Daniel stood guard as Bethany pressed the C-4 into the crevice between the two girders at the stadium, his hand on the butt of his pistol. They were alone in the shadows and it was about noon, although people were scattered throughout the stadium, working and setting up for the afternoon festivities. Several bands had already arrived and were warming up in different areas around the field and out in the parking lot. Workers were manning the concession areas, as well as the ticket booths and the top deck where the officials who would be judging the event had congregated.
Although they were still playing a role, there was no way the stadium would actually explode—that is, if law enforcement had anything to say about it. Bethany and Daniel had met with a joint FBI and Chattanooga Police Department task force yesterday after their Guard meeting and filled them in on all the details, so there were plenty of plain-clothed officers on the scene ready to make the arrests once they got the word to do so. The law enforcement teams were all connected by radio and were checking in on a regular basis. Until they knew the rest of the plans for Operation Battlefield, however, the FBI wanted to continue going through the motions as if the stadium explosion would still go on as planned. It was the hope that either the research team would discover a connection between some of Bishop’s texts and some other bit of news, or that Bishop or one of the other Guard members would let something slip in the moments leading up to the explosion that would give the rest of the Guard’s plans away.
Daniel hummed along to the loud speaker that was playing Christmas music from a local radio station. The tune just added to the cacophony of sounds echoing off the walls of concrete, but he could still hear the law enforcement announcements through the speaker in his ear, as well. Every once in a while, the DJ would come on and announce a current event that was planned for the upcoming weekend in Chattanooga, but there really didn’t seem to be much going on besides the normal holiday and charity galas that happened every year. Bethany and Daniel had been sure to report what they had discovered on Bishop’s phone about the phase one and phase two events and their theories, but it was hard to pinpoint anything that would have garnered the attention of the Guard as being worthy of a phase two event. Nothing scheduled in Chattanooga or the surrounding area over the next few weeks seemed to be noteworthy enough. However, agents and officers were still scrambling to come up with anything that might fit the Heritage Guard agenda.
What added to the frustration was the fact that there was no hard evidence against anyone in the Guard organization who ranked above Bishop Jacobs to prove the conspiracy. They had a few vague texts, and a few names, but nothing concrete. The Heritage Guard had also only used a small amount of the stolen money on the C-4 they had purchased. The Guard was still planning something bigger. They just didn’t know what that bigger picture could be.
Daniel spoke into his microphone attached to his sleeve. “All clear at checkpoint delta.” He turned to Bethany, who was still listening in on Bishop’s phone with a small earpiece. “How’s it going?”
“I’m almost done,” Bethany replied.
“That’s good,” Westfield answered, stepping out of the shadows. “I was afraid you wouldn’t follow through on your task for the Guard.”
Daniel was quick to unholster his weapon and point it at Westfield, but the rogue FBI man was quicker. He also had a silencer on the end of his weapon, so when he fired his shot at Daniel, nobody heard the bullet that hit Daniel in the arm above the wrist and tore the skin as it skirted toward his elbow. Daniel dropped his gun, unable to keep his grip or even hit the button on his microphone to notify the other law enforcement officers due to the pain.
“Max, no!” Bethany yelled. She went for him as if to tackle him, but he instantly swung the gun in her direction and she stopped short, apparently realizing that she couldn’t stop him without getting shot herself.
“Keep your voice down, and no sudden moves, either of you. I will kill you, Bethany. I won’t enjoy it, but I’ll do it.” He looked behind him to make sure no one had noticed their activities, but they were still alone in the shadows.
Daniel grabbed his wounded right arm, trying to staunch the flow of blood. His arm felt like it was on fire, and he pressed the fabric from his shirt and coat against the wound, hoping the pressure would help stop the bleeding. He gritted his teeth, angry that Westfield had been able to sneak up on them without his noticing.
“Put your guns on the floor, now,” Westfield ordered, pointing his weapon at Bethany. “You too, Daniel. I know you carry a second piece. And pull out that microphone you have up your sleeve and your phones.” Bethany complied, pulling her service pistol from her waistband as well as her small derringer from her boot. She slowly added her cell phone to the pile growing at her feet. Daniel also gave up his second gun, his phone, and the microphone. Westfield collected the weapons and secured them in the pockets of his coat, then crushed the rest with the heel of his boot. Then he forced them up against the concrete wall of the stadium and frisked them. When he came to Bethany, his hands were overly friendly and Bethany kicked him hard in response.
