a perplexed expression. “Holy shit, there’ll be five, six hundred people there today. Are you sure about this?”
“I’m not sure it will be a bomb, but it will be something major and will be targeted at Cormac O’Bern.”
His dark eyebrows drew together. “What kind of bomb?”
Brigit and Stone spoke at the same time. “Car bomb.”
Their gazes met and a ripple of something foreign and entirely too nice ran through her. She dropped her focus to her shoes, shocked again at the way he affected her.
Torrison spoke up. “The library’s parking lot is roped off for the outdoor reception, but there will be dozens of cars parked up and down the streets surrounding it. Even if it’s not a car bomb, we need to evacuate the area immediately, get the bomb squad and their dogs inserted, and circulate Donovan’s photo to all security personnel in the area.”
As Stone reached for his phone, Brigit stepped forward. “If you alert Donovan, he may disappear, thus making it nearly impossible for us to find her.”
His hand stilled over the handset. He glanced at Flynn. “Options?”
Flynn set his hands on his hips, dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling without seeing it. After a few seconds, he returned his attention to Stone. “Have the Feds notify O’Bern there’s been a threat on his life, but keep it quiet. Send an ambulance with a couple more Feds as the EMTs. They can take him out on a stretcher and transport him to a safe house. No O’Bern, no ceremony, no target. Everybody goes home healthy and Donovan doesn’t know we’re onto him. A six-year-old is trouble and he no longer needs a distraction. The worst he’ll do is abandon her.”
“But we don’t know where she is,” Torrison said. “We could still be signing her death warrant.”
“Peter has never killed a child,” Brigit told them. Stone, Torrison and then Flynn looked at her. Grasping at the four-leaf clover, she rubbed it hard between her finger and thumb. “It’s a big risk, but I know his MO well. With a little luck, I’ll be able to find her.”
The silence lasted only a second. Stone nodded at her, a speck of appreciation flickering in his face. “Flynn, you and Julia head down there. We’re running out of time. I’ll alert Director Agouti, and then Brigit and I will follow you.”
Flynn and Torrison scrambled out of the office, and Michael barked orders at Irene from his desk. Brigit moved slowly and steadily toward the still-open door.
Stone’s voice brought her up short. “Skipping out now?”
“I have a car waiting at the main gate.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you there if you like.”
“No.” The order was voiced quietly. “You’re riding with me. We need to talk.”
Her limbs defying her, she waited patiently for the deputy director to show her to his personal elevator.
Chapter Twelve
Maryland
A church bell tolled a few blocks away, its baritone peals reaching far in the clear air. As he listened to the first clangs, Peter closed his eyes and saw the library in his mind, the grounds crowded with people attending the ceremony. He saw Cormac standing at the lectern at the top of the wide steps, his arms gesturing as he revved up the crowd. The library’s Roman-style columns were interspersed with flags, creating a larger-than-life backdrop for the larger-than-life poet preaching world peace in front of them.
As the last echo of the church bells evaporated into the cool air outside, Peter opened his eyes and stared out the only window in the tiny apartment he hadn’t boarded over. Even though the apartment was on the second story, it was too far on the outskirts of town to see anything more than the church steeple in the distance.
Although Peter looked out the window at the fall landscape, he saw the coming moments at the library from Moira’s viewpoint. She insisted on doing her jobs alone. While Peter wanted to see Cormac take the bullet of death more than anything else in
“I’m not sure it will be a bomb, but it will be something major and will be targeted at Cormac O’Bern.”
His dark eyebrows drew together. “What kind of bomb?”
Brigit and Stone spoke at the same time. “Car bomb.”
Their gazes met and a ripple of something foreign and entirely too nice ran through her. She dropped her focus to her shoes, shocked again at the way he affected her.
Torrison spoke up. “The library’s parking lot is roped off for the outdoor reception, but there will be dozens of cars parked up and down the streets surrounding it. Even if it’s not a car bomb, we need to evacuate the area immediately, get the bomb squad and their dogs inserted, and circulate Donovan’s photo to all security personnel in the area.”
As Stone reached for his phone, Brigit stepped forward. “If you alert Donovan, he may disappear, thus making it nearly impossible for us to find her.”
His hand stilled over the handset. He glanced at Flynn. “Options?”
Flynn set his hands on his hips, dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling without seeing it. After a few seconds, he returned his attention to Stone. “Have the Feds notify O’Bern there’s been a threat on his life, but keep it quiet. Send an ambulance with a couple more Feds as the EMTs. They can take him out on a stretcher and transport him to a safe house. No O’Bern, no ceremony, no target. Everybody goes home healthy and Donovan doesn’t know we’re onto him. A six-year-old is trouble and he no longer needs a distraction. The worst he’ll do is abandon her.”
“But we don’t know where she is,” Torrison said. “We could still be signing her death warrant.”
“Peter has never killed a child,” Brigit told them. Stone, Torrison and then Flynn looked at her. Grasping at the four-leaf clover, she rubbed it hard between her finger and thumb. “It’s a big risk, but I know his MO well. With a little luck, I’ll be able to find her.”
The silence lasted only a second. Stone nodded at her, a speck of appreciation flickering in his face. “Flynn, you and Julia head down there. We’re running out of time. I’ll alert Director Agouti, and then Brigit and I will follow you.”
Flynn and Torrison scrambled out of the office, and Michael barked orders at Irene from his desk. Brigit moved slowly and steadily toward the still-open door.
Stone’s voice brought her up short. “Skipping out now?”
“I have a car waiting at the main gate.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you there if you like.”
“No.” The order was voiced quietly. “You’re riding with me. We need to talk.”
Her limbs defying her, she waited patiently for the deputy director to show her to his personal elevator.
Chapter Twelve
Maryland
A church bell tolled a few blocks away, its baritone peals reaching far in the clear air. As he listened to the first clangs, Peter closed his eyes and saw the library in his mind, the grounds crowded with people attending the ceremony. He saw Cormac standing at the lectern at the top of the wide steps, his arms gesturing as he revved up the crowd. The library’s Roman-style columns were interspersed with flags, creating a larger-than-life backdrop for the larger-than-life poet preaching world peace in front of them.
As the last echo of the church bells evaporated into the cool air outside, Peter opened his eyes and stared out the only window in the tiny apartment he hadn’t boarded over. Even though the apartment was on the second story, it was too far on the outskirts of town to see anything more than the church steeple in the distance.
Although Peter looked out the window at the fall landscape, he saw the coming moments at the library from Moira’s viewpoint. She insisted on doing her jobs alone. While Peter wanted to see Cormac take the bullet of death more than anything else in
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