his house.
Everyone made way for me as I went up behind Mike, putting my hands on the back of the chair. “Did he call anyone yet?”
“Not yet,” Mike answered. “But it’s the first time we have him isolated. We need to send the text while we can.”
“Agreed. Can someone wake up Wally and Frankie?”
While Kira left to do it, I ducked under the table and dug out an extra burner phone Jax had picked up at the Quick Mart. I set up the phone, then double-checked the number Isaac had used to call Sampson from his phone. I punched in the numbers, but before I typed the text, I glanced up. The room had fallen silent.
Everyone was watching me. I knew what they were thinking. The stakes had never been higher.
Drawing in a breath, I typed the text, finishing just as Frankie came into the room with Kira. I handed it around in case I needed to make any changes to the text.
Change of plans. I want you to personally tell the handler that it is time for the bird to disappear permanently. Do it now. Do NOT use any electronic means to relay this message. Text me when you arrive at location and await further instructions. Do not hurt the bird until I say so. I want this done properly, but we need to allow as much time as possible for the target to come to his senses. Do not expect additional communications from me until then. Situation is insecure.
“Looks good, but how do you know there is only one handler?” Kira asked when it was her turn to read it.
I shrugged. “I don’t. But I assume there is at least one in charge. Hopefully, it appears as if I’m addressing that person.”
Kira nodded. “Good thinking.”
“Do I sound like Isaac Remington?” I asked the group.
“Oh, you sound exactly like that douchebag,” Frankie offered, and it made me smile.
Everyone else read the message without offering any additional changes, so I decided it was good to go.
“As soon as I push the Send button, things are going to go down fast,” I said. “We need to be ready to follow him to the location, and I need to get the cavalry en route. We need to do all this without tipping our hand to Remington or Sampson, which means we have to be extra careful what we do and how we do it. I want Remington to go down for my mom’s kidnapping, for the murder of J. P. Lando, for threatening my father, and for everything else, which means we have to execute this perfectly.”
“We will,” Wally said, sitting down in front of his laptop. His hair stuck up in spikes, but his eyes behind his glasses were clear. “We’re ready. Let’s do it.”
I exhaled a deep breath and pushed to send the message. We quickly huddled around Mike’s laptop to see if Sampson had changed direction.
“He hasn’t changed direction yet,” Mike said.
“He will,” I said confidently. About two minutes later, he did exactly that.
“Bingo,” Wally said.
“Let’s get loaded up, team,” I said, my spirits and anxiety rising. “This operation is about to go mobile.”
Jax and Bo went outside to pull their cars around while Wally, Mike, and I packed up our laptops and other gear. I could see a stack of backpacks by the door and wondered what they contained, even as I understood that everyone was carrying anything they felt might be useful. No one was holding anything back.
“We stay in constant communication,” I reminded everyone as I went out the door with Wally and Mike on my heels.
“You bet,” Bo answered.
Wally, Mike, and I climbed into Jax’s car, while Frankie, Kira, and Hala went with Bo.
Jax already had Bo on the phone when we got in the car, so they could follow us as Mike tracked Sampson’s car. Since we had the GPS tracker, we didn’t have to follow right behind him. Jax and Mike were in the front, while Wally and I sat in the back seat, balancing our laptops on our knees, cables stretched out between the three of us. Jax propped his phone on the dashboard with Bo on speaker.
The tension was palpable. Nothing was said that wasn’t directly related to the mission. Things had taken a serious turn, and we all had our game-day faces on.
“He’s now heading southeast toward Anne Arundel County,” Mike said, watching his screen. “He’s definitely not going home.”
“Good,” I said. “Jax, you got a burner phone for me?”
He