11. Bluff
Chapter 7. Final round
If Jubal managed to get to his feet, it was by harnessing the last traces of adrenaline in his body.
He hobbled over to Vargas, who was silently writhing on the ground. Meanwhile, he heard over the radio the SWATs trying to cut off Jones and his crew. Unfortunately, they managed to catch up to their vehicles and took off down a trail in the back, the existence of which had been unknown until that moment.
Being handcuffed as he was, Vargas could not really reach his wound. "Ah, Valentine," said Vargas when he saw him. "I thought you were dead," the pain was evident in his voice, but he commented it with the casual air of greeting a neighbor.
"It wasn't my time," grunted Jubal, kneeling with obvious difficulty to examine him.
A clean, in-and-out wound that did not touch bone, he discovered with relief, but Vargas was slowly bleeding to death. Jubal radioed for help and pressed both orifices.
Vargas complained through clenched teeth. "I have to admit that you are- you are a relentless bastard, Valentine," Vargas said, holding back the pain.
No, just very stubborn, Jubal thought.
"What do you think? Maybe next time?" Vargas added.
Jubal assumed he was referring to making his escape.
"Not if I can help it," he muttered, irritated.
"You can't blame me for trying..."
"I won't if you don't blame me for the bullet in the leg," replied Jubal acidly.
Vargas let out a short laugh.
When had started to be this familiarity between the two of them? It was unnerving.
"Did you find Isobel?"
"Yes," Jubal answered tersely and somberly.
"I'm glad," said Vargas, with satisfaction, "Is she all right?"
Jubal wanted to smash his fist in his face. Still no word from Maggie and OA: the uncertainty was driving him crazy. This time he didn't even deign to answer. He was not in the mood.
Tiffany came running in with a first aid kit, and began applying a compressive bandage to Vargas' leg. Scola came over as well. He and Jubal drew back a little so they could talk.
"Is everyone all right?" Jubal asked first of all.
"Yes, no casualties in our side, but three of Vargas' men are down, including the sniper. We have an ambulance on its way for Vargas," Stuart said. "The state police are chasing Jones. How are you? It seems you've been hit hard..."
Jubal looked down at his hands, stained with Vargas' blood. He shrugged and tried to wipe them on his pants. "Is there any news?" he asked for Isobel with a stiff throat, ignoring Scola's concern for him.
"Not yet..." Stuart replied, grimly.
Jubal swallowed hard, rubbing an anxious hand over the back of his neck. He didn't want to interfere with Maggie's team's communications in the middle of an operation… But fear was eating him alive.
Between a SWAT and Scola they moved Vargas to the nearest car. Jubal accepted Wallace's help to follow them there.
·~·~·
Leaning on the hood of the car and, Jubal began to remove his vest with Tiffany's assistance. He was almost afraid to look at what might be underneath. The impact had been like being hit with a battering ram.
"Jubal," OA called.
At last! He dropped everything and turned away to give OA his undivided attention. "OA, tell me!" he answered, his heart pounding.
"Isobel is safe. A little beat up and with some scratches, but okay."
Blessed was OA for being concise. Relief washed over Jubal in such a way that he thought his chest was going to explode. The pain of his concussion made him dizzy. His legs buckled and Tiffany offered her help, concerned. Jubal recovered before it was needed. "All right. Thank you very much," he managed to answer.
"Boss," contacted Kelly as well. "Assistant Director Trenholm wants to speak with you. She's waiting for your report on the operation."
Jubal cursed inwardly. What he wanted was to talk to Isobel... To be able to hear her... To perceive in her voice if she was really all right. But now was not the time, nor was he in any condition. He could end up saying something inconvenient.
"OK, Kelly. Please tell her I'll call her now.
~·~
Jubal stepped back even further and used his personal line because he knew the conversation would be difficult.
