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Gary’s wild eyes flew up and around the room. “Where are you? What’s going on?”
Interrogation was one of my specialties in the Navy. And one thing any decent negotiator or interrogator knew, go for the easy way first. See if you can break them without force. “Seaman Pratt, we need you to debrief us on this incident.”
“But…” He looked confused for a moment, then he started waving the gun again. “Traitors, sir! They’re all traitors. They’re trying to break me with their drugs. But I’m not gonna say a fucking word!”
“I know you won’t, sailor. I’ll have my best men come back you up. They’ll take these traitors to the brig. But I need you to stand down.”
“I don’t—I…” He was breathing hard, and his agitated state had me worried about his trigger finger. “What about my dog, sir?”
Excellent.“We can bring him to you,” I offered. “How about we meet you at the barracks? Just tell me where to find…what is your companion’s name, sailor?”
Gary scratched his head with the barrel of his gun.How did this asshole make it through basic?
“Tucker,” Gary finally answered.
“Strong name.”
“Right? For a strong Navy man,” he spouted proudly.
“If you let my men come in, they’ll help you with these insurgents. Can I tell them to come in, Seaman Pratt?”
Gary looked undecided and chewed on his lip as he tapped the barrel of his pistol against his cheek. “You’ll get Tucker from the warehouse and bring him to me?”
“Hooyah,” I replied.
He looked almost convinced, but then one of the security guards lifted his weapon and aimed it at Gary. Shit hit the fan.Fucking civilians.
Gary got a shot off, and the security guard hit the ground, screaming and holding his arm. Heath ran in through the back door as soon as he heard another shot, and he was on Gary in seconds. Heath got him in a tight hold, immobilizing the arm holding the gun until Deacon ran up and disarmed him. Then Heath shoved Gary to the ground and cuffed him with some zip ties he’d stashed in his pocket.
I left the viewing room and headed down to the chaotic scene. When Deacon saw me, he waved his phone, then pointed at my pants.
When I dug my cell out of my pocket, I saw a text from Huntley.
Huntley:Warehouses within two clicks of the grocery store.
Then there were two addresses.
Huntley:Warehouses within one click of the hospital.
And another two addresses.
Huntley:This is the only overlap. Meet you there in five mins.
Me:Aye aye
When I arrived at the warehouse, Huntley was standing near the door, talking on the phone.
“I went in and tried to free him, but the dog is practically feral. I’m on the phone with Annalise’s boss to see if she can help us figure out how to calm him down.”
Tucker was quiet at the moment, so I just held up my hand for him to wait and stepped over to the door. Slowly, I dragged it open, and Tucker started barking and snarling. But it wasn’t aggression, it was fear.
“Hey, Tucker,” I said in my most soothing tone as I entered the building.
His barking and growling didn’t stop, but they went down just a notch.
My heart broke when I saw the filthy mat he was sitting on, and the rusty metal brace around his neck that was attached to the wall with a thick chain.
“Do you want to go see Annalise?”
