Headhunters (17 page)

“Let’s get together, okay?” I said. “Let’s meet under the
El…” I gave Billy an address, an intersection I knew was close enough to the
Jacobson Tower.

“Fine,” Billy said and hung up.

“Damn it,” I muttered as I rang off.

“Everything okay?” Jess asked.

I could only shake my head, lips pressed together as I
dialed again. This time the call was picked up on the first ring.

“Crawford,” Ron barked into the phone.

“Ron, it’s Simon.”

“Simon, are you okay?” Ron asked. “I heard you had some
trouble at the house.”

“You could say that,” I replied. “Are you and Geoff still on
track?”

“We’re good to go,” Ron said. “Moving the cars as we speak.”

“Good,” I replied. “Listen, Ron, I need something else from
you. Something that could be difficult…”

“Go ahead, man.”

“Remember that job in Miami?” I asked.

“Yeah…”

“The one with the ordinance?” I asked, looking at the back
of the cab driver’s head to see if he would pick up on what I was saying. He
didn’t seem to notice.

“Yeah.”

“I need you to pick it up,” I said.

“You stole it?” Ron asked.

“Creatively acquired some of it, yes,” I replied. “I was
redistributing resources for future operations. I need you to pick it up and
meet me at this address…”

***

Jess and I exited the taxi and began
to walk. We were separate at first. Somehow the reality of the situation, of
almost getting caught was sinking in and I knew that it jarred her
tremendously.

“Hey,” I said. Jess looked over at me as we walked. Her arms
were held across her chest. I put an arm around her. “It’s going to be okay.”

Jess sighed.

“I don’t know how,” she said.

“How about this?” I said. “Let’s call the kids and see how
they’re doing? Okay? I’ll just call right now.”

Jess nodded. I knew she was upset and I hoped that I could
help turn this around somehow. I dialed the phone.

After a couple rings, Alaina picked up.

“Hello?” she said. Her voice was stressed and I could hear
the kids in the background.

“Hi, it’s Simon,” I said. I tried to keep my voice upbeat, hoping
it might be contagious. It wasn’t.

“Where the hell have you been?” Alaina asked.

“Excuse me?” I was hurt and surprised and for a second I
thought/hoped I’d dialed the wrong number.

“I’ve been with the kids for a few days now,” Alaina said.
“You wake us up in the middle of the night, make us run out of the house with
no explanation and then don’t bother to call? What is that?”

“Alaina, Alaina, calm down,” I said. I looked at Jess who
was showing signs of concern. My calming phone call to the kids was going bad
in a cataclysmic way.

“Calm? I am calm,” Alaina said in a decidedly uncalm way.
“Here, you want to talk to your kids? Here you go.”

I heard the scuffling noise of the phone being handed over.
I could hear Mel first, then David in the background.

“Daddy? When are you coming home?” she asked. “We miss you.
You’ve been gone forever… Are you at work?”

Oh my God, I was dying inside.

“Baby, it’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be home as soon as I can,
okay?”

“Where are you?” Mel asked.

There was no way I could tell her and despite everything, I
felt guilty anyway. I never should have left my kids. I should have stayed
home. Kept them safe. Watched my own yard. I was so far from home now.

“Mel, I’m working, honey, but I’ll be home as soon as I
can.”

“This isn’t home, Daddy,” Mel said, her little voice taking
on an irreverent tone. “I don’t even know where we are. Some stupid cabin…”

A part of me wanted to correct her, to discipline her for
being disrespectful, and yet, I knew that at the same time, she was right.

“I know, Mel,” I said. “It’s only for a little while. I’ll
be back soon.”

“Daddy, what’s - - OW!” Mel began screaming and I could hear
the slap of skin on skin on the other end of the phone. Then Mel was crying.

“I told you I wanted to talk!” David said. I could hear him
wrestle the phone from Mel. She was crying in the background now and I could
hear Alaina consoling her.

“Hi Dad,” David said. “Where are you?”

My heart broke and I struggled to stay composed.

“David, apologize to your sister,” I said. I tried to
control my tone.

“But Dad, she—” he began, but I wasn’t hearing it.

“David, do it now or we’re going to have a talk when I get
back,” I said.

David sighed heavily.

“Fine,” he said to me, then faintly I heard, “Sorry,
Melissa.”

