pushing with all we had, the door didn ’ t budge ; the wood didn ’ t even splinter and break. They ’ d re-enforced it with a spell.
We were trapped.
15
He sped the whole way back from New Mexico to make up time, lights flashing on his SUV, sporting a massive hangover. O ’ Shea picked up Martins and filled him in before they raced to catch Adamson , the tracking device working well for once , showing him she ’ d gone home .
“ There ’ s got to be a ring of them working together. I think she ’ s working with someone who kidnaps the kids, then she ‘ finds ’ them for a cost. A perfect sting on parents who are desperate. ” O ’ Shea actually wasn ’ t sure of his new theory, he was just so pissed she ’ d dodged him again , he ’ d grasp at anything.
“ Why wouldn ’ t she just phone? ”
“ Taps. ”
“ She doesn ’ t look like the type to kill anyon e, especially not her own sister . Nor the type to kidnap kids for money. ”
O ’ Shea snorted. “ That ’ s what she ’ d like us to believe , no doubt. But we can have a chat with her, try to loosen up her tongue. ” That brought a far too intimate image to mind , one that he quickly banished . He took the turn-off le a d ing up to her home without pausing to even check the road sign. There were many nights he ’ d staked out her house early on, waiting, hoping for the break he ’ d need to finally put her behind bars. But what he ’ d seen was a woman who ’ d grown up with no family, alone in the middle of nowhere. He tried not to think about how it must feel for her to be alienated from everything she knew.
As they pulled into the yard, a strange sight met them. Four hooded figures stood near the back of the house, not trying to conceal themselves , but standing there , not moving . Smoke curled around their feet, looking like it came from the other side of the house.
“ What the hell is this? ” Martins asked.
O ’ Shea shr ugged. “ No idea. ”
They stepped out of the SUV in tandem.
Martins walked forward first , taking the lead, showing initiative , which was a surprise.
“ Hello, we ’ re looking for — ” His words were cut off when the figures shot at them.
Except “ shot ” wasn ’ t quite the right word. They lifted their hands and stuff poured out of their fingertips , straight at the two agents. Bright blue and green, the ‘ stuff ’ zipped toward the junior agent first. Martins reacted faster than O ’ Shea thought he would , diving behind a hedge alongside the house. O ’ Shea used the SUV as a cover , his mind struggling to make sense of what he ’ d just seen .
“ FBI Agents! Put your weapons down! ” He fully expect ed them to react accordingly. Not so much , as it turned out.
They continued to send that sparkling crap toward both of the agents, which left the agents no other choice. Martins shot first, his aim way off the mark if the way the scarecrow in the field behind the figures jumped was any indication.
O ’ Shea leaned against the door and shot, his gun misfiring , not once or twice, but three times . “ What the hell? ”
Martins ran from the hedge across to a small pump house for better aim. Again though, his shots went wide — all four of them. This wasn ’ t possible.
Smo ke continued to curl out around the house, but that wasn ’ t what stole his attention from the fire fight. It was the screaming.
O ’ Shea didn ’ t think, he just burst from behind the Jeep, firing at the figures as he ran . A spiral of blue hit him, absorbing into his skin , and he held his breath, stumbling with the anticipation of pain, loss of vision, something bad. But there was nothing. Blinking, he stood back up and looked around. There was only one figure left and it stood five feet from him. He raised his gun as Martins ran up beside him.
The cloaked figure tipped its head sideways, as if considering them both.
“ Lower your hands , ” O ’ Shea barked.
As if on cue the
We were trapped.
15
He sped the whole way back from New Mexico to make up time, lights flashing on his SUV, sporting a massive hangover. O ’ Shea picked up Martins and filled him in before they raced to catch Adamson , the tracking device working well for once , showing him she ’ d gone home .
“ There ’ s got to be a ring of them working together. I think she ’ s working with someone who kidnaps the kids, then she ‘ finds ’ them for a cost. A perfect sting on parents who are desperate. ” O ’ Shea actually wasn ’ t sure of his new theory, he was just so pissed she ’ d dodged him again , he ’ d grasp at anything.
“ Why wouldn ’ t she just phone? ”
“ Taps. ”
“ She doesn ’ t look like the type to kill anyon e, especially not her own sister . Nor the type to kidnap kids for money. ”
O ’ Shea snorted. “ That ’ s what she ’ d like us to believe , no doubt. But we can have a chat with her, try to loosen up her tongue. ” That brought a far too intimate image to mind , one that he quickly banished . He took the turn-off le a d ing up to her home without pausing to even check the road sign. There were many nights he ’ d staked out her house early on, waiting, hoping for the break he ’ d need to finally put her behind bars. But what he ’ d seen was a woman who ’ d grown up with no family, alone in the middle of nowhere. He tried not to think about how it must feel for her to be alienated from everything she knew.
As they pulled into the yard, a strange sight met them. Four hooded figures stood near the back of the house, not trying to conceal themselves , but standing there , not moving . Smoke curled around their feet, looking like it came from the other side of the house.
“ What the hell is this? ” Martins asked.
O ’ Shea shr ugged. “ No idea. ”
They stepped out of the SUV in tandem.
Martins walked forward first , taking the lead, showing initiative , which was a surprise.
“ Hello, we ’ re looking for — ” His words were cut off when the figures shot at them.
Except “ shot ” wasn ’ t quite the right word. They lifted their hands and stuff poured out of their fingertips , straight at the two agents. Bright blue and green, the ‘ stuff ’ zipped toward the junior agent first. Martins reacted faster than O ’ Shea thought he would , diving behind a hedge alongside the house. O ’ Shea used the SUV as a cover , his mind struggling to make sense of what he ’ d just seen .
“ FBI Agents! Put your weapons down! ” He fully expect ed them to react accordingly. Not so much , as it turned out.
They continued to send that sparkling crap toward both of the agents, which left the agents no other choice. Martins shot first, his aim way off the mark if the way the scarecrow in the field behind the figures jumped was any indication.
O ’ Shea leaned against the door and shot, his gun misfiring , not once or twice, but three times . “ What the hell? ”
Martins ran from the hedge across to a small pump house for better aim. Again though, his shots went wide — all four of them. This wasn ’ t possible.
Smo ke continued to curl out around the house, but that wasn ’ t what stole his attention from the fire fight. It was the screaming.
O ’ Shea didn ’ t think, he just burst from behind the Jeep, firing at the figures as he ran . A spiral of blue hit him, absorbing into his skin , and he held his breath, stumbling with the anticipation of pain, loss of vision, something bad. But there was nothing. Blinking, he stood back up and looked around. There was only one figure left and it stood five feet from him. He raised his gun as Martins ran up beside him.
The cloaked figure tipped its head sideways, as if considering them both.
“ Lower your hands , ” O ’ Shea barked.
As if on cue the
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