next to him.
“Will you join us?” Nathan asked.
Grangeland managed a smile. “Are you sure? We don’t want to impose.”
“Not at all.” Both he and Harv stood as Grangeland slipped into her chair.
“Such gentlemen,” she said.
Ferris seemed all-business. To each his own. Nathan addressed Grangeland. “Are you okay? No broken ribs, or… other damage?”
“I’m not a china vase. But to answer your question, yes, I’m fine. I was raised with three older brothers who sometimes fought dirty. I’ll live.”
Nathan thought Grangeland looked stunning. Her red cocktail dress was cut low and tight. Below her blond hair, half-karat diamond studs adorned her ears. Nathan grinned. “I was… just wondering where your piece is concealed.”
She leaned forward and whispered, “It’s a secret.”
“I’ll bet it is.”
“Do you want Ferris and me to leave?” Harvey asked.
“No,” Nathan said quickly. “That would be dangerous.”
“Agreed,” Grangeland added.
Harvey looked at Ferris. “I apologize for snapping at you up there.”
“Already forgotten.”
“So,” Nathan continued. “Ferris here said you were an alternate for the 2000 Olympic team. I’m assuming it wasn’t for synchronized swimming?”
“Yes, that’s a fair assumption.”
“Look, I know we didn’t get off to a good start. I’m sorry for busting in on you like that. I was frustrated with the surveillance. Not a very good excuse, I know.”
Grangeland placed her napkin in her lap. “Understandable, given the circumstances.”
“Were you guys in the building when it blew?” Harvey asked.
Ferris shook his head. “No, we’re from the Fresno resident agency.”
“We’ve been under a lot of stress too,” said Grangeland. “I feel like I wake up every morning with a gun in my face. I guess that’s why I challenged you. I shouldn’t have done that. At least there’s one saving grace to all this,” she said, looking around. “This hotel’s first-class. We’ve stayed in some real fleabags before.”
“I can imagine,” Nathan said.
Their server arrived and took their orders for dinner. Grangeland and Ferris ordered iced tea. Officially, they were on duty.
“Harv and I discussed it, and although we don’t think very highly of Director Lansing’s tactics, we don’t extend that resentment to you. We’d like to work with you, if you’re willing.”
“What do you have in mind?” Grangeland asked.
“We’ve set a trap for Ernie Bridgestone. If he calls Amber Sheldon again, I specifically told her to mention my name. She didn’t know why that was so important. Do you?”
Grangeland looked at Ferris, then back to Nathan. “No, should we?”
“During the Freedom’s Echo SWAT raid, we killed their little brother.”
“You were there at the compound when the claymores went off?”
“Yes,” Harvey said. “Sammy Bridgestone was seconds away from shooting the SWAT team when we nailed him.”
“I see.”
Nathan leaned forward slightly. “We can’t tell you everything that’s happened, but we can tell you this. We’re going to need your help if my plan is going to work.”
“To avenge his little brother, you’re thinking Ernie Bridgestone will use Amber to set you guys up.”
“That’s right.”
“It sounds like another SWAT job. Why use us?” Ferris asked.
“Because we don’t know who we can trust.”
“But you can trust us?” Grangeland asked.
“I don’t know, can we?”
An awkward silence settled around the table. No one spoke for several seconds.
Grangeland broke the silence. “You’re already working with one of our agents, Bruce Henning. Why involve us?”
“Because five is better than three. Simple as that.”
“I’m not sure we can do this without clearance. I’m assuming you don’t want Director Lansing to know.”
“You assume correctly.”
She shook her head.
“Would it help if SAC Simpson gave you a green light? You’re technically under her command, aren’t you?”
“Technically, yes.”
Nathan waited.
“I suppose that would give us some protection,” she said, “but we have orders from Director Lansing to report only to him.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as odd?” Harvey asked
“It’s not protocol, but when the big man gives you an assignment, you do it without question.”
“So you should,” Nathan said. “Let me ask you something. What’s the ultimate goal here? To capture the Bridgestone brothers and recover the missing Semtex, right? What if you were in on it? It wouldn’t look too bad on your resumes if you helped collar both men at the top of the FBI’s most-wanted list.”
“No argument there,” she said.
“Needless to say, it’s going to be dangerous. Vest work for sure. Shots will probably be fired.”
“When do you think it’s going down?”
“I’m hoping tonight,” Nathan said.
She and Ferris exchanged glances. “We’re in,” she said, “but we’re not doing anything without SAC Simpson’s orders.”
Nathan made the call.
As much as she’d mentally prepared herself for it, Amber Sheldon wasn’t ready for Ernie’s call when it came. She must have gone over what’d she’d say dozens of times and yet she found herself totally unprepared. When Ernie called her at work a little after 8:30 pm, she told him to call her back in ten minutes with the number she gave him. With irritation in his voice, Ernie had agreed and seemed to understand the need for it.
Amber was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. She’d seen the sedan following her and assumed it was the FBI. Who else could it be? Both she and Janey had driven to Pete’s Truck Palace together, parked in a dark area of the parking lot, and walked into the restaurant. Janey had a large purse slung over her shoulder. She scanned the area, not sure what she was looking for. Over fifty trucks were parked in the transient lot. Several dozen had their motors idling to keep their compressors supplying refrigerant to their cargo boxes. Diesel fumes hung in the air like fog. To her left, the diesel-fueling area was brightly lit by mercury vapor lights suspended under a flat metal canopy.
It was time to call Ernie.
A plain four-door sedan lurked in the northwest corner of the complex facing the restaurant. The two FBI agents inside the sedan watched Amber park her car and walk into the restaurant.
“Looks like her daughter’s with her.”
“Yep.”
“Now we wait.”
“Yep.”
Their wait wasn’t long. Five minutes later, Amber Sheldon marched across the parking lot and slid into her car.
