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Angel and Maddock sat down on Bones’ bed. Angel took his hand. “I still can’t believe it about Sheriff Danzig. Especially after what happened with his daughter.”
Before they had left the sheriff, he had told them about his daughter’s disappearance. Five years earlier, she had been last seen hiking by herself in the woods on the other side of the river from the park. At first Danzig had figured she just ran away for a time. The sixteen year-old was willful and in constant battle with her mother.
But some detailed research showed that far too many people disappeared within ten to fifteen miles of the park headquarters for it to be coincidence. Danzig began to suspect that a predator of the two-legged variety was using the area as a hunting ground. He had never suspected something like the secret ScanoGen lab.
Danzig said that aside from the girl’s mother, they were the first people he’d told that the missing girl was his daughter. She was the result of one ill-advised night the summer after graduating from high school, and he didn’t even know of the girl’s existence until she was nearly ten years old. Both he and the mother kept it quiet, as folks in that part of Virginia still might frown on that sort of thing by an elected official.
That explained why Letson had found no record of the sheriff’s daughter being one of the missing. It also gave Maddock extra appreciation for the man’s ability not to kill Renfield. Dark thoughts of his own wife—Melissa—who had died in an automobile accident, along with their unborn child, flashed into his brain, and he squeezed Angel’s hand in an attempt to ward them off.
Against all odds, he had found happiness again, but he knew what grief could do to a man.
Tam Broderick called back in half an hour. Bones answered. “Chippendale’s male escort service.”
Maddock couldn’t make out Tam’s words, but he caught the tone of her voice—scolding like a middle school teacher correcting an unruly student.
After a moment, Bones held out the phone. “She wants to talk to you Maddock. I’m not sure why.”
Maddock snatched it from him. “Yeah?”
“Did Bones tell you that you owe me another one?”
“He did, but since you want Scano as bad as we do I’m not sure I agree with that.”
Tam chuckled. “We’ll settle on something, we always do. You’re in luck, we found Scano. He hasn’t disguised himself and he doesn’t seem to be avoiding public exposure.”
“Seems pretty brazen for a guy wanted by a bunch of governments for terrorism.”
“Maybe, but he probably owns a dozen legislators just in the U.S. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have people high up in the Agency and Bureau also. It’s amazing what money will do.”
“So where did you find him?”
“The guy regularly goes to a Starbucks in a suburban area in Maryland. The past two months, he’s averaged three days a week there, always between seven and nine in the morning. Can’t believe he would get into such a routine.”
Maddock’s pulse sped up. “He thinks he’s untouchable. This wouldn’t happen to be near the Shadow Creek Office Park, would it?”
He could hear Tam entering a few keystrokes. “Yeah, the closest one to that address.” Her tone sharpened. “What do you know?”
“We were given that address by the guy we captured during our escape. He said it’s where he met with Scano.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me this?”
“Information is almost as good a currency as favors,” Maddock said.
“Good point.”
“Something else just happened you should know about. Sheriff Danzig and probably Renfield were blown up in a car bomb an hour ago.”
There was silence on the other end. Then: “Scano was behind that? This sounds like an urgent problem.”
Maddock found himself nodding. “It is. And we plan on addressing it right away.”
“What are you and Bonebrake cooking up?”
Maddock had given this a lot of thought in the hours since their escape. “Scano controls information very tightly, so I doubt the information or any samples exist outside of a very small group. We get rid of Scano—cut the head off the snake—and the rest will be easy.”
“Get rid of,” Tam echoed. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that. What about capturing him and getting him to talk?”
“We’re happy to try. But Tam, you know the guy as well as anyone. What do you think the chances are of him allowing himself to be captured alive?”
Tam’s sigh echoed through the line. “I should tell you to wait, to let my team liaise with you and plan an operation.”
“You should, but you won’t. Brainwash is some scary stuff. Scary as f—” He caught himself, knowing of Tam’s strong aversion to profanity, and managed to substitute a euphemism. “Scary as heck. Scarier than just Alex Scano. We can’t allow anyone to get hold of that, but how do you put that kind of genie back in the bottle? You’re better off letting me and Bones deal with it as free agents.” He didn’t need to add that there were probably people in Tam’s own agency who wouldn’t mind getting their hands on Brainwash.
“I know better than to ask you to wait,” Tam said, resignedly. “Just promise me you’ve given me all the information I need in case you fail and I have to clean up the mess.”
“Fine. You can sign out some equipment through the usual D.C. channel, but if you don’t need anything else from me I’ll sign off. I’ll deny knowing anything about what you’re going to do. But good luck doing it.”
Maddock hung up and shared her information. Bones clapped his hands together. “Hot damn! I always wanted an Alex Scano punching bag. You want to go after him tonight?”
Maddock shook his head. “We know he’s usually there in the morning. That’s when we should go.”
“Dude, there’s something called daylight that will most definitely cramp our style if we wait.”
“But he’s not going to hang around there at night.”
“Guys! Can I say something or do you two want to keep bickering?” Angel stood with her hands on her hips and her eyes flashing with anger. After hearing no response, she relaxed a fraction.
“As much as I hate having to say this, for once my brother may not have his head up his—”
“Hey!” Bones protested. She shot him a look.
“What’s wrong with going there tonight? We don’t have to actually break in or anything, just check things out. The more information we have before we actually confront him, the better. And there’s one other thing.”
“What’s that, sis?”
“Do you really believe Tam is going to stay out of it?”
Bones raised his eyebrows and then chuckled. “She’s right, Maddock. Tam gave in too easily. She’s got even more of a stick up her butt than you do when it comes to controlling operations. The sooner we do this, the less chance her people will be there and screw it up somehow.”
Maddock met Angel’s eyes. “Looks like I’m outvoted. Fine let’s do it. But...” his voice trailed off.
Angel gritted her teeth. “Don’t even think about it. I’m coming.”
Maddock looked to Bones for help, but his friend just shrugged. An exaggerated sigh caused Angel to increase the intensity of her glare, but then Maddock embraced her.
“Of course you’re coming. I just worry about you.”
Angel squeezed him back. “I worry about you too, idiot.”
Bones stuck a finger down his throat. “Unless you want to see my burrito again, get a room. Crap, you already got a room and it’s right next door. Man, that’s even worse. Forget I said anything.”
As the hours ticked toward midnight, they prepared by looking at the diagrams Letson had sent them and going to pick up the equipment from Tam’s supply location. Cramming in the rental car, they headed into Maryland.
Maddock looked at Bones, who was driving. “Is it me or does this feel a little different than most of our other adventures. When we find Alex Scano... We’re going to kill him, right? I mean, he’s not going to come in even if we threaten to kill him otherwise.”
“I hear you, bro. Straight up murder isn’t my style, either. But the good ol’ boys used to have a saying back where we grew up.”
“What was that?”
“Some folks just need killing.”