Fear No Evil

Chapter 48

Matthew Butler wore an earpiece and carried a microphone and a small video camera as he slipped among the satellite trucks and reporters already swarming the parking lot of the Congressional Country Club. In his pocket, he carried the ID of Harry Falk, a freelance radio reporter and internet blogger.

Butler’s camera was on. He panned it beyond the yellow police tape, saw DEA, FBI, and other investigators moving about the scene.

“Were you clean?” the familiar voice said in his ear.

“Spotless in and out,” Butler muttered into the mike.

“All cameras?”

“Everything on their network was neutralized.”

“Your team?”

“On their way back to the ranch. I’ll follow tomorrow. I’m guessing we can expect another retaliation?”

“And more civilian casualties. It’s how they operate in Mexico — they use the deaths of innocents to sow terror.”

Butler kept panning the camera around the scene. “We have another target?”

“Several domestically, but in anticipation of the cartel’s counterattack, I think it’s time we take it to their territory, let their families feel vulnerable, exposed. They’ll start making mistakes and — stop. Go back left with the camera.”

Butler did.

“Stop. Zoom in on the two big African-Americans talking to the short white guy in the suit.”

Butler pressed the zoom button and brought the three men into tight view. “Who are they?” Butler asked.

“Big guy on the left is Dr. Alex Cross, an FBI consultant regarded as one of the best investigators in the country. Guy in the suit is Special Agent Ned Mahoney of the FBI, Cross’s former partner and the Bureau’s go-to in a crisis. Big guy on the right is John Sampson, Cross’s best friend and a detective on DC’s homicide team. Also a very tough man. You are seeing Sampson six weeks after he was stabbed by a pro who was trying to kill him and whom he killed instead.”

“Impressive. Our pro?”

“The impostor’s.”

“Really?” Butler said. “What’s his beef with Sampson?”

“We’re dealing with a sick mind, so I can’t tell you. But Cross, Sampson, and Mahoney make a formidable team and we should not underestimate them in any way. Let’s start keeping tight tabs on all three of them.”

“Geo-location?”

“Their phones, anyway. I want to know where those three are at all times.”