Chapter 11
Maddie was settled into the spare bedroom in the penthouse suite and Sam crawled back into bed. He tried to be as stealthy as possible and not wake Elsa, but she was on a hair trigger waiting for him to come home. He drew the covers over himself, Elsa slid across the space between them, and her arm slithered over his chest.
"Sorry, baby. I was trying to be quiet." He whispered in the darkness.
"Why are you whispering? Madeline is on the other side of the suite. She won't hear us talking," Elsa spoke with a soft voice.
Sam worked an arm around Elsa and pulled her close as he let out a deep breath. "It's been one hell of a night, Elsa. Someone broke into Maddie's." He told her everything, including the chip in a roundabout way. He hesitated. "I want you to come with us tomorrow, sweetheart. You've already had one guy hanging out in your lobby spying on you. This event just goes to show that they're escalating and they're not certain that Mike has what they want. I want you out of Miami until this blows over."
She snorted in protest against his chest where she rested the side of her face. "You worry too much. That's why I have top-notch security, right?"
There was no reasoning with her sometimes, and it was one of the few things about Elsa that irritated Sam. "You're too stubborn for your own good, Elsa. That can be a liability sometimes."
"I can't just leave my business..."
He interrupted her. "Why not? You go on trips all the time and you're gone for a few days or a week sometimes. Things run just fine without you. If something happened to you..." Emotion stuck in his throat as he thought about the ramifications of life without Elsa. She was different from all the other women he knew. If he lost her, he would be devastated, and not because he would miss the wealth and perks. "Please, just do this for me, will you?"
"Is it just for the day," Elsa asked, looking up at his face in the first light of dawn breaking rising over the horizon.
"We should stay overnight," he answered, his eyes locking with hers.
The corner of her mouth tipped up. "I suppose I could consider it... research." Her smile grew at the sight of his delight. She turned her head and stared at the sheer curtains that let in the light, and she sighed. "Well, I guess we're not getting any more sleep tonight. Might as well get up and pack."
"Oh, do you think I'm really going to waste this golden opportunity on packing," Sam asked in a gruff voice before he kissed her.
She responded by deepening the kiss and pressing herself into him. And so began what Sam hoped would be an uneventful day as far as bad guys were concerned.
Elsa was full of surprises. When she'd resigned herself to taking a mini-vacation, she knew how to take a vacation. She packed a large bag and a suit bag for an overnight trip. She came down after Sam and Maddie were waiting at the car, Maddie in the back seat and Sam standing near the trunk waiting for her. Elsa tapped down the steps in comfortable, glaring white walking shoes made of canvas, khaki shorts, and a pink and white Hawaiian print camp shirt. Unlike Sam, she tucked in the tails. As she slipped the tortoise framed sunglasses over her eyes, she smiled at him. Despite all the casual wear, she still wore makeup as if she were going to the office.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sammy, Madeline. I had one more thing to take care of before I left." She tossed her head and her locks flipped over her shoulder.
The bellboy brought her things to the trunk, and Sam gave them a good once-over before staring at her. "We're only going to be gone a short time, honey."
"I know. A girl likes to be prepared for anything," she replied, a toothy, saucy smile on her face. She kissed his cheek in a playful manner and said, "Are you driving, or should I? You look a little tired."
"I'm fine." Sam shook his head, not sure what to make of her. After all this time, she could still throw him off kilter. He thought about earlier that morning, bringing a knavish smile to his face. He could easily go for more of that later. Right now, they needed to get out of Miami.
Sam was worried, not only for the three of them, but for Mike and Fi. He hadn't heard from Mike and he'd left two more messages. He even called the Agency and left one for Raines to call him back. Whatever was going down was either tragic or intense and they didn't want him involved. Well, it was too late for that. He was involved and he always would be as long as Michael Westen was breathing.
Sam dropped Elsa and Maddie off at the Grand Floridian with orders to stay in the room and settle in while he took care of the main reason he came to Orlando. With Russ's address in hand, he navigated his way through the suburbs and found the agent's modest home on a tree lined street. The sunlight filtered through the leaves and the wind caused them to sing, sounding like rushing water that drowned out all other sounds in the neighborhood. A couple kids played in the back yard on a swing set. Confused, Sam stood in the drive and watched them for a few moments, pushing back the rising grief and pity he felt.
"Can I help you?"
