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She turned onto the GW Parkway heading toward Alexandria, then took the airport access road away from the airport.
The SUV was still following her. Now no one was between them. They were staying back, approximately three car lengths away. Smart. If this was a two-car tag team she may not have picked them up.
She was forced to stop at a traffic light. She almost ran it but decided this was the best way to get a good visual of the occupants. Unfortunately the driver let a little Honda get in between them.
Still, Regan could make out two men in the car, both between thirty and fifty years of age—hard to tell because both wore sunglasses, but she’d put them on the younger side. She’d never be able to pick them out from a lineup or photos.
As soon as the light turned green, she crossed the intersection, then turned south down the industrial frontage road. The Honda went straight. The SUV followed Regan.
She had to time this perfectly. The road was narrow, two cars could barely pass each other. The dead end sign loomed, along with a chain-link fence that blocked the road about fifty yards down. She pulled over in front of a tall fence; on its other side was a refinery plant that took up the bulk of the block.
She looked at her phone as they passed, hoping they’d think she was lost or calling someone. They passed her and she glanced up, barely registered a license plate, but before she could repeat it to herself, they reversed the SUV to back up, immediately recognizing that she had tricked them.
Regan spun her vehicle ninety degrees and at a slight angle, blocking their escape. The driver slammed his brakes, barely missing her car. Charlie had texted her less than a minute ago that his ETA was three minutes. She didn’t think she had even that much time, but she’d try to stall.
She jumped out of the car, wished she had her Kevlar vest, but kept her vehicle between her and the men.
“Why are you following me?” she shouted. “Get out, identify yourself!” She had her hand on the butt of her gun. In training, you never drew your weapon until you were ready to shoot.
It took the driver only seconds to make a decision. He sped forward, toward the fence, then did an expert three-point turn on the narrow road. Without hesitating, he sped toward her rental car. He slowed right before he reached it, and Regan knew exactly what he was going to do. A high-speed front-end impact could set off the SUV’s airbags, so he slowed, turned the wheel to the right, and hit her car at an angle, pushing it out of the way rather than ramming it.
She ran to the side of the road to avoid being hit by her own car. She wanted to shoot at the vehicle, but that would be problematic. Yes, a vehicle was considered a deadly weapon and she would have cause to shoot at it, but she wasn’t a cop anymore, and he had intentionally gone to the right, not to the left where she was standing, therefore not an immediate threat. Instead, she took out her cell phone and recorded them, zooming in on the driver, hoping that somehow she could get an ID if she had a good visual of his face.
As soon as her vehicle was out of the way, they sped up and disappeared back in the direction from which they’d come.
She phoned Charlie.
“They rammed my car and turned east on Westin, heading toward either the GW Parkway or the Toll Road. Dammit, my car is in no condition to pursue.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Pissed off. Can you spot them?”
“I’m coming from the west.”
“I recorded it, but I don’t know that I got anything we can use.”
Charlie arrived a minute later. He took one look at her rental and said, “Did you call a tow truck?”
“I will.”
“I’ll call the police.”
“They’re not going to be able to help.”
“First, you’ll need a police report because of the damage to the vehicle. Second, they’ll be able to access the security cameras faster than I can.” He gestured to cameras on the maintenance fence. “Plus, there’s cameras on the corner of the intersection to the east, and on the airport access road. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a decent look at the driver’s face.”
He’d been wearing sunglasses, so she wasn’t holding her breath. But maybe another detail would stand out—a car pass, an employee sticker, something to identify who was following her and why.
After making their respective calls and waiting for law enforcement and the tow truck, Regan told Charlie about her odd meeting with Grant.
“He said his office wasbugged? Like, a listening device?” he asked when she was done.
“Yep.”
“You think he’ll show up tonight?”
She nodded. “It’s his house—he’ll have to come home sometime. I’ll wait all night if I have to.”
