Chapter 32

32

Billy rejoined Peter, who was back at the video village.

“Is she going to be okay?” Peter asked.

“Not sure. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

Peter nodded at Billy’s hands. “I can see that.”

Billy glanced down and saw that in addition to the key card he still held, both his hands were bloody.

“One sec,” Peter said.

He retrieved a couple of bottles of water and a handful of napkins from the craft services table and began pouring water over Billy’s hands. It took all of the first and half of the second bottle to wash off all the blood.

“Did they catch the shooter?” Peter asked.

“No. And I doubt they will.”

“Why not?”

“They were pros.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because she was here to meet me.”

“Oh,” Peter said, getting it now. “About the thing?”

Billy nodded, then pulled out his phone. “Excuse me.”

He walked down the path and called Rick.

“Scramble,” he said as soon as the station chief answered.

“Scramble,” Rick said.

“Danielle Verde’s been shot.”

“Is she—”

“She’s still alive. Or was when the EMTs took her away. I suggest getting protection to wherever they’re taking her as quickly as you can. If she survives the wound, the assassin will likely make another attempt.”

“I’ll call you back.”

Billy hung up and returned to Peter, who had been joined by Tessa and Mari. It was then that Billy noticed the crew was breaking down equipment and hauling it away.

“I take it they’ve canceled the shoot?” he said.

Tessa nodded. “The police shut us down for public safety. I don’t think anyone felt up to continuing anyway.”

“I know I didn’t,” Mari said, concern on her face.

“Does that mean you’re heading back to the hotel?” Billy asked.

“They’re bringing the van around now,” Tessa said.

“Mind if I tag along?”

Back in his suite, Teddy changed from his suit into slacks and a black pullover, then called Stacy.

“What room is Monique staying in?” he asked.

“Three twenty-one.”

“Thanks.”

Before he could hang up, she said, “Hey, did you hear all those sirens earlier?”

“I did.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“Ask Tessa.”

“Why would I—”

“Gotta go. Bye, Stacy.”

He was heading for the door when his phone rang.

“Yes?”

“I just got off the phone with Rick,” Lance said. “How is Danielle?”

“She wasn’t doing great when I last saw her. But you should call the hospital.”

“An embassy attaché is on the way there right now.”

“One of yours?”

“That’s not important.”

“Is he or she at least bringing some muscle to keep an eye on her?”

“Unfortunately, he has no muscle at his disposal. Rick is in contact with the local police. They should have some people there shortly.”

“Shortly might be all you have.”

“Which is why I’m calling you. I’m going to send the men who’ve been watching over you to the hospital to cover until a team from Paris arrives.”

After the night they’d had, Teddy didn’t like the idea of his friends being left without protection.

“I have a better idea,” he said. “Leave your people at the hotel. I’ll go.”

“Are you expecting trouble there?”

“I’m always expecting trouble.”

“All right. We’ll do it your way. I’ll have the attaché tell the hospital that we’re sending a security specialist, so they’ll be expecting you. What name will you be using?”

Teddy gave him a name from one of his sets of false IDs.

“Get there as quickly as you can,” Lance said, then hung up.

As much as Teddy wanted to head straight out, he couldn’t show up looking like Billy Barnett.

As quickly as possible, he changed into a more generic look, then donned a black wig and a matching beard.

He concealed his shoulder holster under a lightweight black jacket and finished off his outfit with a pair of orange-tinted glasses and a black, logo-free hat.

Satisfied, he headed out.

After making a clean escape from the scene of the shooting, Dieter found a spot down the road where he could keep an eye on the chaos he’d created.

Most of the fans who’d gathered to see Tessa Tweed and Mari Chen had fled the area nearly as fast as he had. Those who hadn’t were being questioned by the police.

It wasn’t long before an ambulance drove up and several EMTs hurried out. Soon after, they returned with the woman on a gurney.

From their actions, it was clear she wasn’t dead yet.

While it was still possible that she would die from the wound, leaving it to chance would be a mistake. There was one person he knew who could quickly find out where the ambulance was taking her. He just needed to be careful in how he framed the situation when requesting her help.

He placed the call.

“This is Jillian Courtois,” Jillian said.

“It’s Dieter Wenz.”

“Mr. Wenz,” she said, surprised. “I heard you went to Budapest. Were you able to find Turner? Is he Teddy Fay?”

“That’s back burner for the moment. I need your help with something more pressing.”

“But aren’t—”

“Danielle Verde is here.”

“Verde?” Jillian had passed on the information about the woman a few days before and moved onto Fay and the others. “But I thought she was in Romania.”

“Not anymore. But keep that to yourself. I’ll inform Mr. Braun.”

“Okay. What is it I can help you with, then?”

“There’s been an incident,” he said. “She’s being taken to a hospital as we speak.”

“Oh my God. How serious?”

“Unclear at this point. Our client would like me to check on her. Can you figure out where she’s being taken, and after she gets there, where I might find her?”

“Of course. Where was she picked up?”

Dieter filled her in as best he could without revealing too much.

“I’m on it,” she said. “It might take a few minutes, though.”

“Minutes are fine. An hour is too long.”

“I’ll text you the info.”

“Thank you.”

Dieter hung up, took one last look at the growing collection of police cars, then headed for the train station.

Rolf and Andreas were waiting for him when he got there.

“Any problems?” he asked.

Both men shook their heads.

“Do you think she’s dead?” Andreas asked.

“She wasn’t when the ambulance took her away.”

“Shit,” Rolf said.

“What are we going to do?” Andreas asked.

Dieter’s phone vibrated. He looked at the screen and saw that Jillian had come through with the info.

He smirked. “What we do is finish the job.”