Garrett slid into the car just as his phone rang. “Garrett here.”

“Hey, it’s Mac. I have a number on that license plate. It’s from the rental place less than a mile from the hospital. I checked it out and the man who rented it used a fake ID.”

That didn’t surprise him. “So, we basically don’t have any leads? I think I may go back to the hospital and try to retrace exactly what happened. On the security camera it shows several men throwing her into the back of a white van. You say the guy had a fraudulent ID? Do you think it was Nagi?”

“Yes, that’s the conclusion that Tony and I came to. Evidently, a TSA officer at the airport shot El Hashem. The members of his gang got him to a safe house, and it appears the idiots must have realized that his injury was so serious he needed medical attention. It only took a few keystrokes to find out who happens to be the best doctor in the area. They must’ve done enough digging to find out where she worked and the time she got off duty. Then they waited for her.”

Garrett prayed it turned out to be that simple. He kept pushing away the thought that Haley was in the hands of those monsters and what they might do to her. It nearly drove him insane.

“I’m leaving Susan Clarkson’s house now,” Garrett started the car. “From the looks of the mess left behind, someone broke in and cut her throat. As the only person who saw Haley being taken, I’m suspicious. They must’ve left one of their militia at the hospital to make sure if they were observed, he’d take care of the problem. I suspect he hung around and followed her when she headed home. She was killed before she had a chance to change out of her scrubs. I have to assume this is the work of El Hashem’s men.”

“That’s so senseless.” Mac cleared his throat. “I talked to Susan Clarkson earlier on the phone before she left the hospital. She didn’t recognize them. They killed her for no reason. Poor woman didn’t have a damn thing to report.”

Garrett thought for a few minutes trying to gather all the information he had. “Okay, let’s assume they took Haley from the hospital because El Hashem needs surgery. We know you can’t do that just anywhere. That means they must have a building, a warehouse or a piece of property somewhere. I suspect it can’t be too far from the hospital. You’d have a hard time driving all over the place with a kidnapped doctor. Triangulate between the hospital, the rental car place, and the airport. My guess is they are somewhere in that vicinity. That’s where they took Haley.”

The line fell quiet for a few moments as he heard Mac tapping on his keyboard. “Going by that theory she would be somewhere in the southeast corner of Baltimore, but that’s about a three-mile radius.”

“What else is in the area? Anything that you can think of. This is all we have to go on.”

Again, the line went quiet, and Garrett prayed that Mac would pull a rabbit out of his hat. He’d done it before. Mac McKenzie just happened to be one of the best agents Falcon had. It was almost diabolical the way he could figure out the way criminals and fugitives thought.

“It may not be important but...”

“What, man? I’ll take a grain of salt, right now. Give me something to go on.”

“How about a small, private airport?”

“That might make sense. They’re going to eventually want to get out of the country. And with half the country looking for them, it’s not like they can drive around freely. At least, not with a critically injured man. And we know they can’t stay holed up for long. Their faces have been splashed all over the news.” Garrett grew somber. “You’re not going to like this.”

“What?”

“The FBI is way behind on the attempted bombing at the airport. They don’t know a thing.”

“Damn. Frank’s the one that’s not going to want to hear that.”

“Neither will the president.”

Mac let out a tired breath. “We know there’s a lot of holes in the system. We’re right back to most departments having no idea what the others are doing. Dammit, everyone should know who’s responsible for the bombing at the airport. Do these idiots ever listen to the news?”

“It’s only been out a few hours. Those two FBI agents at Susan Clarkson’s house were completely clueless. They have no idea what’s going on. And my guess is they were there to speak to Miss Clarkson for the first time. Can it be there were other agents from the FBI that interviewed Miss Clarkson and didn’t share that information with their own co-workers?”

“We’re right back where we were before 9/11. Big egos.”

“Yeah.”

Garrett sped up as he pulled onto the freeway. “You know, Mac. If El Hashem has been shot, they’re going to need medical equipment and some surgical supplies might be hard to come by on the open market.”

“That’s right,” Mac’s voice grew excited. “You might need a license or have to go through a supplier.”

“I know a doctor there in Dallas who might be able to help me out. Let me call him. I’ll get back to you.”

“Out.”

