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Donnie glanced over at Mackie and Kelly who were still working away. What a long fucking day. Yet they were still no closer to locating the sarin. He stretched and saw the baseball coming his way out of the corner of his eye. He caught it and raised his eyebrows.
“You looked lost in thought there, Donnie. Just checking you’re still with us.” Dex grinned and Donnie threw it back.
“I’m good. Going to make some coffee. Seems like it might be a long night.”
Donnie made the coffee and took two cups over to Kelly and Mackie, who gratefully accepted. Mackie stretched his arms for a minute, looking up.
“Hey, you heard anything from Steve?” he asked quietly.
Donnie shook his head. “Nothing. You?”
“Not since he asked me to run a plate.”
“He did? What the fuck is he up to? What plate?”
Mackie shrugged. “Black Ford. No time to ask questions. It was registered to some numbered company owned by some guy named Vladimir Volkov. All I know.” he said in a hushed tone.
“Maybe I’ll go get some fresh air and call him.”
“Sounds good. Hope he’s sorted his shit out.” Mackie focused his attention back on his laptop.
Donnie strolled outside. It was another warm, balmy evening. The setting sun still beat down, making him sweat in seconds. He called Steve, listening as it rang and rang before going to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message, typing out a text instead.
Just checking in to see how things are going. We’re still at the Farm, going to be a long night. Hope you guys are working it out.
He waited, enjoying his coffee and the fresh air. Marriage and kids might not be on his horizon right now, but he admired what Steve and Diane had. The closeness, the knowing looks, the thought of someone there waiting for you when you got home. And Megan? That girl was adorable. He smiled, recalling what she said at Jerry’s. Cheeky little monkey. But he was fine with being a fun uncle. Couldn’t imagine ever having kids himself. That was some responsibility.
He was an only child; his parents lived in Upstate New York where he was raised. His mom said ever since he could walk and talk, he had a fascination with hitting targets. Throwing bean bags, shooting hoops, nerf guns, archery. If there was a target, he had to hit it. He wouldn’t give up until he did. As the team’s primary sniper, he knew that hadn't changed. On impulse, he dialed his mom.
“James? How’s my baby?”
Donnie grinned. His mom was the only person who called him by his actual name. He was also twenty-nine years old, but to his mom he would always be baby.
“Hey, Mom. I’m good. Just thought I’d call to say hi.”
“About time. I never know when to call with you gallivanting around the world.”
Donnie sighed. He really should call more. His parents knew he was a SEAL, but not about Onyx. It was safer for them. Thankfully, since his father was a former police officer, he didn’t ask questions, understanding Donnie couldn’t divulge details.
“I wouldn’t call it gallivanting.”
“Navy boys. I’m sure you all have a good time. When you coming home for a visit?”
He should go and see his folks, it had been a while. Upstate New York wasn’t that far.
“I’ll do my best to get there soon.”
“It’s about time you brought a nice young lady home. I want to see grandkids before I die, James.”
Donnie rolled his eyes, thankful his mom couldn’t see him. Wife and kids were not in his future anytime soon.
“If I give you grandkids, you’d spoil them instead of me,” he teased.
His mom snorted, making him laugh.
“How’s Dad?”
‘Oh, he’s fine. Driving me crazy since he retired. Needs to find a hobby.”
Donnie chuckled. He had missed his dad’s retirement party. The team had been on an op. Despite what his mom said, she loved having his dad home. They never seemed to tire of each other. They’d been married thirty-five years, which was impressive in a world where one in two marriages failed. His childhood had been filled with love and laughter; he was one of the lucky ones.
“I saw Charlotte last week. She asked after you, said to say hi.”
He closed his eyes. “How is she?”
“She seems to be doing OK. She’s such a nice girl. I always liked her. Such a shame what happened to her brother.”
Donnie sucked in a breath but was saved from saying something when his mom spoke again.
“James, I’m sorry. There’s someone at the door.”
“It’s OK, Mom. Say hi to Dad. Love you both.”
“Love you, too.”
