Chapter 9: Just Desserts
Leland Residence
Wednesday, 27 October 2018
6:30 am
"It's too quiet." Myles was in the bathroom, shaving, as Elizabeth slipped on her shoes. "Why do I not remember mornings being this quiet?"
The psychologist laughed. "Because our mornings haven't been this quiet in eleven years." She stood and walked over to him, giving him a quick kiss on his shoulder, since his face was still covered in shaving cream. "I'll go get the paper and start coffee while you finish getting ready."
"Coffee, the paper and quiet? I don't think I can take all this luxury." Her laugh carried back from the hallway. Myles grinned as he finished scraping the razor over his face, then grabbed a towel and his aftershave. He might joke about it as luxury, but the truth was the quiet house only served to drive home the fact that his girls were growing up. That fact made him a bit sad as well.
Ten minutes later, however, he was looking forward to breakfast with his wife before heading in to the office; he had meetings set up today with his snitch network, to see how many of them would continue working with Brian or Ed. After yesterday, he was glad that Jack had decided to pass his own snitch network along to Kendra; he wasn't sure he could have handled being with her today. Myles straightened his tie, holstered his primary sidearm, and headed downstairs.
:
"Sweetheart?" The kitchen was quiet, save for the soft chiming of the coffeemaker. Maybe she got talking with one of the neighbors.
He glanced out the window next to the front door, but the sidewalk in front of their house was empty in the early dawn. "Elizabeth?"
There was no answer. Myles walked over to the door leading to the garage and checked the security panel next to it; the alarm was still on. Where is she? "Elizabeth! We really don't have time for a game of hide-and-seek… though I do rather enjoy being found."
"I'm in the study, Myles."
He thought he'd heard the slightest catch in her voice, but brushed it off. Smiling, he turned the doorknob. "You know, you're not supposed to make it this eas—" He stopped dead in his tracks.
The years had been remarkably good to Kyle Singleton; it always irked Myles when hardened criminals aged better than the agents who put them in prison. But there was nothing antiquated about the .45 pistol he was sticking into Elizabeth's neck, the hammer cocked back and the man's finger on the trigger.
"Well, well," Kyle purred, "long time no see. Lose the gun, Ace. Real slow; both the main event and the backup, if you don't mind."
Elizabeth was trembling noticeably; the last time she'd had a gun held on her like this was at the hands of a serial killer. Myles slowly removed his sidearm from the holster at his right hip and laid it on the bookcase, then did the same with the smaller gun in his ankle holster. "All right, Kyle. Now let her go."
"Not just yet." The younger man's hazel eyes glittered in the lamplight of the study. "Lose the cell phone, too. Turn it off before you lay it down. In fact, take the battery pack out." He gestured with his head toward a cell phone already on the bookcase. "Then do the same with hers."
How did he get in here? The alarm is still on. His mind worked swiftly while he did as Kyle demanded. At least the girls aren't here. We can get through this. He met his wife's eyes and saw the emerald pools calm slightly. "All right, Kyle. Both phones are incapacitated. I've done as you asked. Now give me something, here. Let her go."
Kyle's eyes narrowed at the calm tone. "Don't mess with me, Leland. I know all the little tricks now. And you haven't got a deal-making leg to stand on. Sit down." He indicated the small loveseat. "And I want your hands where I can see them at all times, or this pretty lady is gonna be minus a head."
Elizabeth shot a glance at her husband as he sat down slowly. The barest shake of his head said it all: Not yet. Do as he asks for now.
"Aww… you look so lonely. Here." Kyle shoved Elizabeth toward the sofa. She caught herself before she fell on top of her husband, and his hands caught her shoulders. "You sit right there next to him, sweetie. Same rules."
She nodded, resisting the urge to grab Myles' hand as she settled into the loveseat. Then she saw his hands move slowly against his legs in a sign combination. WAIT OPPORTUNITY.
Her eyes went wide, but she replied O-K.
"Now then," Kyle drawled, dropping into the leather desk chair and propping his feet on the mahogany end table, "What shall we talk about?"
:
Sam and Tara's house, Georgetown
Wednesday, 7 a.m.
"Let's go, ladies!" Sam called up the stairs.
Sarah's head popped out of the door of the room the girls shared when they stayed over. "I can't find my backpack!"
"It's down here already." Tara called after her, then walked over to her husband and slipped her arms around his waist. "Aren't you glad we can send them home?" She laughed as he rolled his eyes.
"OK, OK…" A second later both girls came racing down the stairs, with Rachel landing on the cotton throw rug and skidding to a stop directly in front of the entry table.
WOW, Sam signed to her, his eyes wide with admiration. YOU GOOD. "I could never do that with a rug. Just a cookie sheet."
Tara gave him a severe glance. "Don't give them any more ideas. We have to go, or you're going to be late for school." She signed it as well.
Rachel shook her head. "I want to call Daddy this morning. He always tells me a quick story before I go to school. If he's home, he signs it; if he's at work, we do relay; if he's undercover, he leaves me a email. It's every morning!"
Tara glanced at her watch. WE LATE, she signed. DADDY STORY WAIT AFTER SCHOOL. SORRY. DADDY EMAIL MAYBE LATER.
"Would you settle for an Uncle Sam story?" Sam knelt down in front of her. "About Glorfindel and the Ogre of Manning Castle?" He glanced up at Tara, who was suddenly hiding a smile. "I can ride along with and catch a cab home before I have to go to my meeting today."
Rachel thought for a moment. "Okay. But just this once."
They headed for the door; Sam paused for a moment as he caught a buzz of apprehension from his twin; it was a fairly common occurrence, with Myles' line of work, so he didn't think much of it. "Hey, wait up!" he called, his mind already forming the story…
:
Leland Home, Adams-Morgan
7:30 am
It had been a silent thirty minutes; Kyle had done little more than stare at them and scrape mud from his shoes onto the edge of the antique desk. Myles, who would have preferred to rip the man's legs off at the knees, focused instead on figuring out what was running through Kyle's mind. Was he planning to just toy with them a little, or were his objectives more lethal?
Elizabeth's hands were ice-cold as he squeezed them briefly, but she had stopped shaking. Her eyes slid sideways until she caught his gaze, and her delicate brows went up in question. He shrugged, and shook his head slightly.
Suddenly, a chuckle from across the room caught them both by surprise. "Look at you two," Kyle chortled, "sitting there trying to decide if I'm for real or off my carrot. Man, the FBI hasn't changed a bit."
Myles felt his wife's hands move; he glanced down to see her sign HIM ME T-A-L-K. He nodded, but signed CAREFUL all the same.