I could hear Melissa grumble something back that I’m sure I
wouldn’t be happy if I heard. What the hell was happening to my children? Was
everything falling apart so soon, only days away? And for that matter, why the
hell had I allowed myself to be taken from them? I shook my head trying to
clear it.

“Simon,” It was Alaina again. I could imagine that David had
handed the phone back without saying good-bye and it made me yearn to talk to
him, get him back on the phone and talk it through, but it wasn’t going to
happen.

“I’m here,” I said tiredly.

“The kids miss you,” she said. “And I miss you. Come back.
Soon. Please.”

How could I argue with that?

“I’m coming, Alaina,” I said. “I’ll be there as soon as I
can. I’m sorry for all this. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

Alaina said good-bye and hung up. I dropped the phone in my
pocket, looked up in the sky and let out a long sigh.

“What’s up?” Jessica asked concerned.

“Kids,” I said, as if that explained everything.

“Are they going to be okay?”

I started to nod my head, stopped, and shook it from side to
side. I covered my eyes with my hands and tried not to cry.

“Jess,” I said. “Maybe I’ve been wrong about this whole
thing. We’re running from the cops… I just broke my friend’s arm back there…
things have gone sideways on us here… Maybe we should just call off the
project. We could all just walk. We could pick up the kids and just run, get
out of town, live somewhere else, Europe, South America, anywhere. C’mon, let’s
just go… I miss my kids.”

Jess grabbed me by the arms and turned me to face her.

“Simon, this project… it isn’t just about you. It’s about
those kids, too. It’s about the freedom that they deserve. We, you and I, we
need to take care of those kids and we can’t do that if we’re looking over our
shoulder all the time. Simon, listen to me… I love you, you dope. We have to
finish this. We have to do this for the kids.”

Jess reached up and wiped a tear away from the corner of my
eye and smiled that warm smile at me until her dimples showed. She brushed her
auburn hair from her eyes and kissed me then. And somewhere in me, I knew that
she was right.

We walked together then, Jess holding my hand and I knew
what a drowning man’s relationship to a life preserver was. I’d sink without
her. Maybe that’s weak of me. But at least it was the truth. And all I had room
for was the truth.

I rounded the corner of a building with Jessica at my side.
I saw them then. My team. My people. They were waiting for me. For me. I was no
General Patton. No tremendous leader of men. I was fallible. I was human.
Sometimes I’d be measured and found wanting… in work, at home. But I had no
fear of standing up for those closest to me.

Nan saw me first and ran to me. She pointed a finger in my
face and screamed. She was riled and railed against me. And I let her. What was
she so passionate about? Wasn’t it her safety? My safety? Maybe even Billy’s
well-being? Who was I to tell her that was wrong? I waited until she lost her
bluster and fury. She seemed exhausted by the end and I gave her no resistance,
letting her tire herself out.

“I’m sorry, Nan,” I said at last. I knew that the team was
watching us, weighing what would happen. “I was careless. You mean a lot to me
and I will never take your safety lightly again. I swear that to you as your
friend.”

Nan wanted to say more, but stopped.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a near whisper.

“We’re okay,” I whispered back.

“Don’t do that again, ‘k?”

“’k,” I replied.

Nan hugged me then, pinning my arms to my side and put her
head on my chest. I stood still, letting her, looking over at Jess who could
barely contain a smile. Nan finished and slapped me in the arm and walked back
to Billy. I followed her over. Ron and Geoff had collected the twin Caddys.
Billy and Nan stood by the van.

I stood before them, looking them over. I knew that I had
their trust, their respect. We would fight together. God willing, we would
prevail. And if we did not, if God didn’t smile on us that day, at least I’d
get to see my wife…

***

It was time to meet Kendrick and
Max. I would enter the building by myself. But I would not be alone.

I exited the alley and walked across the street and entered
the building. Two guards stood at the elevator doors and I recognized them from
the offices of Donovan & Associates. They had been the two guards who had
tried to escort Tom Ellis from the building. I didn’t bother to meet their
eyes. Their job was to impress and intimidate. My job was far worse. And far
more permanent.

I walked between them and entered the elevator. I reached
for the button. The guards turned in unison and attempted to enter the elevator
car.

“Fuck off,” I growled. I glared at them hard and something
in my expression must have sunk in, because they both stepped back. I hit the
button for the 13th floor with my thumb.

