She’d never thought of using animals in an interrogation, but Einstein was an unexpectedly effective asset.
“Hector was going to make the hit?”
“Yes!”
“Who was the target?”
“I don’t know! We’re just supposed to drive and shoot anyone who tried to leave.”
“Einstein, get him!” It wasn’t the best improv; Einstein’s eyes cut over to her, clearly confused. It didn’t matter to the man in the SUV.
“No, no!” he screamed. “I swear! Hector didn’t tell us. Those Puerto Rican hitters don’t tell outsiders anything!”
“How did you find this place?”
“Hector gave us the addresses!”
Plural? “More than one?”
“There were three houses on the list! We did the first one earlier. Hector said it was the wrong place!”
“What did you do there?”
“Hector went in. Five minutes later, he came out. Told us to move on to the next.”
“That’s all you know?”
“Yes! Yes! Everything!”
She shot him in the head twice with his own gun.
There was a countdown running in her mind. She had no idea how long it had actually taken to release the dogs, float downstream, and load the Humvee. She didn’t know when Hector had entered the house or how long it had taken him to get to her room. What she did know was that the pressurized canister of gas she’d left armed there would continue to quietly exude the chemicals it was packed with for about fifteen minutes after someone opened the door. Once the contents ran out, she had maybe thirty minutes more—dependent on the size of the person involved—before the quarry was back on his feet. It was going to be close.
She jumped into the Humvee, holding the door open so Einstein could climb over her. She threw the goggles back to Daniel, getting only one glimpse of his face before she was blind again. All she could see was that his expression was tense.
“Get us to the house. Same plan as before if anyone comes out. Stop far enough back that you can see the sides of the house; watch for someone coming around.”
“The dogs will let me know if they see something.”
“Right,” she agreed. The advantages of the pack were more extensive than she could have anticipated.
She removed her PPK and holstered the Glock in its place. She stuck the .38 in her belt, shoved the PPK into the bag at her feet, then dug through that bag, pulling the things she needed by feel. She switched the bulletproof hat for the gas mask, quickly tightened it into place over her mouth and nose, screwed in the filter, then grabbed two more pressurized canisters, zip ties, thin tactical gloves, and her earring box; she stowed them in the pockets of her vest. She extracted the heavy bolt cutters last and stuck them through the belt by the empty holster, one handle inside, one out. Though the cutters were compact for their abilities, the handles still reached nearly to her knee. They would impede her movement a little, but if things went the way she wanted, she would need them.
She didn’t have time to think about what Daniel might be processing right now—how he might feel about her killing a helpless man.
The house came into view, all the visible windows downstairs lit. The windows upstairs were blacked out too well for her to be able to tell if the lights were on or not.
“Do you see anyone?”
“A body—over there.” Daniel pointed toward the outbuilding.
“We need to make sure he’s dead.” There were still three men unaccounted for. The fewer breathing, the better her chances.
“I’m pretty sure he is. It looks like he’s… in more than one piece.” His voice sounded a little hollow.
Hers didn’t. “Good.”
She couldn’t see anyone near the house. They weren’t dumb enough to run out and see what was going on, apparently. No silhouettes appeared in the windows. Surely they would have shut off the lights if they were going to shoot from one of them. Maybe upstairs… the windows were so completely covered that she couldn’t even tell exactly where they were. Or the blackout treatments had been pulled back and someone was watching from a darkened room.
“Can you see the upstairs windows?”
“They all look covered,” Daniel told her.
“Okay, start slowing. Two seconds after we’re out, stop and get ready to shoot.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
“Einstein, come here. Get ready.”