Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
“ H ow the fuck did she get out?” Pat roared into the phone, his grip so tight his hand was aching.
“She went out the window,” came Ghost’s reply. “She said she was taking a nap, I didn’t think she’d run.”
He ground his jaw. “Neither did I.”
Fucking hell.
He’d sensed something was off this morning. Yesterday, Jasmine had insisted on staying. Today, she’d been itching to leave.
What changed?
"Al-Jabiri," he muttered.
"Sir?"
Pat snapped back into focus. "Ghost, get to this address—Al-Jabiri’s place in Columbia Heights. I’m willing to bet she’s gone there to strike a deal. Her life for her son’s.”
Ghost didn’t hesitate. "Copy that.”
“Jesus, Jasmine,” he fumed, as he flung open his door. “What have you done?”
He stormed over to Anna’s desk.
"She’s gone," he growled. "I guarantee you, she got a message from Falcon and decided to hand herself over—for Ryan."
Anna’s eyes widened. "Oh, my God. I’ll trace her number."
Her fingers flew across the keyboard. A map of D.C. flickered to life, a flashing green dot pulsing dead center.
"You were right," she breathed. "She’s at Al-Jabiri’s."
Goddamn it.
Pat turned. "Tell me Phoenix and Cole are still on surveillance?"
Anna shook her head. "CTD took over an hour ago. Want me to pull up the video feed?"
"Yeah. Put it through to the boardroom. Now.
I want Blade and Viper in there now.”
“Understood.”
Pat was halfway to the boardroom when Anna stiffened. “Shit.”
He spun around. “What’s up?”
"This morning, Jasmine asked to see those listening devices you planned to plant in Falcon’s house. Said she’d always wondered what they looked like."
He frowned, trying to make sense of Jasmine’s behavior.
Then it hit him.
“Son of a bitch. She received a message from Al-Jabiri while she was here at the office. That’s why she wanted to see the bugs. She had already decided to give herself up, and she thought she’d plant the listening device in his house while she was there.”
“Whoa!” said Blade, coming over. “Did I hear you right? Jasmine’s gone to give herself up?”
“Not only that, I think she lifted a bug before she left.” He turned back to Anna. “Any missing?”
Anna scrambled to a locked metal cabinet, scanning the shelves. "Yeah. She took one."
Blade met his gaze. “Is it online?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to check.” Anna swung back to her computer and pulled up the app they used for when the listening devices came online.
“How would she know how to operate it?” Blade asked, frowning.
“She’s smart. She’ll figure it out.”
Blade let out a low whistle. "Gotta admit, that’s ballsy as hell. If they mention where they’re keeping the kid, we’ve got a shot at getting him out."
He knew that, but he still didn’t like it.
"It was reckless. She should have talked to us first. We could’ve given her backup."
Blade shrugged. "The house is surrounded."
"Not by us." Pat’s voice was sharp. He didn’t trust CTD to make Jasmine their priority. Their mission was to take down Falcon and Buzzard, not to protect a hostage.
Anna’s radio crackled. Ghost’s voice came through. "CTD confirms Mrs. McCarthy arrived less than an hour ago. She got out of a cab and walked straight inside."
Pat swore under his breath.
Anna’s fingers flew over her keyboard. "She activated the bug. It’s online."
Blade exhaled. "Well, thank fuck for that."
Pat clenched his fists. "Patch the feed through to the boardroom." At least, thanks to Jasmine, they now had eyes and ears in the place.
“Patching through now.”
Even the six-feet-five Blade had to run to keep up. Pat swung open the door and stood in front of the screen, watching as Al-Jabiri faced off with Jasmine in the living room. She’d know they were watching. His heart swelled at what she’d done, even though he was pissed as hell.
“What do you want to do, Pat?” Blade asked. “We can ask CTD to extract her.”
He hesitated. “Not yet. Let’s monitor the situation and hope like hell he doesn’t harm her until we can safely get her out.”
Blade’s eyes darkened. "You know he’s gonna kill her. And the kid."
Pat didn’t blink. "I know." He raised a hand. "Listen."
Jasmine’s voice filled the room.
“Please, Amir. Have you no decency? He’s a child. Let him go. You’ve got me now. I told you I wouldn’t talk, and I haven’t. Do what you want to me but let Ryan go.”
Al-Jabiri’s voice was hard. “Stupid bitch. Do you really think I’m going to let him go so he can identify my men?”
A strangled sob. “Amir, please.”
There was a slapping sound as Al-Jabiri hit her.
Pat tensed. Motherfucker. His grip tightened on the edge of the table, barely restraining himself from launching something across the room.
Jasmine was sobbing now. “Patrick was right, you are a monster.”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“You shouldn’t listen to anything Patrick Burke says. If anyone’s a monster, it’s him. He and his men killed everyone in my compound, including the women,” he sneered. “Did he tell you that?”
Pat’s jaw locked. Here we fucking go.
“He told me you were running a terrorist training camp, teaching young men to kill innocent people.”
“Semantics,” he scoffed. “It depends which side you’re on. We were training to take out the enemy. Infidels that bomb our villages and destroy our way of life.”
“What about the people at the football stadium?” she asked. “What have they done?”
“Jesus,” hissed Blade. “She’s just told him we’re on to him.
Pat didn’t move. She’d either ruined everything or they were about to get a confession on tape.
Al-Jabiri’s eyes gleamed. "So, they know about that, do they?" He let out a slow, wicked chuckle. "Good. Let them try to stop it. There’s nothing they can do now. It’s too late."
Jasmine’s voice rang with defiance. "You’ll never get away with it!"
He snorted. “I already have. Besides, it’ll be even better when it hits the news that the security services knew about the attack and did nothing to stop it.”
“You disgust me,” she spat.
Another smack . "Shut up. Nobody asked you," Al-Jabiri snapped.
Pat’s blood ran hot. He wanted to tear through that house and rip the bastard apart.
Blade turned to him. "That’s intent. We have enough to go in now."
"We still don’t know where the bombs are. Or where they’re keeping Ryan."
Blade’s voice lowered. "Pat, if we wait too long, she’s dead."
Pat stared at the screen. “It’s not enough. Bring them in, and we’ll never find those devices. You heard him. Our only play is to wait and hope to hell they give something away.”
It’s too late.
There’s nothing they can do now.
“Shit,” Blade muttered, but he nodded.
Riad, Al-Jabiri’s cousin, stepped into view.
"Lock her in my office," Al-Jabiri ordered. "I’ll deal with her later."
Jasmine fought against Riad’s grip. "What about my son?"
Al-Jabiri didn’t even look at her.
“It’s not looking good for the kid,” Blade said.
Pat’s gut twisted. It wasn’t, but he wasn’t willing to give up hope just yet.
Later that afternoon, Pat briefed the security agencies via video conference. He kept it clinical, sticking to the facts.
"Jasmine McCarthy is inside Al-Jabiri’s house. Instead of extracting her and blowing the op, we’ve left her in play."
The Hostage Rescue Team lead’s voice was grim. "That’s a hell of a call."
Pat’s jaw tightened. "It was the only one I could make."
Jasmine .
Why the hell did she go back?
He couldn’t lose her. Not like this.
Pat forced the emotion down and focused on the mission. As soon as they took the stadium, Al-Jabiri and his cousin were finished. She just had to hold on until then.
She was strong. She’d survive this.
Pat checked his watch.
Kickoff was at fifteen hundred tomorrow.
That gave them twenty-four hours to stop this attack. Then it would all be over.
One way or another.