Trying to be professional and straightforward, Jubal told Rina the results of the operation: Isobel Castille had been recovered alive, Vargas was still in custody, although he had had to shoot him to prevent him from fleeing, the state police were still pursuing Jones.
"Outstanding," said Rina, "Good job, Jubal." She seemed pleased in a way that felt out of place.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, distantly.
"Look, Jubal... I'm sorry things got so tense earlier," her mellifluous tone, radically different from how she had addressed him last time. "We can meet later and talk about it, right?"
Jubal's eyebrows shot up in outrage. "There's nothing to talk about, Rina."
"Come on, Jubal," she cooed. "It was just a disagreement. I'm sure we can get along again."
Oh, now there's a dialogue? Jubal was in no mood for nonsense. "You got away with it without risking anything. You did it totally knowingly."
"What? That's not true!" she snapped angrily, "I've risked a lot."
He was tired, aching all over and still very concerned about Isobel's well-being.
"There are situations in which you just do not put your friends." And one of them is being force to murder someone defenseless to protect your career. He decided not to say that over the phone. "I'm not going to let you do something like that to me again."
"You're taking it too much to heart."
"Rina, go pick up the medal they are going to give you, and leave me alone"
·~·~·
The cabin filled with officers and local police. OA stayed behind waiting for forensics and overseeing the work to document the operation. They were still trying to find Jones, but for the moment he seemed to be slipping through their fingers, despite the checkpoints set up by the state police.
Meanwhile, Maggie took Isobel to the nearest medical center in Monticello to have her injuries treated. Nothing particularly serious was found. The contusions on her face had no fractures, her shoulder was injured but there were no breaks either. Other than that, her wrists were scratched and swollen and she had some superficial cuts on her left hand, from which they had to remove some pieces of glass. But nothing else.
She felt absolutely exhausted, that was for sure. And she knew it would take time to get rid of Coto's insane eyes and invasive hands.
·~·~·
When the ambulance took Vargas away with a state police escort, Stuart followed them to take Jubal to the Monticello Medical Center to examine the gunshot impact he had received.
While they were waiting for Jubal to be attended to, OA called to report that Jones was still on the loose and that the checkpoints were not working. He had a lead, however. Jubal also connected with the JOC.
"State police have found abandoned vehicles that our SWATs identified before they fled."
"Ian, cameras?" asked Jubal.
"No. They were in an alley in East Branch, a tiny place northwest of here. There are only a couple of cameras at the entrance and exit of the town.
Grimacing, Jubal stood up. He thought better while standing. He missed having a pencil in his hand. "They can't just have walked away," he mused aloud, "Jones must have had some kind of escape plan... He'd know we'd set up a roadblock. He'd have something planned to get around it. -He pushed his mind a little further. "Tiny, huh?Look for vehicles large enough to carry hidden compartments: pickups, trucks, vans..."
"I get it!" said Ian. "With enough room to hide several people. And that they have left town recently."
"That's right." Jubal looked at his watch. It was 4:23 AM. "There can't be many at this hour.
The JOC got to it right away. But it wasn't the only thing that could be done.
·~·~·
Instead of staying in the waiting room, Jubal went with Scola to see Vargas before he was taken to the operating room.
"Where is Jones?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the protests of the medical staff, who were already taking him away.
"Oh. Hi, Valentine. Is Isobel all right?"
The nerve of that man... Jubal gritted his teeth. "Out of danger. No thanks to you," he retorted, dryly. Vargas opened his mouth to reply, but Jubal didn't give him a chance. "Where's Jones?" he insisted.
"I don't know," shrugged Vargas. "The plan was not mine. My plans are never that dangerous."
Jubal snorted, contemptuously. "Your plans are a thousand times more dangerous."
"Not to me. This plan was not mine," he repeated. "It seems obvious that Ricardo believed that by keeping the threat of death on an FBI SAC he could force to release me. And even force to give us enough leverage to escape. Too high a stake. I could have ended up dead. You know it better than anyone." He gave Jubal a meaningful look that made the hair on the back of Jubal's neck stand up. "Do I look like I make bets that risky?"
