Abraham grunted derisively.
“If you don’t want our help,” Quinn said, “we understand. But before you make that decision, think first. Who better to share what’s going on with than us? We can help you.”
Quinn waited, hoping Abraham would realize he was right, but the older man kept his mouth shut.
Orlando fidgeted in her seat. Quinn squeezed again and received a quick sideways glare.
“Could you at least give us some idea of what this is about?” Quinn asked Abraham. “That would ease our concerns. Did you hire on for a project?”
Abraham hesitated. “I told you before it’s a favor. It’s personal.”
“Okay. Still doesn’t mean you need to take it all on yourself.”
Abraham sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “Thank you for your concern, but I don’t need any help.” He headed across the room.
Quinn jumped up. “Wait. We’re your friends, Abraham. Helping is what friends do.”
Pausing at the door, Abraham said, “I realize that. As your friend, I’m telling you, please, leave me alone.”
He pulled the door open and left.
“Wow,” Orlando said as she rose to her feet. “Nice job.”
“Yeah, well, if you’d kept it up, he would have left even sooner.”
She hurried over to the dresser where she’d left her backpack, unzipped one of the sections, and began rummaging through it. A few seconds later, she pulled out a small plastic box and removed something from inside. She threw the box back in the bag and ran to the door.
“Where are you going?” Quinn asked, heading after her.
“No. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
With that, she was out the door and gone.
Abraham was in the parking lot, his key fob in hand, when he heard footsteps racing out of the hotel.
Without looking back, he unlocked the door of his rental car.
“Abraham,” Orlando called from behind him.
He stopped, one hand on the door, then turned. “I told you, I don’t need any help.”
“I know,” she said, slowing as she reached him. “I…I didn’t want to leave things like that. Look, I’m sorry. I can’t help but worry about you.”
He relaxed a little. “You don’t have to worry about me. You know that. I’ve always been able to take care of myself.”
“Yeah, you have. It’s just hard for me to turn off.”
He touched her arm and smiled. “Orlando, always taking care of everyone else. I’ll be fine. There is nothing to worry about.”
She looked him in the eye, as if trying to read his soul. “You promise?”
“I promise,” he lied.
Her grin was one of resignation. She nodded and put her arms around him. “Whatever you’re doing, just be careful, okay?”
“Always,” he said, holding her tight.
“And if you need anything—anything—call me. I’ll do what I can, and I won’t ask any more questions.”
As much as he would’ve liked to believe that, he knew that given the opportunity, she wouldn’t be able to keep herself from getting involved. But this was his mess, and he didn’t want anyone else put in danger because of him.
“I appreciate that,” he said.
She pulled back enough so that she could look at him, her hands clasping his shoulders. “But you’re not going to, are you?”
He let his smile be his answer.
“Promise me you’ll at least let me know when everything’s all right,” she said, grabbing the collar of his suit coat on either side of his neck and giving it a gentle tug.
“I promise,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied him some more, then she finally let go of his jacket and stepped back.
“So where are you going now?” she asked.
“Ha. Nice try,” he said. He opened the door, climbed in, and looked back at her. “It’s good to see you.”
“Now I know you’re lying,” she said.
He laughed as he pulled the door closed and started the car.
Quinn was surfing through the limited options on the TV, trying to occupy his mind, when Orlando rushed back in.
“Is he gone?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, heading straight for her backpack.
This time, she opened the large rear section and removed her laptop. Sitting at the desk, she turned the computer on and hacked into the hotel’s wireless system.
Quinn moved in behind her. On the screen was a map of Pascagoula, with a green glowing blip moving steadily away from their location.
“You tagged him,” he said.
“Of course I did,” Orlando replied.
“He’ll find it.”
“Maybe. But he hasn’t yet.” She looked back at him. “You think Marguerite and Winger are up for a little tailing job?”
“I’ll let you wake them up and ask.”
CHAPTER 12
Becker had not left DC as cleanly as he’d thought. Gloria and her team, after finally connecting his name to the person who had been looking into Operation Overtake, had rushed to his home after learning he’d not gone to work. Unfortunately, he was gone by then.
Gloria figured he must’ve been making a run for it, so she ordered facial recognition checks to be done at all area airports and train stations. They got a hit at Dulles, but weren’t able to determine he was traveling under the name Charles Young until after his plane had left. That led them to the Tampa flight, and then to a reservation at the Azure Waves Hotel.
A McCrillis company jet rushed Gloria and her men to Florida, where, after reaching the Azure Waves, she had played the part of the drunk riding up the elevator until it was time to slip the muzzle of her gun into Becker’s side. After they stepped into his room, she’d administered a sedative via syringe and guided him into a chair as he lost consciousness. Ten minutes later he was transported down to the ambulance, and Gloria and her team were on the road.
A textbook acquisition.
She had hoped their stay at the Moss Point house would last longer than eighteen hours. But the fact that someone was looking for Becker meant relocation had to come sooner than planned.
She was prepared, though. On the flight from DC, she had arranged for the use of half a dozen places throughout the southeast, in anticipation of a situation such as this.
Their new location was a farm twenty miles west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A corporation controlled the land around the place, while the old farmhouse and barn and the few acres immediately surrounding them were still in private hands. As with many places like it, after the owner passed away, the heirs had decided to sell it. The farmhouse had been on the market for nearly six months, so it had been easy to obtain as another short-term rental.
Upon arrival, they put Becker in a small bedroom at the end of the hall. It was so small that it had barely enough space for the gurney, a chair, and the table where Gloria left the bag of tools she would use to continue extracting information from Becker.
In the limited time they’d had back in Mississippi, she had tried to get Becker to talk by having one of her men rough him up. Usually, a physical approach was all that was needed for those who had never been trained to withstand interrogation. Becker, however, proved to be more stubborn than she’d expected, and ended up passing out without divulging anything.
Anxious to get him to talk, and knowing they would soon need to leave Moss Point, she had decided to forgo another beating and try the drug route. But instead of turning him into a blathering idiot like it should have, the drug, combined with his deteriorating physical condition, plunged him into a deep state of unconsciousness he’d remained in throughout the drive to Louisiana and the transfer to his new room.