Page 116 of Fatal Mistake
“Security cameras at both entrances,” Kaci reported. “Once Tango One heads to the door, I’ll disable the rear, but we should leave the front camera in case Tango One is watching and expects to see the package arrive.”
“Affirmative,” Max replied. “Let us know when Tango One is on the move.”
“Sniper in position?” Max asked.
“Roger that.” Rick’s voice came over loud and clear.
“You’re a go,” Max said to Cal, and then into his mic he added, “Phase two under way.”
Cal jogged to the car where Agent Vera Brevard waited. She clipped on her seat belt, and he noticed her shaking hands. Not an odd reaction. She might be an agent, but still, an op with a bomb would make most law enforcement officers nervous.
“Relax,” he said. “You won’t have to do anything but sit in the car.”
She nodded but didn’t speak while Cal started up the car and put the vehicle into gear. He drove the short distance to the warehouse and parked far enough from the door to allow Keeler to see Vera but not make out her true identity.
“Remember to keep your arm down as if I’ve handcuffed it to the door,” Cal said. “Listen to the chatter on the comms. If Max tells you to bail, the keys are in the ignition, and you hightail it out of here.”
“But you…the others.”
He smiled at her. “This isn’t our first rodeo, and we can take care of ourselves.”
He climbed out, and keeping his head on a swivel, he strode to the door and pounded hard. He peered straight into the security camera so Keeler could get a good look at his face.
“Both Tangos on the move.” Kaci’s voice came over Cal’s earbud. “Disarming rear camera now.”
Cal ignored the agitation in his gut that said he could die, that they all could die in the next few minutes. He’d felt the same flutter many times before, and today would be no different.
He’d give his life in a heartbeat to save others, and it wouldn’t take even the length of a heartbeat for him to offer his life for Tara.
Chapter 32
Oren dragged Tara toward the main entrance. She had to work hard to keep up with him. She wasn’t sure whether she should be glad that he was taking her with him. She was glad that she would see Cal in a few moments, even though his arrival meant he’d put himself in harm’s way.
Near the door, Oren clamped a rough hand on her shoulder and shoved her in front of him, then took out his phone, which she knew controlled June’s bomb.
“Open the door,” he said from where he hid like a coward behind her. “But remember one tap of my finger, and June goes up in smoke.”
Tara stepped forward and unlocked the dead bolt. “Don’t do anything foolish,” she warned Cal right up front. “Or Oren will detonate June’s bomb.”
Cal made eye contact and held her gaze for a long moment, before a dazzling smile lit his face. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.” Despite their peril, she returned his smile.
“Enough with the small talk,” Oren barked. “Where’s Nabijah?”
“Handcuffed in my car,” Cal replied calmly, and she saw his gaze shift to the bomb.
“Go get her,” Oren demanded.
Cal faced Oren. “Not until I have some assurance that you’ll give me the location of the safety arming switch on Tara and June’s devices so I can remove them.”
“If I do that, what’s to keep you from taking Tara and running right now?”
A flash of relief lit Cal’s eyes as if he’d learned something important about the bomb from Oren, but the light extinguished as fast as it appeared, and Oren didn’t seem to notice. Cal still didn’t respond but tapped a finger on his strong chin. Oren probably thought Cal was thinking, but to Tara it looked like he was listening.
Was the team communicating with him through an earpiece? She assumed they were and that Cal was trying to stall while they enacted a plan to take Oren down.
His eyes cleared. “The first step in reaching a mutually beneficial decision is for you to put down your phone and relinquish control of June’s bomb.”