Westfield’s face turned red and he grabbed Bethany’s hair, hard, obviously hurting her and causing her to gasp. “It must have escaped your attention that I’m in charge now. Try that again and I’ll shoot you right here and now.” He pushed her against the concrete so roughly that her head hit the corner edge, causing a scrape and a line of blood to form on her temple.
Westfield smiled when he saw the wound and the blood start to trickle down her face. “Now you have a gift to remember me by.” He finished frisking her, found Bethany’s knife in her boot and confiscated that, as well.
“Any other hardware I should know about?”
She shook her head but didn’t verbally respond. Her eyes were burning with fire. Daniel couldn’t help thinking that Westfield was an idiot. If he thought his rough treatment of Bethany was going to subdue her, the result was actually the opposite. Bethany was now fighting mad.
“So you’re a member of the Heritage Guard?” Daniel asked, his voice filled with derision.
Westfield laughed. “Look who just caught up.”
“Which means you killed Justin,” Bethany added.
He shrugged. “He was unfortunate collateral damage. I actually liked the man, but he couldn’t be swayed.”
“Collateral damage?” Bethany said coldly, trembling with anger. “He was a person, with a family and friends. You act as if his death meant nothing at all.”
Westfield shrugged. “He got in our way.” He took a few steps to the left and quickly looked behind himself, making sure they were still truly alone. Once satisfied, he returned his attention to his quarry in front of him. “The Guard has known about you for a couple of months now, Bethany, and has been using you and your abilities to advance our agenda. You’ve been able to provide us with quite a lot of valuable commodities—not to mention the fact that you make a very talented armed robber.” He gave her a chilling smile. “I have to admit, it took us a while to figure out that you were the one who had infiltrated our group. We knew someone had because the FBI kept thwarting our plans, but we didn’t know it was you until I joined the FBI myself and got access to the files.”
“The FBI does thorough background checks before hiring anyone,” Bethany said defiantly. “How did you manage to hide your connection to the Heritage Guard?”
Westfield smiled. “I had references from powerful people in high places, not to mention computer specialists working for the Guard who smoothed over any questions about my qualifications. Not a single red flag appeared. The Guard is not without resources, Bethany. You should know that. We have friends everywhere.” He leaned closer. “Instead of worrying about me though, you should really be worrying about yourself.” He shifted, but kept his weapon trained on both of them. “We thought about killing you outright but figured the FBI would just send in another agent. That’s why we decided to take out Justin instead. By taking out the head of the snake, we figured that would kill the investigation. We didn’t realize you would keep pushing so hard to keep the mission going, or that the FBI would listen and let you stay involved with the Guard. We were able to make sure you didn’t get too much intelligence, but now the time has come for you and your boyfriend here to be eliminated, as well.” He smiled again, a smirk that made Daniel’s blood boil. “Don’t worry though. Once the stadium blows up, we’ll be sure to verify that you and Daniel, along with the FBI and the Chattanooga Police Department, get all the credit for the explosion. They’ll find your bodies here in the rubble, along with your fingerprints all over the materials. Plus, they’ll be able to trace the materials back to the CPD evidence locker, which will further prove your involvement.”
“You won’t get away with it,” Bethany said fervently under her breath. “You may think you’ve won, but even if we die today, others will stop you.”
“If you die today?” Westfield laughed. “Darling, that’s an absolute certainty.” He took a step closer and ran his hand suggestively down her cheek. “And won’t it prove interesting when they find out that you were also in on the bank robbery and on that armored car heist. It will add even more fuel to the fire when they find money that was stolen from the armored car back in your apartment. Yes, the FBI will be kept quite busy defending you and its actions. We’ve thought of everything. Let me assure you—you’ll be quite the news story. Now turn around and finish setting that explosive properly.”
It was all Daniel could do not to pounce on Westfield and shove the gun down his throat. He couldn’t stand seeing him touch Bethany, especially in such a personal manner. But he could also see the message in her eyes. Wait. Watch. There would be a better opportunity to strike. Right now, Westfield held all the cards. He was too close to them with his loaded gun, and if either of them tried something, one or both of them could end up dead. No, the smart move was to wait, just as her wordless missive was suggesting.
Bethany turned and continued working on the explosive, but she kept the conversation going. “Well if you’re so convinced, Westfield, there’s no harm in telling us the rest of the Operation Battlefield plan. We’ve been trying to figure it out all morning. Phase one is blowing up the stadium. What is phase two?”