"You seem to have a great deal on your mind," Elizabeth said casually. "You have a captive audience, so to speak; you may as well get it all out while you have the chance."
Kyle looked at her narrowly, then swung his feet onto the floor, scattering clods of mud everywhere, then got up and walked over to her, the gun ready. "You think I don't remember he told me you're a shrink? But you're right; maybe a vent would be a good idea, since it's your husband's fault my life has been screwed for the last thirteen years, and will be for the next fifty."
She felt Myles stiffen next to her, but placed a hand on his leg. "Well, he's right here. You have a chance to tell him exactly how he did that."
There was a derisive snort. "Last chance, anyway. All right." Kyle resumed his seat and kicked back, keeping the gun in his lap, but with a looser grip. "Where to start…"
As the man started cataloging all his woes, Myles poked Elizabeth in the arm. WHAT he signed, his brow furrowed in question.
She smiled. HIM TALK, LOSE MORE ANGER, AND NOT THINK RIGHT. PLAY GAME YOU ALSO. LISTEN OR NOT. SAME-SAME.
The Harvard grad rolled his eyes. TEN MINUTE, ME SHOOT HIM SAME-SAME.
:
Bullpen, Hoover Building
Wednesday, 8 a.m.
"Anybody see Myles yet today?"
Brian Rhodes looked up as Jack walked into the Bullpen. "Nope. Figured he had a meeting with a snitch or something. Or maybe he decided to scuff off his last two days."
Jack shook his head. "Not Myles. And he always calls in if he's got an early appointment. You know that."
Kendra Phillips snorted into her coffee. "Maybe there was a Deaf Breakfast Club somewhere."
"You want to give it a rest today?" Jack glared at her. "Or I can find another unit that would be more than happy to have you. I understand there's an opening at the legat in Warsaw, Poland. They supervise the remote office in Greenland."
Kendra huffed again and grabbed a report to work on. Jack walked over to Brian's desk and leaned against it. "He didn't say anything last night about an early meeting, and I know he was planning to take you and Earl out today and hook you up with his snitches."
"Dunno," Brian replied. "Does seem a little weird."
"No," Jack responded. "It's a lot weird." He glanced over at Myles' desk, and picked up the blue folder from the in-box. "Hey, what's this?"
Brian shrugged. "Aide dropped it off last night. It wasn't flashing DEFCON 5, so I told him it could wait till this morning. He really wasn't thinking Bureau business last night, anyway."
"I know." Jack looked at the sticky note on the front. "Kyle Singleton… Kyle Singleton… why does that name sound…?" He flipped open the folder and read the case synopsis. Then his head snapped up. "Earl? Would you try calling Myles' cell, please? I'm going to try their home phone."
"Why?" Brian asked. "Who's Kyle Singleton?"
"Someone I hope isn't out to really screw up our last two days as field agents."
:
Leland Residence
8:15 a.m.
The ringing of the phone interrupted Kyle's tirade. "Don't touch it," he warned.
Elizabeth's voice was calm. "If it's either of our offices, they haven't been able to reach us on our cells, and they're wondering where we are. If we don't answer, you're likely to have half the FBI bearing down on you." She looked at the caller ID. "It's Myles' office."
The gun swung around. "You have a family emergency and won't be in. And make it convincing, Leland; you're an excellent con, remember?"
The blond agent nodded as Elizabeth handed him the phone. He was about to answer it when Kyle stopped him. "Just a minute."
"The machine will pick it—"
"I know!" Kyle snapped. He dragged Elizabeth to her feet and held the gun to her head again. "Just so you have some incentive."
Myles paled slightly, but brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
In the Bullpen, Jack was instantly alert. "Myles? Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine, Jack," Myles replied calmly, his eyes never leaving Kyle's. "We simply had a family emergency come up, and I was about to call you to tell you I wouldn't be in."
Jack had hit the speakerphone button as soon as Myles had answered, and now he was getting strange looks from everyone else. "Anything you need some help with?"
"No, it's fine. We'll just be out of touch for awhile today. Would you ask Patricia to reschedule my three-ten appointment with the Director? I'll have to do it tomorrow."
"Sure thing," Jack responded. "Hope things work out. We'll see you tomorrow, then."
"All right. Goodbye." Myles hung up the phone and raised a brow at Kyle. "Was that satisfactory?"
Kyle shoved Elizabeth back onto the couch. "Fine. I think your acting skills have improved dramatically. I didn't hear a police or FBI code in there anywhere. And I've done my research, believe me." He leaned on the desk. "Now, where were we…?"
In the Bullpen, Jack tapped his fingertips on the edge of his desk. "Earl, pull up the GPS on Myles' cell. Brian, check with the security company that does their home system; see if there have been any weird blips on the radar. Kendra, I want you to call Sam Leland and see if the girls are all right."
"Ok, whoa and back up." Brian held up a hand. "Since when does a family emergency and a rescheduled appointment add up to a personal 9/11?"
Jack smiled. "Trish, Myles does have an appointment with the Director this afternoon, yes?"
The rotor, Patricia Heward, checked the schedule. "He does, but it's supposed to be at 2:30, not 3:10."
"Exactly. Thank you."
"So why'd he say it was at three-ten?" Earl queried.
Jack's smile got bigger, even as his dark eyes hardened. "Because seventeen years ago, when I first formed this team, Bobby, D, Myles and I were just goofing around one night, and got talking about what might happen if one of us got in trouble and had no real way of letting anyone know without getting shot in the process. We decided to set up a special code. Not FBI, not even police code, just our own. It was almost like a secret password to some club we formed."
"And this marvelously pedestrian story has what to do with Myles taking a day off?" Kendra muttered.
Her unit leader just grinned. "SAM 3-10 was Wes Kenner's radio code, so we used 310 as a casual code to indicate trouble. This is the first time we've ever had to use it."
:
Leland Residence
8:45 a.m.
After listening to Kyle go on for an hour about every trouble in his life, which of course were all someone else's fault, Myles was ready to skip the gun and just strangle the younger man. Only Elizabeth's hand on his leg several times stopped him.
PATIENCE, she signed compactly against her chest. NOT LISTEN. ONLY NOD, YOU RECITE K-E-A-T-S INSTEAD. YOUR FAVORITE.
He squeezed her hand. YOU ANGEL WIFE, YOU KNOW TRUE.
"What's going on?" Kyle's voice interrupted them. "What's with all the hand waving here?" The .45 was up.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said softly. She'd already thought of this. "Over the years, I've developed carpal tunnel syndrome pretty badly, and the doctor prescribed some exercises for me. Since Myles does a lot of computer work, we often do them together. I'm sorry if it disturbed you."
