They both nodded, no questions, Brett surveying the street and Jennifer looking at the door next to the pharmacy. I said, “Where’s Knuckles?”

Brett said, “He’s coming. Right behind us. Aaron was controlling Shoshana, and he can’t get her on the phone. Knuckles went with him to sort it out.”

I took that in, not really worried. Shoshana could take care of herself better than about 99.9 percent of the human population. I clicked my earpiece, saying, “Retro, Retro, you got the van?”

“Got it. Headed your way. You got a place for me to stage?”

“Not yet. Circle the block. Blood’s on it.” I nodded at him, and he disappeared, walking toward an alley next to the building.

I looked at Jennifer and said, “Time to go.”

She said, “What’s up with Shoshana? All she was doing was locking down the eastern exit. She wasn’t even near the gunfight.”

“I don’t know, but it’s not a worry. She’s not tied into our commo structure. For all we know, her battery is dead in her cell phone. You were a lot closer, and you didn’t get in the fight. She’s fine.”

She looked at me and I saw something in her eyes. I said, “What?”

She glanced away, making sure Brett hadn’t come back, and said, “I killed a man. One of the guys running with a pistol. I have no idea who he was. I heard the call you gave to Brett, saw the kid get hit, and went into autopilot. He stood up right in front of me. He had a gun out. . . .”

She was looking for absolution. She said, “What if he was a cop? What if they have security in the park? I just pulled the trigger. I didn’t even think about it.”

She was staring into me, not unlike Shoshana herself, reading me. Wanting to know if what she had done in the name of the United States was correct.

I said, “If he was there with a weapon, he was bad. You did the right thing. You can make up stories in your mind forever, second-guessing, but they don’t have undercover police in that park.”

I saw doubt and said, “Did he shout anything? Did he say, ‘Police!’ or anything? Try to mitigate the violence? Try to stop it?”

She reflected and said, “No, no. Nothing like that. He jumped onstage and started shooting at that other guy. The one that got away.”

“Then quit fucking thinking about it. Look, I don’t have a single clue what went on there, or why it happened. What I do know is that if you’d let him go on, he probably would’ve killed three or four kids with the wild-ass spraying of rounds. You did good.”

She nodded and I said, “Get inside the apartment. We’re running out of time.”

She nodded again, this time more firmly, then turned to go. I grabbed her arm and said, “Sorry about the slight on the gunfight. I didn’t know you were in it, but I’m glad you were.”

She said, “Shoshana would’ve been better.”

“No, she wouldn’t. She would never question. Which is why you’re on my team.”

She showed a flicker of a smile, then broke away, jogging across the street.

I watched her go, then Retro came on. “I’m coming back your way. Where do I park?”

I called Brett. “Blood, Blood, what do you have?”

He said, “Bring him right into the alley. The one you saw me go down. It’s deserted. I’ve been to the end and back. There’s one drunk homeless guy, but he’s passed out. Stage in the entrance. I’m there now.”

Which was perfect, because it was right next to the pharmacy and the door to the apartment. I jogged across the street to meet him, saying, “Nothing back there?”

“Nope. Some doors, but it’s dead. Stinks like shit.”

My phone rang, and it was Blaine. I said, “Tell me you got somewhere.”

He said, “Okay, you got Omega, with some caveats.”

I thought, Of course.

“You can assault tonight, but only if you determine you can exfil successfully.”

I said, “That’s it?”

I could almost hear the grin. “Yep. I know that’s stupid. Kurt was pretty pleased.”

Both Kurt and Blaine knew that I would never assault for a capture if I couldn’t get out clean. But apparently the Oversight Council thought they’d better make that clear. Just like every level of command I’d ever had. Making statements of the obvious.

I said, “Okay, then. Get the support package ready. We’re coming home with Jackpot.”

He said, “WILCO. Nothing stupid, right?”

I said, “Not tonight. It’s a good situation. I promise. Gotta go. My support team just showed up.”

Retro pulled the van in, did a three-point turn until the nose was facing the street. He exited and said, “What’s the story?”

“We’re taking him tonight. Get the long guns ready. Jennifer’s going—”

I was cut off by a call from Knuckles. “Pike, Pike, we’re out of the park. We’re in the Block but this phone isn’t tight enough for a location. I got you on the street, but I got a fifty-meter gap with the circle. Where are you?”

The sun had dropped during all the planning, the twilight now bathed in a glow of sporadic neon signs. I said, “You see the traffic circle?”

“Yeah. Just to my right.”

I strained my eyes, the circle about seventy meters away. I couldn’t see him with all of the people on the sidewalk, mostly young, the men dressed in black jackets and wearing peculiar half Mohawks, stubble on the side but the hair long on top, and the women wearing skintight jeans. All going to the Block for party time.

“I’m in front of a pharmacy, on the south side of the street. There’s a sign advertising drugs.”

He said, “I see you. Be there in two.”

Jennifer came out on the street. I saw her exit the door, look left, then right, and saunter our way. She said, “I got the apartment. 2A. Just up the stairs. The Dragontooth was booming right inside. You go up, take a right, and it’s the first one. Atmospherics are good. No people that I saw. It’s poor, and probably full of folks who don’t open the door if they hear anything. There’s a lot of noise from inside his place. He’s packing and throwing things around. He’s running.”

I said, “All right. Good job. Jennifer, you’re the driver. Stage here. Brett, you’re lead man. Retro, you’re number two. I’ll be third, and Knuckles will take the rear. We enter and dominate. No gunfire. When I say that, I mean it. If he pulls a weapon, you’d better be quicker than him. I do not want him shot. Is that understood?”

In the gloom of the alley, away from the street, Brett was checking his long gun. Retro pulled a weapon and shined a light on it, seeing a piece of tape that marked it as mine. My brand-new 300 Blackout. He handed it to me. I have to admit, it felt better than a UMP. Reminding me of hundreds of assaults in the past, before the Taskforce. He pulled out his own and said, “Got it. No killing. Unless he’s about to kill me.”

Knuckles and Aaron arrived, breathless. I said, “Late for the game. He’s here, we have Omega, and we’re going in. Aaron, you’re out here with Jennifer. I want you to lock down the entrance. Knuckles, you got tail-gunner.”

Knuckles said, “We got a problem.”

I said, “What?”

Aaron said, “Shoshana’s missing. We searched for her, but all we found was her cell phone, smashed on the ground.”

62

Omar fled the park like a demon was after him, running like a child afraid of the night. He avoided the main entrance and went deeper into the woods, thrashing through creeks and stands of brush until his hands were cut and his clothes torn. He slowed up after twenty minutes, listening. He could hear police sirens in the distance, and assumed they were in reaction to what had happened, but he couldn’t be sure.

He continued on, the dropping sun making it hard to see his footing. He bumped into the back fence of the Sheraton Hotel and searched for a way out. He thrashed through the brush and heard someone shout on the other side, then ask another if he’d heard the noise. Omar moved higher, back into the woods, continuing east.