Murder In New York
Chapter 12
August 10
The Pit Strip Joint
1400 Hours.
Cassie Ryan tried hard to think of a stranger day or a stranger meeting place but she was definitely stumped. She looked at the people sharing the former Russian Mob boss’s office and fought the urge to giggle. Jack McCoy, Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan sat behind the huge desk. AJ Chegwidden, the Navy JAG, paced back and forth behind the leather sofa, Peter Kelly, SAC of New York City, was standing by the door itching to go outside and find out what the hell was taking so long. She and Serena Southerlyn uncomfortably shared the sofa. She longed to reach up and take AJ’s hand on his next pass, but she didn’t think it would be appreciated.
The door opened and Lennie Briscoe, followed by Harmon Rabb, walked into the office. "Sorry, McCoy. We can’t find either one of them."
"You can’t find the Captain OR the Lieutenant in charge at the 15th, Detective?" Jack McCoy snapped and then glared again at the people who had suddenly made his life far more complicated than he needed at this point. "Tom, you really think that they have something to do with this?"
"I don’t know, Jack." Kelly glanced at Cassie and then sighed. "All we know is that this entire case is a complete cock up."
"And that’s our fault!" Briscoe demanded. "You couldn’t have shared a little…OH, excuse me…Mr. Kelly of the FBI, I forgot, you folks…"
"Enough!" AJ bellowed. Serena jumped, but Cassie reached out and patted her hand absentmindedly. "How are they coming with that damn thing and what else are we doing? Where is Galindez and your partner?" he finished more calmly.
Briscoe glowered and looked to senior representative for the City of New York. McCoy just shook his head. He had really thought this case was going to be a cakewalk that Southerlyn could handle on her own. «An Assistant Director of the CIA! Son-of-a-bitch!» "Tell him, Briscoe. All we want now is for this to go away and figure out who to lock up."
"And this Webb guy…"
"Look, Briscoe," Rabb actually pleaded. "Clayton Webb couldn’t have done what you guys say he did. I know him. He couldn’t that’s all."
"Well, who’s this Palmer guy? The one we all thought we had?"
Cassie sighed and buried her head in her hands. She was tired. Too tired. She heard the leather crinkle and as if pulled by a magnet, she leaned back into his hands which went to her shoulders and began a gentle massage. «Oh, I love this man.» Taking a deep breath she looked not at Briscoe but at McCoy. "Clark Palmer is a former DSD agent. He’s a psychopath and probably has a higher IQ than all of us in this room. He kidnapped Webb and tortured him, but we don’t know for what purpose. We think somewhere near here, but we’re not sure. The whole thing with Carter is too bizarre for words, and we need to talk to Crenshaw and Alavera to clear some things up."
"So you’re going to blame the cops!" Briscoe was definitely beginning to lose his temper.
It was Southerlyn who spoke up. "Detective, I’ve got my own concerns. But frankly, aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves? Shouldn’t we figure out just what the hell happened here?"
: :
They hadn’t realized their blunder until after Mary Perkins was wheeled onto the ambulance. Rabb decided to ride with her. "I’ll make sure she does what the doctors say then I’ll come back, sir."
After the door was shut, Galindez turned to them. "Now where have you got Palmer? He and I have some unfinished business."
"Palmer? Didn’t Palmer leave as soon as he shot Mary?" Cassie demanded.
"Yeah? Didn’t you grab him?"
AJ looked at Briscoe who shrugged. "Hey, he never came down the corridor. We figured he went out the back."
"Back? What back? He went right out the only door in the office!"
"He couldn’t have, Gunny." AJ had explained. "We heard the shot just as we burst in the back. We could see the door leading to the office corridor at all times. He didn’t get past us."
That’s when AJ and Cassie looked at each other and groaned. She motioned for him to do the honors and he carefully tapped along the two walls. They heard nothing to indicate a false door but Cassie ground out, "Tear them down. I want that secret door." They found it fairly quickly, but one of the men spotted the booby trap right away. Now they just waited for someone to figure out how to access it without bringing the walls of the entire building down on them. They should have left, but after more careful examination, they determined that the building itself was fairly safe, just not the secret tunnel. Both AJ and Cassie agreed that the tunnel, for reasons they weren’t entirely sure of, was important.
That was nearly six hours ago. Kelly had met with McCoy out in the now closed-down strip joint, but neither man wanted to return to his office until both of them knew what was going on. Galindez tagged along with Green when the detective decided to check out what was going on at the subway stations. It had been Southerlyn who insisted that instead of just sitting around waiting for the destruction to yield something that they explore the Carter angle. "After all, that is our main concern isn’t it?"
No one had corrected her. Rabb had returned a few minutes after that and he, seeing how bored his CO was, decided to go with Briscoe. The detective hadn’t looked particularly pleased with the prospect but hadn’t said anything.
While they were gone, Green reported in by cell phone to McCoy, who filled them all in. "Well that tears it. By the time the SWAT team got down the 125th Street entrance, there were calls going out for the 129th Street stop. It looks like we’ve got ten dead Russians and no Assistant Director of the CIA or Marine Colonel. They just disappeared into thin air. They’re going back now and checking every access door. They are also expanding their search down to 120th Street. We’ve got more men on this than we can afford."
"It will be worth it, McCoy," Cassie sighed.
However, when Briscoe and Rabb returned empty-handed, the tension in the room rose considerably.
Cassie was ready to start pacing herself. She struggled out of the sofa intending to wash her face in the small, immaculate bath off the office when her cell rang. Praying that it was something concrete and not her boss just wanting to be updated yet again, she answered, "Ryan." She listened for a moment, then looked at AJ in shock and then listened some more. "Well, where is she? Fine. I’ll wait. No, no, why the hell not?" She slammed the phone in her pocket and started for the bathroom.