The man's eyes narrowed. "Well, it did. Knock it the hell off, or you won't have to worry about your hands anymore, 'cause I'll put a bullet or two through each one. Yours, too, Special Agent."
"Why don't you just get to the real reason you're here, Kyle?" Myles had had enough. "Which is…?"
Kyle blinked, as if he'd forgotten that part. Then he recovered, and his eyes hardened. "Killing you's too easy, too quick for you. I plan to mess up your life, just like you messed up mine. Your lovely lady here is going to die. I just ain't decided when just yet. And we're talking, so you just keep your mouth shut."
Myles felt his wife's hand go cold, but she leaned forward just the same, as if she were sitting in her office with a patient. "May I ask you something, Kyle?" she ventured. He nodded sullenly. "You have your whole life ahead of you; do you really want to—?"
"I got nothin'!" Kyle burst out. "Simmons is still in the joint… Ain't nobody gonna hire me for half what I was makin' before…"
"What about family? Surely there must be someone—"
He snorted and dropped back into the chair. "My old lady's been dead since I was eight, and Pop's only use for me was a punching bag. Simmons was my family." Thrusting the gun into the air, he gestured around wildly with it. "And here you sit, Mr. Special Agent, in your fancy house with your fancy wife and your damn fancy pedigree— oh, yeah, I did a little reading up on you— you took everything away from me! All the family I had left!"
"Kyle." The psychologist kept her voice soft and soothing, though she was shaking. "You have a sister, don't you?"
He whirled in the chair to face her. "How do you know that?" The gun swung into Myles' face. "What'd you do, spill my whole damn history over dinner one night?"
"Kyle, I consult for the Bureau," Elizabeth intervened firmly. "I was asked to go over the case file after Simmons' ring was brought down. Part of my job was to check and see if there were any family members who needed to be notified. Myles had nothing to do with my knowledge of your sister."
"She ain't had nothing to do with me in twenty years, and that's the way I want it," Kyle snapped. "It's better that way."
"Is that why you refused to see her the several times she showed up at Marion?" She held up a hand as he glared again. "When I'm assigned a consulting case, I follow up periodically."
"She's fine without me. She don't need a ex-con brother messing up her and her kids' lives." He scowled further. "And if it hadn't been for your damn pow-wow last night with your screwball twin and the hottie jewelry designer-slash-Fed he married, your little princesses would be sitting here, too."
Myles felt his heart jolt. Kyle hadn't simply done a little research; the man seemed to know their family details all too well. And he breathed a prayer of thanks that Sam had taken the girls last night.
"Have you bothered to give her a chance to make that decision for herself?" It was out of his mouth before he could stop it. "You haven't let her see you, the man, her brother, in almost twenty years. How can you be so sure she wants nothing to do with you?"
At the same time, he caught the tiniest glimmer of connection with his twin. Sam had gone through much the same type of thing, if not the same circumstances. He focused on a single memory, even as Kyle stood and advanced on him again.
"What the hell do you know about it, Mister Silver Spoon?" The pistol shook as the man stood over them, his eyes blazing and his voice low.
Elizabeth's hand squeezed his hard, a warning, but Myles pushed just a bit more. "Enough to know that your little Purgatory is your own creation if you don't give anyone a chance to open their world to you. Then it becomes your fault. No one else's."
"Myles…" Her whisper sent a tremor through him. What if I'm pushing the wrong buttons?
Kyle just stared at him for several silent minutes. Then he threw back his head and laughed, a harsh, bitter sound.
"I know something else that's my fault now, too, Leland. Not gagging you when I first had the chance. Time for a little re-work of this scenario, I think."
9:00 am
Sam was back at the house, going over the business projections for his meeting, a glass of iced tea beside him and Glorfindel winding his way around Sam's ankles. "Looks to be a good year, 'Fin. I think we—"
The sudden tightness in his throat caught him by surprise, and he reached for the glass. What the—? he thought, taking a sip. But it wouldn't go down; it was getting hard to breathe. He yanked the tie loose at his collar, and undid a couple of buttons as well.
Though the twin-speak had faded somewhat over the last fifteen years, mostly due to proximity and Sam's own struggle to find his own "support system," he still got flashes of emotions sometimes. Occasionally there would be a flash of a picture, but not the almost-telepathy they'd once shared. No longer did he find himself wandering through Myles' dreams, or meeting up with his twin in his own.
So he was a bit surprised to suddenly find himself standing on the boardwalk pier, looking at his seven-year-old image being stalked through the eyes of Lyle Matthews. For a moment, raw fear closed in on him, and he felt himself start shaking.
Wait a second… no, this isn't right… The eyes he was looking through weren't getting closer to the boy on the pier; they were just waiting. Sam recalled that Matthews had scooped him up on a dead run, weaving through the pressing crowd like a linebacker. But he still felt the apprehension; it was coming from the person he was seeing through.
Just then, he felt a presence behind him, warm and welcoming and familiar. Bro, what are you trying to tell me here? Trouble's coming… but not on us yet…wait… gotcha, bro! You hang tight.
The vision faded as quickly as it had come; as soon as he could see clearly again, Sam grabbed his cell phone off the table and bolted for the door. "'Fin, hold my calls and cancel my meetings. There's trouble in River City with a capital T."
Kendra Phillips was about to dial her phone when Patricia's voice stopped her. "It's Sam Leland on Line 2. He's asking for Jack."
"I've got it, Trish," the redhead interrupted. "Jack's still talking with Dimitrius." She picked up the phone. "Mr. Leland, Kendra Phillips. Jack had just asked me to call you."
Sam's voice cooled considerably, but he didn't slow down. "Call me why? What's going on?"
"He wanted me to check if Rachel and Sarah were all right. I understand that they slept over at your house last night."
Sam blew out his breath. "They did, and Tara dropped them off at school this morning. You still didn't answer my question. Why?"
"That's all he asked me to—"
"Forget it. I wanna talk to Brian, right now." He waited exactly five seconds. "Never mind." The line went dead.
Before Kendra could even draw a breath, the phone rang again. Patricia picked it up. "Brian, for you, line 3. It's—"
Brian Rhodes had been listening before, and he swooped up his phone in a smooth motion. "Sambo, talk to me." He listened for several minutes, his brow furrowing deeper every second. "All right, listen. Drive into the cul-de-sac, but don't stop. Make it look like you're searching for a particular house. Then meet us a block south of the turnoff. We'll be there in ten."
He hung up, ignoring the look from Kendra as he bolted to the Bullpen door and yelled for Jack. He never even went back for his coat. "Let's move, Red," he snapped, "Time's a wastin.'"