Sam turned to find a petite woman with dark hair and light blue eyes standing a few feet away. She held a gardening trowel like it was a weapon. Most people wouldn't recognize her stance that way, but Sam noted that Russ trained her well. When you see some strange man standing in your driveway eyeing your kids, you come prepared.
He threw her one of his patent disarming smiles and said, "Hi, I'm Sam Axe. I was working with your husband Russ on a case, and..."
Her expression went from defensive to dread in two seconds flat. "What happened to Russ?" He didn't answer fast enough, and she asked again with a firmer tone and closed the distance between them, her voice trembling. "Where's my husband?"
"Mrs. Belliveau..." Sam closed his eyes a moment. This was the part that he hated the most, coming right out and saying it. It was hard on him, but the aftereffects were always disastrous on the victims' families. "Ma'am, he's dead. He was poisoned by someone during our investigation on a case."
"You... you're from the Agency?" She glanced at him from head to toe, disbelief in her eyes. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
"I'm sorry, it's not. And I wish I could tell you how it happened, but that's all classified." Sam looked down at her. She'd thrown the trowel on the grass and buried her hands in her dirt encrusted work gloves. He never knew what to do at this point, because his instincts always told him to hold them, but he was a stranger to her. Considering how a few minutes earlier she was prepared to take him out with a gardening tool, he wasn't sure she would be agreeable to his offer of comfort.
"This can't be happening," she cried. "Russ was just here a few days ago, and he said things were going well."
"How long has Russ been doing this, ma'am?"
"Too long, apparently. He really thought this was going to be resolved soon." She looked up and locked eyes with Sam. "It isn't, is it?"
"I don't know. We're all working on trying to get who planted the trap that caught Russ, and get back something really important." He let out a heavy sigh. "We'll do our best to make sure that Russ didn't die for nothing."
"It doesn't bring him back."
He shook his head. "No, but at least you'll know that something good came of it."
"Thank you, Mr. Axe." She sniffled and swiped at her face with the back of her gloved hands, smearing dirt on her cheeks. "I, uh, guess I better go tell my kids." She started for the front door.
"I thought Russ said your kids were grown up." He tilted his head toward the back yard.
Russ's wife smiled. "Those are the neighbor's kids. I watch them when she's at work and they're out of school. Thank you for coming by, Mr. Axe."
"If there's anything you need, give me a call, okay?" He handed her one of his cards.
She glanced at the front before tucking it into her back pocket. "Thanks, but I'll be okay."
"The Agency will help you with... arrangements."
She nodded and tripped up the porch steps to hurry inside. Sam stood on the lawn with his hands stuffed into his pants pockets and a heaviness in his chest. She took it better than some guys' wives. All her married life she was probably waiting for a day like this, expecting it, but still never quite prepared. He let out a breath as he imagined what Elsa's reaction might be if something happened to him. She would probably act in a similar fashion, pretend to be all stoic on the outside and not let anyone see how broken up she was inside.
Bang! The explosion brought Sam's head up and he looked around as more sounds of gunfire erupted from the house. The kids screamed and ran around the side of the house. "Get out of here, now!" Sam yelled. "Go call for help!" Pulling his own weapon, he raced up the steps two at a time and pulled open the door in time to see two men standing near the back door. Mrs. Belliveau lay on the floor in a growing pool of blood. One of the men fired on him and Sam dove to the side to take cover behind an overstuffed chair. He fired at his attacker.
The other man pulled ceramic canisters off the counter top, sending them crashing to the floor. Sam took another shot at the man who dared to move into the dining room where Sam had a clean shot. His face registered pain and shock when Sam's bullet hit its mark. One of the man's shots went wild, and another as one more from Sam's gun took him down.
"Sean!" The second man appeared in the doorway, saw his friend crumpled on the floor, and fired at Sam but he was too late. He dropped his gun as he slid down the wall grasping at his bleeding shoulder.
Sam got out from behind his shelter and swept the area for other intruders, but these two were the only ones. He approached Russ's wife, keeping his weapon trained on the man breathing fast and shallow, still propped against the wall. He placed two fingers at her neck and searched in vain for a pulse.
"You killed her," Sam growled. "Why'd you kill her? She was innocent in all this!"
"She knew about the chip," the man replied.
"She knew nothing," Sam barked a retort.
The man smirked. "My boss... he... he had a deal with her. She was supposed to turn over... the chip when her husband found it."
Gaping at him, Sam said, "He never found it. Not the real one, anyway."
