Page 83 of Operation: Valiant Angel

They reported to their onsite command center, a storefront in a nearly vacant strip mall, set up by the Marshals. Wilson was surprised to find that Agent St. Vincent was on site. “Appreciate your help on this,” St. Vincent said, shaking the team members’hands as they arrived. “As I told Shepherd, we just don’t have the staff to chase down every potential lead that may come in, especially if Adams and Henning separate. We have assets chasing down the Smiths in Iowa whose house they were staying in that you raided the other night. And yes, Smith is their last name. They’re known associates of Henning and Adams from the case five years ago. And before you ask, there was not enough evidence for them to be arrested back then.”

“That’s not the case now,” Cooper said. “Those fuckers aided and abetted fugitives, assaulted our team with deadly weapons, and were running a stolen identity clearing house from their basement.”

St. Vincent raised his hands in surrender. “Choir, preaching. Arrest warrants have been issued on them both, and we have a team in Iowa searching under every rock for them. By the way, your man that got cold-cocked by Jennifer Smith, is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Cooper reported.

“Okay, let’s get to work,” St. Vincent said, motioning to the computer banks and maps of the area they had set up on two six-foot work tables.

***

Reina enjoyed the low-key day with Lilly. She didn’t put Lilly down for a nap, planning an early bedtime for them both. They did walk to the corner convenience store as planned, the perfect distance to get fresh air and exercise, but not too far for Lilly’s little legs. Jimmy text messaged when they arrived in Newark, New Jersey. The crimes and arrests originally took place in New Jersey, though a lot of it was centered in Atlantic City.

After making an easy dinner of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, Reina brought Lilly into the bathroom to take a bath that she desperately needed. Reina was sure she hadn’thad one in days, maybe a week. She helped Lilly undress. She’d been teaching Lilly to pull her own pants on and off when using the bathroom all day. She understood why helping Lilly in the bathroom had been so uncomfortable for Jimmy earlier that morning. That thought still made her smile.

When Lilly pulled her shoes off, the liner of one of the sneakers pulled out, revealing an Apple AirTag beneath it. Reina immediately grabbed it, panic setting in. She checked beneath the liner of the other shoe. There was no AirTag there. She tried to hide her alarm from Lilly by forcing a smile. “Okay, let’s get the rest of your clothes off and get you in the tub.” The water was almost filled to the depth Reina wanted it to be. The bubble bath powder she’d bought at the store the night before and sprinkled in had created a high foam that smelled of strawberries. Lilly looked excited to get in.

Reina handed her the plastic takeout food containers to play with that she’d found in the kitchen cabinets. “I’m going to leave the door cracked and step into the hallway. I have to make a phone call,” she told Lilly. “Stay sitting on your bum-bum in the tub, okay, sweetie?”

Lilly was happily dumping water from one container to the other and didn’t answer.

Once in the hallway, Reina dialed Jimmy. The call went right to his voicemail. “Jimmy, I found an AirTag in Lilly’s shoe. I’m really freaked out right now.” Then she remembered both Garcia and Jimmy had told her if she ever needed anything and could not reach him to call Ops. “I’m going to call that Ops number, but call me when you can, okay?”

She ended the call and then immediately brought the phonebook back up. She tapped Ops. It rang only once.

“Ops, Reina, is everything okay?” a woman’s voice asked.

“I don’t know,” Reina said. “Is this Madison?”

“Yes, this is Madison. What’s up, Reina?” her calm voice asked.

“I, um, I found an AirTag in Lilly’s shoe. I don’t know if her mom put it there or that man, but it means someone can find her.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she said those words aloud. Lilly was in danger.

“Where are you right now?” Madison asked. She opened up the program that recorded each team member’s location from their tracker to see who was close by. She knew neither Reina nor Lilly had trackers, yet. She’d have to talk to Wilson about out, maybe even before he got back.

“At Jimmy’s condo,” Reina answered.

“Are the doors locked?” Madison asked.

“Yes,” Reina answered. That she did know.

“Okay, good. Are you and Lilly together?”

“She’s in the bathtub and I’m in the hall. I can see her. I was getting her ready for bed.”

“Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Get her out of the tub and dress her in warm pajamas, but put on her socks and shoes. Keep the AirTag in your pocket. Pack a backpack with a few days’ worth of clothes for you both. We’ll relocate you somewhere safe. I’m going to send Delta Team to you, the men that were in Iowa with you. Hand over the AirTag to one of them. They’ll take it from there.”

“Will you stay on the phone with me until they get here?”

“Yes, and I’ll let you know when our people have arrived. I won’t have you open the door if I’m not one hundred percent sure it’s our team on the other side of the door.”

Madison sent an urgent alert to scramble all four members of Delta Team. Their instructions were for two of them to escort Reina and Lilly to HQ and for two of them to take the AirTag to set a trap for whoever may be monitoring it or even closing in on its location.

Madison’s voice was so confident and calm, Reina felt her pulse go back into the normal range. “Okay, I’m going to put you on speaker so I can get Lilly out of the tub and dressed.”

“Okay. Reina, you’re safe. We’ve got you. The odds anyone is closing in on you right now are very slim. Just keep the doors locked and stay on the line with me until the team gets there.”

Reina slid the phone into her bra so her hands would be free. She went back into the bathroom, where Lilly happily played in the bathtub. She hated to cut the bath short. Being the compliant child she was, Lilly, though disappointed she had to get out, didn’t argue.

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