Page 83 of Acting on Instinct
“Next time,” White chuckled.
T-Rex stepped away from the back of the van. “The brothers are starting to come around.”
“How do you handle that?” White asked.
“We have enough meds for a second dose,” T-Rex said. “We’ll do it if we have to, but we talked about the risks. I’d rather not.”
“We could figure out a make-do ball gag,” Nitro said.
“That’s your expertise, brother,” Jeopardy said. “I leave that to you.”
White’s phone rang with a distinct pinging.
Ty turned. “That’s not good,” he muttered under his breath.
White put her phone on airplane mode on missions. If it was pinging, someone was coming over an app that didn’t respect the do-not-disturb.
“White,” she said, holding the cell to her ear. There was a long pause as she listened. “T-Rex and Ty, come with me, please. The rest of you are in charge of the targets. We’re just out of earshot. If you need us, holler.”
Everything about White was taut. Ty didn’t ever remember her moving stiffly like that.
Rory, on the other hand, paced at Ty’s side, looking relaxed, which told Ty there was nothing of interest in the area that was catching his attention.
They reached a picnic table and sat.
White laid her phone in the middle of the table and tapped the speaker button. “White. I’m in a park out of range of any ears. I have a clear view of my environs. It is zero three fourteen hours locally. You’re on speaker with Echo Actual T-Rex and Echo Two Ty. I am speaking on a military, end-to-end encrypted app. Gentleman,” White turned from T-Rex to Ty, “this is John Black, the Color Code Coordinating Supervisor.”
Ty moved to combat breathing as ice shot through his system.
“Black here. I’m in a hotel suite in Washington, D.C. You’re on speakerphone with Special Agent Steve Finley, FBI terror. Next, we have Iniquus Puzzler, Lynx, and Iniquus Strike Force Operator Gator.
T-Rex turned to Ty, and they locked eyes.
“There’s a situation that has unfolded here in D.C,” Black said.
Immediately, some of Ty’s stress fell away. For whatever reason, he felt sure this call was about Kira. After that moment on the stairs in her house when she said something was wrong, and the way she’d been with him in bed, he’d felt like he was making love to her for the last time. That Kira was saying good-bye.
And then there was the robbery. Wrapping that up was such a relief. He’d thought maybe Kira had done that precognition thing she did sometimes when she knew danger was over the hill.
But Black had said that this was about D.C., and Kira was at home in Durham.
Just as Ty was about to exhale, Black said. “Kira has been taken by two men at the behest of her Uncle Nadir.”
Both White and T-Rex reached out and put restraining hands on Ty.
It wasn’t necessary. He was glued in place with 100% focus. He needed to know every detail so he could go on the hunt.
“What time did this take place?” White asked.
“Eighteen hundred eastern standard.”
“Still daylight,” T-Rex said, “that’s brazen.”
“We have her phone so we were able to follow her because of her fitness tracker. Last location we had on her was the airport.”
“She’s not getting on a commercial flight,” T-Rex said. “It’s got to be a private jet.”
“Where is Nadir’s plane?” Ty asked.
