Cut And Run - Armed And Dangerous Part 12

"I refuse to search you every time you take a p.i.s.s. Refuse!" Ty was saying through gritted teeth.

"Then don't do it, Agent Grady. It's very simple." Julian was watching as Ty went through the ever-increasingly complicated ritual of tying him down. If this kept up, Julian really would be riding in the trunk.

"Then stop trying to escape!"

"You wouldn't have one modic.u.m of respect for me if I didn't try to escape."

"I don't have any for you now! The only thing I care about is getting your sorry a.s.s to DC so I can go home."

Julian sighed as Ty slammed the door.

"What have you done now?" Zane asked him.

"That is a trade secret, Agent Garrett."

Zane rolled his eyes and turned back around in his seat as Ty threw himself into the car.

"You want to drive?" Zane asked as soon as Ty sat in the driver's seat.

"Yes, please," Ty said in a rush of relief.

Zane grinned. "Everything okay?"

"No. They didn't have any Cheetos."

"Tragic," Zane said as he took the lid off his coffee. "The coffee is fantastic, though."

"I don't like coffee, Zane!"

"It really is very good," Cameron said. "They don't over roast the beans like Starbucks."

Zane hummed in contentment as he took a sip.

"Shut up," Ty muttered as he jabbed at the GPS and hit the b.u.t.ton that would continue their previous course.

The suction cup that attached the unit to the dash popped up, and the unit jumped off the dash into Ty's lap. He flailed briefly as he fought with the charging wire, trying to disentangle it and retrieve the unit as it slid down his leg and tangled in the steering column.

Julian chuckled drily from the back seat. "Looks like she likes you too."

J ULIAN'S fingers had long ago lost all feeling, and the tingling sensation was marching its way down his arm toward his shoulder by the time the snow got heavy enough that the two FBI agents were discussing stopping.

"I think we can make it out of the storm," Zane was saying even as Ty shook his head.

"I'm telling you, Zane, if there's one thing West Virginia knows, it's snow. This is a car killer, and we're in a Crown Vic."

"You're saying we should stop for the night?"

"Yes."

"And let the snow pile up around us as Cross tries repeatedly to kill us and escape?"

"Well, not when you put it that way, Zane. Jesus."

"I really don't want to die in a snow storm in the middle of Indiana," Cameron said in a small voice.

"I said it would kill the car, not us," Ty grumbled.

"It's... sort of the same thing, though," Zane pointed out. "We don't even have winter coats."

Julian could clearly see the glare Ty shot at Zane Julian glanced to Cameron and met his lover's eyes. Cameron still looked worried and overwhelmed, and Julian had been trying his best to remain outwardly calm for his benefit. It was getting harder to do, though, the longer this charade went on. Both attempts at escape had been foiled, and he had to admit, he was a little surprised. He smiled and gave Cameron a wry roll of his eyes despite his concern.

He was torn over what he wanted Ty and Zane to do. Every mile they drove brought them closer to DC and the danger that lay in wait there. But while stopping in the snow storm would afford him and Cameron the chance at escaping, how far could they realistically get in a whiteout blizzard like this?

Eventually, the snow was falling so fast and thick that it didn't matter what any of them wanted to do. Ty could barely see to drive the car, and as soon as they caught wind of an exit off the toll road that had a hotel, Ty headed for it. It took them half an hour to get from the exit to the hotel, inching along in the driving snow. Every minute that pa.s.sed, the agents grew edgier and meaner.

"I could get out and walk and get us a room before the car could get there," Zane said.

"Zane, shut up," Ty said through gritted teeth. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Julian supposed it was partly instinct and mostly dumb luck that he was able to navigate at all. He was tense, though, and for someone wound as tight as Ty already was, making him more so wasn't going to help anyone.

Julian and Cameron wisely kept their mouths shut.

"You want me to drive for a while?"

"Zane, seriously, stop talking to me right now, okay?"

Zane cleared his throat and shrugged a shoulder, looking out the window.

Julian glanced over at Cameron again, trying to gauge how well he was holding up. "You okay?"

Cameron shook his head, eyes darting to the front to see if either agent was looking at him. Julian knew that Cameron was ashamed to admit to his fear in front of Ty and Zane.

The anger flared so unexpectedly that Julian gave a sharp gasp as it burned through him. Who were these two clowns to make Cameron feel like that? Who the h.e.l.l did these a.s.sholes think they were dealing with?

He had to take several long, deep breaths to calm himself. "It's okay, love. There's no shame in being frightened."

Cameron looked at him, eyes pleading, expression miserable. Julian's chest twisted and the anger banked to a slower burn.

"It's okay."

Ty threw the car in park and rested both hands on the steering wheel. When Julian glanced at him, he had his eyes closed, visibly trying to relax after the stressful drive.

"I think we're in a parking lot," the agent muttered.

Zane cleared his throat again and looked back at them as he popped the car door open. "I'll go see about a room."

He left them with Ty in the car, and Ty reached to turn the car off, instantly throwing the car into an otherworldly silence. The chill began to seep into Julian's bones as soon as the heat turned off.

"Can't we at least have some heat while we wait?" Cameron asked, voice wavering.

Ty shook his head. "If we get stuck we'll need to conserve it."

"Stuck? Is that really a possibility?"

"No."

"Yes," Ty said in a louder voice.

"Agent Grady," Julian said through gritted teeth.

"He's not stupid, Cross, he deserves the truth."

"Not from you," Julian growled, barely able to rein in his temper. What it was about Ty that caused him to lose control so easily, he could not fathom.

