Zack (In the Company of Snipers Book 3) (27 page)

“And this little piggy had roast beef, but this little piggy had none.”

Mei watched Junior Agent Rory Dennison rocking the very unsmiling Baby Song on his lap while he tugged at her bare toes. She didn’t seem to be afraid of him, but neither did she seem to know how to respond to the simple childhood game. He continued despite her stoic expression, her lips pursed like she had a lot to think about.

“And this little piggy went to market.” His dark brows raised in comic surprise when he latched onto her middle toe. “Oh no! But this little piggy stayed home.”

Baby Song’s dark eyes fell to her foot only to return quickly to Rory’s face.

“What did the tiniest little piggy say?” he asked, his forehead pressed to hers as if he expected an answer.

Mei allowed a small smile. Zack needed to see the serious look on Baby Song’s pretty face. The little girl just did not get the concept of social interaction yet, which stood to reason. A child raised in a playpen her first two years of life had a huge hurdle to overcome. The only indication she’d ever given that she might be breaking through the mindset in her love-deprived little brain was with Zack. Whatever bond they had, it had been forged in that single moment back in the foster home.

Rory brought the rocking chair to a sudden halt. He wiggled Song’s baby toe. She studied him sternly, not cracking the slightest hint of a smile.

“This teeny, tiny baby toe said, ‘Wee, wee, wee, all the way home’.” He sat back still wiggling his eyebrows, again as if he expected a response.

Song settled against him with a big yawn.

Rory grinned, wrapping her bare foot into the blanket and rocking again. “Yep. Just like I planned. Bored her into another nap.”

“Do you have any kids?” Mei had to ask. He seemed so natural with children.

“What? In a job like this?” He arched a devilish brow at her, not exactly offering a direct answer. Mei let it go. He called to Connor, who was busy in the kitchen. “How’s lunch coming?”

“Grilled chicken sandwiches are almost ready,” Connor replied. “Warming the baby bottle. You want to feed the Princess again?”

“Heck yeah,” Rory answered.

The fact that she was once more under guard and unable to search for her daughter, did not escape Mei. She’d been fighting her anxiety since Zack returned to work earlier, but these two bodyguards helped ease the situation. Both were as easy on the eye as they were on her ragged emotions. Rory was the proverbial tall, dark, and handsome type who’d instantly taken to Song. Easy-going Connor maintained the computer support, and volunteered to fix all the meals. The only thing that would make her life complete was LiLi. And Zack.

BLAM!

Zack ducked, the hiss of a damned big shell warming his earlobe as it impacted with the two-by-four wall stud behind him. He’d intended to get out of the basement while Debargio and Espinosa moved Lord outside. That was not going to happen.

“We got us a prowler,” Espinosa yelled from the top of the basement stairs.

“Move over, Vinnie!” Debargio growled. “You’re in my way.”

BLAM! Another volley peppered the sheetrock around Zack. Dust and plaster flew. Wood splintered, hitting the back of his head and neck enough to pepper him, but not enough to knock him out. He brushed it off. Dying in Lord’s basement was not an option.

“I got him!” Vinnie yelled.

Zack charged, his Ruger spitting round after round as he dived to the floor, aiming his weapon up the staircase and into the hefty bodies blocking the door. He saw one round hit the center mass of Espinosa. The man didn’t go down, even as the narrow chute of the stairway transformed into a shooting galley. Zack expelled his spent magazine and reloaded his spare in one smooth move, not willing to waste a second of the time he had left.

The damnedest thought flashed through his head.
I should have married Mei.

Espinosa fell, or was shoved to the side by Debargio. Zack could not tell. All he knew was Espinosa was no longer shooting. Debargio filled the doorway, aiming a damned big .45 Magnum down the stairs. Zack took careful aim, but Debargio dropped to his knees, the side of his face gone in a splash of red spray. Both men were down.

What the hell?

Zack rolled to his knees, his smoking hot weapon still pointed to the second floor where the nice clean kitchen had once been. He had to be sure. With his ears ringing, he climbed the steps, his Ruger extended in both hands, ready to finish the job once and for all. It became quickly apparent who’d saved the day.

The north facing windows were shattered. Both gangsters were missing parts of their skulls, some of their brains, and a lot of blood. He’d gotten a few body shots in, but it was David and Roy who’d sniped these thugs. Through the kitchen windows, no less.