Garrett prowled through his phone until he found Dr. David Shelton’s contact. He punched in the number and when he didn’t answer, Garrett left a message for him to call back.

In the meantime, he decided to check back at the hospital. Maybe a person saw Haley being taken and didn’t realize what was going on. The rain had let up, but the streets were slick as ice. Twice he’d nearly slid off the road. He drove to the emergency room and checked in with the front desk. A curvy woman with black hair piled high on the top of her head sat behind the counter.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m investigating Dr. Kingston’s kidnapping and I wondered if I might speak with one of the doctors?”

“All those on her shift have left already. The day shift is working now.”

Before Garrett continued, his phone rang. Placing the phone to his ear, he said, “Garrett here.”

“Hey buddy, it’s David. What can I do for you?”

Garrett turned and walked away so he could have some privacy. “I hope you’re sitting down.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Garrett heard the mounting tension in David’s voice. “Haley has been kidnapped. We think a terrorist group has her.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” David gasped. “Why would someone take her?”

“I don’t know. I’m on the case and I’ll find her no matter what, but I need your help.”

“Sure. Whatever you want, I’m at your disposal.”

“I think they kidnapped Haley because she’s a skilled surgeon. That indicates that one of the terrorists may have been injured. A gunshot wound perhaps. Do you know what medical supplies she may need to perform a surgery like that?”

A brief silence filled the air. “Give me a minute,” He heard rustling in the background. “So much would depend on exactly where the wound is located, but I can text you a list of the most common items she would use. Would that help?”

“Yes. Yes, it would. And I appreciate your help. Also, where would they get these items?

“For doctors, everything is at the hospital and very easy for us to access. On the outside, some of these things could be very difficult to come by. We are not talking about street drugs here. These are serious medications. Drug dealers don’t carry those. My guess is they would have to go to a wholesaler. And that doesn’t mean that they would willingly hand over those kinds of drugs and equipment to someone who’s not a doctor.”

Garrett had hoped for a better outcome from their conversation. David and Haley had gone to medical school together. They were good friends. Garrett felt confident David cared enough for her to help if possible. David’s hands, though, were just as tied as his. “Can you text me a list of local suppliers. Ones that I can pay a visit to?”

“Of course, I’ll send you everything I know. I’m worried, Garrett. If they are terrorists, once they’re finished with her odds are they will kill her. Right?”

“I’m not about to let that happen. You forget how much she means to me, still.”

“I know how difficult the breakup between you two was on both of you. I still don’t know why it happened and I don’t want to, it’s none of my business. What’s important is that you save Haley’s life. I know you still love her and she still loves you. Romance aside, the important thing is that she isn’t harmed.”

“I am aware of that. That’s my main objective. Haley will come out of this alive. The problem is, David, I need to find out where they are holding her, and right now, every clue has led to a dead end. I have nothing except where they might go to find the drugs she needs to perform the surgery. Other than that, I don’t have a hint of where she might be.”

“But you know that she’s still alive?”

“I’m going to assume that. As long as her patient is breathing, I feel confident Haley is safe. Should he die, there’s very little reason for them to keep her alive.”

“Now you’re scaring the hell out of me.” A pregnant pause filled the air. “I can’t imagine anything happening to her. She’s such a good person. She’s dedicated her whole life to saving people.”

“Do you remember the first time we met? I told you then, even innocent people sometimes get hurt.”

“I know what you said, but this is different. This is Haley, and we can’t allow anything to happen to her. I know you will do everything in your power to get her back safely.”

“Text me the information and I’ll go from there. I plan on visiting every medical supply company in the general area. I’ll see what I can find out there.”

“Call me if I can help in any way.”

“You know me, David. I don’t give up easily, and I’m going to find out who has Haley. I will bring her back.”

Garrett ended the call then quickly dialed Falcon Securities. The line went directly to Mac. “I wanted to keep you apprised,” Garrett growled. “If Haley must perform surgery, she will need medical supplies. I talked to a friend of hers and he’s going to send me a list of medical suppliers in the area. Do you have anything else?”

“Nothing concrete,” Mac said. “I contacted a couple of agents to help you check out the supply companies. Right now, we don’t have anything. There is no chatter, no more information on the bombing, and we’re not getting anything from the FBI.”

