Special Forces Savior (14 page)

She raised her hands far in the air. “My name is Molly Humphries and I am surrendering. The two agents I took captive are inside, unharmed.”

She heard the sound of guns being cocked and knew they were pointed at her. As two officers rushed up to her and forced her onto the ground and put her hands behind her back to cuff them she hoped she wasn’t making the worst mistake of her life.

Chapter Twenty-Two

As soon as Molly walked out the door, Derek did what he did best: worked the problem. He immediately called Steve Drackett.

“Molly just surrendered to local PD and whoever else is out there,” Derek told his boss with no greeting whatsoever.

“Good. That was the best thing to do. I was afraid you were going to do something completely asinine like try to get her out using force. That would not have been a good idea.”

“Yeah, well, that was my plan. But she locked us in the clean room and went out on her own.”

“She probably saved you a couple of years in prison, not to mention your career.”

“Damn it, Steve, I would’ve gladly spent a couple years in prison, if it would save her life!”

“Molly, as usual, is thinking more clearly than anybody else in the room, it sounds like. This is not a dichotomy, Derek. We know the danger she’s in. We can protect her.”

Derek rubbed a hand over his face. God, he hoped what Steve said was true. “Get some agents on her, Steve. Right now.”

“I’ve already got three on her. Nothing is going to happen. And the chief of police in Colorado Springs is a personal friend. I will make sure he’s apprised of the situation and knows that Molly is not to be handed over to anyone, short of a presidential order.”

Derek didn’t like Molly being out of his care, but he knew Drackett was right—she’d probably just saved him, or at least his career. He’d thank her as soon as he throttled her.

As soon as she was back safely in his arms.

“We need to start the warrant on Edmundson.”

“I already have someone in the office working on the initial paperwork. I’ll be there in five minutes. We’ll get you out and get Molly.”

Derek gripped his phone tighter. “Hurry.”

“You just hang tight,” Steve told him. “Oh yeah, I guess Molly didn’t leave you much choice.” He chuckled.

Derek clicked off the phone. Everybody was a comedian.

“Is he on his way?” Jon asked, leaning against the worktable in the middle of the room.

“Yeah. Five minutes.”

“I can’t believe she locked us in here,” Jon continued. “I didn’t even see it coming.”

“Drackett thinks she kept the two of us out of jail, but she and I are still going to have words about this.”

And by
words
he meant he was going to keep her in bed for a week until she promised never to do anything to potentially threaten her life ever again. But Jon probably didn’t need to be privy to that info.

True to his word, Drackett, surrounded by a dozen of Colorado Springs’ finest, entered the lab just a few minutes later. The police searched the room while Drackett let Derek and Jon out of Molly’s prison.

“She’s on her way to the station,” Steve told Derek immediately. “Our agents are providing reports every fifteen minutes.”

“I’m going there,” Derek said.

Drackett stepped in front of him. “No, you have to stay here, get things going with the Edmundson arrest. It’s all I can do to convince them that you’re not to be arrested with her, Derek. They’re not going to let you anywhere near her at the station.”

“He’s right, man.” Jon popped him on the shoulder with the back of his hand. “You can do more good for her here. Let’s go.”

Derek was still torn.

“Updates every fifteen minutes,” Steve reminded him.

Derek nodded, hoping he wasn’t making a mistake he’d regret for the rest of his life.

But as the day went on, Drackett’s people reported in at the promised intervals, assuring Derek of Molly’s well-being and even sending pictures every once in a while. Although she looked uncomfortable, bored and tired, she at least was safe.

Derek could admit to his petty pleasure that she looked miserable in the pictures. Good.

Drackett called in a favor and woke a federal judge even though it was early in the morning. The information on Edmundson and the White Revolution Party was sent to him electronically and within the hour the warrants had been signed for the arrest of the leaders of the white supremacy group as well as Senator Edmundson.

Derek just wished the son of a bitch was here in Colorado, so he could arrest him himself. But he was in Washington, so the local feds were being called in to make the arrest. The arrest would be quiet, of course.

