Page 114 of Fatal Mistake
Tara had a sudden thought. What if he wasn’t the mastermind behind the bombs—not the savvy man who’d been pulling one over on an incredible team of FBI agents? Perhaps Nabijah was the brains behind the plan and had succeeded in keeping Oren out of jail thus far.
With Nabijah in FBI custody, maybe Oren worried that he couldn’t keep things together. His demand insisting Nabijah be released was further evidence that he wasn’t thinking things through. Anyone who watched the news understood that authorities in the U.S. didn’t negotiate with terrorists, and Nabijah would be no exception.
Which meant Oren wouldn’t give Cal their location for the exchange, he wouldn’t be coming to her rescue, and the only way to save June was to immobilize Oren so he couldn’t detonate her bomb.
Chapter 31
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, August 6
1:45 a.m.
Cal promised to trade Meer at the location where Keeler held Tara, and Keeler went for it. Not that Cal and the team needed the address for the exchange, but Keeler had no idea the Knights were onto him, so Cal had to ask where to bring Meer. Keeler promptly texted his location, confirming he was holding Tara at the Unique India Arts warehouse. By that time, Max had gotten their warrant and the team had gathered the items needed for a successful raid. All that was missing was time to fully plan and run the drill to perfect it.
Cal was faced with another rescue, this one the most important of his life, and he didn’t have time to prepare properly. The consequences of failure? Lost lives.
Father, please, he pleaded as the group gathered around the table to view satellite photos. We can do this together, God. Please be with me—us—so we can bring Tara safely home where she belongs.
The tightness in Cal’s chest loosened. A little, anyway. At least enough so he could get a deep breath. He joined the group.
Max jabbed a finger at the edge of the complex. “We’ll set up our command post here. Then converge on suite C from the south.”
Cal rolled out blueprints of the building. The warehouse was roughly two thousand square feet with a ten-by-ten room in the rear. He pointed at the room. “The picture from Keeler is of an office, and he’s likely holding her back here.”
“Perfect,” Rick said. “It has an exterior wall, so we can detect their exact location.”
When the Knights arrived on site, they would begin recon by sliding a radar detector that looked like a big stud finder along the exterior wall. With a 95 percent probability in detecting the slightest of human movement, as slight as breathing, they could pinpoint Tara and Keeler’s exact location.
“If they’re both still on site,” Shane added. “I wouldn’t put it past Keeler to be long gone and the exchange is a trap.”
“I’ve got that covered,” Cal said. “I told Keeler that before I meet them, I’ll insist on seeing a live video of Tara with him in the shot to prove he’s with her in the same location, or I’ll bail on the exchange.”
“Nice work,” Max said. “It will also give a second confirmation that she’s in the office.”
“This isn’t a typical rescue, and we can’t rush in,” Cal cautioned. “When I draw Keeler away from the office, you all can move in from the loading dock and subdue him before he has a chance to know what hit him and activate the bomb.”
“Just double-checking, but Keeler hasn’t shown signs of being a suicide bomber, right?” Shane asked. “So if he’s in the blast radius, he’s not likely to detonate the bomb.”
“Right,” Cal confirmed. “That will give us extra comfort regarding Tara, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to detonate June’s bomb. Of course, she’s protected right now, but bombs are unpredictable.”
“If I were Keeler, I’d bring Tara to the door with me so you could see her and hope it would distract you,” Kaci said.
“It would fit Keeler’s profile to hide behind a woman,” Shane said.
Rick leaned forward. “But if there’s a motion switch on the bomb, Keeler won’t want her to move.”
Cal nodded. “I’ll try to determine if she has freedom of movement in the video feed. If she does, and it’s possible he could bring her to the door, we’ll have to count on the radar detector to tell us she’s on the move.”
“And we can assume he’ll insist on disarming you,” Rick added.
“That’s a given, but it can’t be helped.”
“I could take him out when he answers the door,” Rick offered.
“The potential trauma for Tara in witnessing what a sniper shot can do to a body would be too great,” Cal said. “I’d like that to be our last resort.”
“Okay,” Max said. “Rick, you’ll take a stand and be ready for Cal to signal if needed. If he gives the go-ahead, don’t wait for my approval. Take the shot.”