A second later my earpiece crackled to life. It was Nan. I’d
be in constant communication with the team as the operation proceeded.

“Simon?” she whispered.

“Yes?” I replied.

“I’ve got the medical report you requested,” she said. “The
one for Randall Kendrick?”

In the chaos of the day, I’d completely forgotten.

“Sorry it took so long,” she said. “It was buried in a
clinic in Bethesda, Maryland. I just got it back. And I think I owe the clerk
there a date now.”

“What’s it say?” I whispered.

“Well, a lot,” she replied. “But long story short, here’s
the deal. According to the doctor’s report, Randall Kendrick has terminal
cancer. He has less than two weeks to live.”

Chapter Sixteen

I felt my heart crushed in my chest.
It wasn’t so much a surprise as it was a devastating confirmation of suspicion.
I had watched Randall Kendrick over the years. Watched him work. Hours… hell,
days at the office on end. I’d told myself that the thinness, the gaunt look,
the deepening hollows of his cheeks, that they were all just signs of a man
waging a personal, endless war. I could imagine the toll it took on him. But to
know this, that the cancer was eating away at him, it brought me up short.

“Are you sure?” I whispered to Nan over the radio
transmitter. I don’t know what other answer I would have expected.

“I’m sure,” Nan said. She was quiet then. Her usual harsh
demeanor had softened. She knew, whether I intended for her to know or not,
that Randall was still a friend. It didn’t change my mission. It just didn’t
make it any easier. And Nan stayed quiet out of respect.

“I’m sorry,” she said at last.

I nodded, then remembered she could not see me.

“Thank you.”

The elevator doors opened and Donovan’s security team was
waiting for me. There was four of them and I immediately dubbed them the
Stooges. Curly grabbed me by the arm and yanked me out of the elevator. I
didn’t resist. He pushed me up against the wall while Shemp frisked me. When
they found nothing, Larry looked at their leader and shook his head. Moe, the
smart stooge, nodded and opened the office door. I didn’t bother making any
cutting remarks. I just wanted to see Kendrick.

I entered the offices through the heavy double doors. The
space was a combination of an office and comfortable living space. Isabelle
Athabasca sat at one end of the room in a leather armchair. She had a wireless
laptop in front of her and a Bluetooth headset in her ear. She was speaking in
an Asian dialect that I didn’t recognize. She looked in my direction and
smiled. The warmth of her expression unsettled me a bit.

I walked past a desk that I imagined a receptionist would
sit at in a normal office and saw Max. He was sitting in an overstuffed chair
near the floor to ceiling windows.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” Max said. His voice
held a hint of danger as if his threat was skating just under the surface.

“One can always hope,” I replied. “Where’s Randall?”

Max waved his hand dismissively and sipped his drink.

“He’ll come around,” Max said. “Have a seat.”

I didn’t and Max didn’t seem to notice.

“You got his attention, you know,” Max said. “He likes you.
Wanted you to come back… God knows why…”

Max’s last words were swallowed as he hoisted his glass
again. I was amazed to realize that he was letting his guard down, letting
himself relax. Was he enjoying the moment? The thrill of the sale? Knowing that
he would be selling the secrets and getting paid for his iniquities? Kendrick
could sell the DHS secrets that Max stole to a dozen different buyers within
mere hours. And the financial reward would set him up nicely anywhere from the
Cayman Islands to Geneva Switzerland.

“Coffee?” the voice came from behind me. I turned and saw
Randall Kendrick. He stood there at ease and offered me a mug. I was unsure if
I should punch him or hug him. In the end, I just took the coffee.

“Mmm… that’s good,” I said. “Colombian?”

“Jamaican Blue Mountain,” Randall replied with a smile. I
sipped again and recognized the smooth flavor. My nerves had been so wired
before that the subtlety of the blend had escaped me.

“Shall we sit?” Randall asked.

The surreal nature of the meeting was not lost on me. Max
Donovan was an industrial spy and traitor to his country. Randall Kendrick was
a rogue director of an antiterrorist agency so secret that it may never exist
past his death. And I was a wanted fugitive for the murder of a friend. And yet
we were all sitting together to have a drink.

Not for the first time, I wondered when the doors would open
and Kendrick’s people would pour in, guns blazing and take me down. But as the
moment stretched on, it never happened. And so we sat and sipped our brews and
allowed the situation to settle over us.

