THE 13: STAND BOOK TWO (19 page)

“They bypassed my security.”

“No kidding.”

Hayes ignored the jab. “They wanted to know about you.”

Something akin to an acidic taste filled his mouth. He’d spent his whole life staying away from the feds. He’d spent a lot of money and had to quiet a lot of mouths over his business dealings. This did not sit well with him. At all.
“What
about me?”

“They wanted to know if I knew you. Asked me if you and I have had any business dealings.” Then, “Gavin, I think we’ve got problems.”

Pemberton agreed. But he wasn’t about to show any sort of weakness. Especially to Hayes. Hayes was already wishy-washy enough. He didn’t need the man going into full-on panic mode. “And of course, you told them that you and I are old buddies.”

“I did no such thing!”

Pemberton imagined Hayes hyperventilating on the other end. “Calm down. I’m just jerking your chain.” He let a couple of seconds of quiet pass by. Then, “Listen, Milton, we’ve talked with a lot of people over the last few months about this. Can’t be done without people getting involved. Not everyone is as tight to the vest as you and I are.” He said that knowing full well that Hayes could be as loose lipped as a drunken sailor at times. But he needed to reassure his partner that everything was fine. At least for now.

“But if they’re asking about you, then don’t you think they already know something? I mean, we’re supposed to meet with everyone when we go to Washington in a few days. How do we know that hasn’t been compromised?”

Hayes had a point. He’d have to do some digging. “We don’t. We’ll just have to be extra careful. And take steps to make sure we’re not.” Then, “Who did you say those agents were, again?”

“That’s what’s weird. They said they were FBI. One was a lady, said her name was Taylor. The other was a Brit…Craig or something.”

Neither name rang any bells with him, but that didn’t matter. If they were asking about him, they needed to be dealt with. And he had just the idea for them. “I’ll take care of them. You just make sure you’re at the Shed at seven thirty sharp.”

“I’ll be there. Is everyone else confirmed?”

“Everyone, plus one.”

Hayes was quiet for a moment. Then, “I don’t understand. Someone else will be there? I thought it was going to be just the four of us.”

“Yeah, I’m bringing a date. You’re going to like her.”

Pemberton placed the receiver back in the cradle and began to think about the two agents that had come to visit Hayes. He’d known his old friend since their days at Yale. They’d been through quite a lot together. But nothing as important as this. It bothered him that Hayes had so easily become a target for the feds to get at him. As bad as it troubled him, he began to wonder whether or not his old friend had finally outlived his usefulness.

M
egan and Eli spent the rest of the morning and afternoon waiting. Waiting on what, they had no idea. They were currently sitting in the car, parked a half block down the street from Hayes’s address. They barely had a view of the drive—just enough to see any car coming or going. And so far, none had done either.

After leaving Vargas, Megan had spent twenty minutes on the phone with Jennings. He told her that Jon and Boz were safely back. That he had them over at Bethesda getting a full medical evaluation. She relayed the message to Eli, interrupting Jennings. Both she and Eli celebrated while Jennings was left hanging on the line. It was the best news she’d heard in months.

“Don’t you let Jon tell them he’s fine,” she said. “Make him listen to them.”

Jennings assured her that he was in charge. Not Jon.

They spent the rest of the conversation talking about the possibility of the woman Vargas saw being Alex Sokolov, a.k.a. Alex Smith. Jennings said it wouldn’t surprise him.

“Kevin, I watched the woman die!” she said. “I
physically
watched her take her last breath.”

“How long did you stick around after?” Jennings asked.

“I didn’t. Are you kidding? I was in Dubai in the middle of the start of World War III. And…I had just called in a bomb threat to the airport, caused a massive wreck on the road leading into the airport, and then got into a gunfight with a trained Russian assassin. I wasn’t looking to put down roots.”

“My point exactly.”

Megan knew he was right. She’d heard of people being brought back to life by doctors ten minutes, twenty minutes, sometimes an hour after death. She had no idea what had happened to Alex Smith. And now, she feared, the woman was back. “I swear, I think that woman is the spawn of Satan.”

Jennings half laughed. “You might actually be right.”

She’d meant it as an attempt at levity, but given the last few months, it wouldn’t surprise her. “Let’s hope not.”

