Night and Day (Book 2): Bleeding Sky (32 page)

“Let
her know that Robinson is finished,” he said. “When she shows up at the
station tonight, Arnie Snyder is gonna take her badge, her gun, and send her
on her way. He ain’t happy about it, but he’ll get over it.”

“What
about Muldoon?”

“Muldoon
is gonna take a little more time, and I’m not gonna be able to bust him.” He
shook his head. “Like I said, things are delicate in the department right
now. Baby steps, incremental changes, that’s one thing. Bustin’ a district
chief is a whole ‘nother thing. When I got all my ducks in a row, I’ll
probably be able to retire him. Gold watch, nice plaque for his living room
wall, police pension, and my boot up his ass as he goes out the
door.”

“When?”

“Might
be a couple of months. Might be six. Might be a year. I can’t predict how
things are gonna play out. But it will happen.” He paused. “And I’ll be
having a nice sitdown with him this evening about the meanin’ of the word
‘cooperate’. Seems that he don’t have a real grasp on it.” He paused
again. “I’ll also point out what would have happened to him if I hadn’t
stepped in. He’ll get the message.”

“I’ll
talk to her tonight,” I said. “See if I can get her to cool her jets. No
guarantees, but I should be able to take head chopping off the
table.”

“Much
obliged, CW,” Daryl said.

I
looked at Jimmy. “You gonna be available for a briefing here in a few
minutes? I think today’s the day.” I glanced at Daryl. “You’re welcome to
attend too, Daryl.”

“Nah,
I got full confidence in Jimmy,” he said. “He hears somethin’ I need to
know, he’ll pass it along.”

“I’ll
be there,” Jimmy said.

“When
you’re done, head on up my office, Jimmy,” Daryl said. “Maldone can keep an
eye on things while we pow-wow.”

“Yes,
sir,” Jimmy said. He didn’t sound very enthusiastic.

“Okay,
then,” I said. I grabbed the folder Bristow had left on the desk and opened it. Marc Shuster’s face stared up at me. There was an inset in
the corner of the picture that said ‘Glenn Richardson’ with some numbers
below it. That would be his work name in Special Collections. Having the
Emmett Dalton cover name had paid off.

“What
you got there, Charlie?” Daryl asked.

“The
primary threat to Heymann,” I said, sliding the picture to him. “His name is
Marc Shuster.”

I
checked the other two pictures in the file. They were both post-mortem
shots of the other two members of
Shuster’s team. The human that Brenner called Clarke and the vampire with the
bullet hole in his head.

I
shoved those two pictures to Daryl as well. “And Shuster’s dead
teammates.”

Daryl
lifted the picture of Clarke and studied it. “You know, I think I’ve seen
this fella.”

“Where?”

“Right
here,” he said. “Other night, when they brought in the ambassador’s fancy
trailer. He was one of the guys on that flatbed thing they brought it in on.
Helped set up the straps that the crane hooked onto.”

“You
sure?”

“Pretty
sure,” he said. “After you and Miss Takeda left, I was gettin’ fairly bored
listening to the mayor talk about hisself, so I walked over and watched them
unload the trailer. This fella was movin’ a little slower than the rest,
which caught my eye.”

I
took back the picture and stared into Clarke’s open, unseeing
eyes.

“What
was he doing on the transporter?” Jimmy asked.

“That’s
a good question,” I said. “No idea.” I looked to Martinez. “Go get Captain
Bristow.”

“Sir,”
she said, standing.

As
she left the office, I looked at Daryl. “How about the other one,” I asked.
“Did you see him on the transporter too?”

Daryl
looked at the photo and shook his head. “No, not that I recall.”

Bristow
came into the room, Martinez behind him. She slipped past him and went back
to her desk.

He
saluted. “Mr. Welles?”

“How
many men are on the crew of that transporter that carried Heymann’s
trailer?”

