Mercy

Chapter 77

Mercy drove them in Buckley’s Jeep toward the town. When they finally got in the range of cell service, a revived but badly injured Pine notified the local authorities about all that had happened. When they reached the hospital, Mercy jumped from the Jeep, ran inside, and got a team of nurses and doctors to rush out to attend to the wounded women.

Later, Pine phoned Drew McAllister from a bed in the emergency room and took a few minutes to fill him in.

“I remember the Buckley case,” he said. “Worked with some agents who were actually there. They were bad news. Sex trafficking, guns, drugs. The works. And the old man apparently slept with all the young girls to make sure they were ‘acceptable.’ ”

“Well, the son wasn’t as obvious, but he was just as dangerous, and every bit the psycho that his father was.”

“From what you told me it’s a miracle you made it out alive.”

“I’m so sorry about Bertrand.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t sound like there’s anyone left for us to arrest.”

“The locals are going to go over that compound with a fine-tooth comb, but anybody he didn’t bring with him on the hunt is probably long gone by now. Just a lot of clean-up and paperwork.”

He told her he would be in contact with the local officials and that he would be flying out within twenty-four hours with a team of agents.

Pine got her wounds cleaned up and treated. They drained the fluid from around her knee; her broken finger was put in a splint and her fractured ankle was placed in a soft cast and walking boot.

Later, Pine, using a pair of crutches, visited Spector in her room, where she was recovering after the surgeries on her calf, face, and oblique.

“Good as new?” Pine said, taking a seat next to the bed.

Spector sat up, wincing a bit. “You bet. No complaints.”

“Little dicey back there,” noted Pine.

“Your sister really saved us. It was her idea to use the walkie-talkie and the fuse to make the truck into a bomb. Buckley had told me they used dynamite to knock down some of the old, damaged buildings. That’s why the fuse was in there.”

“Good thing she was there, or we’d be dead.”

“I sure as hell wouldn’t want to face her in a cage match.”

Pine rubbed her jaw. “I feel like I got hit by a tank round. And she was holding back.”

Spector slumped down and stared at the ceiling. “I suppose the FBI is on the way?”

“There was no way to avoid it, you know that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“They’ll be here in about twenty-four hours. The lead agent I know. He’s a good guy. Plays fair.”

“Right. Okay.” Spector smoothed down her sheet and looked away.

Pine studied her for a few moments. “Really, how is the calf? I need the truth. It’s important.”

Spector looked over at her curiously. “Not bad. Didn’t hit the bone. Surgeon said it was a clean in-and-out.” She glanced at Pine’s crutches and boot. “Unlike you, I can probably actually walk on it now. Be going full bore in a week. But why is that important?”

“Okay, but the big question is: Can you drive?”

Spector sat up and looked at Pine, her features full of confusion. “I’m sure I could. But why do you need to know that?”

“There’s a rental car place in town, saw it on the way in.”

“Okay, but—” Spector froze as understanding crept over her. “Wait a minute, are you going where I think you are?”

“For some reason I forgot to mention your involvement to Special Agent McAllister. As far as he knows all the bad guys are dead.”

“Just to be clear, what exactly are you saying?”

“There’s an airport two hours from here. I looked it up on my phone. You can catch a flight and be pretty much anywhere in no time. Even another country if you’re so inclined.” She stopped and stared at Spector.

Spector obviously had not been expecting any of this. “Why?” she asked. “This breaks every Bureau protocol, and you know it.”

“You saved our lives back there. I have no beef with you. And I’ve worked on my own at the Bureau for long enough that sometimes I set up my own rules. And most of the time they’re better than the FBI’s.”

“I... I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, on my part, I’d like to thank you personally, only I still don’t know your name.”

Spector glanced down. “Britt Spector.”

“Okay, Britt, thank you for saving all of our butts.”

Spector said nervously, “Now you can easily find out my history at the FBI. It’s not exactly... ideal.”

“Sure I could, but I won’t bother.”

“Why?”

“Because I met you in person, under the craziest circumstances ever. So I know all I need to know about you. I don’t need to read a bunch of files.”

Spector looked concerned. “There’ll be questions. The forensics—”

“The crime scene is a mess. I know that, you know that. There’s nobody left to prosecute. They’ll only be going through the motions. End of story. The locals and the Bureau have no incentive to push it.”

“But you’re an agent. You’re taking a risk. I don’t want to leave you hanging out there.”

“I think it’s a risk worth taking. And I’m really good at landing on my feet when it comes to the Bureau.”

The two women stared at each other for a significant moment.

Spector slowly put out her hand, which Pine shook.

“I’m not sure I deserve this, but thank you.”

“The only thing I would say is you need to use better judgment in picking the people you work for. You’re way too skilled to help the bad guys anymore. We need you a lot more than they do.”

Spector slumped back and smiled weakly at the ceiling. “I’ve already taken that into account. And you’re right.”

“But really, why?”

Spector looked at her. “Why what?”

“It wasn’t just Carol’s little speech to you. I spoke to her about that. She’s good, but maybe not that good. So, really, why did you help us?”

Spector rubbed at her eyes, eliminating a sudden stray tear or two. “I didn’t have the greatest... childhood. And I never had a sister growing up.” She looked at Pine, her eyes glistening. In a cracking voice she added, “But I really could have used one. It... it would have made things a little more... bearable.”

“I can definitely understand that. I feel the exact same way.”

“I know what happened to you and your sister. In the end, I... I just thought you two deserved a lot more time together than Peter Buckley was willing to give you.”

Pine rose and put the crutches under her arms. “Well, Britt, I think I just found myself an honorary sister.”

Spector held her gaze. “Maybe I did too, Atlee.”