"What!" Several voices demanded.
"Nothing that will help, just wait for it." She sighed disgustedly and slammed the door of the bathroom. When she came back out, AJ was waiting for her. At the look in his eye she sighed. "Fine." She started to go back to the sofa but AJ put his hands back on her shoulders and began to work the kinks out. "We’ve got confirmation that the man and woman on the train probably are Webb and Mac. Early this morning, a nun called the office and asked to speak with Agent Rice."
"Rice? The kid with the CIA?" Kelly spoke up. "Hey, where the hell is he?"
Cassie continued as if Kelly hadn’t spoken. "Because of the manpower we’re using, a senior secretary was manning the call desk instead of an agent. So it took her awhile to put two and two together. She couldn’t find any Agent Rice currently working for the FBI on the East Coast, but the nun was insistent. Lois, the secretary, took the nun’s name and said she would have someone call her." Cassie smiled, "They’re bringing the nun down here."
"Why!"
"Because it seems that Sister Maria Therese may get confused, but she is determined. She called JAG ops in DC and spoke to a Lieutenant Harriet Sims."
"Cassie!" AJ growled.
"It seems that early this morning, a very nice, though obviously upset young woman struck up a conversation with the good sister."
Before Cassie could continue, there was a knock at the door before it opened. A rather flabbergasted looking agent led a very short, very large-bosomed older woman into the room.
"Tear it all down! That’s the way to get rid of the evil!" The agent rolled his eyes and gave Cassie a look that said, ‘no way am I taking her back.’
Cassie stepped forward, "Sister. I’m Agent Ryan."
"Oh dear. I guess I see why the nice young woman on the phone was so confused."
"That’s okay. I spoke with Lieutenant Sims twenty minutes ago. Thank you for coming down. I believe you have something for me."
"Oh, yes. She gave me this." The sister began patting the pockets on her vest then the pockets on her skirt. "Oh dear, what did I do with it?"
"Your purse, perhaps?" Cassie suggested.
Sister Marie Therese began digging through her purse. "Oh, good, here it is." She handed the folder to Cassie who just glanced at it before handing it to AJ.
When he saw what it was he fought the urge to shout his demands. Instead he stepped back and leaned against the desk. Jack McCoy came and stood next to him and looked at what Chegwidden was holding. "Go ahead, Admiral." McCoy crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
AJ figured the good sister was maybe 5’1" and if he stepped any closer it would only serve to intimidate her, and he wasn’t going to insult her by stooping down as if she were a child. "Sister, my name is AJ Chegwidden, I’m Colonel MacKenzie’s CO."
"Hello." Sister Marie Therese looked at the other people expectantly. Cassie sighed but made introductions all the way around.
"Oh, my." Sister Marie Therese breathed.
"Sister, how did you come by Colonel MacKenzie’s military identification?" AJ asked.
"Oh. Why she handed it to me. Told me who to call. I’m sorry I got it wrong before, Agent Ryan."
"That’s okay, sister. Just tell us what happened?"
"Why nothing really. At least nothing I could see. But I am very short, you understand. She was standing next to me. She was very upset. I’m sure an officer of the United States Marine Corps doesn’t go around calling people ‘bastards.’ Well maybe in New York. It can be a very trying place." She glared at Briscoe as if blaming him for the decay of her beloved city. The cop traded glances with his ‘partner’ for the day but said nothing.
AJ reminded himself that he never once struck Tiner. And Tiner was surely more aggravating that this little nun before him. "Sister?"
"Oh, dear. Where was I? Yes. She tried to ask me to remember a telephone number, but she could see that was a very bad idea. I am quite forgetful sometimes. I can never remember numbers." She glanced at AJ’s face. "Young man, are you all right."
Cassie stepped next to the nun. "Just tell us what Mac, Colonel MacKenzie said."
Sister Marie Therese scrunched up her face, her eyes nearly disappearing within her wrinkles, in her effort to remember. "She told me to call the FBI. Which, I did. But I got confused and flustered. I’m sure someone would have called me back, but I was so concerned about the nice young woman that I got to thinking. I had her ID, it says she works for the Judge Advocate General of the Navy."
"That’s him." Rabb pointed at AJ. AJ just glared. He didn’t want the nun sidetracked.
"That’s nice." Sister Mary Therese either wasn’t impressed or had no idea what the title meant. "So I called directory assistance and they gave me a number and I called it. I talked to a very, very nice lady who said she was Lieutenant Harriet Sims. She took down every word I said and told me she would take care of it and to go home. Within an hour there was an agent at my door. He told me he was taking me to the agent in charge, Special Agent Ryan. The sister finally looked at Cassie. "Aren’t you very young to be a FBI Agent?"
"I’m old enough, sister. What did Mac tell you to tell me?"
"Oh. That Rice was dirty and she was following Webb." Sister Marie Therese looked as shocked as everyone else that she remembered the message.
Rabb said excitedly, "Where did you see her, Sister? Where was she going?"
"Why at 23rd Street in the subway."
"Twenty-third Street! That’s nowhere near…"
Cassie held up her hand. "What line?"
"The Red Line."
"Did you see what train she got on?"
"Of course, the "number 3" train."
"You see?" Cassie said triumphantly.
"No Cassie, I don’t." Rabb said. "Twenty-third Street is a long way away from 125th."
"Not really, young man." Sister Marie Therese sniffed.
Cassie was already on the phone. She told Jacobs who told her he would advise Anspach of this new development. Just as she was hanging up, from behind the closed door they heard someone cry, "We’ve got it." Even though Harm was closer, AJ beat him to the door, Jack McCoy right behind him.