Zack stepped over the sprawled remains, damned ready to get the hell out of the Lord estate. The ringing in his ears cleared as he made his way through the kitchen.

“You copy?” David’s voice was as calm as ever in Zack’s earpiece.

Before he could answer, Murphy shot back an angry volley. “Sonofabitch! Do I copy what?”

“Zack.”

No wonder Murphy was spun up. David was so calm, while Murphy was pinging. The two did not mix well. Zack opened his mouth to advise his status, but once again his anxious second-in-command pre-empted him with an angry bellow. “Damn it to hell, David! You got Zack or not?”

“Yes, Murphy. Got him in my sights. Safe and sound.”

Zack allowed a weary smile when Murphy snarled back to David. “I am too damned old for this bullshit!”

Ah. The brotherhood of men who’ve got your back. Nothing in the world like it.

He pushed open the side door and stumbled into the fresh December air. Cold had never felt so good. But like he often did after the battle was done, he grabbed his knees and threw up. After he wiped his mouth, he holstered his pistol as Murphy roared up to him, mad as hell.

“You okay?” Zack eyed the older man as he peeled his earpiece off.

“Me? Am I okay?” Murphy was steaming. “How about you tell me why you shut your comm link off and left me high and dry without a word outta you?”

Before Zack could answer, Murphy pushed him back a foot as adrenaline took charge. The older man was shaking. Zack got it. He was shaking, too.

“Next thing I know, all hell breaks loose. You don’t answer me and all I hear is the whole damned world falling apart, only I don’t have a clue where you are or what you’re doing!” Murphy yelled, stabbing a finger in Zack’s chest with every step he took. Before he was done, Zack was back at the side door, too weak to resist his friend’s panic-motivated battering. “What kind of bullshit is that, Lennox? You want to tell me?”

Zack accepted the brunt of Murphy’s wrath. He’d just crawled out of the mouth of hell. He didn’t mind the butt-chewing he was getting. Murphy was scared. Hell,
he
was scared. Finnegan’s wrath was nothing compared to what could have happened down in the cellar. Zack huffed the only answer he had. “Interference...from their furnace motor...I think. All I know is, I lost communication...when the furnace cycled on. Couldn’t hear any of you.”

Murphy stared, blowing out great plumes of vapor into the frigid air. He was still shaking with too much anger and not enough relief, his fists clenched, and Zack prepared for a literal beat down.

Go on, Murph. Hit me. Maybe then I’ll feel better, too.

“I’d never not check in with you.” Zack panted his own adrenaline away. “Damned glad you got through to me. You saved my life.”

Murphy brushed Zack’s hand off and stalked away, muttering, “Damn kids. You think you’re all so sonofabitchin’ smart.”

“Don’t worry. He’ll cool off,” Roy offered. “It just scared the hell out of us when we lost contact. Almost came in after you.”

Zack nodded, still blowing the excess adrenaline away. “Me, too. Man, what a mess.”

“We saw the tubs Debargio and Espinosa hauled out,” Roy said, nodding to the open carriage-house garage doors. “Were those what I think they were?”

“Yeah. Lord and his wife. Guess Dom and Vinnie got stuck doing their own dirty work.”

“Are you okay?” David peered into Zack’s face.

“You need a minute?” Roy asked.

“My ears are still ringing,” Zack admitted.
Hell, my whole body’s ringing.

“What happened?” Murphy was back, his eyes sharp and red-rimmed. “After you lost contact. What happened?”

Zack recounted the gory comedy of Dom and Vinnie. “They must’ve seen me. All I know is I heard your warning come through and the next thing, Debargio and Espinosa are firing at me. Bastards damned near hit me.” Zack turned his head to show where the splinters had imbedded into the back of his head and neck. “I got a couple hits in, but man, those guys were big. They just would not go down.”

“So how’d you get out of there?” Murphy had his arms crossed, still a little hot under the collar.

“I had some help.” Zack nodded his chin toward David and Roy.

David gave one short, quick nod.

“Thanks, man.” Zack clamped his shoulder. “Damned good shooting through the back window. And you.” He turned to Roy. “I owe you guys.”

Roy wiped his eyes. “Nah. Couldn’t let you get yourself killed now that you finally got something worth living for, could I?”

