Capturing Kate (21 page)

“Still. I remember now. I was here in the garden.” She shook her head. “It was for an interview with an old lady who raised lizards in her apartment, against health code, of course. But she was adamant that the lizards had a wonderful life, better than the pet stores she found them in. She invited me to her home to see them.”

“And lizards work in here how?” His voice was gentle.

“I saw the lizards. Took pictures. Wrote down their names. They had great cages and it didn’t smell in there at all. Then she told me she did it all for her dead husband, and took me to sit by his tree. In the memory garden. Did you know the cardiology building has a memory garden, where people can donate trees in memory of loved ones? This was so many years ago! I don’t even know why I didn’t remember. Maybe I did, and sort of glossed over it. God.”

“So, in the garden?” he prompted.

“Yes! So we sat there talking about lizards, next to this tree that she donated in memory of her husband. Then she pointed across the back alley to the back of a pawn shop and said she took all his watches and cufflinks there. It was called Hart’s.”

“Okay?”

“Hart. Like, heart?
Follow your heart?
She joked that the garden sign for the heart hospital had an arrow pointing to the entrance, but from where she sat, it looked like it was pointing at the Hart’s pawn shop. So maybe Ella wanted me to go there!”

“That’s a stretch.”

“No, because the other thing Ella said. Now it makes sense. She said not to pawn my emotions off. Get it? Pawn? She meant for me to go here. I know it.”

He talked into the phone again, barking orders, explaining, telling a team to meet them there. “Yes. We’re coming up on the street now. We’ll head in immediately. No, we can’t wait for backup. The auction starts soon and this might be the information we need to get into it.”

“Kate? Follow my lead.” His voice was firm. He put a hand on his gun. “Stay close.” But she saw nothing unusual on the small sleepy street, nor were there any other customers in the store. Dusty and tight, full of junk, it looked like the kind of place that should have gone under decades ago. How did they stay in business? A stray suit of armor with a missing arm. A clothing mannequin, face blank as the night. An exercise bike with no wheels.

Then she came to the counter; gold and gems gleaming under smudge-free glass, guns. Okay. This was how.

The man behind the counter was as old as the armor and as expressionless as the dummy. “Help you?”

Kate didn’t know what to say. “I need something. I think a friend left it for me.”

“Your friend gotta name?”

“Ella.”

“No bells.” He stared at her.

“I’m Kate? Ella’s friend, Kate? Eli? Um, following my heart?”

He didn’t blink. “You gotta claim ticket?”

“Yes!” She tugged at Sloan’s arm, taut. She could see him watching the store. “Yes, I have a number. I do. Can I give it to you?”

A stare.

“Okay. 1945.”

He pulled a package from under the counter, a manila envelope, with ‘1945’ scrawled on it, and Kate’s stomach lurched. But he put his hand on it when she reached. “It costs to do a private pawn. You want to buy this object, it’s for sale.”

“How much?” She glanced at Sloan.

“Five hundred dollars.”

“I—five hundred?” Her voice rose. “That’s—no, I need that.”

The man’s face didn’t move. “A thousand.”

Sloan’s voice was hard. He pulled out a badge and tossed it on the table. “FBI. Hand it over.”

“You gotta warrant?”

Sloan took the package. “If you make me come back with one, you’ll regret it.”

Still, he opened his wallet and tossed a few bills on the counter. The man took them, his gnarled fingers swifter than they should have been for their distorted joints.

Sloan rushed Kate back to the car and drove to an empty lot, then he ripped open the envelope. “Shit.” He got onto his phone. “Connor. I got it. Yeah, it’s got the info we need. I’m texting you right now.”

Kate glanced at the top paper. It was Ella’s recognizable scrawl, but the things noted made no sense:

• Confidentialsales // .onion
  
• blackops ~ cyber115236 ~ interrex
  
• opt-in $5million USD in bitcoin, no escrow.
  
• Final auct. Escrow through safecoin info to come later
  

Katie. Was in closet (will explain later) while Carlo in office. He was on phone, left room for a minute. I wrote this down from his email screen before running out. Looked important! God, I’m getting so brave. But think he might have cameras installed? Not sure but looks like new plaster on light fixture and is new weird sensor by top of door?

There was a sheaf of memos regarding water testing, a zip drive, and more of Eli’s medical documents.