Kelly agreed to remain behind to supervise the investigation on The Pit end, but still it was like a parade as the rest made their way down the tight square passage leading to a brick-lined tunnel. They found a body 100 yards from the ladder. "No loss there." McCoy offered. "I’ve got a dozen cases we will never close now, but that’s okay. I’d rather have Mr. Kusman out of the picture than clear up a case."
"Bullet hole to the back of the head. Why?" Rabb asked.
"Later, Rabb. Keep going." AJ urged them on.
"This is an old access tunnel." Briscoe supplied. "New York is full of them, or the remains of them. This one looks like it dates from the turn of the century." None of them were sure how far they had walked when they came to brick wall and a door with no handle. After a quick consultation, an agent with a sledgehammer stepped forward. The secret mechanism swung it open with the first smash of the hammer. The stench of death floated out and as they pushed through into the dirty litter-filled basement, Rabb’s flashlight played over the sprawled body.
"Ada Marshall?" Cassie asked.
"God, who could tell?" Briscoe said.
McCoy was at Southerlyn’s side. "You okay?"
"Oh, God. Get me out of here, please." He started to lead her back to the rat-infested tunnel but she stood her ground. "No. I’ll go on. Not back there." He led her up the rickety staircase keeping his arm around her waist. The door at the top revealed a dilapidated and decaying garage. Serena jerked away from Jack and ran to a corner and promptly began to vomit. Jack hurried over to her, his handkerchief already in his hand.
"Hey!" Briscoe took the lead and walked over to a door. AJ and the others could see the recent activity in the dust and dirt.
"What is this place?" AJ demanded.
Briscoe shrugged but pushed open a door. "I have no idea, but I do know where we are."
As they stepped outside, Rabb was the first to speak. "This is the alley where they found Carter’s body. See there’s the back of the Lucky Chance!"
McCoy glared at Briscoe for confirmation. The detective nodded, "He’s right. Damn it. We searched here too. That access tunnel runs at least ten blocks."
"So it’s possible that Webb didn’t kill the cop!" Rabb said excitedly.
"Hey, counselor, lets not get ahead of ourselves," Briscoe snapped. "The kid still saw Palmer, or this Webb friend of yours, standing over the body holding a gun."
"I want to talk to that kid." AJ glowered.
"Easy, Chegwidden," Briscoe said. "We’ll check into it again." This was the flat out strangest case he had worked on in his entire career.
AJ started to enter the bar when his cell phone rang. "Chegwidden…" His eyes grew round and Cassie stepped closer. McCoy, who had just met the man, knew controlled excitement when he saw it. He turned to Serena who still looked paler than her white blond hair. Reaching out his hand he smiled and directed her attention to something besides the dead, mutilated body she had just seen. Rabb and Briscoe exchanged looks and waited. "That’s right I am, now who are you? Okay, but you say you know where a certain Marine Colonel is? Is she alone or with another friend of mine. Look, I understand your concerns. If you want, I’ll come alone. Good. Where…hello…damn it." He hung up the phone and to no one in particular demanded, "Where is Ho Chi Dong?"
All the New Yorkers just shrugged. It was Briscoe who said, "Hell if I know, but we’ll find out."
: :
August 10
Between 125th and 129th Street Stations, Harlem
1700 Hours
Victor Galindez was tired of playing Ed Green’s shadow. He figured the cop knew what he was doing, but Galindez wanted to be doing something, not just watching the NYPD cop listen to other cops explain why they had bumpkus. He wanted to stay at the 125th Station and talk to people and search the tunnels with the cops, but Green had dragged him up to 129th Street to talk to the commander in charge there. Now they walked side by side with ten other cops. Their flashlights shown along the track bed, the hot track had been turned off from the junction at 114th all the way up to the end of the at 148th. The Transit Authority was screaming up a blue streak. The assistant to the Mayor and the Deputy Chief of Police were fuming at either end of the search site.
Gunny flashed his light along the side of the tunnel. "Hey, have we checked that door?"
"Yeah." Someone called. "It was locked."
Gunny stopped and Green looked back at him. "Come on."
"Did you open the door?" Gunny demanded in a weary voice. He had been a cop and spent enough time in Afghanistan to triple check the least little thing.
"Hey, buddy, you’re along for the ride here," another voice said.
"Bullshit. Why didn’t you open it?" Gunny was already pulling himself up the ladder to the door.
"Gunny." Green was at his side. They weren’t partners, not really, but the detective had come to respect the man’s patience and insight. After all, he had been the one to point out the seam in the baseboard that had led them to the trap door.
"Look." Gunny hissed. "See these marks?"
"Yeah, gunshots. Someone TRIED to shoot it open."
"Maybe after Webb went through with the Colonel."
"You’re saying it was open and they locked it from the inside?"
Green crouched down and shown his flashlight along the seam of the door. Then he ran his finger over it. "Franconi!"
He turned and one of the other cops ran up. "Yeah, Green."
"Find me something to break down this door."
"Oh, for Christ….fine."
It took twenty minutes but finally they got the door open. Gunny and Green stepped inside. Gunny sighed as he played his flashlight across the room. It rested for a brief moment on an ornate grate against the back wall but the light bounced off something behind it and he figured it had been sealed for about as long as this room had been. The dust was thick. He started to turn but Ed Green walked over to the grate and crouched down to study it. "What?"
"Who shoved that transformer against the door?"
Gunny shrugged, but he felt a seed of excitement begin to grow. "Look at the dust."
"Yeah, look at it."
"Holy cow!" Gunny knelt down and peered sidewise at the patterns in the dust. "It’s been swept across. If it was just dusty you couldn’t…"
"Help me over here." Green grunted. Gunny turned and saw the grate was laying against the wall and Green was pushing hard on whatever was covering the opening. He scooted over a bit and Gunny crawled over to help.
