Page 25

TWENTY-FOUR

“Is everyone all right?” James’ calm voice came over the comms. “Why are you shooting?”

“Because this wasn’t supposed to happen! It’s messing with the plan and I have to think. But I can’t think with your constant yapping in my ear. So shut up!”

James fell silent. And Kenzie knew he was simply letting the man talk, think things through, and hopefully, give him something to work with. “I ... I need to get out of here.” A harsh breath exploded in her ear. “I need a car. Bring a car and I’ll leave. I won’t hurt anyone and I’ll leave. Leave it at the back door with the keys in it and running.”

“Don’t believe him!” The high-pitched shriek echoed. “He’s going to kill us all!”

“Shut up! Shut up! Or I’ll finish you off right now!”

Oh, please listen to him and be quiet , Kenzie silently begged the terrified woman. Sobs reached her, but no more screams. And no more bullets.

James continued to talk with the man, promising him the car, asking for a bit of time to get it, while Kenzie clamped down hard on her nerves and clutched her weapon. She took a deep breath and stepped into the warehouse to find row after row of shelving with items organized neatly, making them easy to find and ship. Everything from dishware to clothing to Christmas trees.

She was right behind Greene and Otis, and she pulled up short when Otis barked and sat, refusing to go farther than the three feet just inside the door.

Greene frowned. “He doesn’t like something.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure. He’s never done this before. What is it, boy?”

Greene started to step forward, but Otis circled in front of him, blocking his path.

“Stop,” Kenzie said. “Trust him.”

“Yeah.”

“Cowboy,” Cole said, “get eyes on this guy for me. You may have to work around the outside to the window. If I remember the blueprints correctly, the office is glassed in on the side facing the warehouse and there’s one window on the exterior wall. You should have access out there.”

Cowboy hesitated, his eyes on the dog, then lifting to Greene. “You done any explosives training with him?”

Greene stilled, then nodded. “Yeah. Some. Just for fun.”

“Looks like your fun might be paying off.” His eyes scanned the warehouse. “One of the hostages said something about blowing them all up. I don’t like this.”

Kenzie didn’t either, but what choice did they have? They were one man short and the other team had yet to arrive. “Do we wait on the others?” she asked.

A burst of gunfire from somewhere straight ahead answered that question. Cole huffed. “We need eyes. Now. Cross, update on hostages?”

“No one is hurt at the moment. He’s just angry and shooting at the wall, but I don’t know how much time we’ll have before he kills a hostage. I think he’s capable.”

“Understood.” Cole frowned.

“They’ve made the assumption that this is Charlie Matthews, but I’m not so sure. He keeps ranting about how they took his job—not his , but someone he knows? Maybe? It’s not exactly clear.”

“Okay, keep trying to get more info and we’ll see what we’re dealing with here.” He looked at Cowboy and the man nodded.

“Going for eyes,” Cowboy said. “I’ll let you know when it’s up.”

“No,” Kenzie said. “Let me do it. This place may be booby-trapped. You’re the explosives expert and you have the tools. You’re needed here.”

She met Cole’s gaze, and he gave a reluctant nod with a glance at Cowboy. “She’s right.” Then back to her. “Go.”

Kenzie broke off and exited the warehouse. Cole would be able to use his phone to see once the camera was in place, as would the ones in the command vehicle. Now she just had to find the right spot to put it.

And make sure she didn’t trip any explosives on her way to doing it. But, if the building had explosives inside...

“I need a dog out here,” she said. “I need to make sure there aren’t any explosives around the perimeter. It’s concrete, though, so I’m relatively sure I would spot something if it was there.”

“There’s no time,” Cole said. “Badami and Cross say the guy is escalating. It’s now or never, King.”

“Then I guess it’s now.”

“Be careful.”

“Always.”

She stepped with precision, putting one foot in front of the other, scanning the area. She didn’t have the level of explosives training that Cowboy did, but she had the basics they all had and could spot a wire or laser just as easily as the next person. She could have a robot come in, but that would take time. And she wasn’t sure the hostages had the time.

“Why are there only four workers inside?” she asked. “Where’s everyone else?”