He hung up and his mind wandered to Charlotte, or as she preferred Charlie, not for the first time recently. It happened at this time of year, every year. Charlie’s brother, Nate, was his best friend in high school. A couple of jocks who had enjoyed their high school years to the fullest. Charlie was a year younger. She was cute, but off limits. His best friend’s little sister? Nope, no touching that. Charlie liked him, maybe even had a little crush on him. He had noticed the shy smiles, even the way she dressed pretty when he was hanging out with Nate at their house. But he never encouraged it. He was polite to her, talked to her in school, even intervened when the school bullies had started on her one day. Their families had been close back then.
One night, one decision destroyed everything. Disaster struck and it changed the course of Donnie’s life forever. He hadn’t spoken to Charlie in ten years. She brought back too many memories, and he couldn’t handle it. It was getting close to another anniversary and that always took him to a place he’d rather not go.
He glanced at his phone, still seeing no response. Hopefully, Steve and Diane were talking and working things out. He loved the Williams family as much as his own. Whatever Steve needed to get through this shit, he would do it.
Donnie headed back inside. When Mackie glanced up and caught his eye, Donnie shook his head. He rejoined the rest of the team who had started looking at potential targets. Waiting was the worst part of this job. None of them had been home, instead grabbing sleep on the cots. This kind of op sucked. So many unknowns, so much research needed. He much preferred being handed a target, a location, and boom, they executed.
Kelly and Mackie were conferring on something with Sam, then Mackie whistled, getting everyone’s attention.
“We have some intel,” Sam said.
The team gathered back around the table. Dex stood with Sam at one end, while the rest of them lounged in chairs. Dex still played with his baseball; the man was addicted to the damn thing. As if reading his mind, Dex threw the ball at him. He caught it, throwing it at Ryan. The ball began making the rounds as Kelly started talking.
“The only way anything leaves that plant is on a specialized truck. Transportation of hazardous chemicals is highly regulated, and the plant is making legal products that need to be transported to various countries. VV transportation has the sole contract with the plant. Nothing gets out of there unless it’s on one of their trucks.”
“What do we know about the company?” Dex asked.
“Their reputation is impeccable. Founded twenty-five years ago. This company has friends in high places and notable contracts. Based out of Los Angeles, they also have a few warehouses across the state, one down by the LA port. The company has the means to transport hazardous chemicals worldwide. It has legit contracts with governments, even military in Russia, China, UK, Germany and here in the US.”
“So, they’re clean?” Sam asked.
“From the outside, yes. Not quite sure if they are involved or not. I’m working on looking into the owners and board of directors while Mackie was able to crack VV transportation GPS tracking system.”
“Well, about time you got something. Beginning to think you were losing your touch. Was going to offer my services.” Dex’s sarcastic tone made the team laugh.
“Like to see you try, old man,” Mackie shot back.
“Maybe you should stick to what you’re good at, babe.” Kelly winked at Dex.
“Well, I would, but that wouldn’t be appropriate, sweetheart, in front of everyone.”
Groans and howls erupted around the room.
“Alright, alright, enough.” Sam raised his hand, silencing them. “Mackie?”
The boys quieted and looked at Mackie expectantly.
“Yeah, I got in, but I couldn’t stay in too long, not without getting noticed. They have a highly sophisticated encryption, which covers all the regular back doors. I go in that way, it will set off alarm bells. I managed to find a way in through their billing program, as they use an outside provider that tracks the mileage, but once I’m connected to their main server, it’s going to think I’m a virus, and shut everything off as protection. It’s damn tight security. Why it’s taken so long.”
Donnie glanced around at the team in amusement. They were all looking at Mackie with blank faces.
“Maybe you could skip to the part where you tell us what you found,” Dex said, throwing the baseball at him.
Mackie caught it. “Right. The truck went to a Moscow airport. I managed to locate the shipment number and searched plane manifests, and found it left on a private plane. It’s destination – Reno-Tahoe Airport, Nevada.”
“It’s already here? A few hundred miles away.” Dex put the ball down and the room got deadly serious.
“That’s where it landed, yesterday,” Mackie said. “The plane has already left. With regards to the shipment, that’s as far as I got. Reno-Tahoe is a public and military airport. VV transportation collects cargo from there, but I have not yet found any logs of any of their trucks collecting anything since the shipment arrived. But I can’t stay in their system too long. I have to keep coming in and out to stay undetected.”