"Come on you guys!" one of the cops called from the door.
"Hold on." Green gasped. He wasn’t happy at all. His suit was ruined, but if this was valid then to hell with it. Suddenly he and Galindez fell forward and the heavy metal plate fell back. "Shit!" His oath was lost in the tremendous clang that echoed throughout the access tunnel beyond. "Give me a flashlight."
: :
August 10
Under Ho Chi Dong
2100 HoursMac paced back and forth outside the door where Clay had been asleep for nearly six hours. She hadn’t wanted to trust Pete, but she had no choice. No way was she leaving Clay alone. There was activity all up and down the cavern. Some people were staying put, others were hastily packing up their few belongs and scurrying away. She felt guilty. Guilty for making them run, guilty that they lived down here at all. «Is this any different than Afghanistan? Damn it.» She fought the tears of frustration. She couldn’t stand to watch them fleeing the only home they had felt safe in. Pushing open the door she went inside to watch over Clay.
Clay was tossing and turning on the bed, and she suspected that he would jerk awake soon. "No. Don’t please. Don’t." He moaned in his sleep.
"Clay?" She sat next to him. His face was covered in sweat but she didn’t think he had a fever. The nightmare had him in its grip and she wondered how he would fare once this was all just a memory. «Surely, Pete has reached the Admiral. Where the hell are they?» As Webb began to thrash even more she took him by the shoulders. "Clay!"
He jerked awake, sitting up forcefully, knocking her to the floor. "What! Where! Sarah!"
"Ouch. Damn it. Did I ever really think you were a wuss who didn’t know how to take the safety off a gun?"
"What happened?" He peered down at her. "Sarah?"
"I’m fine." She knelt up and found she was nose-to-nose with him. "You okay?"
"Where are we?" He looked around and then up at the airshaft. High above them they could make out the sounds of people walking across the grate. There was something between them and the street though, no light filtered down, hadn’t all day. Mac just waited and let him work it out for himself. He looked at her, his nose wrinkled. But, he concentrated and made none of his signature snide remarks. "Jesus. Did you find me? Is Palmer really dead?"
"We don’t think so Clay." She whispered.
"That’s why were down here? We’re hiding from him?"
"Something like that. You remember anything about the Russian Mob?"
"Russian Mob?" He thought harder but then lay back closing his eyes. "Damn, my head hurts."
"Why?"
"Why! Damn it Sarah, I was sucker punched. Someone hit me in the head. I can feel the bump. Here feel."
"But is that the only reason why your head hurts?"
"Isn’t that eno…" He paused and she could see he was beginning to remember more and more.
"Tell me everything you remember, Clay. Everything since you talked to Anspach."
"Anspach? Oh, yeah. The new guy. He seems okay. I’ve worked with worse. I think he’s concerned because Carlton and I were friends. But I think I can work with him."
"What happened when you left him?"
Webb closed his eyes and began chewing on his lower lip. "There was a car. Shit!" he groaned. "Oh, Christ."
She got up and sat next to him and took his hand in hers. "Can you tell me as much as you can?"
"Don’t know much. They pulled me in. It was at night. I was going to check on something, no I was going to buy you…oh hell, I missed your birthday, didn’t I?"
She had been so worried about him that she had completely forgotten her birthday. "It’s okay. This is the best gift you’ve ever given me."
"What? A night at the hotel Kim Chee?"
"Idiot," she whispered as she ran her free hand over his chest.
He captured that one too and pulled her down until he could hold her against him. "They put something over my face. I don’t know what it was. It didn’t smell like ether. Hell, it didn’t smell like anything." She felt his shudder. Lifting her head she kissed him gently before resting her head on his chest again. "I don’t know how long I was out but when I woke up I felt really strange. I don’t even know what drugs they gave me. Maybe LSD."
"Yeah. That was one of the drugs in the tox report."
"Jesus, the things he showed me. But I was fighting it, Sarah. I knew Rabb couldn’t do that kind of stuff, and it was just so ludicrous to think I would believe my mother would, but then." The shudders turned to pronounced shaking, and she hugged him tight.
"Tell me."
"I can’t. I just remember being tied to that chair, I was naked and wet and I was having trouble breathing. Oh, God. Palmer was there…" He didn’t say anything else so she raised her head again and saw that tears were streaming down his face.
"Hush now, don’t think of anything else for awhile. You know me. You know Rabb and your mother are still Rabb and your mother, right?"
He didn’t answer her. He couldn’t. How could he tell her the things Palmer had said and done to him? Whispers began to drown out her voice.
"That okay, Clay. I’m here for you. You know we were always friends. Right, buddy. More than friends. You used to like it with me, didn’t you?" He was almost sure that Palmer was lying but it all made some kind of sick sense. "Remember, I would always do your dirty work for you and then you and I would be together." He had tried to pull away from Palmer’s hands on him, tried to ignore his body’s reaction to the caresses.
"Clay? Sweetheart? Tell me what he did to you?"
"Can’t, you’ll hate me."
"Clay!" Her voice was harsh, and he opened his eyes expecting to see the disgust there, but he gasped as the look of love in her eyes. "Whatever he did to you, it wasn’t your fault."
Sarah MacKenzie wanted nothing more than to go and find Palmer herself. She suspected what had happened, Greenwood had mentioned the possibility. They had found faint traces of ecstasy in his blood. She took a deep breath, sat back and studied him carefully. "He touched you didn’t he? Maybe more?"
Clay’s eyes closed in pain. "Yes."
"Tell me right now. Do you want him?"
The eyes shot open. "NO!"