9:15 am
Elizabeth was silent, her hands twisting in her lap, as Kyle finished tying Myles in the desk chair and using the agent's own tie as a gag. In reality, her mind was going over what she'd heard from the man so far, trying to find a chink, a motive, something she could use to talk him out of whatever he was planning.
Something… "Simmons was my family."… hmm… I wonder… She looked up just as Kyle flopped on the couch next to her.
"Well, now, that's better. I got sick of listening to him run his mouth years ago. Now then, Ms. Shrink, shall we finish our conversation before his buddies show up looking for him?" A wide grin spread across his face. "I'm really going to enjoy watching his face as I shoot you."
Not going to work anymore, Kyle. I've been here before. And trust me, you're a second-stringer. "Tell me more about Simmons, Kyle. He sounds like a good friend."
"He was." For a moment, the younger man's eyes registered sadness. "When we was first sent up, he was scared, you know. Young kid like that. But we stuck together, and nobody could touch us. He's the only person who ever made me feel like I was good for somethin' other than takin' up space."
"Your mother?"
He snorted. "She died too soon. Or maybe too late. And my old man made no bones about the fact that I couldn't do nothin' right. Pick, pick, punch, pick. Didn't matter what I did, there was always somethin' wrong with it."
All too common a story. But now she had something to work with. Things would be all right until the team arrived. After that, was up to Kyle.
Myles watched his wife, fascinated at both her calm and the questions she was asking. In thirteen years of marriage, he'd never had the opportunity to really see her at work in her field.
Man, I hate gags… He itched to work the tie loose enough to get it at least off the corners of his mouth, but he knew it would only make matters worse. Instead, he concentrated on breathing slowly through his nose and listening intently to what she was saying, and what Kyle's answers were.
Part of him wanted to slap the man silly for all his whining; but then a memory sprang to mind, one he hadn't pulled up in years…
He and Bobby had been "volunteered" to do a career-day sort of meeting at a local Boys' and Girls' club in DC. Myles had groused about it for days ahead of time, and all the way to the youth center.
It had taken one scene to turn his attitude around completely. As they pulled up, they saw a boy of about ten with an older man. The boy was proudly showing off a tabletop-style bookcase he'd made himself. It wasn't bad work, for what Myles assumed was a first try…
The man walked around it a couple of times as they got out of the car, and they clearly heard his voice carry across the parking lot.
"It ain't level," the man was saying. "You forgot to even it up before you nailed the back on. I gotta get to work. Your mother will come pick you up." And he walked off.
The boy's face would be forever etched in Myles' mind. The light in it went out as if a switch had been turned off. He stared after his father for a long minute, then looked back at his bookcase. His mouth turned down, his brows drew together, and after a moment he picked up the bookcase and tossed it in the trashcan behind him.
"Hold up there, mate." Myles didn't even realize Bobby had kept moving until he heard the Aussie's voice. "You're not gonna ditch it just because it's a little crooked, are you?"
The boy shrugged. "I can't do it right anyway."
"Aw, all it takes is a little practice. C'mon, let's take a look, and I bet you can fix it no worries." Bobby pulled the bookcase off the trashcan and set it back on the work table. "Did you use the L-square on it?"
"Yeah, and it was supposed to be straight." Frustration was evident in the boy's tone.
"Well, let's double-check it the old-fashioned way." Bobby laid the bookcase down on its back and lined one side up with the side edge of the table. Then he grabbed a tape measure. "Here," he said, "take a measure from the bottom of the case on this end to the edge of the table."
There was a pause. "Six and… seven-eighths inches."
"Okay. Now, since this is a store-bought table, we can pretty much assume that it's square. Now take a measure from the other end at the bottom, to the edge of the table."
The boy glanced up at Bobby questioningly; then he took the measure. "Six and… three-eighths inches. But how—?"
The Aussie smiled. "That's a pretty old L-square. Sometimes, especially if they've been used a lot, they warp a little over time. You best have one of the counselors check it with a protractor. Or you can do it yourself."
"So all I have to do is take the back off, check the measurements again, and fix it that way. Wow!"
"You'll want to clamp it in place once you have the back off," Bobby suggested, "So it won't move in between measurements. But other than that, you're good to go."
The boy's face lit up again. "Gee, thanks! But I can't do it right now, we're supposed to go listen to some old geezers from the FBI give us a sales pitch…"…
Bobby had laughed heartily, then gently pulled out his ID. After the boy was convinced he wasn't going to get handcuffed for his comment, he followed them eagerly into the youth center.
Later Myles, who had gotten the boy's name and kept track of him, just out of curiosity, discovered that Shamar Morgan had gone on to create a fine furniture business that was the most successful in the tri-state area. His creations were even in the Supreme Court and the White House.
How much of an influence do words really have? As he watched his wife now with Kyle, he certainly didn't agree with the path the man had taken, but he could understand the temptation, even if Simmons had done little more than say "good job, let's see what else we can do." Find something you're good at, have someone reinforce that idea… doesn't matter if it's carpentry or counterfeiting, you're likely to stick with it.
He came out of his thoughts fast as he heard Kyle get up.
"I gotta take a leak," the man said. He grabbed Elizabeth by the arm and hauled her to the doorway. "You poke your head out there, darlin', and let me know if anybody's waiting. And I can tell if you're lying, so don't bother."
She nodded quietly, shooting a glance at Myles before she opened the door. He discreetly tapped his index and middle fingers on his thumb. NO. T-O-O S-O-O-N.
Her eyes lowered briefly in acknowledgement, then she turned the knob on the study door and peered out, opening the door wider after a moment. "I don't see anyone. The alarm would have gone off if anyone had come inside, anyway."
"Anyone at the windows?"
"No."
Kyle grinned. "Good. Now, go get your hubby's handcuffs."
Her green eyes went wide. "Why?"
The gun waved toward her, and his voice hardened. "Because I said so, that's why. Go get them. And make it snappy."
Myles tipped his head toward his left jacket pocket as she approached him. She retrieved the handcuffs and whispered, "I hope you have a plan in motion," before she walked back over to where Kyle was waiting.
He shifted a little to ease the numbness that had crept into his right arm. I have a plan, yes, he thought wryly. Whether it's in motion just yet is up to a couple of other people…
:
Sam was waiting when the team got there, leaning against his ever-present Jeep Wrangler with his arms crossed and an uncharacteristic scowl on his face.
"Sam, talk to me," Jack started without preamble. "What's going on down there?"
"Not a damn thing," Sam retorted. "I drove past without stopping, just like Brian said to. Myles' car is parked in front, but there's no sign that anyone's home. And I called Liz's office. She hasn't shown up yet, and she hasn't called. I tried her cell, and got her voicemail."
