“Yes.”
“Which means that there was someone else at your office?”
“Yes. I got messages sometimes. Little reminders.” She described finding notes with words like “watching” and “everywhere” and some with the kids’ names on them. It was a lot like what Dr. Grey had experienced.
Fresh tears broke from Taylor’s eyes. “He said that no matter how long it would take, they would come after my babies. Can you really keep them safe?”
She was so convinced that her own life was over that she only asked about her kids. It was admirable, but it was also interesting in that from a detached point of view it was clear that her own life meant nothing compared to her kids’ lives. I know that parents will die for their kids, but I believed I was seeing a hint of the precise kind of mental-emotional configuration that had to exist in people targeted by the Spaniard.
I heard Ghost bark once. Short and sharp.
Not a danger warning. I smiled. I knew what that meant.
There was a knock on the door.
I said, “The cavalry has arrived.”
Chapter Forty-eight
The Hangar, DMS HQ
Floyd Bennett Field
Brooklyn, NY
December 19, 1:51 P.M. EST
“Deacon?”
“Hugo,” said Church. “Do you have something for me?”
“Maybe. I just got off the phone with Marty Hanler. I’ve been trying to get him to join the think tank, maybe kick the group in the ass a bit, ’cause without him the only things they’ve come up with are ‘jack’ and ‘shit.’”
“He won’t leave Margie for that long. Between the surgery and the chemo—”
“I know. But with all that’s going on I thought it was worth a shot. Anyway, he told me something disturbing and I recommended that he call you.”
“What is it?”
Vox told him.
“That’s disturbing,” agreed Church. “Very disturbing.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Captain Ledger is in the area. I’ll have him meet and debrief Marty.”
“Ledger’s back in the game?”
“Yes.”
“Glad to hear it. That boy’s a demon.”
Church did not comment on that. Instead he said, “Circe is with him.”
Vox whistled. “That’s an interesting pair.”
Church made no comment and ended the call.
Chapter Forty-nine
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
December 19, 2:15 P.M. EST
The two people at the door did not look like soldiers or terrorists. They wore long coats and felt hats. Each one of them carried a valise and wore a bright smile.
“Have you heard the word of God today?” asked the shorter of the two, a blonde woman with ice blue eyes.
“Have you been saved?” asked the other, a black man with scars on his face. He handed me a copy of
“Well, hallelujah,” I said, and stepped back to let DeeDee and Top enter the Taylor household. I checked the street and saw that it was empty. No sign of Echo Team’s vehicle.
As I closed the door, Top said, “We’re parked two blocks over; engine’s running for when you give the word. We have the TacV.”
“Deployment?”
“John Smith’s on the roof of a house down the street. Khalid’s spotting for him. Bunny’s at the wheel waiting on your word.”
Circe and Amber Taylor had come into the entrance foyer.
“Mrs. Taylor, this is DeeDee Whitman and Bradley Sims. They are part of my team and they will be escorting you and your children to a secure location.”
“Just the two of them? He said that they—”
“We have the whole team with us, ma’am,” said Top. He had a deep voice and a fatherly tone. “And at need we can bring a world of trouble down on anyone who tries to hurt you or yours. Count on it.”
She looked into his eyes, searching him, reading him. She must have found something to believe in, because she suddenly threw her arms around his barrel chest and hugged him fiercely. He stroked her hair as she sobbed.
Top inspires that kind of confidence in people. I don’t.
DeeDee stepped aside and touched her ear jack. “Scream Queen to Dancing Duck, how’s the weather?” She listened. “Okay … copy that.”
“What have you got?” I asked quietly.
“Zips in the wires, Boss,” she said. “A white van just drove past Bunny and turned onto this street.” She knelt and fished something out of her valise. It wasn’t a religious tract. She handed me a tiny earbud and a booster unit. I clipped the booster to my belt and screwed the bug in my ear. “Team on one, Command on two.”
She also handed me three extra magazines and I stuffed them into my pockets. DeeDee had an M4 slung under her coat.
I tapped the bud once. “Echo, Echo, Cowboy on deck. Call signs here on out.”
I heard Bunny say, “Welcome to the jungle, Boss.”
“Sit rep.”
“One white van, two in the front, unknown in the back.”
“Got it,” said Khalid. Smith wouldn’t comment. He hardly ever speaks. “We have two hostiles on foot in the back alley. Hold on. Make that four hostiles. Two heading northeast. Two coming from the west. Van has stopped. Counting hostiles. Looks like the driver and one other only.”
“Six?” complained Bunny. “That ain’t even a fight.”
“Keep it tight, Green Giant,” scolded Top.
“We need someone with a pulse,” I said. “I’m in the mood for a conversation.”