“Amen to that,” Jennings said.

“So what now? Where do we go from here?”

“I want you two to sit on Hayes. I want to know where he goes, who he talks to, or who comes to him.”

“What about Alex? If she’s here, something big is going down. We need to stop her.”

“If
it is her, and she
is
there, then you need to stay as low to the ground as you can get. She’s obviously not in Raleigh to take in the sights.”

Megan got it. “Peterson.”

“Yeah, and the last thing I need is you running into her. We’ve got enough going on without trying to explain why half the city of Raleigh got blown up by two of my agents and a supposedly dead assassin. So stick to Hayes. If he doesn’t lead you to Pemberton in the next day, we’ll switch gears. But my gut says those two are closer than they’d like anyone to know. And like I said before, if there’s one thing Peterson was good at, it was intel. If he said Hayes and Pemberton are in cahoots with one another, I buy it.”

Megan had given Jennings her word that she would follow his orders and not go looking for Vargas’s woman from the parking lot. Which led them to sitting here in the car for the last—she checked her watch—six hours. And not even a delivery truck had appeared anywhere near Hayes’s place. It was getting on close to dinnertime now and the sun was starting to set. Megan looked over to Eli, who had been napping. She nudged his shoulder. “Hey, get up.”

Eli sat up in the seat and rubbed his eyes. “Getting dark.”

“Yeah. And I’m hungry. So sit up and pay attention while I get that bag from the trunk.”

Before taking up their position, they had stopped at a convenience store. They had no idea how long they would be sitting there.

She pulled the lever on her seat so it would lay down. Then she turned around and removed the seat cushion from the back of the rear seat, allowing her to reach into the trunk. She retrieved the bag and set her seat back up. She dug inside and pulled out two premade sub sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap, a couple of bags of chips, and a zip-up cooler large enough for two soft drinks. She handed Eli his. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she took the first bite of her turkey.

Eli thanked her and took a bite of his roast beef. “You know, I’m kind of impressed that we’ve been here all this time, and not once have you mentioned having to go to the loo.”

Megan wiped some mustard from her chin. “The
loo?”

“You know, the water closet, washroom…”

Megan nodded. “You mean the bathroom.”

“Yes, the bathroom.”

“Well, neither have you.”

“Yes, but I’m a trained spy. I’ve learned how to…how do you say…
hold it.”

She took another giant bite of turkey. “And I’m a girl. We can last all day, sometimes, without going.”

“How is that possible?”

Megan thought about it for a second. “I don’t know. I guess we just…don’t think about it. It’s like when you forget to eat.”

Eli just looked at her like she was crazy.

“Trust me. It’s just a girl thing.”

“I had a girlfriend tell me that once. Back at university—whoa!” He stopped short and caught the half-eaten sandwich Megan had just tossed him.

“Heads up, chief,” she said. “We’re moving.”

An old pickup truck was waiting to pull out as the gates to Hayes’s driveway began to slowly creep open.

Eli quickly stowed the sandwiches and drinks while Megan turned the engine on and got ready to drive.

She waited for the truck to completely pull out onto the road and take off before easing out onto the road behind him. She stayed as close as she could without risking being made.

“How do you know that’s him?” Eli asked. “The man has two Mercedes and a Range Rover in the garage and a Porsche sitting out front. I never saw an old pickup truck.”

“I don’t know. Maybe he keeps it around the side in a shed or something. But it’s him. There’s a picture of him standing outside that truck in his office. He was duck hunting or something. Had some camouflage overalls on and a shotgun, posing with some hunting dogs.”

“Probably drives that thing when he doesn’t want to be recognized.”

“Exactly.”

“Lucky for us you like to look at other people’s pictures.”

Megan nodded and let off the gas as the truck’s brake lights lit up. “Hey, grab the map. There’s not much traffic out here and I don’t want to get spotted. I’d like to know, as he turns, how far ahead I can leave him before we run the risk of losing him to a random turn.”

“No problem.” Eli reached behind him and pulled the map up front.