"What did you get from Myles? Before?"
Sam's brows went up. "Thought you didn't put much stock in the twin-speak, Jack."
The unit leader shrugged. "After fifteen years, I'm a little less skeptical."
"Ok." The blond head nodded. "Actually, I didn't get much, not like it used to be. Just a warped image of Matthews bearing down on me when I was a kid. Only he didn't swoop me up like really happened. I was seeing me through his eyes, and he was just standing there, waiting, like. Then I got a sensation that Myles was right there behind me." His shoulders lifted. "If I had to hazard a translation, I'd guess that there's trouble, but it's not reached an absolute crisis yet."
Jack processed that for a moment. "All right. Brian, why don't you and Kendra wander down there and cut through Tom Webber's yard? Come up on the house on the south side, by the garage. See if Liz's car is still in the garage. And check to see if the alarm's still on. The security company says it is, but I want you to check it as well. Just don't trip it, whatever you do."
Brian snorted. "What do I look like, a rookie?" He grinned at Kendra. "Oh, yeah, but I'm bringing one along. I'll keep her on the other side of the fence."
Kendra's retort faded as the two agents headed into the cul-de-sac. Sam frowned again. "What's going on, Jack?"
"I don't quite know yet, Sam," Jack replied. "I tried to call Myles earlier, when he didn't show up at the office, and he gave me an old personal code we'd set up for trouble. He obviously couldn't go into specifics, but I have a hunch it has to do with someone he put away a long time ago. Did you call Tara?"
Sam shook his head. "Not yet. She's got some high-level sting going down today, and I didn't want to distract her. Should I call her?"
"No," Jack replied quickly, remembering. "It's definitely better if she's not around. This guy has reason to be a little upset with her as well."
Sam's eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait a sec. You don't mean that idiot from the jewelry sting a decade back? The one that almost drew down on my twin and my now-wife?"
Earl couldn't help but smile as he stared at his laptop. "You've been watching too many old Westerns, Sammy. 'Drew down on'? That's a good one."
Jack ignored the quip, and merely nodded. "Kyle Singleton. I had a feeling you'd remember him."
"Remember?" Sam's voice went up in pitch. "I remember staring into his eyes on my way out of a restaurant, Jack. I had a feeling, too, dude, not an hour ago – like a noose around my neck. And now that I know what's going on, it's coming back."
"Sam, it's ok. We're going to see what's going on, and then we're going to take care of it. You said yourself that nothing's hit a crisis pitch yet." Jack laid a hand on Sam's shoulder. "The very best thing you can do right now is to go to your meeting and let us handle it. I will let you know if you need to come back, ok?"
Sam's jaw set in a manner the unit leader knew all too well from another man. "Jack, if you think I'm leaving, you're out of your mind. But, I will get out of your way; I can conference-call my meeting from the Jeep. If this little mess drags out until this afternoon, I'll go pick up the girls and keep them distracted. But for now, I'm staying right here."
"I can live with that."
Sam got into the Jeep as he watched Jack and Earl walk back to the van. After a moment, he closed his eyes and tried to relax as much as possible, reaching toward his twin. Hang in there, bro; the cavalry's coming.
"Earl, give me a recap while Brian and Kendra are getting down there."
The computer tech frowned as he leaned against the command center van and crossed his arms over his chest. "Both cell phones have been shut down completely. They're not transmitting any signal at all, which means the battery packs are out. The security company says the alarm is still on and hasn't been tripped. The last time it was turned off was at 6:30 this morning, for about five minutes, then it was turned back on. Both times the code was used properly."
"One of them went out to get the paper."
"That'd be my guess." Earl shifted position slightly.
Jack thought about that, running the scene through his head. "So how'd Kyle get in…?" he mused.
"Any of the neighbors have security cameras?" Earl asked. "Maybe one of them picked up something. The houses are pretty close together down there, and the fences don't come clear out to the sidewalk."
That triggered a thought, and Jack snapped his fingers. "That's very possible. And I know exactly which neighbor to call." He chuckled softly. "Myles may never forgive me for it…"
9:30 am
Elizabeth winced as the cuffs closed over her hands. Kyle had dragged her over to the kitchen island, then shackled her to a stainless steel towel rack at one end. The screws were tight; she wouldn't be able to pull it off the island.
He grinned. "There you are. Nice and tidy. Now, where's the facilities?"
"Down the hall there." She used her head to point past the stairs. "First right. There are no windows in it."
"Good. Then I don't have to worry about your husband's buddies." He stroked her cheek with the back of one finger. "Be right back, doll."
She shuddered as he turned and headed down the hall, then twisted slightly until she could see her husband through the open study door. Motioning again with her head, she "pointed" at Kyle, then signed TOILET, a "t" hand shaken slightly.
Myles nodded and fingerspelled N-O W-R-R-Y. S-M J-C-K K-N-W. H-L-P C-O-M-E He then signed the shorthand I-LOVE-YOU.
She smiled wanly and returned the endearment. I just hope it's in time…
:
Brian and Kendra crept along the fence that separated the Lelands' yard from that of Tom Webber and his wife, skirting the rosebushes covered in burlap in preparation for winter. When they reached the small utility patio behind the garage, Brian motioned for her to stop.
"You stay here," he whispered. "I'm going to go see if there's any place I can see Myles or Liz without Kyle spotting me."
"We can cover more windows faster if we split up," she argued.
He shook his head. "I'm not worried about faster," he said. "I'm worried about safety. Stay put."
Kendra wasn't ready to quit just yet. "If we can get a clear shot, this will be over in a second."
Brian huffed in frustration; if there'd been time, he'd have explained it much more calmly. As it was, his explanation was much shorter and to the point. "First rule is ascertain the situation. The less collateral damage, the better. You go in shooting without knowing what you're up against, people get hurt. If I can see either of them, I can get a very clear picture of what's going on, and we'll know what we're up against."
She snorted. "And how you do plan to do that, 'Batman'?"
"We speak a language you don't." His patience was up. "So stay put and call in. I'll be back in a minute." He left her to her murmured griping and began to work his way around the back of the house.
"You mean some maniac with a gun in holed up right next to my house?" Tom Webber's voice rose in pitch. "I knew it, I knew he was going to get us all killed someday—"
Jack cut the man off before he could get started. "Mr. Webber, if you could just tell us if your security system includes a camera that looks out on your front yard…"
"Oh. Yeah, it does. I have a backup unit in my den— digital output, runs all the time. You want to come check it?"
The unit leader gave Earl a "thumbs-up". "Yes. There are two agents down there right now, checking out the situation. I'll have Agent Phillips stop and check your backup. Can you have it queued up for approximately 6:30 this morning?"
