Resistant

—LANCASTER R. HILL, 100 Neighbors, SAWYER RIVER BOOKS, 1939, P. 12

The electronic release buzzed open a heavy steel door, and the two burly U.S. Marshals who had handcuffed Lou’s wrists behind him escorted him into the small foyer of a rear entrance in the Atlanta jail. Having been briefed on the punch list of procedures he could expect, Lou was a bit surprised his ankles and wrists hadn’t been chained for this trip to the courthouse. He was also surprised that there was no other security ready to transport him. The only one waiting in the dim light was FBI Special Agent Timothy Vaill.

“The face is familiar,” Lou said, pointing at him. “Haven’t I seen you some place before?”

“These guys take decent care of you?”

“They wouldn’t look like they’re both on steroids if they had to eat the food here, but yes, they’ve all been okay. Thanks for caring. Now, about the lawyer I never got a chance to call.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, the court would have appointed one for you, and he or she would have scheduled an arraignment date. No big deal, and no matter. You’re still my prisoner, and I have some things I need to speak with you about.”

Even in the subdued light Lou could see the strain enveloping the man’s eyes. Something had gone wrong.

“You don’t look so good,” he said.

“Neither do you.”

“Got me there,” Lou said, grinning.

He had caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror in the guards’ room as they passed by. His five o’clock shadow had grown to about quarter after eleven, and the date clothes he had worn to meet Vicki—dark jeans and a nice oxford shirt—looked like they had been rescued from a gas station’s collection bin. The orange jumpsuit, he had been told, would come after he was returned to his cell to await arraignment. In truth, even the nasty times on the street had not prepared him for this experience.

But now it didn’t seem like court was in his immediate future. Instead, it appeared that something had gone wrong. Maybe very wrong. His first thought was Cap.

A nod from Vaill, and the burlier marshal with the nameplate Gomes pinned to his tan shirt undid Lou’s handcuffs long enough to have them replaced by the ones brought in by Vaill.

“You’re still my prisoner until you’ve been formally charged,” he said, “so no screwing around or I’ll hurt you.”

“Nicely put,” Lou said. “Very nice.”

“He’s all yours, my friend,” the marshal pronounced. “If he doesn’t work or should he break, just bring him back for a full refund.”

“Thanks, boys. I’m hoping the good doctor is going to be more cooperative this time around.”

Vaill signed some papers then took hold of Lou’s arm and led him out. The familiar, nondescript gray sedan was parked nearby. Lou settled into the backseat, turned away from the mesh screen, and watched the jailhouse shrink from view as they drove away. There had been times when the American justice system had actually been kind to him. The last eighteen or so hours had not been one of them.

“You’re not going back there again, doc,” Vaill said, eyeing Lou in the rearview mirror.

Lou swung around to face him.

“No judge?” he asked.

“No judge. Things have changed.”

Vaill pulled the car to an abrupt stop, opened a rear door, and unlocked Lou’s handcuffs.

“You were right when you said I was entering wonderland,” Lou said.

“You want to sit up front?”

“Okay, I get it. This some new form of torture to replace waterboarding, right? Confession by confusion. I’ll come up front, but only after you tell me what this is all about.”

Vaill sighed.

“Your pal Humphrey Miller has gone missing,” he said. “A woman was found shot dead in his apartment and Miller is nowhere to be found. I have a strong feeling that the person who shot her was the son of a bitch who killed my Maria. If so, that means the Neighbors have both Kazimi and Miller. I think I mentioned the bastard’s name last night. Burke—Alexander Burke. Listen, you’re not a prisoner anymore, doc, so join me up front if you want.”

“Tell me everything,” Lou said, numbly sinking onto the seat Vaill’s partner had occupied.

“We sent agents to Miller’s place and to your basement lab at Arbor General. The lab was right where you said it was. Miller didn’t show up for work this morning. Now we got a dead body and another missing microbiologist. I’m guessing he’s been kidnapped, not killed—at least not yet. The Neighbors are getting desperate, but damn, they are good. That’s where we stand.”

Lou buried his face in his hands as Vaill eased back into traffic.

“Cap,” he whispered.

Vaill shook his head, making no attempt to mask his empathy.

“No miracle cures waiting to happen,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

For a minute, two, there was only silence.

“So, what do you think?” Lou was finally able to ask.

“I think there’s a significant security breach at the FBI. That’s what I think. If there is, that’s how Burke got onto the detail that was guarding Kazimi. Until now, I thought he did it on his own—learned enough about the Neighbors and their beliefs to locate them and offer himself up or else just sell Kazimi to them. But now that the information we got from you somehow already made it back to the Neighbors, I have to believe there’s someone inside the agency who turned Burke. I just don’t know who.”

