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“Byrne here.”
“Director Byrne. How nice to finally speak to you.”
There was a brief silence. Though the trace was automatic, he knew Stephan was now ordering a second trace to start, this time involving satellites to track the exact location.
“Who is this?”
Rose glanced at her watch. As a cop, she’d know the call would be traced, but he doubted if she knew it could be tracked via satellite as well. That capability was a well-kept secret.
“I think you know who this is, Director. Shall we cut to the chase?”
“What do you want, Rose?”
“You know what I want. I have something to offer in exchange.”
“You must know we do not make exchanges for the lives of our operatives. We can’t afford to.”
“Then you condemn him to death.”
The silence seemed to stretch forever. Gabriel nursed his arm and wished, for the first time in his life, he knew what was going on in his brother’s mind. They both knew the rules—they both knew the risks of being caught in a situation like this. Both knew that, in the end, there was no real choice.
But had it been him on the other end of the phone, he would have found some way to give them another choice.
“Let me speak to him,” Stephan said eventually. “I want to know if he’s still alive.”
“Oh, he’s alive. Bleeding, sweating and silently cursing me, but he’s definitely alive.” She motioned toward the phone with the gun. “Speak to the man, Assistant Director.”
“Here, sir,” he said.
“Situation?”
Rose clicked the safety off the gun. A soft whine filled the room as the laser powered to full.
He took heed of the warning. “As she said.”
“Enough,” Rose cut in. “I want an answer, Director, and I want it fast.”
“Look, I haven’t the power for a decision like this. I need to go higher.”
Rose glanced at her watch again. “You have precisely two hours. Then he dies.”
“Just make sure he lives until you get my damn—”
Rose hit the receiver, cutting him off. “Four seconds until the trace was complete. That will really piss him off, don’t you think?”
Maybe. Maybe not. It depended on how fast the satellites got into action.
Rose reset the laser. “I’m afraid there’s a lot more to do, the least of which is ensuring you don’t bleed to death within the next couple of hours. Can’t have my insurance policy expiring before its proper time, now, can I?”
The woman was certifiably crazy. “It’s not something I want, I can assure you of that.”
She gave him a thin smile. “No doubt,” she said, and squeezed the trigger.
Gabriel swore and rolled away from the beam. His injured arm hit the floor, and agony exploded. Then the second burst of laser fire hit, sweeping him into unconsciousness.
—
Sam studied the warehouse through the Mustang’s rain-washed window. Even with the headlights on high beam, the building was little more than a hunched shadow in the stormy night.