Zack gulped at the very accurate assessment of his life. Roy was spot on. He had everything to live for and these two snipers to thank.

“You’re a stupid kid, you know that, Lennox?” Murphy grabbed Zack by the back of his neck and hauled him in for one of those chest bump kind of man hugs. “Thought you was smarter than that.”

Speechless, Zack could only slap Murphy’s back and endure the fatherly praise.

“So who were these guys waiting for?” Roy asked.

“Don’t know,” Zack muttered. “Debargio mentioned they had a boss. You guys know who that might be?”

“No,” Murphy replied. “With these two dead, seems to me we’re running out of bosses.”

“We may never know.” David glanced at the house. “It’s a crime scene now. Re-entering would be tampering with evidence. It’s up to the police.”

“How do we explain us being inside?” Zack asked. He hadn’t worried when it was just breaking and entering. Murder gave it a whole new spin.

“We tell the truth,” Roy said calmly. “As far as the police are concerned, we were following up on an Interpol operation. We noticed Dom and Vinnie’s van and we suspected foul play. Heck, tell ’em about Gus and Dick, Lord too. Let Peters do some explaining for a change.”

“Tell us what they said again,” David asked.

“Debargio distinctly said their boss didn’t want them to set Lord’s place on fire. Vinnie argued, but Dom said the boss wanted time to get out of town,” Zack answered.

The TEAM had reconvened back in their own Situation Room the next morning instead of reporting to Director Peters. The fire department had released the office portion of the arson crime scene, as long as everyone entered through the lobby and utilized the front stairway. The elevator and parking garage were off limits but the office was intact, more or less.

Kelsey called earlier to let Murphy know Alex was doing better. He’d had a good night’s sleep and except for his hearing loss, he was feeling better. She’d laughed. He insisted he was going to install a hot tub in their backyard while he was off work and recuperating. Even sick, the man couldn’t hold still.

David had invited all agents to the conference table, even junior agents Mark Houston and Harley Mortimer, who’d barely returned from Afghanistan and had their own debriefing to look forward to. Mother and Ember attended as well.

“Hell, who’s left?” Roy muttered. He ticked the names off his fingers. “First Brown, then Carducci, Gus, Dick, Senator Lord, his wife, Debargio, and Espinosa. That’s eight murders, not counting the baby in the morgue. Am I missing anyone?”

Zack rubbed a hand over his head. “Todd,” he muttered, surprised Roy could have forgotten.

“You’re right.” Roy added another finger. “Sorry. Damned near Alex too. That’s nine murders and one attempted.”

“Maybe Dom and Vinnie were sick of working for Lord,” Murphy offered. “You guys know how gangsters operate. They’ve got no problem killing each other.”

Zack spoke up. “No, they were following someone else’s orders. Someone is still out there running the show. Besides, I was there. I saw those guys in Lord’s basement. They weren’t bright enough to hit a U. S. Senator without being told or paid to do it.”

“It’s like we’re going around in a big old circle here, only we keep ending back at Lord,” Murphy muttered.

“Like we’re being led.” Zack frowned.

“Damn, but you guys have been busy.” Harley squinted at the overhead screen, ruffling a hand over his sandy-colored hair as he yawned. “And here I thought only us in the field did any real work.”

“You don’t mind if I take over for a minute, do you, David?” Mark snagged the laser pointer and focused on the overhead screen.

“No. Feel free. That’s why you’re here.” David leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh. “I think the rest of us are too close to this operation. Murphy and Zack are right. Despite all we think we know, it feels like we’re going around in circles.”

“It sounds like it’s been an ugly operation,” Mark agreed. “I guess if we follow Murphy and Zack’s gut, the real question is—”

“Who the hell’s left?” Zack growled. “What are we not seeing?”

“It’s impossible to quantify feelings.” Mark scanned everyone at the table. “Let’s look at the evidence differently. Where’d all this good information come from?”

“Most of it came from me and Ember.” Mother spoke timidly as if she might incriminate herself. “The boss asked us to track some transactions. Ember came up with a boatload in the Caymans. They all originated in China.”

Zack glanced at Ember, still wearing dark glasses and plenty of black.

“We’re not worried about you and Ember. Who else provided information?” Mark asked.

