Page 132 of Broken Wheels

“I thought you said we couldn’t kill to protect this guy,” Jazz remonstrated.

“I did. But if it’s self-defense, that’s another matter. I spoke with Michael, and he said that we’ll take the heat for it.”

Well, Dix would take the heat. He’d do whatever he had to in order to ensure Doc was safe.

“What information do we have about the facility? Is Spencer likely to be there too?” Jazz grinned. “Please, say he is.”

“I doubt he’ll be there.” Dix turned his laptop toward the agents. “These are the building specs, so study the layout. And for a storage facility, the place is well fortified, which is to be expected, since our intelligence says Spencer has held people there before—at least until he was done with them.”

“So what does he do with the bodies? Without drawing attention to them?” Darr frowned. “Still finding this hard to believe.”

“You and me both,” Parnell said with a snarl. “I used to think he was a decent guy. He threw wads of money at problems and made them go away. Now? Fucking scumbag.”

“I won’t disagree with that sentiment,” echoed Winters.

“Josh took a look at the surveillance photos, and his best guess is that any… evidence is buried in the gardens.”

“Seriously?” Jazz blinked.

“He spotted a low area that had sunk due to soil compression. Then there was the difference in ground cover, dead plants, signs of recent digging…. They’ve got some work going on in there, probably to cover up what they’re actually doing. We’ve already got Chalmers and Grady assembling a recovery team to see if we can locate any bodies, once they’ve shut it down. We’re talking dogs and ground-penetrating radar.” Dix set his jaw. “I don’t have to tell you that would go a long way to nailing Spencer.”

Darr raised his hand. “Are we certain this guy is still alive?”

That was the million-dollar question.

“No, we don’t know that for sure,” Dix ground out. “We’re hoping that with Spencer dealing with so many fires, he’ll keep him alive for now. That won’t be a guarantee, though. For all we know, he could be dead and buried. Still, we have to take the chance.”

“Fucking right,” Jazz said. “Like Parnell said, Josh is one of ours, and anyone gets in our way, they’re gonna come down with a serious case of dead.”

Man, his team was more bloodthirsty than Dix thought. They need to be if we’re going to survive this.

His phone chimed, and he glanced at the screen.

“It’s Chalmers,” he announced. He clicked Answer and put the call on speaker. “What’s going on?”

There was a long pause. “Something is wrong,” Chalmers finally said. “We’ve swept the entire area, and we don’t see anyone. No guards, nothing. I can’t say for certain, but it seems like the place is abandoned.”

Dix’s stomach clenched. As much as he hated her, Dix was sure Kathy was telling the truth. There had to be something there.

“Anyway, we’re moving in,” Chalmers announced.

“I know you won’t listen to me, so you be goddamn careful,” Dix told him.

“Hey, I’m a fed, remember? We’re not necessarily known for our smarts.” He chuckled, then came a dry, hacking cough. “Take care of Grady for me, okay?”

Dix couldn’t put a finger on it, but there was something in his voice that sounded off. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“It’s nothing. Just keep an eye on him. I have to go.”

Before Dix could get another word out, Chalmers was gone.

Cold fear unfurled in Dix’s gut. Something is wrong.

He called one of the team that had gone with Chalmers. “Wainwright, where is Chalmers? Is he with you?”

“No, sir. We don’t know where he is. He said he heard something and was checking it out, and that we should continue our sweep. That was about an hour ago. He won’t answer the radio or phone.”

Chalmers, God damn you for a lying son of a bitch. Don’t do this to us.

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