleman left an estate of antiques, furs, even a vintage Morgan—”

“He got a name, Murph?” Alex gently interrupted Murphy’s rambling.

“Valentine. As in Sophia Valentine, Carducci’s wife. Her father passed last spring. Those furs were from his estate.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Alex straightened in his chair. “Why would Carducci dump furs on Espinosa?”

“Hell, I don’t know, Alex. Could be a payoff. Furs are easy enough to move.” Murphy’s voice betrayed his weariness of the whole affair. Zack agreed. There were so many angles to the operation it was hard to know who was doing what to whom.

“Thanks, Murph. You’ve always got my back.” Alex was saying all the right words. Zack had to give him credit. The man knew his team.

The door cracked open and an ashen-faced Ember walked in. Instead of sitting at the table with everyone else, she took a seat by the door. Zack bit his lip. Dressed in an all black and very tight fitting pants suit, she’d chosen to hide her eyes behind dark glasses. He should’ve thought of that. A pair of Oakleys would provide the wall he needed.

Alex swiveled his chair to face her, his hands on his knees. “Ember. You didn’t have to come in today. Why are you here?”

She didn’t speak, just faced him behind the shades.

“Say your piece, but then I want you to go home,” he said gently.

Ember had dyed her pretty blonde hair black, a harsh contrast against her pale skin. She raised her chin and handed Alex a sheet of paper. “I’ve got the Cayman Islands for you, Alex.”

Zack detected a definite note of coup de grâce in her soft, sad voice.