“Is it possible Vegas is the target?” Ryan asked.
“Could be. It’s a high-profile place with plenty of people. would make a significant statement,” Sam said.
“How the fuck can it be that easy to get sarin on a private plane and here undetected?” Donnie looked around at the rest of the team.
“With a lot of help. This took some planning,” Sam said. “Who owns the plane?”
“VV Transportation. Which makes sense. There are requirements on transporting dangerous chemicals by plane, too. The intended final destination for that shipment is an agricultural company in Nevada. I’m looking into them.”
Sam stepped forward. “OK. We can look into them, but I’d bet my ass it’s not intended to arrive there. More likely the sarin will be offloaded beforehand. Possibly at the airport. If VV transportation is in on this, they have access to military bases. A much better target than an agricultural company.”
“Who is behind this VV company?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah, is he known? On any watch lists?” Dex added.
“Not that I can see,” Kelly replied. “He is of Russian descent but came here as a child. His father actually founded the company, but passed away last year and the son took over.”
“What’s his name?”
Kelly tapped on the screen, bringing up a picture. “Vladimir Volkov.”
Oh, shit. Donnie turned his head to Mackie, who met his gaze. Their team leader didn’t miss it.
“Something wrong, guys?” Dex looked at them, a clear question on his face. Silence fell across the room.
Neither spoke. Donnie cursed. Fuck, this wasn't going to be good.
“Donnie, Mackie? What the fuck is going on?” Dex folded his arms, no longer messing around.
Donnie glanced between his team leader and Sam. Both were waiting for an explanation.
“Don’t make me ask you again. Is there something you need to share with the team?” The earlier joking around forgotten, Dex’s voice was low and calm. The way it always was when he was royally pissed.
Donnie sighed. “Yeah, there is, and you’re not going to like it.”
***
STEVE DIDN’T MOVE. He couldn’t. He would never hurt his wife, ever, but hell, this time he was angry. Diane was crying openly after telling him what had happened with Volkov. He should comfort her, hold her, but all he could think of was how she hadn’t come to him straight away. Instead, she’d put their daughter in danger. That thought erected a wall of ice around his heart.
“I’m sorry, Steve. I was going to tell you tonight. That’s why I came home. After he came to the office today, I knew things were out of control and I needed help.”
“You should have told me the first time he mentioned Megan. I’m your husband and I have a right to know when someone threatens our daughter.”
Yeah, raising his voice wouldn’t help, but he could barely contain his emotions. Volkov was a dead man walking as far as he was concerned. No one threatened his family. No one.
“I thought he was all talk. Being a bully, trying to intimidate me. I didn’t think it was an actual threat. You have to believe me. Then yesterday, realizing he was watching us at breakfast, I thought I could handle it. I got scared. He said he had connections, military ones. I didn't want to worry you or put you in danger.”
“Jesus, Diane, I’m a special operator. Part of a black ops unit. I can deal with a fucking businessman. He threatened our daughter. Do you need to be a partner so bad you would ignore the danger? What kind of mother are you to put your job before your own daughter?”
She looked at him in horror, but he didn’t apologize. He couldn’t get his head around it. She’d had suspicions about this client for weeks, suspected foul play, and had kept it to herself. Why? Because of some damn attorney-client privilege rule and her career? The worst part was he hadn’t seen it. The bastard had pictures of him, and he hadn’t noticed them being taken. Hadn’t seen what was going on right under his nose. He turned away, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. Fighting wasn’t going to solve anything.
“I never believed Megan was in danger until today, and I came straight here to tell you,” she said through tears. “I tried to tell the partners, but they wouldn’t listen. I thought at first maybe I was overreacting. I never dreamed Volkov would go this far.”
Steve turned back and fought to keep his voice level. “All these weeks, the distance between us, the long hours. I begged you to talk to me just yesterday. You said it was this case but didn't mention any of what’s really been going on. You lied.”
“I didn’t lie. It was this case. Just... well, it was complicated.” Diane stood facing him.
