Duty Bound (1995) (17 page)

Farrel shook his head. "Those damn antitank rockets that hit the building did most of it. The explosions shattered most of the office windows facing the parking lot. . . . I saw on Agent Sutton's update that she's doing all right. Is Agent Tanner with her, by chance?"

The agent looked at the clipboard to refresh his memory.

"Sutton . . . Sutton . . . oh yes, the female agent. She had the skull fragment lodged in her right eye. I don't recall the agent's name, but he has premature gray hair. He's been with her since she arrived. While she was in surgery I got him a scrub shirt from a nurse so he could get rid of the shirt he was wearing--pretty gruesome with the blood and all.

He's with her now if you want to see him, sir. Room 314."

Farrel motioned to the clipboard. "The status report didn't say if Agent Sutton's eye could be saved or not."

"Oh no, sir, she's not going to lose it. I talked to the doctors who operated on her. The fragment lodged in the lower portion of her right eye and didn't do any damage to the pupil or lens. The fibrous sclera, the white of the eyes, was slightly punctured, as was the cornea, and there was some slight damage to connecting eye muscle. The surgeon assured me after her surgery that she would have no difficulty seeing from the injured eye within a couple of weeks."

"Thank God for that. I want you to stay here for a while because I expect the deputy director to come by. If he does, show him the updates and tell him I'm visiting my people.

I'll start with Agent Sutton. And thanks, you did a good job collecting the information. I appreciate it."

The young agent nodded. "I'm glad I could be useful.

And sir, when you talk to Agent Sutton, it was a glass shard that was removed . . . the doctors didn't tell her it was a fragment of Agent Eddings's skull."

"I understand," Farrel said. "Let's keep it that way."

Seconds later the SAC entered Room 314 and saw Eli sitting next to the bed with his head resting on the rail. He was holding Ashley's hand.

Eli heard his footsteps and began to rise, but Farrel waved him down and whispered, "Stay put; how is she?"

"I'm doing fine," Ashley said softly as she slightly lifted her head from the pillow.

"No, please lie back down, Agent Sutton. I just stopped by to ensure you were doing all right and also to find Agent Tanner." He stepped closer and patted her shoulder. "I'm very glad to hear the surgery went well and that you'll be on your feet soon."

"Yes, sir, that's what they tell me," she said just above a whisper.

Eli stood but kept hold of her hand. "She's still a little doped up, sir."

Farrel leaned over to Eli and whispered, "Does she know about Eddings and the others?"

Eli nodded. Ashley shook her bandaged head from side to side. "No whispering, please . . . I want to know what happened to the assailants, sir. Agent Tanner is being his typical self and won't tell me anything. Sir, I must know, please tell me. Did we get them?"

Farrel exchanged glances with Eli, then patted Ashley's shoulder again. "Agent Tanner shot three of them, Agent Sutton. Two were killed and one was wounded and is in Grady. Three fled the scene, but we found blood in their abandoned van in a shopping mall where they changed vehicles. It appears Agent Tanner may have wounded another when he fired at their fleeing vehicle. We ID'd only one of the dead, a mechanic-for-hire named Jorge Orlando.

The others didn't come up on the computer and probably won't. It appears they're Cuban. The Miami office sent us a list of those who were known to run with Orlando, and most entered the country illegally. We believe they were hired to assassinate Paul and then do as much damage as possible in the thirty seconds they had allotted themselves for the hit. The wounded assailant hasn't talked, but plans and photos were found in the assailant's van. We also found a map of the Apalachicola River in the van. It looks like they were the same crew that made the hit on the senator and his family."

Ashley's eyes shifted to Eli then back to Farrel. "Did our people find anything on who let the contracts?"

"No," Farrel said, shaking his head, "and I don't think the wounded assailant will tell us. Maybe we'll get lucky when we collar the others. It's just a matter of time."

Ashley's unbandaged eye began watering. "They . . . they can't get away with this, sir. The people who let the contracts have to burn."