“Fuck, yeah. Use the information to get into the opt-in site, then you’ll receive information about the real auction site. Get it to Matty so he can bid for it. Once he’s into the auction, he can launch his new stealth bot to track the location of the auction and the eventual buyer. This is fucking gold.”

“This is good?” Kate peered up at him when he hung up the phone, finished texting.

“Yes. Yes, it is.” He grabbed her into a fierce hug. “Kate, this is the information we were missing. Our guy on the inside was told he can’t be part of the auction after all—they don’t need him. Either they’re suspicious or just being safe. Either way, we needed him there to feed us information about the details and the winner. Now we have the information we need to enter the auction as an independent buyer, posing as anyone we want. Our guy Matt is a cyber expert. He’s the only one in the world who’s close to hacking the most secure onion sites, but he couldn’t find any evidence of this auction. This is why—it’s a direct peer-to-peer site; you can’t find it by searching. If we pass the opt-in, with this data we can enter the auction.”

“You have to pay five million dollars just to
enter
? What does
no escrow
mean?”

“Yeah, they want serious buyers only.
No escrow
means you can’t get your money back somehow if you’re not happy with the outcome. It’s a fee just to come play.”

“Um.” A thought occurred to her. “Your team can afford to buy in for that price?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“So what do we do now?” Her voice was uncertain. The adrenaline of the day was gone and she felt limp.

“Wait.” His voice was low. “The auction starts in less than an hour. It will be over in an hour, too. These things are fast. And then, if all goes well, our team will have the info they need and they can get Mancini and the others.”

“What if they don’t?”

“We’ll see. But until we know, Kate, I’m sorry, but I have to bring you into custody.”

Tears started to fall. “I just want to go home. You said once it was over I could go home.”

His voice was distant. “It’s not over yet. And you need to be questioned and debriefed.”

“I want to stay with you.”

“Not really. You just see me as the safest option, which so far I have been. The next place will be better.”

He started driving, but, stiffened up when he looked into the rearview mirror. “Shit. That’s not my team.” He hit the accelerator and the car lurched. “Kate, sit tight. We’re being followed.”

“What?” Panicked, Kate turned to stare, and saw a black SUV barreling toward them. “Sloan!” she screamed. “Go, go, go!”

Tires screamed and the car twisted violently as he jerked the wheel, spinning them around past the vehicle, and started driving in the other direction. He spoke into his phone. “Darren. I’ve got a tail with a shooter. Need backup. Get here, now.”

“Now you bring the SUVs?” screamed Kate, shaking.

“Do you know how to shoot a gun?” he asked, driving with one hand, rummaging in his bag with the other.

“Drive!” Kate shrieked, pounding the dash with her fists. “Faster!”

“Kate. Can. You. Shoot. A. Gun.”

“No! Maybe. It’s not hard, right? You just point and squeeze the trigger, right?”

“Good enough.” He handed her a weapon. “Take this. If you use it, shoot to kill. Don’t hesitate. Understand me?”

“No!” she yelled. “I don’t know how to use a gun!”

“It’s like you said. Point, aim, steady with your other hand, squeeze, nice and steady. Don’t lift your hand when you squeeze. Watch out for the recoil. Keep shooting until he stops coming at you. Don’t ask questions, don’t talk. Just shoot. The safety is off so don’t touch the trigger now.”

“How fast can your backup get here?” she wailed, but the answer was clear—not fast enough. The SUV was gaining on them, and when it sideswiped their car, both vehicles spun out, her stomach lurching and hanging in the air before slamming into her backbone, her whole body shoved into the seat by the centripetal force.

When she opened her eyes, the door swung open and something was beeping. Ding, ding, ding, ding. The ceiling light was on. Sloan’s hands, unbuckling her. “Kate! Get up. Kate. Wake up. Get out of the car, now.”

She forced herself to focus on his eyes, then behind him, to the other vehicle. “Oh, God, people are coming, watch out,” she started, and he grabbed her, ducked around the door, and pulled her to the other side of the car. Bullets rang out, the sounds muffled as they hit the metal. Thick, powerful sounds, though—damaging sounds. Heavy hits.

“Hold your gun.” Sloan’s voice hissed into her ear. “Remember what I told you. Right now, anyone who comes at you except for me is your enemy. You shoot without mercy to save your life, Kate. Tell me yes.”

“Y-yes.” She blinked hard, trying to stay sane.