He didn't want to, but Jubal had to agree with him. He kept a stubborn silence anyway.
"Ricardo," Vargas continued, "didn't count on... you," he smiled maliciously, making an affected gesture towards Jubal. "I guess, overwhelmed to react, he didn't find out beforehand who he was dealing with, what kind of man you are, what you would do in that situation," he said. "I mean, he didn't do his homework. Do I look like I don't do my homework, Valentine?" His expression turned cold and dangerous.
The way he fixed his eyes on him gave Jubal the feeling that Vargas could, if he wanted to, find out any detail of his life, no matter how insignificant. He felt unpleasantly exposed.
"It's all right. I believe you. You didn't know anything. But Jones works for you. Any idea where he might have gone?"
"Valentine, please," Vargas replied, returning to his casual air, "I like you, but you understand that I havezero motivation to just sell you out to one of my men."
Perhaps if I offer him some sort of deal..., Jubal began to think.
"Before you start making promises, don't forget that I know you can't personally guarantee that the prosecutor will keep them," Vargas let slip.
Damn it. "Okay, if Jones is so yours, we'll charge you with conspiracy and kidnapping as well," he threatened.
"Oh, that will add seven long years to my 450 sentence... Terrible. Look, I'm just telling you that Ricardo is impulsive, and he's not good at improvising, but he's not stupid either.
Enormously frustrated, Jubal decided that this was a waste of time. He was not in the right frame of mind to be up to the task of this conversation. That Vargas, with a gunshot wound, do actually was able to, turned out frankly humiliating.
He moved closer and asked Vargas what was bothering him the most, as the paramedics rushed him again. "Why did you say you had other plans for Isobel? What plans are those?"
Vargas just looked at him incisively again. It was as if for everything Jubal said, he seized on it to come to some conclusion.
"Does Jones know them?" Jubal insisted at his silence. Will he try to carry them out?"
"Oh, Valentine... I only told you that to make you nervous," Vargas replied in a condescending tone.
Jubal thought for a moment. He scrutinized Vargas' eyes. What his instinct told him was that he wasn't lying, but he was hiding something.
"That's not entirely true," Jubal stated flatly, and for a moment he thought he saw a glint of recognition in Vargas' eyes.
"Please... Why would I lie?" he stood by his position.
"Because you can... Or because it suits you... Or both.
Vargas laughed. "If that's what you think, why are you asking me?"
Jubal fought a very unprofessional urge to strangle him. He felt Scola tense beside him, as if preparing to stop him. He exhaled, trying to gain a sliver of control. He abruptly pulled away from Vargas and let them take him to surgery.
"It's absolutely insufferable."
"Yes, he is," Stuart agreed.
They walked together back to the waiting room. Slowly. Jubal was struggling with every step.
"Hmm ... Jubal," Stuart began hesitantly, "back at the farm, were you really willing... you know... to shoot Vargas in the head?"
"What?" Jubal replied, alarmed. "Hell no, I was just trying to buy more time. I didn't think Jones would decide to take me out of the game..." He put a hand over his side, wincing. The pain was getting worse and worse. He turned to Stuart, somewhat shocked, "Did you really think I was going to do it?"
If even one of his agents had doubts, he was bound to get in trouble with OPR… He put the subject out of his mind for the moment.
"Well... It looked like it. Sorry," Stu apologized, shrugging his shoulders. "But remind me never to play poker with you. You must be quite an ace."
Only if you put Isobel's life on the table.
Stuart's eyebrows shot up and Jubal knew he had said the last thing out loud without realizing it. He was too sore and tired. He tried to ignore Stu's amused expression.
"Please put two agents to guard Isobel. As long as Jones is out there, we cannot rule out that he's going to try something against her again."
~.~.~.~