Justified Means (Book One) (The Agency Files) (30 page)

“My father will not pay a ransom. He doesn’t believe in rewarding criminal activity.”

“We won’t ask for a ransom, but trust me. Lofty ideals are great in theory, but when someone says they have your daughter and she sounds terrified you will do whatever is necessary to ensure her safety.” Keith nudged the phone again.

“Sound scared.”

“Sound scared out of your wits.”

“I failed drama in high school,” she warned.

“You also never showed up for class.” Karen didn’t look impressed. “Seriously? It’s an easy A, and you don’t even show up?”

“Give me the phone. Sheesh.”

As she’d predicted, James Polowski refused to follow the orders of the so-called kidnappers, but Erika’s, “Daddy, please!” sent his wife into hysterics. After arguing, threatening, and eventually Erika’s panicked shrieks, the man agreed to take their little pop-up trailer and stay at Lake Danube until Erika was delivered.

“He’s calling the cops now,” Karen said dryly as Erika pushed the phone across the table. Keith took it into the kitchen and smashed it with a hammer, pulling the card from the pieces.

“Cops! Wha—”

Keith hastened to reassure her. “That’s ok. They’ll patrol the Fairbury area, waiting for the drop off. You’ll have to drive there yourself when this is over, but that’s ok. Anyway, the point is, they’re gone, and now they’ll have police protection. It’s perfect.”

“Your picture will be all over the news. You can’t leave again.” Karen’s words weren’t very encouraging.”

“So, what do we do?” Claire seemed bored already now that the call had been made. “How do we know when it’s safe to go?”

“I’m going to drive to Chicago and call Mark from there. We need information. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Karen acted as if she said similar things every day. She strolled into her room, retrieved her duffel bag, and backed the car from the garage.

Claire tried to convince Karen to let her go too, but the woman refused. Frustrated, she stormed into the house, down the hall, and slammed the door to the room she’d claimed as her own. With a shrug and a wave, Karen drove down the street and rounded the corner.

Seconds later, a call came through on Keith’s generic phone. “Someone is at Erika’s house.”

“Glad you called. Is everyone ok?”

“Dandy.” Karen didn’t like the small talk. It seemed almost insulting to the man who had personally trained her.

“Good. Jill and Anthony have Helen in Florida.”

“Florida! Why?”

Mark’s voice sounded weary. “She didn’t feel safe going back to Fiji, Australia was out in her mind, and that left here. At least Florida doesn’t make sense.”

“Since when does the client decide where they will and won’t go?”

“Since she freaked, and since I cannot find who is leaking information in my organization.”

“Well,” Karen asked, hoping she didn’t sound too accusatory, “have there been any more bungles? Is there any evidence that someone has information they shouldn’t?”

“Not lately. I’d give anything for Keith’s insight. Have you seen him?”

“You know I’m not going to answer that. Mind if I take a look at whatever information you have?”

“I’ll upload the files I have. Do you know the password?”

“Text it to me when we get off.” Karen hated leaving her phone on that long, but he’d probably already figured out where she was. Why freak about it now?

She turned down a side street and backtracked. She needed a library. “Ok, Mark. I’ve got to go. If you get any news, send an email to my phone. I’ll pick it up in a few days.”

“No. Check it once a day. I’m serious. We’re talking about life and death. If someone figures out where you are, you could be in as much danger as any of us. We’re all sitting ducks until we find this guy—or girl. Twenty-four hours between calls is too long, but don’t wait any more than that.”

“Gotcha. Send it to this number too.”

The traffic nearly drove her insane as she crawled along the streets toward the nearest big box office store. She wasn’t accustomed to being so unprepared. Buying a USB drive would cut into their ready cash, but it was necessary. Keith had a knack for catching what others missed, and with a potential mole in the Agency, Mark probably wouldn’t let very many of the staff near anything remotely sensitive.

With thumb-drive in hand, she strolled into the Blackstone Library, charmed by the neoclassical architecture. Karen immediately realized her mistake. In a predominantly black neighborhood, she looked like a beacon advertising how out of place she was. For a moment, she considered finding a less conspicuous choice, but decided that she’d likely make more of a memorable impression if she left than if she just finished her business and left naturally.

Two terminals were open, but both were too exposed to risk opening anything even just long enough to download onto her thumb-drive. She grabbed the nearest book on the new release shelf, and plopped down comfortably in a chair and glanced at the cover, barely stifling a groan.
Deep Thirst
wasn’t exactly her idea of a good read. It seemed as if Americans had revived the ridiculous melodramatic gothic novels of the nineteenth century with the latest craze of vampires and zombies—particularly when the books romanticized them.

It took an hour, one she didn’t think she had, but at last, the most shielded terminal was empty. Quickly, Karen slid into the seat, found the URL for Mark’s library of files, and downloaded the one marked Keith’s Birthday Wish. Funny. For a moment she wondered, was it actually his birthday soon? She’d have to ask when she called Mark again.

