The Hit (16 page)

The rain seemed to want to linger, and Robie turned on his windshield wipers and watched them shove the water off the glass. He looked at his watch. Anytime now. There was a line of cars waiting to pick up students. There was no bus service at the school, although there was a stop across the street for a public bus.

A few seconds later the doors to the school opened and the students started to stream out. Robie got out of the car when he saw
her, turned up his collar against the light rain, and jogged across the street.

Julie was walking near the back of a group of girls. She had her earbuds in and was pecking away on her smartphone. She had come a long way in a short time, thought Robie. When he first met her she couldn’t afford a phone of any kind.

He let the group of girls pass and then stepped forward.

Julie stopped, looked up, and Robie could see first happiness and then anger on her features.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Fulfilling my promise to come and see you.”

“Little late for that.”

“Is it?”

The rain started to fall harder.

“You need a ride home?” he asked as he saw her shiver.

“I take the bus across the street.”

Robie turned to see a bus gliding to a stop at the far curb. “I thought after last time you’d never get on another bus.”

Robie could see a glimmer of a smile on her face and sought to press this advantage. “I can drive you. We can talk. I can check up on Jerome. Make sure he’s being a good guardian.”

“He’s fine. I told you.”

“Nothing like seeing it for myself.”

“I don’t want you to be here just because you feel shitty about how you’ve treated me.”

“I do feel shitty, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“Why, then?”

“Can we get out of the rain?”

“Afraid of melting?”

He pointed to her earbuds and phone. “Don’t want you to be electrocuted.”

“Right,” she said sarcastically.

But she followed him over to his car. They slid in and Robie started the engine and drove off.

Julie pulled on her seat belt. “So why are you really here?” she asked again.

“Unfinished business.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“You’re not making this easy.”

“Why should I? You dissed me, but I bet you’ve seen super agent Vance plenty of times.”

“I have, but only once and it was for professional reasons. She was trying to pick my brain on something.”

“More murders?”

“Why do you say that?”

“What else could it be? You and Vance deal in dead bodies. Lots of them.”

“I guess I can see that.”

“But you still got together with her.”

“It’s different.”

“Not to me.”

Robie frowned. “Is this a competition?”

“It’s about being a man of your word, Robie. I don’t like people lying to me. If you didn’t want to see me again all you had to do was say so. No sweat.”

“You think it’s that simple?”

“It should be.”

“I’m here because I was wrong.”

“About what?” she asked.

“I wanted to protect you. I should have known better.”

“What do you mean?”

“In my line of work you make enemies. I wanted to keep those people away from you. I wanted you to have a fresh start. All old ties gone. I wanted you to have a shot at happiness.”

“Are you bullshitting me?” she said.

“Happiness is elusive. I wanted a clean break for you. You almost died with me. I didn’t want that to happen again.”

“So why not tell me that up front?”

“Because I was an idiot.”

“I don’t think so, Will,” she said in a softer tone.

“You know you call me Robie when you’re pissed at me and Will when you’re not?”

“Then try not to make me go back to calling you Robie.”

He slowed for a red light and glanced over at her. “Maybe I wanted to do exactly what I told you I would. Maybe I wanted to keep in touch. Maybe…”

“Maybe you just wanted to be
normal
.”

The light turned green and Robie started off again. He didn’t speak for a few seconds.

“Maybe I did.”

The rain started to come down more heavily.

“I think that was the most honest thing you’ve said to me.”

“You’re way too mature for fourteen.”

“I’m fourteen in years. Not in experience. I wish I wasn’t.”

Robie nodded. “I understand that.” He looked at her. “We cool now?”

“We’re getting there. Maybe… Will.”

Robie smiled and then eyed the rearview mirror. He registered on the car not immediately behind him but the one behind that.

“What is it?”

He turned to see Julie staring at him.

She said, “I know that look. Is someone back there who shouldn’t be?”

Robie thought quickly. It couldn’t be. There was no way. But then again, why not? Everything that had happened so far had been totally unpredictable.

Now the problem was obvious. He had Julie with him. If he dropped her off she was vulnerable. If he kept her with him she was likely going to be in danger.

He glanced at her again and she seemed to pick up on the anxiety he was feeling.

“Look, when you get nervous, I get scared. What’s going on?”

“I should have followed my gut, Julie, and just left you alone. This is exactly the reason I needed to stay away from you.”

Julie started to look back, but Robie snapped, “Don’t. They’ll know we’ve spotted them.”

“So what do we do?”

“We keep driving normally.”

“That’s it? That’s the plan?”

“We keep driving normally until something happens to make us stop.”

“Okay, that sounds more like it. Then what?”

“We just have to see what happens.”

Robie tightened his grip on the wheel and cast another glance in the rearview. The car was still back there. It seemed to be driving normally too. Robie could be wrong. But he knew he wasn’t. He’d been doing this too long.

So who was following him? His people or somebody else? And if somebody else?

It couldn’t be Jessica Reel. That would break every rule in the book. But maybe that was her strategy. Breaking the rules made you unpredictable.

