The teams converged on the grand staircase and spread out through the hallways upstairs. Ko and Dee remained on the main level, rifles up and standing watch. The squad leaders transmitted.

  "No joy. Nobody's here."

  "No signs of anyone."

  "We've got something, daughter hiding in the closet," the leader of the red team informed them.

  Dee and Ko shared a quick glance before heading upstairs to Penny's bedroom. They entered to see two of their team members holding Penny's arms. Already handcuffed, she still wore pajamas as she cried.

  "Take them off," Dee said.

  "But she was..."

  "Who hired you? Take them off, now!"

  He gritted his teeth as he removed the cuffs.

  "Find some proper targets. Sweep the grounds. Go!"

  The red team leader signaled to move out. The door closed behind them, leaving Dee, Ko, and Penny. Penny rushed over to Dee and hugged her, mascara already streaked with tears. Dee rolled her eyes at the distraction from her mission.

  "You're alright Penny, sit down, I need your help."

  Penny ignored her, squeezing her harder.

  Dee raised her voice.

  "We don't have time for this. Sit down!"

  Penny released her, pouting as she sat on the bed with knees to chest. She grabbed a stuffed animal off the nightstand, embracing it as she spoke through sniffles.

  "I didn't know it was you. I thought they were coming to take me... to the place."

  "Who? What place?" Dee asked.

  Penny shook her head, left and right.

  "What do you know, Penny? We can help," Ko said.

  Penny looked at Ko, brow furrowed, then to Dee. She stood, creeping toward the window before pointing outside with a shaky finger.

  "The bad place, where the noises are," Penny said.

  Dee joined her at the window to see the antique box truck parked by a rickety building, not much larger than a shed.

  "Why, what happens there?" Dee asked.

  "I don't ask. I can't know, I don't want to... some people go, some are taken," Penny said, breaking into tears.

  Dee put her hand on Penny's shoulder.

  "Ko and I need to check, okay? You stay here. Highly trained guards are outside your door and on the grounds. You'll be safe."

  As they exited the room, Dee overheard Penny speaking to her stuffed animal.

  "You hear that? They think we're safe. What do you think?" She moved the head of the furry left and right as she imitated it. Dee closed the door.

  "Watch the room," Dee said to the guard outside before exiting the mansion.

  ***

  Weapons in hand, Dee and Ko jogged toward the shed Penny mentioned. The recently manicured grass of the estate freshened the air. Trees and flowers swayed slightly in the breeze, welcoming only them and a pair of birds eating seasonal berries.

  "Where is everybody?" Ko said.

  "It's like they knew we were coming."

  She grabbed his shoulder. They both stopped as she put a finger to her mouth. Eyes wide, she pulled out the red clamshell device and pointed to it. Ko nodded. She placed it back in her pocket as they proceeded to the shed.

  They entered with weapons drawn and tactical lights blazing. A smallish space greeted them with a sisal rug and a table occupying the center. The floor creaked as they walked around it. Chains hung from the ceiling, holding a heavy winch over the prep area. Knives, machetes, traps, and spikes filled the wall.

  "What smells?" Ko said.

  As they circled the room, Dee stepped on something squishy. She pointed her light toward it and curled her nose.

  "That's what smells," she said, lowering her weapon as she rubbed her soiled shoe over a floor mounted boot brush. "Dad had a shed like this. He prepped meat and hides from our hunts."

  "So, it's a bust? A long jog for nothing," Ko said.

  "We can get back to Penny before…" Dee grimaced as a sharp pain hit her. She grabbed her forehead and screamed, gritting her teeth and staring at the rug as she panted. Gloom covered her mind as fear and pain consumed her, pushing out all thoughts of the mission. She instinctively reached for the medi-lot as she went to one knee.

  Ko grabbed her arm before she could dose.

  "Dee. What is it?"

  Her face contorted. Mouth open but silent as tones like ultrasonic bursts assailed her ears. Something called out through its own pain. It needed her. The tense silence broke as gunfire peppered the distance.

