“Yes,” Noah said. “My intel guy says that box they found is some kind of cell phone relay system. He could call into it from anywhere in the world, and it would use the phone connected to it to bounce the call for him. Tell your men to stand down, and we’ll try to figure out what to do next.”
“Yes, Sir,” Hayes said, and the phone went dead. A moment later his voice came through the radio, telling his men to report back to the JSOC facility and await further orders.
“I just can’t...” Neil began, but Moose cut him off.
“Let it go, Neil, it wasn’t your fault. We know this bastard is smart, we just didn’t anticipate this kind of thing.”
Neil spun to face him and they saw tears streaming down his cheeks. “But I should have! I should’ve seen it coming! I just wanted this to be over, I just wanted to get the son of a bitch, and I didn’t think it through as far as I should have.”
“We’re not done yet,” Noah said. “All this means is that he fed Bridger that line about the phone call. There was some reason he wanted us to think we found him, and I’m not going to buy the idea that he was just showing off.”
Sarah’s eyes suddenly went wide. “Molly! He wanted us out of the way for something, he must be going after Molly!”
Noah picked up his phone and called Molly’s cell number. It rang three times, but then she answered.
“Is your security tight?” he asked. “Nicolaich is in the wind, we thought we had him but he got away. He was trying to keep us distracted for some reason.”
“I’ve got your people here, plus all the security in the building. You think he’s ready to make his move on me?”
“He could be, I really don’t know. Just tell everyone to go on high alert.”
“I will right now,” Molly said. “If I make it through the day, let’s talk this evening.”
“Deal,” Noah said, and then cut the call. He turned to Neil. “If you had that box, could you figure out where the call actually came from?”
Neil nodded, his face still twisted in rage and shame. “Maybe. I could hack it and find out what frequency it was receiving on, or whether it was using a cell number of its own. There’s a chance I might be able to—”
The explosion blew the door off its hinges and threw it across the room, and the concussion wave that followed knocked all four of them out of their chairs and onto the floor. They were dazed, groaning from the shock, but Noah was already trying to raise his head to see what was happening. His vision was blurred and his ears were ringing, but he managed to make out several men rushing into the room.
They were all dressed in black, and all were carrying submachine guns. Noah tried to reach for his pistol but his arms and legs simply weren’t responding to the commands his brain was sending. He lay there and watched as Sarah was grabbed from the floor and dragged away.
Moose grunted but Noah couldn’t make out what he was trying to say. He managed to turn his head to look at his backup man, but then two of the strangers stepped in between them, and another was suddenly standing just in front of him. He tried to look up, tried to see who it was, but then a heavy boot smashed into the side of his head and the world went dark.
TWENTY
Noah awoke to find paramedics bending over him. For a second he was confused, but then he remembered the explosion. He turned his head to try to look around, but pain in his neck made him stop and lay still.
“Just hold still, Sir,” one of the medics said to him. “You’ve been hurt pretty bad, but you’re gonna be okay. We’re just getting your vitals, then we’re going to take you to the hospital.”
Noah nodded just enough to show that he understood. His ears were still ringing, but at least he could hear. He opened his mouth to try to speak but his ears popped suddenly and pain shot through his head. He grimaced, but then closed his mouth and tried to swallow. Even that hurt.
He was lying on a gurney, he realized. The lack of pressure on his lower spine told him that his Glock was gone, holster and all. He lifted a hand and tapped the medic on the shoulder to get his attention, then opened his mouth again. In a hoarse whisper, he said, “Where are my friends?”
The paramedic shook his head. “Don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “Cops called us out here and said there was one person with injuries. You were the only one here when we arrived.”
Noah allowed himself to lie back again. “Cops?” he managed to ask.
Nodding, the paramedic said, “Oh, yeah, a bunch of them. Whatever kind of bomb it was, it blew off your door and the one across the hall. The cops really want to talk to you but we told them they have to wait ‘til you get to the hospital. All we’re trying to do is make sure you’re stable enough to transport, you know?”