Intercepted Risk (Aegis Group Task Force #5) - Sidney Bristol Page 0,40
a pity Dixon hadn’t worked out. He really had been their best candidate to back. He’d been polished, likable, easily molded. They could have had a long and profitable career together. Too bad he’d gotten greedy.
That was the thing about people today. They didn’t know how to be patient and wait for rewards to ripen. They all wanted it immediately.
The adjoining door between his suit and the next opened.
Skilton’s eyes opened and he grit his teeth.
“Not. Now,” he got out without snapping.
“Sir? It’s urgent,” his assistant said.
Skilton twisted and sat down on the mat. “Fine. What is it? What possibly couldn’t have waited?”
His assistant took a step back. Was he rethinking this intrusion?
“It’s the team that went after Dixon, sir.”
“What? Spit it out already.” Skilton was going to drag the words out of the man one way or another.
“They’re dead. Or arrested. I’m not yet clear which.”
“What?” Skilton shoved to his feet. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure yet. Our source on the task force just reached out via the secure channel. They are reporting some fatalities and some still alive. They indicated Dixon wasn’t among the dead.”
Skilton’s head reverberated with curses he would not debase himself by uttering. He could never forget that his so-called assistant wasn’t his man. For all he knew, his very own assistant reported to someone else.
“Out. Get out,” Skilton snapped.
His assistant scrambled back through the adjoining door, closing it with a hard thud.
“Fuck,” Skilton muttered, allowing himself that one word.
How did the Task Force know already? Had they been there?
He’d been assured that those watching the senator would be gone by five or six, at the very latest. Sending his people there by eight should have had them in the clear. And it wasn’t like Dixon had two brain cells to rub together when it came to his safety. Hell, Skilton’s people had already confirmed how easy it was to get in and out of the place without being seen.
This should have been an easy job.
Four men. Two targets.
How hard was that?
Skilton turned and began pacing.
It had all been handled. So what the hell was going on? How had things gone so wrong?
If he didn’t wrap this up soon, it would be his head on the block. He had no illusions about his job security. If he screwed up too many times, he’d get cut regardless of the years of work he’d put in.
“Think.”
There were too many people involved.
It was time to go back to the old ways, when he handled things himself and shit got done. Trusting others was a luxury he didn’t have any longer. No, Skilton hadn’t heard from his superiors. And he never would. They’d simply cut their losses and fill his position with someone else.
He stalked across to his briefcase and fished out the phone.
From this moment forward, all of the decisions would be made by him. He would pick the people and they would do what he told them to. There were too many loose ends for this Task Force to follow back to him, and ultimately the others.
Skilton tapped the number for his informant and lifted the phone to his face.
It was time to deal with this and be done.
FRIDAY. SENATOR DIXON’S Home. Annapolis, Maryland.
Kelsey paced the hallway. There was still blood smeared on her clothes and under her nails. Her skin felt sticky with it, but she wasn’t letting Dixon out of her sight. Not after she’d done everything she could to keep Robert alive until the paramedics arrived. He was in their hands now.
She swallowed and stopped, looking into the office where another set of paramedics were looking over the senator.
Dixon had alerted local police to the break-in from within the panic room. If it wasn’t for that, Robert might have bled out there on the carpet.
The cops eyed her. She’d had to show them her badge to keep from getting arrested. They still weren’t keen on allowing Logan free, but she’d thrown her weight around just enough for them to back the fuck off.
Where was Zora? Where were the guys?
Kelsey crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Dixon.
Logan made no sound as he approached and stood next to her, leaning against the wooden railing above the stairs.
“Makes you wonder what’s going on, doesn’t it?” she said in a low voice.
Logan merely nodded his head.
The instant Dixon had opened the panic room, he’d said he needed to see his lawyer. Not a word about Robert or anything, just bring me my lawyer. Until the lawyer