That thought comforted her.
Call Mark again
. Keith wouldn’t trust it, and he shouldn’t, but her gut instinct assured her of Mark’s innocence. It was both a relief and a disappointment. Mark being the mole would have been a nightmare. He had access to information Karen couldn’t begin to know where to find, but it would have meant the end. Found. Done. They’d all be out of jobs, perhaps, but still, it’d be nice to know the search was over. Knowing he wasn’t a traitor to the people he was paid to protect was even better news. He had the ability to help them, and he understood their actions—even if he didn’t like them.

Fifty miles outside Chicago, Karen called Mark’s office, smiling at the relief in his voice. “Got it. You can take it down.”

“Did you get to look at it?”

“Nothing secure around here, but I’ll find a way to get it to Keith somehow. Speaking of Keith, what’s with the title? Is it really his birthday soon?”

“No. I just thought if you got it to him, it’d make him smile. I love to watch that guy work.”

Karen hesitated, the cautious side of her waging war against her more confident side. “Mark, I know it’s not you.”

He didn’t speak for so long that Karen wondered if she’d lost the connection, but at last, his voice, almost a whisper, echoed throughout the little car. “Thank you, Karen.” She could almost hear him swallow and then grinned as she realized what he’d say next—and he did. “Don’t get soft. Keep yourself suspicious of everyone—even me. It’s your job. I trained you to do it right.”

“Did I give you my location? I think not. I’m just telling you that I know it’s not you. I thought you might like to watch me gloat when it’s over and I can say,
“‘See, I told you.’”

The palm trees outside her condo seemed obscenely cliché
d. All of it did. She’d only agreed to “protection” in order to keep suspicion at a minimum. Thus far, her histrionics had done their job. Jill and Anthony spent the better part of each day reassuring her that everything was fine—just fine.

The true problem was that nothing was really fine. She sensed the difference from the first day they’d contacted her. Anthony was skittish, and Jill snapped at him almost incessantly. Anyone who watched them from afar would have thought they were a couple entering year seven of marriage—”
the year of doom” her mother had called it.

She’d tried to project herself as nearly panicked at the idea that someone could be searching for her, but it was time to gather whatever information she could about Erika. The more days that passed, the harder it would be to come out unscathed. Ready to bump the plan to the next phase, she stumbled out of her room, trying to look bleary-eyed. “What about Erika? Is she safe? Do they have her under protection again? I forgot about Erika! I can’t believe—”

“We’ve got her. She’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about.” Jill tried to sound soothing, but her words came out impatient.

“What did I say?” If the woman was going to lose it, she might as well use it to her advantage. “I don’t understand why you’re so antagonistic toward me. You come, tell me I’m in danger again, and then snap at me!” Helen fought not to glow with pride. She should get an Oscar for that performance.

“Sorry. We’re all on edge.”

“Why?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Anthony sent a warning glance at Jill and offered Helen a glass of tea.

“I don’t like that stuff. Water’s good. So, maybe it’d be better if I just talked to Erika and told her that this is my fault. She’s probably so confused. I didn’t want her to know, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve totally messed up her life for the past couple of months.”

“Well, Mark doesn’t think she needs to know. He thinks it’s dangerous for her if she knows.” Anthony pulled out a bag of prepackaged salad greens and dumped it in a colander. “Want some salad?”

“Sure. Got avocado and tomato?”

“Cucumbers?” The man opened the fridge and rummaged through the crisper drawers.

“Besides,” Jill interjected, clearly put out for being overridden. The couple had operated like a seamless machine the first time, but now they were at odds at every turn. “We don’t even know where they are. Keith took her off grid.”

That was interesting news. “Why is that?”

“Mole.”

“Protocol.” Anthony glared at Jill. “It’s protocol. Jill’s always seeing gremlins behind every action. She needs a vacation.”

“That’s—” Jill stopped herself. “You’re right. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m tired, I guess. I’m sorry. I think I’ll go
lie down.”

Helen wanted to demand to know more, but she put on her most sympathetic face and, taking advantage of her older status, put an arm around Jill and led the younger woman down the hall to her room. “A nap sounds good. I’m sure everything will look better when you wake up. I know I always see things through black colored glasses when I’m stressed.”

When she returned, Anthony looked up. “It’s nice of you to be so understanding. You’re paying us to take care of you, and instead, we just fall apart. I’ve been a bear lately.”

“You have been hard on her. That won’t be good for Erika if whomever she’s with is grumpy. She doesn’t have the patience for it.”

“Keith never gets grumpy. He’s the eternal optimist. Always smiling, joking, laughing. That’s Keith.”

“I don’t understand how things work. Is it really protocol to go off grid when there’s a second abduction?”

“It’s protocol to go off grid when anything seems off. Since we don’t know the target right now, we have to do things a little differently.”

“But how will he know when it’s safe to bring her back? He can’t just keep her out there forever. I don’t think I’ll ever understand your business.” Helen popped a cherry tomato in her mouth and went to find the TV remote as if she hadn’t asked a question. She’d learned long ago that people answered questions they normally wouldn’t have if you acted as if you were just thinking aloud.