Tanner just looked at him. “Nobody knows anything that I know,” he pointed out. “I don’t even share things with my wife unless they involve me or our baby.” He raised both eyebrows.
Marlowe just glowered at him. “I hate damned spies,” he muttered.
“The clock’s ticking,” he pointed out.
Marlowe relaxed, just a little. He shrugged. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m just living too much in the past. Yes, I have the coordinates. And no, I probably wouldn’t. But I’d like to.” He glared at Tanner. “And why is none of your business.”
“Coordinates?”
Marlowe pulled up a screen and handed his phone to Tanner, who took a screenshot.
“Thanks. I’ll send in the cavalry.” He tacked the screen shot to a message that he didn’t share with Marlowe and pushed Send. “I hope that will be in time,” he murmured. “It would be a shame if we let her get killed trying to save the world.”
“I don’t want her killed, either,” Marlowe replied. “And I think your brother’s got a case on her.”
“Feelings that he’s fighting tooth and nail,” Tanner agreed.
“Good thing he doesn’t know what she does for a living,” Marlowe replied dryly.
“Very good thing. Anyway, as soon as I find out anything, I’ll let you know. Maybe we can do something to help, even if it’s not much.” He hesitated. “I have someone who has connections in the Mexican government and some other less official places.” He looked up. “Velasquez likes Josie. If he knew about Vega, and he could do anything, I think he’d help.”
Marlowe went dark again. His eyes glittered.
Tanner’s face softened. “We all have tragedies in our lives, Dunn,” he said quietly. “Sometimes we get through them and we get lucky. I did.”
Marlowe stared at him, at the black patch over what had been another blue eye. He knew Tanner’s past, and what the man had been through. “Some people have luck like a shadow. I never did,” he added curtly. He sighed. “There was a girl,” he recalled with a quiet smile. “She grew up next door to me. If she’d been just a little older...” He shrugged. “I left to protect her. She never knew how much I cared about her. She’s had her own tragedies, her own traumas. She’s not the same. I saw her, the last time I went to visit my dad. She’s... different.”
“We all grow up eventually.”
Marlowe nodded. He grimaced. “She had a run-in with Velasquez, too,” he said darkly.
“Did he hurt her?” Tanner asked.
“She saved his life,” he countered. “Made a friend for life and still doesn’t even know who she saved,” he said, and laughed reluctantly. He shook his head. “My dad and I didn’t tell her. She wouldn’t have believed us anyway. She and her grandfather apparently thought he was just short of an angel. They got in some trouble that none of us knew about, and Velasquez helped them.” He grimaced. “I guess Velasquez has a few redeeming qualities.Not that I wouldn’t put a bullet in him any time I could do it legally,” he added with a cold smile.
Tanner knew why, but he just nodded. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Same,” Marlowe said. “What about your nemesis in DC?”
Tanner smiled. “Stands to lose everything short of his life, and maybe even that when he comes to trial. I’ll have a front-row seat, whether I’m invited or not.”
“Vendettas,” Marlowe murmured quietly. “Life is full of them.”
“Well, life is never really fair,” Tanner agreed as he got to his feet. He smiled. “But it has its moments.”
Marlowe just nodded.
In Mexico, Raines had finally pulled into what passed for a small pueblo. There were two tour buses parked out front. Inside the buses, many people in colorful clothing sat rigid in their seats, with fearful expressions and terror in their eyes.
“What is this?” Josie asked, shocked.
“This,” Raines said as they exited the car, “is the genius of my plan. We’re all tourists, headed into the United States for a nice tour of the area around the border crossing. We’re going up to see the ghost town of Malsuerte, a big ranch that offers homemade products made from beef, and even a factory that produces carpets! It will be a holiday for our guests,” he added, indicating the guests, who looked like anything but.
“Why do they look so terrified?” Josie asked him. “And where is the product? Under the bus in a hidden compartment?”
“First place they’d look,” Raines said dryly. “No, it’s hidden better than that. Now, here’s the plan. You drive one bus, I drive the other. You can drive a bus?” he asked belatedly and with apprehension, because he’d forgotten to even ask.
She laughed. “Of course I can,” she said.