"Good. It would have been a problem if you had. He raped you, Clay. Oh, not that way. You were given a thorough exam. He didn’t do that. But whatever he did was rape pure and simple. Now you and I have something else in common." She finished, letting the bitterness creep into her voice. She had come to terms with that incident in her life. It had made her stronger, more aware. He needed to be stronger now.
"I remember."
It was her turn to open her eyes wide. "You do?"
"Yeah. You told me one night." He took a deep breath. "We were sitting by the beach, you had that case against a Sergeant and I was busting your chops for being so shrill about it." His voice dropped even quieter. "I learned a lot that night." She instantly remembered telling him, and her own tears fell. Reaching up he brushed them away. "We’re really in trouble, aren’t we, Mac?"
"Nothing we can’t get out of. You ready to eat something?"
His nose scrunched up. "I don’t think so." He eyed the grate where the smells from the restaurant overhead constantly assailed them. "May never be hungry again."
She smiled and stood up. "I’ll go get something. You haven’t eaten in nearly 24 hours."
"Okay." He sat up and she pushed open the door. His head still hurt like nothing he had ever experienced before. The memories were clearer now. He remembered how Palmer, so sure that he had his captive under control with the drugs and his caresses, had freed him. Clay remembered how he had struggled against the hard kisses and forced himself to think of Sarah. Even then, so doped to the gills that he was seeing nothing but swirling colors interspersing moments of terrifying clarity, he remembered the woman who had finally come into his heart. He was thinking of her when he kicked out at the monster kneeling before him. Knowing he had to get to her, he had picked up the chair and smashed it again and again across his tormentor until Palmer lay bleeding in a pool of blood. He remembered running through an apartment grabbing up clothes as he did, not even understanding why he needed to cover himself. Stumbling downstairs, he had burst out into the warm July sunshine.
It all came crashing down on him in a blurry succession, the kind face of a woman insisting that he buy a shirt to go with the shoes he had just purchased, being attacked in the flop house and finding the strength to fight off…«Holy Shit! Ivan Skolov » He finally thought he understood what the hell was going on. Standing up, he started to make his way to the door to tell Sarah. He got within three steps when he heard a loud voice call out.
"NOBODY MOVE. POLICE!"
: :
Mac had just taken the bowl of stew that Bennie had given her when the three civilians followed by three uniformed policemen burst into the cavern from a direction she hadn’t seen anyone use before. She really wasn’t scared until she recognized one of them. "Palmer." She breathed. "Bennie, get out of here, now." She whispered hoarsely. "Try not to let them see you. Find Pete."
Bennie looked at her for a moment then nodded. Sarah turned away from the men and crouched down, praying they hadn’t seen her.
"Everybody, line up! This is a raid."
Mac kept her face hidden and tried to hide behind one of the refrigerator boxes. She heard Doc stomp up to the men and snap. "What do you want here? We’re not bothering anyone." She was right, of course, people who had thought to just stay put were hurrying away, taking nothing with them, figuring they would return. It wasn’t until a shot ran out and one of the people screamed in pain that everyone stopped. By that time, Mac was huddled with another woman. The door to Clay’s room clearly visible. "Are you insane!" Doc’s voice rang out. Mac thought she heard someone else swear in surprise.
"Shut up!" One of the other suits snarled. The cavern was suddenly quieter than she had noticed before. Now the only sound was the faint whimpering of a child and the drip of water falling from the ceiling far above them.
"Colonel MacKenzie!" Palmer called out. "Sarah, sweetheart! Bring him out, Sarah. You can’t keep him from justice. He killed that cop and we are taking him in. You can’t protect him any longer."
«He can’t think that I’m going to give him up. Please Clay, don’t move. Please, darling don’t make a sound.» She huddled closer to the very frightened woman who was staring at her in horror.
Sarah knew immediately that the woman beside her was going to stand up and scream. "Don’t hurt me. She’s right here!"
Chapter 13
August 10
Ho Chi Dong – 130th Street
2330 HoursAJ stepped out of the car without a word to Rabb in the front or Briscoe in the back. His caller had told him to come alone so he would walk the last two blocks. Lieutenant Van Buren, who was introduced to him as Briscoe and Green’s boss, had brought the tiny microphone that Rabb and Briscoe helped him affix to his chest.
The only comment Cassie had made was, "Oooooo. That should be fun to get off later." She had wiggled her eyebrows at him before climbing into the surveillance van. As the car carrying AJ pulled away they heard over the mike, "AJ, we’ve just heard from Galindez and Green, they’ve found something. I’ll keep you guys posted. Good luck." AJ heard the ‘darling’ that she had swallowed, but if either of his companions had noticed the change in inflection, they kept it to themselves.
It was easy to spot his target. A giant of a man with filthy hair covered by a sock cap, paced back and forth in front of the restaurant. "Got him." AJ whispered. He stopped in front of the man, letting a mother with her child hurry past them before saying, "You called me." He waited for the man to nervously check him out.
"You didn’t bring the cops?"
"Look…Pete…the sooner you get me down to them the sooner I can assess whether or not I will need help getting them out of there. I promise you this, you will not be harassed because of this."
"Yeah, not today." Pete said, the bitterness welling up in his words. AJ sighed and waited. "Man you just don’t get it, do you? Down there is the only place most of us feel safe. You ever spend a night in one of this city’s so-called shelters."
"No. I never have. I’ve been lucky in that respect. I won’t make you any promises about helping, because the only thing I can really offer right now is money, nothing permanent."
"How much?"
AJ eyed him but took out his wallet. "Two-hundred and fifty dollars. You want more?"
"You got any idea what two-hundred dollars will do for them?"
"Here. Take it and I’ll get you more, just get me down to her – to him."
"They friends of yours?"
"They’re my family. I’m responsible for them."
