Page 83 of Protecting the Nerd

“Special Agent Dalia Johnson,” the lead agent introduced herself to Auden. “I’m the team leader for the Seattle office.”

“Sheriff Auden Frant with the King County Sheriff’s Department. Are you in charge?”

She nodded. “Until Special Agent in Charge Padman arrives from DC, yes.”

And just like that, she’d assumed command. Auden had told one of his deputies to get the map of the area from his office and tack it to the wall. Markers identified the location of the ambush. Auden had called in all his deputies and had asked surrounding towns for assistance. Roadblocks were being set up, SeaTac had its airport police on the lookout, and the Seattle PD was sending officers to check the train and bus stations.

The problem was that they didn’t know what to look for. None of the agents had seen the vehicle the attackers had used as a getaway car. FBI agents and deputy sheriffs were making call after call, searching for a lead. The easy cooperation between them filled me with gratitude. At least they weren’t engaging in a pissing match over jurisdiction—not that I had doubted Auden, but Dalia was also eager to work with local law enforcement, and I knew from experience that wasn’t always the case.

“Let me have a look at you.”

I raised my head when I recognized Fir’s kind voice. “I’m fine.”

“How about letting me decide that?”

“There are others that need your care more than I do.”

He put a soft hand on my shoulder. “The two agents were just airlifted to Seattle, and I’ve already treated two agents for gunshot wounds, both through and through. My nurse practitioner is monitoring them until ambulance transport arrives, but they’re not critical. You’re up.”

“I need to…” I vaguely gestured, but Fir grabbed my hand.

“What you need is to sit down, take a deep breath, and let me check you out.”

I sighed, too exhausted to fight. “I have a concussion.”

Fuck knew I’d had them enough to recognize the symptoms: the nausea, the blinding headache, the dizziness.

“I’m sure you’re right, but I’m gonna check you out anyway.” Fir set his doctor’s bag down and put on a pair of gloves. He was gentle as he checked the laceration on my forehead.

“Glass,” I said. “There’s a bump the size of an egg on the back of my head. They knocked me out cold.”

He gingerly felt for it, and I winced at that light touch. “Nausea?” he asked.

“Yeah. Almost threw up at the scene. And a headache and dizziness.”

“Then this won’t be pleasant.” He pointed a light at my right eye, then my left.

Unpleasant was an understatement, as it felt like he’d stabbed me in the eye with an ice pick.

Auden’s phone rang, and he answered. “Hold on. Let me put you on speaker,” he said after a few seconds. “This is Vincent Mortimer, a deputy who lives in Gainesville, one town over,” he said to Dalia. “Go ahead, Vincent.”

“I have a witness who saw an unknown white van blazing through Gainesville at seven past eleven,” Vincent said. “She didn’t see a license plate, but she said it was a van from a plumber’s company she didn’t recognize.”

“How did she know the time that precisely?” Dalia asked.

“She’d fallen asleep in front of the TV and was just getting up to go to bed when a van revved its engine so loudly she looked out the window. She lives on Main Street, right across from the First Baptist church, and there’s a stop sign right in front of her house, so she had time to check the van.”

“They must’ve been careful not to blow through a stop sign,” Dalia said. “They can’t afford to be pulled over.”

A plumber’s van. That was a solid lead.

“Only one road out of Forestville,” Auden said. “If they traveled that way, they were going west, toward Seattle.”

“Are the roadblocks in place?” I asked.

“They’re being set up now.” Dalia checked her watch. “But they have half an hour lead, so if they drove straight to Seattle, they’re halfway there. We’re setting one up in Monroe, which is where Route 2 splits, so if they’re traveling that way, they have to pass through Monroe. Hopefully, we’ll catch them there.”

“I’m gonna check with other residents of Main Street,” Vincent said. “See if anyone else saw anything.”

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