Eyes Only (23 page)

“That's why we're here,” Myra said gently. “But first we have some business to take care of. Where is your . . . that man?”

“He's got himself locked in his suite in the back of the house. It's like a bunker. He literally seals himself in there when he's alone. He's waiting for his new security team to arrive. Today, sometime, though I don't know when. What can I do? How can I help you?”

“Can you reach him by cell phone?”

“Yes, normally, but nothing in the house is working. Everything is full of static. I saw a TV program once where that happened because someone was jamming the frequency or something like that,” Irina said. “Can you really take me and my daughter away from here?”

“Yes, my dear. Gather up what you each want to take with you, but first show us where . . . Mr. Spyder is hiding out.”

“With pleasure.” Irina risked a glance at where Greg Albright was still holding her daughter. They were smiling at one another, their eyes and their expressions saying it all. Their grip on each other was fierce. “Follow me.”

“I can't believe this. I simply cannot believe this,” Irina said over and over as she raced along the path and pointed to a section set off from the main part of the house by a covered breezeway. “There are no windows. The door is specially made. A while back, Angus boasted that not even a rocket launcher could penetrate the door. I believed him.”

“Okay, Felicia . . . Irina, we can take it from here. Go back to the house and gather your and Gretchen's things. Where will you go?”

“First to Miami, so my daughter can have her operation. I have to pack up my jewelry so I can sell it to pay for the operation. I have no cash money. Then, when Gretchen is safe and she has recovered and can walk again, and is with the one who I hope will be my new son-in-law, I will go back to Russia to see my family, and perhaps if I can find a way, I'll bring them here so we can all be a family. Thank you so much for coming. Gretchen and I had all but given up hope of ever being able to leave here. You are a godsend to us both.”

Irina raced off, while Albright and Gretchen continued to bill and coo at each other, oblivious to everything else on the planet.

The group huddled. What to do? How to do it?

“No windows to shoot out,” Jack said.

“A door a rocket launcher can't take out,” Sparrow said.

“His lair is a stand-alone structure,” Ted said.

“But,” Harry said, holding up his hand and pointing to the breezeway, “that's just a plain old stucco wall at the end of the breezeway. Take one of those massive Range Rovers and back it right up and into and through the wall. It might take you a couple of tries, but I think those trucks have the horsepower to do the job.”

“Brilliant, Harry, just brilliant,” Jack said, clapping Harry on the back. “I'll do the honors.”

In the blink of an eye, Jack was behind the wheel of a champagne-colored Range Rover. He slipped it into gear, backed up, then shifted again to go forward so that he could drive into the breezeway. He plowed down a row of sweet-smelling bushes full of crimson flowers. He straightened the truck out, moved forward again, then shoved the gear into reverse and floored the pedal. The air bag exploded on impact. When he finally extracted himself, Jack looked into the rearview mirror to see how much damage he'd done. Not too much, by what he could see. He called out to Sparrow, who was assessing the damage.

“Maybe two more good hits, Jack. You need to use one of the other trucks since the air bag went off. You okay?” he asked as an afterthought.

“Good to go,” Jack said as he hopped out of the Rover. “Ted, move it, okay?”

Ted slid behind the wheel and mowed down the other side of the sweet-smelling bushes in his haste to get out of Jack's way.

The Sisters cheered Jack as he slid into a money-green Range Rover and fired it up.

“Be careful, honey,” Nikki called out.

Jack grinned. He loved it when Nikki called him honey. She called him other sweet names, but he liked honey the best. He waved to indicate he had heard her and would be careful.

The moment Ted had the champagne-colored Rover a safe distance away, Jack maneuvered the money-green one forward and floored the pedal in reverse. An air bag hit him for the second time, but he knew he'd knocked through the wall, because a cheer went up behind him. He jumped out and down and looked to see what damage he'd done. Enough, he saw, that they could gain entry to Spyder's lair if they went single file, one person at a time, but first they had to move some of the chunks of masonry out of the way.

They all fell to it while Espinosa moved the money-green Rover to a safer spot.

Inside Spyder's lair, all manner of bells and whistles were going off. The sound was deafening. Spyder's alarm system was going crazy, the sound bouncing off the walls.