“I expected as much. I find it difficult to believe that no one else in the hospital saw anything. Haley left work during a shift change,” Garrett grumbled. He felt like punching a wall. “So that means hundreds of people were walking out the doors to go home. And yet only one nurse saw Haley being kidnapped? I find that really hard to believe. Go back over that surveillance video. We need to know who else was in the general area when they grabbed Haley.”

“I’ll do that. I have the tapes here. The hospital has been very cooperative since Frank called them. As Haley was taken in the open, as opposed to the parking garage, I have to agree with you. Someone saw something.”

“Do you think another employee at the hospital is involved to in this?” Garrett asked. “Someone who perhaps diverted people away from where they intended to get Haley?”

“That would have to be someone who knew Haley’s habits. Who knew what time she would be leaving, and who knew what exit she took. That takes some planning, and this snatch and grab was done too quickly for that.”

“Do you think they just got lucky? Could taking Haley have fallen into place so smoothly for them?”

Mac scoffed. “In our line of work, that rarely happens. So, we need to be looking at someone at the hospital.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Mehaza Nagi had difficulty concentrating and he blamed the doctor. They had gotten very lucky at kidnapping her so easily, but now so many other things had to fall into place for their mission to succeed, and he had doubts. After tying up the doctor, he left the room and went into the kitchen where a cup of lukewarm tea waited for him on the scarred table. He settled into a chair he feared would not support his weight, and rested his head on his hands. The whole ordeal had left him exhausted.

They never considered El Hashem might get shot during their escape. No plans were in place should someone be injured. For it to have been Zareeb might very well ruin all their plans. Plans Mehaza knew nothing about, for his friend had kept silent about their true mission in the States. Simply telling him only what he needed to know.

Now, Mehaza shouldered the responsibility of a mission he had no clue how to implement.

To his knowledge, their plot to blow up the airport had been well planned. Nothing should have gone wrong. Yet everything had, and now they were in a terrible position. He knew in his heart they would be fortunate to escape the ordeal without being captured.

Mehaza was not a stupid man. He’d been very well educated in England and one look at El Hashem’s wound told him it was fatal. He would not leave this country alive.

But Mehaza had to be very careful. As he glanced around the room, his eyes fell on the seven men who had been their accomplices. Seven who were completely loyal to El Hashem. Men who would stab him in the back, if ordered. He didn’t know them or where they were from, nor did he know their families.

These men, hand-picked by El Hashem, would gladly die for their leader. These were people he trusted and counted on to do as he commanded. Even though he and El Hasham had grown up together as children, Mehaza Nagi now held the position of an outsider. And he felt it in every way.

El Hashem had come to him recently with talk of all the things he’d dreamed of. He claimed to have long known that Mehaza wanted to strike down America. To destroy her at the very core. But Mehaza was only one man and El Hashem had many, as well as lots of money.

After serving the Muslim Brotherhood, Mehaza moved on to fight among the greatest rebels in Syria, ISIS. He was a good soldier and leader, but he wanted more. He wanted to come to America and destroy it completely. To do that, he had to be here. El Hashem presented him with the perfect opportunity.

Mehaza had jumped on board immediately. He had grand visions of glorious martyrdom. They would talk about him in his country of Pakistan for years to come. He would be a hero.

His reverie was interrupted when on of El Hashem’s men came and sat at the table beside him, a worried frown wrinkled his brow. “Will our great leader survive?”

Mehaza didn’t think so but he would not express that doubt to the men who felt honored to serve El Hashem. They didn’t want to hear that, and he did not want to be the bearer of bad news. “Let us pray to Allah that the doctor can save him.”

The man leaned forward, his forearms propped on the table. “Then what do we do? Where do we go?”

“We must get him to Washington, D.C. once he has been stabilized. That is our true destination.” He reached out and patted the man’s hand. “Do not worry, I have everything figured out.”

The man rose from the table and went to join the others. Mehaza shook his head with doubt. What a fool these men had been. All he knew was El Hasham had mentioned they were headed for the capitol. He knew nothing else.

The best thing that could happen would be for their great leader to die quickly. Then Mehaza could create his own plan to demolish this country, instead of sitting there twiddling his thumbs. El Hashem was alive and needed surgery. If they waited for him to recover, it might jeopardize them all.

