Jansen moved over to Kay, slipped his arm around her waist and hid his gun from view, then opened the door of the motel room and peered around outside. There was a man walking from the parking lot to a nearby Denny’s restaurant, but otherwise it was quiet. He nodded to Stone, and they hustled the family out the door and into a waiting car. Stone shoved the kids into the back seat and shut the door, before getting in the driver’s seat, as Jansen pushed Kay into the front seat and slid in next to her.
Kay was quaking with fear; fear for herself and fear for her children. All kinds of horrifying thoughts were racing through her mind. She didn’t really consider escaping. The two men she was sitting between were clearly strong and appeared to know what they were doing. It was then that it occurred to her that they weren’t wearing masks or any obvious disguises, and didn’t seem to care that she could see their faces. They were either stupid or it didn’t matter if she saw their faces — and they didn’t appear to be stupid to her. The man to her right didn’t have his arm around her any more, so she defensively folded her arms across her chest, pushed her knees together tightly, and tried to push out all the thoughts of what might happen if she didn’t cooperate with them. She didn’t know what to do or what to think. Obviously, nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She’d seen things like this on the news in some other city or in scenes from a movie. But this was neither and it took her a long time to realize this was really happening to her.
They drove a few miles down the road, away from the motels around Disneyland. Right turn, left turn, and left again. It looked like a residential neighborhood with rows of brown and tan houses with shrubs placed just so. They pulled into a driveway of a nondescript, single-story ranch house, typical of the area. It had a small front lawn with a tree in the middle of it, similar to most of the other front yards. It also had a six-foot-high wooden shadowbox fence around the backyard. Houses in California were typically close together and fences provided everyone with privacy, something Jansen found useful for his purposes right now. As they pulled into the driveway, Stone pressed the button on the remote for the garage door, paused briefly in the driveway until the door was fully open, and then eased the car inside. Kay winced and started to shake again as the door closed behind them.
“Get the kids into the house,” Jansen told Stone as he grabbed Kay by the arm and pulled her roughly out of the front seat.
Without saying a word, Stone moved to the back door of the car, pulled both kids to their feet, and dragged them into the house, but keeping an eye on Kay. Stone would have preferred to haul her into the house. He’d have found a way to keep her quiet. Instead, he got the job of manhandling the kids. Stone didn’t know Jansen any more than Jansen knew him. Stone had his own street creds and believed he was capable of leading this job, but the people who paid him wanted Jansen specifically for this. He’d heard Jansen was busted out of the military and probably had some kind of axe to grind. There were stories about him and the time he spent in the Rangers. If the stories were true, he’d be wise to give Jansen a wide berth, though being wise wasn’t his strong suit.
“Don’t hurt my kids… please…!” Kay pleaded as she watched her kids being marched into one of the bedrooms. “Kids, don’t worry! It’ll be all right. I’m here with you. Just be good for mommy!”
Stone leaned over and leered at her. “Don’t worry lady. You do as we say and they’ll be fine.”
Jansen pulled Kay away from Stone and into the other bedroom, tossing her down onto the bed. Kay let out a startled gasp. Immediately, he fell on her and put his hand over her mouth. Just then Stone came in, moved over to her, and using tape and nylon ties, trussed her up the same as the kids.
“I suggest you calm down,” Jansen said in a low, menacing voice, such that Kay immediately stopped wiggling. “Good. Stay that way.”
Kay didn’t like the look in his eyes. A little — but only a little — of the tension she was feeling left her as the two men exit the room and closed the door behind them. She was alone, cut off from the outside world, from her children, and still had no idea what they wanted from her. She felt exhausted and started to weep.
Out in the kitchen, Jansen got out his cell phone and selected a pre-programmed number that rang somewhere at plant.
“Yes?” came the terse answer.
“We’ve got Street’s family. We also have the NeXus report you faxed to us. So, we’re on schedule.”
“Yeah, except that the Williams woman washed up on shore this morning. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Jansen thought about that for a minute. “Okay, don’t panic. Not a big deal. By the time they connect the dots, if they can at all, it’ll be too late.”
“They already know who she is, so those dots are getting close together. We’re going to have to move our timetable up. When can you be ready to go?”
Jansen asked, “Did you make sure Street will be on watch Friday night?”
“Yes, it’s all arranged. He’s covering for another shift manager who has mysteriously taken sick.”
“Then we’re a go for early Saturday morning. The shock of finding the woman will work in our favor. We don’t want to give anyone time to think too much about what they want to do. I’ll fly out of here, hook up with our team, and be in place soon. I’ll call as arranged.”
“Alright”.
“That is, of course, if my fee has been paid. I couldn’t care less what your motivation is for doing this. Mine is money. Pure and simple.”
The person on the other end of the phone was quiet for a moment. “I understand your motivation well enough. Waxman contacted me, and your money is in place.”
“Then we’re good to go,” Jansen said and terminated the connection.
Turning to Stone, he said, “We’re on for Saturday morning. I’m heading back to the airport. You know what to do here.”
Stone smiled and looked at the room where Kay was.
Jansen read him like a book and didn’t like Stone’s expression. He was really starting to dislike the guy.
He went over and got in Stone's face. “I don’t want her hurt in any way. You understand? We need her safe and sound later.”
Stone looked at him. “Yeah… I understand.”
The way he said it concerned Jansen. He grabbed Stone by his shirt, looked him in the eyes, and lowered his voice to something similar to a growl. “Let me put it in a way even a dirt-bag like you can understand. If you so much as touch her, I will personally cut off whatever parts you’re thinking about using and feed them to you. We don’t do this type of thing. You got that?”
Stone stared back at Jansen, realizing the man was serious as a heart attack. He’d get his just as soon as this operation was over. In the meantime he knew he’d have to do what he was told — and he didn’t like that at all. “Chill, man. I got it.”
Jansen wasn’t so sure, but he had things to do and had to leave.
CHAPTER 19
Pete and I went back to the cabin. Once inside the room, I walked over to the coffeemaker to make some brew. I thought best when I was doing something. The caffeine didn’t hurt, either. Obviously, conditions had changed. I’d been brought in to do what might have been considered a routine test of the plant’s security. But now there was a dead woman in the bay, and I was sure the two guys from The Tavern were in a hospital somewhere, seeking medical treatment. This was not normally how these trips went, even for me. This was a civilian power plant, not a military installation or target. It would have helped if I knew who was behind all this and what their motivation was, but I lacked a definitive explanation for whatever was going on.