Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
With Peterson secured and his gun on the kitchen counter, Michelle went in search of her phone.
It was still the one Fletch purchased at the truck stop.
She called Fletch. The call immediately went to voicemail.
Thankfully, after the day in the computer lab, Olivia and Michelle exchanged numbers.
At nearly three in the morning, Olivia answered on the second ring.
“Shelly, is everything all right?”
“No. Do you live far?”
“Are you at Arrow’s place?” Olivia asked, sounding more awake.
“Yes. I’m worried about Arrow. Do you know how to reach him?”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Michelle disconnected the call and checked on Peterson. He was still fighting the extension cord. She wished she had whatever the deputy tried to inject her with. That would keep Peterson in his place. She opened a drawer at Fletch’s main desk and removed the hard drive.
Peterson made noise behind the tape.
Michelle took the hard drive to the closet in the bedroom and locked it in her gun safe. Next, she took off her pajama shorts and slipped into a pair of blue jeans. She was about to put on a bra when the doorbell rang.
Through the peephole Michelle saw Olivia. She opened the door. Olivia’s hazel eyes shone in the cold air. She was wearing a heavy coat over pajama pants. “That was fast.”
“We only have two apartment buildings. I live that way” —she gestured with a shake of her head— “on the second floor. What’s wrong?”
Michelle let her inside and closed the door.
Olivia looked around. “Arrow has a nice place. I always wondered what it was like.”
This wasn’t the time to discuss the condition of the apartment when Michelle arrived. “You said you’ve been with the agency for ten years.”
“Shelly, are you all right?”
“Peterson broke into this apartment and threatened me.”
“What the fuck?” She opened her coat, revealing a holster. “Where is he?”
“I thought you said you were brain not brawn.”
Olivia removed the gun from the holster. “You don’t spend ten years in the agency without learning a trick or two.” Her hazel stare met Michelle’s. “Where did he go?”
“He’s in there.” Michelle pointed. “He’s not going anywhere. I shot him.”
“Damn, you do belong here. Tell me everything.”
“I need to get ahold of Arrow. Peterson sent Leo and him into a trap.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “You’re serious.”
Michelle nodded. “How do you reach agents on missions?”
“Usually, you wait for them to contact you. But I know the pilot who flew them out. Let me try to reach him.”
Michelle took a ragged breath. The adrenaline racing through her circulation was morphing to fear, fear for Fletch.
Olivia removed her phone from her coat pocket and hit a contact. “It went to voicemail,” she said to Michelle.
“Shit. It’s what my call to Fletch did.”
Olivia spoke, “Pete, it’s Liv. I know where you went. Tell me if Leo and Arrow have returned.”
When she disconnected the call, she looked at Michelle. “What are you going to do about Peterson?”
“No idea. He’s not the top, is he?”
“No. Top here, but here is only one place. I say we contact the top. His name is Grant, Graham Grant.”
“How do we reach him?”
Olivia’s eyebrows arched. “We need to get into Peterson’s office.”
Michelle grinned. “Hold on for a minute.” She went into the bedroom and came out with the items she’d found when searching Peterson’s pockets including his ID card. “This should help.”
Olivia reached for the card. “Maybe you should stay here and make sure he doesn’t get loose.”
Michelle tugged on her lip and sighed. “I want to trust you.”
“Oh, you can trust me. I’ve had a feeling about Peterson ever since he arrived. I gave up my life for the agency. We don’t tolerate traitors.”
“Okay.”
“Keep your gun close. If you have to shoot, hit center mass.”
“I’d rather he be punished for his crimes.”
Olivia winked. “The knee. It hurts like hell, and he won’t be able to walk.”
“Good advice.”
Michelle paced the living room to the kitchen and back, time and time again. While she’d been willing her phone to ring and to hear Fletch’s voice, it remained silent. She’d about worn a hole in the flooring when the doorbell rang again.
Olivia was outside with two large men, reminding Michelle of Fletch and Leo.
Michelle reached for her gun, unlocked the safety, and opened the door.
“I got ahold of Grant.” Olivia tipped her head from side to side. “This is Rock and Colt. Top gave the order for Peterson to be held in the brig until things get sorted out.”
Michelle sighed. “What about Fle—Arrow?”
“Top said he’d investigate.”
Michelle nodded nervously as she let the three inside. “Peterson is in there.” She pointed to the office.
“Is it locked?” asked either Colt or Rock.
“No, it locks from the inside.”
Both men removed guns from their back holsters. The one with facial hair opened the door. “Ma’am?”
Michelle and Olivia walked toward the door. Cold air met them. Blood smudged the floor next to the extension cord Michelle had used. The window was opened.
“Shit. I was in the other room. I didn’t hear a thing.”
The two men looked at one another. “Lock that window,” said the one Michelle thought was Colt. “We’ll find him. No one’s getting away from here on foot.”
“Liv,” the other man said, “can you take Shelly to your place?”
“Of course.”
Michelle turned, seeing the bedroom in disarray. “He was in my bedroom.”
The men again lifted their guns and entered the bedroom as Michelle held her breath and reached for Olivia’s hand. They stood perfectly still until…
“Clear,” one of the men yelled.
Michelle rushed past them and into her closet. She let out a sigh. Her gun safe was where she’d hidden it, and it was still locked.
“What’s that?” Olivia asked.
“It’s what Peterson wanted. It’s the hard drive with my father’s files.”
“Bring that with you.”
Michelle nodded.
After securing the apartment, Michelle donned boots and her coat, and with her gun, phone, and the gun safe in tow, she accompanied Olivia into an elevator she’d never before seen and up to the second floor.