The injured man let out a stream of expletives. "You better not be lyin' to me now."
"Why would I lie?" Sam paused, listening. "The cops are coming, hopefully with some medical help for you. So you've got a little time to think about this. How do you want this to go?"
The man spoke with a thick Irish accent, confirming that some of Fi's old compatriots, or enemies, were involved in this plot. "It doesn't matter. Whether you kill me or the cops take me in, I won't last the day. You know it. My boss'll find out we failed and my life is over."
Footsteps pounded up the steps and someone threw open the screen door. "Drop the gun! Drop it!"
Sam complied and laid his weapon at his feet before getting up in slow motion and placing his hands behind his head. He sighed, biding his time until he was away from the scene and could talk to the detective in charge. He explained as much as he could, and when he was able to show the woman the ID that showed he worked with the CIA, she had the cuffs removed. As he talked with her, Sam watched the coroner bring in a stretcher to remove the bodies.
"Detective," Sam began with a hesitant tone. "Will someone be contacting the Belliveau's kids?"
"Our department will take care of that. We'll have someone from the CIA along to inform them of their father's death. My condolences, Mr. Axe, regarding Mr. Belliveau."
"Thanks. I didn't get to know Russ all that well but he was a good guy." Sam shook his head. "I can't imagine how his kids are going to take this."
"I hope you and the Agency can find who was behind this. If there's anything the Orlando PD can do, let us know." She handed Sam his weapon and his ID.
"Thanks. I have to make a report now. I guess my day is shot now." He tucked everything away and with one more look toward the house he walked to his car and got in. He started it up, shored himself with a large breath, and drove back to the hotel where Elsa and Maddie waited.
On the way, he called the Agency. "Is there any way to get a hold of Michael Westen?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Axe, he's still out of the country."
"Yeah, but there's gotta be a way." His phone beeped. "Oh, gotta go. I'll call you back later." He hit the button to end the call and pick up the incoming one. "This is Sam Axe."
"Sam, it's me," Michael's voice came across the ocean loud and clear.
"Jeez, Mike, you have impeccable timing! Where are you?"
"Still in Eastern Europe," Michael answered. "Fi and I are waiting for our meet. Any progress back home?"
Sam gave him a quick rundown on the past couple hours' events. "I left a report with the Agency. Unfortunately, there isn't anything else I can do on this end. I won't even ask how things are going with you."
"It's hot, Sam. That's all I can say." There was a pause of a few seconds before Michael continued. "I have to go. Our ride is here. Be careful. There's more than one team playing this game."
"Will do. You do the same, Mikey." The connection ended and Sam finished his trip to the hotel in silence while he mulled over the code in Michael's speech. They found the seller of the chip and were following him or her to some kind of meet, hopefully with the buyer.
He'd been so focused on the clues that he neglected to watch his rearview mirror, so when the vehicle behind him suddenly ran into his bumper, Sam startled out of his reverie. He picked up his speed, mindful of the traffic on the road. He was on Disney property now, and with tourists driving all over the place, he had to be careful. He cut around a slow moving station wagon full to the roof with gear and bouncing, screeching kids, and his tail followed. The way was clear, so Sam put on the gas. A car came off a ramp and he swerved to avoid it. The driver behind him almost lost control they were moving so fast.
An exit was coming soon, so Sam made his way for it. The trailing car sped up and rammed his bumper again, and he evaded with a little more gas. The next impact came and shattered the left tail light, the attacker's bumper pushing with relentless pressure like a pit bull's jaws on a bone. The car started to go into a spin, and Sam did what he could to prevent it, but it was impossible to stop. The Cadillac skidded sideways off the road and rolled down a short bank, landing on its passenger side on the edge of some wetlands.
Fortunately, Sam was belted in and didn't appear to be injured. He unbuckled the seatbelt and climbed out the broken driver's side window. The pursuer's car sat parked on the shoulder along with another vehicle. The two men chasing him down raised their weapons at him and Sam ducked inside the car. He came up with his own gun firing in return. Out of the corner of his eye he spied a man and woman standing near their car in horror. Kids leaned out the windows with looks of excitement on their faces. To them, the theme park adventure was starting a little early.
"Get out of here," Sam barked at them and fired at the men who took refuge behind their car.
Sirens shrieked, and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Twice in one day the law was coming down to help him. After this, a few whirls on the teacups would be a piece of cake.