  "We need to go," Ko said, leading her out of the shed. As she limped away, her strength returned. She stood on her own.

  "Better?" Ko said.

  "Don't worry about me, the gunshots."

  They hid behind a row of scrub bushes. Ko looked through his rifle scope as his partner recovered.

  "Sheriff Buddy Perry. SWAT van. Virginia BCI."

  "The state bureau?" Dee said.

  "Yes, full gear tactical teams. Thirty something vehicles spread out across the property."

  Dee blinked, raising her rifle. Teams of armed personnel swarmed like angry horseflies. State and local patches and badges clearly visible, the fresh groups escorted their three paramilitary teams into the waiting vans.

  "Our teams are burned. They won't resist law enforcement. We need to go."

  Chapter 24

  S

  heriff Buddy Perry stood on the Mercer Mansion grounds. Militarized police units from the state bureau and local SWAT combed the area for the remaining intruders. A starling flock flew overhead, piercing the breeze with graceful patterns in the sky. The state commander approached and waved to Buddy. All neck and biceps, clothes in tactical black and matching boots wrapped his bulging gym body.

  "Hey, Knox is okay then?"

  "Yeah, he called," Buddy said, shaking his hand. "He was tracking them and when he saw they were on the way, he said to get everyone up. Then he got moving and activated the K-9 team for protection."

  "Maybe Mercer Industries will share that tracking tech with the rest of the family someday?"

  "Hell, you ain't special, he won't even share it with us."

  The commander scoffed.

  "Skeptical old bastard."

  Buddy spit on the ground.

  "Yep. Guessing our friend, the Lieutenant Governor, knows what happened by now?"

  "Murray Whitlaw doesn't live under a rock. Knox is a big contributor, and this mess could blow back on his senate run. As far as the news knows we're responding to an active shooter scenario. You need to take out these rogue elements as quietly as possible. He needs plausible deniability."

  "Someone is gunning for him and it isn't the FBI. Tell the man my team will get 'em. You just clear out those paramilitaries and put them in a hole somewhere until this blows over."

  "Good man," the commander said, slapping Buddy's shoulder too hard. "Remember, BBQ and beers this weekend for the game. Round up Denny and Jimmy, too."

  "Maybe we'll keep Jimmy out of the beers."

  The commander laughed, pointing in agreement as he marched away.

  A broadcast from a deputy caught Buddy's attention.

  "Building's clear. No sign of targets. One family member on site."

  Buddy spat on the ground before radioing back, "I'll take care of her."

  As he walked toward the mansion, he pointed to two deputies.

  "You two with me. Stay alert."

  Following Buddy into the residence, they all took the stairs to the bedroom. As they entered her room, Penny shivered and cried on her bed.

  "You okay, Miss Penny?"

  She ignored him.

  "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

  She looked at him, her red face contorted and streaked with makeup.

  "You care about my feelings now, Buddy?" She giggled sarcastically. "That's a hoot."

  "What'd you tell 'em?"

  "I didn't tell 'em nothing, 'cause I don't know nothing, and I don't ask nothing."

  Buddy turned to his deputies, standing close and half-whispering.

  "Search the grounds. Get the helo. Call our friend. You hunt those phonies like rabid dogs and put 'em down the same."

  They nodded and exited the room.

  Buddy locked the door behind them before turning back to Penny. He adjusted his trousers and crossed his arms.

  "You know how I feel about lying little girls."

  Penny hugged herself as her sniveling subsided. Her attitude shifted as defiance vanished and compliance filled the void. She slinked off the bed onto the hardwood floor, crawling on all fours, inching toward him.

  "I know you're lying to me." Buddy said. "Your daddy raised you better than to tell stories to your business associates. We save that for our enemies."

  As she reached his feet, Buddy put his hand on his weapon.

  She pouted from the floor, sliding her hands to his belt buckle. She pawed at it as her voice took on a more southern accent.

  "I swear, I... I only mentioned the shed."

  She cocked her head and forced a smile.