“He let them go,” James said. “According to my source here, the four who are with him are Margaret Tomlinson, Garth Kittridge, Jenny Bowman, and Trixie Brown. Margaret is a supervisor who does a lot of firing. Garth is a new worker, only on the job for a few weeks. Jenny and Trixie walked out of the bathroom after the others were released from the building. Trixie saw the gunman and ran back to lock herself in the bathroom and called 911. He threatened to kill one of the other hostages if she didn’t come out, so she did, and that’s when the dispatcher lost contact. The other workers agree that if it’s not Charlie Matthews, he has some kind of connection with the place. Said everything felt personal.”

“Great,” she whispered. “Lots of anger then.”

“Loads.”

“What do we know about Charlie? Experience with explosives?”

“Yeah. Just learned he used to do demo for a construction company.”

“Fabulous.”

He went silent for a moment and she continued on, rounding the building. The window was just ahead on her left. She held the tiny camera and approached, eyes still looking for any kind of tripwire. Finally convinced there was nothing, she placed her back against the wall and raised the camera to the corner of the window. The blinds were pulled, but all she needed was a crack of an opening. Bit by bit, she twisted the camera near the edge of the bottom blind until she could see just inside the office on the screen of her phone.

“Second SWAT team is on the ground,” James said. “Sniper setting up position.”

“And we’ve got explosives in here,” Cole said. “Cowboy’s taken care of two. No idea how many more.”

“Get out of there,” James said, and Kenzie’s heart plummeted. They had to get the hostages. Her work phone pinged with a text from Tabitha Lewis. It had to be about her mother’s case. She ignored it but made a mental note to check it as soon as everything was under control here. She tilted the camera slightly and finally got a good look at the gunman.

“Guys, he’s got on a vest full of explosives. If he detonates it, no one in this building is walking away.”

She heard James sigh. “Thanks, King.”

“Hostages are side by side on the wall perpendicular to the window wall.”

“So, all together.”

“Yeah.” She screenshotted the picture on her phone and sent it to the team. Then she took another angle and another. “Who’s our sniper?”

“Gabe McClane,” a deep voice said. “Got my thermal scope on. If I can light him up, I can take him down that way.”

“He’s got a bomb strapped to his chest,” she said. “He’s sitting behind the desk. Rifle is laid out in front of him. His hands are resting on it and he’s staring at the phone on the desk. I don’t see a dead man’s switch. I’m guessing he can detonate the bomb with his phone or”—she zoomed in as close as possible and snapped a close-up of the explosive—“he has the switch attached to the device. I can’t tell. Hostages are sitting quietly. Their hands appear bound behind them. Oh wait. He’s moving. He’s standing and ... he’s taking off the vest.”

“What?”

“Don’t do anything. McClane, you might want to stand down. I don’t know what will happen with the bomb. If it’s on a timer or if he has to actually detonate it. Cross, give me a sec to see what he’s up to.”

The team and other local law officers waited.

“Okay,” she said, “he’s got the vest off and is laying it on the desk next to the rifle.” She licked her lips. “McClane, do you have a shot?”

“Negative.”

“Detonator?” Cole asked. “Kill switch?”

“Still can’t see one. He’s got his phone. Badami, is there another exit out of there? Through the bathroom attached to the office? He’s headed that way. Bomb vest is still on the table. He’s got the rifle with him. McClane?”

“Negative. No shot.”

“Breach!” Cole said.

“No!” Kenzie had stopped panning the camera at the entry door to the office. “He’s got it wired. If you open it, it blows.”

“Stand down! Stand down!”

Kenzie released a slow breath. She turned the camera back toward the bathroom just in time to see the shooter’s feet disappear into the ceiling. The hostages couldn’t see him from where they sat, and if she hadn’t caught the glimpse of him climbing from the sink into the ceiling, it would have appeared that he’d just vanished. “He’s going up,” she said. “He has an escape route. Once he’s out, I can’t say a hundred percent, but I have a strong gut feeling he’s going to detonate the explosives. Where does the ceiling go? Badami?”

“Blueprints don’t show anything. Cross is asking.”

“Ask faster!”

