Page 19 of Deadly Target
The dog caught the scent of brownies and nearly came into the front seat. Olivia held them out of reach and used an elbow to keep him in the back. “Down, Taz. No chocolate for you.”
The dog obeyed reluctantly, keeping his big face between them. Olivia took another sip and tucked the brownies safely away from the dog’s nose. “Where to?”
Paranoia flared again, eating away at his insides. He scanned the buildings nearby, the cars parked up and down the street. “Drive randomly for a few minutes. I want to make sure we don’t have a tail.”
She put the car in gear and eased into traffic. “I would’ve been here sooner, but I had to do paperwork to get my boss out of my hair. How are Cooper and Thomas?”
“The doctors are keeping Cooper sedated. He’s still in serious condition. I have Thomas at a safe house, and I’m going to insist Ronni join him. Unfortunately, I’ve spent most of the morning dealing with local law enforcement, the bomb squad, the medical examiner, and a host of others, including dozens of requests from news organizations wanting a statement about my “dead” agent. I’m doing my best to keep Thomas’s actual status under wraps as long as possible, but there are too many people involved. Word will leak soon enough.” He rubbed his eyes and took a drink of the hot coffee. It was a bit weak. He probably should’ve gone for straight espresso, but he wasn’t choosy at the moment. “It’s been a long morning.”
She took a left. “San Diego PD have any leads on the bomber?”
“None. The office the taskforce uses for meetings is in a rundown building that houses a senior center, an ambulance chaser, and an accountant. The neighborhood has no traffic cams, no ATM cameras, or other sources of video. No witnesses have come forward. Thomas immediately contacted the dead agent’s superior, obviously, to let him know what happened, and I’ve gotten an earful from him, but nothing helpful. Agent Marin was undercover in the Suarez cartel, and he left a couple names with Thomas that might give us leads into Cooper’s shooting, but we’ve got nothing else substantial on who planted the bomb.”
“You think the shooter might be part of the Suarez cartel?”
“It’s the strongest lead we have at the moment and appears more likely than a mob hit. The suspects we had at the park all turned up as dead ends.”
Liv’s cheek sucked in as if she were chewing on it as she turned the idea over. “Street gang hits are often less precise, so that fits with the different methods and sloppy execution that left both Cooper and Thomas alive.”
“Since Marin’s death is not public knowledge yet, whoever set the bomb believes Thomas died. One of the reasons I’ve been running interference hot and heavy with the news media is to keep the idea alive. Eventually, whoever tried to kill Thomas will figure it out, but I’m buying as much time as possible in hopes we find the killer before he can do any further damage.”
They flowed with the light afternoon traffic, weaving around the city. Both checked rearview mirrors and kept an eye on cars that followed them for more than a few blocks. None raised flags. After Victor was certain they were not being followed, he directed Liv to Thomas and Ronni’s apartment building.
“Celina is still at the hospital, and I put Mitch on bodyguard duty with her so Ronni could be with Thomas. I need to pick up some clothes and things for the two of them. Everyone else is on high alert and laying low. If I had my way, I’d round them all up and put them in the safe house.”
“It’s natural to want to protect them,” she said. “I have to admit, I’m a little surprised you haven’t done that already.”
“I floated it by all of them and got nothing but pushback. They want to work the case, not hide out, and I understand their motivation. Some, like Cooper, have spouses and kids to worry about.”
“They’re afraid to leave them vulnerable.”
“Exactly. We don’t know if this is over, or they’ll start targeting family members as well.”
“What a nightmare.”
His thought exactly. “I’ve been in touch with a former agent who worked on the taskforce several years ago, and who now runs a security service in DC. I can’t get the FBI or Justice Department to release funding for increased security on my agents yet, but if I have to, I’ll hire bodyguards for them myself.”
She pulled into the parking lot. “Director Allen doesn’t believe there will be more attempts on your agents?”
“I spoke to him for the third time today a few minutes ago, and he’s unwilling to come out and say someone is specifically targeting the SCVC Taskforce, even though I’m in charge of several here in California and none of those have been targeted. Some days he’s more politician than agent.”
“He can’t possibly believe these are simply random attacks.”
A parking spot was open at the end of the first row. “In my time as West Coast director, the only instances when we have butted heads has been when it came to budget restrictions. It’s not about what hebelieves, but what will happen if he declares the SCVC Taskforce needs funding in order to protect its agents. In the big picture, he thinks it shows weakness, that my agents can’t protect themselves, or are not trained well enough. In that case, they don’t belong on this elite group.”
“Ah, yes. Appearances in DC are everything.”
“I could have two dead agents right now, and he still wouldn’t approve funding for increased security for the rest.”
She parked and they took Taz and the brownies and went up to the apartment. Thomas had given Victor a key and the access code for the alarm system.
The place was small, but clean and neat. Victor suspected that was Ronni’s doing more so then her husband’s. While neither of the agents were home all that much, the place had a comfortable feel to it, very inviting. Victor hoped that one day his would too.
Olivia helped herself to a brownie, under Taz’s intense supervision, while Victor gathered clothes. He had no idea what to grab for Ronni from her collection of toiletries, and Olivia jumped in to help.
“Ronni has a lot of hair products and makeup,” she said, eyeing the full shelves. She picked out several bottles and lifted the bag. “Hope I grabbed the right stuff.”
Victor noticed how Taz followed Olivia everywhere. The dog was probably hoping for brownie crumbs, but he also seemed somewhat protective of her.
