Page 86 of Fallout

Jasper asked, “Why do you think we want to find him? To stop this from happening.”

“And he took one of your people.”

“What will he do?”

Brent said, “Nothing good. He’s making it personal, which means you’re gonna regret it. Plus, he’s got that computer guy from Vanguard, so he can put a dent in their operation.”

“So, destroying them is still the goal?”

“In war, you go after the low-hanging fruit first. Then the bigger threat, after you’ve seen what they are capable of.”

Brent was nothing like the man he’d known for years. Was this his true face?

Jasper fought back the frustration that he or his father had been duped. “Have fun in prison. I’m sure it’ll be just like the spa.”

Brent’s face twisted.

“We’ll have to make sure Marcus Harper ends up in the same cell block. Since you’re friends.” He turned away and motioned with a tip of his head for Destiny.

She had already stood and gone out the door first.

“What is it?” From her hard expression, there was an update.

She said, “The list of vehicles registered to that shell company was long, too long to track them all down. But we didn’t have to. They have GPS, and most of them are located in a parking lot at a manufacturing plant that the Northwest Counter-Terrorism Taskforce is now very interested in.”

“This come from Peter?”

Gage stepped out of the room and shut the door. Officer Alvarez leaned over, listening intently.

Destiny said, “He got all of this from Simon’s computer. Anyway, there are three vehicles currently on the road. The Famous Ones are accompanying any Vanguard operative who wants to join, and they’re going to pull over those cars.”

“That’s the police’s job.”

Gage nodded—but what was the lieutenant agreeing to?

“Vanguard wants Simon back,” Destiny said. “If there’s an arrest, we will ensure the police are on scene.”

“Or we could just head out now.” Jasper folded his arms and glanced at Gage. “Do you do this with Clare?”

The lieutenant chuckled. “Yes. And I want Simon back as much as Vanguard, so on this one, I’d get the information and probably give them a head start. The responding units can be a minute or two behind, but that’s all.”

“So you’re not mad?” Destiny glanced between them. “Peter figured you’d be mad, but he is just worried about Simon.”

“We all are.” Jasper touched her shoulder. “Give me the information.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

“Idon’t like it, but I also don’t want to leave you here.” Jasper stepped outside first, glancing around like she’d seen the Famous Ones do so many times. Situational awareness, they’d called it.

“I don’t want you to leave, either. So, it makes sense to go. All we’re gonna do is watch from the safety of the car.”

He motioned left. “I parked over there.”

Destiny said, “They want us to takethatcar.” She pointed to an SUV at the curb. “Keys are under the floor mat. Allyson gave me the door lock code.”

Jasper frowned. “Looks like an armored federal SUV.”

“Good. Then you won’t need to worry about me being in it.”