Chapter Forty-Four

Ian put his car in neutral and let it idle outside the abandoned building. He hadn't spent much time in this part of the city.

"Odd place." He scanned the area. A feeling of unease settled in the pit of his stomach.

The voice on the other end of the line when he'd received the call at Fallon's had rattled off a time and this destination. Ian was five minutes early. His instructions were to wait in the dark until someone came to the car.

It was all very strange and all the senses that made him a great detective were screaming at him. But, if this was the way to get the gun and a possible lead to whoever killed Gregory Maddox, then here he'd wait.

His anxiety grew as time passed. There was something wrong. Keeping an ear tuned to the low-set scanner, he watched the dark building. As he waited he debated calling Bill just to see if he would meet him here, but decided against it. He'd been ordered to come alone. Shaking his head, Ian sighed.

"I'm as nervous as a rookie." Pulling one gun out of its holster, he chambered a round and got out of his car. The ringing of his cell phone surprised him and he frowned as he reached for it. "Cavanaugh," he said in a soft tone.

"Are you there?" The question was barked.

It was Rick DeVane. This was a surprise. A huge one. "Captain?"

"Are you waiting as instructed?"

"I'm here. On my way into the—"

"No!" DeVane yelled. "Wait in the car. Keep it completely dark."

"Why all the secrecy, Captain? Am I getting the gun from you?"

"You ask a lot of questions. Now get back in your car and wait."

Why is he so keen on me being in the car? Am I being watched? He scanned the area but couldn't see a thing. The lights were useless and the cloudy sky gave good cover. He did as he'd been told, quietly pulling the door shut after him.

"I'm in the car."

"Now just wait. I'll be there soon," DeVane grunted and hung up.

A million questions raced through Ian's head. The main one being, why here and why now? Although why DeVane had gone through so much secrecy to get him here was a close second. He'd always trusted his gut and it was telling him to get out. Screaming, actually.

Moving quickly but as silently as possible, he opened his door and sipped out. With a few glances around, Ian headed for the still-dark warehouse.

KA-BOOM!

The noise reached him as the heat wave hurled him forward to the brick wall of the building.

Holy shit!

Ian felt something crack into the back of his skull and as he sank to the ground, unconsciousness swirling upon him. He grabbed for his phone and pressed a preset button. His phone fell from nerveless fingers as darkness overtook him.

***

Fallon met Jin's gaze as they crouched in the near dark by the back door of the warehouse. Dylan was at a different door with another gang member, this one from the Double Z's. Resting familiarly in her ear sat an ear bud that connected her to her brothers. "Everyone ready?" she asked.

Her mind whirled as affirmative answers reached her. This was dangerous. Anyone of her family could be in danger. Dylan's voice was the last voice she was waiting for.

There had been a change in plans. Members of the Double Z's were waiting by pay phones to call this in. She would be calling in her contact given to her by Paul, Agent Jackie Carlson. As she listened to Jin telling people to go ahead and place their calls, she cracked open the door and slipped inside. Moments later, Jin joined her.

Flipping open her phone, Fallon placed her own call, dialing a memorized number. "It's going down. Get here fast." She knew the feds wouldn't be long in storming the building, they'd parked near, but not close enough to alert anyone who may have set up as a watch. Shoving the phone in her back pocket, she looked at Jin. "Let's do this."

Sneaking through the dark, she hesitated at a doorway. The faint glow of a light reached her. She could hear booted feet walking back and forth across the concrete floor. The steps indicated a lighter person but whoever it was carried themselves with assuredness. Sounds of bodies shuffling together also reached her.

Jin paused beside her and she saw him slip off the safety. "We should get moving. The others will be alerting them and the feds will be here soon. Sure you don't want a gun?" he asked.

Fallon shook her head and he pushed the gun into the back of his waistband. She knew Dylan had a gun as well, but she wasn't going to use one. Even though Jin and the Double Z were only there until the feds arrived, she would count on her hand-to-hand combat skills.

She waited for the man patrolling to come closer before she grabbed him around the neck and choked the air out of him until she felt his limbs relax as he sank into unconsciousness. Fallon dragged him backward, out of the room into the one where she'd waited for him and lowered his body in silence to the cold floor, keeping him in the shadows. Before she left him, she tossed his gun after she'd removed the clip from his AK-47 and threw it in a different direction.

In her ear, she caught snatches of her brothers as they did what she should be doing. Saving the kids. Gritting her teeth, Fallon put her head back in the game. Swiftly, she moved back in her original direction. As she passed cells full of children, she held a finger up to her lips. Not that they seemed inclined to make any noise. They just watched her with suspicious and wary eyes.

They were young, the oldest she'd wager was not more than eleven or twelve. Her stomach clenched at the things they'd almost had to go through. The older ones comforted the younger ones, keeping the crying hushed. As if they expected some form of punishment for making noise.

"Dylan," she muttered. "East side, there's a room with kids in cells. Get here and keep an eye on them."

"'Kay," he responded. She could hear his frustration. He thought she just wanted him out of danger, which she did, but that wasn't her reason. Dylan was very good with children.

