The Law of Motion (Law Series) (26 page)

             
"I've got a fairly large crowd gathering across the street, but most of them are making their way towards the stage that's been set up in the park," Tink stated. "The train yard looks convoluted. How the hell does anyone know where they're all going? It just looks like chaos..."

             
"Doc, anything?" Adrian called over the radio.

             
"Let me zoom in on the faces around the entrance and the atrium of the station, Adrian," she answered him. "Give me a few."

             
That was what I was waiting on. I wanted to see if Doc recognized Myles, David, or Terry, or any of the others that were working with them. What I really wanted to know was if she spotted Cedrick and Juan.

             
I was parked on the roof of the garage and watched as Adrian slowly drifted by several yards in the air. I stood up out of driver's side, slamming the door behind me.

             
"Liam?" I called, looking up when he stepped lightly from the steps that led to the next level down. "Waiting on Doc," I told him, and he stopped, giving me a brusque nod.

             
"On it, Alyssa," she sang softly in my ear. "I've got Cam and Danny...north entrance. I've got Jeff and Victor stepping through the food court. I've got you and Poppy on the top shelf of the garage," she snickered using the name that Juan called him, which made Liam to shoot a wink my way from across the parking lot. "And Macon on the first level of the garage." She paused as Adrian swung her around one more pass, though this time, it was along the short term parking lot along across the street, followed by the drop off lane outside along the front entrance. "There it is!" she squealed. "The minivan.. Tan ugly thing pulling up to the entrance now."

             
"Inside, Doc," I growled, losing my patience and time before I had to have my ass seated in the north end waiting area. "Who's inside?"

             
"I've got  Zoe stepping out, along with...Myles and Terry. The driver looks like it may be someone else, but... Shit!" she hissed. "No boys...no Juan, no Cedrick.”

             
"Fuck," I snapped, pushing away from my car where I'd been leaning and walked back to my trunk. "I knew they’d fuck us over..." I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "Tink!" I snapped, slamming the trunk.

             
"Yeah," she answered sharply.

             
"Check every hotel that would be en route between here and that fucking house of David's. They've stashed the boys...most likely with David, but it would have to be close by. Do it now!" I ordered, spinning on my heels to walk toward Liam, his face was fierce as I tossed him the keys to my car.

             
“What are you..." he started, catching the keys deftly.

             
"You might want to drive that home. The money is in it," I sneered, pissed off to no end, beyond reason, because my instincts were saying I was going to kill this bitch to get my godson back, but the soldier in me wanted to fight fire with fire. "If they’re going to double cross me, then turnabout's fair play," I grumbled, taking the steps downstairs at practically a run.

             
"Alyssa, no!" Adrian hissed in my ear, figuring out what I was doing.

             
"Alyssa..” Liam said, catching up to me and pulling me to a stop on the next landing. "Are you sure this is the way you want to go? They could follow through with this bomb threat... or...or take you!"

             
"They can try, but they're going to do it
without
that money," I stated, pointing a thumb behind me. "That still leaves me and the boys as a bargaining chip. From what Cam said...these idiots need this..."

             
"Alyssa...Jesus Christ," Adrian groaned. "Baby, don't do this, you can get hurt if we try to take them down..."

             
I sighed, trying not to hear the sheer anger and terror in his voice because he couldn't be down on the ground with me. "What do you suggest ?" I countered. "Anyone? Because if we capture them, let Cam arrest them, then we have no fucking clue where Juan is, and they'll hold out that bit of information. And just what will we have them on? Anyone?" I asked again, but the radio stayed silent in my ear. "Right...nothing. So, let's see what they say when they ask for payment for the boys they didn't bring and I don't have it to give them."

             
I looked up at Liam, who seemed to be running every scenario in his head, but was coming to the same fucking conclusion that I had.

             
"Keep your radio on," he ordered, giving me an approved once over as I nodded.

             
“Everyone knows what to do if something goes wrong.” I urged, silently begging him to let me go. "I won’t let them take me,”  I promised.

             
Liam's free hand clenched and released at his side, just like his son's did when he was pissed off and stressed out, but he released my arm. "Go...your time is drawing close..."

             
"Alyssa," Adrian called one more time over the radio. "You
better not
let them take you from his place…"

             
"I won’t," I whispered, squeezing my eyes closed, before grabbing the door that lead into the train station.




             
The station was packed with people. Some looked like they were heading off to work, some looked like vacationing families, and the rest seemed to be making their way out through the front doors toward the gathering for Senator Lopez's speech.

             
In my ear, my location, my every step, along with Zoë’s and Myles's positions were rattled off one by one. I shifted my bag higher onto my shoulder, taking a sweeping glance around the station. To my left sat Jeff and Victor in the small food court area. Watching me a lot closer since I was carrying a bag that wasn’t filled with money. He wasn’t about to let me be taken anywhere. Victor would run over and get me himself if he needed to.

             
Up top along the balcony that surrounded the main atrium were a few of Cam's men. Through the large glass front doors, I could see Cam standing by the drop off lane, scanning the crowd across the street and glancing inside every now and then.

