she said, “but not the same and the staying power of what Araneae and Lorna were given appears to be waning. Araneae has almost complete recollection of her time after she woke in that cell. What about Lorna?”
“It’s coming back in pieces. Lorna explained it as watching a television show from the end to the beginning. Slowly, the preceding scene is recalled.”
“I truly think there’s something to the ant venom. It somehow pulled her from the grasp of the pharmaceutical formula.”
My phone buzzed. I recognized the name as one of our Sparrows, one I’d recently seen.
“Murray,” I said, connecting the call.
“Mr. Murray, this is Sam.”
A smile curled my lips at the memory of Sam at the warehouse with the baby. “Sam, what’s happening?”
“Sir, I can’t reach Mr. Pierce. I’m here with Marsha, near the mile marker he said. We found the ambulance.”
“The one on the side of I-90?”
Chicago ranked last of the five largest cities in the United States on the number of ambulances per one hundred thousand people. It didn’t make sense for one to be left abandoned.
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you find anyone with the ambulance?”
“We don’t know. We’re near it. Mr. Pierce said to call him before getting close.”
My mind went back to the bunkers and how Mason had known they could be booby-trapped. “Sam, hold on a minute.” I put the phone on mute and relayed to Sparrow and Laurel that we had Sparrows at the abandoned ambulance. “Mason told them to call him when they arrived. Sam said Mason hasn’t answered his call.”
“He didn’t answer for him either?” Laurel asked, small lines of worry forming around her eyes.
“Put Sam on speaker,” Sparrow said.
I hit the button and laid the phone on the corner of the desktop. “Sam, Murray here. I’m also with Mr. Sparrow.” I looked at Laurel and shook my head. It wasn’t that she didn’t matter or that having a woman with us was a weakness—Sam was with Marsha. It was that when you are in the presence of the king, the rest of us are less significant.
“Mr. Sparrow,” Sam said, “from a distance, the ambulance looks safe. It’s the standard box-like style. The windows in the back and side door are darkened and we haven’t gotten close enough to see inside. There’s no driver or anyone in the front cab.”
Sparrow took a deep breath. “Sam, who’s your backup?”
“Marsha, sir.”
Sparrow nodded. “Have Marsha take your phone and change to video. I want to see what you’re seeing.”
“Yes, sir.”
I muted the call while projecting my phone via Bluetooth to the large screen overhead.
“Back in Montana,” I said as we waited for their video to connect, “Mason knew or suspected that the bunkers were a trap—that they were rigged. I’m wondering if he asked Sam to call because he thinks the same thing is possible about this ambulance.”
“It could be,” Laurel replied.
“Or simply a decoy to waste our time,” Sparrow said.
“We” —I motioned between Laurel and I— “think they used the ambulance to get Ruby out of the hospital. It makes the most sense. What if she’s still in it?”
“You said her trackers were with Mason,” Sparrow said, “and I sure as fuck don’t want to lose two Sparrows to a decoy.”
The screen came to life as I unmuted my phone and spoke, “Murray.”
“Let me try Mason again,” Laurel whispered.
The video feed began. Sam’s description of the ambulance was accurate, standard-fare white box with Chicago Fire Dept. on the side, red and yellow reflective lines surrounding the back two doors, and one side door near the front on the passenger side. The cab was similar to that of a van. The waning and waxing roar of passing cars came through the speakers.
“Walk around the ambulance from a distance. Don’t touch it,” Sparrow instructed.
Laurel shook her head, indicating she couldn’t reach Mason. “Voicemail.”
My heart thumped in my bruised chest as Marsha walked around the ambulance. “Do you have a mirror?” The mirror I was referring to was similar to a giant dental mirror—a mirror on a long stick angled to see beneath vehicles. The secret service used them regularly to check vehicles that came near people they protected.
“No, sir,” Marsha replied.
“Fuck,” Sparrow muttered.
“Boss, I can check underneath.” It was Sam’s voice.
Sparrow’s head shook. “Sam, you’re a big man. You touch a trip wire by mistake and I’m down a fucking good Sparrow, and your wife and kid are down someone they love.”
In the midst of all the tension, I had to smile. Sterling Sparrow had literally thousands of