the so-called bird, which we’re presuming is my mother. This is good news, except if neither Sampson nor Remington are in their cars at eleven thirty at night—and why would they be—there’s no way we can hear their conversation to determine: (a) if the bird is actually my mother, and (b) where she’s being held. I know the intelligence manuals say patience is an operative’s best friend, but we don’t have time in this situation. My dad hasn’t called, so I don’t know what’s going on there, either. I’m worried, so I want to put the next piece of the operation in place.”
“What piece is that?” Bo asked.
I inhaled a deep breath, steeled myself for the pushback I expected to receive. “We need to— No, I need to get inside Remington’s house tonight to hear that phone call.”
Dead silence. Everyone stared at me as if they couldn’t comprehend what I’d just said. “I know it’s an unusual step, but I’ve thought this through carefully, and I can do this…with your help. But we’re only going to get one shot.”
Jax frowned, disbelief clearly etched on his face. “Whoa, that’s a big leap, Red. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it’s out-there crazy. First we break into Remington’s car, and now you want to break into his house to hear a conversation that he may or may not receive tonight at eleven thirty? Need I remind you, Remington is a top NSA executive? He’s likely armed to the teeth, and if he catches you inside his house, he’d shoot first and ask questions later. And who would blame him? This is a beyond-dangerous proposition.”
“I know.” A strange sense of calm came over me. “Everything about this operation is dangerous. But it’s what needs to be done next.”
“Jax is right, Angel.” Wally rubbed his temples wearily. “You know I support you, but be reasonable. How are you going to get close enough to hear his conversation even if you get into the house?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m researching. What I do know is that I need to hear that phone call tonight.”
I looked around at their worried faces and realized I’d finally asked too much. I’d moved beyond surveillance to direct action. The risks had just jumped exponentially. I could see their concern and fear, but knew I needed their help and support if I was going to succeed.
“Guys, I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t have any other options.”
“Actually,” Mike said as he rose from his cross-legged position on the floor, “We might.”
I looked at him in surprise as he headed to the back door. “Jax, if you and Bo would help me, I have some things to bring in from my car. I’ll explain when we get back.”
After the guys left, I turned to the others. “Does anyone know what’s going on?”
No one replied, so we waited until the guys returned, each carrying a large black canvas bag. They set the bags in the middle of the floor, and Jax and Bo returned to their seats.
Mike stood next to me. “So, you’re probably wondering what’s in the bags,” he said. “Before we left the hotel—when it was clear we were going to be involved in something—I figured it might be worthwhile to get my hands on a few items that could potentially help us. I called up Professor Pérez and asked him if I could borrow some of the training equipment while the school was closed, so I could experiment with ways to improve it.”
“Professor Pérez from our MacGyver class?” Frankie asked.
“The one and only. We’ve only been at UTOP for a couple of weeks, but Professor Pérez and I really hit it off. He was born in the same town in Mexico as my grandparents, and I’ve helped him fix a couple of electronic items he was working on. Anyway, I’ve been pestering him about letting me review more of the school equipment and offer suggestions as to how he could improve efficacy and reach. I think he was afraid I’d bug him nonstop over our week off, so he let me take some of the equipment to work on. Of course, I promised him I’d return everything in perfect condition.”
Bo swept his hand over the bags incredulously. “He let you borrow three bags full of equipment?”
“Hey, a week is a long time,” Mike said.
I didn’t know why Professor Pérez had let him have the stuff, and I didn’t really care. I was just eternally grateful