“We’re a go, JJ,” Jay muttered beside him. “In three … two … show time.”
The TV came on a second after the pre-recorded-to-look-live broadcast began to run.
All eyes moved to the television as Keegan Walker, one of Brantley’s neighbors, began his spiel in his role as news anchor, alerting the viewers to the FBI raid of the wanted criminal Toby Land.
Atticus remembered watching them film, and he had to admit, Keegan was a natural behind the camera. It helped that the guy seemed to enjoy being the main focus of attention. It took a few takes to get it right, and they had more bloopers than actual footage, but they’d gotten what they needed.
“We don’t have all the details about what the FBI is lookin’ for,” Keegan was saying into the camera, “but we do know they’ve been hunting for Tobias Land since they learned of his dealings with Patrick O’Brien, a suspected member of the Irish Mafia.”
On the screen, Keegan put his finger to his ear as though he was listening to someone speaking directly into it.
He nodded, his eyes wide. “We’ve just learned that the FBI has Tobias Land in custody. He voluntarily surrendered last night, claiming he has information on…” Keegan’s eyes widened even more. “He claims to be informing on Maximillian Adorite, the head of the Adorite family, also known to many of our viewers as the Southern Boy Mafia.”
Atticus fought the urge to grin as he recalled Keegan’s original taping of this part. He’d been highly amused by the Southern Boy Mafia part, although he couldn’t explain why. Then again, he also couldn’t stop laughing.
“We’re gonna take you to the scene live right now. One of our field investigators has his camera trained on the action.”
The image flipped to a live view of Toby’s house, where Slade, Deck, and Darius were currently positioned out front. Glasses and hats obscured their faces so no one could identify them, and the camera was purposely not hovering on them for too long.
Atticus glanced around the space to ensure the goons were tuned in to the fake broadcast. They were watching raptly, and one of them had already headed for the back, where they’d seen Johnathan Hartwood disappear earlier. This only worked if they were watching the television in this building, so it was imperative he’d been in place.
“What’re they doing?” Jay asked, pitching his voice loud as he leaned forward.
“Looks like they’re waitin’ for someone,” Atticus added on cue, then lowered his voice so only the mic for his comms would pick up. “We’re a go, team.”
Now for the fun part.
Chapter Thirty-One
“We’re a go, team.”
“All set here,” Reese told Brantley through the comms when Atticus’s signal came through.
“Perfect,” Brantley’s voice sounded in his ear. “What about you, JJ? You good to go?”
“All set,” she confirmed. “I’m watchin’ the action through the button cam on Slade’s shirt. Keegan’s here with me, ready for his next segment. We’re good on this end.”
Reese took a deep breath and started the engine.
“Let’s do this, and nobody fuck it up,” Brantley said firmly.
Reese grinned. Leave it to Brantley to kick it off with that.
When the Suburban Brantley was driving pulled away from the curb, Reese followed right behind him. They didn’t pick up speed until they were on his street. It was merely for dramatic effect since the point was to draw the attention of anyone watching to their vehicles.
They came to an abrupt stop directly in front of the house. Reese put the truck in Park and jumped out, meeting Brantley as they pulled Toby out of the Suburban and ushered him toward the house. They’d put a bulletproof vest on Toby and covered his head with one of the extra windbreakers, wanting to flash the FBI letters for the camera. Conveniently, it slipped, giving the camera a good view of Toby’s face for verification purposes before Brantley jerked it back in place.
Baz and Evan were moving swiftly, one in front, the other in back, as they escorted Toby into the house.
Slade, Darius, and Deck closed rank behind them, guarding the front door from outside. Since their plan was more for show on the outside than the inside, they’d needed them in place for the camera.
As soon as they were inside, Reese closed the door.
Brantley went right for Toby’s home office, where they’d set up the device that would detonate when they clicked the button. It had required some ingenuity and a little help from one of Brantley’s former SEAL teammates, but Reese had been assured the blast was designed to destroy the structure from the inside, not cause too much external damage. It was a gamble, regardless, but Reese trusted Brantley knew what he was doing.
“All set,” Brantley confirmed. “Adorite? You in position?”
“We’re here,” Max replied, sounding significantly put out.
