The crowds could help Sean grab Jesse and slip away with minimal attention, but first he had to get in. That wasn’t the difficult part—bribing a guard at a back exit did the trick.
But now he had to find Jesse. And Jaye hadn’t called him.
On the ride to the stadium—Sean had hot-wired an old motorcycle that was easy to manuever and park close to the stadium—he considered all the ways his plan could go wrong.
In fact, he didn’t see it going right.
But what other choice did he have? Kane’s idea of appealing to Dante Romero may or may not work. And then they would have to breach the Flores compound, putting both of them—and Jesse—at risk. Grabbing Jesse now and explaining to the kid on the way home what was going on seemed the most logical—and easiest—of solutions.
Sean didn’t want to scare Jesse. Hell, that was the last thing he wanted to do. He considered how to explain to his son what was going on … and the best way was getting him to talk to his mother. Sean had Madison now programmed on speed dial and he suspected she’d pick up on the first ring. He hoped. After this morning …
Focus, Sean. Focus on finding Jesse, then worry about getting him out.
Sean arrived just after halftime ended. People were still moving back to their seats, some agitated, drunk, excited. Sean liked to play sports for fun, but he grew restless as an observer. What was the last major sporting event he’d watched? Was it the Super Bowl? No … he missed most of it. He caught one of the games of the World Series last year, only because he’d been with Patrick who loved baseball. How did people have fun here? There was a certain energy and excitement—that he understood—but Sean would much rather be playing on the field than sitting in the stands drinking beer.
He didn’t know how much time he had—an hour, take or leave. He walked the entire perimeter of the stadium to get the layout. There were food and souvenir vendors in several strategic locations. The credit card that Jaye had caught only gave the name of the business entity that ran all sales at the stadium, so Sean had no idea which clothing retailer had sold Carson the shirts.
Jaye still hadn’t called.
He called her.
“Jaye, I need something.”
“Sean, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Funny, you don’t sound like Jaye.” Shit, it was JT.
“You’re acting on emotion. For a fucking genius, you’re an idiot.”
“It’s an opportunity.”
“You’re there without backup!”
“Kane is working his own angle, I’m working mine. If I can get Jesse tonight, we’ll be back in San Antonio before dawn.”
“I’m not saying the plan is bad—though it is because you don’t even have a plan—I’m saying you never go in alone. Kane is on his way. Do not do anything until he gets there.”
“I don’t even know where Jesse is!”
“Jaye is very good. Flores has season tickets, a box of eight—which means you’re not just dealing with some cartel lawyer and a kid; you could be dealing with bodyguards and one or more of the Flores brothers. Wait for Kane. He’ll meet you at the top of section one eighteen.”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious, Sean.”
“I said I’d wait for him!” He rubbed his face. He was so close … “Look, JT, I get it. But what choice did I have? What if Jesse were your kid?”
“This is why you bring backup—because emotions have no place in hostage rescue. Be safe—and smart.”
“I have no intention of dying tonight.”
*
“It’s about time,” Sean muttered when Kane came up silently next to him twenty minutes after he got off the phone with JT.
Kane was in disguise, of sorts. Black shirt but instead of his military surplus jacket, he had on a worn leather jacket, and he wore a home team baseball cap with sunglasses—even though it was near dark. Sean also wore sunglasses, and Kane pulled an extra cap from his back pocket. Sean put it on.
“You have one chance,” Kane said. “If anything goes south, we disappear, got it? Being arrested would really screw with our plans—not to mention being dangerous for both of us. I have a jeep parked outside the perimeter, directly across from the north exit, but it’s a quarter-mile walk. I couldn’t risk getting caught up in crowds leaving. This place is going to be a zoo.” He glanced at the scoreboard. “Good thing it’s tied at one, because if it goes into overtime, no one is going to leave early. This is important, Sean—if you get Jesse, get to the jeep. If I’m not there, leave. I’ll meet you at the plane.”
“I’m not leaving you behind.”
“I have a backup plan. Which is what you should have had before you got here.”
“We’re close, Kane.”
“I know.”