Buck swears, low and vicious, and Calder’s voice comes faint through Buck’s end, asking what happened.
“I’ll notify the sheriff’s office. Hold position until we get there.” Then Buck hangs up.
I slide the phone back into my pocket and approach the brush from an angle, moving slowly and carefully. The man abandoned more than I expected. Tucked against a rock outcrop and masked with cut branches, there’s a compact surveillance setup with a view of the gymnasium doors, part of the playground, and the windows of three classrooms.
There’s a tripod, binoculars, and a small digital camera, all of it professional quality.
Two flattened cigarette butts are ground into the dirt near the rock. Cardboard and thin paper, different from the others, but still foreign.
Either Kozlov ran out of his regular brand, or he’s got someone working for him.
A few minutes later, Buck and Calder come in hot, both of them looking furious enough to do damage. The same rage is still flowing through my veins.
They survey the gear without touching any of it, while I give them a rundown of what happened. The chase, the alley, the shot, and the fact that the shooter didn’t waste rounds after buying himself distance.
“A professional doesn’t shoot to scare unless he has a reason,” Calder says.
Buck glances at me. “He didn’t want a body in the middle of town.”
“Not yet,” Calder says grimly as he moves to bag up evidence.
We secure the equipment and clear the area. By the time we regroup in Buck’s office, the adrenaline has burned off enough to leave me with the full weight of what almost happened.
“We need to move them,” I announce as we stand over the surveillance equipment that’s now spread across the desk. “Elena and T.J.,” I add when no one responds. “Tonight. Off-site to a controlled location. Maybe Sentinel’s compound first, then somewhere further out.”
“And then what?” Buck says. “We tuck them away and hope he gets bored?”
“We reduce his access.”
Calder cuts in. “He’s already dictating movement. You want to reward that?”
“I want them alive.” I pound the desk, taking all three of us by surprise.
“So do I,” Buck says with just as much heat.
“Then act like it.”
His face hardens. “You don’t think I am?”
“I think you’re too close to this town and too convinced we can handle the battlefield because it’s home turf.” I shove a hand through my hair. “He’s been inside the school. He fired in town and still got away.”
“And you think dragging Elena and T.J. out under pressure fixes that?” Buck demands.
“This doesn’t end by backing up,” Calder says. “It ends when we find him and stop him.”
I trust both of these men with my life, but they’re dead wrong if they think I’ll gamble Elena’s. “She’s not a tactical asset. She’s not bait.”
Buck goes still, and for a second, I think I’ve finally said the thing that’ll turn this from an argument into a fight, but he looks past me, the office door opens, and Elena steps in.
She pins me in her sights. “What happened? Coach Wilkins told me he saw you run after someone.”
I glance at the other men, wishing I could spare Elena from all of this, but knowing that’s not the way, and not what she wants.
“I found him near the school,” I say. “He ran from a surveillance position under the trees, and I chased him.”
“But he got away?” she asks.
“He fired at Weston,” Calder says.
