Riley turned to extricate the bomb from Evelyn as Rex walked up and pulled me against him. Before I could speak his lips were on mine. I'd heard that living through dangerous situations made people…um…amorous, but I'd never experienced it before. Usually in the field after something huge happened, I just took a nap.
This kiss was something I'd never experienced before. It was primal, animal, and I loved it. After a few seconds, I pulled away in an attempt to catch my breath. Rex smiled before letting me go.
If Riley saw the kiss, he didn't say so. He was just lifting the bomb out of Evelyn's abdomen when we'd stopped. Rex gave me a wink and drew his gun.
"We'd better go get Dr. Body," he said.
I looked to Riley as I drew my own gun.
"Go. Now. Don't let her get away," my former handler said.
I ran ahead of Rex, but he was close on my heels. It was weird running through a hospital. Every fiber of my being screamed, don't run in the hospital. It was like my brain was trying to trip up my feet.
"I think we should head outside. She wouldn't be in here if she thought it was going to blow," Rex said. But I wasn't listening. I'd heard a noise that sounded like yelling.
"You go," I ordered. I didn't tell him why. He would've just argued with me. "I want to check something out."
Rex nodded but looked a little uneasy.
"I'll be fine. Go!"
I watched as he ran off toward the exit. I'd definitely heard someone. It was probably nothing, but what if one of my girls decided to take a detour to outside? I'd better check to make sure.
Good thing the hospital only had two floors. I was starting to get a little lightheaded. I didn't run much. Maybe I should take it up when this was over. I've heard of jogging with your dog…but could you jog with cats?
The building was empty—at least this floor was. There was no one to stop me at any of the desks, and room after room was empty. Maybe I imagined it.
Dr. Body was probably watching for an explosion from somewhere in town. That had to be a shock when nothing happened. I smiled as I passed through the east wing. It made me happy to think she was somewhere, cursing the bomb for not working. Or maybe cursing because I wasn't dead.
Who was she? Where had she come from, and who in Human Resources was stupid enough to hire a terrorist? I stopped and gasped for breath, doubled over and panting. As a terrorist, she was Korean. But South Korea wouldn't have sent a spy to blow up small town Iowa. And the North Koreans barely had the resources to support the very idea of a mission, let alone actually attempting it.
She'd said she came from San Francisco. Not exactly a seething hotbed of terrorist activity. But maybe she lied. To be perfectly honest, I was a little thrilled that she was the bad guy. Now I wouldn't have to worry about her flirting with Rex and Riley. And I wouldn't even rub their noses in it. Not even once.
And the best part? This psycho wasn't getting my kittens. It really was a win-win. Now I just had to finish searching the hospital before going wide and taking the town apart bit by bit until I found her.
I gave up on running and walked quickly through the remaining corridors. This was a bust. No one was in here. I'd probably heard a radio or someone very loud outside. Besides, Rex might need help finding this Soo Jin. I wondered how Riley and Rex had missed seeing who and what she really was.
In fact, I was a little upset with myself that I hadn't seen through her either. I guess I was too distracted with Riley moving in and Soo Jin's charms. It didn't matter. Once I found her, I was going to kill her. She'd dragged Kelly and my Scouts into this mess. She'd killed Evelyn at our sleepover and marched them into certain danger with the bomb. Oh yeah. She was going down. I knew Rex and Riley would need her alive, but maybe it'd be alright if she was missing a few pieces.
I came around the corner near the lobby and spotted some movement in the security office. Ted must still be here—he must've come back in once Rex told him the bomb had been defused. I should fill him in. I walked up to the opaque, glass door and turned the knob.
"You're not going to get away with this!" a woman shouted.
Uh-oh. Soo Jin must've realized the bomb didn't go off, so she came in and took Dooley's secretary as a hostage. Wouldn't she be surprised when I marched in and shot her? I pressed against the door, and walked in.
I wasn't prepared for what I saw.
"You?" I asked. "You did this?"
The head of security was holding Dr. Body in front of him, a gun leveled at her head. It wasn't the secretary I'd heard. It was Soo Jin. She looked terrified.
"How did you defuse that bomb?" Ted snarled.
"If you thought it would blow up, why did you stay here?" I asked, raising my gun to aim at his head.
"I wasn't!" Dooley snapped. "I was in the parking lot in my van. But when the hospital didn't go boom, I knew something was wrong."
"And you came back inside to find out," I finished.
He nodded and pressed the gun more firmly against Dr. Body's temple.
"You called Kelly and told her to come here," I said.
He shook his head, "No, that was my secretary, Mavis."
Just then, Mavis appeared behind me, and I felt a gun in my lower back. I glanced back to make sure it really was her.
"Why?" I asked, without lowering my gun. I wasn't giving up without a fight.
Ted Dooley's eyes narrowed, "Money, of course. I was getting paid eight figures just to blow up a hospital." He nodded at the woman, who was still behind me, still holding a gun on me. "We're going to the Caribbean as soon as we take care of you two."
"What's your connection to Red and Blue?" I stalled. Okay, it wasn't so much of a stall as curiosity. I hadn't seen this coming. And it kind of pissed me off.
"My handlers," Ted said. He was relaxed, confident he could pull this off. "They're from a paramilitary group in Idaho."
Ugh. Idiot militants. I hated idiot militants. "And Evelyn? What's the deal with her?"
He shrugged. "I'm afraid you're going to have to die with that one unanswered. All I know is that she was hiding out from them because they wanted her to do this job. She balked. They hired me instead."
