“Copy.” She tugged her comm from her ear and tucked the earbud with attached wire into the neckline of her shirt.
Problem was, the street was choked up with vehicle traffic and she was willing to bet the sidewalks were full of people rubbernecking to try to get a look at the accident. There was no way Decker had a clear line of sight to the entrance to the apartment building. If someone took shots at Weaver and Austin, they’d identified the mobile team as security. It was a distraction. And Decker, even if he wasn’t watching to see what happened to their police colleagues, wasn’t going to be able to visually clear every person on the street.
The situation was too unstable to remain where they were or follow standard procedure.
“Stay with me, be ready to get down,” she whispered over her shoulder without looking back at Kyle. She was busy making sure the stairwell remained clear.
There were a couple of possibilities. Their attackers might know exactly where Kyle was being hidden. So she was absolutely going to move him. Even if their mystery pursuers didn’t know Kyle’s specific location, they’d obviously made the mobile unit and, from their route, could identify which city block Weaver and Austin were circling. Smart assailants probably had a position high on top of one of the nearby buildings or in one of the apartments overlooking the street. Which meant they were far above the street and in good position to see Kyle if they managed to flush him out into the open.
She didn’t know if his attackers knew about her.
As she and Kyle reached the ground floor, she rummaged in her duffel bag. She came out with a wild red wig and handed it to him along with her baseball cap. He took it without arguing. She was going to have to gamble that they wouldn’t be able to visually identify Kyle if they caught sight of him.
Smart man.
As he pulled them on, she carefully looked out the window of the heavy fire door onto the street. It was only around the corner but it was on a different street from the main entrance. Up and down the street seemed clear and she couldn’t see any sign of a shooter in the windows of the apartments facing the street on this side. No telltale silhouettes or irregular lines along the tops of the buildings within view.
She took a deep breath, glanced at Kyle and bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. The man looked ridiculous. But unless someone looked closely at his face, he wasn’t easily recognizable with the shock of red coming out from under the baseball cap. “Slouch. Drag your feet when we walk. Stay on my left as much as you can.”
It was a gamble to step out on the street. But their chances were worse staying in the building. And her gut instinct was screaming at her about all the things that hadn’t gone right in the space of a few hours. Time to be less predictable.
“Here we go.”
Chapter Seven
“Here, go into the bathroom and take off the wig. Swap the cap for this one. Change your shirt too but keep the undershirt. Toss all of the discards into the backpack. We might use them in different combinations later.”
Despite the strain of walking, not running, the past several blocks, Kyle smiled as he accepted the offered trilby. Isabelle was being absolutely serious. Perhaps she didn’t realize how ridiculous her demand sounded out of context, but he had to admire her focus. And he’d be more than happy to hand over the impromptu wig.
To her credit, she’d gotten him out of the building and quietly murmured instructions as she directed him into the crowded chaos of Pike Place Market. He thought she’d wanted him dead when she’d insisted he walk. They’d become lost in the press of people and come out on the other end of the market. Without her, he’d have bolted most likely.
“Why didn’t we run?” He’d been wondering the entire nerve-racking journey. Hadn’t asked because they were out in the open and the look in her eyes had threatened dire consequences if he stopped to ask questions.
They’d just entered a coffee shop tucked just below street level on First Street and she’d herded him toward the restroom. It seemed to be a recurring theme today.
“Quickest way to draw attention on a crowded street is to move at speed in the opposite direction of everyone else.” Isabelle answered him in a matter-of-fact tone, pitched low for only his ears. “So we walked. We went with the flow for a half block before breaking away in our own direction. Now change before anyone checks you out long enough to remember you the way you look now.”
The café was only half-full. The other patrons were lingering unhurriedly over cups of coffee or espresso, reading or chatting quietly with a companion. No one was near enough to overhear them and none had given them a second glance.
Of course, Seattle was full of unusual personalities. He rather doubted anyone would find him interesting enough to remember. But she was the expert.