the 13th Hour (35 page)

Julia loved her secretary, an organized yin to her frenetic yang.

She thought of calling Nick to tell him of her plans, but figured he was in the midst of business and didn't want to disturb him.

And so she settled back in her seat, pulled out a magazine, and indulged herself with a little me-time while waiting for takeoff.

* * *

D
ETECTIVE
B
OB
S
HANNON
pulled into the driveway of Washington House in his black Mustang Cobra, his single indulgence in life. He didn't play golf, didn't fish, wasn't much for cards, but he'd loved muscle cars since he was a kid, and with no wife to talk him out of it, he bought the '99 used Shelby Cobra for $38,800, keeping its black finish factory new with a weekly buff and polish.

Dance, Brinehart, Randall, Arilio, and Sam turned in surprise as he got out of the car.

"Guys," Shannon said with a nod as he walked toward them.

"Hey, Shannon," Brinehart said, acting as if they were best friends.

Shannon ignored him, keeping his full attention on Dance.

"I thought you were at the station," Dance said, "following up on the arrest of those kids from the Bronx who got caught jacking cars over on Wampus Lake Drive."

"Yeah, well. I got a call."

Everyone turned to watch as Nick stepped out of the passenger seat, staring back at everyone.

"You guys responded, too, huh?" Shannon continued.

Dance just stared at him.

"The robbery . . . ?" Shannon said, pointing out the reason for his visit.

"Yeah," Brinehart blurted out, to the consternation of Dance.

"This guy," Shannon thumbed his finger back at Nick as he cast his eyes on the young Brinehart. "He called you, too?"

Brinehart knew better than to make the same mistake twice.

". . . Because the robbery wasn't mentioned over the radio."

The air grew thick. All eyes focused on Dance, who just stood there without a hint of emotion on his face.

"I want to know what the hell is going on," Shannon said, an edge growing in his voice, the tendons in his neck distending as he fought to hold back his anger.

"Who's this guy?" Brinehart said, alluding to Nick.

"Never mind that," Shannon snapped at Brinehart as his eyes bored into Dance. "Answer my question, Ethan, what are you doing here?"

Dance looked at Brinehart and Randall, who remained calm, while Sam adjusted his sunglasses, taking a step back against the building, trying to disappear.

"Who are you?" Shannon said, glaring at Sam.

"I'm--" Sam stuttered, his hands shaking.

Brinehart walked around Nick, standing directly behind him. "And who are
you
?"

Brinehart's arm shot out, snatching the pistol from the back of Nick's waistband. "What the hell is this? You a cop?"

Shannon looked at the gun and back to Nick. "You didn't tell me you were armed."

"Considering the day I've had," Nick said, "I thought it was a good idea."

"Dance," Shannon turned back to his partner. "This guy said you're here to steal, let me see if I remember this: four gold swords, two rapiers, three sabers, five daggers, three guns, a bag of diamonds, and," he paused, "some kind of box."

Everyone remained silent.

"Look," Shannon softened his tone. "You haven't done anything yet, why don't you get in your cars, get out of here, and we'll forget about this?"

"You the type that would rat on a fellow officer?" Brinehart interrupted.

"You've been a cop for what, a year? Please. Don't give me this blue code of silence shit." He turned back to Dance. "Ethan, what the hell are you doing?"

Dance stared for a moment, all ears waiting on him.

"You might forget, but he won't," Dance said, pointing a finger at Nick.

Dance suddenly pulled his pistol and shoved it into Shannon's gut.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Shannon exploded, not bothering to look at the gun. "Put that thing away before I shove it down your throat, dammit. I'm your cousin."

And without breaking eye contact, Dance pulled the trigger.

The bullet ripped into Shannon's stomach, knocking him back.

But Shannon didn't go down. He took three steps forward and grabbed Dance by the neck, slamming him against the building, choking the life out of him.

And Dance shot him again in the gut.

This time Shannon teetered on wobbly legs, stumbling backward, finally collapsing.

Dance's cohorts swung their heads, looking for witnesses.

Nick stood there in shock, watching the life bleed out of Shannon.

"That's great," Brinehart's voice cracked. "You just killed a cop. In front of a witness, no less."

"Cuff him," Dance said, pointing his gun at Nick.

"You going to kill him, too?" Sam finally said, his voice panicked.

Dance walked over to Nick and pulled out his wallet, reading his license. "So, Mr. Quinn, how'd you know what was going on here?"

"Quinn?" Sam said. "That's the name of Hennicot's lady attorney. Are you going to kill him?"

"Why would I kill a suspect? We've got someone connected to this place to pin this on now. Killing a cop's a capital offense," Dance said as he looked at Nick, patting his cheek in a taunting fashion. "Sucks for you."

J
ULIA WATCHED AS
the stewardess pulled the cabin door closed and turned the crank, sealing them in.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have now closed the cabin door and ask that all cell phones and pagers be turned off for the duration of our flight. You must also turn off all electronic devices until such time as we are airborne and give the direction that you may resume using them."

Julia quickly dialed Nick's phone. Finding it going directly to voicemail she quickly spoke. "Hi, honey. I love you. I'm sorry about our fight over having dinner with the Mullers. Not to worry, if you really feel strongly, I'll cancel them. I've got something better planned. Just us. I'm running up to Boston for a quick meeting. Sorry I didn't tell you that--"

"--I'm sorry, ma'am," the stewardess interrupted as she leaned down. "The cabin doors are closed, all cell phones must be turned off."

