Her mother’s shocked expression made her want to laugh, but she had to stay focused. Working quickly, they pushed the body onto the bedding, then rolled him up in it. On the count of three, all five lifted him, hurried out the front door.
The dead Russian weighed a ton. Though Halston’s muscles screamed in protest, she urged them on, encouraging them to push past the pain. Though they were afraid, probably starving, and somewhat dehydrated, they worked efficiently to carry the body twenty feet into a densely wooded area. They left him there, covered him with nearby brush, downed branches, and fallen leaves.
Next, Halston opened the van door that housed the luggage, then returned to the four, waiting outside.
“Ask the man who’s not well—Lars—which bag is his,” Halston commanded. “We’ll sneak his medicine inside.”
Her dad vanished around the corner of the building while her mom sidled close.
“Are you okay?” her mom asked.
“I’m better now,” she replied.
“We’re accessories to murder,” bleated one of the scientists.
“Self-defense,” Halston pushed back. “These people are savages. They don’t care about you. They only care about you finishing the job for them. Once you do that, they’ll kill you. All of you.”
Her mom and a different scientist gasped as her dad hurried around the corner. “We’re looking for a black carry-on bag. His name is on the luggage tag.”
“I’ll stand watch,” Halston said as the scientists climbed into the van.
They returned with four prescription bottles. Racing inside, two of the scientists went into their shabby sleeping quarters to administer his meds.
When Halston’s mom clasped her hand, her mother’s familiar touch brought her a brief moment of comfort. “We need to get that blood spatter off you,” her mom whispered.
In the small bathroom with nothing more than a sink and a toilet, he mom cleaned her up as best she could.
“Turn your clothing inside out,” her mom said.
Halston kissed her mom’s cheek.
“Seeing you covered in blood terrified me,” her mom said.
“It’s going to be okay, Mom.”
As Halston quickly reversed her shirt, her mom said, “I hope you’re right. At the moment, I’m not feeling very confident.”
“I need to get everyone out,” Halston said, “before the bitch from hell comes back.”
22
THE RESCUE
GABRIEL
Gabriel sat in the Black Site’s conference room staring at the tracker. Still no sign of Halston. He hadn’t moved since he’d gotten there, forty minutes ago.
The giant pit in his stomach had morphed into full-blown concern.
Teddy and Sydney arrived minutes after him. Sin and Evangeline got there next.
“Show me how I can pull up the wedding ring history, so I can see where Halston was earlier today,” Gabriel said.
“It’s live signal only,” Sin explained. “Crockett and his team are working on a new version that shows the last hour.”
“That won’t help me now,” Gabriel bit out as he silently willed Halston tracker blip to appear on the screen.
He lost track of time until commotion had him glancing up. Greystone and Caroline hurried in. While Teddy updated them, Gabriel left the conference room to pace in the silent corridor. Sitting and staring at a screen was making him crazy. He was a man of action. Hunting down the enemy and taking them out.That was his MO. He was relying on technology that didn’t work. Both the chip in her neck and the wedding band ring had failed her… and him. Both Teddy and Sydney had talked him out of going to the embassy, but…