 

 

Angus Spyder stood rooted to the floor. He felt fear and rage consume him as he tried to think of what he could do to save himself. He looked at the white noise coming from all his computer monitors, listened to the shrieking whistles. He looked at his Bloomberg terminal and cursed. As far as he was concerned, he had all the money in the world, and it wasn't doing him a damn bit of good right now.

With nothing else to do, he cowered in the corner.

And waited.

Chapter 22

N
ikki led the way, her gaze sweeping her surroundings. She marveled at the space, thinking it hadn't appeared from the outside to be as big as it was. She estimated the bunker to be about two thousand square feet. And not a window in sight. But the bright light more than made up for the lack of windows.
Solid
was a word that came to mind.
Safe
and
secure
were two more words that invaded her mind. Then she wondered how any human being could live like this.

“Look, there's a full gym. And there's a hot tub and a tanning bed. I thought someone said the guy was a pissant. Why does he need all this equipment?” When no answer was forthcoming, Kathryn continued to follow Nikki, who was in the lead.

The door at the end of a short corridor was closed and locked. Annie peered at the door, at the lock, and decided it was an ordinary interior door with a standard lock. She pulled her gun from the small of her back. She waved the others to the side in case of a ricochet and fired. The sound was earsplitting. Sparrow moved forward and hit the door with his shoulder, causing it to fall inward. Sparrow bent down, picked the door up like it was a toy, and tossed it across the room. A painting full of red and orange slashes fell to the floor. The others peered at it, shrugged, and moved into the room to see Angus Spyder curled up in a corner.

“Abner, unjam everything,” Annie ordered.

A wicked gleam in his eye and an even more wicked grin on his face, Abner sat down to do as ordered.

Angus Spyder straightened his back, then hunched forward. “You are trespassing on private property. I demand that you leave, but before you do that, you will please pay for the damage you've done to my home.”

Annie laughed. “That's not going to happen. Take a look around, Mr. Spyder. Do you see how many we number? Of course you do. Just so we're clear on things, we are in charge. End of story.”

“Well, there are a few other things you should know before the end of the story,” Myra said. “For starters, your wife and daughter will be taking the speedboat out to your yacht. They'll weigh anchor and be off to Miami within”—she looked at her watch—“fifteen minutes. Gretchen's friend, Mr. Albright, did join us, and he's with her as we speak. He is the father of the twins. The man you moved heaven and earth to find but couldn't. We found him. Your daughter will live happily ever after with no interference from you from this day forward. Her children, who you so desperately tried to find, will live wonderful lives, and one day, when they are old enough, they will come to know their biological parents.”

“We're good to go,” Abner bellowed. “What do you want me to do now?”

“Find all his passwords and give away his money,” Isabelle bellowed in return.

“By the way, Mr. Spyder, we don't want you getting your hopes up that aid is coming. That new crew you hired from Miami . . . you know, the ones who encountered engine trouble and were forced to travel via
seaplane,
they aren't going to be able to help you. When they land, they will be taken into custody,” Jack said, hoping what he was saying was true.

“What are your passwords, Spyder? I'm waiting,” Abner singsonged as he flexed his fingers to get the show on the road.

Everyone turned when Irina blew into the room like a wild wind. Her gaze swiveled around the room till she spotted her husband. Her eyes narrowed as she advanced farther into the room.

Maggie Spritzer, the closest to Irina, thought of her as a stalking cat. They all watched, their eyes wide, as Irina moved closer to where her husband cowered in the corner. Her eyes were narrowed to feline slits. Before anyone knew what she was doing, one foot struck out, then the other as she brought her closed, clenched fists down on Spyder's neck. “How's that feel, you bastard? Huh?” Then she rattled off a string of what they all thought were Russian obscenities.

“Uh . . . ma'am, I think you knocked him out cold. He's not going to be able to answer you. At least not right now,” Jack said.

