Chapter 22
“A re you and Mommy coming to pick me up soon?”
Steve smiled at his daughter. Being able to talk to Megan had calmed him down considerably. He was desperate to give her a hug, but even more desperate to find Diane and bring her home.
“It could be a little while. You might have to stay with Jessica a little bit longer. Is that OK?”
“Yes. Do you want to see the picture I’m drawing?” Megan asked. It never failed to amaze him how his daughter accepted changes without complaint. Clearly, him having to change plans because of getting called to spin up meant she had become accustomed to it.
“I’d love to. Show me.”
She held up a picture and explained what she had drawn.
“This is you, that’s Mommy, this is me, and this is Jessica.”
Agent Adams had obviously made a big impression on his girl.
“It’s beautiful, Pumpkin. What’s that next to Jessica?” he asked, taking a screenshot. He would show it to Diane when they found her.
“Her cat. Jessica has a cat named Doughnut.”
Well, that was an interesting name.
“She’s really cute. I’m going to finish coloring it in.”
The door opened and Sam walked in.
“OK, Pumpkin, go finish your picture. I love you. Be good for Jessica.”
“Love you, too, Daddy.”
Steve ended the call and looked up at Sam, hoping for good news. Sam quietly sat opposite him. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s great. It’s one big adventure for her.” Steve paused. “Thank you, Sam, for making sure she’s safe.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Sorry about before,” He’d let his emotions get the best of him in the war room.
“It’s understandable you’re upset.” When Sam folded his arms, Steve had a feeling he wasn't going to like what was coming.
“Raven have gone to Volkov’s warehouse.”
Steve looked at his captain, knowing in that instant Raven going without him had been Sam’s call. His reaction now would be a test to see if he could keep his shit together. He would prove that he could.
“Why?” he asked calmly. “You think there’s something there?”
“I’m not convinced, but it’s worth a shot. Leave no stone unturned. Perhaps there’s a safe, or some papers somewhere that might lead us to where he is.”
Steve sighed. “Definitely a long shot.”
With so little time left, it was obvious all manpower would be focused on finding the damn sarin.
As if reading his mind, Sam said, “We have to stop this attack Steve, but we are still looking for Diane.”
“I know. Hopefully one leads to the other.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “If he takes her to Russia—”
Sam cut him off. “ If that happens, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Do not get any crazy ideas and do a Tyler.”
Steve almost smiled. Tyler had decided to take matters into his own hands not too long ago, and it had almost cost him his life, and could have cost him his career.
“I mean it, Steve. It’s Russia. I was able to cover for Tyler, but there is nothing I would be able to do if you set foot in Russia without authorization.”
“You can’t expect me to just leave her there?” Steve stayed calm, knowing Sam was looking for any sign he didn’t have his shit together.
“No, I don’t expect you to. And if you think I would leave her there, that doesn’t say much about what you think of me,” Sam said bluntly.
Steve winced. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“All I’m saying is trust me. We don’t even know if he is planning to take her with him. One step at a time. We will do whatever is needed to bring her home. You have my word.”
Steve nodded. What else could he do but trust his boss?
“I’m sure Kelly could use an extra pair of hands. If you’re ready to get back to work?”
“I got the feeling I was being sidelined,” Steve said.
“You needed to cool down. Staying here meant you could do that. You’re still on the team, so long as you stay focused.” Sam stood. “I need to get on a call. Go see Kelly and help find your wife.”
Eagerly, Steve stood. “Thanks, Sam.”
He entered the war room, expecting to find Kelly, but was surprised to find the room full. The rest of the intel team and Nyx were heads down over computers, paperwork, or photos. He swallowed down the lump in his throat. He knew they were looking for the sarin, or the target, but he didn’t doubt they were also looking for his wife.
Taking a seat beside Kelly, he said, “I’m sorry about before. For coming at you like that. It wasn’t fair and you didn’t deserve it.”
She looked up from her computer. “Steve, it’s fine. You don’t need to apologize. You’re worried and upset. We all are.”
“Not an excuse. You’re the best intelligence officer I know. You’re family and I trust you completely.”
She put her hand on his arm, squeezing gently. “Thank you. We will bring her home, Steve. I won’t rest until we do.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Things haven’t been too good between us lately.” He kept his voice barely more than a whisper, not wanting anyone else to hear.
“I know.”
He opened his eyes and looked at Kelly in surprise.
“She told me she hadn’t talked to anyone?”
“She didn’t. She mentioned when we went out that you were going through a rough patch.”
Rough patch? It was a little more than that. “Did she tell you why?”
“She said it was because of work. We asked her to share, to talk to us, but she kept saying she was fine, and that things would be better once this case was over.”
Shit. Diane really had been blocking everyone out and trying to deal with everything alone. He hung his head, trying to get his emotions under control
“The girls knew something was up as she’s ducked coming out with us, the barbecues, and even her texts have been short and vague. It’s why I badgered her to join us that night. We were worried. But she insisted it was just work. I’m guessing its more than that, and now I feel terrible for not seeing it, and for not pushing her to tell us what was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Steve looked up and shook his head sadly. “Don’t be. I believed her, too. There is more. She opened up to me, finally, last night. I’m not going to share what she said. That’s her decision if she wants to tell you, but the one thing I can’t get past is that she said she felt alone. And now she’s with that bastard alone. I’ve let her down.”