  "Just the shed, huh? Nothing 'bout the creature?"

  "Just the shed. I promise. I'll make it right, sheriff. Let me make it up to you," she said, unbuckling his belt as she rubbed her hand on the front of his pants.

  "Just the shed!" Buddy yelled as he unholstered the pistol and slapped her with it.

  Penny recoiled, landing on the hardwood. She laid in the fetal position, holding the side of her head as she moaned. He grabbed the bridge of his nose and clenched his teeth.

  "Perverted little whore!" He screamed as his face turned red before holstering the gun. "Both God and I know what you did. And not just the lying."

  Her body convulsed as blood trickled down her face from a cut scalp under her hair. Her fingers masked her sobs as he continued.

  "Little girls who lie get punished!"

  From the cold, rough floor, Penny peered at him sideways, offering a distant look as if she attempted to forget her future along with the past. She had been here before.

  Buddy removed the belt she had unbuckled, doubling it over. He held it tight, tapping the loop in his other hand.

  "Your daddy trained you well. He may have plans for you, but I get another crack at teaching you what he couldn't," he said, spitting into the corner.

  "No, please, no," she begged, wailing through tears as she trembled.

  "You will tell me the truth," Buddy said, raising his belt. "Then you'll go to the place where the noises are."

  Chapter 25

  D

  ee hid in the hedges near the mansion, tapping her rifle nervously. As the wind dried the sweat from her brow, the red clamshell devices they carried started weighing on her thoughts. They might be more than hardened video and communications devices. The girl outside the Ortiz house promised help, but uncertainty rose within Dee. They had taken the supposed NSA devices without question because of the clue it offered. That may have been a mistake.

  Kneeling nearby, Ko peered through his rifle scope, surveying the grounds.

  "What do you see?" Dee said.

  "State forces took our teams and left. The sheriff and his people remain."

  "Wonder why?"

  "Maybe they seek someone else," he said, offering a knowing wink.

  Dee pulled out her other phone and typed a message. She showed it to Ko.

  Someone is tracking us. Red clamshells? Listening in?

  He snatched her phone and typed.

  Not the sheriff. He would have found us by now.

  The realization hit her that there might be other parties watching and listening. She shivered a bit, recalling the events of the last few days. Some more intimate than others.

  "Can we make it to one of the SUVs?"

  Ko put an eye to rifle scope again.

  "No way. Too many still."

  Dee typed again.

  The listener still needs us. Lure them? Take down if needed?

  Ko grabbed her phone again and typed.

  Kintaro lives.

  Dee cleared her throat, guiding the one monitoring them.

  "That old blue pickup by the shed. I can get it started. We'll head away through the field onto the back road and back to DC."

  ***

  With Ko in the passenger seat, Dee drove the busted truck further from the mansion, eventually cresting a small hill that joined with the gravel road. Between them, two tactical rifles, their phones and the red clamshell mobile devices provided by the NSA.

  Ko typed something on his phone and showed Dee.

  Ready?

  "So, Dee… do we call the man?"

  "Do we have a choice?"

  "He should call us."

  "But he hasn't. With Ortiz dead, we need to know if he is still with us."

  Ko dialed the number on the red clamshell. He put it on speakerphone as the phone rang. Someone picked up, but they were silent.

  "Mr. President?" Dee asked.

  "So, you got me." President Freeman said, pausing briefly. "Using a phone protected from Stingray so it can't be monitored? I don't hear the typical overtones. Found a new friend, have we?"

  "No, sir, but we found the demon. It's real."

  "I told you Candidate Ortiz was the mission."

  "The beast killed her, and we know who is responsible," Dee said, lying for the benefit of whoever might be listening. "We need to get back on track. We need backup."

  Another pause on the line.

  "You both failed. Again. It's all gone sideways."

  Dee winked at Ko.

  "I have a lot on my plate, new house, school for the kids... you know how it is when you change jobs. We won't speak again, ex-agent Johnson... but we will always have Tokyo."

  President Freeman disconnected.

  Ko typed again.