Westfield was silent for a moment, as if considering the situation, and Daniel wasn’t sure if he was going to answer. Then the hubris got the better of him and the words spilled from his mouth. “Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling you since you’ll be dead soon anyway.” He started to pace, yet kept the gun trained on their midriffs. It was almost as if he were dancing to the Christmas music that was playing in the background.
“The governor is hosting a Christmas party tonight, and has invited several dignitaries, including both senators from Tennessee and three of our nine federal representatives. Unfortunately, some of the food at the party is going to be tainted, and a lot of the people are going to get sick. Some of the people are even going to die—including the three congressmen and two senators. It will all look like a terrible accident, but no one will really care, because everyone will be talking about the horrible bomb that took out the stadium and all of those dear children at the marching band competition. The entire focus will be on the corruption within the FBI and the CPD and how they could allow a joint operation to go so terribly wrong. In the meantime, new senators and congressmen will need to be appointed to finish out the terms of the people who accidentally died at the party. While the nation hones in on the stadium tragedy, the Heritage Guard has people in place to make sure Guard members are selected to fill those empty spots in the federal government with little to no opposition.”
Bethany stopped her work and glared at Westfield. “All of those people sick or murdered, just to advance the Guard’s agenda. There are other ways to reach your objectives without all the killing.”
“You make think so, my dear, but with five new members of congress pushing the Guard’s agenda at the federal level, amazing things can happen, and we just don’t have time to wait.” He shifted. “And don’t start believing that the Guard has a limited influence only in the tiny little state of Tennessee. We’re growing every day. This is just the beginning. The Heritage Guard has a glorious future. We’ll be moving mountains in no time.”
He pulled some rope out of one of the pockets of his jacket and threw it on the ground in front of Bethany. “Tie him up. Tightly. And believe me, I’m going to check, so do a good job.”
Bethany picked up the rope and turned to Daniel. She met his eye and he saw worry and love radiating back at him. Love? Wait, was that really love there? He was so excited to see the emotion there written on her face it almost made him forget that a madman was standing a few feet away, pointing a deadly weapon at them.
“How is your arm?” she asked softly.
“I think it’s the least of our problems right now.” He put his hands up, and she tied them together.
“Now, sit and tie his feet,” Westfield ordered. “And add this gag,” he said, throwing a bandanna on the ground.
They complied, and once Daniel was incapacitated, Westfield pocketed his gun and faced Bethany with a length of rope. “Put your hands together. Now.”
Bethany complied, but then at the last minute, she struck out with her fist and caught Westfield in the chin. The traitor had been expecting defiance, however, and the blow didn’t hit with the full force that Bethany had intended. Westfield countered with a hit to Bethany’s gut that took her breath away. He was then able to grab her left arm and wrench it behind her, causing her to cry out in pain. She struggled against him and Daniel writhed against his bindings and bit against the gag, frustrated by his lack of ability to help.
Westfield pulled even harder against Bethany’s arm, yanking it so roughly she cried out again. He pushed her against the wall, forcing her face against the cold gray concrete and pulling her arm up her back in an awkward angle so she could barely move without being in severe pain. “Keep fighting me, Bethany, and I’ll break your arm, I swear I will.”
She finally quit fighting and nodded. “Okay, Westfield. You win.”
He released her arm and flipped her around so he was seeing her face-to-face. “I didn’t want it to end this way between us. I really didn’t. I wanted us to be on the same side. We could have been so good together, you and me. We could have made an excellent team.”
“I would never join you,” Bethany said, her voice full of derision. “You disgust me.”
It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Westfield’s eyes turned cold, and he brought his fist back and slammed it into Bethany’s face. Her head bounced against the concrete behind her, and her body went limp and fell to the ground.
Daniel yelled, but the gag kept him from making any real sound. He tried to kick out at Westfield, but being trussed up like a Christmas turkey made it hard for him to do much, and Westfield ended up giving him two hard kicks in the gut in response and pushed him away. As Daniel tried to regain his breath, Westfield tied Bethany up and left her in a heap in the corner.
Then he stood over both of them and laughed.
“Relax, Daniel. You’re about to be famous. And don’t forget, it’s for a good cause.”
With that, he checked the explosives to verify that they were set properly, then turned and left, sauntering down the stadium walkway, leaving them with the C-4 and the detonator set, the timer silently counting off the minutes before the explosion would rock the stadium and take out the entire south wall.