At Any Cost (26 page)

JT rested her chin on her hand, and her elbow on the arm of the small couch. This sucked. She hated waiting. Mercado couldn't have gotten too many men this soon. If they went after him now, they'd still have a chance. She just knew it.

"Stop pouting," Dan ordered gruffly. He slipped on his other boot and tied it. "We'll get him."

"Then why can't we go get him now?"

The satcom link buzzed. Dan stood and answered the line. "Weber."

He turned and looked back at JT, the oddest shadow behind his eyes. She took a breath to ask him who it was, but he turned his back to her.

"Man is it good to hear your voice. How did you get this link?" He paused. "You were always the smartest one. You received the package? Then you know what to do. You heard about the others? Fish. Sandman. Doughboy. He was? No, I hadn't heard. That's too bad. Gameboy was a good man. I guess that leaves you and me. Yes, and
him
."

He nodded. "Yes, she's here with me. I'll bet." He looked at her again. "You have my word." He stiffened. "Are you nuts? No, I don't.
No
. That isn't a good idea. Jesus Christ, man."

Dan colored and slumped his shoulders. "Sorry. Yes, I'll apologize to her. No, I don't usually talk like that around her." He growled and motioned to her with the receiver. "Someone to talk to you."

JT furrowed her brow and walked over. She accepted the receiver and brought it up to her ear. "Turner."

"Hi, Jessica. How's my baby girl?"

JT's mouth went dry. Her blood slowed. She knew his voice, prayed he'd one day talk to her again. Like he used to. "U-Uncle Charlie?"

"Guess I have some explaining to do." The line clicked a few times before his voice sounded again. "Are you okay down there?"

She swallowed as her eyes swelled with tears. This time she didn't bother to hold them back. Dan started pacing. He went by the window, stopping every few seconds to glare outside, then back at her.

"You're talking?" She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. Her uncle. The one man who competed for the pedestal she'd placed her father on. And when she started in
Gahanna
, she'd placed Dan Weber on his very own pedestal. She didn't know whether his pedestal was higher or lower than Uncle Charlie's.

And now, she had a deep foreboding growing inside her brain. The disabled didn't simply jump up one day and declare themselves healed.

"Listen to me, sweetheart. I'm not sick, never was. I wish I had more time to explain."

"More time?" JT's stunned silence and tears were replaced with an unbridled anger and feelings of overwhelming betrayal.

"Jessica, sweetheart."

"What about the last two years? What about the endless nights I stayed up to take care of you before I put you in that home? What about the day I dropped you off and you called me
Trinity
?"

"Everything I did, I did for you. For your protection. You have no idea what kind of men you are dealing with when it comes to
LEON
. They will stop at nothing. I had to do it. For the job. For you. They would have killed me like they've killed the others. I would no longer be able to protect you."

"Like you have for the past two years?" She was hurt, and damn angry. How could he do this to her? He put her through an emotional Hell. He almost broke her financially with her footing the bill for the home he now lived. Every last dime she had she sent to him. She'd lost twenty pounds worrying about him. For the first six months she couldn't sleep, the guilt eating her alive that she'd given up on him by placing him in the home. Now she realized he was the one who gave up.

"I wish there was some way for you to understand."

"You could have tried confiding in me."

"I couldn't. I had to play the part to convince everyone I wasn't a threat. I have no idea how deep this goes."

"Does HQ know?"

"They do now. I contacted Donovan as soon as I received the package."

"What package?"

"Now's not the time."

JT was so sick of hearing that excuse from people who were trying to hide something. She shot a sideways glare at Dan. He looked back at her and quickly lowered his eyes.

The snake. He knew about this. He knew her uncle wasn't sick and never said anything. She wanted to throw something at him. Sharp and hard.

"Jessica, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into. Please, sweetheart. Turn back now.
Please
."

"I can't. I'm doing this for the job." She threw his words back at him. "You of all people should understand that."

Uncle Charlie sighed and JT closed her eyes to regroup. How did everything get so damned complicated? She longed for the days when she was back at
Gahanna
, shooting at sand-filled burlap sacks. Beating out the instructors for the flag during trainings.

"I was afraid of that. I raised you too much like me, little girl."

"I'm not that little girl anymore."

Dan made a noise, catching her attention. She glanced at him to see him nodding his head in agreement. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You win. But please listen to everything
Hollywood
says."

"
Hollywood
?" JT whipped her head around and looked over at Dan. He stared back at her, his face expressionless. "
You're
Hollywood
? You're the last member of the
LEON
project?"

He turned away and went back to pacing by the window. "Finish. Then we'll talk."

JT's head started to hurt. Under the circumstances, that was the least of her problems.

"Was there anything else?" JT snapped off.

"You may not believe me, but I do love you. If playing invalid for a few years kept you safe, then I have no regrets."

"That makes one of us."

His tone changed. "You listen to me, Jessica Trinity Turner. You will not show disrespect. I raised you better than that. What I did, I did to keep the family safe."