"Sorry," Julia mouthed. "Honey, I have to go, I love you. I'll call you when we land."

Julia ended the call. "Sorry about that."

"I never fly without squeezing one last call to my husband either," the stewardess said. She smiled and headed to the galley.

Julia couldn't wait to see the surprise on Nick's face when she told him about the baby.

And she turned off her cell phone, tucking it back into her purse. She put her head back against the soft leather seat, her thoughts still on her husband as she closed her eyes for a quick nap.

"P
UT THEM BOTH
in the back of my car," Dance said. Brinehart and Arilio opened the door of Dance's Taurus and hoisted the body of Robert Shannon into the backseat. Brinehart turned to Nick, his hands cuffed behind his back, and took him by the arm.

"Better yet, Brinehart, you stay out here, keep an eye out." Dance took Nick by the arm. "Why don't you just come with us and smile for the cameras."

Sam turned to the door and slipped his key in the lock. "We're four minutes behind schedule."

"And we'll be five minutes behind if you don't quit jabbering. I really don't give a shit, everyone will have to work twice as fast."

They all pulled on surgical gloves.

"Don't forget our new partner," Dance said, handing Nick off to Sam.

"Yeah, right." Sam said, pushing Nick up next to the door. "For all the world to see."

Sam hoisted the two duffel bags onto his shoulder, ran his security pass over the scanner, turned the key, and opened the door. He pulled a small box from his bag, a clear red half dome atop it. He flicked a switch on its side and affixed it to the wall. He moved quickly through the house to the whitewashed wood veneer door. He affixed another box to the kitchen counter, flipped the switch, and gave out a low whistle.

Everyone came in behind him.

Again, Sam passed his security card by the side of the door where the scanner was concealed, releasing the magna lock. He pulled back what he knew was a three-inch steel core barrier that led to a brightly lit set of carpeted stairs, the walls covered in a pale green fleur-de-lis wallpaper.

Sam took Nick by the arm, leading him along, ensuring his face was prominently displayed to the hidden camera in the stairwell wall, while shielding himself.

"Wait until I have the door opened and the cameras disabled," Sam said to Dance, Randall, and Arilio, holding them up at the top of the stairs.

Sam and Nick arrived at the basement door, made of brushed steel and lacking doorknobs or hinges. Nick knew it well, having passed through it several hours ago his time but several hours in the future for everyone else.

Sam pulled the octagonal key from his pocket and triple-checked that the letter D was on top.

"Make sure the letter D is on top or we may not only get locked out but locked in," Nick said with a smile.

"How the hell did you know that?" Sam shouted at Nick. You could hear the fear in his voice.

"Lucky guess," Nick said. "But before your friend Dance catches up, you may want to know that he's going to kill you. I know he's going to dump Brinehart and Arilio in the reservoir."

"You think I trust Dance? You think I haven't already taken steps to protect myself?"

"And how will you protect yourself from your brother, Paul? He knows what's going on."

"That's how you know everything. You work for him, don't you?" Sam was getting angry. "Don't you?"

"Actually, he hasn't met me yet. Wouldn't know my name or face if he was standing in front of me."

"What the hell are the two of you talking about?" Dance shouted from the top of the stairs. "Time's ticking. We've only got ten minutes."

Sam slipped the key into the octagonal lock, the letter D on top, as Nick had said. He entered his brother's Social Security number in the keypad on the wall, ran the security pass three times by the card reader, turned the key, and pushed open the two-ton door.

Sam knew there was a breach alarm on the steel vault door for unscheduled openings; he knew that it didn't go to the police as most alarms did, but rather, signaled Dreyfus Security and Hennicot's attorney. But by the time they were notified and reacted, he would already be gone.

Sam had actually read all of the schematics on the breach alarm and knew how to disable it. It was, in fact, quite simple to take out of service. But the breach alarm was not just for notification, it was also the trigger for the secondary protocols. Not only were the video feeds routed to Hennicot's attorney's office, but the secondary cameras not on any grid or plan were activated, their images sent to an encrypted file--cameras whose location he knew and would avoid but that would now capture Dance and his men as they came down the stairs.

It was his insurance policy, the leverage he would use when Dance turned on him. He knew there was no honor among thieves, and the warning, uttered by Quinn, that Dance would kill everyone, was no surprise to him. It merely confirmed a fear he had lived with for the last month and a betrayal that he had prepared for. But it was fear he could live with, a risk he was willing to take in order to get the box in Hennicot's safe.

"Okay, Dance," Sam said.

And the detective, Randall, and Arilio came down the stairs to stand in the small vestibule next to Nick.

A
S THE STEEL
vault door swung open, Nick saw the large glass table prominently displayed, its glass top pure, unmarred--not violated, as it had been when he saw it five hours from now. Within the case he saw the swords and daggers, the rapiers and sabers, and most specifically, the gold-inlaid Colt Peacemaker that would be used to kill Julia.

With his surgical-gloved hand, Sam pulled four more small boxes from his duffel bags, half-moon, red glass domes on each. He spun Nick around. "Hold this," he said as he placed one of the boxes in Nick's restrained hands. "Fingerprints can be so telling."

"Nice touch," Dance said with a smile.

"Wait here," Sam continued, as if Nick were capable of doing otherwise in his handcuffed state, with three armed men standing around him.

Sam took the box back from Nick, flipped the switches on the sides of the boxes, and ran into the room, affixing a box on the wall opposite the door before running off through the basement area.

Thirty seconds later he was back. "Let's go, all cameras jammed."