“Alex,” David offered thoughtfully. “He worked privately with Interpol Director Daniel Peters. Peters gave him the FBI dossiers on Debargio and Lord.”

“Definitely not worried about Alex. So what about the FBI?” Mark asked.

“They’re a pain in the ass to work with,” Roy offered.

“They don’t share intel,” Zack said.

“They’re arrogant,” Murphy remarked.

“They don’t do thorough reconnaissance,” Harley said.

“They think one death is acceptable collateral damage,” Mark answered his own question with a subdued voice.

“And they have the easiest firewalls around to hack.” Mother smiled, but then her eyes widened at what had come out of her mouth. “I mean...umm, not that I would ever do such a thing. I might know someone who said they knew someone who mighta done something like that. Maybe. Once upon a time. A long time ago.”

Mark cast a sideways smirk at Mother’s unexpected disclosure. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Listen folks, I know we don’t care to work with the FBI, and yes, they’re a pain in the ass, but I’d like to think we’re on the same side. What was in the dossiers?”

“Alex didn’t want the information shared.” David pursed his lips. “But it did prove the links between Huang, Lord, Carducci, and Debargio.”

“But did it prove Lord was Huang?” Mark asked.

“No. It only proved someone in Mainland China made deposits to specific accounts in the Caymans.”

“We need to see those dossiers,” Zack said. “Then we need Mother and Ember to double-check everything in them. It sure looks like we’ve trusted our federal brethren a little too quickly.”

“Like Carducci,” Murphy commented drily. “Sure didn’t see that coming.”

“We heard about it over in Afghanistan. It’s pretty bad when you’ve got to cross-check the government folks who hire you in the first place,” Harley said. “Man, I’m suffering from jet lag something awful. I need coffee. Y’all go ahead with your arguing and I’ll be right back. Clear me a spot on the table. I’m bringing the twenty-cup percolator.” With that, he headed out.

“Don’t forget the creamer,” Roy called after him.

“Okay, so we talk to Alex, check out what’s in those FBI files, and then we’ll know for sure if Lord is the top dog in this fight, if he’s really the Chinese mastermind known as Huang.” Mark glanced at Mother and Ember. “You know that means you two will be doing all the double-checking, don’t you?”

“Not a problem,” Mother replied. “It’s what we do, Mark honey.”

Ember nodded, and Zack wanted to reach out and give her a hug. Her current choice of black hair dye only made her look scrawny and sad, like she was drowning and no one could save her. Survivor’s guilt slapped him down. That stupid gangster had intended to kill him, not Todd. Looking at poor Ember, Zack almost wished he’d been the one to die that day. Did she wish the same? Did she blame him? He couldn’t help but wonder, because he sure as hell blamed himself.

“Enough said about the FBI. What about Director Peters? What information did he provide?” Mark drew a red laser circle around the Interpol director’s name on the screen.

David’s brows furrowed. “Alex met privately with Director Peters several times. I wasn’t privy to those meetings, but according to Alex, Interpol has no hard evidence Huang exists. He supposedly has a private home in China, but no one has a photo of the man. Peters was the one who provided Alex with copies of the Huang emails that originated right here in D.C.”

Mark glanced at Ember. “Did you double-check what Peters provided Alex?”

Ember nodded. “I was the one who tracked the IP address to Lord. It was easy. In fact,” she turned to Zack, “it was too easy.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked gently. This was the first time she’d addressed him since Todd’s murder. He couldn’t see her eyes through the dark glasses, but in her own way she’d reached out to him.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “But it was like you said. I was being led. I didn’t think of it until....” Her voice trailed away. Of course she hadn’t noticed it. She’d been consumed with grief. The poor woman should be on some kind of antidepressant, but Zack knew why she wasn’t. Same reason he wasn’t.

“Would you mind taking another look at them?” he asked. “Maybe look past Lord. Maybe we were only seeing what Peters told us to see.”

She pushed away from the table. “Sure. I can do that.”

He turned to Mother. “How long would it take you to double-check the Interpol findings on Huang?”

“By double-check, do you mean
double-check
?” Mother’s eyes were wide with surprise. “I mean, it’s Interpol, Boss, I mean, Zack. I’ve never
double-checked
Interpol files before. I’m not real sure how long it will take to get into their, umm, mainframe.” She cringed when she said the last word. The truth was out, like everyone didn’t already know she dabbled in the black art of hacking.

