Reckless Abandon

“Well, just for starters, he can conjure up a SWAT team, who stand a much better chance of success than you and I busting into some room full of well-armed Arab terrorists, without getting somebody besides them shot.”

“You’re such a sissy, Stone.”

“That’s why I’m still alive,” Stone replied. “I learned as a cop not to bust down doors myself when I could get a dozen guys in black body armor to do it for me.”

“Oh, all right, call Dino.”

“My very thought. Bye-bye.” He hung up and dialed Dino.

“Bacchetti.”

“It’s Stone.”

“Hey.”

“Two of Trini’s hoods tried to kill Holly’s father and his girlfriend this morning, down in Florida.”

“Everybody okay?”

“One of the shooters isn’t, and the other gave up a cell phone with ten numbers in it, four of them in New York, at least the last one from a call made by Trini himself.”

“Shoot.”

Stone read off the numbers.

“I’ll have addresses on these in five minutes, and we’ll raid all five.”

“Great, but Holly and I want to come along on the raid on that last number, the one Trini called from.”

“Stone, you know I can’t do that. If one of you got hurt, the chief of detectives would fall on me from a great height.”

“Listen, we’re both sworn officers of a Florida police department, and with a fugitive warrant. You can make a case for us being entitled. And we’ll stand in back of your team. I think that after what Holly has been through with this guy, she’s entitled. Trini gave his hit men instructions to torture Ham and Gi

“Oh, all right, but you’re both going to have to dress up in body armor, helmets, the whole thing, and you don’t fire any shots at all. You got that?”

“I’ve got it, and I’ll explain it forcefully to Holly.”

“Okay, then. I’ll call you back when I’ve got an address and a team assembled. Give me an hour.” He hung up.

Stone trudged upstairs to explain to Holly that she wasn’t going to get to personally remove Trini’s liver. Not yet, anyway.

49

STONE STRIPPED DOWN his Walther, inspected it, wiped the parts with an oiled rag, reassembled it, loaded a round into the chamber, shoved in a full magazine, put the safety on, and stuck it into his shoulder holster.

Holly had been watching him. “How good a shot are you?”

“Pretty good. Dino is Deadeye Dick.”

“Yeah?”

“Twice-at least twice-he’s saved my ass by killing somebody with a difficult shot. Most cops I know have never fired their weapons, except on the range. How about you? How good a shot?”

“Very good indeed, but not a patch on Ham. He’s the best I ever saw, maybe the best shot alive-and with any weapon. He has this gift, and of course, he’s worked hard at it. I’ve seen him explode a cantaloupe at a thousand yards with a sniper rifle, and he unerringly hits moving targets with a pistol.”

“Like you say, it’s a gift; genetic.”

“Unfortunately, I got only half his genes.”

“I’d say you got some pretty good ones.”

She smiled. “Thanks. You think we’re near the end of this?”

“God, I hope so. I’m not sure how much longer I can do it.”

“I could do it forever.”

“I know. Reckless abandon and iron will are a powerful combination. I’m glad you’re not hunting me.”

“What makes you think I’m not?”

“Uh-oh.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t threaten your precious bachelorhood.”

“What makes you think it’s so precious?”

“Well, you’ve created this perfect existence for yourself. You’d never let anybody disturb that, would you?”

“You’ve created a pretty perfect existence for yourself, too.”

“Yeah, but since Jackson’s death, it hasn’t been the same. And I’ve already told you I’m bored with the work.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Lance has offered me something.”

“What? When?”

“At Elaine’s, the last time, when you were in the john and Dino was on the phone.”

“What did he offer you, exactly?”

“He was vague but intriguing. He said I’d have to do some training at a place called the Farm, in Virginia. Four months, probably.”

“I thought those guys recruited from the bottom.”

“You mean, not middle-aged, retired soldiers and policemen?”

“Middle-aged, you?”

“Sure. You, too.”

“Well.”

“It might be fun.”

“The training would be a pain in the ass.”

“I like that sort of thing. I did a lot of it in the army, training and retraining, then passing the training on to others.”

“Maybe you’re cut out for it then. But would the work be fun?”

“Lance seems to enjoy it.”

“Sometimes I think he enjoys it too much.”

“I know what you mean. Still, he’s serving his country, so what does it matter if he enjoys it too much?”

“I hope I never find out. So, you want to go work in an embassy somewhere?”

“No, the work he’s talking about is domestic and mostly urban. The Agency has a new role in homeland security now, and the change has made them understaffed. The money is no better than decent, but I’ve got my military pension, and I’m fully vested in my police pension, too. Plus what Jackson left me.”

“Sounds like I should marry you for your money.”

“I’m not ever going to marry.”

“You sound very sure.”

“I am. It just isn’t out there for me. You’re a catch, but you’re too much like me. Jackson was a wholly different person, calm and wise and fu

“That’s as much a gift as Ham’s shooting.”

“You’re right, and he cultivated it every day. But he’s gone, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Did they ever catch the people who did it, that cult group, or whatever they were?”

“No, but Lance says I’d have a better chance with the Agency. I could never run them down in law enforcement. Either I’d have a department to run, like now, or I’d be caught up in a bureaucracy with some supervisor’s shoe on my neck. I don’t think it would be like that with Lance.”

“Maybe not.”

“I could always quit, if I didn’t like it.”

“I suppose.”

The phone rang and Stone picked it up. “Hello?”

“It’s Dino. The address is less than two blocks from your house.”

“Jesus.” He got a pencil and wrote it down. “We’ll meet you there.”

“No, come here. We’ve got the building plans on the way, and we need to plan this well.”

“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Bring your weapons and Holly’s warrant.”

“Will do.” He hung up.

“Got your warrant?” he asked Holly.

“You bet your ass.”

“Then let’s go.”

On the way uptown, in the cab, Stone reached out for Holly’s wrist and felt her pulse.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s about ninety,” he said. “You want to calm down. Take some deep breaths. It’s going to be at least a couple of hours before we go in.”

“I want to do it now.”

“I know, but you have to be patient.”

“No, I don’t,” she replied.

“You’ll do a better job if you pace yourself.”

“Maybe.”

“Certainly.”

She began taking deep breaths, and her heart rate started to come down.

“That’s better,” he said.

“No, it isn’t,” she replied.