Chapter 16
“I ’m really scared that something’ll go wrong.” Taryn’s heart slammed against her chest, as her nerves took over.
“Well, it could go wrong in all kinds of ways,” Alex replied. “Riff’s out there keeping a watch on the motel room, so they don’t disappear again.”
“What if the driver’s abusing Jack and John right this minute?” she whispered, her heart breaking.
“Riff said our driver’s been glued to the window, staring out, probably fully aware that he’s being tracked.”
“Whoever the hell he is, what if he gets nervous, sees us coming, then just dumps John and Jack somewhere or sells them fast and someone else takes them away? Maybe the buyer has a fail-safe plan in effect to save his rotten self, should any cops or whatever get too close.”
“If the buyer—or his representatives—do anything that renders him empty-handed, he will have given up his most tangible means to negotiate with the FBI.” When she just stared at him, not moved at all by that logic, Alex smiled. “I get it. I really do. I am all too aware of our situation, and, as far as you’re concerned, no one involved can be trusted. I don’t know that you’re right or wrong in this instance. I just know that we don’t have a whole lot of choices, and this is the FBI’s area of expertise, so we’ve got to at least trust them for that.”
One of the Feds looked over at him and snorted. “ Gee, thanks .”
Alex shrugged. “Taryn doesn’t have experience with any of this stuff,” he explained, “so what do you expect her to feel? At the moment you guys and the perps hold all the cards, and she’s all about these kids.”
The agent just nodded and didn’t say anything more.
As they kept watching and waiting, a phone rang. All the FBI agents jumped, galvanized into action. Taryn’s eyebrows went up, and Alex placed a finger against her lips and whispered, “It’s probably him .” She nodded, wide-eyed, as she listened to the buyer, in a frail wispy computer-generated voice, spelling out his demands. He finished with, “I’ll call back.” Then he quickly disconnected.
“That wasn’t enough time to track him, was it?” Taryn asked.
The Feds looked over at her, and one of them shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”
“Of course.” Taryn added, “If there’s anything we can do, just let us know.” When they looked at her suspiciously, she shrugged. “I get it. This is your deal, and you’re doing what you can do,” she conceded in a patient voice to stress her point. “However, if you need anybody—for decoys, backup, something, anything at all—just say the word,” she clarified. “I’m prepared to do anything to get those two little boys back.”
They nodded, yet stated, “We can handle it from here.”
She rolled her eyes at that and looked over at Alex. “Can Terkel track this guy if he sneaks away?” she whispered, leaning forward.
“Since we already know where he is, we can use Levi’s satellite to confirm his movements,” Alex explained in a quiet undertone.
Obviously the agents heard that. One of them asked, “But you haven’t had any actual confirmed sightings of the twins, have you?”
“No,” Alex admitted, “none that you’ll listen to.”
“Meaning what?” Delores asked, her tone hard.
“Meaning it’s Riff and his word. Riff hasn’t got any physical evidence. He just has… that different kind of knowledge.”
“ Right ,” she muttered, “but everything we’ve heard from Riff so far means that Jack and John are supposedly there with the driver, and we should be moving on that with a sting operation.”
“And yet we don’t have any confirmation that our buyer’s there,” replied one of the other agents.
Taryn replied, “But you don’t have any confirmation that he’s not there. So far, Riff’s in position, and we’re not. So Riff’s offering a lot better deal than no deal at all.”
Delores turned to Taryn and asked her, “Do you really trust him?”
“Absolutely I trust him,” Taryn declared. “I trust a lot of things that you guys can’t see because I know that Riff’s there, and I feel the energy flowing from him to the twins. I know people are at the end of this energy reading,” she declared. “You haven’t gotten to that point—and may never—so, from your perspective, this is all just intuition or abracadabra moments.” Taryn snorted. “And I could talk until I’m blue in the face, but the truth wouldn’t make any difference to you just because you can’t see it, feel it, or touch it.”
“You can’t expect us to send anybody there on pure supposition,” said one of the male FBI agents, staring at Taryn in surprise.
“Why the hell not? Do you have any better lead?”
“No.”
“You’ve got Riff as a witness, who is right there, who has eyes on the truck that Jeff owns, and you’re not even checking it out?” Taryn asked incredulously. The agent flushed, then glanced over at Delores, who frowned at Taryn.
“If we had something other than this woo-woo stuff,” Delores stated, “it would be easier.”
“Life isn’t about easier ,” Taryn snapped. “Life is about living in the moment, and I can tell you that Riff isn’t full of shit, and, if he says those two little boys are there, then they are there. Do you honestly think he would have driven all those hours on end making sure he didn’t lose that truck if he wasn’t sure the twins were inside? I fully expect you guys to at least send in a team. Something is there, and you are duty-bound to check it out.”
“If our buyer is there, whether in the room or watching the room, we’ll spook the guy,” Delores noted, “and we can’t take a chance of that happening.”
“Well, you need to get your shit together a whole lot faster and get out there, so those two little boys don’t go missing again or worse, succumb to their injuries,” Taryn declared, her tone ominous. “There is no reason to bow out now. You already know the driver’s location. You already heard the buyer’s demands,” she reminded the agents. “So set up whatever you need to go in there and to get those boys.” And, with that, Taryn stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
*
Alex looked over at the others and nodded. “I know you don’t think our energy-working skills carry any weight, but I can tell you that Riff is very good at what he does. Plus, if you have any idea what Terkel ’s team used to do for the CIA,” he shared, with emphasis on Terkel’s name, “then you should realize that Riff works for Terkel, and the only way that would happen is if some of this woo-woo stuff , as you call it, is for real.”
