“Roger that.” Dan nodded. “Maybe we’re lucky.”
“Or maybe we’re good.”
Huh? Lucky? Good? Not necessarily the adjectives she’d use to describe this god-awful situation. But before she could ask what the flippin’ hell they were talking about, Steady turned to her. “You’re right. Her clothes are scattered to the four winds. So whoever took her knew about the transmitters. I thought that information was classified.”
“It is,” she stressed. “Just like our hotel room numbers were classified. Just like the covert locations we occupy while on duty are classified.” Covert positions because Abby hated drawing attention to herself, and nothing said look at me! like a group of guys and gals in suits standing sentry by her side or beside her door. And since Abby was such a sweetie pie, so kind and generous and flat-out likeable, Penni and the rest of the Secret Security agents had gone out of their way to accommodate her need for a bit of normalcy. Unfortunately, covert positions left them alone and vulnerable. Case in point…the slit throats. Christ! “Just like this whole assignment is classified!” she finished, her voice breaking on a hard edge. Okay, and her hysteria was beginning to bust through to the surface, opening cracks in her demeanor.
“There’s a leak or a mole inside the Secret Service,” Dan said. The thought was enough to make Penni—already close to blowing chunks—press a hand against her rebelling stomach. “It’s either that or…” He glanced sharply at Steady. “You don’t think this has anything to do with—”
“I seriously doubt it.” Steady was quick to shake his head, and Penni had to bite her tongue to keep from asking who or what they were talking about. “How would he have gotten his hands on the Intel from a different department?” Okay, so it was a who, a…he to be more precise.
“True.” Dan nodded. “So, you’re thinking total inside job here.”
“If I were a betting man,” Steady said, “which I am. It’s entirely possible that Intel we were given about Caroline being the target was simply a red herring. Used to throw us off the trail.”
“Mmph,” Dan grunted. “When I spoke to the president, he said no similar attempts have been made to snatch Abby’s sister. But they’re gonna take her to a secure location anyway.” Gonna, wanna, coulda, shoulda…Penni wondered if Dan’s penchant for slamming two words together was a Detroit thing or simply a Dan thing.
“Good.” Steady nodded, having moved back to his position beside the bed. He checked yet another clip before stuffing it into the backpack. And that was five fully loaded magazines by her count. So definitely not a hike he was planning. “How did el Jefe sound?”
El Jefe? Just how close to the president were these guys?
Dan shook his head. “About like you’d think. Pissed. Ready to send in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Scared even though he was doing his damndest to hide it from me.”
Okay, so, close. Which meant they were, indeed, blacker than black. Probably the president’s very own beck-and-call boys. Years ago, she’d heard rumors about such a group of men. Now she’d wager her entire 401K she was sitting in a room with two of them.
“No ransom demands yet?” Steady asked.
“It’s too soon.” Dan watched Steady attach a Nalgene water bottle to the outside of his pack with a bungee cord. “I suspect he’s gonna hear something when the kidnappers have Abby in a secure location.”
Steady glanced at Dan. “But we’re going to find her and take them out before that happens. Am I right, amigo?”
“Bet your ass.” Dan’s grin looked like an executioner’s right before the ax fell.
Penni couldn’t stay quiet a second longer. These guys really knew how to put the big in ambiguous—as in big, cryptic A-holes. “How in Christ’s name do you propose we do that?” she demanded, pointing again at the iPad’s screen for emphasis.
“Simple,” Steady said. “While we wait on the SEALs, you and Dan will check each and every one of those signals.” He spoke while digging inside a giant camouflage duffel bag, transferring some of its contents into his backpack. “It’s possible the kidnappers didn’t know where all the transmitters were. Or maybe they allowed her to keep her underwear or shoes. We can’t leave any stone unturned.”
“Me and Dan?” Penni lifted a brow. “And what will you be doing?” Besides getting ready to start World War III with those five full-to-the-brim clips?