“Keep heading east, it looks like he’s headed for the highway,” she said before putting it on speaker.
“I can’t leave here right now, not until I find my people.” Burkhart’s voice was tense and Tucker knew this had to be hard on him. Because there was no way all his agents had survived that blast. An RPG wouldn’t have killed everyone, but the fallout from the debris had been bad, at least from Tucker’s visual. There’d be upward of twenty to thirty deaths, minimum. “Elliott thinks from Vane’s trajectory that he’s headed for a private airport about ten minutes from where you are. I’ve got a team headed in that general direction just in case. They’re farther out than you—Make a right at the next light,” he said abruptly.
When he didn’t use a street name Tucker realized they were tracking his cell too. Of course. He was so focused on stopping Vane he wasn’t thinking.
“I’m sending Selene after you too, but she’s . . . Hold on.” Burkhart barked out orders to someone in the background; then he cursed again, this time savagely. “Another team just picked up Hillenbrand at a townhome he owns. Not in his name, but one of his corporations’.”
Tucker glanced at Karen, saw the relief on her face. “He alone?”
“No, had some guys with him. Looks like he was planning a trip out of the country. It’s a fucking shit storm here. I’m giving the order to move on everyone we’ve had under surveillance now. Rayford Osborn and all the other names Vane gave us. I’m giving you to Elliott now. He’ll be patched in to me at all times. Bring me Vane.” The words were an order before he handed them off to Elliott.
“Hey, guys. You’re only a couple blocks behind him. He’s making his way east, so if we lose the tracker, keep going to the airport.”
“Have you guys heard from Ortiz?” Karen asked abruptly.
Tucker shot a glance at her, saw how pale she was. Those were her people in that blast too. Reaching out, he grasped her hand. She took it, linking her fingers between his and holding tight.
“Not yet. The local PD and a couple other agencies have already sent rescue parties in. They’ve found survivors and our guys are strong.” Elliott’s voice cracked before he cleared his throat. “Focus on Vane. I’ll keep you updated as soon as I find out anything on this end.”
“Thanks, Elliott.” Karen’s voice was soft, but Tucker heard the pain there, wished he could take it away.
As they drove, some of Tucker’s adrenaline ebbed. Not completely, but he felt more in control now. Elliott directed them until they hit the highway, just as he’d predicted.
“Why’d you leave the command center?” Tucker asked Karen during a lull in Elliott’s directions.
“We lost communication with all of you, audio and visual, and I didn’t think really. Selene headed for the other entrance where the shooter was and I . . . I had to know you were okay. We’d lost a visual of you on the cameras even before the blast. Honestly I didn’t really have a plan. I thought I’d lost you. . . .” She blinked rapidly, looked out the window.
His throat tightened and he grasped her hand again. She’d raced headfirst into danger because she’d been worried about him. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her, but he wasn’t letting go. He started to respond when Elliott spoke, his voice excited. “He’s getting off at the next exit. We’re already in contact with the airport security. You two will be granted access with no hassle. Security has been instructed to stay back and give you room to work. We don’t want to spook him or risk him getting suspicious that we’re onto him.”
And if the security got involved it could turn into a giant cluster fuck. It’d be a hell of a lot easier for Tucker to bring him down solo. Nice and neat. And there was no time for him to wait for the backup team. Not when Vane was headed to the airport. Seconds would matter at this point. “Do we know how he’s planning to leave?” Obviously he was going private, but he’d have to use a company.
“Not yet. If he’s going to attempt to leave the country, it’ll be under an alias. We haven’t found one yet, but we’re scouring the charter companies.”
Getting through airport security was as easy as Elliott had predicted, though the guards at the gate had eyed the minivan and Tucker and Karen with surprise. Probably because he was dressed like a homeless guy and she looked as though she should be out running a marathon. Not exactly federal agent dress code.
“He’s probably going to hire a private charter to upstate New York,” Elliott said after they’d cleared security. “Get as close to Canada as he can, then head over in a car.”
Tucker figured the same thing. It would make sense.
“Or at least I’m guessing,” Elliott continued. “Head to hangar D-Eight. He just entered it and . . . huh, it’s a helicopter charter flight service. One sec. . . .” The sound of typing filled the air as Elliott likely hacked into their system. “According to their schedule they’ve got one of their helos already on a tour and one scheduled to leave in half an hour. Guy named Theo Smith made the reservation last minute from . . .” More typing. “A cell phone registered to one of our agents.” Elliott cursed but quickly regained his composure. “Must have used it and then left it behind because it’s still pinging from the blast site. Gotta be Vane. Shit, looks like another call was made to Osborn. Give me a sec.” Elliott would be telling Burkhart that Osborn had likely been alerted before Burkhart had ordered all his teams to move in.
Hopefully they’d brought him down first. He wouldn’t get far anyway.
“We’re almost there,” Karen said as Tucker continued driving.
It was a cold, sunny day with high-priced planes and a few helicopters parked on the tarmac and countless more in hangars. A new shot of adrenaline surged through him. They were closing in on Vane. Tucker was going to leave Karen behind when he brought him down. He couldn’t risk her getting caught in the cross fire. He didn’t think she’d balk about staying in the vehicle. Soon he and his guys would have their lives completely back.
“Any news on Hillenbrand?” Tucker asked, wanting as many details as he could get.
“He’s in a secure holding cell now, but Burkhart hasn’t been able to break away to talk to him yet.”
Because he was helping the ground crew pull out bodies. Something Elliott didn’t have to say out loud, but both Tucker and Karen knew it.
“What about the others?” Karen asked.
“Osborn hasn’t been found, but we’ve got a team at his house, his work, and his wife’s real estate agency. She’s convinced we have the wrong man.” He snorted. “You’re close to the hangar now.”
“What’s the best place to park and remain hidden?” he asked, knowing Elliott had the schematics of the entire airport.
“Hangar next door should be fine. It’s a storage unit for helicopters, owned by the same charter company. But the backup team is only . . . twelve minutes behind you.”
“I’m not waiting.” No way in hell was he giving Vane even twelve extra minutes. Anything could happen in that time. He glanced at Karen. “And I need you to stay here.” The van had dark tinting on the windows and would give her good cover. “If you see anything out of the ordinary, just leave.” He didn’t know enough about the airport layout to have her hide somewhere and he’d rather her be in control of a vehicle with a clear mode of escape.
He was glad when she nodded. “You be safe.”
Nodding, he didn’t say anything else while he parked next to another vehicle in a makeshift parking area where Elliott had directed them. Now it was time to take Vane down.
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