“I could ask you the same thing. Your expertise is the field. You know what you’re doing, and you attack it with confidence. This is mine. My world. It’s how I can make certain you all come home. It’s how I can make the world safer for them.” He indicated all the people moving through the multitude of doors as they entered the building.
His gaze never once left the screens, reminding Malichai to keep his eyes on the ones in front of him as well. He had studied the faces of Callendine’s crew so long they were burned into his brain. He didn’t need to look up at the reminders. These men were the ones Callendine had elected to take on the mission the vice president had sanctioned whether knowingly or unknowingly.
“Man moving out the second door,” Avery said suddenly.
Malichai’s gaze jumped to the second door. “Yes. Son of a bitch. That’s one of them. We’re right. We called it. Damn it, they really are going to blow this place up.”
The man was named Sergeant Kolt Michigan and he was very militant. He’d been under Callendine’s command for several years, just as Mills and Major Roseland Salsberry had. Callendine had spread his influence through his men, along with Liam Hamilton. Someone that connected in the White House, particularly if the vice president was somehow involved as well, would influence the men over years in the direction Callendine wanted them to go. He would be able to see the ones he would have trouble with, and he’d simply have them transferred to another command.
Kolt Michigan coming out of building now. Second door. Bellisia, you’re nearest. Can you take him down without anyone noticing you? If Callendine is watching him, he can’t be warned, Malichai said. Wait for confirmation on bomb before you take him. It should be on one of the major supports near the second door. As soon as it’s found, let Bellisia know she is cleared to take out her target.
I’m on it, Ezekiel said.
There was a brief, tense silence.
You have the go, Bellisia, Ezekiel confirmed. The bomb is here.
It’s a go, Bellisia confirmed.
Bellisia was very small. She had blue eyes and blond hair and was at home in the water. Right now, she was trailing behind Kolt, very close to him, but she was so small that she was lost in the sea of legs. Malichai caught glimpses of her. At times, small bluish rings rose on her arms, crept up her neck to splash across her skin. Her clothing covered those tell-tale signs of danger. She matched Kolt’s pace exactly and as his hand collided with her face, she delivered the deadly bite, but pulled back into the crowd as he swung around.
Kolt frowned, looked at his hand, didn’t see anything on his skin. He was wearing gloves and his wrist had just felt a momentary flash, as if a bug had bitten him right over his vein. If he hadn’t been so hyperaware, he wouldn’t have noticed. He rubbed the spot and kept walking. He had quite a bit of time to get the hell out of there, but he walked briskly all the same. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the place when it blew. There were too many families there, too many children. That bothered him more than he thought it would. Still, they had to be sacrificed. They had to go. He kept walking.
Sweat broke out. For some odd reason, that little vein in his wrist throbbed and his forearm felt numb as he hurried to his car. The parking garage where he’d left his vehicle was a distance away and he had to weave through all the people on the sidewalk making their way to certain death. Just thinking about it made him want to vomit. Every step seemed harder to take. He rubbed at his arm, which had—weirdly—gone numb.
It was becoming harder to breathe. He made his way up the ramp to the second story of the parking garage where his truck was. They had a rendezvous point at a safe house Callendine had taken over as a backup plan. He yanked the door to his vehicle open and crawled inside. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, stinging. His heart pounded. Maybe he was having a heart attack. He pulled out his phone, but his fingers didn’t seem to work and he dropped it.
Kolt found himself slumping over on the seat, unable to move. He stared up at the ceiling of his truck wondering what the hell had happened. His entire body seemed as if it was going numb. He was having trouble breathing. He tried to fight for every bit of air he could. When he began to vomit, he couldn’t turn his head to the side, he couldn’t move any part of his body. He could only look up and realize he was already dead. He just had to wait until every part of his body shut down.
“You’ve got to get word to your unit,” Avery said. “He’s going to get away.”
“He’s already been dealt with,” Malichai assured. “Ezekiel’s found the bomb.”
For the first time Avery’s gaze came up and fixed on him. The tech took a long look and then his gaze was back on the screens.
Remote detonation is the backup. Working on bomb now, Ezekiel said. Can we get the people out of here?
We chance Callendine setting off the other bombs. We know there has to be more. Can you get that one, Zeke? Malichai asked, his stomach churning.
All of them had extensive training in explosives, but that didn’t mean jack if the bomb was out of their expertise. Too many people were at risk. They’d have to chance Callendine setting off the rest of the bombs. The jammers might work to stop him.
I can get this. Clearly, they’re using standard tech, nothing fancy. They didn’t expect us to be coming after them.
Malichai could no longer see Bellisia in the crowd, she’d slipped inside where she might have a chance of spotting a member of Callendine’s crew. He doubted if any of Callendine’s men would know what she looked like or be expecting her, and she was too fast and too good at what she did. So far, it didn’t appear as if Callendine knew about the GhostWalker program or who was in it.
“There’s suspect number two, James Rodenburg,” Avery said. “He’s moving fast, coming out of door number four.”
Malichai studied his screen to make doubly sure. There couldn’t be mistakes. “I’ve got him.”
Shylah, you’re up, can you take James Rodenburg? Tall, jeans, tee, about thirty-five, he’s to your left, just exited the fourth door. Has a woman and child blocking him at the moment. You need to take him some distance from everyone, and there can’t be any trace back to us. Draden, he’s just now coming out of the fourth door, so the bomb should be close. Find it fast and give us the go-ahead.
He didn’t know Draden’s wife as well as the others, but he did know she was reputed to be an assassin few could match up to.
I’ve got him, Shylah assured. There was absolute confidence in her voice.
Bomb’s here, Draden confirmed. Do not let him walk away.
Shylah was dressed in jeans and a tee as well. Her wild hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and she was devoid of makeup. Freckles spread across her nose, making her look very young. She smiled at several people and her smile was so engaging, it was impossible not to smile back. She didn’t try to hide. She was tall and even memorable. She knew it and she carried herself with confidence. She stayed about fifteen feet behind Rodenburg.
He headed up the street toward the same parking garage Kolt had used. Shylah stopped to look out over the street into a green strip of vegetation just below. She coughed and put her fist over her mouth and turned her head back toward her destination as she took a few steps.