“Adrian Hell…”
Huh?
Two men appear next to me. Both are in suits and wearing their jackets open with their badges clipped to their belts. FBI badges. One man’s Caucasian, and he takes a seat opposite me. The other’s a black man, maybe mid-thirties, and he stands just to the right of the table.
I know them both — one better than the other. I didn’t expect to see either of them again. In fact, I know people went to great lengths to make damn sure I didn’t. For their sake.
“Adrian, would you care to tell me what the hell you think you’ve been doing?” asks Special Agent in Charge David Freeman. His voice is as gravelly as I remember. Maybe even a little more so. I might have driven him to smoke more. He needs a shave, too, and his naturally tanned skin looks weathered. He seems tired — I can see the fatigue in his eyes.
I raise an eyebrow and glance at Special Agent Tom Wallis, standing next to him. He nods once, discreetly, but says nothing. He looks tired as well.
Welcome to my life…
I take a deep breath. I know what’s going on here, even if I don’t understand how they managed to get involved. They can’t be seen to be familiar with me because Ryan Schultz saw to it that any involvement either of them had with everything that’s happened was explained away. The only thing that can’t be denied is that Wallis was in the room when Matthews pushed the button, and the official explanation is he was there trying to catch me. Consequently, he’s been dancing to Cunningham’s tune ever since.
It’s a big risk, them coming here.
But I’m glad they did.
I casually glance over my other shoulder, up at the camera, and then directly at the mirror before answering.
I shrug. “Honestly? An assassin was hired to kill me. I was defending myself.”
Freeman frowns. “And who would hire one assassin to kill another?”
“Another?” I smile. “Who said I was an assassin? I was just looking after my friend. Is she okay?”
Wallis clears his throat. “Your friend has been taken to a hospital. She’s stable, but we’ll need to question her as soon as possible.”
I breathe a silent sigh of relief. At least Ruby’s alright — for now.
“Adrian, you’re wanted in connection with the murder of over twenty NSA agents, seven CIA agents, and suspected links to the terrorist organization responsible for the 4/17 attacks. We’re here to detain you pending a full investigation. You will be appointed legal counsel once you arrive at the FBI field office. Any questions?”
I shake my head. “No, just make sure all my possessions are brought with us.”
Wallis steps forward and unlocks my handcuffs, allowing me to stand. I do, and he turns me around, cuffing my hands again behind my back. “Let’s go, asshole,” he says, guiding me toward the door with his hand on my elbow.
With Freeman just behind us, we walk through the precinct and out the back to the parking lot, where a chocolate-colored Crown Vic is waiting. Wallis guides me into the back seat, walks around the trunk, and climbs in beside me. Freeman slides in behind the wheel, starts up the car, and pulls out of the lot, heading west.
I hold off a couple of minutes before saying anything, as if waiting until we’re a safe distance from the precinct would make any difference whatsoever.
“Guys, what the hell are you doing here?”
Freeman glances in the rearview, catching my eye. “Saving your ass. You’re welcome, by the way…”
“Yeah, thanks. But you coming in here to help me is a helluva gamble…”
“We know,” says Wallis, next to me. “We didn’t have a choice. We’ve both been under scrutiny from the top since 4/17, and we’ve had no other option than to actively do what we can to help track you down. The plan being that once we did, we could get you before anyone else.”
“Well, at least your plan worked.”
He shakes his head. “No, Adrian, it didn’t. We didn’t find you.”
I frown. “Then who did? And how come you’re here?”
In the front, Freeman lets out a defeated breath. “The CIA have been using Cerberus to track you. That’s how they keep catching up with you. As part of the counterterrorism unit I run, we have access to that information as well, so we’ve been keeping one step behind the CIA, letting them do the legwork so they can lead us right to you. When the bulletin hit about you being apprehended, we knew we had to step in. How the hell did you get caught?”
I shrug. “My own fault, I guess. I’ve been putting together a team to help me take down Cunningham. The CIA got to one of the people on my list before I could and hired him to take the rest of us out. You said they had Cerberus trained on me this whole time. Now I see how they managed it.”
“So, this assassin was the guy you were fighting when you were picked up earlier?” asks Wallis.
I nod. “Yeah, a very competent all-rounder called Fernando Garcia. Also known as The European. Just so you know, he isn’t going to stop until I’m dead. It doesn’t matter who’s with me.”
Silence falls as Freeman navigates the dense midday traffic, taking the turn for the expressway that will take us all the way to the New Jersey Turnpike.
“So, what’s your plan, exactly?” I ask.
“Get you out of Atlantic City for starters,” says Wallis.
I shake my head. “No way. I’m not leaving without Ruby. And the only other member of my team is meeting me here tomorrow. I can’t afford to lose him, too. Not now.”
“We need to get you somewhere safe, Adrian. Somewhere we can regroup and—”
“This isn’t a debate, Wallis. You just said the most powerful satellite in the world is being used to track me. There isn’t a safe place. Not anymore. And neither of you is really in a position to help me finish this. I need my team… what’s left of it, anyway.”
“Okay, so what’s your plan?” asks Freeman, sounding like he’s losing patience with me. “Seriously — what do you intend to do to fix this?”
I laugh. “Do you really wanna know?”
He pauses for a moment. “Yes. Tell me.”
I shrug. “Okay — I have a plan to get me and my team inside the White House. Then I’m going to do what I’ve been saying I’ll do all along — kill the president.”
Wallis lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head. “Jesus…”
Freeman shakes his head. “I had to ask… Okay, what do you need?”
I look at Wallis. “First, get these cuffs off me.” I shift in my seat and turn away from him slightly. He takes them off and I bring my hands around, sit back, and massage my wrists to get the blood flowing again. “Thanks. Okay, we’ve established I can’t hide, so I’ll stop trying to. I need to get Ruby, meet with Jonas, and make my way to Washington.”
Freeman looks at us both in the rearview again. “That… ah… that might be a little difficult.”
I frown. “Why?”
“Because your friend was taken to a secure wing of the AtlantiCare Medical Center, which is a few miles in the opposite direction. She’s under twenty-four hour guard until she’s well enough to be moved. There’s no way you’ll get to her. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Freeman, just turn the damn car around.”
“Adrian, you can’t be serious?” asks Wallis. “It’s suicide going back there. The CIA will have a kill order, and we can’t protect you.”
“I’m not asking you to. And pretty much everything I’ve done in the last three weeks has been borderline suicidal, so that’s nothing new. This is the only way. I’ll worry about getting Ruby. Just get me there and then get out of here before what little cover you’ve got is blown.”