Surprising him, Kelly leaned over to give him a hug and he returned it. She whispered in his ear, “Time to stop this pity party and find your wife.”
He pulled back, expecting to see Kelly smiling, but she wasn’t. Her face was deadly serious. “We don’t have any time to waste, so grab a laptop.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma'am. Tell me what you want me to do.”
Half an hour had passed, with no additional information on the location of the sarin, the target, or Diane, when Raven entered the already crowded room. They were followed by Sam. Steve looked at Dex expectantly.
“The place was empty,” Dex said. “Cleaned out. We did find a few papers that I think might connect to what we found at the Aziz hotel. Someone got sloppy and left them in the trash.”
Sam’s whistle interrupted them, and they all turned as Dale appeared on the video wall.
“Dale. Go ahead,” Sam said.
“I sent agents to have a friendly chat with two of the judges that are also members of the Havana Club. The third is in Europe. Has been for six weeks and is not due back for another two. Both judges were cooperative, and the general consensus is that Volkov was respectful, generous, helpful, and loves his daughter very much. However, when they asked whether either judge knew about a custody battle, Judge Langdon said no and seemed genuinely surprised. Judge Dolan also said no but became nervous and agitated. Shortly after, he made an excuse about needing to get to court and asked the agents to leave.”
“So what now?” Steve asked impatiently. If the man knew where to find Volkov, he needed to be questioned.
“As you can imagine, we need to tread carefully here,” Dale answered. “He’s a judge. We’re digging into his life. See if we can get enough to get him in for formal questioning.”
Steve pushed back on his chair and stood up. “That’s going to take hours or days. Time, we don't have!”
“I’m well aware of that. But him being nervous is not enough to bring him in. You know that as well as I do. However I have someone keeping an eye on him, to see if he leads us anywhere in the meantime. Nervous people tend to make mistakes. Maybe we—”
Dale stopped mid-sentence and Steve watched as he appeared to speak to someone off camera. When he turned back to them, his face was tense.
“We’ve received a video.”
Steve’s stomach dropped. Videos were never good. Too often they showed innocent people being murdered at the hands of terrorists.
“It came with instructions to show it to Steve Williams and his SEAL team. No one has watched it yet. Standby and I’ll bring it up.” Dale’s picture disappeared.
Then Diane appeared.
The first thing Steve noticed was the bruise on her cheek and the cut above her eye. He clenched his fists. The bastard had laid his hands on his wife. But she was alive. He vaguely sensed Donnie moving to stand next to him. He focused on Diane. Her eyes kept darting from the camera, obviously terrified. And alone.
Everyone in the war room was fixated on the screen.
The camera turned, Volkov filled the screen.
“Mr. Williams. Your wife is quite lovely. I have enjoyed our time working together, but sadly it has come to an end. Everybody has a price, and your family is yours. I know she shared information about me with you, and for that she will pay. Not even you or your team can help her now.”
The camera turned back to Diane and Steve’s heart seized at the fear on her face and the tears in her eyes .
“Say goodbye to your wife. Although I have a feeling you might get to see her again, but I can’t guarantee what state she will be in.”
The video ended and Dale came back on screen.
“I’m sending over the video file now. I have people analyzing it as we speak. There seemed to be a fireplace in the background. If there’s anything we can go on, I’ll let you know.” Dale said from the screen. “I’m assuming nothing further on the sarin or a target?”
“No,” Sam said.
“So he took Diane out of spite?” Ryan asked
“The man is on some fucking ego fueled power play,” Tyler muttered.
“Guys?” Kelly got everyone’s attention.
“You got something?” Steve asked anxiously.
“Not sure but, shit, how did we not see this before?”
Kelly now had the room’s undivided attention.
“What are you thinking?” Sam asked.
“We know it’s Reborn. You said yourself that means the attack is probably going to be close by. To make it personal to us.”
Steve waited patiently as Kelly brought up a picture of the recently deceased Admiral Andrews.
“There is a public memorial service for Admiral Andrews scheduled for 4 o’clock today.”
“Jesus Christ. We all saw that news announcement,” Mackie said.
“It’s close to home, and a Navy man,” Kelly confirmed. “It’s drawn significant attention. That memorial will be filled with service men and women. The Admiral did a lot of charity work, was well known in the community here. It says a couple of senators will be in attendance, as well as a representative from Washington. There will be reporters and news outlets covering the whole thing.”
“Myers said the attack date was moved up suddenly, Dex said. “Reborn would see this as the perfect target. It fits.”
“Dale? What do you think?” Sam asked.
“I think it sounds logical. I’m inclined to agree it could be the target.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Sam said.
“There will be security. Vehicles will be searched, bags inspected. Not sure how they think they will get it inside,” Kelly said.
“They don’t have to.” All eyes turned to Steve. “They could park a car outside with the sarin on board. Set a timer or remote detonation. The air would be poisoned in minutes. It’s an outdoor event. Those people won't stand a chance.”