“King,” James said, “the worker I’ve been dialoguing with says he doesn’t know anything that could be an escape route for the guy that could be in the ceiling, but if it’s Charlie Matthews, they suspect he’d been living in the warehouse for a while before he was fired. They could never prove it, though. Never found any real evidence of it. Just said that he was always there. First one in the building and last one to leave. If it’s him. No one can confirm his identity.”

She could see Cowboy outside the office door, trying to get a good look at the device. “I don’t think you’re coming through that door, Cowboy,” she said. “You’re going to have to disarm it from the inside.”

“I’m thinking the same thing. You guys work on catching him before he sets this thing off. We’re going to scan the ceiling and see if we can locate him.”

The chopper roared overhead, and Kenzie backed up, trying to figure out where Charlie planned to exit. Surely not the roof. If he’d been living in the place, he’d know every nook and cranny. He’d have hiding places, escape routes, a place to keep whatever things he might have. And all of that would be in the building.

Then again, he was prepared to blow it all up, and the only reason he hadn’t yet was because one hostage had gotten a 911 call in before he could execute his plan.

But he had a way out.

So where was it?

COLE’S WORK PHONE vibrated with a call, most likely Mariah and an emergency with Riley. But right now, family matters had to be on the back burner. His phone vibrated again with the voicemail.

“The guy is in the ceiling,” Kenzie said via the comms. “I’m coming to join you. Bomb squad needs to get into the office from this side of the building.”

“Bomb squad is on the way, King,” James said. “Everyone needs to get away from the building.”

“Cross, we’ve got to keep him in the building,” Kenzie said. “As soon as he escapes, he’s going to blow it. Like I said earlier, he doesn’t want to die. He’s not going to detonate those bombs until he’s well clear. He’s away from the hostages, so they’re no longer in danger of being shot, just blown up if he slips away.”

“In other words, the hostages can wait. Catching this guy can’t.”

“Exactly.”

“Then let’s get him. Explosives dog is here. Otis can sit this one out while the trained one does the rest of the work.”

It took Kenzie less than ten seconds to join them, and Cole motioned for the new handler and his dog to lead the way. They kept their thermal glasses locked on the ceiling, looking for anything that emitted heat while moving forward with the permission of the dog.

“There,” Butler said, pointing. “That could be him.”

“It’s definitely a large heat source,” Cowboy said. “And it’s moving. I’d be willing to place my bets on it being him.”

“How’s he walking across the ceiling like that?” Kenzie murmured. “He must have laid down some kind of flooring.”

“Well, he’s headed toward the back of the building, so that means we are too. Keep him in sight and let’s see where he comes out.”

With the warehouse ceiling being one big open area, following him wasn’t hard.

Until he disappeared. “Northwest corner,” Cole said. “We believe he has some kind of exit.”

“Negative,” James said. “He’s not out here.”

Cole scanned the ceiling and the area where the man disappeared. “We’ve lost eyes on him. Any progress on the explosives?”

“Bomb squad is now inside the room. Hostages are secured but not out of the build—We got him. Suspect is running!”

“Back door!” Cole’s shout propelled the team out of the building, and Cole spotted the man heading for the loading dock. “He’s got a boat docked there! Cut him off.”

Law enforcement closed in. The man turned, rifle held at his waist.

“Put the gun down! Put it down now!” The shouts echoed.

The man hesitated, then lowered the weapon to the ground. “Don’t shoot. I don’t want to die.” He straightened and held his hands away from his body. He’d removed his mask and Cole blinked. The guy was seventy if he was a day.

“On the ground, face down!”

Cole and the others stopped, then lowered their own weapons while the officers cuffed the guy, then hauled him to his feet. Beside him, Kenzie let out a low breath. “Well, that ended well.”

A sharp crack echoed and the suspect jerked, blood flowed from the wound in his forehead, then he hit the ground.

“Sniper!” Kenzie’s shout sent people running for cover. “McClane? Was that you?”

“Negative! Searching for him now.”

Officers dragged the body of the man behind a vehicle. Then a loud explosion rocked the earth and they all went to their knees.