“Complicated? This is way more than complicated. Megan was approached in school. He has been watching her for weeks. He could have snatched her at any time, held her hostage until you did as he asked.” He managed to keep his voice steady as all sorts of scenarios played out in his head.
His phone rang and he glanced at it, seeing Dex’s number. Fuck. He hit ignore.
“Steve, please, I would never do anything to hurt Megan or you. I thought I was handling it. I swear I thought he was just trying to intimidate me. I was wrong. A soon as I saw the pictures, I knew it was more, and I came home to tell you.”
Steve shook his head. “You’re smarter than that, Diane. A man like Volkov, who’s willing to go to these lengths, is ruthless. His demands will never end. He’ll do whatever is needed to get what he wants. He chose your firm—he chose you—for a reason.”
“You’re right,” she whispered, sitting back down. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t....” The rest of the sentence was lost as her body shook with ugly sobs.
Steve swallowed and moved towards her, but his phone rang again. Clearly, Dex wasn’t giving up. He answered.
“Not a good time, Dex.”
“Too fucking bad. You need to come in. Now.”
Steve turned away and walked out of earshot of Diane. Her sobs still echoed in the room.
“I can’t come in right now. What’s this about,” he snapped. “I’m on leave.”
“Sam and I just had a chat with Donnie and Mackie. Don’t bullshit me, Steve, I’m not in the mood. Just get your ass in here. That’s an order.”
Great, now his team leader was pissed at him. He owed him an explanation, but there was no way he was going to the Farm, not tonight.
“Boss, I don’t want to disobey an order, but I can’t leave Diane and Megan right now. It’s not safe.”
“What do you mean it’s not safe?”
“Respectfully, I’m not discussing it over the phone.”
He heard Dex sigh at the end of the phone, there was a long pause before he spoke again.
“What you asked Mackie to do is connected to our op.”
Steve’s hand tightened on the phone. “What?”
“Yeah, it’s not good. Bring Diane and Megan with you.” Dex’s voice relayed the severity of the situation.
“It’s too risky. The house might be being watched. I can’t lead them there.”
“Shit. What if we come there?”
“It’s going to cause a problem if you get spotted. Give me five minutes I’ll call you back.” Steve hung up before Dex could respond and walked back towards Diane. The sobs had subsided, but she was still crying. He knelt before her.
“Wait here, please,” he said softly.
She lifted her head, her red puffy eyes met his. “Steve? What is it?”
“Please, just wait here. I’ll be right back.” He walked to the kitchen, grabbed the garbage bag, and headed outside. As he put the trash in the can, he scanned the street, clocking a silver sedan parked on the opposite side a couple of houses down, someone in the front seat. He didn’t recognize the car, and he couldn’t see the plates without giving himself away. He strolled back into the house, going straight to the back door. Their yard was small, fenced in, and backed on to a children’s playground. A gate in the back fence led directly into the park. Unlocking it, he peered through. The park was quiet, a couple of people were walking their dogs, nothing unusual.
Leaving the gate unlocked, he went back inside calling Dex.
“There’s a silver sedan out front. Driver inside. Might be something, might not. Out back is all clear. I’ve left the back gate open.”
“OK. On my way.”
He put down the phone and scrubbed a hand over his face. How had his wife become involved in a fucking black op? Diane was watching him with wide, red, frightened eyes. Fear radiated off her in waves. He couldn't bear to see her like that. He knelt in front of her again.
“Dex is on his way over.”
“You told him? Why?”
“I didn’t tell him. It seems this Volkov guy is somehow connected to an op.”
“What? How?” He heard the alarm in her voice.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out when he gets here.”
“And there’s someone watching the house?”
“Not sure, but I'm not taking any chances.”
“Steve, if Volkov sees your team here, he might come after...”
“Diane, you’re still my wife and Megan is my daughter. I love you both. No one is going to hurt either of you. Ever. Understood?”
She nodded, lowering her head.
The two people he loved most in this world were in danger. He would do whatever it took to protect them and keep them safe. What happened after that? Could they get past this, still be a family? He pushed the thought from his mind. His focus must be on keeping them safe, so for now, he had to keep his shit together and stay calm. He placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Why don’t you go and see Megan? Dex will be here shortly, and I’ll need to speak to him alone first.” He forced his voice to be normal. A mean feat, considering he felt nothing remotely like normal.