“Can we get the memorial stopped?” Dex asked.
“From past experience, it’s unlikely,” Sam said. “Most attendees will be enroute. They’re expecting over a thousand people. The only way would be to make an announcement across every media outlet. If we do that, Reborn will hear about it, and no matter what excuse we give, they will know we’ve identified the target, and may go ahead and release it early, or elsewhere. I’ll speak with Washington, but our goal is still the same. Secure the sarin before it’s released.” Sam paused, hands on hips.
Steve was listening, but his attention had strayed elsewhere. Yes, securing the sarin was important, but so was finding his wife. He picked up his phone. Noon. Just four hours until the memorial. Volkov would be on a plane within four hours. With his wife.
Tuning back into the conversation, he heard Sam. “Liam, get down to the site, and check it out. Steve’s right. It’s unlikely they will risk trying to get anything inside. See if you can pinpoint a possible location for detonation. With only hours to go, it could already be in place. Jay, do we have something that can detect it?”
Jay, Nyx’s explosives guy, nodded. “I do. But we would have to be up close and personal to the canisters to get a reading. Those canisters are airtight for an obvious reason.”
“Alright. We’re assuming it will be in a vehicle, but it could be anywhere. Heads on a swivel, guys. Discretion is key. They may have eyes on it.”
“Copy that,” Liam said, and he and the team left the war room.
Sam turned to Kelly. “Great catch. Now let's find that Russian bastard.” Sam turned to Steve and added, “We’ll find her.”
“You really don’t think they will stop the memorial?”.
“No. All it will do is change the target location; it won't stop it. Washington might have their people pull out, but as for everyone else...” He didn’t finish.
Steve understood it was a lose-lose situation. They stop the memorial; those people possibly get saved from exposure. Reborn would set it off somewhere else, and those people wouldn’t be so lucky. The only possibility to save everyone was to find the damn canisters.
Sam left the room and Steve sank back down in his chair, Donnie sat silently beside him.
“Can you send me the video?” Steve asked Kelly. “I want to watch it again.”
Seconds later it popped up on his screen and he hit play. Donnie was watching it from beside him but didn’t comment. It was as tough watching it the second time as it had been the first. There had been no mention of Megan. Did Diane know Megan was safe? Did she know Volkov had tricked her? Or was Volkov claiming to have Megan somewhere? He briefly took in the fireplace behind Diane, but he couldn’t take his eyes from Diane’s face. The redness and bruising screamed at him. Her eyes didn’t stop moving, the fear in them was too much. He needed to do something. Sitting here on their assess wasn’t what they were good at. They were an assault team, and he damn well wanted to go and assault Vladamir Volkov. Abruptly he stood up.
“You OK?” Donnie asked.
“Yeah. I need a minute.” He walked from the room, sensing everyone’s eyes on him. He headed to the kitchen and leaned against the counter. His heart racing in his chest. The video had made the thought that he might never see her alive again very real. Fuck, he shook his head, taking a deep breath to calm down his heart. This was not helping Diane. However afraid she was, she would know he and Onyx would be looking for her. He couldn’t let her down again. He had to find her.
When his phone pinged, he took it from his pocket. A text from Agent Jessica Adams. He opened it to find the picture Megan had been drawing, now finished. Steve stared at the picture, remembering Megan explaining who was who. Doughnut the cat now had brown fur and green eyes. Steve paused, staring at the picture. Cat.
He ran back to the war room and burst through the door. Everyone looked at him.
“Steve? What’s happened? Is Megan OK?” Dex asked.
“Yeah, she’s fine. Pull up the video. I think I might have worked out where they are.”
As the video played, Steve watched it through silently, standing right in front of the video screen. When it ended, he said. “Play it again.” No one said anything and the video started again.
“Freeze it there.” Steve stepped forward. “Can you zoom in on the mantel.”
As the mantel became larger, Steve turned and faced the team. “Cats.”
They all looked at him with puzzled looks.
“There’s a cat ornament on the mantel, and the photo is of a cat.” He pointed to them onscreen.
“OK. And?” Dex asked.
“I thought Diane’s eyes were darting around because she was scared. But she wasn’t. She was looking at the cats. I told her about Arnold Janssen being dead. She asked me about his family, and I told her apparently it was just him and his cats.”
The team looked skeptical.
“She was sending us a message,” Steve said. “They’re at Arnold Janssen’s house.” He felt more hopeful than he had since the moment he discovered she’d been taken.
Within seconds, Mackie had a photo of Janssen’s house up on screen. “It’s thirty minutes away, on the mainland.
“FBI already processed that house. They could be there,” Dex said.
“They are there,” Steve insisted. “I’m telling you. It’s why she’s looking at the damn cats.”
“How the fuck did you suddenly see that?” Donnie asked.
“With a little help from Megan and a cat named Doughnut,” he said. The team stared at him, but he didn’t elaborate. It wasn’t important. They needed to be moving right now. Dex appeared to be on the same page.
“Sam? We good to go?” Dex asked.
Steve sighed in relief when Sam nodded. “I’ll call Dale. Go.”