Chapter Nine
At the rally point, located on a hilltop at the southern end of High Country County, Agent Trujillo handed Olivia and Eli bulletproof vests to strap on.
They were in the middle of a huddle, surrounded by a handful of FBI field agents and deputies from the sheriff’s department. Nine law enforcement officers in total.
Trujillo moved to the center of the huddle.
“Kevin Carter was picked up on surveillance footage accompanied by another man, who we’ve identified as Henry Tully.
Both are members of the ecoterrorist organization known as the New Dawn Revolution and are wanted for arson and murder.
They were last seen at the WinCo three miles down the road, purchasing enough food to feed an army.
We have reason to believe they’re not alone.
Audrey Carter and perhaps others from NDR may be with them. ”
That explained the substantial backup.
“One of the members of NDR owns that apartment complex.” Trujillo pointed out the older building at the base of the hill.
“There’s no way to know how many individuals from the ecoterrorist group may be hiding in the building.
We think it’s likely they’re holing up in more than one apartment.
It’d make it easier for them to share the living space, to keep a low profile, and disperse the amount of noise they might make.
In addition to the owner’s unit, there are four other apartments that are vacant and might be in use by the suspects.
To maximize the element of surprise, we’re going to hit all five apartments at the exact same time.
” After he paired up the deputies and agents and assigned them a unit to raid, he passed around a layout of the building that showed where each apartment was situated.
“I’ll take the last unit with our civilian consultants.
The suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.
Extreme caution should be used. Any questions? ”
Everyone looked around. None were asked.
“Let’s move out.” Trujillo turned to her and Eli. “Leave your truck up here. Ride with me.”
They climbed into his Bu-car, with Olivia sitting up front and Eli in the back while the rest of the LEOs piled into the other vehicles.
The convoy pulled off. Trujillo led the way. “It’s my understanding that Aegis field operatives have tactical training,” the FBI agent said.
She gave a curt nod. “Yes.”
Trujillo glanced down at the gun holstered on her hip that Eli had given her since she’d lost her weapon at the hotel and then his gaze bounced up to the rearview mirror.
“What about you, cowboy? I read up on Ironside Protection Services. Investigation. Protection. Security. Can you handle yourself? Understand the bounds of reasonable use of force?”
“The name is Easton. Not cowboy,” Eli said, his tone sharp. “I’ve worked with law enforcement before on cases and I know what I’m doing.”
Trujillo raised a conciliatory palm. “I didn’t mean any offense.”
Eli didn’t respond.
Offense was definitely taken.
For some reason, E didn’t like to be referred to as a cowboy, even though he was one in every sense of the word that mattered.
He’d grown up around cattle ranches, worked on a couple, was salt of the earth, never went back on his word, had a deep sense of honor.
But she realized the word was also tied up in his painful childhood.
She bought him a Stetson as a way to help him redefine what it meant for him to be a cowboy.
To associate it with something happy. He deserved goodness and beauty and warmth in his life.
Understanding and acceptance. She wanted to give it to him.
Tried her best when they were apart and even harder whenever they were together.
But it wasn’t enough to make him love her.
A phone chimed with a text message. Eli took his cell out and read it.
“Anything important?” she asked.
“Nothing urgent. I’ll update you later.”
They pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building, stopped, and got ready for the raid. Trunks popped open, and one-person battering rams were passed around.
Eli grabbed one for their group and turned to her. “I know you’re not going to sit this one out, but can you promise me, no heroics. Please.”
The pleading in his tone and the heavy concern in his eyes got to her. “No heroics.” She drew her 9mm.
“Set a two-minute timer,” Trujillo said. “When the countdown is finished, we breach. Start it now.”
Several beeps went off. Everyone hurried into the building and dispersed into their pairings.
Trujillo hit the eastside staircase first. Olivia and Eli followed him up single file. They climbed two flights of stairs and crept up to the vacant third-floor apartment at the end of the hall. Trujillo went to one side of the doorway.
She went to the other, canted her ear toward the door, and listened.
A television was on and there was movement inside. Voices. Not from the TV. Two people having a conversation.
She met Trujillo’s eyes.
