Page 123 of Renegade
“Yeah, why?”
“This place creeps me out.”
She smiled. “Hearing you say that makes me feel better. It’s very quiet, and the guys are on the other side of the building.”
“Where’s the prisoner?”
“In the basement. They call it?—”
“The hole,” Tank replied. “I’ve seen it.” He pulled out a mug, held it up. “How many?”
“Four,” she replied. “I’m thinking we should talk to Haqazzii again, see if he’ll talk.”
Tank stroked his whiskered chin. “No matter what he says, I wouldn’t believe him.”
“Good point.” As she filled a carafe with the freshly-brewed coffee, she asked, “How’d it go with Sydney?”
“Fine. Good. All good. Yeah.”
Did they hook up?
With Caroline carrying the tray of mugs and coffee carafe, they left the kitchen. Tank shouldered all three computer bags. Back in the command center, they found Grey and Dakota focused on JL’s website.
As she poured the coffees, Grey said, “JL’s testimonial page lists some of her clients. She’s got every agency on the tourist map, except the Pentagon and the White House.”
Caroline sipped the hot drink. “I’m surprised she hired Erik to run an entire department. I thought she was more selective.”
“He’s a pro,” Dakota said, “and he worked her good.”
She glanced at the screen monitoring the hole. Haqazzii’s eyes were closed, but his lips were moving.
“What about another round of questioning him?” she asked.
“Let’s ask him,” Dakota said, his finger hovering over the intercom button.
“Wait,” she said. “Could we let him sit on the floor and ask him a few questions in person? I want to watch him when he answers.”
“If you think you can read him—” Dakota said.
“I saw him with JL and getting two lap dances,” she said. “He was being his most genuine self with the strippers.”
“How could you tell?” Tank asked.
“A woman knows when a man is being sincere,” she said.
“Oh, c’mon,” Tank pushed back. “Men pull all sorts of crap to get?—”
“Laid,” Caroline replied. “I know. Same for women, but I still think it’s worth a shot.”
“When I offered him my McLaren, he was cool, but when I told him I’d ask a dancer to ride with him, he was into it,” Grey added.
“Okay, so we’ve determined he’s a horny son of a bitch,” Dakota said. “These terrorists are trained to be master manipulators. They learn how to use their body language, they become excellent at using non-verbal signals. That’s how he got JL to hire him.”
“We gotta try it,” Grey said.
She appreciated that he had her back.
Ten minutes later, all four stood in front of the door to the hole, their faces concealed by ski masks. Caroline and Tank were armed. Grey and Dakota weren’t. Grey removed the bar, flipped open the bolt. Inside they went. She and Tank stood on either side of the door, prepared to fire at their target.