That seemed too easy after all the thought I'd put into figuring this out. Could it really be that simple? I thought about it. Okay, I could see Evelyn coming here to scout out the job. She changed her mind and went on the run, hiding with my troop in the one place these anti-government militia members wouldn't ever go—the nation's capital.
But that was only a theory. Evelyn was dead and unable to tell us what really happened. I'd have to grill Red and Blue for that. And where in hell was Rex? Or even Riley? Even if they'd finished what they were doing, wouldn't they come looking for me? I had to keep stalling.
"Why would you blow up your own town?" I asked. "And what about your son, Kevin?" Personally, I loathed Kevin, but it was strange that the officer's dad was the terrorist.
"Don't remind me," Ted rolled his eyes. "That kid is a moron."
"He's your son!" I argued. Sure, I agreed with the man. But it still seemed pretty cold for his father to talk about him like that.
"Barely," Dooley complained. "That boy has been a mouth-breather from day one. We haven't seen each other in years."
That seemed a bit harsh and somewhat impossible. How do you live in a town this size and not run into your own kid? I now felt sorry for Kevin.
"So it's all about the money?"
Dooley laughed, "Of course! You don't think it's political, do you? Well, it was with Red and Blue, but not me. I'd blow up my own mother for eight figures."
Something inside me snapped. You do not disrespect your mother. I launched my head back as hard as I could, connecting with the skull of the woman behind me. She dropped her gun, and I grabbed her, pulling her in front of me, with my gun to her head. Now we each had a hostage. Now things were even. I had no idea where I was going with this, but at least the odds were better. If I could just hold out until Rex or Riley showed up…
"Let her go!" Ted growled. There was a timbre in his voice that told me he was really angry.
Good.
"Not until you let Dr. Body go," I insisted.
We stood there, facing each other, each holding a woman at gunpoint, over a no man's land of nice, shag carpeting.
"I don't trust you," he sneered.
"I don't trust you either. So we're at a standstill until help arrives." Where were those guys?
To her credit, Mavis didn't whine or whimper. She was tough as nails and probably thought her lover would come through for her. She shouldn't have thought that. He wasn't leaving here unless it was in handcuffs, with a few "accidental" bullet holes.
Dooley was thinking hard. Apparently, he didn't have a plan in case of his girlfriend being held at gunpoint. I ran the risk of him shooting her, just to escape. He betrayed his own son, so why not his girlfriend?
And if that happened, the bullet could hit me. But I'd certainly gun him down. Hopefully missing Soo Jin in the process. I felt a little bad about suspecting her. But how could I know? Kelly had said Dr. Body called her. Since Kelly had only briefly met her, she wouldn't recognize her voice. And Mavis must have disguised hers.
Something moved out of the corner of my eye. A dark shape flashed by the office door. About damn time! I didn't care if it was Rex or Riley or Evelyn's reanimated corpse. Someone was out there listening.
"I'll give you a few more seconds to decide," I said.
Ted Dooley's arm was starting to shake. Apparently I wasn't the only one out of shape. I tried to remember the layout of the offices. Was there another way in here? There should be a fire exit. We were on the ground floor, but still. I pictured the cavalry riding to the rescue. If things went well, they'd come up behind Dooley. But I'd take any help I could get.
"You won't shoot her," Dooley finally said. "People like you don't kill."
"Well you seem to have no problem with that," I snapped. "You were more than willing to invite my whole troop and co-leader to your bomb bay."
He shrugged, "Collateral damage. I would've killed Red and Blue too, if they weren't only going to pay me once I got out of town."
A thought occurred to me. "And what makes you think they would actually do that? Militias don't have that kind of money. You're a pawn. You've been used. Give it up before someone gets shot."
The blood drained out of his face, and I felt Mavis gasp. Huh. They hadn't thought of that. It's pretty stupid to take an assignment like this without doing some checking first. He was only doing this for the money. If there wasn't any money and he was looking at some considerable jail time, what was the point?
Of course I ran the risk of him shooting all of us out of despair. But maybe he'd give up. My arm was starting to get heavy too. We needed to end this soon.
"You idiot!" Mavis shrieked. "You didn't even find out if the job was legit!"
"She's lying!" was all Ted Dooley could think of to say.
"Why would I lie? I used to work for the CIA. I'm pretty up to speed on terrorists, domestic and foreign."
Okay, so I'd outed myself. I'd been doing that a lot lately. Why hide it anymore? My troop knew. Kelly and Rex knew. And I could spend time openly with my parents now.
Dr. Body's eyes grew wide. Really? That's what freaks her out in this whole showdown scenario? She knew Riley was CIA. Why did she think he was hanging out with me?
I could hear someone in an office behind Ted. Did he notice?
"So what's it going to be, Dooley?" I asked a little too loudly. I was trying to mask the noise.
"I'm not going to prison for this." The blood had returned to his face, and now it was red with rage.
He pulled the gun from Soo Jin's head and started to aim at me. I shoved his secretary, hard toward him, and her body blocked me from view. Ted stalled, unsure what to do, and I made good use of that time.
I couldn't shoot him in the chest or head. I'd risk shooting Dr. Body. So I aimed at an area that would do the least damage if I hit her. I aimed for his right leg. The bullet connected, and he screamed. Dr. Body dashed to the left and into the arms of Rex, who had been trying to sneak up behind Dooley.
Ted roared and brought his gun up toward me, and I dove for the floor. A gunshot rang out, and I looked up to see a very confused security director looking at a bloom of red in the middle of his chest, just before he fell over dead.
Standing behind him, gun still aimed, was Kevin.