Vaill appeared genuinely distraught. If this was subterfuge and gamesmanship on the part of the FBI, designed to squeeze more information from Lou, it was a masterful performance.

“Tell me you didn’t know there was a leak when I gave up Humphrey’s name,” Lou demanded.

“I didn’t know. I swear it.”

“What does McCall think?”

Vaill looked over at him.

“Do you see him riding with us?” he asked.

“You think McCall could be part of this?”

“I don’t know what to think or who to trust. Right now, I’m navigating by instinct. I may have already cost two people their lives and I’m not about to do it to a third.”

“You mean me,” Lou said.

Vaill said nothing, which was answer enough.

Lou knew when he gave up Humphrey that he’d made a mistake. But the government had far surpassed his expectations for screwing up, and now Humphrey was either a prisoner of the Neighbors or dead. Lou had one card left in his hand—the notebook Humphrey gave him. And until he had reason to do otherwise, he vowed to hold that card close to his vest.

But time was running out for Cap.

“I shouldn’t have told you his name,” Lou said, as much to himself as to Vaill.

Vaill looked over at him.

“Hey, we’re just as good at what we do as you are at what you do, doctor. You didn’t stand a chance against us.”

The remark took some of the guilt away.

“So what now?” Lou asked.

“Too bad you gave us your hotel. McCall probably included it in his report, and whoever the mole is, if there is a mole, would have access to it.”

“Except that I lied.”

“What?”

“I made up a hotel. At the time you asked, I had decided not to make anything easier for you.”

Vaill pumped his fist and clenched his teeth.

“Yes!” he said. “Then no one can possibly know. First I’ve got to be certain we’re not being followed. Then we get you to your hotel and you double-lock yourself in and turn on a marathon James Bond retrospective or whatever.”

“You really think I’m in danger?”

“Listen, I get what you were doing with Humphrey,” Vaill said. “You wanted to save your friend’s life, no matter what you had to do, even if it meant being an accessory to grand larceny and setting up an illegal lab. Hell, I’d probably have done the same thing. But the truth is, like it or not, you’ve gotten yourself connected to the Neighbors. We can take a chance on putting you back in jail, but those people are heavily financed and very resourceful. If they want you, you’re not even safe behind bars.”

And I have something they may really want, Lou thought, picturing Humphrey’s book.

“Let’s see,” he said, “my hotel room or a return to jail … Tough choice. What are you going to do in the meantime?”

Vaill peered through the rearview and side mirrors and began a series of turns clearly designed to pick up a tail.

“Wish I knew this place better,” he muttered, swerving onto a freeway entrance at the last possible instant. “God bless GPS, that’s all I can say. After I drop you off, I’m going to pick up some stuff from my hotel and meet up with McCall at Miller’s place or headquarters—wherever he is. For the moment, he and my boss, Beth Snyder, think you’re with me. I’m going to tell them I dropped the charges against you and stashed you at a hotel until we can figure out how big a risk Burke is to you.”

“What about McCall?”

“I’m just going to tell him the truth—that I believe there might be a mole embedded in the agency, and that he’s on my list of possibilities. I’ve never been much at sparing people’s feelings if I thought it would help me get the job done.”

“Let me help you,” Lou said. “I need Humphrey to save Cap. Even with him, I’m afraid he may not make it. Without him…”

Lou’s voice trailed away.

“Give me two days to find the mole,” Vaill said. “At least I’ll feel you’re somewhat safe while I’m tracking him—or her—down.”

“I’ve got to get to the hospital. I’ve already missed time. Then I’ll tell you how long I’m willing to stay holed up in my hotel.”

Vaill made some more evasive turns and glanced over at him.

“I told you these bastards are resourceful. I don’t suppose I could talk you out of going to the hospital for like a day.”

“You don’t-suppose right.”

“They might be watching for you there.”

“If they’re that good, they deserve to have me.”

“Okay, okay,” Vaill relented. “I’ve got an extra FBI Windbreaker and hat in the trunk. We’ll both wear them and shades when we go inside Arbor.”

Lou regarded Vaill with gratitude and appreciation.

“So, does that mean we’re partners now?”

Vaill kept a stony expression as he watched the rearview and punched the gas to be the last car through a yellow.

“No,” he said making a U-turn in what Lou hoped was the direction of Arbor General. “It means I’m putting my paranoid mistrust of you on the back burner until you give me reason not to.”