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"Except at our place," Clay said, "it's me saying, 'Cool it before Mom comes down.'"
"Because I'm much scarier than he is," Elena said. "Now if I could just convince every mutt in the country to see it that way."
Adam said, "So Lester's upstairs?"
"Oh, sure, bring the conversation back on track," I said. "Spoilsport."
He smiled. "Sorry. I was just going to say that if he's alone upstairs, someone could get to him without the rest of the family realizing."
"The house is secured," said the head of the tactical team--a guy named Eagle. He'd been working away as if he wasn't listening, but clearly he had been. "We have men watching every angle, and they've been at their posts since we arrived. After they were in place, we went over the house with heat scanners to ensure no one was already there, hiding. No one has entered that house without our knowledge."
"So where is Lester?" Elena said.
"We have no visual of the house interior yet, ma'am."
"But you said you have heat scanners and I know you have a floor plan. Which room is Lester in?"
Eagle barked a command to the guy handling the equipment, as if this was his oversight. A few minutes later, the technician was spreading the blueprints on the desk.
He pointed to the master suite. "Before he pulled the blinds, we managed to get a visual. That's the bed, right beside the window. He's lying down."
"I don't like the sounds of that," Elena murmured. "What time is it?"
"Just past nine," I said. "Seems early for bed, especially when he didn't have a very strenuous day."
"Could be reading or watching TV," Adam said, and glanced at Elena. "Why the concern?"
Clay answered for her. "Because there's one very good reason to leave dinner early, c
ome home, and go to bed at nine."
"If he's feeling sick," I said. "Shit. But when was he injected? We've been with him for hours."
"Must have been before we got to him. Took a while to kick in."
"Okay," Elena turned to Eagle. "We need to get in that house. Now."
"We're waiting until dark--"
"Who's in charge of this operation?"
"The Cortez Cabal."
If I'd been on the receiving end of Elena's look, I'd have run for cover. Eagle just stood there, smirking slightly.
After about twenty more seconds of silence, though, Eagle lost his smirk. He started to sweat. Elena let it go another ten seconds, then growled, "Try again."
"You're in charge of this immediate operation, ma'am, but I work for the Cortez Cabal, and I'm the guy with twenty years' experience. Mr. Lester is resting. Or answering his e-mail. Or watching TV. We're not going to blow my operation because you got hysterical--"
"Either we get your men's help to enter the attic now or we do it ourselves and increase the chances of blowing your operation."
He hesitated, then said, "I need to call Mr. Cortez."
"You have thirty seconds. Then I'm going in."
Eagle phoned both Lucas and Benicio. Neither picked up.
"We'll have to wait until they call back," he said.