Because this was a terrorist attack, under the Patriot Act he could still be arrested even though these photos probably couldn’t be used in court. Hopefully the photos would be enough to get a confession. Either way, every law enforcement agent in the country would be searching for evidence that would further tie Edmundson to the bombing.

That bastard could expect to spend the rest of his life behind bars. If he was lucky.

Liam and Andrea had come in to help in whatever way they could. Jon and Steve were currently poring over the pictures and data found on the drive. Derek was putting in calls to figure out exactly what evidence was held against Molly that had her being detained across town. Nobody seemed to know. Nor could anyone produce a warrant with an actual signature for her arrest.

That would be because there was no evidence linking her to the lab explosion and probably no real warrant.

A video call came through in the conference room where they were all working. Congressman Donald Hougland. Although Steve answered the call, Derek completely turned his back on the man. He didn’t have time for yet another speech about how he wasn’t doing his job right and as part of
the best of the best
, he should be doing better.

Steve tried to waylay the congressman completely upon answering. “Congressman Hougland, right now is not a good time. We’ve had a significant breakthrough in the Chicago—”

The congressman held up his hand. “I just heard about Robert. I’ve known him for years, and have seen him make some questionable judgments for what he thought were good reasons, but this is beyond unforgivable.”

Derek turned back around to look at the man. At least he was being reasonable this time.

“Congressman—” Steve started again.

“No, just let me finish. I know some harsh things have been said about your competency over the past few days. It ends up someone was deliberately hindering your progress, which is sabotage, not ineptitude. So I apologize for my remarks. I was wrong.”

“Thank you, Congressman Hougland. Everyone here appreciates that, I’m sure.”

The older man laughed. “But they’ve got work to do, I know, I know. And while they don’t want to be rude—or maybe a few do—” he looked directly at Derek “—they don’t really want to talk to me. Understandable. Keep up the good work, everyone.” Hougland disconnected.

Derek appreciated Congressman Hougland’s statement more than the man probably knew. Someone willing to admit when they were wrong, publicly, was the type of person needed in government office.

But right now, he just wanted to make sure Molly got out of that police station. The work was tedious, proving up the chain at multiple agencies that there was no actual evidence on Molly, nor was anyone in possession of a signed, original warrant for her arrest.

Without the warrant, the police couldn’t hold her. “Steve, I’ve traced the stuff on Molly and nobody has a signed warrant. It looks like all the agencies were just following each other with the APB put out on her. Nobody actually questioned it.”

“Good,” Drackett said. “I’ll call Brandon Han and send him over. He’ll have her out in no time.”

Brandon was a fellow agent and gifted profiler, who also held a degree and license to practice law. The man could run circles mentally around most people. Derek was sure he wouldn’t have any trouble getting Molly released.

For the first time since she’d walked away from him in the lab, Derek could feel the pressure in his chest easing. She was going to be okay. Whatever plans Edmundson had for taking her had been thwarted.

But the plans Derek had for her? Those were definitely not thwarted and she was in so much trouble. Spending at least the next two days with her tied to his bed until she saw the error of putting herself in danger ought to be a good start. Derek grinned and had to shift a little in his chair from the way his whole body tightened.

But that was tonight. Right now there was so much paperwork to be done—the necessary, but boring part of any member of Omega Sector’s job—it would take the rest of the day to put even a slight dent in it.

After all, it wasn’t every day that you were behind the arrest of a US senator. The evidence they had on the leader of the White Revolution Party was more circumstantial, but Derek was willing to bet Edmundson would roll over on everyone at the White Revolution Party if it kept him off death row.

But something about all this was bugging him. Obviously the White Revolution Party and Edmundson had partnered together on the bombing. These pictures were almost irrefutable evidence of that. Not only of pictures of them together, but of them together looking at plans.

The problem was why these pictures and info even existed in the first place. Their existence was not in Edmundson’s nor the White Revolution Party’s best interest, so they definitely hadn’t taken them, or if they had it had been for blackmail purpose.

But Edmundson had known the data drive with the photos existed because he’d blown up the lab rather than have its contents come to light. Understandably so, now that its contents had been made public.

But how had the drive come into existence in the first place? It didn’t matter for the purpose of Edmundson’s arrest, but it would need to be answered.