  Good. Keep it up.

  "We're blind. We're blind and burned and everyone wants us cuffed or dead. Time to disappear," Dee said.

  "So, what... now Kintaro runs?"

  "Run or die. Let's live to hunt another day."

  Ko nodded.

  A black helicopter roared overhead. Dee looked up through the windshield.

  "We're not alone. Hold on!"

  Dee gunned the old pickup and charged down the narrow gravel road. She looked in the rearview mirror—multiple SUVs closed in fast. Partially obscured by the trailing dust, blue lights flashed. Ko glanced at them in the side-view mirror. In one rapid motion he grabbed a rifle, destroying the rear window with the buttstock. He took aim as Dee grabbed his arm.

  "Ko, no! We're outgunned."

  She leaned her head to the blockade ahead.

  His eyes bulged as he turned toward her.

  "Better together, remember?" Dee said.

  Ko clenched her hand.

  "Better together," he agreed, clicking his seatbelt and bracing.

  Her gaze grew firmer.

  "Get down!"

  The speedometer moved from eighty to one hundred miles per hour as Dee pressed the gas.

  "Brace!" Dee screamed, jerking her hands from the steering wheel as she covered her head. Ko mimicked her. The stolen truck slammed into the SUVs. Front ends sheared off as the damaged vehicle bounced down the road with them tossing around like rag dolls.

  The trailing SUVs cleared the blockade, gaining on the stuttering pickup.

  Dee once again grabbed the steering wheel, now sluggish and resistant to movement as the truck slowed.

  An interceptor pulled behind them, deploying an arrest net system. The netted rope entangled the rear wheels of the vehicle and the pursuit ground to a halt. Other unmarked cars surrounded them as multiple squads with balaclavas over their faces exited. Dogs barked. Men screamed.

  "Hands up!"

  "Get out of the vehicle!"

  "Get on the ground!"

  The helicopter hovered overhead. They looked up. Sniper rifles greeted their gaze. Red laser dots adorned the pickup hood as the agents exited as instructed.

  Dee wondered how the sheriff had mustered this overwhelming response as the Taser hit her. She dropped back, convulsing violently against the gravel. As her head turned, she saw Ko under the vehicle. He went to his knees, grunting as they then knocked him face down into the dirt. Nameless hands flipped her before multiple jackbooted assailants kneed her neck, back, and legs. Her muscular body writhed as handcuffs held her wrists. Another knee landed on the side of her head, grinding it into the gravelly side road. She grimaced as a gloved hand sprayed something in her face. Her vision went blurry as the will to struggle departed. Calm acceptance flooded her as a black bag shrouded her head.

  Chapter 26

  D

  ee awakened, startling against long chain handcuffs connected to a bar affixed to a polished metal table. Her frigid silver chair matched the utilitarian room, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. She wondered which of the sheriff's minions had captured them. Ko sat to her side, slumped over the table, and restrained like her. His clean, scratched face mirrored her own throbbing scrapes.

  "Ko, wake up."

  He roused as spotlights beamed onto them. Dee squinted against the pain as a silhouetted figure entered the room.

  The shadow sat, dropping a translucent digital tablet on the table. The intense lights darkened, fading from view before a table lamp clicked on. As her eyes adjusted, they narrowed with suspicion.

  "Still making messes, I see," Director Butler said, leaning forward.

  "Making a mess, that's our thing," Ko said.

  "You're certainly good at it, especially you, Johnson. Fortunately, those red clamshells are like your mom, they know everything."

  Dee considered the words of her old boss, Sean Butler. He must have been tracking them, but his allegiances remained cryptic. Ignoring their past for the moment, she focused on the issue at hand and dug deeper.

  "The CIA is not authorized for domestic surveillance."

  "That's not where I am, but let's keep that to ourselves, okay. And surveillance? It seems too simple a word. StareFace is much more."

  "The failing program they assigned you to after Tokyo?" Dee said.

  "It was never failing. Just needed the proper leadership and fitting targets to prove its value."

 

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