Chapter 16 #2
Knox walked around to the back of the truck.
He unlatched the door and used the pull strap to fully raise it.
He stepped onto the tailgate and went inside.
Three backpacks sat on a bench in the truck.
He carefully opened each one, confirming the contents of each bag.
Yep. Three bombs. He took several pictures with his phone and texted them to Allie before he jumped out of the truck, shut it again, and returned to Jason.
"They're all three in there, each one in a separate backpack, so they planned on transporting them separately, I think. But they're not activated. There's no countdown."
"Well, that's good," said Jason.
The driver huffed a laugh. "We're not the ones that set them. There's a guy. We don't know him. We haven't met him. He turns on the bombs, sets the timer. We're just the delivery boys. You're wasting your time with us."
Information they already knew. Except that the guards didn't know the bomber either. Does no one know this guy?
Knox glared at the driver. "Someone picked up the other two guards who were with you a few minutes ago. Who was that?"
The driver looked impressed. "I don't know."
"Where did they go?" asked Jason.
"I have no idea."
"He's lying," Knox said.
Jason nodded. "I know."
"What are your orders?" asked Jason. "You're sitting here in the truck, with three bombs in the back. What are you waiting on?"
The driver looked amused but didn't speak.
"Who gives you your orders?"
The driver smiled. "You know so many things, and you don't know that?"
Knox knew Jason's frustration mirrored his own, but it was pointless to argue with these two. Besides, he wasn't convinced they could offer much helpful information, even if they wanted to.
"This is a waste of time," Knox said.
Jason gave a chin lift. "I agree. I don't think they're going to give us anything, but at least we have the bombs. We'll stash these guys somewhere where they can't be any trouble for the next few hours. And I'll work on dismantling the devices."
A unsettling smile spread across the driver's face.
"What's so funny?" asked Knox.
"Not a thing, sir. But I wouldn't tell your boss, Mr. Drakos, that you solved the problem and that he doesn't need to sign anything.
You found three of the bombs. There are three more.
We're only the backup team. The first three bombs have already been placed.
My boss was afraid you would find them. So, he sent us, just in case. "
Knox didn't want to believe him. But the rock-hard dread seizing his stomach insisted the driver wasn't bluffing. Keeping his weapon pointed at the guards, Knox directed his question to Jason. "What do you think? You believe him?"
Jason paused before he answered. "Not sure."
"Doesn't matter if you believe me. My boss communicates through Kendall. He's the one who will text Mr. Drakos soon. The bomber will send pictures of all three devices with the countdown set."
"So, that's who gives you orders? Kendall?"
The driver raised one shoulder. "He speaks for the boss, yeah. He doesn't make decisions, though."
"When are we supposed to expect this text?" asked Jason.
The driver shrugged. "Soon is what I was told. Like you said, we're here waiting. We weren't told an exact time, just to go ahead and bring the bombs to The Mandeville in case you found the first three."
No way this guy was that good of an actor. He was telling the truth.
"Okay," Jason said. "Let's tie them up and stash them somewhere." He looked at the driver. "We'll visit with Mr. Drakos in a few minutes and check your story."
The driver shrugged. "I'm not concerned. Kendall will make sure your boss understands." He looked at his passenger, then back to Jason. "I wouldn't kill us, though. It would irritate my employer."
"Again, I'm not sure he cares anything about you, but we're not going to kill you," Knox said, "unless you do something stupid, and we have to defend ourselves. So don't do anything stupid."
The driver's glare radiated more frustration than threat. He wasn't a friendly fellow, but he wasn't going to be a problem. The nervous passenger even less so.
Knox and Jason locked the guards, bound and gagged, in a storage shed fifty yards from the parking lot, and hid the truck with the 'just in case' bombs out of sight behind the shed.
Jason looked at his watch. "Give me two minutes with those devices. If I can't disable them, we'll drive them further out, away from the resort. But it will save us so much time if I can simply disarm them."
They hopped out of the truck and walked around back.
Knox pulled open the roll-up door. "Two minutes, huh?"
Jason climbed in the back of the truck. "Hopefully." He pointed at Knox. "You text Allie. Give her an update."
"On it." He slid his phone out of his pocket.
He texted her a short update, including the expanded number of bombs.
They're in place. Look for someone taking a backpack into an area but not out.
Understood. Be careful.
Always.
Tension coiled in Knox's chest at the thought of the three bombs hidden somewhere in The Mandeville. Dangerously close to over one thousand guests. And Allie.
Her innocent face swam in his mind for a moment. And he fought to marshall the fear burning his throat.
This was new.
He'd experienced a healthy, measured amount of fear during life and death situations on past missions.
But that feeling was nothing like this. The dread he felt about something happening to Allie .
. . and to his future with Allie . . . He needed to tamp down those fears.
Focus. Work the problem. His worry wasn't going to keep Allie safe.
"At least something's going right today." Jason's voice pulled his thoughts away from Allie. Mostly.
"You did it?"
Jason gave a thumbs up as he stepped down from the truck.
"Did you just cut the red wire? That's what they do in the movies. Or is it the blue wire?"