Webber half-grunted into the phone. "Yeah, no problem. You gonna get this guy without some big mess?"
"I certainly hope so," Jack replied, rolling his eyes. "Thank you for your help."
He hung up and blew his breath out. "You know, with a neighbor like that, I'm surprised Myles has passed all his reviews for the last fifteen years."
Earl laughed. "I just talked to Kendra. Brian's headed around the back of the house to see if he can catch a glimpse of Myles or Liz and see what's going on. Kendra said she'd go see Webber."
"Good. When we catch this guy, I want to know how he got in without tripping the alarm. I have a theory, but I want proof."
He offered up a prayer of thanks when he saw that one of the sheer curtains on the patio doors in the living room had been left open a few inches. Brian crept around the patio furniture, grateful that the house faced east; he wouldn't be seen in the glare of the morning sunshine. Peeking in cautiously through the French doors, he saw Elizabeth standing at the kitchen island. There was something strange about her stance; after a moment, he realized that she must be tied to something on it. Her attention was focused into the study. Either Myles, Kyle, or both, he thought, but he couldn't see from his angle.
He watched as she seemed to check something in the downstairs hallway, then looked back at the study and shook her head. Ok, Myles is in the study, and Kyle's elsewhere… Recalling the layout of the house, Brian figured out that Kyle was probably in the bathroom, and had Liz tied to the island, both as insurance and so the two Lelands couldn't talk in his absence. Or so the thief thought.
He tapped very slightly on the window. Elizabeth's head snapped around, and her eyes widened when she saw who it was. Brian had already planned this out, and he started right in. YES-NO YOU ANSWER ONLY. ME ASK. YOU MYLES HURTQQ
She shook her head slightly. No.
K-Y-L-E TOILET QQ
Yes.
MYLES YOU TIED QQ
Yes.
K-Y-L-E GUN QQ
Yes.
HIM MAD QQ Brian switched to the "1" classifier for Kyle, to save time.
This time she shrugged a little and tilted her head back and forth as if to say sort of.
HIM MAD, NOT VIOLENT NOW QQ
Yes.
KILL MYLES HIM THREATEN QQ
No.
KILL YOU HIM THREATENQQ He jabbed his finger at her for emphasis.
Yes.
THINK YOU LONG TIME WE HAVE QQ
Again she tilted her head back and forth.
THINK YOU 30 MINUTE WE HAVE QQ
Yes. Then she mouthed, "I've been talking with him, but I don't know how stable he is. Sooner would be better."
ALARM CODE YOU GIVE MEQQ
Her brows shot up; apparently the idea wasn't something she'd thought of. She turned toward the study for a moment, then nodded and checked the hallway again. "050102," she mouthed to Brian.
WEDDING DATE YOUQQ he confirmed. 0-5-0-1-0-2QQ
She nodded.
GARAGE INSIDE NUMBER SAME-SAMEQQ
Yes.
Brian nodded. OK, SWEETHEART. TELL MYLES HANG-TIGHT. He tugged an imaginary rope in the air a couple of times, the ASL sign for the idiom. WE SAVE HIS BUTT. He winked and saw her smile.
The entire conversation had taken less than two minutes. As he crept back along the fence and then out to the sidewalk, Brian called in. "Jack, things are calm for the moment, but I wouldn't wait too long."
"They okay?"
"Yeah, no one's hurt, but Harvard's tied up in the study, and Kyle's got Liz restrained at the kitchen island while he's in the john. When he gets done, I expect he'll go back in the study and take Liz with him. He's threatened to kill her, and if he's planned that much he'll want to do it in front of Myles. Liz figures we probably need to move within the next 30."
"Copy that. Kendra's checking Webber's camera feed. When she's done, get back here and we'll wait for SWAT. ETA's about ten minutes."
"You got it, Sparky." Brian reached Webber's doorstep just as Kendra came out the door. "Come on, Red, we're headed back to regroup."
"Just don't wreck my fence in the process," Webber called after them. "Or I'm sending Leland the bill."
Brian quirked a grin at Kendra. "You two weren't, like, married in a previous life, were you?"
Kyle sauntered his way back into the kitchen. "Well, now, that's better."
Elizabeth restrained the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she opted for a very sincere look. "I don't suppose I could persuade you to grant us the same courtesy?"
The thief eyed her for a moment. "Depends. You I might consider. But why should I grant him anything?" He jabbed his head toward the study and Myles.
"To help your case." She kept her voice low and even. "Hurting or killing me gets you in enough trouble. But he's a Federal officer. That's a serious thing— even assaulting a Federal officer gets you instant jail time. Killing one would have you in the electric chair."
He thought about it; that alone told Elizabeth that he wasn't quite ready to make it a suicide mission. After a moment, he looked at her again. "All right. But no funny business, or I'll drop you instantly and move on to the rest of the clan."
It took all her control not to react to the offhand comment. But her mind was racing. "Rest of the clan"? What's he mean? Is he already planning to hurt Sam? Tara? The girls?
Kyle moved into the study. "All right, Agent Leland," she heard him say, "your pretty little missus there just managed to negotiate a pit stop for the two of you." He moved to loosen one of the restraints on Myles' arm, then stepped back out into the kitchen, the gun trained on Elizabeth again. "You can get yourself out of the rest. And no sudden moves, or this little party ends right here, right now. In fact, I want to see your hands clasped behind your head, just like when you take someone down. You see how it feels."
Myles freed himself from the rest of the restraints and eased past Kyle toward the downstairs hall, his hands raised as the thief demanded. At no point, however, did he turn his back on the man. "You know, Kyle. You're not as bad as I thought. Nazi captors wouldn't even let their prisoners do something as civil and decent as this."
"Save it," Kyle shot back. "You got two minutes, starting now, or you come back out to your pretty lady here splattered all over your cherry cabinetry."
As Myles stepped into the downstairs restroom, Kyle pulled out his cell phone and hit a speed dial. "Cory? It's me. You got 'em in your sights? Sweet deal. What about the rest of them? Good. Buzz 'em and tell 'em to sit tight. This ain't gonna take much longer. I just want the moment to be perfect." He hung up and grinned as Elizabeth stared at him, a worried expression on her face. "Tell me, doc: do you all have one of those fancy conference-call setups?"
She nodded, her heart pounding in a sudden dread.
"Good." The man was practically purring now. "When we've covered all the necessities, I'm gonna give 'Super Agent' the reunion of a lifetime."
