Page 139 of Hard Rain

“I did,” Scotty said quickly. “And he was. Transport left exactly when I told you it would.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Then it turned around. Nobody told me why. Next thing I knew, Cutter was back here waiting for Charleston.”

Silence settled over the room.

Whip was the first to break it.

“Did we ever find out who Charleston was meeting?”

Davis nodded.

“We did.”

Every head turned toward him.

“Seattle PD picked him up trying to leave with the rest of the guests. He’s being held upstairs until we finish down here.”

“Who is he?” Axel asked.

Davis glanced at Scotty before answering.

“Councilman Richards.”

Whip frowned.

“Interesting.”

Axel didn’t think it was interesting at all. He wanted these fuckers put down. They’d put their hands on Whip.

Reason enough.

Boone pushed away from the table.

“It can wait. Charleston can’t.”

He looked around the room.

“Let’s finish this.”

They cleared from the bottom up. Davis and his team had the upper floors.

Axel, Whip, Knox, and a handful of SWAT officers searched the basement level, including the holding room where Whip had been taken.

Working their way up to the ground floor, they entered another maze of concrete corridors branching off the main lobby.

The tuxedos were gone.

Replaced by gray Marshal shirts, bulletproof vests, duty belts, and badges.

He tugged once on the front of his vest before wrapping his fingers around his Glock.

Much better.

He took point, checking the next intersection. Whip covered behind him while Knox watched their rear.

“How big is this place?” Knox muttered.