Farrel patted her shoulder. "They will. . . . Whoever ordered the hits made a tactical error, thinking that killing Paul and the others would slow us down. The deputy is sending in one hundred agents to help us renew the investigation. We'll get them."

Eli handed Ashley a Kleenex. "Try and sleep now, pard.

I'll be right here."

Farrel touched Eli's arm and whispered, "You've got statements to make and--"

Eli cut him off by lifting his hand. "I'm staying with my partner, sir. I'll make the statements and talk to the shrink right here. I've already surrendered my weapon to Agent Giles and given him a brief statement of the events as I saw them."

Farrel's eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't interrupt me, Tanner. I was going to say get some rest is all. You don't need to see a shrink--you did a good job out there today. I'll talk to the hospital staff and have them bring a cot or something so you can get some rest. See you later."

Farrel looked once again at Ashley, then walked out the door.

Ashley squeezed Eli's hand. "You should have told me you got some of them."

"I knew you'd just get upset with me. Ya told me to take it easy, remember?"

A tear trickled down her cheek. "You hate hospitals, Tanner; why are you staying with me?"

"I don't have a ride. Our van is still at headquarters, and even if it were here, you know how I hate driving. Hey, get some rest, will ya? You can play twenty questions tomorrow."

"Tanner . . . thank you for staying."

"Yeah, no sweat. Now get some rack time. I'll be here."

Eli reached up, turned out the light above her bed, and was about to sit down in his chair when a nurse walked in the room. "Agent Tanner?"

"Yes?"

"Agent Tanner, Miss Stacy Starr is in the second-floor waiting room and she asked if you would please come down and speak to her a moment. I believe she wants to thank you for saving her life."

Eli sat down and shook his head. "Please tell Miss Starr I'm not available."

The nurse stepped closer. "Agent Tanner, she was treated for a dislocated elbow. . . . She says it's really important that she see you."

Eli shifted his eyes to the woman. "And this is important to me, ma'am."

Seeing his expression, the nurse left in silence.

"Is that Stacy Starr of Channel 2, Tanner?" Ashley asked with her eye closed.

"Yeah. She was out front when the shooting started."

"Do you know her?"

"Kinda, from a long time ago."

"Maybe you should go, then."

"She's media . . . you know what I think about them."

"Yeah, Tanner . . . they're up there with hospitals and driving, right?"

"Yep. Go to sleep, pard."

Eli rested his head on the railing. Closing his eyes, he gathered all the memories of Stacy Starr from the scrapbook in his mind and let them slowly fade away. He knew she was a dream no longer worth keeping. As with so many things that had seemed important to him, it was time to let the past go.

Midnight, Days Inn, Dahlonega, Georgia Lying on the bed watching television, Ted heard a light knock on his door. He got up and walked to the door thinking it was Virgil or Glenn. He opened the door and blinked, not believing who he saw.

Before she could speak, Ted grabbed her arm, pulled her into the room, and closed the door. "Chrisea'mighty, Bonita! What the hell you doin' here?"

Seeming unfazed by his anger, she motioned with a trembling hand toward the television. "You saw it, didn't you?

An . . . an earlier report said several agents were killed.

One of them, they said, was Agent Eddings . . . the one who was working with Wentzel. Carlos did it, didn't he?"

"Yeah, it sure looks like it. Jesus, Bonita, you can't be here; one of my guys is in the next room. How'd you get here?"

"After I saw it on the news, I borrowed Duwane's car and drove up to find you. I've been driving around for an hour trying to find your Lincoln, and saw it out front of the room and--"

"Christ'a'mighty, did you knock on all the motel's doors?"

"No, I saw you through the window."

Ted hurried to the window and pulled the curtains closed.

"Dumb, Bonita. This is really dumb. You could blow our operational security by--"

Bonita began crying. "Don't do it, Teddy. It's out of control. Carlos is killing everybody ... you saw what happened, all those poor people. My God, we can't go through with this."

