Jack had fired before she recognized an EOO op—Agent Domino—holding a knife to the senator’s throat. Fortunately, Domino’s quick reflexes had saved her; she’d pulled the politician in front of her as a shield, and Jack had killed him instead, while the op escaped out the window.
Despite the outcome, Jack had felt guilty for a long time. Maybe she didn’t like Montgomery Pierce, but she had no issues with the ops, who were just as much a victim of his ego as she was.
Tonight, she had intended to kill her driver and ask Kennedy to injure her. She planned to make it look like the EOO op had overpowered them both and escaped with Wagner. That way, she could return to TQ beat up, maybe even shot, and tell her she had tried but the op managed to steal Bill’s gun. But explaining away three of TQ’s guys would be a hard sell, even if she managed to shoot them all. Since Cass’s safety was her top priority, she had only one option. She’d have to play along.
Bill pulled off the highway long before they reached Baltimore and drove deserted back roads for another few minutes before stopping in front of an isolated two-story home. The other car stayed on their bumper and parked behind them. “Why did we stop?” Jack asked.
“To pick someone up,” he replied.
The two guys in the car behind got out and walked over. One approached Bill’s window and waited for it to lower. “The Russian just called. They’ll be ready to move in two.” He ducked his head to look over at Jack. “He said he wants to talk to you.”
“What Russian?”
“His name’s Dratshev.”
“What the hell is he doing here?”
“None of your business,” Bill said.
“You know him?” the guy standing outside asked.
“We’ve met,” Jack replied. “But what does he want now?” she mumbled to herself.
“Maybe he wants to screw you.” The guy laughed. “How the fuck should I know?”
Jack smoothly pulled a Walther P99 semiautomatic pistol from Bill’s shoulder holster and pointed it at the other one at the window. All three men, including the guy next to her, who apparently had a backup gun, drew their own weapons.
“Then why, bottom-feeding mutant, don’t you ask the fucking Russian what he wants?” Jack dropped the gun on the driver’s lap. “Just playin’.”
Bill smiled and nodded appreciatively. “You are one crazy mother—”
“Looks like the Russian’s here.” Jack saw the big guy come out of the house and head toward them. She rolled down her window and, in Russian, asked how he was.
Dratshev smiled. “Not too fucked up,” he replied. “Long time no see.”
“Yup.”
“You work for TQ now.”
“Thanks for captioning my nightmare.”
“For catching a nightmare?” the Russian asked with a confused expression.
“Never mind. So, what brings you to TQ’s party?” Jack asked.
“Business.”
“You mean it’s not her fluffy disposition?” Jack feigned shock. “Which business?”
“My favorite toys.”
“Gotta love any toy that profits a few million annually.” Jack was referring to the illegal-weapons trade.
Dratshev changed the topic. “If you work for TQ, you work for me.”
“That what you came to tell me?”
“Da. This deal means big money, so don’t fuck up.”
“Never. Your financial welfare means the world to me,” Jack said sarcastically. “And I’m sure my buddy Bill here feels the same.” She rolled her eyes in the direction of the driver.
“Good. So, good luck.” Dratshev extended his hand.
Jack looked over at him, hovering outside her window, and extended her own hand.
The Russian shook it roughly. “Be wise.” He winked.
Jack felt something in her palm. Paper. Whatever it was, Dratshev had his reasons for keeping it between them.
“Can’t promise.” Jack fisted the note and pulled her hand in.
Another unmarked white van, like the one they were in, emerged from behind the house and came down the driveway.
“We’re ready to go.” Bill started their vehicle and followed the van as it turned onto the street and headed back toward the highway. The dark sedan with TQ’s men got in line behind the vans. “You used to work for him?”
“Yeah.” Jack stuck her hand in her pocket to hide the paper Dratshev had given her. She’d have to wait for a private moment to see what it was.
“Hits, or what?”
“What is this, career day?”
They followed the other van for an hour as it skirted the nation’s capital. Finally, it parked at the edge of a wooded area in the countryside, and four men in masks got out. A fifth emerged from the back, with a woman in a pantsuit whose head was covered.
“Who’s that?” Jack asked.
“A woman,” Bill replied.
“Killer observational skills.”
“She’s none of your business.”
Bill kept his focus on the group as they headed into the woods, which gave Jack the opportunity to pull Dratshev’s note out. She unfolded it, but it was too damn dark in the van for any amount of squinting to make it legible. It would have to wait until later.
“Why can’t the Russians off the two women?” she asked, like she didn’t know the answer. She wanted to find out what this idiot had been told, anything to find a way out of having to kill Kennedy. This Wagner she was supposed to kill, on the other hand, should have thought twice before joining TQ’s clan.
“Because TQ wants you to do it.”
“Doesn’t make sense.”
“She’s testing you, genius,” Bill said.
“I see. What else?”
“She doesn’t want these two chicks to come back to bite her.”
“Because she doesn’t trust Dratshev will do it,” Jack said.
Bill nodded. “I don’t know why she trusts him at all.”
“How’s he involved in this deal?”
“Like he said. Business.”
“Doesn’t look like a business transaction to me,” she said. “Looks more like an exchange.”
“It is.”
“The hooded woman for the other two.”
Bill nodded.
“What’s the deal?”
“None of your business.”
“Where are we taking them?”
“There’s an abandoned building an hour away, in Alexandria.”
“Leave the bodies there?”
“Nope. Boss lady likes to play with fire.” He laughed. “She wants them shot, then burned to a crisp. No evidence, no mess.”
Jack’s plans seemed to be headed a bit closer to hell with every minute that passed. Either way, she had to gain time, see if she could improvise a new way out.
“Here they come,” Bill said.
Jack glanced at the side mirror. Dratshev’s men were coming back out of the woods, this time with two women, neither of whose faces was covered.
Bill retrieved his gun. “Get out. It’s go time.”
Jack stood beside the van’s open rear doors while the two women approached. Although it was dark, it was easy enough to make out who was who. Wagner walked with her head stooped, her demeanor submissive and defeated. The op—Kennedy—was alert and on guard, though she seemed more concerned with the woman she was with than the men with guns surrounding them.
*
Shield tried to focus on finding a way out of their predicament, but she had trouble shaking off the disturbing revelation in the tunnel. The woman she’d thought was Thomas walked just ahead of her, two men on either side. She was guarded by two as well, and the fifth masked gunman was directly behind her. The Russians were well armed—two had AK-47s—and all were so precise and coordinated in their actions she suspected they had a military background.