Rico could spout all the lip service he wanted to about being my partner. Right here, right now, was the time to prove it. Either shit or get off the pot. Kind of appropriate, given that I’d taken him hostage in the ladies room.
The brooding look in his eyes suggested he might be having second thoughts. No great surprise. He’d have been crazy not to. I was asking a lot of him. Insubordination isn’t the way to win friends and influence bosses. Even if we saved Leo, there would be repercussions. That’s code for hell to pay, resulting in possible suspension or termination.
That was no skin off my nose. I was a sub-contractor. I could do what I did without the CPD’s blessing. It was just easier with it. Not to mention, CPD actually paid for my services. But with Rico, it wasn’t just a matter of losing a job, or a paycheck. Being a cop was in his blood. It was all he knew. All he wanted. Forcing him to make this choice wasn’t fair.
But when was life ever fair?
Rather than risk seeing rejection in his eyes, I turned away and walked into one of the stalls.
Rico cleared his throat. “I’ll, ah, just wait for you out there…in the hallway.”
It took me a minute to realize that it didn’t matter whether he was along for the ride or not. That if the career he’d built was more important than stepping outside the bureaucratic box to save a life, I would be better off without him. My fingers curled around the lock on the stall door and froze.
Why was I balking? Leo’s life was in danger. With or without you, that’s what I’d told Rico. The ball was in his court, not mine.
I strode out the restroom and into the hallway, prepared for the worst. I found Rico leaning against the wall, playing with his phone.
He threw on his jacket and asked, “What took you so long? We’re wasting time.”
I should have known he would never let me down, never leave me hanging. He was a true-blue partner, like Harry Delk had been. For a moment, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
Then we got in the car.
“I’ll take the front door,” I said, unsnapping Hawk’s holster. “You take the loading dock. We’ll meet in the middle and clear each floor as we go.”
Rico did a double take. “Jesus, Nighthawk. There are eight of them scattered throughout the building—at least there were, when the drone took the pictures, but that was hours ago. There could be more of them now, or they could have all moved to the fifth floor with Leo. We can’t just go in blind, guns blazing. We need a plan.”
Plan. That sucky four-letter word.
“You and your plans. How about you create a diversion outside? When they get distracted, I’ll sneak in from the loading dock and work my way up to the fifth floor.”
“What if that doesn’t work?” he asked. “What if only some of the scumbags come out to see what’s going on? You’d have a close-quarters shootout with whomever was left in the house—by yourself.”
“So?”
“So, if anyone should go in, it’s me.”
“Really?” I asked. “And why is that? I’m as good a shot as you, any day.”
“Maybe. But your weapon retention sucks. I’ve been with you three times when the shit’s hit the fan, and you’ve lost your weapon every time. First, the twitcher at the shooting range knocked your gun away. Then, Miriam whapped your arm and sent your knife flying. Then Joey Fingers pulled the morgue room shelf over on top of you, and you lost your gun again. Zero for three, Nighthawk. That’s pathetic.”
Well. That was uncalled for, even if it was true. He could have had the decency to at least cringe, like he expected me to slap the crap out of him, but instead, he stared, waiting for a response.
The best I could manage was: “Shit happens.”
“Shit doesn’t just happen to you, Nighthawk. You’re like a fucking fountain of shit…the font from which all shit flows.”
Rico took a couple of deep breaths and massaged his neck to work out the kinks. “We’re getting off topic here. When this case is over, we’ll work on your little…training opportunity. Right now, we need to come up with a viable plan to get to Leo.”
With the warehouse in sight, Rico pulled over, parked along the curb on Clay Street, and turned off his lights.
I crossed my arms and glared at him the dark. “What’s your strategy, Mister Grand Poobah Planmaster?”
Rico fell silent, staring at the warehouse, eyes narrowed and face frozen. I’d seen that look before. The hamsters in his brain were working overtime. It wasn’t long before his lips curved into a thin smile.
“Look at the top floor,” he said. “The one where they’re holding Leo. The electricity’s turned off, right? But there’s a light up there. It’s dim, but if you look close, you can see it.”
Sure enough. I squinted and he was right. There was a faint glow inside. That made sense. Whatever light source they were using had to be dim, to keep from attracting attention.
“You think they’re up there, hanging out with Leo?” I asked.
“Could be. Or maybe they’re still where they were earlier, and we just can’t see them from this angle. When we got here this afternoon, I checked the place out. There were broken windows on every floor and a ledge running beneath them. The side of the building closest to us had a fixed ladder.”
He hesitated, like he was putting the finishing touches on his plan. “There was one perimeter guard, right?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. But who knows how many are camped out there now.”
“Fair enough. We’ll do a little close-up recon before we go in. If everything’s copacetic, we’ll wait until the guard moves to the opposite side of the building. Then we’ll climb the ladder to the fifth floor, work our way across the ledge, and crawl inside through one of those broken windows on the back side of the building. That way, we won’t be dropping in right on top of them. If we’re quiet, no one will even know we’re there. We rescue Leo, you dose him up, and we’ll all be on our way.”
Climb the fire escape ladder? Fifth floor?
“Ah, nope. That’s a big negatory. No can do.”
“It’s a good plan. What’s the problem? ”
“Ladders and heights, well…mostly heights.”