"Neither. I'll explain some other time." He pointed toward The Mandeville. "We need to—"
"Yeah." Knox didn't need Jason to finish his sentence. They both sprinted back toward the main entrance, headed for Drakos's office.
To keep from attracting unwanted attention, they slowed their pace as they neared the front doors, but walked with purpose as they reentered the lobby.
Knox angled toward Jason, keeping his voice low. "Those guys gave us one piece of good news."
"What's that?"
"The driver referred to Drakos as our 'boss.' I don't think Byron suspects we're working with the FBI or any other agency."
Jason gave a curt nod. "And we need to keep it that way." He tugged at his borrowed shirt. "We need to keep these uniforms on. They help sell that image."
They entered the elevator, and Knox pressed the button for the second floor. "I noticed you didn't text Drakos. You don't want to tell him we're on our way to him?"
"No. I have a feeling Kendall is already in his office. And I don't want Drakos saying anything in front of Kendall without us present. We need to get a good read on this guy. You told Allie what to look for?"
"Yeah, she knows." He scratched his jaw, wishing the elevator would move faster. "But I'm hoping Kendall will provide some clue about the location of the bombs."
The elevator doors opened. "Don't count on it, Knox."
A minute later, Knox and Jason stood in Drakos's office, staring at Kendall—looking far too much like Goliath—with a manila envelope clenched in his meaty hand.
Kendall hadn't looked surprised when they burst in a moment earlier. And the sneer on his face extinguished any hope of cooperation. He stared at them for a moment as if entertained by their sudden presence.
"I have a man watching the east parking area. He tells me you found our second team."
Neither Knox nor Jason felt the need to respond to that.
"No problem." The sneer twitched. "You missed spotting the first team, and the first three devices are in position.
" He lifted the manila envelope, opened it, and withdrew a small stack of papers.
He eyed Drakos like a bug he was about to swat.
"This is the contract. Mr. Drakos, all you need to do is sign, and all your problems go away. "
Kendall turned his large head to Knox and Jason.
"Lest you believe there's any benefit in attacking me, I do not know exactly where the devices are placed.
I'm of no use to you, except that one call to my boss can guarantee no one gets hurt.
I'm the go-between. And your only hope for avoiding massive casualties. "
Drakos was wringing his hands so hard that Knox feared the bushy-browed resort owner might break a finger. Beads of sweat popped up across his forehead, and he stared at Knox and Jason with wide eyes, looking desperate and terrified. "Now what?" he asked. "What do we do now?"
Knox was about to suggest Drakos calm down.
But Kendall spoke first. "Check your phone.
The bomber should be texting three images—one of each device with the countdown illuminated.
" He glanced at his watch. "He should have sent them by now.
The first device will detonate at 5:00, the second at 5:10, and the third at 5:20.
They're set at different times in case you call our bluff.
The one at 5:00 should convince you to sign before 5:10.
If you need more convincing, the second one will go off, and so on. "
Drakos fumbled with his phone, then tapped on the screen a few times. A moment later, whatever he saw on the screen elicited a sharp gasp.
Jason grabbed Drakos's phone from his hand, glanced at the images, and showed the screen to Knox, his face grim. "We have an hour and twenty minutes."
Knox nodded, but he wasn't convinced Kendall and the bomber would play by their stated rules. "What assurance do we have that your bomber will deactivate the bombs? He probably can't access them quickly. Maybe you're bluffing about his ability to turn them off."
Kendall's lips pressed into a thin line.
"I'm not bluffing. The bomber is here at The Mandeville.
You probably already assumed that. I don't know where he placed the devices, but he's close by and assures me he'll deactivate them when I tell him Drakos has signed the contract.
" He looked at Drakos. "I do have orders to carry out more personal threats if you haven't signed after 5:20, but you're a reasonable man.
I don't believe I'll have to resort to that.
Just know that one way or another, my boss will get those papers signed today. "
Drakos paled.
Disgust for Kendall and his unnamed boss clawed at Knox's insides. He swallowed the words he knew he shouldn't say.
"We thought about forging them, of course," Kendall remarked casually. But then he looked at Drakos. "But you would have fought us. My boss really doesn't want to deal with that. This way is simple and quick. That's what he likes. Simple. Efficient."
Kendall's smugness grated on Knox's nerves. "What's so simple about this bizarre plan with all the bombs? You realize your boss sounds insane? Threatening so many innocent lives just to gain ownership of a resort?"
Kendall shrugged. "It's simple for my boss.
He just gives an order, and it's handled quickly.
And my boss believes the explosive devices .
. ." he waved a hand in the air, apparently searching for a way to finish his sentence, "seemed like a more sophisticated plan.
The boss doesn't simply want to send armed goons and strong-arm his enemies.
He believes this elaborate threat makes him look more sophisticated. "
Knox eyed Kendall. "Do you believe your boss is sophisticated?"
Kendall's gaze turned cold. "He is very powerful, of that I'm convinced. How he wants to display that power is up to him, but he always gets what he wants, one way or the other."