Diane nodded and they both stood. “I’m sorry. For everything, Steve.”
“Me, too.” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. The thought of anything happening to you and Megan kills me.”
She nodded and turned away. He watched her go downstairs, then he sank onto the couch, head in hands, giving himself a moment before facing his boss. He wasn’t proud of the way he’d talked to Diane. But, Christ, he was angry and hurt. She had kept this from him, and now he was wondering just what else she was keeping from him.
Twenty minutes later, the rear gate opened. Dex, Sam, and Donnie walked up to the back door. Steve let them in, locking it behind him.
“Where are Diane and Megan?” Sam asked.
“Downstairs in the den.” He walked toward the kitchen, the others followed, settling around the island. The pictures from the envelopes were laid out. The three men stared at them in silence, then up at him, their faces filled with concern.
“Fuck, Steve.” Dex’s earlier anger had dissipated.
“I think you better tell us exactly what’s been going on,” Sam said.
Steve told them what he knew, repeating everything Diane told him.
“I was about to call the police, and then you were going to be my next call, Dex. I had no idea about any of this until tonight.”
“I don't doubt that.” Dex said.
“How does this fit into your op?”
“We’re tracking missing sarin. It’s made its way from Russia and landed in Nevada. It could be on the road, but we don’t know where,” Sam said.
Steve looked between them confused. “OK, that’s not good. But I don’t see the connection.”
“The transportation company used to get it here was VV Transportation, owned by Vladimir Volkov.”
“Holy shit. He’s behind the sarin?”
“Unsure just how deep his connection goes, but his company is clearly involved.” Sam told Steve what they knew about Volkov and his business so far.
“When Kelly got the name, that’s when we made the connection. The same guy behind the numbered company that owned the plate you asked Mackie to run,” Donnie explained.
Hell, so the boys hadn’t got caught. They’d had to fess up once they realized what was going on.
“The fucker has access to sarin, and he threatened my family. My eight-year-old daughter was approached at school, used to send a message. What if he’d used...” Steve turned away, unable to finish the sentence. The thought of Megan being exposed, the excruciating pain and suffering. He swallowed down the lump in his throat, forcing himself to keep it together.
Donnie placed a hand on his shoulder. “He won’t get near them again.”
“Steve, your family is our family, and we will protect them with our lives,” Dex said.
Steve nodded, turning back, knowing the team would do exactly that.
“What else do we know? Who else is connected,” he asked.
“We’re still working on that.”
He ran a hand over his face. “So what’s the plan? Police? A safe house?”
“No police. This is a need-to-know op,” Sam said. “It’s six o’clock. Diane isn’t due back at the office until tomorrow, so we have until morning. It might be safer to keep things normal right now. If the car outside is watching you, leaving suddenly will only raise suspicion. Volkov threatened her not to stray from routine. In the meantime, Kelly, the rest of the team, CIA are working on locating the sarin. We need to work on locating Volkov.”
“Kelly hasn't been able to find him yet. Diane might be able to speed that up and could help us,” Dex said. “We need to know everything she knows about this guy. We also need to know how much he knows about you.”
Great. He didn’t need another confrontation right now.
“I’m not the best person to talk to her. Might be better if one of you does it,” Steve admitted.
“No problem, I'll do it.” Dex said without hesitation.
“Steve, did Megan give you a description or anything of use?” Sam asked.
“I haven’t spoken to her about it yet. She was too upset, and I was too focused on getting to Diane.”
“Why don’t I go sit with her and see if she’ll talk to me while you guys chat with Diane?” Donnie offered. “Unless you want to do it, Steve?”
He did want to do it, but his temperament said otherwise. His emotions were skyrocketing, and he didn’t want his daughter seeing that. Megan loved Donnie, and Steve trusted him to be gentle and not hurt his little girl.
“No, you go. Just... well, you know.”
Donnie squeezed his shoulder. “I won’t upset her or push her. I promise.” He glanced at Dex and Sam. “I’ll send Diane up.”