Pete considered the money between them. Reaching out, he took it. "Come on."
: :
"Rabb, Briscoe, move." Cassie said with more calm than she felt. She wanted to go with them, but Kelly insisted that she stay put and field the calls from Washington and City Hall. They were starting to get insistent. She spoke to her boss and learned that Porter Webb was on her way back. She learned that Anspach had given Jacobs his complete authorization to take over the investigation and the responsibility of finding Rice. There would be a complete shake up at the CIA and Anspach knew that his job was hanging by a thread.
"Come on, counselor, let’s get those shoes dirty." Lennie Briscoe grinned as he hopped out of the car.
Rabb carefully checked his gun. "Ready."
"You know how to use one of those things?" Lennie’s disbelief was evident in his snide grin.
"Well, I prefer a Sidewinder missile from 20,000 feet, but I think I can manage." Rabb returned the cop’s grin.
"Oh God, don’t tell me. You’re really a fighter pilot?"
"Nah. Well, sometimes." Harm reached out, gripped the detective’s arm and whispered, "Hold up. We’re too close."
They pressed against the brick wall and watched as the two men made their way down the alley, Pete in front, AJ close behind. Once they turned into the back alley running parallel to the street, Rabb signaled that they should continue.
Cassie wanted nothing more than to pace, but there was no room in the surveillance van. McCoy sat in his jeans and tee-shirt, rubbing his eyes wondering if the day could get any weirder. Van Buren, who had little clue as to everything going down, was sitting talking quietly to the cops at the 129th Street station who had sent word that two of the cops had discovered a possible exit point. It was the first such break they had caught. All of them were listening to the sounds coming from the mike attached to Chegwidden.
"Not much further. You’re going to get dirty, man."
"I’ve been dirty before Pete. Tell me. How did you find them?"
"They were where they weren’t supposed to be. It’s dangerous down there. They could have been hurt or worse."
"She’s a Marine, Pete. She would have watched out for him."
A snort floated through the speakers. "He did okay for himself until one of my guys decided to help me when I didn’t need it."
"What happened?" AJ’s voice was harsh and demanding.
"Doesn’t matter, Doc says he’s fine. Damn."
"What?"
"Should have brought him some aspirin."
"Don’t worry about it. Once I get them…." AJ stared down at the grate and then back down the alley. They were about 100 yards from the Korean restaurant. "Here! Down here!" They could hear the incredulity in AJ’s voice.
"Yeah, you want to turn back?"
The next thing the group in the van heard was metal scraping against concrete.
"See the ladder."
"Yeah. Let’s get this over with."
Cassie bit her lip and then spoke into a mike. "Rabb they’re going below. There’s a metal cover of some kind."
"Roger that, Cassie." The whisper was clear.
"Good mike." Cassie smiled up at Van Buren.
The lieutenant just shrugged. "Should be. Got them from the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, after I got the call from McCoy here." She paused then continued, "I worked on it a bit last year – right after… Thought you guys would have brought your own."
"Would have," Kelly offered. "But you were closer and I’ve got my men spread out from 129th Street down to 23rd and lower looking for Agent Rice."
They stopped talking when they heard heavy splashes in puddles of water. "Watch yourself now, there are rats the size of poodles down here," they heard Pete caution.
Before AJ could respond, they heard a loud scream echoing from somewhere farther away. Pete shouted, "What the hell."
More footfalls through water and then a heartfelt, "Shit!"
"Rabb! Go in! Something’s going down." Cassie called even as she was out the door waving several agents to follow her.
: :
Galindez, Green and three uniforms were carefully following the trail left by a large group of people moving through the wet muck and debris. The footsteps were fresh in the mud, and after tracking terrorists over dry desert washes, this was a breeze for Galindez. No one had said a word since one of the cops reported their position to the head of the subway tunnel search team. They carefully rounded a bend and suddenly they could make out voices echoing down through the tunnel. They couldn’t make out the words that seemed to repeat over it other, but even the echoes sounded angry. Galindez and Green exchanged looks and picked up the pace.
: :
Mac really couldn’t blame them. They had so little and were so afraid. She stood glaring at Palmer, barely sparing a glance for the policemen. One of the women, clutching a small child to her, tremulously pointed to the doorway where Webb was waiting. «Oh please hide, Clay.»
One of the men in suits called out, "James, Ruiz, go in and get him. Be careful, just because he’s a cop killer doesn’t mean we want him dead."
"He isn’t a cop killer," she ground out.
"Shut up!" The man in the other suit viciously slapped her.
"Hey, Crenshaw. Knock it off." The first man demanded and pulled the younger man away from her.
"Sorry, Captain."
As Mac rubbed her cheek, she really didn’t think that Crenshaw was sorry at all.
"No. No! NO. NO!" Clay’s cries became more frantic as two cops dragged him out of his hiding place.
He was struggling and crying and Sarah’s heart sank. «Damn them! Pete where the hell are you? Did you find help?» "Please! You don’t understand."
"Look, miss." The captain said softly. "Agent Patterson here." He pointed at Palmer. "Told us all about it." You shouldn’t have become involved with your client. Let’s just get him back to jail where he belongs."
"Jail! Are you insane!" She pointed at Palmer. "Do you know who he is?"
The captain looked from Palmer to Mac but before he could say anything the man called Crenshaw yanked Webb by his shirt away from the two cops and spat in Webb’s face, "Clark Palmer, we’re taking you back into custody."
"Jesus H. Christ!" She rounded on Palmer. "You bastard! What the hell did you tell them? You had something to do with killing that cop, Carter, didn’t you?" She could see the uniforms were looking at one another trying to figure out what was going on. The man that Crenshaw had called Captain definitely had a confused look on his face.