“Sloan!” Footsteps crackled on the gravel and a feminine voice rang out. “I need Kate and whatever information you found in the pawnshop.”

Sloan didn’t answer but Kate gasped. “Allison?” She flinched and dropped the gun, jerked again, and accidentally shoved it under the car.

“Kate. Nobody is going to hurt you. We just need the information you found.” Allison’s voice sounded cheerful. “Sorry about the rough stop. You’re a sensible person, Kate. I could tell when we met earlier. So come on over and let’s get you home. Your mom is waiting back at my safe house, and your friend Lila. They’re so eager to see you.”

“M-my mom?” Despite Sloan’s warning, Kate half-stood. He yanked her back down. “Kate, no.”

“They’re safe and out of their minds with worry. Your mom had a slight heart attack but don’t worry, she’s all right. I know that once she sees you, it will help her recovery.”

“No!” Kate tried to stand again.

Sloan grabbed her arm. “Kate, it’s a lie. A trap. She’ll say anything to get you to come out on your own. Don’t go to her.”

“Your mom’s on oxygen and IV meds. She was pale this morning and having palpitations, but I know that once you’re reunited, she’ll be just fine. Come on out. I’ll take you to her.”

Kate stayed where she was.

“No? You’re not coming?”

Silence.

“I just hope we get back to her in time.”

Kate’s heart dropped. “Maybe you’re wondering what I mean?” Allison’s voice was even more peppy. “Well, she’s hooked up to another IV that’s on a timer. If we’re not back with you in exactly two hours, well, a valve will open and a new medicine will go into her bloodstream. Well, maybe
medicine
isn’t quite the right word. It’s a slow-acting toxin. Very painful, I’m told. We’ll take video, though, so you can see it. And we’ll tell her that it’s all your fault while she dies in agony.”

“Where is she?” Kate’s voice shot out. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying.”

“Video.” A phone skittered across the ground and started playing. A woman was lying in a hospital bed, an IV in her arm. Her eyes were shut; her face pale. “If you want, we can put it on YouTube.”

“That’s my mom!” Kate’s breath came faster. “Sloan! Allison. I’m going to kill you. What did you do?” Her voice trembled.

“Stop talking,” Sloan hissed, kicking the phone back. “She’s going to kill you if she gets you, and trust me, it won’t be nice. We need to get out of here. She’s trying to mind-fuck you.”

Allison held up the phone, and a voice rang out. “Katie? Katie? Where are you? Oh, baby, I need you. Please don’t let them do this to me!”

Allison kicked some gravel. “Oh, Kate, I’m so sorry. But we do what we have to, don’t we. Come out now and she won’t suffer further. It’s completely up to you. What power you have! My, my. Must feel so good. Maybe almost as good as fucking Sloan.”

“Why are you doing this?” Kate screamed.

But Allison just smiled. “That’s not your concern,” she remarked. “This is.” She held up the phone. “For the next two hours, anyway. Time limit! Tick, tock. Want to hear more?”

Kate leaned forward. Sloan grabbed at her sleeve, and the attack came from behind. Sloan’s body was covering hers, pushing her to the ground. “Down!” he shouted. “Kate.” Shots rang out, hitting the car next to her, so close that she felt the air wave from the bullets. Sloan shouted and groaned, grabbing his shoulder, then dived and rolled, turned and shot behind them. When he came back to her, panting, she stared, wide-eyed.

“Kate,” he ordered, raspy. “Your weapon. Use it. Now.”

“They shot at me,” she whispered, frozen.

“Kate! Snap out of it.” His voice was rough, his breath harsh.

She saw blood oozing from his shoulder, bright and thick. Ripped cloth, clotted. “Are you okay?” she sobbed. All the muscles in her body were pulling in different directions.

“I’m fine. Hold your weapon,” he groaned, and she saw sweat on his forehead.

“You saved me,” she said, unable to move.

“Kate, watch your back,” he hissed, raised his gun, and shot. A man fell, yards away, with a squish sound coming from his chest. Gurgles and gasps brought a red bubbly foam to his lips. Horrified, Kate stared, entranced, as the bubbles sucked in and out, in and out. He raised a hand out, beseeching, eyes glassy, and she saw the exact moment that life left his body. One second he twitched in agony, the next, he was an empty shell, his hand still moving, but nothing behind the mask. The horror of actual death froze her solid.