Deputy Billy Gene Duncan stood staring at himself in the bathroom mirror in his room at the Angel View Lodge. He decided he might look more like he was on vacation if he skipped shaving this morning. He took his razor and trimmed his stubble until it looked more like a five o’clock shadow. He smiled. Not exactly Tom Cruise, but cool looking nonetheless.
He put on a pair of denim cargo shorts and a white T-shirt. Then he took a tiny Bluetooth earpiece out of its case and pushed it all the way into his ear. After putting on the neck loop transmitter and syncing it to his cell phone, Billy Gene threw on a short-sleeve plaid shirt and buttoned it, completely hiding the transmitter.
He put the SOS button in his right shoe and laced his white Nikes. He added a red-and-gray Razorbacks cap. A pair of shades. Black Hawk Down in paperback—and voilà! Instant tourist. He laughed. He never read novels, but he’d seen the movie a dozen times and could easily talk about it, if asked what he was reading.
When he heard a knock at his door, he checked his watch. Seven o’clock straight up. “Who is it?”
“Room service.”
Billy Gene took off his sunglasses and cap, looked through the peephole, then let the young man into the room. He set the tray on the desk.
Billy Gene signed the ticket and included the tip. “Thank you kindly. When y’all said thirty minutes, you were right on the money.”
“We try. Thank you, sir.”
The young man left, and Billy Gene sat down and instantly began to devour three eggs over easy, three strips of bacon, grits, hash browns, an English muffin, orange juice, and black coffee. He had just stuffed the last bite of the English muffin into his mouth when his cell phone rang. He took a gulp of coffee, then answered the call.
“Hey, boss. I’m synced and ready. You should be in.”
“Yes, I hear you loud and clear,” Virgil said. “Can you hear me through your earpiece?”
“Yes, sir. Like you were standin’ right here.”
“Would you try your silent SOS button and see if it’s working?”
Billy Gene pushed the foot device two times, signaling a yes.
“Perfect,” Virgil said. “So how’s it going so far?”
“I haven’t been out in the light yet, but just now finished a he-man’s breakfast in my room, and was going to go outside and look around. I know this property pretty well, but I’ll be lookin’ with different eyes.”
“Good plan,” Virgil said. “Just remember that the command center has surveillance on almost every inch of the common areas outside, as well as the gift shop and Flutter’s. I’m going to bite the bullet and go apologize to Romo, and pretend to be a part of things. Tell me what you’re wearing so I’ll be able to spot you on the surveillance cameras.”
Billy Gene described his attire. “Oh, and I’m sporting one of those Tom Cruise five o’clock shadows. Makes me look cool. The feds aren’t the only ones with actors.”
Virgil chuckled. “Okay, Mr. Cool. Keep your earpiece in and your eyes on Hawk Cummings. I’ll be in touch.”
“Will do.”
Virgil pulled up to the barn on Pete Jameson’s farm and turned off the motor. He would make himself apologize because he had taken an oath to protect the people of Raleigh County, and that’s what he planned to do, whatever it took. Once he cleared the air with Romo, no one would think twice about him standing around watching the FBI’s surveillance cameras. Thanks to Mitch, and despite Romo, he now knew what the bounty hunter looked like. Though Virgil’s burner phone was in the back of a trash truck on the way to the landfill, Jalili’s face was clear in his mind. If he could spot him before Romo’s people did, maybe he could think of a way to use Billy Gene instead of Hawk to draw him out in the open.
Virgil got out of the car and went up the steps to the front door of the command center and stepped inside. Special agents were walking all directions, but he instantly spotted Romo sitting at one of the computers.