“Yeah, but you’re the
Mother around here
, right?” Mark repeated her often-stated self-declaration. “Who else could do it if not you or Ember?”

“I didn’t say I couldn’t do it. I just haven’t done it before. It’s probably as easy as pie.” Mother’s eyes twinkled as she and Ember headed out to their shared workstation. “Sure good to have you back home, Mark honey.”

“Okay,” Mark continued while everyone else smirked at her
motherly
endearment. “What else do we know about this Director Peters guy? He’s beginning to look interesting.”

“Right after we lost Agent Chandler, he told Alex to butt out of the Mainland China investigation,” Zack muttered, thankful Ember was no longer in the room. “He said that was Interpol’s jurisdiction, that he’d go after Huang himself.”

“We heard about Agent Chandler in Afghanistan.” Mark’s voice softened. “That was a hard break. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” David replied. “It was hard on everyone, but I have to ask–how are you hearing about office business while you’re overseas on a remote op?”

Mark nodded toward the outer office. “Someone keeps us informed, but you already know that.”

David sighed. “I’m glad it’s Mother and not someone else. I guess.”

“We don’t need a leak. We’ve got Mother,” Zack said. “But now that I think about it, didn’t Director Peters work with Alex on the emergency response plan to evacuate and take down the foster homes? Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we rescued those little girls, but didn’t it all go down a little too smoothly? I mean, I wasn’t there, but I heard the FBI and police swarmed in and grabbed everyone,” he snapped his fingers, “just like that, and no one got hurt. It couldn’t have gone smoother if Jun had invited the FBI over for coffee and said, ‘
Come on in, y’all’.
”

“Except you were lying in some hole in the mud, huh?” Mark’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Mother told you?” Zack grimaced. “Yeah. Not my finest moment.”

“It did go extremely easy, now that you mention it.” David’s answer was guarded.

“We were pretty stoked when we saved all those little girls,” Murphy said. “I mean it, Mark. You should’ve seen the foster homes. Looked more like warehouses.”

“It was quite an emotional event for the whole city, wasn’t it?” Mark asked.

“It hit us all pretty hard,” David agreed.

“So hard that you and Zack both have new daughters.” Mark smiled again.

“That’s it. I’m talking to Mother,” Zack exclaimed. “That woman can’t shut her mouth to save her life.”

“She can’t help it. We’re her family,” Mark replied. “But think about this op from the perspective of whoever’s running the show. Saving three hundred little girls distracted everyone, didn’t it? So, naturally, everyone thought the child trafficking ring was broken up for good. It’s what I would have thought.”

Zack’s mood had turned more serious with Mark’s fresh analysis of the evidence.

“Then Peters declared he’d take care of the China connection, which made perfect sense. It’s in his jurisdiction,” Mark continued.

Roy spoke up. “Now you’ve got me wondering. Were we missing the big picture all along?”

Mark shut off the laser pointer. “If Peters is the powerbroker behind this operation, what better way to make the problem go away than to make it look like it did when it really didn’t?”

“So everyone involved–the FBI, Metro PD, and us–we all go back to our jobs thinking we’ve done a great thing, saved all these girls, caught the bad guys, and—” Murphy said.

“And he opens up shop in a different city or country.” David finished the thought. “He cleans up loose ends here and—”

“My God. How big is this ring?” Zack interrupted.

“Alex did mention Peters was the Assistant Director in the Beijing Interpol office before he came to D.C.,” David replied. “He worked out of Hong Kong before that. In fact, he’s only been D.C. Director for two years.”

“He could have connections all over the world,” Murphy said.

“Certainly in China,” Zack said, the magnitude of what he was looking at worse than he imagined. Any business that could write off three hundred and eleven children as an acceptable business loss was beyond despicable.

“If what we suspect is true,” Mark said somberly, “we’ve just proved motive and means.”

“We need to see those FBI files. The sooner the better.” Zack couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “And we need to double-check every word that came out of Peters’ big mouth.”

“Let’s talk to Alex first,” Mark said. “I’ve got the same gut feeling. Give Kelsey a call. Tell her we’re on our way. Maybe Alex feels it too.”