Cole spun to see the side of the warehouse blown out—the side where the office window had been. But the rest seemed to be still in one piece. “Hostage situation update?”

“All hostages safely extracted. Looking for the sniper now.”

He looked back to see officers hovering over the suspect. “Check his pocket for a cell phone! Someone find the shooter!”

“When he went down, he detonated it somehow,” Kenzie said. “Didn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Cole shook his head. “Or the sniper did.”

“I’m going to grab my kit and see if anyone is hurt.”

“Cross, any wounded?”

“None reported as of the moment,” James said.

Kenzie nodded and took off for her bag anyway.

Cole looked at the others. “Find this guy.”

For the next thirty minutes, they joined in the search while two choppers roared overhead and law enforcement swarmed the area.

Finally Cole radioed the team. “He’s gone. Let’s round up and get our reports done.” The others would keep searching, of course, but Cole was quite sure the guy was long gone.

His personal phone buzzed once more. He let out a low breath, snagged the device from his pocket, and slapped it to his ear. “Yeah?”

“It’s Riley,” his sister said on a sob. “She fell off her bicycle and needs your blood. She’s already had loads from the hospital, but they’re almost out due to some kind of shortage and they think she’s got some internal bleeding they can’t find and they’re talking surgery and they only have a pint of your blood left. They have a rush order in to process whatever you can give—” Another sob. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Can you come?”

“I got it, Mariah. Tell them I’m on the way.”

He filled the others in, and Kenzie met his gaze with a nod. “If I could give, I would.”

“I know. Thanks.”

Cole looked at James, then locked eyes with each of the other members of the unit. “Keep Kenzie safe.”

They nodded. All except Butler, who let his eyes slide from Cole’s. James scowled at the man, who sighed and said, “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Go.”

Cole darted to one of the officers to grab a ride. They headed out for the hospital with lights and sirens, and he found himself at the entrance in record time. “Thanks, man,” he said to the officer and raced through the doors.

He went straight to the triage desk. “Hi, Monica, I’m back for Riley.”

“I was told you would be. Follow me. You have the room to yourself today.”

“Thanks.”

As much as he wanted to go see Riley and give her a hug, the faster they got started with his donation, the faster it would get to her. He rolled up his shirtsleeve as he walked. It would take a couple of hours to get the max they’d allow him to give, but he had his phone and he could catch up on whatever he needed to catch up on.

Not that he could remember what that was at the moment.

Once he was settled and hooked up to the appropriate tubes and machines, including an IV to pump fluids since he was slightly dehydrated, he called Mariah and let her know he was there. “How’s Riley?”

“Stable at the moment, but the doctor says that could change at any second.”

“Tell her to hang on. Her Cole-y juice is coming.”

“Thank you, Cole. I’m sorry I called you so much. I know you were probably working. I was just terrified.”

“It’s all good. I’m here now. We’ll get Riley fixed right up, and then she can tell me all about her adventure.”

“Oh, it’s been an adventure, all right. I’ve got to go, Cole. I’ll come see you if I can.”

“You focus on Riley. I might take a nap.” He hung up and pulled out his phone. As if a nap was anywhere in his future. He texted James.

At the hospital. You got Kenzie in your sights?

I do. We’re just now leaving the scene and heading back to HQ.

Okay, great. Keep an eye on her. I don’t think this guy is finished with her.

We got it covered. You focus on helping Riley. Offering up prayers for her too.

Cole knew his friend wasn’t just spouting platitudes. He’d really be praying. And Cole couldn’t thank him enough.

Another text from James.

Dead guy’s name is Eric Matthews. He’s Charlie Matthews’ father.

Any more info?

He was seventy-two years old and lived at Harmony House.

Harmony House?

Yeah.

Thanks.

Harmony House. The same place Oscar’s father lived. No way was that a coincidence. He tapped a text to Commander Hill requesting more information on the man and if he had any connection to Oscar. He’d be interested in questioning the staff to see if Oscar had ever met with the man.

He leaned his head back and shut his eyes. While he waited on Hill’s response, he tried to work through the next steps in Ben King’s case.

And said a few prayers for Kenzie’s safety. And Riley’s.