Page 29 of CJ

“Because the hit on our equipment is coming from here,” said Fitch.

Jill stared at him as he approached the door. Running his fingers along the edge, he made sure there were no trip wires while Sor took a cloth and wiped down the handle and lock.

“Clear,” he said to the other men.

Opening the door, Jill was shocked to find her condo torn apart. She’d got all of her personal belongings out but the furniture that was there was completely destroyed, lamps broken, and holes punched in walls.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered.

“Someone was definitely looking for something,” said Ross. “I’m sorry, Jill.”

“It’s okay. I moved out a few days ago. This was all going to be sold with the condo. I just have no clue what they thought was here.”

“The equipment is here,” said CJ.

“No. We looked through everything. There was nothing here.”

“Honey, there is something here. Hiro? Can you give me a sense of direction?” asked CJ.

“About fifteen paces south. A few more.”

“I can’t go a few more. It’s a glass patio door and then a concrete patio,” said CJ.

“The signal is coming from two steps more on that patio.”

Fitch opened the door and stepped into the snowy, dark patio space. There were two empty pots. He picked up the first one and tossed it aside, then attempted to pick up the second one.

“Jill? Are you hiding concrete in this one?”

“N-No. I didn’t even know those were out here,” she said, shaking her head.

Fitch toppled the planter and immediately saw that the base was thick and wide. He carefully took his pocketknife, sliding it beneath the bottom lip of the rim, and popped it off.

“I’ll be damned,” muttered Moose.

Carefully wrapped in plastic, the thermal imaging camera was secured in the space beneath the pot, along with the comms device.

“He must have known. Tim must have known that something was wrong and hid the equipment. He didn’t want them to have it,” said Ross.

“It looks that way. He obviously knew what he was doing when he swapped out his own with Adam’s, but whoever asked him to do it obviously wasn’t a friend,” said Moose.

“Come on. We need to get this equipment back home.”

“What should we do?” asked Gordon.

“Do your jobs. Watch your backs and the backs of the other men. If you see anyone who looks even remotely like Alana, call us, and we’ll find her. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to investigate this yourselves. You’ve done your jobs. You’ve reported the missing equipment. Leave it at that,” said Dan.

“Yes, sir.”

“Hey,” said CJ, “you did the right thing, and we’re going to figure this out. Just be safe out there and make sure you watch your back.” They both nodded, then turned to Jill.

“We wish you all the best, Jill. I hope you’ll be happy,” smiled Gordon, bending to kiss her cheek.

“Thank you. You guys, too. Tell the girls I said goodbye. Maybe we’ll see one another again someday.”

“You never know,” smiled Ross. Ross and Gordon got into the truck and drove back toward their base. By the time the team returned to the hotel, Georgie and Brix were waiting in her room.

“Well?” she asked.

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