Well
, he thought,
I can play that game too.

R
OBIE KEPT AT THE PACE
of the traffic, making no sudden swerves and looking like any other motorist on the road. Then he decided to cut to the chase and see if the threat back there was real or imagined. It would only be a little feint, but it would draw a response if the threat was real.

He put on his right turn signal.

“Will, my house isn’t that way,” said Julie.

“Hold tight. Just doing a little test.”

He glanced in the rearview. The third car was keeping directly behind the second one, so he couldn’t see what he needed to. That in itself was telling. He swung the car out just a hair, to get it beyond the car in between.

Still nothing. The other car wasn’t taking the bait.

Then he slowed and glanced back at a building across the street. In the reflection off the plate glass he saw the right turn signal illuminated on the third car.

Okay. Base established, he looked back up ahead as the intersection approached.

He started to turn right but then went straight through the intersection.

The car between them turned right. The second car was now exposed.

Its turn signal was no longer illuminated. It went straight ahead, but slowed to allow another car to pull in between.

Drivers in D.C. are not that nice
, Robie thought.

And the decision to mimic his movements and go through the intersection had erased all doubt from his mind.

“Are we being followed?” asked Julie.

He glanced down at her. “Seat belt tight?”

She gave it a tug. “I’m good. You armed?”

He touched his chest. “I’m good.”

“What’s the plan?”

Robie didn’t have time to answer. The car following them suddenly accelerated and came up next to them. Robie was about to hit the gas and take evasive action when he relaxed.

“Vance?” he exclaimed.

The FBI agent was indeed driving the other car.

Vance motioned to him to pull over. Robie turned down a side street and jacked the car into park. He was out of the car before Vance had a chance to take off her seat belt. He opened her car door.

“What the hell are you doing?” he snapped.

“Why so pissed?”

“I spotted a tail. You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you.”

She slipped off her seat belt and got out. She looked over to see Julie standing next to Robie’s car.

“Hi, Julie,” she said.

Julie nodded at her and then looked tentatively at Robie.

He said, “Explain, Vance. Why were you following me?”

“Are you always this paranoid?”

“Yeah, I am. Especially these days.”

“I wasn’t tailing you.”

“Oh, you just happened by here at the same time I was coming through?” Robie said skeptically.

“No. I saw you pick Julie up.”

“And why were you here at all?”

Vance looked in Julie’s direction and said in a low voice, “I think she might still be a target for some.”

Robie took a step back. “What do you know that I don’t?”

“Only that the Saudi had deep pockets and lots of allies. Julie is
known to them.
I’m
known to them. But at least I have the Bureau covering my back. What does Julie have?” she added pointedly.

Robie took another step back and glanced in Julie’s direction. He didn’t know if Julie could hear them or not, but she was looking anxious.

“She’s got me,” he said quietly.

“Not until today. I was surprised to see you at the school waiting for her.”

“Maybe I surprised myself,” Robie said in a guilty tone.

Vance took a step toward him and her tone softened. “That’s not a bad thing, Robie.” She paused. “Who did you think I was?”

He glanced up. “It’s sort of standard procedure in my line of work to be on the alert.”

“Are you sure that’s all?”

He shook his head wearily. “Why do I feel every time I’m around you it’s an interrogation?”

“Because it’s the only way I can ever get anything out of you,” said Vance in exasperation. “And even then I always come away feeling like I know even less about you than I did before I asked. So if you’re feeling frustrated, so am I.” She paused and said in a calmer tone, “I know that your agency is on high alert after what happened to Jim Gelder.”

Robie didn’t respond to this.

“And add to that Doug Jacobs and maybe you guys have a shitstorm going on.” She moved a step closer. “I didn’t buy the DTRA cover. He was agency all the way. Probably a handler or an analyst.”

“Will,” called out Julie. “I’d like to get home. I’ve got a lot of home work to do.”

Robie said, “One sec.” He turned to Vance. “The less you know about all of this, the better. I’m asking as a professional courtesy that you back off on this.”

Vance was shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “Doesn’t work that way, Robie. You should know I can’t back off. I’ve got a job to do. No punches pulled. Just the way it is.”

She looked over at Julie before continuing. “And if it is a shitstorm then I’d follow your gut and keep far away from Julie. Taking out
the number two at the agency? I don’t think those types of people will balk at snuffing out the life of a fourteen-year-old.”

She got back into her car and drove off. Robie watched her until she turned the corner and was gone.

Julie walked over to Robie. “What was that all about with super agent Vance?”

Robie said nothing, and Julie looked away in disappointment. “Just take me home,
Robie
,” she said curtly.

They got into the car and drove off.

Behind them a car pulled around the corner from where it had been parked and started to follow them.

Jessica Reel was driving.

R
EEL KEPT HER DISTANCE
, figuring that Robie would still be on alert, but not as much as before. She had gotten quite a gift when Vance had shown up and started following Robie. That had allowed Reel to shadow him while he believed it was only Vance.