“It’s done,” Isabelle said from across the room. We turned
to look at her and saw that she was walking toward us. When she’d worked at the
office, her demeanor had always been businesslike, straightforward. She’s never
seemed the sort to initiate or enjoy smalltalk. Her movements had always been
crisp and clipped, sparing no extra motion. But out of the office, Isabelle was
a different creature all together.

She walked toward us with a feline grace, hips rolling,
swaying side to side in a way that was intoxicating. Her smile was inviting,
yet dangerous. For the first time, I wondered what kind of a threat she truly
was. How much was here that I wasn’t seeing.

“Who bought?” Max shot back.

“Mitchell Burr,” Isabelle purred. I was taking a sip of my
coffee as she said this, trying to seem disinterested, but when I heard the
name I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. I recognized the name. In fact, I
knew the man.

I tried to look away but Randall Kendrick’s eyes caught
mine. What I saw there disturbed me. Where I expected to see triumph, instead
there was sadness. It was a look of “Do you see what I have to deal with here?”
Kendrick’s expression was pleading to me. I couldn’t say anything, not with Max
beside us, so instead I cocked my head a fraction, questioning.

“Fantastic!” Max boomed. “I really thought the North Koreans
had a shot at it, but I’ll take Burr’s money in a heartbeat.”

“He’s transferring half the money now,” Isabelle continued.
“And half upon delivery.”

I fought back the question, but mercifully, Kendrick asked
it for me.

“He’s coming here?” Kendrick said, eyebrows lifting.

Isabelle purred the affirmative and sauntered away. Max
chuckled, lifted his glass, finishing his drink and stood, following her.

“Get him on the phone, Ms. Athabasca,” Max said. “I want to
be the first to congratulate him.”

Max stood beside Isabelle’s desk while she dialed for him.

“What’s going on here?” I asked Kendrick. I was leaning forward,
elbows on knees. Kendrick did the same, mirroring my posture. It was a skill
I’d learned in recruiting, to rise or fall to the level of the person that
you’re trying to recruit. I could change the cadence of my speech, my
vocabulary to reflect the person I was after. It made them comfortable and put
them at ease. The same was true of posture. It became almost a monkey-see,
monkey-do dance. Kendrick was reflecting my movements, trying to bring me in.

“I know you are aware of Mitchell Burr,” Kendrick began. Of
course I was. Burr was the point man for domestic terrorism in the United
States. It would have been one thing if Burr were an arms dealer. It was
something else entirely that he had an agenda. I had read his file when I’d
first worked on bringing in Burr. He had served in the first Gulf war and had
felt betrayed by his country and so had turned on them.

Mitchell Burr was the case I’d been on when Claire had died.

“Of course, I know him,” I said.

“Then you know how much it means to bring him in,” Kendrick
replied.

“Are you telling me that you did all of this to bring in
Burr?” I asked. “It’s that important to you?”

“No, Simon… It’s that important to you.”

Kendrick fixed his eyes on me, but there was no malice
there. If my father had been more understanding in those early days, he may
have looked at me like that when he was trying to teach me something.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I lied.

Kendrick blinked once and then sighed, smiling at me.

“Simon, it’s me,” he said. “It’s Randall. I know, okay?”

I felt the tears well in my eyes and fought them back. It
would do no good to posture for Kendrick. I knew he’d see through it.

“Simon, it was the project you were working on when Claire
passed,” Kendrick replied. “I know, son. Okay? The bombing in Atlanta. It was
Burr. We knew that. The federal building with the daycare center… it wasn’t
lost on me, son. I knew what it meant for you to capture Burr. You looked at
the pictures of those kids in the wreckage and the rubble and… I know… you saw
your own children there. It could have been your kids, my friend. So you poured
your heart into that case to keep it from becoming your kids…”

Jesus, he had me… He’d profiled me… He knew me…

“But the work took you away from Claire,” Kendrick said.
“And regardless of where that blame lies… she is gone now. You worked to
protect your family and the family was destroyed because of the work.”

I nodded and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands.

“We can get him,” Kendrick said. “Together.”

I looked at him and could sense the steel in him, even now.

I didn’t know if Kendrick felt remorse for what he’d done.
But he was somehow trying to make things right. I looked over at Max, still on
the phone with Burr. Isabelle stood behind him, arms crossed, looking at us,
smiling coolly.