"Well, he's sure as h.e.l.l not getting it from you."

"I'm... I'm sitting right here," Cameron muttered.

"What do you think your boyfriend does, Jacobs?" Ty asked him, his hazel eyes seeming to pierce right through the mirror as he looked at Cameron.

Cameron swallowed hard. "He deals in antiques."

Ty snorted and shook his head, muttering to himself as he looked out into the wall of white around them. Occasionally they could see the motel's sign, the neon like a beacon of salvation amidst the world of white. But the chill and the silence were still oppressive.

Julian stared into the falling snowflakes, reflected blue in the moonlight, clamping down on the angry words running through his mind, trying to remain outwardly calm, for his own sake as much as Cameron's.

The pa.s.senger door popped open, and Zane stuck his head in. His hair was wet with melting snow, and his shoulders were covered with flakes. "We got the last room at the inn."

"Must be our lucky day," Ty muttered as he got out of the car and both doors slammed.

Julian met Cameron's eyes.

"I'll die before anything happens to you," he promised.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Cameron whispered.

"W E LOST them," Agent X reported to his superior without emotion. "What do you mean, you lost them? How can you lose two FBI agents with a prisoner who don't know they're being tailed?" "I believe we need to consider the possibility that they've caught wind of us," Agent X said. "They went through security at Midway like they were supposed to, but I believe they caused a commotion in order to flee. We never picked them up at O'Hare, and we later got reports of an FBI sedan being stolen. The GPS tracking on the sedan has been disabled. They're avoiding official channels, zigzagging and scrambling. It's cla.s.sic maneuvering."

His superior sighed. "Yes, it would appear they know we're after them."

"We picked up their trail when they used a credit card at a hotel in Portage, Indiana. And again when they got on the toll road. They're trying to make the trip overland."

"That seems imprudent, to go to all that trouble and then use a credit card."

"I said they know we're after them, not that they're particularly smart. But we lost them again when they took an unexpected detour off the toll road into Michigan."

"Michigan."

"Yes, sir. Michigan."

"What's in Michigan?"

"Snow."

"What?

"A lot of snow."

"I see. Find them, understand? Our one true advantage was the element of surprise. I know Richard Burns, he's not an idiot. If he knows we're coming, make no mistake, he's put his best operatives on this. Whatever they're doing, it has a purpose. Julian Cross cannot make it to DC. Do what you have to."

"I understand, sir."

R ICHARD BURNS sat in his darkened office, eyes on a computer monitor, brow furrowed. Years ago he had installed a special tracking device in Ty Grady's wrist.w.a.tch for times like this. Ty could turn it on and off at will and only employed it when he was working a special a.s.signment or in trouble, if he was able. Burns could also ping it remotely when he needed to. It was on now. Ty had turned it on moments after getting Burns' initial call.

His signal had popped up just west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and made its way to Chicago just as Ty had been ordered. Now it was near the state line of Michigan and Indiana, holding steady.

Burns didn't understand why. Jonas exited the private washroom in Burns' office, having just showered, and he came to stand over Burns' shoulder, watching the computer screen in consternation. "Why are they heading north? Are they evading someone?" Burns shook his head and clicked a b.u.t.ton that moved the grid onto one of two flat-screen televisions on the panel on the far wall. "They would have called in if they'd picked up anyone following them or run into trouble."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Burns glanced at the other television on the wall, displaying a map from Weather Underground. Ma.s.sive snowstorms were moving across the Great Lakes, the same weather system Burns had warned Ty and Zane about that morning. It was much more ma.s.sive than he had thought, and Burns narrowed his eyes at the screen again. With the two maps side by side, it was apparent what was going on.

Ty was lost in the snow. Burns found himself smiling fondly, a laugh escaping as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

"What?"

"He's lost. Probably has no idea he's in Michigan."

"Lost? Does your man know how important this op is?"

"It doesn't matter whether I send him to Chicago to retrieve a wet works operative or to Kentucky to get me some G.o.dd.a.m.ned fried chicken, he does his job and he does it well."

Jonas, of course, knew Ty Grady. He'd known Ty since he was born. But Jonas didn't know Ty was the one Burns had sent on this mission, and he didn't plan to tell Jonas that either, not unless he had to.

Burns had also debated over the benefits of telling Ty and Zane what they were getting into, and in the end he had decided it was best to leave them need-to-know. He didn't know who had followed Jonas' steps here or who had ears on him, and in the end, the less they knew, the less likely they were to be killed if they were captured.

Burns also knew that if they were aware of the whole story, they would fight and die for a cause that wasn't theirs simply because Ty would do anything for Jonas, just like he'd do anything for Burns or his father. Burns couldn't let that happen. Jonas was practically family-a man Ty knew and respected as a dear friend of his father-but Burns wouldn't risk Ty or Zane for him. Better they be innocent bystanders, blindly following orders, than complicit in what was happening.

Jonas looked at him for a long minute, then nodded and turned away. His hand moved to the pocket where he'd been keeping that burner phone, a nervous gesture Burns had noticed more than once.

"Do you want someone to get in touch with Trish?" Burns asked, recognizing the restless maneuvering of a husband who was beyond late for dinner.

Jonas shook his head. "The less she knows, the better."

Burns nodded. It was the mantra of every dark operative in history.

He looked back at the screen, a stab of guilt going through him as he stared at the blue dot that was Ty and Zane. Those boys had given up too much for this kind of work. Far too much.