“We’re not going anywhere,” Griffin said, loud enough for Levy’s men to hear.
“Okay, I’ll get to it then.”Jonesy couldn’t hide his smile; he was well and truly smitten with Griffin.
Rocko could feel the tension in the air.This wasn’t going as smoothly as they’d hoped, but at least they’d managed to get a read and put a tracker on the car, the main things they wanted to accomplish.Now he’d have to wait until they were alone before spilling what he’d seen and running a background check on Ed Yarker and his friend.However, he already knew what type of person they were dealing with, and it wasn’t getting better.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Apollo
“He’s alive?”Apollo asked.Those were not the words he’d expected to hear.How was that possible?
“Yes.Tom’s alive.At least according to the read I got from Ed,” Rocko said, shocking everyone in the room.“We’ll have to do a background check on that guy.”
They’d made it back to the compound, and they were currently monitoring the tracker they’d placed on Ed’s vehicle as it headed across state lines and into Vermont.The coordinates Rocko originally received appeared to be spot-on, even though they couldn’t pick up anything through satellite imaging.
“Should we tell Mary and her family?”Jagger asked.
“No.Not yet.A lot can happen between now and when we find their hideout,” Apollo said.
“I know you’re right, but seeing the pain in her eyes is heartbreaking,” Renee said.
“It would be even worse if we gave her hope now and something happens to him,” Rocko explained, agreeing with Apollo’s decision.“We don’t know how long they intend to keep him alive, and the read I got off Ed was enough to make it clear Tom isn’t being handled with kid gloves.”
It was difficult to think of it that way, but rational.They could kill Tom at any moment.Apollo had to look at this realistically, though he hoped they would get Tom back for his family.
“We have to move quickly,” Griffin said.“The longer we take, the larger the chance he’ll be killed.”
“Agreed,” Apollo said.“It’s time we put boots on the ground in Vermont.”
“Damn right,” Griffin agreed along with everyone else around the table.
“Get me as much information on that location as possible, as well as local police activity.Wouldn’t want to run into a random lawman while looking like a personal army.Well, at least any lawman other than the one we already have on our team.Find a place we can go ashore close to the location, that way it’s a clear shot across the lake, and we can avoid the roads,” Apollo ordered.
“It’d be better to go after midnight,” Jagger said.“I can disconnect the lights so no one can see us coming.”
“Won’t we need the lights to see where we’re going, or do we have night vision gear?”Rocko asked.
“We do have night vision gear, but with these puppies,” Jagger said while pointing at his birdlike eyes, “I have perfect vision twenty-four-seven.”
“Handy,” Rocko said.
“It has its moments,” Jagger chuckled.
Apollo liked how easily Rocko fit in with his team.Their banter was genuine, and the feel of mutual respect gave him hope that Rocko might consider staying.Even though Griffin and Rocko had a patchy start, and they still sent jabs each other’s way, it lacked any real animosity.
“Was there anything else you picked up from the car or the guy?”Blade asked.
“Yes.That Ed asshole is a stone-cold killer.He has no difficulty ending anyone who gets in his way.He’s a hired gun.Gerald Levy must have hired him specifically because he doesn’t work in the construction company.So far, we have Gerald Levy, the owner whose father was supposedly killed by a Noah survivor, if what I saw in my vision rings true.”
“We have no reason to doubt anything you’ve seen,” Griffin stated.
“Thank you.So, Gerald, Tony, this Ed, and the second guy at the garage, Jack Ivy, who is related to Gerald in some way, but not a close relative.I get the impression there are at least two or three more individuals involved with Gerald’s mission directly.”
“Six or seven individuals in total,” Damon said.
“Yes.Also, I got the impression Jack is being forced into this somehow.His heart isn’t into it, and when push comes to shove, I doubt he’d be the first one to attack.Ed will and has shot first with or without provocation.I’m positive Jonesy would have been in danger if we weren’t in the garage.”That made Griffin growl.“They have a fairly good-sized arsenal, but Ed considers himself above everyone else on Gerald’s team, even to the point that he’d gladly take over.If he staged a coup, I wouldn’t be surprised.Also, I get the impression Ed has had experience with survivors or the Noah Group in some way.Have we had any luck with the previous sites Levy worked on, where they might have dumped the body I saw in my vision?”
“Not yet, but we’re narrowing down the list to coincide with your description,” Ace said.
