Chapter Twenty-three
“Are you sure she’s not with him?” Ren asked.
“At least she’s not in that room,” Ashton responded. “It’s got big windows with no curtains, so I’ve got a pretty unobstructed view.”
“I can confirm,” Lillian chimed in from her location.
“Damn it, I can’t get all the way over to that set of offices from this air duct, but I can see them from this vent.
Freihof is just standing here, like he’s reminiscing.
And no Natalie. But, Ren, I think in Freihof’s other hand is Natalie’s red phone. ”
Ren cursed under his breath. How the hell was the tracker in the room if Natalie wasn’t? If she wasn’t there, where the hell was she?
“Lillian, do you think he’s about to blow the whole building?” Steve asked.
“I don’t know. But we need to do something fast. Because clearing the building if he uses that biological weapon is not going to help. It will spread. Radius will be devastating.”
Ren turned to Steve. “I’m calling him on Natalie’s phone. If he’s about to release that pressure trigger, we need to do something to distract him. He doesn’t know we’re here, and I won’t let him know. Let’s just get as many people out and back as far as possible without causing a panic.”
Steve nodded, and the rest of the team immediately began moving fast around him.
“I’ll keep trying to find a way to get closer so I can get the drop on him,” Lillian said. “It might mean crawling back to the other side of the building and coming in from that direction.”
Ashton added, “Ren, I need a word or phrase that lets me know to take him out. I don’t think a direct shot is a good option with the pressure trigger, but we need one, anyway. I’ll aim for the chest.”
“Let’s go with ‘reign of terror.’”
“Appropriate. Roger that.”
“Get him mad,” Brandon came on the line and said. “He won’t take himself—and hopefully everyone else—out if he’s angry at you. Make him mad enough that he wants to live to come after you.”
Ren pulled out his phone and dialed the number for the one he’d given to Natalie.
“Who’s this?” he asked when Freihof answered, like he didn’t already know.
“Who’s this?” Freihof responded in kind.
“Let me talk to Natalie.”
“I’m sorry. I’m afraid Natalie isn’t here right now.”
“And this is?” Ren wasn’t sure exactly how to play this most effectively. Did Freihof know about Ren? That he was part of Omega?
“I’m Natalie’s husband, Damien. You must be her...friend, Warren.”
“I think you mean ex-husband, right, Damien? Since you remarried and all?”
“I never would’ve remarried if I had known my Natalie was alive. So as far as I’m concerned, that means we’re still married.”
Ren sighed dramatically and walked inside city hall.
He didn’t want Freihof to hear any activities or sirens and become suspicious.
“Well, as far as the law—and every logical person on the planet—is concerned, when you signed a divorce decree from her, you officially became unmarried. No matter what you want.”
There was a long moment of silence. “And why does it matter to you, Warren?”
“Because she’s mine now, Damien. She’s done with you and she’s chosen me. That’s just the way it is.”
“No, that’s not how it is at all.” The words were bit out. “Not at all.”
“Why don’t you just let me talk to her, okay? Or maybe the three of us can meet somewhere and figure out the answer to this. Nobody has to get hurt. Just put Natalie on the phone, okay?”
“No, the choices have already been made. Natalie knew if she didn’t choose me, then she wouldn’t be choosing anyone.”
Ice formed in Ren’s veins. Was he too late? Was Natalie already dead? Or stuffed in a closet somewhere here, hurt? He hit the mute button on the phone and spoke into the comm unit.
“Steve, make sure your people are checking the utility closets and small spaces where he might have put Natalie.”
“Roger that.”
Ren unclicked the mute button. “Tell me where she is, Freihof.”
Natalie had put the tracker on Freihof, so that gave Ren a measure of hope.
She had to have been alive when she did that.
But it could’ve been moments before her death, realizing Damien would leave once she was gone, and Omega would have no way of knowing where.
That they would come to her rather than follow him.
And it was true. If Ren knew where Natalie was right now, he would leave this situation—damn the consequences—and find her. He refused to believe she was dead.
Freihof just laughed. “You know, I came to this place because it held special memories for me. Memories of a time before my relationship with Natalie became so tainted. She was so innocent when we first got married, do you know that? I thought she could become the perfect wife. I tried to teach her that.”
“By abusing her?”
“Now, Warren.” Freihof tsked. “You weren’t there. You don’t know. Some people might think my methods were a little harsh. But they were necessary. I was trying to make her perfect. Isn’t that what everyone ultimately wants? Natalie would’ve thanked me eventually.”