What is he planning? Oh, Sam, I wish you could hear me right now. I think Kyle has something far worse in mind than just shooting me. She couldn't even warn Myles. Brian, when I said 'sooner would be better'… now would be the best…
:
9:45 am
By the time they regrouped outside the cul-de-sac, ten of the thirty minutes had expired; SWAT had arrived and was ready to go. Brian had filled Jack in on his conversation with Elizabeth, and the tape Kendra brought back confirmed that Kyle, as Jack had suspected, had been hiding behind the tall shrub next to the garage door and slipped in while the psychologist was getting the paper. No doubt he had accosted her there and forced her to reset the alarm before going back into the house.
"All right," the unit leader was saying as they crowded around the van where Earl had taped a large drawing of the Lelands' house and the surrounding neighbors. "Team 1 and 2, very quietly evacuate the houses on either side of the target. Hopefully we won't mess up anyone's schedule for too long. Brian, I want you and Earl going in with Team 3. Use the gas if you have to, but try to locate them, an actual visual, before you do anything. I'd rather sneak up informed than bust in blind."
"Jack." Brian leaned over to speak quietly. "We have the alarm code; Liz gave it to me. We can really sneak in, through both the living room and the garage side door. Be a minimum of damage, and probably safer for Myles and Liz."
"Hmm." Jack considered the layout of the house carefully. "All right. But make sure you position teams ready to go in hot if something goes wrong."
"Roger that." The younger agent pulled Earl and the rest of their team aside to plot strategy.
"Kendra." Jack turned to the redhead. "I need you coordinating in the command center."
Her mouth dropped open in outrage. "I'm not staying behind!"
"Yes, you are," he shot back. "I need you here."
"You're just doing this because of my fight with Myles yesterday." She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "Where are you going to be?"
His eyes narrowed as he backed her up against the van. "I am going to be here running this little maneuver, Agent Phillips, and I am telling you to get in that van right now and get on radio before I ship you back to Quantico for a refresher course on the chain of command. Do you read me?"
"Yessir." She didn't quite manage the subordinate tone of voice, but she knew when she wasn't going to win an argument. She climbed into the van without another word.
Finally, Jack sighed. He was going to have a long talk with D about Kendra's future with the unit before he hung up his "whistle." Brian was slated to step in as unit leader, and Jack knew sparks were ready to fly. He wanted the transition to go as smoothly as possible. For right now, though, his mind was focused on the present. Hang in there, Myles. We're on the doorstep.
:
9:45 am
After he'd given them both the opportunity to use the restroom, Kyle forced them back onto the couch in the study. This time, however, he remained standing, his demeanor much colder than before. Myles realized that whatever the man had planned, it was about to be revealed.
He shifted, ever so subtly, ready to either push his wife out of the fire-line, or make himself a shield for her. Come on, guys, he thought toward the team. Quit waiting for the perfect entrance…
"Now then," Kyle interrupted his thoughts, "you get yourself over here, Doc, and dial up your hubby's brothers in Cambridge and the niece at Princeton. Let's have a nice little family reunion." Elizabeth stared at him, stunned, for a moment, and he grabbed her arm and shoved her into the desk chair. "Now, damn it!"
Her fingers were trembling as she began to set up the conference. Meanwhile, Kyle had his cell phone out again and was talking to someone. "Wait for my signal," he was saying.
Myles felt his heart jolt. Brad… James… Molly… good heavens, he knows about them all…and he has people there… But with Kyle aiming the gun directly at his wife's head, he didn't dare make a move. Instead, he concentrated as hard as he could, focusing through many years of comfortable proximity to the core of his twin's soul. Then he proceeded to "shake the tree," his silent scream echoing through his own mind as well.
SAAAAAM!
:
Jack was about to climb into the van when he heard a dull thud from nearby. He glanced toward the sound and saw Sam Leland plastered against the driver's window of his Jeep, his hands bracing against the steering wheel and the passenger seat. The man's head was shaking wildly, as though he were trying to escape something slapping him in the face. Jack rushed over and pulled open the passenger door. "Sam, are you ok?" he asked.
Sam's face was bone-white, and he was still shaking visibly. "Myles—" he managed to gasp. He clapped his hands over his ears as if against a painfully loud sound.
Jack shoved the briefcase on the passenger seat to the floor, climbed in and took Sam by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Sam!" he shouted, trying to break through whatever was going on.
Sam heard none of it; all he heard was the deafening roar of his twin's mind along with a siren screaming. Then, his mind's eye opened and the noise stopped, though he still was unaware of anything going on around him. Bright images flashed by rapidly; they were rusty on the actual twin-speak conversation, but Sam could feel the old bond strengthening again. He saw Molly, grinning in her Princeton sweatshirt; then Brad and Jamie and their families. Overlaid on each image was another— the old movie image of a robot racing through a corridor yelling "Danger, Will Robinson!"
Finally, his twin's voice reached him through all the layers: Brad… Jamie… Molly… danger… Kyle… people watching… get Jack HURRY!
"Sam!" Jack was shaking him again, harder.
This time Sam heard him, flashed a quick OK at his twin and surfaced, his mind gasping nearly as fiercely as his lungs. "Jack— Kyle— he's got people— watching my brothers— Molly— danger now— you've got to—"
The cell phone all but leaped into the agent's hand. "Trish!" he shouted before she even finished saying hello, "Get on the phone to the Princeton and Boston offices right now! Conference call them if you have to. Get someone out to the Leland houses, and over to the Princeton campus for their niece." He grabbed Sam's planner and flipped to the addresses, giving them to the rotor as fast as he could. "Tell them it's urgent. Could be snipers or who knows. Just move!"
"I need to get the girls." Sam's voice was hoarse. "I need to be able to tell Myles at least they're safe."
"Sam, the girls are inside their schools and the administrations have been notified." Jack shook the other man's shoulder, trying to pull him completely back from whatever he'd been lost in. "If Kyle has someone waiting outside the schools, you could be making yourself a target, too."
"I have to," Sam repeated. "I need to be able to tell him that much." His blue eyes focused finally and he looked at Jack, who nodded reluctantly in understanding. "You get this maniac," he entreated fiercely as he started the Jeep. "You get him before he destroys our family."
"Will you hurry up!" he hissed. The gun was shaking a little. Kyle was clearly losing whatever stability he'd had.
"Hang on Molly." Elizabeth's fingers were trembling as well as she pressed the "hold" button on the desk phone. "Kyle," she said as evenly as she could. "I'm going as fast as I can. I'm not good at this anyway, and it doesn't help with that pistol in my face."
"Fine," he spat, turning to aim the gun at Myles instead. "Get your ass over here, Leland, before I lose my temper and just blow you away for the hell of it."