Donnie headed downstairs.
“I’m sorry, guys, for asking the boys to help me out. I know that’s not how we operate.”
“No, it’s not. I thought we had all got passed this begging forgiveness rather than asking permission attitude,” Sam said.
When they had all first joined Onyx, Dex had pushed the boundaries on more than one occasion, until he finally trusted that Sam would always listen and be reasonable. The rest of the team had gone along with Dex, and Sam had been adamant that couldn’t happen.
“The call you should have made was to me or Dex. Op or no op. We would have listened.” Sam’s face was tense.
Yep, Sam was pissed. Steve nodded. “Understood, sir. I was hoping it was nothing.”
“Well, it’s certainly not nothing.” Sam sighed, visibly relaxing. “Look, it doesn’t matter how we got here. You and your family are in danger, and we’ll do whatever is necessary to take care of it. However, we also have missing sarin to find, and the clock is ticking.”
They stopped talking when Diane came into the kitchen. Her red eyes stood out against deathly pale skin. She looked at Steve nervously.
“Hey, Diane.” Dex stepped forward and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi, Sam.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she acknowledged him.
“Hello, Diane. Why don’t we go sit down?”
They led her through to the lounge. Dex sat next to her on the couch. Sam and Steve sat in the chairs opposite.
“I know you told Steve what’s been going on, but we need to ask you some more questions,” Dex said.
“OK. Look I know I should have said something sooner. I’m sorry. This is my fault, not Steve’s. He shouldn’t be in trouble over this.”
“Steve’s not in trouble,” Sam reassured her. “All that’s important now, is keeping your family safe and finding Volkov.”
“This isn’t just about his custody battle, is it?”
“No,” Dex said, “and I know you’ll understand when I say we can’t tell you the details. But it is serious, and Volkov is involved in something that could potentially harm a lot of people, so we need your help.”
“I don’t know what else I can tell you.”
“Does Volkov have a home here?”
“No, not anymore. From what I’ve seen in his financials, he sold it, and is in the process of moving back to Russia. He does own the house that Natasha lives in with their child, and a couple of warehouses that haven’t sold yet, and a yard where he keeps some trucks.”
Steve glanced at Sam. That wasn't good news. The owner of a company with US military contracts returning to Russia? How was he managing to do that?
“We’re going to need to see everything you have on him,” Sam said.
Diane nodded wearily, and Steve sensed she was battling to keep it together.
“Do you know where we can find him?” Dex asked.
“He was at a hotel yesterday.”
“Which one?” Sam asked.
Her eyes met his, and Steve saw the silent plea for reassurance and support.
“Tell them what you know, Diane,” he said softly.
“I had to go and meet him. It was at the Fairmont Hotel, room 1002.”
Steve thought his head might explode. That’s where she had rushed off to on Sunday. To meet the son of a bitch at his hotel. Alone. While he and Megan sat and ate breakfast.
He vaguely heard Sam on the phone, telling Ryan to check into it.
“What happened at the hotel?” Dex asked.
“He was annoyed that I was spending time with my family and not on his case. He told me to go back to work, and that he would do whatever it takes to take his daughter back to Russia with him. I thought he was just being an arrogant bully. He seems to be the type of man who is used to getting his own way. My firm have made it very clear how important this client is, so I did as he asked.”
“So, why did he come visit you again today?”
“The car outside Megan’s school this morning. I guess Steve was going to go talk to the driver. Volkov thought I shared information with him, and that Steve might interfere, get nosy.”
Steve stood up and went to look out the window, feeling his wife’s eyes on him.
“Diane, I’m sorry to ask you this,” Dex said, “but how much does he know about what Steve does, about Onyx?”
“I didn’t tell him anything.” Steve heard the defensive tone. Yeah, it was a sucky question, but one Dex had to ask.
“I’m sure you didn’t, but I’m guessing he asked questions?”
Diane shook her head. “Not really. He said he has military connections, and he could find out anything he needed to. He believes Steve is a petty officer in the Navy, and I didn't deny it. Figured it was better he believed that. At least he didn't know about Onyx.”
“Good call.”