Three hours later Drackett got the news Derek had been waiting for and immediately relayed it to Derek.

Molly was out. Safe. Brandon Han was giving her a ride home since she was exhausted and—Steve had written it down so he could get it right—“knew Derek was going to blow all of this out of proportion and she just didn’t want to deal with him yet.”

Everyone snickered at that.

Maybe three days tied to his bed...

Derek rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the exactness, boss.”

Steve smiled. “Just part of my job.”

It was late afternoon by the time they were all ready to call it quits. Things weren’t wrapped up, but at least the events set in motion by them today could carry on without their direct supervision. It was time to go home. No one had gotten a full night’s sleep since the lab explosion nearly five days ago. At least tomorrow was Sunday.

“Molly and I probably won’t be here on Monday.” Derek told Steve on their way out. “She still needs some recoup time from what happened to her at Belisario’s compound.” Not to mention that Derek had plans for her that very definitely did not involve Omega.

Steve nodded. “I understand.”

“I sent those pictures and all the info from the data drive to you via email,” Jon told him. “Just in case you guys are looking for something to do.”

“Yeah. We won’t be.” Derek slapped Jon on the back. “See you guys Tuesday.”

Derek drove to his house, willing to give Molly a little more time before he went over there and “blew everything out of proportion.” Oh, she had no idea. He’d take a shower, grab a change of clothes and head over to her place. He didn’t plan to come back here until Tuesday.

Derek clicked on his computer while putting on his clothes after his shower. He would take the laptop with him although he didn’t plan to spend much time, if any at all, looking at it. He had better things to do.

He uploaded the email Jon had sent with the pictures, so they’d be readily available. He’d need to study them all in close detail later. He was just shutting the computer down when one picture caught his attention.

The man in the corner with Edmundson. He was obviously part of Edmundson’s inner circle. But Derek recognized him.

He’d killed him in the jungle near Belisario’s house.

This man worked for Edmundson, but obviously worked for Belisario, too. What did that mean? Some sort of double cross? Was Belisario the one who had taken the pictures? To use for blackmail?

Or maybe they’d underestimated Belisario’s involvement all along. They’d taken him at his word when he’d said he was questioning Molly for his “partner.”

But maybe Belisario wasn’t just doing Edmundson’s dirty work. Maybe Belisario had a lot to lose also if Molly had discovered and reported the evidence.

Derek grabbed his phone. Jon and Steve had already left the office, but someone would still be there. Derek would email Steve about his theory, but he wanted to make sure someone was already looking into Belisario right away.

Liam answered the phone in the conference room they’d all been working in. Perfect. Liam knew the most about Belisario from his time in Vice. Derek explained what he’d seen in the picture, confirming his theory about Belisario being a key player in the bombing.

“It would be a perfect cover-up,” Liam agreed. “A white supremacy group working with Latinos? No one would’ve been looking for that pattern.”

“Definitely.”

“Hang on, a report about Belisario came across my desk a couple hours ago, but I haven’t had a chance to look at it.”

A moment later Liam let out a curse.

“What?”

“Report says Belisario’s not at his house, Derek. That he left this morning around seven o’clock in a plane.”

Damn it. That was right after Molly got arrested. “Do we know where he was going?”

Liam’s curse was ugly. “Colorado. The DEA’s inside informant said Belisario mentioned he was coming to Colorado.” Derek picked up his home phone while still on the line with Liam on his cell and called Brandon Han’s number since Molly didn’t have a phone right now. Han’s phone immediately went to voice mail.

“Liam, has Brandon checked back in?” He finished tying his shoes while he waited for Liam to check if Brandon’s ID had been swiped anywhere in Omega.

“He’s not here, Derek. Nowhere in the Omega facility.”

“And I just called his phone. He’s not answering.”

“Let me ping his phone, check his location.”

Derek was already running toward his front door.

“He’s at Molly’s condo.”

“I’m on my way there now. Get Jon and Steve and meet me there. But keep this quiet. No locals,” Derek told him as he jumped into his car and pulled out of his driveway, tires squealing. He disconnected and threw his phone down in the passenger seat.