El Hashem would die no matter what they did to try to prevent it, so why were they still here? And what did he plan to do with the doctor? He had no choice but to kill her, for nothing would interfere with his dream. Not even the murder of an innocent.

Once El Hashem died, his only choice was to blame it all on the doctor. He would make sure she failed so they might be able to get out of there as quickly as possible.

That appeared their only hope.

Haley squirmed uncomfortably in the chair. Mehaza had gone to great lengths to make sure she had been securely tied. He didn’t want to take a chance that she might run. Having nothing to do, she thought about the two men who had left to go in search of the medical supplies. She had no idea where to send them. She didn’t buy surgical provisions on the open market.

One of the men must’ve been an expert on the computer, because it didn’t take long for him to find several places claiming to carry the items they needed.

She noticed their skepticism in leaving the safety of the building to go in search of the items on her list. She didn’t blame them. Perhaps they feared leaving their leader in the hands of Mehaza who appeared to not be one of them, for the men barely acknowledged his existence.

Haley guessed that every armed official in the state looked for the whereabouts of her and those men. Before leaving work, she had briefly heard about the attempted airport bombing on the TV, and how the TSA had been able to thwart the attempt.

While the men had gotten away, they suspected that one man had been shot. The news had been correct. Evidently, they spoke of El Hashem. Now it had become her responsibility to save his life. She doubted that was possible, but keeping her tied up and not attending to the patient was the worst thing they could do. No matter how many times she expressed her concern to Mehaza, he refused to listen.

“Can I have a drink,” she called out. “I’m thirsty.”

It took a few minutes before Mehaza came in carrying a glass of water. He held it to her lips and allowed her to take several gulps. Then he stepped away, his eyes narrowing.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be so demanding,” Mehaza warned. “If we captured you, we can easily abduct another doctor to take your place.” An evil smirk twisted his bearded face. “A man perhaps? El Hashem might be much happier with that choice. He doesn’t trust women.”

“Good, then you can let me go. Besides, I’m sure a man would do a better job.” She hoped he caught her sarcasm.

“The men will be back shortly, then you will perform the surgery. Hopefully we can leave as scheduled.”

“I’ve already told you that El Hashem cannot be moved that quickly. Well, not without killing him, and I’m sure you don’t want that to happen.”

It surprised her how quickly his features changed. In a flash, a mask of indifference covered his face only to disappear instantly. Most people would never notice something so subtle, but Haley was very observant. She liked to watch their reactions to things, and Mehaza’s hadn’t been overly enthusiastic at the thought El Hashem might live.

“I take it that El Hashem is your leader? Is he the mastermind behind the failed airport bombing attempt?”

“We ran into a slight problem. Something no one would’ve been able to foresee. But we did get out of there alive. We were clever enough to do that.”

“So, let me understand. You walked into the airport to blow up a plane or perhaps the terminal. And while you didn’t blow up anything, one of you got wounded. So, you think you succeeded because you got out alive?”

“Yes, it’s very difficult. Something you would know nothing about.”

“Well, I know you went in there alive and came out with an injured man. That’s about as far from a success as I can imagine.”

The back of his hand across her face came so quickly Haley had not been able to prepare herself. Proof that Mehaza didn’t like to be belittled or challenged. She didn’t think he was a big fan of El Hashem’s, either. Funny the things you learn about people.

“You know that everyone in this state is looking for me and you. Odds are none of you will ever get out of the country.”

He leaned close, his eyes following the blood dripping down her chin. “What’s doubtful, Dr. Kingston, is that you get out of this alive.”

She grinned and sharpened her gaze. “The more you beat me the harder I’m going to work to keep your friend alive,” she snapped. “Then all your hopes of becoming the man in charge will go up in smoke.” She leaned back, confident in her assessment. “Right, Mehaza?”

A man came into the room and said something Haley didn’t understand, but Mehaza immediately lowered his hand and then narrowed his eyes. “You just wait,” he spat. “You’ll be killed for murdering El Hashem.” He grinned. “These men understand very little English. I can tell them anything. Even that you murdered their great leader and they will believe me.”

It appeared Mehaza intended to lay El Hashem’s death at her feet. She couldn’t let that happen, not and live. “We’ll see,” she said, stoically. “I’m a pretty damn good doctor.”