“Fifteen,
twenty, maybe more,” he said. “I was already off duty when it got here.” He
paused. “Easy enough to find out, sir. They keep one man on the transporter
all the time. Guess they don’t want anybody messing with it.”

“I’ll
talk to him after the briefing.” I gathered up the pictures from the desk
and handed them to Bristow. “Go ahead and duplicate them, then put them out
to everybody, Security Force and police. All of them. Including the dead
guys.” If Clarke has been around, maybe the dead Vee from his team had been
as well.

I
turned back to Daryl and Jimmy. “Okay, so you guys got anything else? It
looks like I have a busy morning before the ambassador goes on his road
trip.”

The
platoon commanders and Jimmy were watching me as I sat down. Martinez pulled
up a chair behind me. She wore a sour expression on her face and sergeant’s
stripes on her sleeves.

 Bristow
had been notified about her promotion and had brought her a new shirt while
the command platoon sergeant got everybody together for the briefing. She’d
been reluctant to wear it, but I didn’t see any reason to open that can of
worms before I had a chance to talk to Takeda. I’d ordered her to put it
on.

I
slapped Shuster’s photo on the table. “This is the enemy,” I said. “His name
is Marc Shuster, though he goes by Glenn Richardson, Emmett Dalton and
probably a whole bunch of other names. Captain Bristow is having copies
made, and I want you to make sure that every trooper in your command gets
one and studies it.” I paused. “Bristow is also making copies of Shuster’s
two dead teammates. It’s possible that at least one of them came in with the
transporter. Your people might have seen him around. If they were here after
sundown, they might have seen the other one too.”

I
pushed the photo forward and they passed it around the table.

“I
believe today is the day that Shuster makes his move,” I continued. “With
the loss of his team last night, the odds have turned against him, so he’ll
move fast, while he still has a window of opportunity. It’s also very
possible that he’s aware of Dr. Heymann’s plans to go for a drive today.
That may be when he’ll hit, while we’re trying to protect a target that’s on
the move.”

I
pointed down the table. “Grenowski, your platoon and Lt. Alvarez’s platoon
are point on this when Heymann hits the road. Are you ready?”

Grenowski
nodded. Alvarez said, “Yes, sir, I’ve been doing a little extra training
with my people.”

“The
ambassador will be traveling in an armored Humvee. I want the driver and
front seat passenger to be the best two men from second and third platoons.
He’ll have personal security with Captain Clay in the backseat with
him.” I looked at Jimmy. “What’s Metro PD bringing to the party?”

“Four
units from the Motor Division, one rider up front, one behind, and a bike
on either side of Heymann’s Humvee,” he said. “Two patrol cars behind the
lead motorcycle, two more in front of the tailing motor unit. Four guys in
each car. And the close protection team in a pair of Humvees, one
immediately in front of the ambassador, one immediately behind. All hooked
into your tac channel. When Heymann wants to stop and press the flesh with
his adoring public, they’ll be notified.”

“All
right,” I said. “I’d love to have a Stryker or two in the mix, but the
ambassador nixed that idea before he left Washington.” I sighed. “When we’re
done here, I will make one last try at convincing him to stay in the
neighborhood. I don’t think he’ll listen, but it’s worth a shot. Anybody
have anything else?”

Everyone
was silent.

I
checked my watch. “Okay, there’s about twenty minutes till he starts seeing
his visitors. Let me get over there so I don’t interrupt the audience with
the faithful.”

“Dismissed,”
Bristow said.

“I’m
gonna go see what Northport wants to talk about, Charlie,” Jimmy called down
the table. “I’ll catch up to you later this morning.”

Bristow
came over to me and Lita. “Stripes look good on you, Sgt.
Martinez.”

“Thank
you, sir.”

He
must have noticed the lack of enthusiasm in her voice, because he stared at
her, hard, for a few seconds. Then he turned to me. “Sir, would you like me
to go talk to the man on the transporter?”