“He only asked about deployments. He seemed surprised Steve was home, and I told him he was between deployments. He told me to go home and find out if Steve knew anything. Steve spotting the car at Megan’s school rattled him. I told him Steve was probably just concerned about a strange man watching kids, but Volkov wanted to be sure that’s all it was. He told me to go about our business as normal, and that he’d be in contact.”
“To do what?”
“Final preparations about the hearing, I presume.”
“So as far as you know, everything is as it was.”
“Yes.”
“What about a phone number?”
“He calls me. It’s always anonymous. If I need to reach him, I call his main company switchboard and they have him call me.”
The doorbell rang and the three men jumped, drawing weapons. Donnie appeared from downstairs.
“It’s OK, guys. Megan was hungry. I ordered pizza.”
“Jesus, Donnie, maybe give us a heads-up next time,” Sam said, tucking away his gun.
“I’ll get it.” Steve walked to the door, paid the delivery guy, and brought the pizza inside.
“The sedan still out there?” Dex asked.
“Yeah.” He handed the pizza to Donnie. “Megan tell you anything?’
“Working on it.” Donnie took the box and went back to the den.
Sam’s phone rang, and he motioned to Dex. The two went to the kitchen.
Steve looked at his wife. Her head was down, but he could hear her crying softly. His heart squeezed seeing her like this. He sat down beside her, taking her hand.
“You sent Donnie to talk to Megan?” she asked quietly.
“We need to know exactly what happened at school, and Donnie is a little calmer than either of us right now.”
She nodded, staring at their joined hands.
“We’ll sort this out, Diane. I promise.”
Sad eyes met his as she raised her head. “I know you will. But what about us? Will we sort that out, too?”
He wanted to say yes, wanted to reassure her, but the words wouldn’t come out. He couldn’t promise something he wasn’t sure he could deliver on. It was too soon, and his stubborn brain was not ready to let it go.
“Let’s deal with Volkov first, and then we’ll talk.”
She let go of his hand and stood up abruptly. “I’m going to wash my face and go see Megan. If you need me again, let me know.”
As she walked away, his heart felt heavier.
Sam and Dex returned just as Donnie came up the stairs.
“I got a brief description. Tanned skin, dark hair, black jacket, sunglasses, and an accent. She also recalled seeing a dark colored car by the fence.”
“Sounds like the same guy I saw in the black Ford,” Steve said.
“I’ve quietly looped in Dale. Asked him to put out an APB. Steve let’s connect you with a sketch artist. You can do it via video. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a hit on facial recognition,” Sam said. “We need to get back. I’ll call Dale, get some plain-clothes FBI stationed close by, so they can be here in minutes if you need them. They’ll watch the sedan, follow it if it moves, and get the plate number to run it. Dale will keep the whole thing under the wire.”
Steve nodded. Special agent Dale Sanchez was with the FBI and a close friend of Sam’s. The teams had worked together many times before. Sam was taking a chance bringing him in on this, as the sarin was a need-to-know op, but they all trusted Dale.
“I could stay?” Donnie asked Dex.
“No, you can’t. We may need to act quickly, and it’s going to be rough enough running one short. I need you with us.”
“Sorry, Dex. Anything else, I’d come with you,” Steve said.
“Don’t apologize. You’re exactly where you need to be. We got this.”
“Steve, you and I will stay in touch. If we don’t have Volkov by morning, we’ll decide how best to proceed,” Sam said.
The guys left by the rear gate. Thank God, he was part of this team. Between them, there was no way Volkov would hurt his family, and that son of a bitch was going down. Plastering a smile on his face, he went downstairs. Megan was curled up against Diane.
“Hey, Pumpkin, did you save me any pizza?”
“Two pieces.”
“Yeah? You ate all the rest?”
“No, silly, Uncle Donnie ate it.”
“How about mom? Did you eat anything?” He cast his eyes toward Diane.
She shook her head.
“Well, then I guess we get one piece each.” He sat to the other side of Megan, fished the last two pieces from the box and handed one to Diane. Their eyes met over Megan’s head.
“You need to eat.”
She took the pizza, and he leaned back, Megan snuggled against him. It was going to be a long night.