The Professionals (44 page)

“Marie,” he said. He paused. “Did you hear about Sawyer?”

“I heard,” she said. “Arthur, this isn’t worth dying for. Both of us alive and in jail is better than one of us dead.”

“Not if you’re free.”

“I’m not going to be free,” she said. “Take the money and go.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” he said. “I’m working on something. Is this what you’re calling about?”

“No,” said Marie. She looked around the command van. Stevens nodded at her. “They want to trade hostages. Cardinal for an FBI agent, Windermere. They want to take Cardinal out of the picture.”

Pender went silent. “Fine,” he said finally. “She comes in unarmed.”

Marie glanced at Stevens, who nodded again. “Of course.”

“You’ll check her yourself.”

“I will.”

“All right,” he said. “But I have conditions. Put one of the agents on the phone.” He paused. “I love you, Marie. No matter how this plays out.”

“I know,” said Marie. “I love you, too. Be safe.”

She passed the phone to Stevens and sank back in her chair, feeling like it was good-bye for good. Beside her, Stevens was talking to Arthur, and Marie picked up his spare headset, fumbling to hold it with her wrists still cuffed. Windermere glared at her, but she ignored the agent and listened in on Arthur’s conditions.

“If we’re going to do this,” he was saying, “you’re going to have to earn it. You guys shot up my best friend. Don’t expect much of my trust.”

“All due respect,” said Stevens. “Your best friend is a kidnapper and a murderer. He knew what he was getting into.”

“If that’s the way you want to play it, I’ll send Sawyer out with Cardinal’s body. Then you guys can come and get me.”

“All right, all right,” said Windermere, picking up her headset. “You’re both macho men. We believe it. Let’s hear your conditions, Arthur.”

“Fine,” said Pender. “I want Cardinal’s plane to remain fueled and ready. I want Cardinal’s five million dollars transferred to a bank account of my choosing immediately. You get me the money, and we trade Cardinal for Windermere. Then we can fight over Marie.”

“Okay,” said Windermere. “Anything else?”

“I want food. I don’t care what it is, but Windermere’s going to eat it, too, so don’t poison it. When Windermere arrives, she’ll be unarmed. Marie will verify or there’s no deal. And when Cardinal comes out, he brings Sawyer out with him and your people give him medical treatment. Those are my conditions. Take them or leave them.”

Windermere glanced at Stevens. “We can work with that,” Stevens told him.

“Good,” said Pender. “Get a pen. Here’s where I want the money.” He listed overseas bank information. Stevens wrote it down and repeated it back.

“Okay,” said Pender. “Send Windermere in with a wheelchair for Sawyer.”

P
ender hung up the phone. He turned back to Sawyer, who lay breathing weakly on the bed. “We don’t have to play it like this,” Pender said. “If you think you can hang on, I’ll keep you right here beside me. But I don’t want you dying in here.”

Sawyer stared up at him for a long moment. “Let me go,” he said finally. “I’ll die if I stay here.”

“They’ll put you in jail.”

Sawyer nodded. “I know.”

“I can still get you out of here. You just have to hold on.”

Sawyer shook his head. “It was my fault, Pender. I’ll take the fall.”

“We’re a team,” Pender told him. “It’s everyone’s fault.”

“Let me just do this.” Sawyer reached for Pender’s hand. He took Pender’s fingers in his weak grip and held them. “For you and Marie. You bailed me out enough times. Let me do this.”

Pender stared at his friend for a long moment. Christ, he thought. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Then the phone rang. Sawyer gripped his fingers one more time, and Pender straightened and picked up the phone. “Yeah.”

“Arthur, it’s me. Windermere’s clean. No gun. I made sure.” She
paused. “But she’s wearing a vest. I told them you wouldn’t like it, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Pender swore. “I’ll deal with it. The money?”

“It’s sent. The Imperial Luxembourg bank.”

“Okay,” said Pender. “Thank you.”

“They want to come in now, Arthur. Be careful.”

“I’ll see you,” he said. He hung up the phone and walked over to Cardinal, keeping the gun trained with his left hand and untying the man’s wrists with his right. “Good news for you,” he told the hostage. “We’re getting you out of here.”

Cardinal nodded. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Pender said. Then he smiled. “When you make this into a movie, I hope you’ll give me more muscle definition.”

Cardinal smiled back. “Whatever you want.”

Pender pushed the man toward the door. “They’re going to come with a wheelchair,” he said. “You’re going to be my shield. We take the wheelchair into the room, put Sawyer in it, and you wheel him back out. Don’t look back. Understood?”

Cardinal nodded.

“All right,” said Pender. “Let’s move this bed.”

Pender and Cardinal dragged the bed away from the door and then sat down to wait. A few minutes passed, and then somebody knocked on the door and Pender peered through the peephole to see Windermere on the other side with a wheelchair.

Pender gestured for Cardinal to open the door and took up a position behind him. Cardinal unlocked it and swung it open, and immediately the noise of the night filled the room. The sweeping spotlight landed on the doorway, and Pender squinted out into the parking lot and saw the half ring of police cars and the officers behind, all staring down the barrels of their guns at him. He saw the command van and the crowd in the distance and the news helicopters hovering overhead, and he imagined he could see the snipers on the rooftop opposite, watching him through their scopes. He shivered and took a step
backward. Then Cardinal took the wheelchair and they closed the door again.

Pender brought the wheelchair to the side of the bed where Sawyer lay waiting. Sawyer gave him a smile. “So this is good-bye.”

Pender reached over and gripped his friend’s hand. “You know you don’t have to do this,” he said.