“Oh. Well, at least I finally did something right. I just came here to tell you something. Better yet, let me show you where it is.” She babbled as she ran into the grotto-like bathroom and rummaged in the cabinet under the whirlpool tub. She groped and cursed, but finally she withdrew a large, old-fashioned hardbound ledger. “This is a record of all his business dealings. He liked the computer but wanted to be able to see things in black and white whenever he wanted to. He made all the entries himself. In some ways, it was a sensual thing for him. If it helps, fine. If not, at least you can compare what's in the computer to what's in the book. We're ready to leave now.”

“I imagine you are,” Myra said. “Ted, you and Joseph help Irina and her daughter. Dennis, you go, too.” She threw her hands in the air. “Good Lord, we never thought to ask. Do you know how to drive the speedboat?”

“I do,” Dennis chirped. “I grew up on the Maryland shore.”

“I can drive it,” Irina said. “Angus had one of the men teach me in case of an emergency.”

A flurry of movement ensued as the group prepared to depart, and Angus Spyder started to come around.

“Hurry,” Annie urged. “You need to get out to the yacht before the new crew arrives. We'll be in touch.”

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Irina turned and blew a kiss to them all.

“Go!” Annie roared.

The minute Irina was out of sight, Kathryn, her leg burning, advanced on Spyder. She bent down and hauled him to his feet. “The man asked you a question. Answer him.”

Spyder's big head wobbled on his neck. Kathryn shook him like a rag doll until he started to curse, telling her what she could do and how to do it. Kathryn's eyes narrowed. She did not understand a word of what he was saying or calling her, but she had a pretty good idea he was not inviting her to a picnic or a dance. She slammed him back against the wall. He clamped his lips tight, a sure sign he wasn't giving up a thing.

“How about this, you little monster?” Abner said, waving the old-fashioned ledger in the air so Spyder could see it. “I'll get it all with this to help me. It's just going to take me longer. The longer it takes me, the longer you're going to suffer at their hands.”

Spyder sneered. “A bunch of women!” he spat. “What? They're going to beat me to a pulp while batting their eyelashes? Ooh, I am so scared.”

“Oh, shit. Wrong answer,” Jack mumbled under his breath.

Jack inched closer to Harry in time to hear Yoko whisper, “You need to sit this one out, sweetie. I think we have it covered.” That was all Harry and Jack had to hear as she slithered toward the doorway.

The room went still, as though all the air had been sucked out of it. In two short minutes, the air returned in a rush of sound and motion. Jack didn't realize what a death grip he had on Harry's shoulders until Harry yelped in pain. Both men watched as Angus Spyder flew through the air, only to be caught and tossed from one woman to the next as they peeled off his clothing in midair. Jack closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw that Yoko had a hammerlock on the little man. The others crowded around, forming a barrier to his eyes.

“What are they doing?” Harry hissed.

“I can't bear to look, but I heard your wife say they are going to flay the bottoms of his webbed feet, and then they're going to fry him in the tanning bed,” Jack hissed.

“Yeah, yeah, I heard that, too,” Sparrow said, his dark eyes as wide as saucers. “They won't really do that, will they? I mean . . . that's just a threat, right?” His voice was so shaky, Jack felt sorry for him.

“Easy to tell this is your first rodeo, Sparrow. If my wife said it, you can take it to the bank. It's probably going to get a little gory in here in another few minutes,” Harry said, his eyes on Alexis and what she was pulling out of her red bag.

“This might be a good time for you to check the women, to see if they got off okay,” Jack said.

Sparrow hastily withdrew. He felt like a wuss when Maggie Spritzer laughed right in his face. She shook her head at what she perceived as his squeamishness.

Abner held up his hand. His eyes were on Alexis, who had two straight razors in her hand. “Last chance, Mr. Frogman!”

A string of curses filled the air. “Crazy people. My men are going to slaughter you!” Spyder snarled.

“Crazy?” Abner boomed. “Only a crazy person would write down the passwords in a ledger and hide it in a bathroom.” He continued watching Alexis to see what she would do with the straight razors. “I'm in,” he chortled as he tapped away on the keyboard. Blizzards of numbers whipped across the screens. “Lookie here, Mr. Spyder! Let him see, girls!”

Nikki grabbed one of Spyder's ears, Isabelle took the other, and they hoisted the little man up so he had a full view of what was flashing on all the monitors. A fresh wave of curses and spittle filled the air.