             
I walked slowly towards the waiting area just outside a small bar. The carpet was an ugly shade of maroon, the chairs all attached together and black vinyl. Small flat screen TVs were mounted up in the corners so that everyone could see them, playing the local news or sport
s

depending on which one you were watching. A small family of three sat by the windows, a businessman typed away on his laptop at the edge closest to the train platforms, but it was the last set of people my eyes finally fell on.

             
Myles and Zoe were sitting together, but I wasn't stupid enough to think that Terry wasn't near. I glanced around again, finding him sitting at the bar, a bottle of beer in front of him. However, his gaze was trained behind me, back towards the food court.

             
I turned around, noticing a young man leaning against the wall by a book shop, a small duffle bag by his feet. "They aren't alone," I muttered in my earpiece. "I've got a suspicious looking guy by the employee entrance. Camo jacket, concert tee, and an Ipod."

             
"On it," one of the Feds stated, and the gentleman at the far end of the balcony started making his way down the stairs.

             
"Camo seems to be their signature," Cam stated, "because I've got about six men making their way into the park. Two on the west side of the stage, two on the east, and the rest spreading throughout the crowd. My men...shadow them. The first sign of trouble, take them down...quietly...and get them out of the crowd."

             
" Shit how many C&K workers do we have in this shit? I've got the minivan making another pass through the drop off zone," Adrian stated. "It seems he's waiting for a command."

             
As I closed in on Zoe and Myles, I sighed, "Here we go."

             
I dropped my bag in a seat and sat down across from them. My eyes met Zoë’s, and I saw...pure hatred, no empathy, and a small wicked smile curling the edges of her mouth. Though this was my first time seeing her in person she looked exactly like her picture. Ghostly pale skin, practically transparent. Bags under her eyes, her thin face framed by straw like platinum blonde hair.

             
"Alyssa Marshall, the girl that was just handed the world…" she sighed, sitting forward.

             
"Where are the boys, Zoe?" I asked, not having the patience for nice ties.

             
She raised an eyebrow at me, her Polish accent thick. “Ah, so you have put it together.”

             
“Where are the
boys,
Zoe?” I repeated again.

             
"In due time," Myles said, giving me the sickest grin I had ever seen. I couldn’t tell if he was checking me out or wanted to kill me.

             
"And you are?" I asked, giving him a raised eyebrow when Terry Windsor joined us, because them thinking we were ignorant was better than spooking him. If he had any clue that we knew everything about him, he'd panic, and we couldn't have him make some rash decision, especially with those boys' lives at stake.

             
"I'm just helping to get what's coming to us," he answered smoothly, his eyes landing on the black bag at my side.

             
"You'll need more than money for that," I countered snidely. "You'll need a cage and muzzle...possibly a stun gun..." I muttered, grinning at the string of profanities that left her mouth as a response. Zoe wasn’t very calm but I guess psychosis could do that to a person. I wanted to see exactly how she would react when
I
was in control.

             
"Listen, bitch..." Zoe started to lunge for me, but Myles stopped her. She was taller than me, about Adrian’s height, but taking her wouldn’t be an issue if I needed to.

             
"Show us the money, and we'll bring the kids in," he offered, pushing Zoe back in her seat so hard that she grunted. He obviously knew how to handle her, though it didn’t seem to come from any sort of caring emotion, more like a trainer with a dog.

             
I was shaking my head no before he even finished. "It
so
doesn't work that way with me," I stated, my voice low. "I need to...
see
what I'm paying for, or this meeting is over. You can take your chances with other...people."

             
"I'm not fucking stupid, Alyssa," Myles snapped, now starting to show his temper. "I know this place is fucking surrounded."

             
"Then let's cut the shit!" I hissed back, my hands in fists in my lap, and I was glad that someone was blaring a baseball game inside the bar to cover my raised voice. "I've got what you want, and you've got what I want. I want to see the boys...now!"

             
"Yes, but what you don't seem to realize is that
you're
coming with us," Myles chuckled. "Consider it...
insurance
on getting out of here," he snorted, waving his hand toward the balcony and the front door. He lifted the front of his shirt, where a revolver was seated in the waistband of his jeans. "Are we clear?"

             
"I'm not going anywhere until you release Juan and his friend inside this fucking station," I countered, knowing for a fact that he couldn't do it, but I was surrounded by the best of the fucking best, so my confidence level was really high.

             
Myles smiled, looked over his shoulder, and Terry nodded, pulling out a cell phone and walking away. Whatever was about to happen this was it.               Instinctually my mind went over six different ways to prevent it. I could punch Zoe in the face, giving me enough time to get in my bag and shoot Terry just before I rammed Myles’s nose into his brain. That would wipe the smile off his face. Or I could go after Terry first halting whatever he was about to do, letting Hunter and Victo
r
who were near b
y
take care of Zoe and Myles.

             
Myles put a hand on my shoulder and I froze, but before I grabbed his wrist and flipped him onto the table in front of me like I wanted to, my mind flashed to the conversation I had with Hunter not even twenty-four hours ago.




             
He was sitting at the picnic table, straddling it like I was so we were facing each other. Adrian was washing the dishes with Kristen,  she was running interference so that I could have this time to plan things out with him. Give him my orders so that when the moment came, no one would question it.