Page 16 of Final Exit

“What about your ride?” Nichols asked. “They’re not bringing you another car?”

“Believe it or not, the bureau doesn’t keep any backup Cadillacs on standby.” He smiled. “No worries. They’re rounding up some tires to bring out. The car will be ready by the time I need it.”

He noticed that Dom and Jack were sitting in the very back, quietly watching him. He was tempted to yank them out and haul them into the house for a full interrogation. But he’d already decided the direct approach wouldn’t work. They’d have a canned answer ready for anything he asked. He nodded at them, then looked at each of the others in turn—Alice, Cord, Nichols.

“You all worked hard tonight. Did a damn good job regardless of the outcome. You should be proud of yourselves.” His words garnered a few weak smiles. “You may not feel that way right now. But I’ve been pushing you relentlessly for weeks, with precious little downtime. And you’ve still managed to capture ninety-ninepercent of the targets I gave you, with no casualties. You’ve done better than agents with twice your experience could have done.”

Okay, that was a stretch, a big stretch. But he was getting through to them now. The dejected looks had faded and been replaced with more genuine smiles.

“I want you to take some time off. Catch up on your sleep, visit your loved ones, go see a ball game. Live a little. I don’t want to see your sorry faces again until Wednesday at the lazy hour of thirteen hundred—that’s one p.m. for those of you who already forgot everything you learned at Quantico.” He smiled to make sure they knew he was teasing. “That’s four days off, men, and woman.” He nodded at Alice. “When you get back, we’ll plan the last leg of this mission and head into the homestretch.”

A cheer went up from everyone... everyoneexceptthe two sitting in the very back.

Kade shut the door and rapped on the roof to let the driver know he was out of the way.

As soon as the Suburban disappeared from sight, he pressed down hard on his left thigh, kneading the cramping muscles. By the time he’d hobbled into the front room, another ten minutes had passed.

He eased into his desk chair and grabbed a bottle of Ibuprofen from the top drawer. After dry-swallowing six of them, he clicked on the computer monitor. He was exhausted, the physical strain on his leg taking a toll on his nerves. But he couldn’t sleep. Not until he got the answers to a few glaring questions.

Like who Amber and Sebastian were, and whether they were dead or alive.

It didn’t take long to find them in the EXIT database once he connected to the mainframe files. Both were Enforcers who’d been captured before Kade was brought in to take over the mission. So why did Bailey think they were dead?

He checked his watch. It was going on four in the morning. He seriously doubted that his boss, Faegan, would be up this late. But Faegan was an early riser. Kade could expect to hear from him in a few hours at most if he left him a message.

He tapped out an email asking his boss to call him as soon as he got up. He was just about to push himself to his feet when his cell phone rang. Sure enough, the caller ID revealed it was Faegan. Kade brought him up to speed about the evening’s events.

“I’d like to go to the retraining facility,” Kade said. “Today, if possible. After I get a few hours’ sleep.”

“The retraining facility? Why?”

“Bailey Stark seems to think that her friends—Amber Braithwaite and Sebastian Lachlan—were killed after a team took them into custody. I told her that’s not how we operate, that Enforcers are being evaluated and retrained so they can re-enter society without being a threat to anyone, including themselves. I think if I can speak to her friends, maybe even snap their pictures on my cell phone, that when we catch up to her again I can reassure her that they’re okay and she has nothing to fear from us. It could make the difference between a potentially violent takedown and an uneventful surrender.”

Silence stretched out for a good half minute before Faegan responded. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. It’s your job to use your computer and investigative skills to track down where each Enforcer is hiding and then direct your teams to capture them. It’s my job to take the Enforcers from your team and induct them into the retraining facility. And when they’re deemed rehabilitated, another agent sets them up with a new identity or whatever is needed to ensure their success without the structure of EXIT guiding them anymore. No ‘one man’ can ever be allowed to have the power that Cyprian Cardenas had as CEO of EXIT. That’s the whole point behind this separation of power and duties. Which is why I can’t tell you where the retraining facility is located. Youknowthat.”

He did know that, and had never questioned the setup before. So what was he supposed to say, that he believed Bailey’s claims over those of his own boss? Yeah, that would go over well. Especially since he had no corroborating evidence to back up anything she’d said. Not to mention, she’d done everything she could to mislead him. So whyshouldhe believe her about what may or may not have happened to her friends? She’d probably made up the story about the funerals to throw him off, hoping to distract him. Hehadbeen distracted. Shehadescaped.

“Can you give me an update on Sebastian and Amber? Have they been released back into society yet?”

“I’ll have to check. I’ve noted their names to follow up. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I’ve given my team some time off to get their heads straight. I’ve been pushing them pretty hard. As soon as my other teams check in, I’ll give them some time off, too.”

“You think that what happened with Stark is because they need a break?”

“They’re young, inexperienced. This is their third attempt to capture the same Enforcer, without success. A break can only do them good. Besides, I need more time to track her down again anyway. Might as well give all the teams some downtime. We’ll hit it hard after that, wrap this up.”

“All right. Keep me posted. The longer this mission drags on, the more we risk exposure. I don’t think I need to remind you about the harm it would cause if the public finds out what EXIT really did, and that the government sanctioned most of their activities. Heads would roll—including yours now that you’re part of damage control. Understood?”

Kade stiffened. Had Faegan just threatened him?

“Special Agent Quinn, is that understood?”

“Understood,” he bit out. “Sir, I have some concerns about the performance of two of the agents you assigned to me—Dominic and Jack. I’d like you to provide me a background report—”

“I don’t have time or patience for gripes. You knew when you took this assignment that you were getting greenhorns. That’s what makes these missions work. It’s all on a need-to-know basis. Feed them a few lies and they think they’re a trusted part of an inner circle. They know just enough to make them eager and are so intent on making a good impression that they don’t rock the boat, they don’t demand more information. More seasoned agents would drastically increase the risk. They’d connect the dots, learn enough to become a liability. That’s not what either of us wants. Now, unless there’s something else that actually requires my attention, we’re done. Are we done, Special Agent Quinn?”

“Yes, sir. We’re done.”

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