“And the other kind don’t,” Nic said quietly.
No, they didn’t, and Cam wouldn’t wish that sort of pain on anyone.A search and rescue that turned up a dead body, or worse, no body at all.A family left to always wonder what had happened to their missing partner, friend, son, or daughter.That kind of loss tore families apart, was enough to send parents and siblings spiraling, especially when someone had broken the rules, had failed to be where he was supposed to be and lost someone dear to all of them as a result.Those cases, Cam knew, personally and professionally, were the worst, and not something you ever got over.
Distractions cost lives.
Ignoring the sick bubbling in his gut, Cam closed his laptop and laid a forearm on the table.“Unfortunately, this isn’t a ransom situation, so I don’t know what we can offer to persuade the kidnapper—short of the actual artifacts, assuming that’s what they’re after—to trade for Abby or to set a trap.”
Nic shook his head.“Neither Kristic, the museum, nor the Serbian embassy are going to let us risk the artifacts, so where does that leave us?”
“We have to find out where Abby is and go in after her.”
“A raid?”
Cam nodded.“Never my ideal rescue scenario—the chance of collateral damage is high, as we saw with the last one—but that’s all we’ve got here unless we find another in.The perps in custody still aren’t talking, and even if they were, they’re clearly not privy to Becca’s plans.”
“And probably not to her current location either.”
“I’m guessing not.I’ve got agents out checking their previous hideouts but ten to one she’s someplace new.”
“So, we’ve got nothing,” Nic said over the door opening and Lauren flying in.
“Maybe you’ve got nothing, but not me,” she said.“Wait, is that right, or did I fuck up the double negative thing?”
“Lauren,” Cam snapped, probably sounding as irritated as Nic looked.It was only noon, and it already felt like one of the longest days of Cam’s career.“What’ve you got?”
She set her laptop on the table and turned it around to them.On the screen was a young man with overly styled blond hair, dressed in khakis, flip-flops, and a polo bearing a tech company logo.The picture looked like it had been snapped at airport security.“Percy Hunter,” she said.“Print matches the one on the syringe.He’s a breaking and entering specialist we have under surveillance.”
Cam squinted, looking for the same guy underneath the ridiculous frat-boy-slash-tech-boy outfit.“That’s him?And he’s a B&E guy?You sure?”
“Number one rule of Silicon Valley,” Nic said, “never judge a person based on their attire and appearance.That guy you think looks like a stoner is probably an IPO millionaire.Or a criminal mastermind.Or both.”
Cam shook off the cognitive dissonance, asking Lauren, “Is he connected to Becca?”
“His accounts are flagged too.”She had that hacker gleam in her eyes; she’d caught the trail they needed.“Rebecca Monroe made a deposit this morning.”
Cam shot to his feet, as did Nic beside him.“Do we have a location on him?”
“Noodle Stop.Right around the corner.”
Dining at the pho place where half the Federal Building employees ate lunch was a colossally stupid crook move.Then again, according to Lauren, Percy Hunter had no idea he was under investigation.
That was about to change.
Hoofing it up the street, Nic could already see the long line outside the tiny noodle shop.
“We can’t go in there hot,” Cam said from beside him.“Not with that many people.He’ll either hear us coming or someone will get hurt.Or both.”He glanced over his shoulder at the two agents behind them.“Go around back.We’ll go in the front and flush him to you.Weapons holstered.”The agents broke left down a side street while Nic followed Cam up the hill.“No badges either,” Cam said to him and to the agents through the comms in their ears.“I don’t want to start a panic.”
They didn’t need to worry about a panic so much as a riot.As soon as they hit the line and ignored it, heading straight for the door, the angry “You can’t jump” shouts started.But they needed to get in there.Percy had paid ten minutes ago, which was the exact amount of time it usually took to fill an order here.And today was no exception.From his vantage point above most heads, Nic saw sandy-haired Percy up front, still in that poorly fitted suit, grabbing his order.
“He’s at the counter,” Nic said to Cam.
The crowd complaints grew louder as Cam used his bruiser build to cut a path forward.Enough that Percy twisted to check out the commotion.When his gaze fell on Nic, his eyes widened and all the color drained from his face.Becca must have shown him a picture.
“He’s running,” Nic said, anticipating Percy’s next move.
Sure enough, noodles hit the floor with asplat, followed by the metalclangof upended tables and chairs on linoleum, as Percy darted for the back, creating a trail of hazards in his wake.
Need for discretion gone, Cam shouted, “FBI!Out of the way,” and charged one direction around the small interior, leaping over the flipped table and noodles.“Move, move, move!”