The FBI agent acknowledged he heard it also with a small gesture and looked at his watch. Eli got in position in front of the door. Trujillo held up a hand and began silently counting down.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
With a powerful swing, Eli thrust the thirty inches of steel into the door, knocking it wide open.
Similar loud booms resounded throughout the building.
“FBI!” Trujillo announced.
Weapons up at the ready, the special agent and Olivia swept into the apartment. Eli dropped the ram, drew his gun, and brought up the rear.
Audrey jumped up from a plastic folding chair in the living room, hair in a messy ponytail, dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants. “Kev, run!”
“You’re under arrest.” Trujillo lunged for her. “Down on your knees.”
Frantic scuttling came from the bedroom. Hurried footsteps. Wood groaned and metal creaked.
Olivia charged toward the sounds coming from the back of the apartment. In the bedroom, an air mattress was on the floor. The window gaped open. She glimpsed the top of Kevin’s blond head as he raced down the fire escape.
“Wait, Liv!” Cutting around her, Eli ducked out the window.
Olivia followed right behind him.
Kevin raised his head, glancing up at them, his eyes wide with fear, his face panic-stricken, his shaggy hair wild.
The guy pounded down the metal steps barefoot.
He kicked the steel ladder, and metal screeched as he sent it rumbling lower.
Quickly, Kevin scrambled down the rungs.
Near the bottom, he leaped the rest of the way, hitting the hard concrete on his side with a painful thud.
He scurried to his feet, groaning, and foolishly took off running again.
Olivia hissed a curse under her breath. “Carter, stop!”
Not slowing, Eli kept after him. He slid down the steel ladder with a whoosh, his boots scraping along the sides. Landing on the unforgiving pavement, he tucked and rolled. Then Eli sprang to his feet and kicked it into high gear.
Olivia clattered down the ladder and dropped onto the balls of her feet.
Eli dashed after Kevin, easily closing the distance between them. Once he was within two feet of the guy, Eli pounced, tackling Kevin to the ground. He wrestled the young man, forcing him to his belly on the asphalt of the parking lot.
By the time she caught up to them, Eli had wrenched the guy’s arms behind his back and cinched zip ties around his wrists.
Eli jerked him up roughly to his bare feet. “Want to take potshots at me in a hospital like a punk? You have no idea how badly I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you.”
It was a satisfying feeling. But as much as Olivia wanted to be done with the Carter siblings, she anticipated a long day ahead to get them to talk.
In the sheriff’s department, Eli stared through the one-way glass of the observation room, watching Trujillo question Audrey Carter for a second time. The FBI agent had been going at it for hours, the hard way, and getting nowhere.
Eli glanced back at Olivia. They were alone in the room, and she was over in the corner, talking to Lauren on the phone, hatching some new plan. He was sure whatever she was up to, it was going to tick off Trujillo.
“That’ll work,” Olivia said, then disconnected the call. She joined Eli at the one-way glass. “Any success?” She gestured to the room on the other side of the mirror.
“Nope. Audrey is still stonewalling.” He didn’t look at Olivia as he spoke. “Not the least bit scared. Demanding a lawyer.” He sipped his coffee. “Trujillo can’t stop her from talking to one forever.”
“Forever isn’t necessary. Just long enough will do, and when it comes to a terrorist, the FBI doesn’t have to hurry,” she said, without a single glance at him.
The tension between them from earlier in the hotel room lingered like a rancid smell.
Marriage had never been a consideration again for him, but he did the right thing, the honorable thing, and proposed.
He would’ve sworn that was what she wanted.
Instead, the whole thing blew up in his face.
Maybe it was a sign that Liv and the baby would be better off without him.
Yet, the notion of walking out of their lives made him sick to his stomach.
What did she want from him?
She claimed nothing, no expectations, but that was hogwash. Not quite a lie and not full disclosure either. He wanted to growl in frustration.
“How about you?” he asked, flatly. “Any luck with Hahn?”
“I got the green light from Lauren.”
Whatever that meant. She hadn’t bothered to explain her plan to him, and he didn’t bother to ask.
Still, he knew one thing for certain. “Trujillo won’t like it.” Finally, Eli looked at her. “That you went around him.”
“Technically, I went over his head, not around him.”
“The detail won’t make it any easier for Trujillo to accept.”