He reached his hand back into the limo and helped out the woman. She was around thirty, with long dark hair that swirled around her shoulders. She was nearly as tall as the man and had the sort of long-limbed and narrow-hipped body that fashion designers craved for the catwalk. She had on faded jeans with a series of slashes at the knees and thighs. Her blouse bared both her tanned shoulders, and when she reached up to tousle her hair, the blouse pulled up to show rock-hard abs.
Lambert scurried forward to greet them as the woman checked her face in a mirror she pulled from the large Prada bag slung over her shoulder.
“How are you doing, Mr. and Mrs. Randall? I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” He looked anxiously back at Robie, Reel, and Malloy.
“Change of plan. Suzy wants to go to our place in the Hamptons earlier than I thought. So let’s hit this thing, Roark. I want to see what four mill bought me. And it better be damn good. Some of my friends are going the island route. I don’t want to be left thinking I made the wrong decision. That’s when the lawyers get involved.”
“Absolutely, sure thing, I know you’ll be pleased,” said Lambert hastily. He called over his shoulder to the hulking guard standing next to the Hummer. “Hank, can you run these other folks back into town? You can take my truck. I’ll be here for a while taking care of our clients here.”
He tossed the truck keys to Hank.
Randall eyed Robie and then Reel and then said to Lambert, “Are they staff?”
“How do you know we’re not owners?” said Reel.
Randall snorted. “Look, lady, I know what it costs to have a unit in this place. And I’ve been around big money all my life. I can smell the people who have it and I can definitely tell the people who don’t have it. And you’re definitely in the latter category. No offense, we can’t all be rich, right? I mean, what fun would that be?”
“Well, you’re right, actually, we’re not owners. We’re federal agents.”
Randall eyed her and then looked at the uniformed Malloy and said to Lambert, “Why are Feds here checking out things? We don’t have a legal problem, do we, Roark? That would definitely not make me happy.”
His wife interjected, “Jesus, Scotty, can we just get this going? This wind is drying my hair out. I did not sign up for this shit. I mean, I didn’t even know you could land a plane here. This is the part of the country you fly over, not come to.”
“Just a minute, hon. I need to get to the bottom of this. Well, Roark, do we have a problem with the damn government?” he said, eyeing Reel suspiciously.
“No sir, not one bit. I was just showing them around. They are not here in their official capacity.”
Randall hitched up his pants, placed his hand on the butt of his weapon, and said, “That’s a good thing. I don’t like legal problems. Got a whole army of lawyers to handle that crap.”
“I’m sure you do,” said Reel.
“So we’ll just be going,” added Robie.
“I don’t like government folks,” continued Randall. “They just get in the way of people that know what they’re doing. They mess every damn thing up. It’s like we’re living in a communist country sometimes. I can take care of myself. I don’t need the damn nanny state holding my hand while it sticks the other hand in my wallet.”
“Okay, so when someone robs you, don’t bother calling 911,” snapped Reel. “Handle it on your own.”
Randall patted his gun. “I got no problem with that, hon.”
“Oh, I think you’d have a big problem with that. And don’t pretend otherwise. I mean, isn’t that why you bought your little insurance policy here? So they could protect you from the big, bad riffraff banging on the door to get in?”
His wife stepped forward. “Who the hell do you think you are? Do you know who he is? He could buy and sell you.”
“Hank, why don’t you go on and head out now while I show the Randalls to their quarters?” said Lambert quickly. “I just don’t see the direction of this conversation as being productive.”
The hulking Hank, an AR-15 slung over his shoulder, came forward. “Yes, sir, Mr. Lambert.”
The chauffeur had popped the trunk and was pulling out massive pieces of luggage.
Reel eyed this and turned to the wife. They were about the same height. “Just a piece of advice, hon, in an apocalypse, no one is going to care what you’re wearing.”
Mrs. Randall glared at Reel. “You little bitch!”
Reel moved closer. “I’m someone with a badge, so lose the attitude and go check out your luxury digs while we get on with our petty little lives.”
Reel had turned away when the woman grabbed Reel by the shoulder. “Hey, I’m not finished with you yet.”
Reel moved so fast, it was hard to follow.
She pivoted, kicked out with her right leg, and took out the back of the woman’s knees. Mrs. Randall cried out in pain and fell back on her butt. The next instant Reel was straddling her, pinning her arms to her side.
Randall leapt forward and grabbed Reel by the neck. But a moment later he was lying on his face with Robie’s knee in his back and one hand on his neck, pinning him to the ground. When Randall reached for his gun, Robie blocked him and then leveled his own weapon against the man’s temple.
“You and your wife just assaulted a federal agent. We could arrest you both for that right now. But in the spirit of generosity from the government you loathe, we’ll let it pass. Don’t let there be a second time, because this is your only ‘get out of jail free’ card.”
Malloy squatted down next to Randall. “And that goes double from local law enforcement.”
Reel rose off a gasping Mrs. Randall while Robie removed his knee from her husband’s back. Randall scrambled to his feet while Lambert helped Mrs. Randall to hers. She staggered a bit and grabbed at her right leg.
“I’m gonna sue your ass off!” the woman screamed at Reel. “I think you tore something in my fucking knee.”
“Well, we can always hope,” said Reel.
“Please, everybody,” said Lambert. “Let’s just chill out here.”
“Good idea, Lambert,” said Robie. “Stick ’em both in the chill-out room. I think they could use it.”
He glanced at Hank, who was standing there looking helpless.
“Let’s hit the road,” said Robie.
They all walked toward the SUV. When Robie looked back the Randalls were screaming at Lambert and pointing at Robie and Reel.
As Robie and Reel passed by the chauffeur, the man said under his breath, “You just made my day.”
CHAPTER
42
“Something going on you want to tell me about?”
Reel was looking at Robie in the lobby of their hotel. Hank had just dropped them off. Malloy had walked across the street to the police station to make some calls and check on things.
“About what?” Robie asked.
“You tell me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Robie. “If I had something to tell you, I’d just tell you.”
“Okay,” said Reel, but she didn’t look convinced.
Robie’s phone buzzed and he groaned.
“What?” asked Reel.
“DCI’s office. She wants another update tonight.”
“Well, let’s spend the day trying to get an update for her.”
“Starting where exactly?” asked Robie.
“Everybody who knew about the prisoners in the van has disappeared: JC Parry, Clément Lamarre, and Blue Man.”
“Holly Malloy was connected to that and she didn’t disappear,” pointed out Robie.
“That’s true. But maybe they didn’t know she knew. The others might have done something to show their hand. And maybe they were planning to get to her, but Dolph beat them to it.”