Angel on Fire
Authors: Jacquie Johnson
Copyright© 2012 by Jacqueline Wade
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission, except for brief quotations used in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing 2012
Cover design by
Steena
Holmes
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, companies, events, or locations is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To my family for their help and support during this adventure
Table of Contents
Prologue
. 6
Chapter 1
. 10
Chapter 2
. 18
Chapter 3
. 25
Chapter 4
. 31
Chapter 5
. 44
Chapter 6
. 48
Chapter 7
. 58
Chapter 8
. 65
Chapter 9
. 74
Chapter 10
. 86
Chapter 11
. 99
Chapter 12
. 104
Chapter 13
. 111
Chapter 14
. 118
Chapter 15
. 122
Chapter 16
. 125
Chapter 17
. 126
Chapter 18
. 133
Chapter 19
. 136
Chapter 20
. 141
Chapter 21
. 150
Chapter 22
. 156
Chapter 23
. 165
Chapter 24
. 175
Chapter 25
. 185
Chapter 26
. 190
Chapter 27
. 194
Chapter 28
. 199
Chapter 29
. 205
Chapter 30
. 209
Chapter 31
. 212
Chapter 32
. 220
Chapter 33
. 224
Chapter 34
. 229
Chapter 35
. 238
Chapter 36
. 243
Chapter 37
. 247
Chapter 38
. 254
Chapter 39
. 258
Chapter 40
. 261
Chapter 41
. 264
Chapter 42
. 270
Chapter 43
. 275
Chapter 44
. 284
Epilogue
. 289
Nicholas “Mac” McKenzie nodded to the security guard manning the reception counter as he entered a nondescript office building in Boston. He hurried down the long hallway, focused on grabbing the forgotten birthday card before he left to visit Angela in DC. Out of habit, he flipped on the security monitors as he scanned his desk for the card. He frowned when he noticed five security guards gathered in the lunchroom. Protocol dictated that no more than two could be in the same location at the same time unless there was an emergency.
He stopped and scanned the other screens. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary at first glance. Griffin, the scientist his company had been hired to guard, sat on a stool in the lab reviewing data. Two guards stood at attention in the reception area and one walked along the flat roof, his head scanning for signs of anything unusual. Mac flipped through the screens again. Green and Myers, the other two men scheduled for duty, were absent. If they had called in sick, their replacements should have arrived by now. A sickening sensation filled Mac’s stomach and he turned on the sound for the lunchroom.
“Okay, men,” Mike announced, standing at the front of the group like a drill sergeant instructing his troops. “As planned, Pete and Tom ate those donuts this morning and had to go home sick, so all we have to do is avoid the lobby and the roof. We grab Griffin and take him out the back. Johnny and I will drive him from there.”
“And disappear with our money?” Chris protested, stepping closer to Mike. “I don’t think so. I’m going with you.”
“You can’t. The boss said to split up. I’ll pay you later at Jackson’s.”
Hot, white rage poured through Mac’s veins as he listened. He yanked his spare gun from his locked desk drawer before grabbing some extra clips and a burn phone. Although he would love to take care of the men who dared betray him and his company for the almighty dollar, he had to get to Griffin first. The protected was always the first priority in this situation, especially when he had the kind of knowledge and talent Griffin did. Revenge had to come second.
With one eye on the arguing men, he rang the lab and watched as Griffin snarled at the interruption. “What?” the young genius barked. “I’m working as fast as I can.”
“It’s Mac. I need you to grab the software, and then go down the hall, past the bathroom, and take the stairs down to the main floor. Go now. Do not stop. Do not talk to anyone.”
“Shit, man. What’s wrong?” Griffin’s voice trembled.
“Go, Griffin. Now! I’ll meet you at the stairs.” Mac watched Griffin follow his instructions before dialing another number. Voicemail answered and Mac stated, “We’ve got trouble. I’ve got Griffin. Call you later.” He disconnected and called the one man who had watched his back since their days in basic training. He and Zach had worked together for years until Mac retired from the Army. Zach left the unit at the same time as Mac and moved from running missions on the ground to organizing operations behind the scenes. After a few years working his way up the ladder, Zach ended up running some sort of hush-hush unit that didn’t officially exist despite his penchant for ignoring the Army’s rules and regulations. Mac tapped his pen against the desk, the only sign of his growing nerves, when Zach’s voicemail answered instead of Zach himself.
The group in the lunchroom started to break up and Mac knew he had run out of time. He scrambled the security cameras to buy a few precious seconds and raced to the stairwell doorway. Just as he slowed, Griffin poked his head out. Mac grabbed Griffin’s arm and yanked him down the hallway to the back exit. They needed to get out and get lost - fast. It was their only chance to escape what appeared to be a reasonably well-thought out plan to grab the man who had created the economic version of the Doomsday virus.