Rico laughed. “Heights? Of all the shit you do, you’re afraid of heights?”
My cheeks blazed. “Yeah. That and public speaking. Remember? Want to make something of it?”
“This is the only plan that makes sense. Getting up to the fifth floor will be the easy part. Time to grow a pair, Nighthawk, and be the cast iron bitch everyone thinks you are. Like it or not, you’re going vertical.”
Holy shit. Just the thought of being five stories up had me sweating like a pig. “But…but what if they’re all on the fifth floor, like you said?”
“They might be. Rescues are highly fluid situations. We’ll have to play it by ear. At least this way, we’re both inside, backing each other up. Get your ass in gear,” he said. “This was your idea. Remember?”
My phone vibrated. I was thankful for the reprieve, until I looked at the call display. It was Jade Chen. I answered anyway. Not because I wanted to talk to her, but because I was curious why she was calling me. And besides, every minute I was listening to her, I wasn’t climbing that damn ladder.
Even so, my greeting came out a little cold. “What?”
“Nighthawk, something just came across the wire. Your guy at the European CDCP, Dr. Christian, is reporting that there’s been a 1.3 percent rise in the spread of the zombie virus across the European Union. And he confirmed that the virus was manually manipulated. What’s your take on that?”
“I’m a little busy here, Jade.”
Rico jerked his head at the sound of her name.
“With Sandy gone, Christian is probably the world’s leading authority on carovescology. If that’s what he’s reporting, go with it.”
Jade wouldn’t let it drop. “Think about it, Nighthawk. 1.3 percent. Do you have any idea how many new cases that is? Something strange is going on, and I’m betting you know what it is. Spill.”
Of course, I did. To a point. Christian had already confirmed that the virus had been manipulated. He just hadn’t released that information to the public. The list of possible suspects who were capable of bioengineering the Z-virus was limited.
With Leo’s kidnapping, I hadn’t had time to dig into that yet. And Jade would be the last person on earth I’d toss conjectures to anyway. I didn’t trust her any further than I could throw her. Not to mention, she hated my guts. I didn’t have time for kibitzing.
“Sorry, Jade. Talk to Christian. I gotta run—”
“Wait! Let me talk to Rico.”
“What makes you think I’m with Rico?”
Rico rolled his eyes and motioned for me to wrap it up, but Jade wasn’t finished.
“Because, you paranormal freak, if he weren’t there with you, he’d be here with me. I’ve got him wrapped around my finger so tight he doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.”
Oh no, she di’nt.
I went in for the kill. “Sorry. You were breaking up. What’d you say?” I pushed the speaker button on my phone.
“I said if he weren’t there with you, you freak, he’d be here with me. He’s wrapped around my finger so tight, he’ll do anything and everything I ask him to. Now give him the damn phone.”
Nighthawk: One. Jade: Zero.
Amateur.
Rico’s face flushed. He pressed himself up against the car door and waved his arms, warding me off.
I considered tossing him the phone anyway, but we didn’t have time for fun and games. We needed to rescue Leo.
“Maybe you don’t know Rico as well as you think you do,” I said. “He isn’t here, Jade. Gotta run, now. Bye.”
I hung up and smirked at Rico. “It’s all right. I’ll buy you a new pair of balls for Christmas. There’s always a BOGO sale somewhere.”
No sooner had I hung up, than Rico’s phone vibrated. Guess who? He glanced at the lit display in the dark.
I could almost see his thoughts scramble: To answer or not to answer? That was the question.
He raised the phone to his ear and I groaned. Bad choice.
“De Palma.” His tone was pancake flat.
I couldn’t hear her exact words, but she had the lilting voice of a woman who had no idea she’d busted herself. He let her ramble a bit and then cut her off mid-lilt.
“Jade, honey. I’d tell you what you want to know, but well…people might think you’ve got me wrapped around your little finger. They might even think I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. You should probably ask some other shmuck.” He started to hang up, but had second thoughts. “Oh, yeah. One last thing. Lose my number.”
He disconnected, set the phone on vibrate, and slipped it into his pants pocket.
I didn’t say a word.
He leaned back against the head rest. “Somehow, she found out we were thrown off the case and wanted me to comment.”
He grabbed some extra mags from the glove compartment and shoved them into the pocket of his jacket.
Before I could tell him how lucky he was to be rid of her, my phone went off again.
I checked the number, then turned toward Rico and bit my lip. Jade, no doubt mad enough to claw me a new one with her acrylic nails.
I sent her call to voicemail, turned off my phone, and shoved it into my back pocket.
Rico got out of the car and started to slam the door, but stopped. We were officially in stealth mode now. Phase one of Operation Nighthawk had begun.
“Shit,” he whispered. “Look up the street. Two black sedans on the opposite side. Looks like the Fed’s advance team beat us here.”
He eased the door closed, with his finger to his lips, as I climbed out of the car, still amused at having bested Jade Chen. Who was the uber-bitch now?
Rico walked over, fixed me in a steely-eyed stare, and murmured. “Go ahead. Yuck it up, Nighthawk. Get it all out of your system now. Because once that guard is out of sight, your ass is going up that ladder.”
Son of a bitch. I was hoping with everything that had just happened, he’d have forgotten all about his ridiculous high-rise rescue idea.
Didn’t it figure? Me, five stories up with no net. Pretty much the story of my life.