Neil nodded while he was still tapping keys. “Yep, a nice place in a gated subdivision. They got their own private security, there, too, and get this: they’re part of the Blackstone Group. Those aren’t security guards, they’re a private army.”
Noah nodded. “Yes, but Nicolaich would find a way to go around them, or maybe just go through them. Assuming Sarah is right and Nicolaich would expect me to try to rescue Molly, we can call this a lead. There's nothing that says we have to stay in this cabin, so I guess we'll head for Virginia in the morning. Neil, find the most recent photos you can of Molly and print them out. We’ll all need to be watching out for her, so you each need to know what she looks like.”
Neil tapped a few keys, and shortly his printer began to hum. While it was working, they began brainstorming about ways to draw Nicolaich out into the open, provided they actually found any sign of him around Molly. That conversation went on through the rest of their dinner, and they had just finished eating when Noah’s phone rang.
He picked it up and looked at it, and then answered quickly. “Go ahead,” he said.
“Camelot,” Doc Parker said. “Allison just came out of surgery. You wanted me to let you know what I found out, so I thought I would call you first.”
“Yes, sir?”
“She was apparently struck four times, not three. One bullet struck her in the upper left thigh while two others hit her lower abdomen, causing some intestinal damage. The fourth bullet struck her at an oblique angle on the left side of her head, causing a severe impact to her skull and brain but without penetration. She suffered a rather severe concussion and there may be significant neurological damage. The doctors say she will survive, but it is possible that she will never regain full control of her body. At the moment, it seems that she is unable to speak or to move anything on her right side. They won't know more for a few days, until some of the cranial swelling goes down, but I'll do my best to keep you posted.”
“Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. Any word on Mr. Jefferson?”
“Yes. Donald is currently in intensive care at our local hospital. He survived surgery to remove two bullets from his left lung and one that struck him just above and slightly behind his left ear. The doctors say the damage was not as devastating as it could have been, but he is likely to have little or no physical sensation after this. The part of the brain that was damaged is the part that interprets the sense of touch and recognizes pain. They do expect him to survive, but we won’t know the extent of the damage for some time, yet.”
“That is good news, sir. On our end, we’ve come to the conclusion that Nicolaich may very well be planning to try using one of my old friends against me, and so we'll be traveling to the area where she resides starting in the morning. I'll let you know if we learn anything else.”
“Who is she?” Parker asked. “I can get security on her right now.”
“Her name is Molly Hanson,” Noah said, “but she’ll already have security, and I don’t want to tip Nicolaich off, anyway. She works for Dexter Reedy in DC and lives in a secure, gated community in Alexandria.”
“In that case, I’ll put discrete surveillance on her. If anything happens with her before you arrive, we can let you know about it.”
“That sounds like a good idea, sir,” Noah said. “It’s a long way from here to Alexandria, and we don’t know for sure whether Nicolaich is even interested in her. Tomorrow is Sunday and we’ll spend it on the road. If he makes a move on her before then, it’ll only be to try to draw me in, and we could be completely off target on this. It’s just a theory, but it’s the only one we’ve got to go on for right now.”
Doc Parker was quiet for a moment, and then he cleared his throat. “Camelot,” he said, “I’ll get surveillance on her tonight. As for Nicolaich Andropov, if you do find that son of a bitch, I want you to kill him as slowly and painfully as you possibly can. Will you do that for me?”
“Sir,” Noah said. “For once, I can honestly say it will be my pleasure.”
Noah ended the call and looked up into the faces of the others. “Allison made it through surgery. Apparently she was hit once in the thigh and twice in the gut, but the fourth bullet hit the side of her head hard enough that she may be paralyzed. Doc Parker says they won’t know anything more than that for a few days. Donald Jefferson is also alive, but he actually took a bullet in the brain. They’re not sure yet how much damage was done, but they think he’ll lose the ability to feel pain or have a sense of touch.”
“Well,” Sarah said, “at least they’re alive.”
TEN
Noah’s GPS told them it would take twenty-two hours to get to Alexandria, so they were up at five AM to shower and pack. When they left their rooms at five forty-five, Sarah surprised them all by handing the keys to Noah as they got into the car.