Sean worked fast. The guy he'd taken out was mostly out of view from the street, resting quietly on the sidewalk behind the right side of the car. The other two… were significantly more conspicuous. He ran around the car's back end and grabbed the guy Tommy'd been holding. With another look down both streets, Sean took the guy by the ankles and dragged him up and over the curb. He left the body next to the other one and rushed back to get the third.
The man was starting to roll his head around, eyes cracking open as he regained consciousness.
"Shh," Sean said. "Go back to sleep."
He lifted the man's head and dropped it to the pavement with a sickening thud. The guy instantly stopped moving again.
Sean stole another look around before hooking the guy under the armpits and dragging him around the front of the car. This time, he kept moving, tugging the body into a dark alley. When he reached a couple of garbage cans, Sean let go of the man and let him slump into a heap out of view from the street.
He took a couple of deep breaths as he hurried back to the sidewalk to grab the next guy. His legs burned as he pulled another agent into the hiding place, the man's weight starting to strain Sean's muscles.
"Two down," he said, wiping his forehead. Despite the frigid winter temperatures, hauling so much weight had the tendency to get one's heart rate going.
Sean trotted back out to the street and saw more cars approaching from both directions. Fortunately, the last hit man was hidden behind Tommy's car, but not from the pedestrians walking down the sidewalk. It was a young couple, laughing and strolling hand in hand, probably enjoying the end of a lovely date. Any second now, their laughter would turn to screaming and chaos the moment they noticed the body on the concrete.
Sean had to think fast. Remembering something he'd had to do in college for more than a few friends, he scooped up the last guy in his arms and wrapped one arm underneath the opposite armpit, holding the guy up like he'd sprained his ankle. As casually as possible, Sean took a step back and leaned against the car, pretending to rest with what he hoped appeared to be a drunk friend.
The couple slowed down as they approached the two men. Their laughter dissipated, and they tried not to make eye contact as they passed.
Sean smiled awkwardly at them as they passed. "He had way too much to drink," he said. "Can't believe he was actually going to try to drive home."
The couple kept walking, only acknowledging Sean's statement with a few uncomfortable nods before they sped up and walked away.
He looked back over the top of the car at the entrance to the hotel. "Hurry up, Tommy," he said quietly.
Chapter 6
By the time Tommy and June appeared on the sidewalk, Sean had already dragged the last of the hit squad into the alley and dumped him with the others.
"Took you long enough," Sean said as Tommy and June neared the car.
June was carrying her clutch while Tommy pulled a rolling suitcase behind him.
"I was crawling into bed," June explained. "My flight is pretty early tomorrow morning, you know."
"Nice to see you again, June," Sean said. "Sorry for the change of plans. Seems your boyfriend ran into a little trouble."
Tommy's eyes darted around. "Speaking of trouble, what did you do with them?"
Sean jerked a thumb toward the dark alley. "I dumped them in there."
"You… you just hid dead bodies in there?" June asked, more appalled than frightened.
"They're not dead," Sean said. "At least I don't think they are. Can we talk about this in the car? I'd rather not be around when they wake up. And we need to get you to a safer place."
"Good points," Tommy agreed. He turned to June. "Just get in. We'll figure it out on the way."
They stuffed June's sparse luggage into the back seat and sped away, hanging a right at the next intersection, squealing tires on the wet asphalt.
"You mind telling me what is going on?" Tommy said, steering the car down another side street.
"I wish I knew," Sean said. He noted the direction they were heading. "Go north."
"North?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah. Head to Helen and Mac's place. June can crash there for the night. They'll be able to take you to the airport in the morning," Sean said, turning his attention to June in the front passenger seat.
"Their place is like an hour from the airport?" Tommy said.
"Would you guys mind telling me what in the world is going on?" June interrupted. "I know it's probably something to do with international villains and ancient mysteries, but what have you two done this time?"
Tommy glanced in the rearview mirror at his friend in the back. "Sean?"
Sean sighed. "I'm not entirely sure yet. I was working on the Seward project. Then several days ago, a group of guys approached me in Auburn, New York. They put me in the back of their SUV and drove me out to the middle of nowhere."
"Jeez. Seriously?"
"Unfortunately, yeah. They were government. One of them is, or was, definitely CIA. I met him a long time ago. Name is Drew Porter. Cocky young buck. First impression I got from him was ego and ambition. Looks like I wasn't too far off. I guess someone with money and secrets took him under their wing. He wanted to know why I was looking around the Seward estate."
A momentary silence filled the car before June broke it. "Why would the CIA care about your research?"
Sean rolled his shoulders. "No idea. But if there's one thing I do know, it's that they come after you when you've found something you weren't supposed to."
"Why didn't you just tell them you were doing a project at the request of the president? That should have gotten their attention."
Sean snorted. "You know, I thought the same thing. Turns out mentioning President Dawkins's involvement might have been a bad thing."
"Why do you say that?"
"They must not have known he was the one who made the request. As soon as I said so, they said something about eliminating him."
"What?" June gasped.
"Yeah. They said they're going to take out Dawkins. Which means we need to warn him."
"Warn him?" Tommy asked.
"Right. Only problem is, there's no way I can even get close to the president now. I've been burned."
"Burned?” June asked. "What do you mean?"
"It means that whoever is behind all this has wiped out my bank accounts, credit cards, everything. If I so much as set foot anywhere close to the president, I'll probably be arrested on sight."
"Are you sure?" Tommy asked, looking back in the mirror again.
"Yeah. I'm sure. And to make things worse, I can't get through to Emily either, which means they've infiltrated Axis, too. Whoever is pulling the strings behind all this is a major player."
The car went silent again as Tommy guided it onto the interstate heading north. Atlanta's skyline passed by outside. New high-rise condos and apartments lined the road across from Georgia Tech. The taller buildings in Midtown climbed into the darkness, casting a dull glow on the low cloud ceiling above.
"I wonder…" Tommy said, letting his voice trail off.
"Wonder what?"
"Earlier this evening I tried to pay for dinner, but my cards were declined. You don't think—"
"They burned both of us," Sean finished the thought.
A lump dropped from his throat into his stomach. He hadn't considered that possibility. Now he cursed himself for bringing Tommy and June into this mess, although it wasn't his fault. He had started the project thinking it was innocent enough. There was no way to know it would turn into something like this.
"Oh no," Tommy said.
"What?" Sean asked and then realized the issue before his friend could respond. He saw the blue lights flashing behind them. "Were you speeding?"