Collateral Damage - Marc Cerasini [49]
No one replied, because no one wanted to work near Chloe.
The phone rang again, then again. Finally, Chloe snatched up the receiver.
"What?" she said sharply.
"Chloe? This is Tony Almeida. Listen, I need you to pass along some information to Morris..."
Chloe's mouth twisted into a frown so deep, it threatened to deconstruct her face. "Why? That doesn't make sense. Morris is in New York with you. Why can't you pass along your own information?"
"It's a long story," Tony replied.
Chloe glanced at her watch. "I see." Her tone was disapproving. "Well, I really don't have time to hear it. You seem to have all the time in the world, but some of us actually have to work for a living."
"Give me a break, Chloe."
"Give me a break. I can only guess it's happy hour on the East Coast. Have one on me."
"Don't hang up!" Tony cried. "This is a matter of national security. Have you heard about the bombs?"
"If you're talking about the ones that disabled satellite capabilities in the Mid-Atlantic states, then yes, I've heard about them. In fact, I'm in the middle of analyzing a list of..."
"My information might have something to do with those attacks," Tony said. "All you have to do is forward some data in an e-mail attachment to Morris O'Brian's ISP account, then tag it with something personal so he reads it right away. Can you do that?"
Chloe's face scrunched up again. "I don't know. That little British creep took me out a couple of times, then he stopped calling..."
"Chloe, please."
"Oh, all right!" She rolled her eyes. "But how in the heck can I tag the e-mail so Morris will read it right away?"
Tony sighed. "You'll figure something out..."
* * *
5:27:36 P.M. EDT
Inside the Warriors of God compound
Near Kurmastan, New Jersey
Jack Bauer took the lead as he and Layla Abernathy followed the tree line along the top of a gentle slope. Between breaks in the foliage, Jack caught a glimpse of the mobile home park. Even from this distance, the trailers seemed decrepit, with rusty and pitted walls, broken windows, and missing doors.
The late afternoon sun was scorching — so hot that Jack signaled Layla to hunker down in the shade for a moment. She removed her cap and wiped sweat from her forehead. Jack loosened his body armor to let some air through. They both gulped water from plastic bottles.
Layla glanced at her watch. "We've been hiking for half an hour, ever since we debarked from the chopper. We must be close now."
Jack rose and used micro-binoculars to scan the area below.
"We're almost there," he replied. "I can see the compound. There's no sign of life, no one on the streets or..."
Jack fell silent.
"What do you see?" Layla asked.
"There's a minibus in the middle of main street. It's lying on its side, windows broken."
The cell phone went off in Jack's pocket. "Morris?" he answered.
"News, Jack," O'Brian began. "I'm still tracing Holman's phone, and he's close by. He's moving up the hill due south of your position. Maybe three hundred yards away."
Jack swung his binoculars around and scanned the next hill. All he saw were trees and thick brush.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, Jack-o."
Jack closed the phone. "Wait here," he whispered to Layla, handing off his phone. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, call Morris."
Layla took the phone and nodded. A moment later, Jack faded into the thick brush.
* * *
5:33:14 P.M. EDT
Inside the Warriors of God compound
Dani had been spotted somewhere near the mobile homes. She never noticed anyone as she passed the cluster of ramshackle old trailers, but someone must have seen her and put the alarm out. Almost as soon as she entered a heavily wooded stretch, Dani heard excited voices — both women and boys — followed by the sound of several people crashing through the brush.
Still clutching the shotgun in her sweating hands, Dani ran until she was too exhausted to continue on. Finally, she dived into a thicket at the base of a hill, hoping to elude the hunters. Cowering in the brush, knees curled under her, the teenaged girl fought panic and tried to control her rasping