Moving over to the side where he wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, Virgil looked up at the surveillance monitors. On the top-left screen, he saw Abby in Flutter’s carrying a tray with breakfast orders. The next screen showed Savannah’s car parked outside the lodge office, the “open” sign lit in the office window. The monitor on the upper right showed the drone moving slowly above one side of Kate’s log house. Another on the bottom left had a view of the gazebo and the back lawn of the lodge. The next screen showed two couples with children come out of the back exit of the lodge and walk into Flutter’s. On the bottom-right monitor, Virgil saw Jesse entering the hummingbird garden, pulling a red wagon loaded with tall bottles—probably nectar to refill the feeders. Looked like the beginning of a typical day at Angel View.
Virgil glanced over at Romo, who was on his feet, walking in Virgil’s direction.
Here goes. Virgil set his phone so Billy Gene could hear and put it in his shirt pocket.
“Well, hello, Sheriff,” Romo said. “I’m surprised to see you.”
“I owe you an apology,” Virgil said, trying to look sheepish. “I had no right to judge you. You’re the one in charge of this operation, and I’d really like to lend my support. Can we start over? I promise to keep my two cents to myself.”
Romo held out his hand and shook Virgil’s. “Of course we can start over. Yesterday’s history.”
“Anything new I should know about?” Virgil said.
“Our intel is ninety-nine percent sure the bounty hunter is already here. Before Hawk arrives this morning, one of our agents staying at the house will have fitted him with an invisible earpiece and wire so we can hear everything he’s saying. We will be watching facial expressions and movements of all the men we see on the surveillance monitors, and especially the men who are in closest proximity to Hawk.”
“Too bad you don’t know what this bounty hunter looks like,” Virgil said, knowing full well that Romo did know.
“Yes, but don’t forget we have the facial recognition turned on, and if he’s in the system, we’ve got him.”
“Unless he’s disguised himself,” Virgil said.
Romo’s face looked blank. “I doubt that. He has no reason to think anyone here knows he’s coming.”
“You’re probably right,” Virgil said. “I tend to play it safe and plan for the worst.”
Romo pointed to the surveillance screens. “Connor Richardson just pulled up with Hawk.”
Virgil pretended his phone vibrated. “Excuse me, I need to take this.”
He walked away from Romo, his phone to his ear. “Are you hearing all this?” Virgil said to Billy Gene.
“Oh, yes, sir. Most of it, anyway.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m down at the pier, lookin’ up the hill at Flutter’s. I see Richardson’s burgundy truck. Looks like Hawk just got out and is walkin’ over to the landscapers.”
“Right. And both landscapers are FBI actors,” Virgil said.
“Copy that.”
“If you go into Flutter’s, two male customers are FBI actors. And so is the busboy.”
“Good to know,” Billy Gene said.
“And all of the grounds crew are FBI actors as well.”
“They’ve got a bunch of folks out here,” Billy Gene said. “Guess I just better act like a tourist and don’t pay them any mind.”
“That’s the plan. They’ve got Hawk fitted with a setup much like yours so they can hear what’s going on around him.”
“Did I hear Romo correctly, that the bounty hunter is here?” Billy Gene said.
“Yes. And I think they know what he looks like but aren’t telling me.”
“Why would they do that?”
“I wish I knew,” Virgil said. “But it’s pretty obvious they’re shutting us out of this operation … Billy Gene, you do know if they figure out what we’re doing, it’ll be our careers, right?”
“Yes, sir. But they won’t. I’m going to sniff out the bounty hunter and lead him right under their uppity FBI noses. Hawk will never be in danger.”
“I like your attitude,” Virgil said. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
Hawk walked over to where Ziegler and Barron were standing.
“Good morning, Hawk,” Ziegler said. “I understand you’re feeling wired this morning.”
Hawk laughed. “You could say that.”
“That’s it, smile. You’re live,” Barron said. “Why don’t we head down to the gazebo to start out? Special Agent Romo wants you to move around the grounds today and pretend to work with the grounds crew. There are special agents that will move with you, but without being conspicuous. If the bounty hunter is here, and our intel says he is, he might decide to make his move. That’s what we want.”
“Okay,” Hawk said. “Can you explain what you anticipate his move might look like?”
