Noah was nodding his head. “Okay, good, we'll pick her up. Good job, Neil.”
“You guys just be careful, okay, Boss? Remember, I have absolutely no interest in working with any other team but Camelot. Don't you go getting yourself killed.”
Noah promised to try to obey, and ended the call. Less than a minute later, they spotted the Lexus coming toward them, so Sarah pulled into a parking lot on the right. She cruised through it slowly as the Lexus went by, then pulled out behind it with only a couple of cars in between.
“Don't lose her,” Noah said. “We need a spot where I can make my move, so just hang back a bit until you see them park.”
“I know,” Sarah said. “Don't worry, Babe, this is why they pay me the big bucks.”
She kept the Lexus in sight as they cruised across a good part of the city, and then it turned right on a red light onto Stadium Boulevard. Sarah got hung up at the light for a few seconds, but managed to make the turn without losing sight of the Lexus and was only a couple of cars behind when it turned in to the Columbia Mall.
“Oh-oh,” Sarah said, “this may not be good.”
“Just keep her in sight,” Noah replied. “Let's see what's going on here.”
The Lexus made its way directly to the Dillard's entrance and stopped, while Sarah hung back in one of the aisles. The passenger side front door opened and the nanny stepped out, then went to the rear of the vehicle and opened the tailgate. She took out and unfolded a double stroller, closed the tailgate and went back to the passenger side. A moment later she had removed both children from the car and put them into the stroller. Noah and Sarah could just see Mrs. Gomez wave as she drove away.
“Get up there, now,” Noah said, and Sarah pushed the SUV quickly. The nanny was bustling about, buckling the children into the stroller, when they pulled up beside her. Noah stepped out right beside the nanny, who looked up at him and smiled.
The smile vanished a second later when she saw the pistol he flashed from under his shirt. “Get the kids and get into the car, right now,” he said. “You won't be harmed if you do exactly what I say.”
The woman looked to be in her late teens or very early 20s, and it was obvious that she was about to panic. Noah reached down and picked up the baby girl. “Get the other child and get into the car,” he said. “Please do not make me tell you again.”
The girl swallowed, but she undid the buckle she had just fastened on the little boy and slid obediently into the backseat with him. Noah passed the baby in to her and shut the door. Sarah turned in the seat and kept the nanny covered with her own nine-millimeter Beretta while Noah opened the rear hatch, quickly folded down the stroller and put it inside, along with the big diaper bag the nanny had been carrying. He got back into the front seat and Sarah slipped her gun back into her purse as she drove calmly away.
Noah leaned over the seat and took the nanny's purse, scanned through it briefly and found her cell phone. There were no other electronic devices in the purse, so he passed it back to her.
“Please, Se?or,” the girl said, with tears beginning to fall from her eyes. “Please, please do not hurt the children.”
“I have no intention of harming the children or you,” Noah said to her. “It's simply necessary for me to remove the children from the situation they're in. You will be with us for a little while and then you will be released. You have my word on it.”
“But, Se?or, you do not understand,” the girl said, her eyes wide. “These children, they belong to some very powerful people, very bad people. If you let me go, they will kill me because this has happened.”
Noah looked over the back of the seat at her. “I can promise you that won't happen,” he said. “Please be quiet until we get where we're going. As I said, you won't be harmed and we’ll do everything we can to make sure you're comfortable as long as you're with us.”
He looked around the area as Sarah pulled out onto Stadium Boulevard again, but no one seemed to be paying any attention. He took out his phone and dialed Neil, who answered instantly.
“Phase Two is in hand,” Noah said. “Try to get into the security video system at Columbia Mall, especially in front of the Dillard's store. I'm sure they got us on video as I made the snatch, so I'm counting on you to wipe it out. Tell Moose we need to trade cars again, and to meet us out at the East Broadway entrance to Stephens Lake Park.”
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