If he hadn't just gotten a shaky confirmation from Sam, Myles would have been tempted to take matters into his own hands and make a move. But the team was close, the message had been sent, and there was no real sense in taking the risk, except for the personal satisfaction. Not a risk he was willing to take with his wife nearby.
"All right, Kyle," he said calmly.
"Sit down. Right there." Kyle indicated the floor by the desk. Myles did as he asked, making the younger man smile smugly. "Now, I'm gonna assume that you're as picky about the quality of your desk security as you are about your house. Where's the key to that file drawer?"
"Hidden safely on the other side of the room." Myles rather hoped that Kyle wasn't looking for more information than that; some of his files were sensitive, though not enough to require they stay at the Bureau.
"Good." Kyle pulled out the handcuffs he'd used on Elizabeth earlier and slipped them through the handle of the file drawer. "Hands, please." He snorted as the agent simply held out his hands. "You're getting awfully tame in your old age," he snickered. "Day was you'd have had some smart-ass quip for me. Ain't getting' old just a bitch?"
You keep right on talking, smart guy, Myles thought as the cuffs closed rather painfully over his wrists. The more you're gloating, the less likely you're able to hear them sneaking up on you. You've learned nothing in twelve years about letting pride get ahead of you, and that's where we differ.
Elizabeth was finishing up the conference call set-up; she tucked the phone cradle onto her shoulder. "If you're through talking, Kyle, I'm ready. I doubt you want them all to know what's going on?"
"Nope." He stepped back, the gun still trained on them. "You all have yourselves a nice little chat here. I think you already know what not to say. I'll just witness all the love." A sneer curled his lip.
10:00 am
Brian and Earl flanked the side door to the garage; Brian quickly picked the lock, turned the handle, then pushed the door open and entered the alarm code. "One down," he breathed.
"Yeah," Earl grunted. "The easiest one."
They had people in place at every entrance to the house, just in case they had to go in hot. But the two agents had decided that a single entry point, through the garage, was the best place for the use of the code. Though they'd have to go through two doors, the one from the yard and the one into the house itself, the route offered them the best angle of attack.
"At least this one won't be locked," Brian whispered as they approached the interior door.
"You hope." Earl flattened himself against the wall beside the door.
"Wait," Brian said suddenly. "I just remembered. The floors are hardwood. He'll hear us coming a mile away."
"You want to stage a raid in your stocking feet?" The computer tech grinned. "Bambino, there are days I wonder about you."
"So what's the big powwow all about?" Brad's voice came over the speakerphone.
Elizabeth had moved to perch on the desk; she exchanged a long glance with her husband before answering. "Just wanted to make sure everyone was still coming tomorrow night," she said brightly. "Figured it was as easy to call you all at once before I head for work."
She flicked a glance at Kyle, but he didn't seem to have a problem so far. She just wished he'd put the pistol down.
"Of course we're still coming," James boomed. "Little brother needs a good roasting before he joins the ranks of the academia. You sure you want a houseful, though? We can stay at a hotel just as easy."
"Is Uncle Myles at work already?" Molly asked.
Kyle nodded very distinctly, a warning in his eyes; he obviously wasn't going to give Myles a chance to speak to his family before doing whatever he was going to do.
"I'm afraid so," Elizabeth replied. "I think he wants to wring every last moment of field time he's got left."
"Figures," Brad laughed. "He's going to need your shrink skills for awhile, Liz. That's got to be a big adjustment."
"Oh, I think he'll be all right. Connie and her husband are coming in tonight, too. And don't you dare think of a hotel, Jamie. Between our house and Sam's, there's plenty of room." Elizabeth suddenly caught a movement in the corner of her eye. She forced herself to move only her eyes, and saw someone at the study door.
Kyle had just closed his cell phone, and was bracing his pistol as it aimed directly at her head. She could hear Myles, his breath tense. She slowly formed and I-LOVE-YOU sign against her thigh, and deliberately turned to face him instead of Kyle. Eyes locked, they waited for it...
BANG!
Brian wrapped his arms around Kyle and took him down just as the gun went off. The shot went wide, but not far enough. Elizabeth cried out and slid off the desk.
"Beth! No!" Myles pulled at the cuffs just as Earl reached him. "Get me out of these things!"
"Easy, there, nonno." The computer tech quickly fished the keys out of Myles' breast pocket and undid the cuffs.
Myles immediately knelt at his wife's side. "Beth, sweetheart… no…" He saw blood staining the carpet and gently turned her over onto her back. "Where…?"
Her green eyes were clouded with pain. "My leg, I think."
"Liz?" Brad's panicked voice came over the speakerphone. "Myles? What's going on over there?"
Myles grabbed the phone. "Brad! Are you guys ok?"
Earl was at her other side. "It's just a graze, Liz. Go ahead, Myles, make sure they're ok. I'll take care of her."
Myles nodded and turned back to the conversation. "Brad, Jamie, listen; don't make a move yet, but be ready to get out of there in a hurry. Molly, honey, you too. There are people watching you. Agents are on the way. Just get away from the windows. I'll explain in a few minutes."
Brian looked up from cuffing Kyle none-too-gently, his knee sunk deep into the man's back. "Jack just radioed, Myles. They got the guys. Your sibs can relax. It's clear." He leaned down to hiss in Kyle's ear. "No luck today, you onerous little twit."
Earl had to laugh. "'Onerous twit'? Man, you been hanging out with nonno here for way too long."
James' voice sounded in Myles' ear. "What is going on? Was that a gunshot I heard before all the yelling?"
"It's ok, guys. You're ok. They got them." The blond agent tried to steady his shaking hands. "I have to go; Elizabeth's been shot. I'll call you later and explain everything. She's ok, it was just a graze. Please, I have to go."
"You just relax, little brother," Brad said. "We're all going to load up right now and commandeer the company jet. We'll pick up Molly and be there tonight. Where are the girls?"
"At school," Myles sighed gratefully. "Sam and Tara had them last night. They don't know anything about this."
"Jack said Sam went to get them right after you—" Brian paused, looking a little confused. "Um, 'blasted him against the car window'?"
"Never mind," Myles managed a weak smile. "Inside joke. Brad, Sam's gone to get the girls now."
"All right." His older brother's voice was calm. "You just take care of Liz, and we'll be there as soon as we can to help out."
"Thank you." He hung up with a sigh and turned. Brian had already taken Kyle out and turned him over to Jack, and Earl was pressing a dishtowel against Elizabeth's left thigh.
"Ambulance is on its way," the computer tech said as Myles knelt by them again. "Sorry we're late."
"Just so you're here," the blond agent breathed. He stroked his wife's hair back from her face. "Beth, love…"
She smiled up at him, even though her face was pale. "You couldn't just switch jobs quietly, could you?"