âIS OUR PACKAGE BACK THERE?â
âUnknown,â Jack Grimaldi replied. âBut these guys put down a cop.â
Lyons cursed under his breath. An instant later Blancanales fell in step with him. At the same time the Able Team leader caught the sound of sirens closing in from the distance, the wails eliciting another oath.
The ex-LAPD cop keyed his throat mike and spoke. âGet the bird into the air. And call the Farm for a cleanup crew on this. Tell Hal or Barb to start greasing the wheels. Otherwise weâll be stuck here.â
âRoger that, Ironman,â Grimaldi said.
Blancanales had stepped in close to a nearby building, raising his weapon to cover Lyons while the man edged along the line of the store until he reached the mouth of an alley. Halting, he craned his neck to peer around the corner. Another shot rang out, followed by a strangled cry.
Gabe Fox was nowhere in sight.
This book is dedicated with sincere respect and appreciation to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Ohio Marine Reserve, for its service in Iraq. Youâre heroes all. âThank youâ seems woefully inadequate recompense, particularly for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We owe you so much.
Also dedicated to the loving memory of Carolâwife, mother and my favorite reader. Charlie misses you and so do I.
And, last but not least, to Bill C., my other favorite reader. Keep fighting the good fight, my man.
Frisco, Colorado
Rolling his chair back from the desk, Gabriel Fox stared once more at his latest creation, shivered, then cursed himself under his breath. Heâd created a monster, one he damn sure intended to slay. But first, heâd have a cigarette and maybe another drink.
Getting to his feet, he crossed the luxuriously appointed bedroom, moved to a window and, turning a small hand crank, opened it. He was supposed to leave them shut. Thatâd been the first thing the craggy-faced CIA agent had warned him against.
We have the whole place wired, every entrance, every door, the guy had said. You want to open a window, you come find me and weâll bypass the alarm for you. Iâll have a couple of guys sit in here and baby-sit you. Otherwise, leave the windows alone. Donât fuck with me on this, Gabe.
Which, of course, had been all the challenge Fox needed. It had taken him all of five minutes to bypass the alarm system, allowing him to open the windowâa heavy pane of bulletproof glassâundetected and at will. With the grounds outside the mountain chalet crawling with armed guards, he assumed itâd only be a matter of time before he got busted by the dour security chief, a tight ass named Oliver Stephens, and suffered a severe tongue-lashing for it.
But hell, getting caught was half the fun.
Grinding out his cigarette, he tossed the butt out the window and watched as it fell three stories before hitting the sidewalk, joining two others heâd dropped earlier that night. He figured the guards would eventually see them there, put two and two together, and figure out that he was opening his window and having a smoke. Let them, he decided. He already was a dead man. Why delay the inevitable?