Josh ignored him and said to Mark, “When did the first payment get sent?”
“About a week ago.”
“Shit!”
Josh closed his eyes and tried to prevent the anger that was slowly billowing. He thought about everything he was told and even the things he knew on his own. What bothered him about this was how much he was in the dark. How did Junior miss this?
Josh opened his eyes, and they fell on a set of green ones that looked exactly like Kenya’s.
“When was the last time you’ve even spoken to your daughter?” Josh asked, remembering Kenya telling him her mother was estranged from her family, the very family he was surrounded by.
“It’s been years,” Mr. Howard told him.
“So how do you know…?”
Mr. Howard added, “Tessa is our child prodigy in the family.” Josh wanted to tell him she wasn’t the only one. “She can find out any and everything you could ever want to know on the computer. She found out about the new investment company that Baxter’s industries went to. She also found out that Frost and Baxter were becoming business partners. We saw the announcement of the engagement of Noah and Kenya then found the missing persons reports for Kenya.”
“We couldn’t find Kenya after that until recently.”
Before Josh could ask something else, his cell rang.
He pulled it out and answered tersely, “Cooper.”
He heard heavy breathing and cussing before. “Yeah it’s me… when can you get to the apartment? This shit is fucked up, Coop.” There was a pause, then he heard, “She’s gone.”
Josh closed his eyes. “What happened?”
“I pulled up around the corner of the building to check the back, and I saw someone sitting in a van looking restless and edgy. That’s when I heard gunshots coming from the front of the building. I took this guy out in the van, drew my weapon and saw a car scream around the corner toward me. They started shooting at me, and I shot back but only was able to hit the tail light, and I think I got one of the tires…”
“How do you know you were too late?” Josh asked.
He then heard some people talking in the background, and Stanley responded muffled.
Stanley finally said into the phone, “I was able to lay eyes on her in the back of the car before they started shooting at me, and I had to duck for cover. This scene, Josh, was an operation gone badly, and this fuck up smells like the agency.”
“How do you know that?” Josh asked him just as Misty stood in front of him.
“Man, just looking at the fucking mess they left. You have to get down here… The locals are holding me here because I discharged my weapon.”
“Did you get a plate number…?”
“Partial, I already gave make and model to Junior before I called you. I’ll have more for you when you get here.”
Josh looked at a very concerned Misty and Jacks.
Josh said to Misty, “Call Junior, see if he’s located the vehicle Stanley gave to him.”
She nodded and pulled her phone out.
“What’s happening?” He heard someone ask, but he ignored it and looked at Jacks.
“Find Diane now!”
“Mind telling me what the fuck?” Jacks asked.
“Coop, Junior says no… He’s looked everywhere, and it’s like they disappeared.”
“Fuck!” Josh growled. “Stan, sit tight, I’ll be there in twenty minutes tops.”
“Sitting tight…” Stanley replied before he ended the call.
Josh knew time was of the essence, and he needed to get moving quickly.
He looked at Jacks. “Give me the keys.”
“Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“Jacks, I don’t have time for this shit. Give me the fucking keys.”
At this point Josh’s patience was gone. Frustration and anger coursed through him with swiftness. He was seeing nothing but red and knew if Jacks said anything else he would rip his head clear off his body.
Jacks knew he was pushing it big time. He’d seen Josh like this before and knew he was close to losing control. He tossed him the keys.
“What’s going on?” Mr. Howard asked. “Are we too late?”
Josh looked at him and said simply, “Yes.”
The energy that once filled this room was instantly gone. Josh moved to the exit when Mr. Howard said to him, “Anything you need from me, it’s yours. I don’t care how much or what it is. I know the Bureau is limited on what they can do…”
Josh put his hand up to stop him.
He said, “I appreciate your help, really I do, but I don’t need it. I don’t work for the Bureau, and I have all the money and resources I need at my disposal. You just have to sit tight.”
“You can’t expect me to sit tight when my granddaughter is out there somewhere…”
Josh moved close to him and said, “Is that so? Seems to me you should be used to staying out of her life since you’ve been doing it for twenty– four years.”
“You son of a bitch. You don’t know shit about our family.” Marc seethed, and Josh looked at him.
Josh frowned. “Let’s get something straight. This isn’t some investment problem or situation where you can throw money at it and it’ll be fine. These are criminals, a fucking Cartel who could easily escape back over the border without detection, and we could lose our only opportunity to get her back. I will not let that happen so this is going to go my way and my way only. This is what I do and what I’m best at, so if you think for one second that I need anyone to help me get the most important person in my life back, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Josh walked up on Marc. “If anyone gets in my way or hinders my efforts to get her back, you will have me as a new enemy… and you don’t want me as an enemy.”
Josh turned to walk out when he felt a small hand on his arm. He stopped and looked down to find Kenya, the namesake of his woman staring back at him.
She said, while still holding on to him, “We understand completely, and we will not get in your way. But we love her and even though we made the mistake of keeping our distance that doesn’t mean we don’t care.”
Josh looked into her pleading brown eyes then at the rest of her family.
He took a deep breath and said, “I’ll try and keep you posted on what’s going on when and if I can. When I do find her, and best believe I will, I’ll let you know.”
He nodded at Kenya’s grandmother then looked over at his team.
As they heard the door close, Marc looked over to his father. “Do you still think it was a good idea to get him involved? I mean, did you see the look in his eyes when he left?”
Mr. Howard walked to the front window to watch Josh and his team speed off. He took a deep breath and said a silent prayer that Josh would find Kenya in time and that she was safe and alive. He did see the look in that young man’s eyes and knew someone would pay dearly for laying a hand on his granddaughter.
He turned and faced his family. His wife was right. They made a grave mistake keeping their distance from their grandchildren. But that would end now. No longer would he sit around and miss out on loving and being with his family.
Mr. Howard placed a calming hand on his son’s shoulder and said, “That man is the best chance Kenya has.”
“How do you figure that grandpa?” Mika asked.
“Easy, son, you said it yourself they looked to be very much in love when you would see them at the restaurant in the strip district. From watching the way he carries himself and how he talks about Kenya, I believe he is too, and that right there is a dangerous combination. A man like that being in love…” He shook his head. “That’s a danger within itself.”
During the car ride to Kenya’s old apartment, Josh didn’t utter a word. His cell phone rang, and he picked it up not speaking a word. He heard Junior tell him that he didn’t find the make and model of the car on any of the cameras around the city. He started searching the database for the plate number, but Josh didn’t stay on the line to hear what else he had to say.
Everything that he learned tonight, and a few things he had Junior look into for him, went through his mind. It was jumbled at first, before everything became clear. He knew and understood the situation he was walking into, and also got in the right frame of mind to handle it. He had his story straight to feed to the locals, confident that Stanley didn’t utter a single word while he waited for his arrival. Misty and Jacks knew not to say anything either once they got on the scene.
Once he pulled up to the police tape, he parked and the three of them rolled out of the vehicle and headed to the trunk. Josh popped the trunk and they grabbed three FBI jackets and vests then headed to the crime scene.
Josh looked around until he found Stanley sitting on his GTO being interrogated by some man in a suit.
When Stanley looked up and saw Josh coming, he said something to the man in front of him, and he turned as well.
The moment Josh got close enough, the detective turned beet red in the face, “Do you mind telling me what the fuck you are doing running around shooting guns in my residential areas, running an unauthorized operation without the police knowing about it? Now I have a dead body, a supposed kidnapping and a street that looks like a war zone.” The detective pointed a long finger at Josh. “You best believe I’m filing a complaint against you and your team. What kind of operation are you running?”