"What family? I'm the only one you have."

"Exactly."

She got it. It hit her like a ton of bricks falling from the top of the
Empire
State
Building
. The other agents protecting
LEON
were being murdered, one by one. They didn't have wives. They didn't have any kids. If they had, Peck might have taken them out as well.

He was going to wait to go after Dan until he'd taken out the rest. Not to intimidate him, but to punish him. JT heard Dan when he mentioned something about Gameboy. Bruce Aims. Another one gone. That left Dan.

And Uncle Charlie.

JT lost her breath. He'd already contacted HQ. If, God forbid, there still was a leak in HQ feeding Peck the location of the other agents, that meant Peck could already be on his way to Uncle Charlie. Oh no.
No
!

"Uncle Charlie, listen to me." She hurried her words out. "You have to get out of there."

"What are you talking about, sweetheart? No one but HQ knows the truth."

"I still think there is a leak in HQ. Please, Uncle Charlie."

"All right. If it makes you feel better, I'll pack up and go under for a while."

She could finally breathe again. "Thank you."

"Put
Hollywood
back on. But remember, listen to him. He's been doing this a long time. He knows how the game works. And no matter what happens, know I love you very much. I wish we had more time."

So did she. "Goodbye, Uncle Charlie." Her eyes filled with fresh tears and she quickly swallowed them back down. She'd have time to come to terms with this after the mission. Right now, she had a target to wipe out. One last breath to regroup and bury the numbness that almost consumed her, and she'd be ready. Okay. One more breath. There.

She held up the receiver and waved it at Dan. "Oh,
Hollywood
." He hurried back over and held out his hand. Irritation replaced her numbness as she looked up at him. She slammed the receiver into his open palm, the smack as it hit his flesh sounding through the room. His expression was a cross between a wince and smile.

"Thanks." He brought the receiver to his ear. "See? I told you it wasn't a good idea. Yes, your little Jessica is all grown up." His eyes softened as he rested his gaze on her face. "I promise. I'll keep her close."

He turned away. "Listen Papabear, I—what was that? Papabear? What was that noise? Are you there? Charlie? Fuck!"

He shouted out another series of curses as he slammed the receiver down, hesitating for only a moment before picking it back up and punching in a set of numbers. He turned and looked at her, and JT didn't like what she saw in his eyes.

Worry. Fear. The same he had when he looked at her back in the car. Suddenly she felt it, too. "Are you calling him back?" He ignored her. "Dan, what's going on? Damn it! Talk to me."

He brought up his finger to silence her. "NASSD. Bravo-Delta-One-One-Niner. We have a situation."

He paused, his back to her. His shoulders raised and lowered with his labored breathing. "Daniel Nelson Weber. Send a trace out on Bravo-Charlie-Two-Seven-Two. Charles William Cole. Call this frequency with the hit."

Slamming his finger down to disconnect the call, he muttered his favorite curse. He then punched another set of numbers in. "Come on. Damn it, Papabear. Pick up the phone." He slammed his finger down to disconnect and tried again. Nothing. After several seconds, he yelled out his favorite curse and slammed down the receiver.

Hurrying over to the door, he turned back to JT as he opened it. "Stay here. Wait for HQ's call."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go see Pedro. We move out when I get back. Just stay here. Please, JT. For God's sake. This time listen to me. Don't leave this room until I come back for you." He closed the door behind him.

JT swallowed, still in a daze as to what just happened. Her Uncle Charlie was in trouble, that much she could assume.
Please, God. Let him be okay. Don't take him from me now that I finally have him back
.

Her Uncle Charlie could take on a dozen men with one hand and still tie his shoe with the other. She shouldn't be worried about him. But she was. And so was Dan.

Dan mentioned a package to Uncle Charlie. Could that package have something to do with what just happened?

The epiphany hit JT so hard she fell back in the chair next to the satcom link. He didn't, did he? Donovan told Dan to give
LEON
to someone he trusted. Who better to trust than someone on the project? Someone who, up until a few hours ago, had everyone convinced he was an invalid.

Everyone except Dan Weber.

Damn him. He sent
LEON
to her uncle! And, by doing so, put his life in danger.

The satcom buzzed and JT nearly jumped out of her skin. When did she lose her nerve? She drew a deep breath and with a steady hand, brought the receiver to her ear. "Turner."

"Put Weber on."

"He's not here."

"Where the hell is he?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Shit." Donovan grumbled something inaudible. "What's this about jumping the gun and trying to hit Mercado last night? Those were not the orders."

How did he know about that? "Dan thought—"

"You had orders to report to me if Weber did
anything
to jeopardize this mission. Last night, he did."

"I don't think any of this is Dan's fault."

"
You
don't think. Period.
I
think. And what I think is that you disobeyed a direct order."

JT swallowed. He told her what would happen if she disobeyed HQ's orders. She was out. As if the last twelve hours weren't trying enough. "I couldn't do it."