Ted softened his stare, walked over, and put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Bo, get hold of yourself.

We can't quit now. The money is your only chance to get out of this alive."

"I can't do it, Teddy. I don't care about the money; I just want it to end."

"You're upset, Bo. Sit down a minute." Ted led her to the bed and sat down beside her. "Take in a deep breath and listen to me. Mendez is goin' to be movin' the money anytime now. Me and my guys are ready . . . we'll get the money. When we do, we'll do just like we planned. I'll call you on your cell phone and tell you where your share is hidden. You borrow Duwane's car again, pick up the cash, and buy yourself a used car from the papers. Return Duwane's car, then take a cab to your car and head for Kansas.

You hear me, Kansas. Go to a town called Hutchinson and call Henry Duggin; he's a friend of mine. He'll hide you out and get you a new ID. I'll call him and set it all up for you.

His name is Henry Duggin. Now you say it."

"Henry Duggin."

"That's right. Once things blow over, then you can get yourself an airline ticket and go anywhere you want. I'm uppin' your share--you'll get a half million, so pick someplace nice."

Bonita looked into his eyes. "Why, Teddy? Why is going after Carlos so important to you?"

"It's personal, Bo."

"He'll kill you. I I. . . I don't want that to happen. Don't do it. Leave with me right now and let's run off together."

"I can't do that, Bo. I got a promise to keep . . . it's a duty."

"A duty? Ted, it's suicide. I told you about the number of guards he has around him when he's on his yacht--there's no way you can get to him."

"I know a way, Bo. I'm a SEAL, remember?"

"I'm never going to see you again, am I?" she asked.

"It wouldn't be smart."

"Teddy, make love to me."

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't want to leave you without you ever holding me. I . . . I care for you. I liked us . . . I liked us being able to talk and watch movies together. No, don't look away from me. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't have feelings for me? Well? Can you?"

"No, Bo, I can't lie to you, but it's not going to happen.

You gotta go right now. Come on, get up."

Bonita allowed him to pull her to her feet. She cupped his chin. "Promise me something, Teddy, then I'll go. Promise me you'll get out of this alive."

"Of course I will. Now come on . . . I'll walk out first and see if anybody is in the lot." He began to open the door when she stepped closer and kissed him. A long moment passed before she stepped back.

"You're no Alec Baldwin, Teddy Faircloud, but you sure have a way about you. I'll never forget us." She forced a smile, turned, opened the door, and walked out into the darkness.

Chapter 10.

7:20 A. M., Tuesday, hospital cafeteria.

Eli sat at a corner table drinking coffee and reading the paper when he heard someone approaching. The SAC, Don Farrel, set his coffee cup on the table and took a seat. "Did you get any sleep last night, Tanner?" he asked.

Eli put his paper down, looking at his disheveled boss.

"Yes, sir, a little, but it looks like you didn't."

Farrel nodded tiredly. "Yeah, it was a long night. I had Tom Bowlan take over for Eddings as the case officer. We went over Paul's organization charts for the task force. . . . I saw where he penciled you in as the liaison with the GBI."

"Yes, sir. I volunteered for the job."

"Torn made a few changes to the organization, but you're still the liaison. We faxed what we had to the GBI this morning and told them you'd be over this afternoon for a sit-down. I suggest if you know somebody over there, you request him to be your point of contact. They can be a pretty chilly bunch when it comes to supporting us feds. Our relationship with them has never been the best."

"I understand, sir. I'll make the call," Eli said.

Farrel glanced at the newspaper headlines. "The media don't like being targets, do they?"

"They took a heavy hit, sir. Paper says the Channel 2 guy didn't make it. . . . That makes eight of them that bought it."

Farrel closed his eyes a moment. "They're taking it personally. All the big names are coming into town to cover the story . . . Tom Brokaw, Rather, Jennings. I don't need that right now. We did get a couple of breaks last night, though.