Staring at the frightened Chinese youngsters, Fallon flashed them a reassuring smiled before she moved across the floor to the door located on the other side of the room. The next room was filled with pallets stacked high, containers, and more. There was noise and light coming from the other side of it.

She cast her gaze up toward the ceiling and around the room as she hid in the shadows. Perfect place for lookouts. "Jin, scout the top of the main room."

"Sure."

Fallon gave him a few seconds before she progressed further into the room. Sticking to the numerous shadows, she headed to the well-lit area. Peering around a large stack of barrels, Fallon bit back a hiss of disgust as her gaze took in the scene before her. One large screen with photos of each of the children she'd just left, on another, an enlarged photo of a child in the center with personal stats under it. A third large screen showed the interested and nodding faces of people who were listening to the speaking man. Sitting around in a semi-circle were more people, well dressed, watching another board that ran live bidding. The amounts kept climbing.

They were selling off the children. Her fingers clenched before she got her emotions back under control. The man talking in the middle turned and as she looked at his face, she swore. It was the deputy chief.

"Do it," she muttered.

Jin and Sync, the member from the Double Z gang, opened fire on the gathering, not hitting people, just destroying the computers, screens, and lights.

Screams filled the air as those guarding the group began to return fire. Someone hit the lights for the entire room and everyone blinked as their eyes readjusted. Fallon frowned as she stared at the large man across from her. Before he could pull the trigger, instinct took over and she kicked it out of his hands and began to fight with him.

She heard the radio at his side crackle as a panicked voice yelled they were under attack. Clay and Shawn's presence had been discovered. As she put the man down on the floor, she moved on to the next one, her body in total Krav Maga mode—neutralize your attacker as quickly as possible. Fallon wanted the deputy chief, wanted to make sure he didn't escape before the feds showed up.

She could hear the sirens and she hollered to Jin and Sync, "Get out of here."

"What about you?" Jin's voice reached her.

"Go," she ordered. "They'll be here soon."

She dispatched her next opponent and pressed closer towards the deputy chief, who attempted to slip away. Ducking as bullets whizzed past her head, Fallon picked up the pace a bit. She passed fallen people, yet, didn't stop. When she made it to the edge of the room, she noticed the cop running off down the darkened hall.

"Sis?" Dylan asked. "You okay?"

"Keep sharp, Dylan," she ordered even as she heard an outside door being blown open. "Never mind that, get out of there."

"What?"

"Get out of here, Dylan. Go home, now. Get out of here." She stopped to grab a small chunk of cement and hurled it down the hall at the man trying to get away. It hit him in the lower back. Despite the gravity of the situation, a small chuckle escaped as he crumpled to the floor, screaming in pain.

"FBI, FBI, everyone down. Everyone down!" A deep voice hollered. She looked up found herself staring at the business end of an M-4 Carbine assault rifle.

Fallon froze, even though she kept an eye on the man she'd knocked to the floor. She heard him arguing with the agent restraining him as well.

"I'm Deputy Chief of Police, I demand you let me go!" he shouted.

"Sorry, sir. No one is going anywhere until we get this all straightened out," a snide voice returned.

Fallon's gaze took in officers of Seattle PD intermingled with ones wearing the blue blazers with the brilliant yellow lettering across the back that identified themselves. As if the feds can't tell which ones are their own. Uptight bunch of...

"Identification," the one holding the gun on her said.

"Okay," she agreed. "I need to talk to Agent Carlson." Fallon slowly got to her feet. "My ID is in my vehicle." The man narrowed his eyes at her. She bristled in response. "Do you think we could lower the gun now?"

"Let me search you."

Spreading her legs a bit more, Fallon waited for the impersonal touch of a man searching for weapons. He finished in a few seconds. When the man stepped back, he gestured with his gun toward the cold wall. She took it to mean she should stand over there. Ignoring his silent directive, Fallon held his gaze. "You were just about to point me in the direction of Agent Carlson," she prodded.

As the agent frowned at her, she heard a code called out over the radio that had all of the Seattle officers antsy.

"Code 510. I've got a Code 510. I have an officer down at Marion and Western. Roll a bus! Now! Goddamn it. My partner's down!"

Fallon frowned as the words hit her. Then she looked up and caught sight of a dour-faced man, and the downed officer slipped her mind. "Agent Carlson?"

The man arched a brow and said, "Fallon Maddox?"

"Yes, sir."

***

Every muscle in his body ached. Slowly he opened his eyes. He could hear sirens and see the flashing lights. It took a while before things came into focus. The first thing he saw was Bill. His partner's face looked all scrunched and worried.

It didn't take Ian long to figure out he had an oxygen mask on over his mouth. "What's going on?" he rasped.

"Don't try to talk, Ian. Just hang in there. We're almost to the hospital."

Hospital? His head screamed with agony as he tried to remember what happened. Bill's face began to fade as darkness swarmed in on him again.

There were other voices yelling some garbled mess about stats, and he felt people touching him all over. He wanted it to stop, longing for silence.

"Hang in there, Ian!" Bill shouted. "Stay with me."

Ian couldn't summon enough energy to respond. He heard Bill yell as he faded into the blackness, "Move this damn thing! That's my partner lying there." Then there was nothing.