“Yeah. He’s DOA. He poses a threat to the team, you take him out, but only if you have to. I want that bed-down. Killing them might not stop the attack, and the other Lost Boys are out there.”

They turned to go and I caught Jennifer’s arm. “You heard that discussion, right?”

She nodded. I said, “No mercy. They pose a threat to you, don’t think about the mission. Don’t think about finding the other Lost Boys like you did in Jordan. You plant those fuckers. You understand?”

She glanced at Shoshana and said, “I got it.”

They turned to go and Shoshana said, “So I’m supposed to sit here doing nothing while your lover kills that scum?”

I said, “No, you get to drive our vehicle. Track us. It’s a really cool Fiat. You’ll like it.”

She glared at me and I tossed her the keys, saying, “It’s about a block back, crammed into a spot the size of a loaf of bread. Bring it up here and stand by.”

She stormed off and Aaron said, “I don’t think antagonizing her right now is the smartest course of action.”

I said, “I’ve got a lot of phone calls to make. Why don’t you ensure she doesn’t run anyone over?”

He left, and I began dialing, going through a million operational what-ifs in my head.

80

Jennifer kept eyes on Jacob, tracing behind him as he and Omar went down the Spanish Steps and into the shopping district, following Christine Spalding. Twenty minutes had passed, and the sun was rapidly setting. With the close confines of the buildings, they’d be in the dark soon, and she was now having questions.

She’d seen their mannerisms, and they clearly had something nefarious in store for Christine Spalding, and yet she’d failed to ask Pike about Christine’s status. The key was the bed-down, but would they allow the terrorists to capture Christine—if that’s what they planned—and then follow all of them, or would they interdict to prevent it? Or worse, if they attacked Christine, would they allow that to continue in order to locate the viper’s nest?

She turned to Brett, who was pretending to look at a rack of expensive watches in a window. “Hey, she’s on the street again, and they’re still behind.”

He glanced their way and said, “Man, she really likes to shop. This must be your dream follow.”

She smiled and he began walking, keeping pedestrians between him and the target. She matched his pace and said, “Brett, hey, what are we going to do if they try to interdict her? Are we going to stop it, or just watch?”

He continued walking, the dusk setting in at a rapid pace, but the crowds on the street getting bigger. The pedestrian-only lane made keeping tabs on the terrorists both easy and hard. Easy because they could blend in. Hard because it allowed them to do the same.

Brett said, “We don’t need to worry about that. Unless she does something stupid, there’s no way they’ll attempt anything in this atmosphere.”

And then she did something stupid. She left the main thoroughfare, entering a smaller cobblestone street. The area wasn’t nearly as crowded as the original avenue, but there were still groups of pedestrians shopping for discounts off the beaten path.

She walked about a hundred meters, then paused in front of a store, using the light from a window to read her map. She looked up at the street sign embedded in the brick, then right, down a narrow alley.

Brett said, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it.”

She turned the corner, leaving the pedestrians behind for a shadow lane barely lit with tepid incandescent bulbs.

“Shit.” Brett keyed his radio. “Pike, Pike, this is Blood. Busty’s moved into an alley, cutting across the main streets. She’s on a destination, but she’s put herself at risk. What’s the ROE for this? You still want a follow if we’re not threatened?”

Jennifer let Omar and Jacob penetrate, then moved to the entrance of the alley, seeing Christine walking, oblivious to the wolves behind her, the lighting looking like something out of The Exorcist. She heard Pike answer through her earpiece, “What’s the status? I need more information.” She lost sight of the two terrorists in the shadows, but saw Christine appear in a light further down, stopping in the pool of illumination to look at her map.

She cut in, saying, “Pike, this is Koko. She’s all by herself, and she’s like a goat staked to a tree. She’s going to get hurt.”

“Keep up the follow. I’ve got you on my phone. I’m on the way right now.”

She saw a shadow appear in the light, the two men having circled around the web of illumination, one on one side and one on the other. She said, “Brett! They’re on her!”

She pulled her weapon from her purse and sprinted down the alley, hearing Brett on the radio say, “Shit. Pike, we’re committed. Get your ass here.”

She made it about fifty meters before she saw Jacob slam Christine into the wall, Omar pulling a knife. Jennifer shouted, and they both froze at the noise, looking her way. Christine dropped her purse, then brought something up, spraying Jacob in the face. He screamed and fell back onto the ground. Omar turned to the noise of Jennifer running and she saw a flash. Gun.

She jumped right, into the shadows of a building, hearing the snap of rounds. She took a knee and raised her own Glock. She saw Jacob roll upright, pulling a short-barreled weapon from a bag. Much larger than a pistol.

She heard the mechanical snick of suppressed rounds and felt Brett sliding to her left, pumping bullets down the alley. Her earpiece came alive with Pike shouting for information. She saw Jacob rise and thought of nothing but the front sight of her weapon. She squeezed the trigger. Jacob’s weapon spit fire at the same time and she saw Christine thrown against the wall, then Jacob drop to the ground from her shots, screaming.

Omar fired again, then rolled backward, grabbing Jacob by the shirt and dragging him down the alley. She saw Jacob stand and begin hobbling, then both disappeared into the darkness.

She rose and sprinted forward, feeling more than seeing Brett on her left. She reached the splash of light and saw the carnage. Christine splayed out like a broken mannequin, her legs folded, one shoe off next to a can of pepper spray, her upper body against a roll-up metal door. And her right side pumping blood from a close-range shotgun blast.

She knelt down, putting her hand over the wound, hearing Brett running forward. He slid into the light on his knees, conducting triage of the rest of her body and talking softly to her. He nodded at Jennifer and she stood, letting him get to work with his medical skills. She stared down the alley and caught a glimpse of movement. She took off, talking into her earpiece.

“Pike, this is Koko, Christine’s been shot. Brett’s conducting trauma management, but she’s hit bad. I’m moving south down the alley. I’ve lost lock-on of the targets.”

Brett came on, “Pike, she’s been hit with a shotgun. Looks like small shot, maybe nine-shot. Maybe bigger, but it was close-range. No arterial bleeding, but she’s losing fluids. Need exfil immediately.”

Bouncing from shadow to shadow, Jennifer heard Pike’s voice come on. The calm one. He said, “Standby. Working exfil with Shoshana. Stabilize and prepare for movement. Who’s on the target now?”

Jennifer said, “Me. Koko. But I can’t see them. I’ve lost them. I’m just following down the alley.”

“I see your position on my phone. Hold what you got. Hold up. Looking now, and there are about five ways they can get out. Or ambush you.”

“Pike, they’re going to get away.”

“Got it. They’ll still get away after they put a bullet in you. Stand by. Break, break—Brett, I can’t get Shoshana to you down that alley. She’s on the road you left to get in it. You see headlights to the east? Should be flashing.”