In a surprise move, one of the agents spoke up. “I don’t see how we can avoid checking it out at least. If we had been given this lead by anybody else, we wouldn’t have dismissed it,” he pointed out. When Delores frowned at him, he just shrugged. “Time is ticking away, and they’re right. We need to get those kids out of there. Plus, we really don’t know the extent of their injuries.”
“What do you propose we do?” Delores asked her fellow agent.
“I think somebody needs to go check it out. Sending in an unmarked car that the driver isn’t expecting would be a good start.” He frowned at the group. “I think we should probably still set up the sting, so that we’re covering all our bases.”
“Let me go check it out,” Alex suggested. “I can get into the motel, back up Riff, and let you know.” He decided to not share how Merk was on site already.
“Let us know what?” Delores asked. “As far as you’re concerned, it’s already a done deal. The buyer and the kids are supposedly there.”
Alex nodded. “At least the driver is there, who could lead us to your infamous buyer. At this point in time, I could probably get those little boys out of there before your guys ever arrived for the sting op,” he snapped. “I get that you’re just sitting here, waiting for something, maybe for the real buyer to show. I don’t see that happening. As your agent said, this guy’s cagey. He can probably wait a week, parking his courier and the twins at a different motel each night, just to see if someone is following the driver. This buyer doesn’t do things quickly, which doesn’t bode well for the chances of survival for these little boys. The longer the twins are there, needing medical attention, the more likely they are to be abused and tormented, even by the driver or visitors who may come by, to the point that Jack and John will never recover,” he declared, staring at Delores. “Therefore, so you won’t be wasting any of your precious manpower, I can help back up Riff, and we can go in and get John and Jack, tying up the driver too—who would hopefully lead you to Gordon.”
“How will you do that? Even if you can get all three, what about the ultimate buyer? You could scare him off, losing control of this op.”
“Think about it this way,” Alex replied, with a wry smile. “If we do lose control, and it all turns to shit, you get to blame it on us, save your own jobs, and live to do this all over again another day. And, if we do our jobs, and it goes well, you get credit because you were part of the organization behind it. Plus, you get your driver, who must at least have a money trail back to the buyer, and we save the kids. It’s a win-win for you, any way you look at it.”
Taryn’s voice came from the doorway. “And if Alex is going, I’m going.”
Cassie’s voice added, “If she’s going, I’m going. My brothers are hurting,” she declared, staring at the agents. “We have to get them and take them to the hospital.”
“When you say, hurting , what do you mean, honey?” Delores asked, walking over to the little girl.
“They are crying,” she whispered. “They are terrified, hurt, and crying. I’ll go do something about it, even if you won’t.”
Alex looked over at Taryn and Cassie. “I’ll go help Riff, and you two stay put right here,” he suggested. “We can’t take the chance of Cassie getting kidnapped again.” When Taryn frowned at him, he nodded. “That’s the deal.”
“What the hell do you mean, That’s the deal ?” one of the FBI agents asked. “Let me remind you that this is our op.”
“That’s right,” Taryn agreed, walking to the front door of their hotel suite. “The way I understand it, you FBI types are not to leave me alone with Cassie. So, if I leave with her, you must come along too, right? Even if we get there, and you refuse to help John and Jack, Cassie and I will help them.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Delores cried out, scrambling to her feet. “I do have the right to keep you here, and we’ll restrain you if needed,” she declared, instantly red in the face. “I don’t want to go that route, but let me assure you that I can.”
At that, one of the other agents piped up. “She’s got a point though. They can go check it out and get some confirmation. Hopefully they can get something solid. Meanwhile, we set up a sting and come in a few hours behind them, as soon as we get valid confirmation.”
“Why is it they won’t believe Riff?” Taryn asked, turning to Alex.
He sighed. “Riff has his confirmation, but it’s not tangible proof for the FBI.”
Taryn nodded. “Sure, because, if he goes any closer, he’ll give up his cover, and the last thing he wants is for the driver to take Jack and John on the run again.”
“Exactly, which is why the Feds want to set up their sting, but they want proof first. A catch-22 for sure. So the motel is not very far away, just a couple hours. I’ll go. I need to relieve Riff,” he told Taryn. “I want you to stay here with Cassie. Regardless of what happens, I will come back for you, for both of you.” When Cassie glared at him, he nodded. “I know. You don’t want me leaving either, but we have to go pick up your brothers.”
At that she stepped closer to Taryn and nodded. “Fine. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” And, with that, she turned and walked into her bedroom.
Delores frowned from Alex to Taryn to the bedroom and asked, “What did she just say? What does that mean?”
“She’s connected to her brothers telepathically,” Taryn stated in a very cool tone. “She’s been in communication with them off and on, but they haven’t been very coherent or very conscious and can’t speak properly because of their head injuries. That’s why Cassie’s been so worried. Now she’ll tell them that Alex is on the way.”
“Jesus Christ.” Delores shook her head, as she glanced from Taryn to the men on her team and back again. “What the hell do we do with this woo-woo stuff?”
“At this point, I say we go with it,” suggested one of the agents in exasperation. “They’re right. We can always toss it off as them being difficult.” He sent a smile toward Alex. “Let’s take what we can and go with it.”
“Okay then, fine,” Delores muttered, raising her hands in mock surrender, while she turned and glared at Alex. “We’ll put into play the sting op”—she shot a glance at her watch—“in six hours. You’ve got that long to get there and to get us confirmation that you guys are where we need you to be.”
“I just need two and a half hours though, so move up that sting op.” Alex grabbed his coat and took his coffee, snagging a couple breakfast sandwiches from the table. “I’ll contact you in 150 minutes or less.” Then he stopped to address Delores. “Better watch out for those two gals. They’re priceless, and they’re cagey.”
And, with that, he was gone.