I
shook my head. “No, I don’t think I’ll be with Heymann for long. I’ll talk
to him after I’m done.”

I
was right. Dr. Heymann had no interest in what I had to say. Martinez and I
were in and out in ten minutes. And five of them were spent waiting for the
ambassador.

Clay
had led us into the trailer and left us in the living room while he went to
get Heymann. He seemed a little less loose, a little more tense than usual.
That could have been because he was well aware of how dangerous today was
going to be. Or maybe it had something to do with the mysterious reasons why
he was here, the ones that Anna Thodberg had hinted at the night
before.

I
was still interested in finding out what those were. But if they didn’t
include killing the man he was supposed to protect, it would wait. I showed
him the picture of Shuster and told him what we were up against before he
went to get the ambassador.

Heymann
didn’t even come into the living room. He leaned in the open doorway,
sipping his coffee, wearing slacks and a v-neck tee shirt. “I really don’t
have time for this, Mr. Welles,” he said after I explained why I was there.
“I still have to dress for my guests.”

“Dr.
Heymann, perhaps I wasn’t completely clear,” I said. “A trained assassin is
in town to kill you, and I believe that he’s going to make that attempt
today when you go for your drive through the city.”

“And
I told you the last time we spoke that I am committed to the mission my
government has given me. I put my full faith in you, the Security Force, and
the police to keep me safe.”

“If
you’d just stay in the neighborhood...” I began.

He
held up his free hand. “No. I told you what I’m going to do today and that
is what I will do.”

“There’s
a difference between brave and stupid, sir.”

“This
has nothing to do with either,” he said. “This is about doing one’s duty.
Good day, Mr. Welles, Miss Martinez.” He pushed himself away from the
doorframe and disappeared down the hall.

“I
don’t care what he says,” Martinez said softly. “That man is itching to
catch a bullet.”

“Yeah,
well, as long as he gets his wish granted somewhere other than here, I’m
don’t have a problem with that.”

As
we stepped into the hall, I caught sight of Anna sitting on the spiral
staircase. She smiled and gave me a little wave. I smiled back.

Clay
was outside next to the ramp, cigarette between his lips. “That was quick,”
he said.

“The
ambassador has full confidence in all of us to keep him alive,” I said. “And
he refuses to have his confidence shaken by reality.” I paused. “Listen,
captain, I think today is the day. Keep your eyes open.”

“My
eyes are always open, Charlie,” he said with a thin smile.

I
nodded and walked away, Martinez behind me. Next stop, the transporter to
see if I could find out why Shuster’s dead teammate had been aboard when
they arrived.

That
was the plan. But I spotted someone unexpected in the line of people waiting
to see Heymann, so I made a short detour.

“Charlie
Welles,” he said, walking forward, his arm extended.

“Father,”
I replied, shaking his hand.

Father
Keitaro McCray. Japanese orphan adopted and raised by a childless couple in
Boston. One of the two priests at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church here in
downtown. Completely off the rails when it came to Vees.

McCray
believed the Vees were sent by the devil to try our faith. I’d been aware of
him and his fire and brimstone sermons about Vees, but had only met him once
as a favor to a dead girl’s mother. It had been an interesting
experience.

“I’m
surprised to see you down here, Charlie,” he said. “Working for the demons
again?”

“The
area government demons are paying the bills, but my client is Ambassador
Heymann. I’m here to keep him safe.”

“That
must be quite a burden,” he replied. “There is no safety in this land while
Satan’s minions lord over us.”

“Yeah,”
I said. “Well, I still have to try my best.”

“And
who is this with you?” he asked, looking at Martinez.

“Carlita
Martinez, Father,” she said.

“Are
you a Catholic, Carlita?”

She
hesitated a moment, then said, “Yes, sir. I was raised Catholic.”

“And
where do you worship?”

“No
place in particular at the moment, Father,” Lita said. “My duty station is
in the middle of nowhere. No churches nearby.”