The first ten minutes or so were sketchy. Light traffic in the residential area made it harder to stay back and remain unnoticed. But once they got into town, it became easier. With more cars on the road, Megan was able to shorten the distance between them and even change lanes a couple of times, without drawing any attention. Once they got through town, however, it was a different story altogether.

They found themselves on Durant Road, a two-lane running parallel to the I-540 bypass. The road was long, winding, and there weren’t many cars out. It was after dark now. Megan was having a hard time keeping the truck in view. A couple of times, she had hung back, only to make the bend in the road and not see the truck’s taillights. Cautiously, she would speed up a little, easing around a bend, only to see the truck rounding the next curve.

After ten minutes of this, she came around a big sweeping bend that opened up into a long stretch of road. Even in the dark, she could tell there was at least a mile of straightaway ahead of her. And no pickup. She hit the gas, hoping to see the faint red glow of the truck’s rear lights ahead. She pushed the car hard to gain some ground, but even after the next bend, which gave way to another long straightaway, the pickup was nowhere to be found.

Hayes had vanished.

I
t was just after dark when Jennings arrived to pick Keene and Boz up from Bethesda. Keene was none too happy with his boss, either. He launched into Jennings the moment he came into the room.

“A full workup, Kevin? Seriously? I’ve been here for over six hours now, getting poked and prodded like some kind of guinea pig. Who knows what they’ve been doing to Boz. They took him out of here a few minutes ago. For the fourth time.”

His boss just smiled at him. “Good to have you back, Jon.”

Keene shook his head, jumped off the bed, and tugged at the medical gown he was wearing. “And where are my clothes? I’ve been wearing this stupid thing all day.”

“Calm down, Jon. They’re only doing what I told them to do.”

“That’s my point!”

Just then the door reopened and Boz walked in. Fully dressed. “What are you doing still wearing that thing? It’s time to go. Get dressed.”

“Oh, I’d love to,” Keene said sarcastically. “Just as soon as they bring me my stuff,” he yelled, leaning out the door into the hallway.

Both Jennings and Boz laughed.

“I’m glad you two think this is funny.”

Jennings held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just trying to make sure you’re good. I mean you
have
been gone for a while now. We just needed to make sure Chin didn’t implant any devices in you, and that you’re completely healthy.”

“I’m fine,” Keene said. “Now can we please go?”

Jennings nodded. “Yes. I checked with the doctors on my way in to make sure everything was good. A nurse is on her way to bring you your things.”

“ ’Bout time.”

Just then one of the nurses that had been in and out of his room all day appeared, carrying a stack of clothes. She handed them to him. “Here you are, Mr. Keene. Thank you for cooperating with us today. You’re free to go.”

Jennings shot a look at Keene. And then back to the nurse. “Did you say he was cooperative?”

“Yes, Director. Mr. Keene was a good patient.”

The nurse turned and left. Jennings looked back to Keene who just shrugged. “What?”

“I know what the tests say, but are you sure you’re all right?”

Keene just sighed. “Jennings, I’ve been in a Chinese prison camp for five months. I knew five minutes after I walked in here what you had planned for me. I figured I’d just deal with it.”

Jennings smiled and looked at Boz. Boz laughed and said, “I think our little boy is
all grown up.”

Keene elbowed Boz out of the way and pushed past Jennings. “Ha-ha. Now let’s go.”

Outside, Jennings had a car waiting for them. Keene jumped in first and leaned over the seat to the driver. “Hey, I don’t know where Jennings told you to take us, but I don’t care. We’re going somewhere to eat.”

“That’s exactly where I told him we were going,” Jennings said, piling into the vehicle.

“And you’re buying,” Keene said. “Especially after everything you just put me through in there.”

Jennings just shook his head and told the driver where to take them. Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were sitting at a quiet table in one of the city’s favorite local restaurants.

Keene hadn’t had the time or opportunity to tell Boz—much less Jennings—all that had happened to him from the time of his capture to the Chinese barricade early that morning. The three of them spent the entire dinner with Keene filling them in.

When they left the restaurant, Jennings instructed the driver to take them back to his office. Keene really only wanted to get back to his house and lie down in his own bed. But he knew it would have to wait. Megan and Eli Craig were in Raleigh, Jennings had told him, trying to get a lead on what the Prophet had warned them about. And they had things to talk about.