Barron nodded. “If you’re by yourself where he has some breathing room, we expect he’ll start to slowly close in. The special agents in the command center will have him spotted on surveillance monitors and tell you where he is and what he’s doing, and any moves you need to make. You’ll hear everything. You need to trust us without questioning. You may have just seconds to respond. Understand?”
Hawk nodded, his stomach feeling as if a small army were marching across it in spiked shoes.
Ziegler put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “In other words, if command says to walk ten feet and stop, you do it. If they say turn left and walk over to Flutter’s, do it. As long as they’re in control of what you do, they can protect you. Don’t surprise them.”
“All right,” Hawk said. “I’m a robot.”
“Hawk, this is Special Agent Romo in the command center. You’re coming in loud and clear, and we’ve got you on visual. I don’t want you to worry about a thing. Remember, the bounty hunter’s not going to harm you while you’re out in public. His goal is to get you alone where he can question you. We’re not going to let that happen. That’s why it’s so important that you trust and obey our commands. And look natural.”
“I understand, sir.” Hawk shuddered. This whole thing was downright creepy. His eyes scanned the back lawn at Angel View. He saw a few guests jogging. A man and woman and two kids heading for the pier. And an elderly couple walking their West Highland terrier.
“You ready to get to work?” Barron said.
Hawk nodded. “Sure. So what am I doing?”
“You’re going to train your grounds crew,” Ziegler said. “Do what you’d normally do if we weren’t here. Just keep communicating with the command center so we’re all on the same page.”
Billy Gene stopped and made small talk with some of the guests, hoping that if the powers that be in the command center were watching, he’d look like a tourist.
“Billy Gene, are you there?”
“I am, Sheriff. Doesn’t sound like there’s much going on.”
“No. Not yet,” Virgil said. “I’ve seen you on the surveillance camera a couple times. No one here recognized you. Seen anybody out there worth a second look?”
“No, sir. Not really.”
“Seen any men of Middle Eastern persuasion?”
“Hmm … now that you mention it, I just passed a guy standin’ outside Flutter’s talkin’ on the phone who looked like he could’ve been a distant cousin to Saddam Hussein. Is that important?”
“I don’t know,” Virgil said. “Maybe.”
“What’re you thinkin’, Sheriff?”
“Just that nobody here’s telling me anything. So I’m looking for anyone that doesn’t seem like a typical guest.”
“This is a tourist place, Sheriff. How do we define typical? I’ve seen whites, blacks, Hispanics. Foreigners. Old folks. Little kids. And every age in between.”
“All right,” Virgil said. “I get your point. I’m just curious … did you happen to notice if the fella who was on the phone outside Flutter’s was speaking English?”
“No, he definitely wasn’t, but I’m sure it wasn’t Arabic. It sounded more like French—you know, kinda nasally soundin’?”
Jalili’s last known address was Paris! Virgil’s pulse raced, but he kept his voice calm and steady. “Billy Gene, I need you to go see if the guy is still there. I’ll stay on the line.”
“Okay, I’m strollin’ back to Flutter’s like I’m in no hurry. I see him still on the phone.”
“Good. Take a picture or two of something on the grounds. Be obvious about it, like you’re a tourist. And then pass him by.”
“I’m holdin’ up my phone and taking a picture of the gazebo,” Billy Gene said. “Now a picture of the lake. Very nice. Okay, I’ve turned around and am walkin’ in his direction. I’m only about thirty feet away. Well shoot, if that don’t beat all.”
“What happened?”
“He smiled so I smiled back. I’ll just keep walkin’ past him and turn left so I’m out of his line of vision. Okay, he can’t see me. Now what?”
“Keep him in your sights,” Virgil said. “Be as invisible as you can, and don’t let him make you. Let’s see if he’s watching Hawk.”
“You got it, boss.”
“I need to go. I’ll leave this on so you can hear what’s being said here.”
“Copy that.”