“Just get out of here safe,” Sawyer said. “Understand?”

Pender stared at him a moment longer. Then he forced himself to move. He lifted his friend gingerly into the wheelchair. “Come here,” he told Cardinal.

Cardinal wheeled Sawyer to the front door, and Pender peered through the peephole again. Windermere stood on the sidewalk, holding a bag of fast food.

Pender held the gun to the back of Cardinal’s head and told him to open the door. Cardinal swung the door open again, and the noise and the light rushed inward.

Windermere waited beside the door. “Give me the bag and step into the room,” Pender told her. He gave Cardinal a push with the gun.

Cardinal wheeled Sawyer out into the parking lot, and Windermere took his place. Pender took the fast-food bag in his left hand and trained the gun on her with his right. He backed her slowly into the room. “Close the door,” he said. “Lock it.”

She obliged without a word, and Pender opened the food bag, half expecting to see a bomb at the bottom. Instead he saw cheeseburgers and French fries. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“We didn’t poison them,” she said. “That food’s poison enough already.”

“Yeah,” said Pender. “Somehow I think I’ll die of other causes long before the fast food gets me.”

He put the food on the bed, and he frisked Windermere, patting her down and feeling for the telltale lump that would give her away. He stopped, feeling the bulk beneath her coat. “Hear you’re wearing a vest.”

She stared at him, stone-faced.

“Yeah, that’s not going to fly,” he said. He trained the gun on her. “Take it off.”

Windermere stared at him a moment. Then she sighed and began to unbutton her coat. “You planning on getting me shot?”

Pender shook his head. “Just don’t want you getting creative when the game’s on the line.”

He watched as Windermere peeled off the armor and left it discarded on the bed. “Don’t get comfortable,” he told her. Then he picked up the phone. “Get me Agent Stevens.”

Pender waited for the cops to connect him, his mind flashing red lights as he worked out a plan. It was a risky idea, and it hinged on Sawyer staying alive and taking the team’s weight on his shoulders. But if it worked, it meant both he and Marie would go free. It has to work, Pender told himself. We’re running out of options.

The phone picked up. “This is Agent Stevens, Arthur. How’s the food?”

“Food’s fine. I took the liberty of removing Windermere’s body armor, Agent Stevens. So keep that in mind if you’re going to try anything fancy.”

Stevens paused. “Duly noted.”

Pender kept his gun trained on Windermere. “Good. Then it’s time for the next phase. I want a van and driver to take me to Cardinal’s jet. The driver will be unarmed. I want Cardinal’s jet fueled and ready for a transoceanic flight. If you satisfy these conditions, I’ll release Agent Windermere once I’m aboard the plane.”

There was a pause as Stevens thought it over. “And Marie?”

“The girl?” Pender said. “You can keep her. I’ve decided I like flying solo.” He paused. “You have one hour, Agent Stevens.”

S
tevens stared across at the motel, wondering what the kid was thinking. He’d spent all night fighting to bring the girl along, and now that he’d gotten his ransom he was throwing her away. What had changed when they swapped Cardinal for Windermere?

Stevens turned away from the motel and looked back at Marie McAllister, who sat disconsolate on a chair inside the command van. “What’s he doing?” he asked her. “You guys have some kind of secret code or something?”

She looked up at him and shrugged. “No code,” she said. “Maybe he just came to his senses.”

Stevens stared at her a beat. She’s as confused as I am, he thought.

Agent Hall rustled a fourteen-passenger Chevy van from a nearby motel, and he pulled into the parking lot, leaning on the horn and sending cops and civilians scattering. He pulled up beside the command van and climbed out.

“This stuff make any sense to you?” Stevens asked him. “This turnaround of his?”

Hall shrugged. “Maybe he saw a chance to get his friend out and he took it.”

“Sawyer. How’s he doing?”

“He’s in tough shape right now.” He glanced at Marie, who looked down at the floor. “Pretty big hole in his chest. They’re saying it’s a toss-up whether he lives or dies.”

Stevens nodded. I’m not convinced this is all about Sawyer, he thought, watching Hall disappear out of the command center. There’s something bigger at play here.

“Agent Stevens.”

Stevens turned to find Wellwood behind him. The tactical officer regarded Stevens for a long moment. “My guys could be useful if you plan to intercept this kid before he gets on the plane.”

“I agree,” said Stevens. “Get your men and set up positions around Cardinal’s jet. We’ll spot him the drive to the airport and hope to suppress him before he gets onboard. But your guys wait for my okay before they shoot, clear?”

“Roger.”

Stevens watched Wellwood disappear, feeling the adrenaline start to course. The climax was approaching, and he stood, nervous, wondering how it was all going to play. “Take the shot,” Windermere had said. Stevens remembered her lips on his skin and wondered if he could do it.

Hall came back with a Kevlar vest, and Stevens flashed him a thumbs-up. “Give me a minute to call Pender. Then I’ll give you the go-ahead.”

Hall nodded, and Stevens stepped back inside the command van. He picked up the phone. “Patch me in to Pender’s room.”

The phone rang, and Pender picked up. “Pender.”

“This is Stevens. We’re sending a van for you now.”

“Okay,” said Pender. “We’re ready to roll.”

Stevens turned to Hall. “Get in that van and drive it to their door. We’ll have a police escort for you all the way to the airport. Don’t get scared and don’t get jumpy. Don’t try and be a hero, all right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hall disappeared out of the command van, and Stevens turned to see Marie staring at him. “What about me?” she said.

“We’re done with you,” he told her. “I’ll have another agent take you back to your cell.”