Palmer stepped up to her and gripped her arm. "Shut up, MacKenzie. Or I’ll kill them all." He hissed low so only she and Crenshaw could hear.
She jerked her arm away and was surprised to see a glimmer of pain shoot across Palmer’s face. "You’re going to kill them all anyway, aren’t you Palmer!"
"What is she talking about?" The Captain demanded. Now she could hear the uniforms beginning to mutter amongst themselves. She also saw that most of the civilians had slunk away in the commotion. Only the person who had been shot and Doc, who was tending to the man’s wound, remained.
There was little she could do but try, "He’s a DSD agent who escaped from Leavenworth. HIS NAME is Clark Palmer."
"Crenshaw?" The captain demanded.
"She’s nuts, Captain Alavera." He kicked Webb in the side. "She’ll say anything to help Palmer here escape." Crenshaw tried to yank Clay to his feet but he huddled into himself even tighter. Mac couldn’t even see his hands.
Alavera licked his lips and took a deep breath, "Come on. We’ll get him back to the precinct and sort it out there."
"You’ll never make it back to the precinct." Mac pointed at Palmer again. "He’ll make sure that you all die and then he’ll take…" she took a deep breath and locked her gaze on the increasingly upset Captain, "Clayton We…" Palmer’s slap sent her sprawling and as she fell to the ground she saw the large gun in his hand wasn’t pointed at her and in quick succession three shots rang out. Gasps of surprise were almost covered by another shot near by. But by the time she raised up she knew what she would see.
"Damn it." Crenshaw breathed The uniforms and Alavera, who he had just shot, all lay sprawled in the muck. Clay was reduced to whimpering.
Crenshaw ran his hands through his hair. "Now what? Karpov…"
"Shut up!" Palmer snapped. Keeping his gun trained on Mac, he boldly walked up to Webb and fisted his free hand in the mop of hair. "Oh, Clay, baby, I owe you big time. You really hurt me with that chair. And after I was so good to you." He yanked harder. "Stand up, you pathetic piece of shit, and watch while I kill her."
"Mac! Run!" Webb cried out in a strong firm voice as he pushed up and lunged into Palmer. Mac, who had already pinpointed her objective, rolled and had one of the fallen officers’ guns in her hand and trained on Crenshaw before they even heard Palmer’s cry of pain.
"NOBODY MOVE!" A voice called from nearby.
"MAC!" AJ’s bellow seemed to fill the cavern.
: :
Ed Green and Victor Galindez hurried as fast as they could when they started making out some of the voices. "That’s Palmer." Galindez snarled and pulled ahead of Green by a few steps. They could make out the flickering flames of the fires. Their pounding steps were covered by the echoes of the first gunshots. Green yelled out, "Nobody move," already knowing it was too late. As they got closer they could see two men struggling in the center of the cavern. Another man was bobbing back and forth trying to get a shot, and a woman was stretched out in the muck reaching for something next to a cop. When she raised a gun and pointed at the lone man, he raised his own gun.
"Don’t." Galindez knocked Green’s gun hand down. "That’s Colonel MacKenzie." So covered in muck and mud, Green didn’t recognize the cool corporate lawyer he had first seen in Serena Southerlyn’s office.
: :
Bennie had found AJ and Pete about one hundred yards away. He barely got out his warning when they heard Mac’s shouting. AJ, gun in hand, snapped at Pete, "Wait here, more men will be coming from behind us. Just point them in the right direction."
"You didn’t come alone!" Pete cried to the retreating back hurrying toward the sounds of violence. He didn’t have long to wait. Rabb and Briscoe were there within the minute. Silently he just pointed the way AJ had gone. He didn’t even have time to find a crate to sit on before a petite little redhead came running up, two men in FBI windbreakers right behind her. He let Bennie point the way, but by then the gunfire had begun.
: :
Mac brought Crenshaw down with one shot. She struggled to her feet, but slipped in the muck. Cursing she started to push up again when she felt strong arms hoist her up. She swung around ready to attack the man only find herself staring up into her CO’s eyes. "Oh God, Sir, please help him."
AJ pushed her behind him and started toward the two men grappling together. The light here wasn’t great but he could see the blood flowing between them.
"Sir! Mac!" Rabb came running up. Together, the two men advanced to help Webb.
When Webb had heard the angry voices demanding to know where he was, he knew he couldn’t hide from them; wouldn’t have even if he could. He had to help Sarah. Quickly, he looked around and spotted a small first aid kit and found a weapon. Then he sat down on the floor and lowered his head. He let the two cops drag him out of the room, fighting and crying the entire way, knowing it was their only hope. He didn’t dare try and warn Sarah. He just waited his chance. He was surprised when Palmer shot the cops but still he waited until Palmer was within reach. His head hurt like hell, but he took the only opportunity he was going to get and rammed the surgical scissors deep into Palmer’s gut. Then he followed through, pushing his enemy as far away from Sarah as he could. Palmer held him tight, so it was hard to get any decent blows in, but as long as he could keep Palmer away from Sarah, that was all that mattered. He kept punching short hard jabs into Palmer’s belly, not stopping even when he was pulled back.
"Webb! Webb! Clay! We’ve got you now."
He recognized AJ’s voice and knew him to be a friend, but he kept punching and kicking until another man stepped between him and Palmer. "Clay?"
Webb went rigid when he saw Harmon Rabb’s face before him. For a moment the images flashed before him, but he recognized them for what they were. "Took your own sweet time didn’t you, Harm."
"Clay!" Mac was in his arms sobbing, holding him. AJ’s strong arms finally released him and he wrapped her tight into his embrace. But the fear and adrenaline that had sustained him was rapidly ebbing away, and he sank down into the debris surrounding them. Mac held him tight, "Oh God. Are you okay?"