“Move it all out, Abner. The Netherlands Antilles. But keep fifty million dollars and move it to Goldman Sachs. I gave you the routing numbers earlier. Move another fifty million dollars to Wells Fargo.”

“What do you want me to do about that Spy Trap or crap business? The one that spies on everyone.”

“Make it crash and burn,” Annie shot back.

“There are billions of dollars sitting in that account. No code, no password. Why is that?” Abner asked.

“The man asked you a question,” Yoko said quietly. “Hold him steady, girls. Who is doing the carving?”

“Me.” Alexis giggled. “I'm doing the right foot, and Nikki,” she said, handing her the second straight razor, “is doing the left foot. On the count of three!”

Spyder struggled in vain to free himself. Abner kept shouting for the code and password, while Yoko pinned the little man to the chair he was sitting on. Myra grabbed one webbed foot to hold it steady, while Annie grabbed the other.

Maggie Spritzer leaned forward and stared at the man's webbed feet. “I didn't expect him to have toenails, for some reason.”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

The scream was so primal that Jack and Harry scooted out the door. Jack sucked deep breaths of air into his lungs. Harry did the same thing.

“I don't think they need us in there,” Jack said.

“I think you're right,” Harry agreed. “Let's check to see if the women got off all right.”

Both men loped along and down to the boathouse. Off in the distance, they could see the two speedboats returning to the island. The yacht was moving. Both men looked at the motorized wheelchair sitting in the boathouse. The wheelchair made it all real.

“No sign of the seaplane,” Jack said.

“Where's Avery?” Harry asked.

“Good question. Where is he? We should have heard the plane by now.” Jack looked over his shoulder just as Dennis maneuvered one of the speedboats into the boathouse. Ted, Espinosa, and Sparrow were right behind them. They secured both boats and hopped up to the deck.

“That was a very rewarding experience,” Dennis said. “But in a way, it was sad, too. At least we know the women are safe, and Gretchen and Greg will live happily ever after. I heard Greg whisper to Gretchen that if the operation wasn't a success, it wouldn't matter to him. He told her it wasn't her legs he fell in love with. Gretchen cried, and so did her mother.”

Harry clapped Dennis on his back. “You did good, kid. I'm glad to see you have heart.”

“So, what's going on here?” Dennis asked.

“Well, ah . . . we weren't needed, so we came out here to see what was going on,” Harry replied.

“In other words, you couldn't take what they were doing, so you bailed out,” Ted said.

Jack grimaced. “They were filleting his feet. He wouldn't give up the password and code for that spy company. If he didn't give it up, they were going to toast him in the tanning bed. Abner crashed the site.”

“Holy shit!” Espinosa said.

“So now what do we do?” Dennis asked.

The boys all looked at one another and shrugged.

Jack Sparrow sat down on the deck and looked at his bare feet. “Tell me your boy really crashed the site, Jack. That goddamn company is a thorn in everyone's side. Tell me I can go back and say, ‘It's gone. No more spying on anyone.' ”

“You can tell them that, Sparrow, and it will be the truth. There are billions in that account. That's billions with a
b.
And we're going to return a good portion to his victims and give the rest away. And we will take a hefty chunk for the BOLO boys.”

“Well, that's going to make my life a lot easier. I imagine the White House will be relieved. I didn't tell you this, because I was sworn to secrecy, but the bureau was tasked with taking the site out. As much as I hate to admit it, we didn't have a clue how to do it, and you just handed it to me. Man, you guys . . . um . . . and the girls are something else.”

“Someone should call the Domingos and tell them they're free agents again and they can get on with their lives,” Dennis said.

“It's not that simple, Dennis. I'll call Pearl Barnes in a bit, and she'll put the wheels in motion. We can't upset the railroad,” Sparrow said.

“Okay. That's good. Right. I understand. I just thought they should at least be told they're in the clear so they can sleep easy tonight.”

“They will, trust me,” Sparrow said.

“Do you think maybe we should be . . . you know . . . be getting back, in case the girls need some help?” Ted said.

The others hooted with laughter.