“Who is she?” I asked finally.

“Isabelle?” Kendrick smiled. “Isabelle has become one of my
best agents. She started at Donovan & Associates months before you did.”

I looked at Kendrick, then at Isabelle.

“I’m surprised no one else has seen the family resemblance,”
I said quietly.

Kendrick smiled at that.

“Rose and I had one child,” Kendrick said, nodding to
Isabelle.

“Why did I never hear about this?” I asked.

“She was traveling,” Kendrick sighed. “First to university
in Oxford, then recruited by the CIA because of her talent with languages.
Isabelle was my access into the intelligence community when I started
Blackthorn. We kept ourselves separate for years. Now, she’s retired from the
Agency. Now, she works for me.”

I didn’t like the way the meeting was going. There were too
many cards that Kendrick was holding. I had to find a way to keep him
off-balance.

“Does she know?”

“Know what?” Kendrick replied

“About the cancer…” I said. “That you’re dying.”

Kendrick’s coffee mug stopped halfway to his lips. The mug held
there for a moment, then continued on.

“We’re all dying,” Kendrick said finally. “But I would
appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention it to her just yet.”

I nodded. Somehow I could understand that.

“Why didn’t you tell me though?” I asked.

“Because you were not ready,” he replied.

I pondered that. Not ready… what did that mean? Before I had
a chance to ask him. Max returned with Isabelle. He eased down into his
overstuffed chair the way a snake slithers onto a rock.

“He’s coming,” Max said. “Burr will be here within the
hour.”

“And what do you get out of this, Max?” I asked.

“Not to be flippant,” Max replied, “But I get a payday. In
the end, that’s why everyone works at the job that they work. To get paid. Some
people would be sanctimonious and tell you that they like the challenge or how
rewarding their work is… that’s all bullshit. People work to get paid.”

“And what’s your payday for this, Max?” I asked.

“I’m too much of a gentlemen to discuss numbers,” he said.

I rolled my eyes at Kendrick, who stifled a laugh.

“You’re so full of it, Max,” I said. “Tell me this then… why
did you have to kill Tom? And Chris? Was that worth what you’re getting paid?”

I realized the lines were blurring slightly. Max and
Kendrick seemed to be working together and their crimes seemed to be so
co-mingled that peeling them apart was nearly impossible. However, it was to my
advantage to deal with only one adversary at a time. At the moment, Max seemed
to be the easiest target.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Max said. He aimed a thick
finger in my face accusingly. “That’s just the way business is done. You can’t
leave loose ends.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kendrick agreed, looking at him.

In my earpiece, I could hear the voice of Billy Bender.

“We’re recording your conversation,” Billy whispered. “We’ll
have audio tapes for the trial when these guys get charged.

Billy was a law school grad and I understood his
perspective. Criminals were prosecuted. But sitting there, I knew that these
people would never see the light of a court room.

“We’re beginning the hack now,” came the voice of Nan over
the earpiece.

I needed to stall for whatever time I could get.

“You didn’t have to kill them,” I said.

“Chris was a liability,” Max explained as if I were a child.
“We took him out to put the blame on you. We needed to sacrifice someone for
the DHS theft and you were a likely suspect. In the end, it really doesn’t
matter.”

“What about Chris’ audit team?” I asked. “Did you kill all
of them, too?”

“There was no need,” Max replied. “I approached Chris
myself. Offered a little profit sharing program on the sale of the merchandise.
I told him that you were on board with it, so he went for it. No one else on
his team even knew.”

I hadn’t known that. Max made the deal with Chris in my
name. Chris had only done it because he thought it had come from me. He was
dead now because of the trust he’d invested in me.

“And Ellis?” I asked.

“Tom Ellis was a whistle blower,” Max said dismissively. “No
one likes a whistle blower.”

“Can you believe this guy?” Kendrick said to me, jerking a
thumb in Max’s direction, laughing. He was laughing, but Kendrick’s eyes were
dead. Max was laughing now too, slapping his knee and raising his glass, then
pointing at me like I was a fool, the court jester come calling. I said nothing,
but watched them both in shock.

“Isabelle, my dear,” Kendrick said at last. “Could you bring
that gift for Max over here?”

“What? A gift?” Max chortled in amusement and surprise, like
a kid at Christmas, his day only getting better and better.