Clayton Webb looked around him. He wasn’t surprised to see Harmon Rabb standing there grinning down at them like some big kid. He remembered AJ from before. "Galindez? What the hell?"
"Hey, Mr. Webb. It’s like old times."
"Webb?" A soft voice asked.
"Agent Ryan?" Webb looked up at AJ. "You brought your girlfriend to this party?"
AJ just shook his head. "Come on Webb. Let’s get you to the hospital and checked out."
"Wait." Webb gently pushed Mac off his lap. He accepted Rabb’s hand and when he was standing, he looked around. Cops were helping their fallen comrades; two of them were working feverishly on one. Another was tending Crenshaw. Yet another was talking into a radio frantically demanding medics and ambulances. Far in the background he saw Pete rocking Doc in his arms. The body of a homeless man stretched out at her feet. "We have to find Karpov."
"We’ll find him, Webb." Cassie tried to sooth them.
"No. We’ll find him now." Webb insisted and turned around until he spotted Palmer. Gently moving a man wearing a windbreaker out of the way he crouched down and took Palmer’s chin, none too gently, in his hand. "Wake up, Clark."
"Knew you would come and say goodbye, lover." Palmer gasped out, the blood trickling from his mouth down his chin.
"Yeah, whatever. Talk to me. I know what you were trying to do. Who do you want dead, and why were you trying to use me to do it?"
"Go to hell."
"Tell me."
Palmer just shook his head. He shuddered a deep breath and his eyes fluttered shut.
"Just don’t let him out of your sight." Rabb told someone, disgust dripping from his voice. "Until I see the body cremated, I’m not going to believe he’s dead."
Webb sighed and started to stand up. Mac’s hand was on his arm. "Thanks," he breathed.
"Webb, at least let’s get some fresh air," Cassie said gently.
"Okay." He put his arm around Sarah’s shoulder. "Aspirin?"
"You got it, babe." Following Rabb, flanked by Galindez, she led him out of the tunnel and into the light.
Cassie let the emotion of the event rush past her veneer of professionalism. Stepping close to her lover, she let him pull her into a tight embrace. "We got him back," she sighed.
"Yes, but it’s not over."
She nodded into his chest then pushed away. "Listen up people, I want an all points bulletin out on Karpov. I want that bastard found. Whatever it takes."
: :
August 11
Harlem
0600 HoursRabb helped Mac push a protesting Webb into the back of a police car. Leaning through the front window he said to the driver and Ed Green. "I’m going to go check on Agent Perkins. I’ll meet you back at Havenhurst as soon as I know she’s okay."
"You got it, Rabb." Green nodded to the driver and the car pulled away. If he was going a little too fast, Rabb suspected it was because the officer, who had never gone below, was trying to outrun the stench of his passengers. Rabb had been lucky. His shoes were ruined but his clothes were fairly clean. Well as clean as clothes could be after wearing them for over 24 hours.
He sighed and reached for his cell phone. "Damn," he muttered.
"What’s wrong, Harm?" Cassie asked from behind him.
"Don’t have her number?"
Cassie didn’t even bother to ask whose, she just found her own phone, scrolled down and then held it up for Rabb to see. AJ had stepped away from her and was talking quietly to Galindez.
The phone rang five times before he heard a groggy, "Hello."
"Oh man, I’m sorry, I woke you."
"No. No. That’s okay!" Perkins was suddenly alert. "I fell asleep here at the 15th. I was waiting for the Captain and the Lieutenant to get back."
"WHAT! Are you insane! Why aren’t you home in bed!"
Instantly Cassie was at his side. "What?" She demanded. "Where is she?"
"Mary, damn it. Stay right where you are. I’m on my way to pick you up."
Mary demanded, "What’s happened? I just wanted to double-check something with Alavera. I need to tell him that Crenshaw…"
"Honey, Crenshaw is dead. Alavera and three cops from the precinct are being rushed to the hospital. We got Webb."
"That’s great." Her voice seemed to caress his ear even through the phone. "I’ve got some information about Karpov. I wanted to check it out."
"Oh hell, just please don’t move and whatever you do, don’t go anywhere with anyone but me." He felt the phone being pulled away from his ear.
"That’s a goddamn order, Perkins!" Cassie gritted into the phone. "If you so much as go to the bathroom before we get there, I’ll get your transfer approved – TO PITTSBURGH."
"Yes, ma’am," Mary whispered as Cassie handed the phone back to Rabb.
"I need a car!" Cassie called.
"I’ll drive you," Lennie Briscoe commandeered one of the FBI Taurus government cars. The agent just looked at Cassie who nodded.
Rabb jumped into the front passenger seat and AJ and Cassie got in back.
Galindez stood and watched as they drove away. He wasn’t happy about what his former CO had asked him to do – well not really – well okay he knew it had to be done and he was happy that he would get to see Francesca again. He just hoped she wouldn’t mind being wakened at this time of morning. He walked up to the woman wearing a NYPD windbreaker and asked softly. "Ma’am? Admiral Chegwidden said you were Lieutenant Van Buren."
"That’s right, Sergeant Galindez, isn’t it?"
"Yes ma’am. You think I could get a ride downtown? The Admiral wants me to check on his daughter and grab some clean clothes for him and the commander. I have their room keys and…"
"No need to explain, Galindez. Green told me you handled yourself pretty good down there."
"Thank you ma’am."
«Damn, cute and polite. Wonder if he wants to join the force?» The very married Van Buren kept her appreciative sigh to herself and called out, "Franconi!"
"Yo!"
«Yo, your momma, Franconi.» "Drive the sergeant to wherever he wants to go."
Franconi started to protest but saw the look on his boss’ face. "Sure thing, L.T."