Page 112 of Long Past Deadly

“No. Point taken.”

“He didn’t ask who I was. Didn’t care. He wanted to know if I was in his way.”

“Short and sweet.”

“Yep. I wasn’t. But before I could utter any explanation, secondary shooters hit us hard. We stopped pretending we weren’t on the same side. He had the team. I had the intel.”

She waited, silent.

“More important, he had my back and I had his. He didn’t pull out when he could have. He covered me. I understood everything I needed to know about him at that moment.”

“That was it?”

“Hell, no. We met many more times while we were both in country. It became a running joke, two jack of all trades making friends. Who knew, right? We met again a couple years later in Afghanistan with Hunt. The QM idea was already in my head. He was the first person I asked to join me. He’s one of those people who makes sure every step gets to the objective, then he gets everyone home. When it matters, really matters, I trust him to run the fight.”

She stroked a finger over the back of his hand. “He coached me today.”

“Not surprised. About what?”

“Mind set. Being sure. Not second-guessing myself and dealing with the reality not the fear.”

“He’s good at cutting through the bullshit.”

She snuggled closer and yawned. “What’s our objective tonight?”

“Rest for awhile. We’ve been going non-stop all day. We’re losing our edge. Mac’s monitoring Operations. He’ll get us if he needs us. Whatever he wants and whenever Mac says go, we do.”

&&&&&&&&&&

Mackey grabbed his phone. Operations was unnaturally quiet, everyone glued with deep intensity to their monitors. This was about Quaid, and it kept them focused. He didn’t correct it. He had extra personnel handling their normal security business. All was green there. Everyone else was on Operation Killer. No imagination on the mission title, but he’d live with it.

He punched in the number for Frank Walker and waited for the man to answer in a gruff tone Mac understood. “Frank. Any update?”

“We’ve had sightings. Four to be exact. Either he’s getting less careful or he has another agenda. We did what you requested and let him be. Tell me why I was doing that.”

“We planted the trap. He’ll come here. I’m guessing tonight by my gut, but how much reconnoitering he does before executing his plan is a question. Did anyone follow him?”

“No, tried to. But he’s good at evasion. I’ll send the spotting locations.”

Mac’s phone dinged. “At least we flushed him out. One of the secondary goals of the manhunt was to make the man keep moving.”

“Do you need backup?”

“Yes, on the flank we talked about. Can you live with that?”

“Yeah, if you have enough people with the FBI, and you keep his field of fire contained to your people.” The man groaned. “I can’t believe I said that. Command is going to have a fit no matter what, but sometimes risk is the only way.”

“We have this. And Frank, we appreciate all your help. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“No need to suck up, Mac. You’ll owe me.”

“That’s a debt I’ll pay personally.” Mac disconnected and texted Alanna’s boss.

Nick Ryker was in the day room eating and talking with Whit. The senior agent would join him momentarily. Hunt was already coming to Operations from Cait’s office. Quaid and Alanna were asleep on Quaid’s office sofa, armed to the teeth. This was a far cry from them being alone the first time Mercer went for them. They’d already been doing the heavy lifting. He left them to rest.

He checked the sightings from Frank’s addresses with Kerry. Still no definitive shift to QM. At this point, they were banking on Alanna’s profile and his gut. He was not a betting man, but those were pretty long odds. Even if everything in him said they were accurate. But he’d become numb to risk long ago. This was nothing new. Every variation of their scenario he’d reviewed and his gut approved.

Harrison came to his side. “Check ins from all stations will start in five. I have them running every fifteen minutes.”