“Instead, she pretended she was dead and ran away and hid. Doesn’t sound like thanking to me.”
Freihof sighed. “I was feeling sad when I got here. Feeling that now that I was never going to see Natalie again, maybe it was time for me to die, too. That I would also just go out in the chaos I create.”
Ren felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. “Freihof...”
“But the good news is, talking to you has made me realize that it’s not my time yet.
That I want to see the fallout of my actions and how they affect Omega Sector.
After all, they are the ones who took Natalie from me in the first place.
She may have chosen to stay away from me—a sin she is currently regretting, at least for a little while longer—but Omega is what gave her the opportunity to run.
You’ve made me realize I need to stay my course.
It is not my destiny to die here today.”
“Where is she, Freihof? If she’s not with you, tell me where she is.”
“No, Warren Thompson, you tell me who you are. I could find no record of you at all inside Omega Sector. No pictures in the files. You’re so unimportant that you don’t have a significant file yet. So, honestly, I’m not sure you’re worth my time to talk to.”
Ashton’s voice came in Ren’s ear. “Freihof’s getting agitated. If he moves out of this office I might lose the shot.”
“She chose me, Freihof. This whole plan in the woods may have started just with the intent to catch you, but we fell for each other. She chose me. Natalie is mine.”
“No!” The word came through so loud Ren had to hold the phone away from his ear. “Natalie is mine.”
“No, she’s not, Damien. And you’ve always known that, haven’t you? Tried to make her into something fake. Called it ‘perfect’ so you could justify abusing her. She chose me, you bastard.”
The phone line clicked dead in his hand.
“Okay, it’s working.” It was Ashton’s voice again.
“He’s taking off his explosives vest and placing it on.
.. Oh, hell, there are the canisters. The biological contaminant canisters are definitely in the room with him.
It looks like he’s setting some sort of timer, but he’s still got the kill switch in his hand. ”
Ren had to make his move now. “Steve, I’m going in. I’ve got to stop him. If he gets out we’ll lose our shot and he’ll blow the canisters, anyway. Ashton, be ready.”
“We’ve gotten most of the civilians clear and locals are getting them back to the safety point. Every hazmat team in the state is on their way here,” Steve said.
“Did anyone find Natalie in the building?”
“No, brother. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, get your team out. Once I’m close enough to grab the pressure trigger and give Ashton the signal, he’ll take him out. But we don’t need to risk more lives.”
“I’m staying,” Lillian piped in.
“Me, too.” That was Derek Waterman, SWAT leader.
One by one, the rest of the Critical Response unit chimed in. None of them would be leaving. They’d lost too much at Freihof’s hands.
“I think you’ve got your answer, Ren. We take this bastard down together.”
Ren dialed the number again as he walked down the corridor of city hall toward the office where Freihof was located.
“Warren,” Freihof said as he answered. “I’m busy. I don’t have time to talk to you anymore.”
“I think you do, Freihof. Especially since I haven’t quite been honest with you.”
“Oh, yeah, about what?”
Ren opened the door to the office and ended the call. Freihof spun around, eyes wide.
“The fact that I’m here in city hall, for one thing,” Ren said.
Freihof immediately held out the pressure trigger in front of him. “Stay back. If I let go of this trigger, this entire building is going to blow. So if you decide to shoot me, we die together.”
Ren took out his sidearm and laid it on the ground, then did the same with his ankle holster. “I’m not going to shoot you.” He kicked them both away.
“How did you know where I was?”
He needed to convince Freihof that he really was just a peon in Omega and he was here alone. “I figured it out when you said that you were somewhere that was special to you and Natalie. I know you got married here.”
“And all your Omega buddies?”
Ren took a tiny step forward. “You’re right. Nobody is very interested in hearing what a peon has to say. They’re all out searching your previous property and places you were known to go. I told them I was coming here but none of them would listen.”
Freihof scoffed and relaxed just slightly. Ren took the opportunity to take another step toward the man.
“That’s the problem with Omega. They’re so gung-ho for action. Always with the working harder rather than smarter. Don’t truly think like a team.”
“Oh, I think they can when it’s truly important. I just don’t think I’m part of the team.” Another half step. He was about eight feet from Freihof now. “Where is Natalie? That’s all I care about.”
“I’m afraid my wife will no longer be available to play the whore for you, Mr. Thompson.”
“Is she dead?”