With his left hand gripping the rung, he shoved the fingers of his right hand through the crosshatch grating and pushed upward.
It didn’t budge.
The iron grating was heavy, and his ribs weren’t making things any easier.
Again.
He grunted and pushed with everything he had.
It was happening. He cleared the rim and pushed the grating over just enough for him to squeeze through.
He lifted himself up the three remaining rungs and emerged in the bustling art deco main terminal.
Success!
A woman screamed. Not that he blamed her. He knew he must’ve been a bloody mess.
He collapsed onto the floor. As consciousness left him, he was vaguely aware of two cops rushing in his direction.
CHAPTER
8
What the hell happened, Kelland?” Lynch shook his head to clear it and was barely able to make out the figures of Jessie and Kendra standing behind the agent. At the moment he was seeing two of each of them, and he had to keep his head still or risk blacking out again. “That ransom was supposed to be clean. Noah promised us it would be.”
“I know he did,” Kelland bit out. “And I can’t tell you why it wasn’t. All I know is that when I bolted up to that conference room to ask him all he could do was yell that it wasn’t his fault and he wouldn’t take the blame. I didn’t have time to get anything else out of him before I ran here to see how badly you were hurt.” He frowned. “You were unconscious when we got here. We should get you to the ER.”
“I’m all right,” Lynch said savagely as he pushed him aside. “There’s no time for this. This was my job, my responsibility. I’m not going to stand by and let Dee be killed because of this foul-up.”
“Wrong,” Kelland said. “It’s my job. You’re out of it now.”
“The hell I am.” He got to his feet. “You’ve got to contact them fast and tell them we want to renegotiate. If you don’t reach them right away, it will be too late. I’ve dealt with ransoming prisoners in the past, and all kinds of motivations can drive them at a time like this. We don’t want them to choose the first action that occurs to them based on anger or impulse. We have to give them a way to think they’re still going to come out of this with what they want.”
Kelland was swearing. “Do you think we’re not trying to reach them? They broke contact the minute they realized the ransom might be a trap.”
“Then find another way,” Lynch said. “And damn quick.”
“Suggestions?” Kelland asked sarcastically.
“The cemetery.” Jessie stepped forward, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Use the cemetery. Put a message on the mausoleum that they used to send their message and tell them that a mistake was made and we’re ready to deal and offer an even higher fee.”
“The cemetery,” Kelland repeated. “It could work…”
“It will work,” Kendra said desperately. “We still have a chance of saving her. Just do it. Fast. And call in the media and get them out there to the mausoleum to publicize that message.”
“I said it might work. Don’t get your hopes up.” Kelland turned on his heel. “I’ll do what I can.”
“Yes, you will. And I’ll go with you,” Jessie said grimly. “I’ll begin calling the media now so that they’ll start broadcasting the story even before you get the message on the mausoleum. Like Lynch said, I want those bastards to know they have a chance of getting what they want. Any objections?”
He shook his head and said over his shoulder, “By all means, join me. Just stay out of my way. You’re not the only one who wants your friend to come out of this alive.”
Kendra watched them leave before turning back to Lynch. “Will you let me bandage that wound or am I going to get all kinds of flak from you?”
“Flak,” he said curtly as he took out his handkerchief and dabbed at the cut. “I’ll take care of it once I get back to FBI headquarters. I’m surprised you didn’t want to go and help Jessie.”
“I intend to do that as soon as I’m sure that you’re not going to collapse and cause us more problems. It was entirely your fault that you’ve probably got a concussion.” She was struggling to keep her voice from shaking. “You’re the one who wouldn’t wear any protective headgear to keep that from happening.”
“That’s absolutely correct.”
“Yes, and since Dee’s more important right now, I can’t be bothered with you after I’m sure that you’re not going to do something stupid. So tell me that’s not going to happen and I’ll leave you.”
“I won’t do something stupid.” His lips tightened. “You all appear to be on the right track trying to save Dee, so I thought I’d go and see why the hell she needed saving.” He met her eyes. “And there’s only one place I can go to ask that question. Noah was in sole charge of the ransom until it was given to me. He was told not to put any markers on those bills. That mistake could cost Dee her life.”
“I know. I don’t understand it, either. But it had to be a mistake. He was so eager to get her away from them.”
“I’m not in a mood for excuses.” His tone was ice-cold. “He put her on the spot and he almost got me killed. I want to know why and then I still may break the son of a bitch’s neck.”
“That’s really smart,” she said caustically. “Particularly since you probably have a concussion and Noah’s always surrounded by his executives and bodyguards.”
“If I don’t believe I can handle them, then we’ll have a discussion…maybe.”
She’d had enough. “Then do what you like. I have to go help Jessie try to keep Dee from being murdered. Why don’t you stagger back to that conference room, confront Noah, and see how much satisfaction you can squeeze out of getting him to admit he was an idiot. That sounds like a real way to win the day.”
She walked away from him. She would not look back. She might tell one of the officers to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t black out again. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how worried she was about him when he wouldn’t take care of himself.
“Kendra.”
She hesitated and then glanced back at him.
He was smiling gently. “I won’t be stupid about it. I just can’t let it go. Let me know as soon as you get an answer from that message. Okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t know when that will be. Maybe they’ll just ignore it.”
“It’s hard to ignore twenty million dollars. If we get lucky, they’ll just up the ransom and make sure the safety restrictions are totally foolproof.”
“If we’re lucky.” But they’d been lucky about Lynch not getting his head blown off, she remembered. Only an inch more and he would have been dead. Stop it. She was starting to shake again.
It might be okay. Maybe they’d be lucky about Dee, too…
She turned away. “I’ll let you know the minute I get word.”
* * *
Second-Floor Conference Room