Any Means Necessary (a Luke Stone Thriller-Book #1)

Chapter Thirty Three

4:50 p.m.

116th Precinct House - Queens, New York

It took over an hour to process Ali Nassar and bring him downstairs.

While he was waiting, Luke talked to Becca on the phone.

"You're a wonderful man."

Luke pressed his forehead against the grimy wall in the basement of the precinct house, and listened to the musical sound of his wife's voice in his ear. The police station was a harsh environment. The overhead fluorescents were too bright. Voices and footsteps echoed around him. Someone down the hallway laughed, a deranged cackle.

"I don't feel very wonderful," he said.

"But you are. You saved the President today. It's incredible. It's a miracle."

Luke sighed. He didn't feel like a hero. And it didn't feel like a miracle—it felt like a nightmare, still unfolding.

"You're just tired, Luke. That's why you feel down. When was the last time you slept, over thirty hours ago? Listen, Gunner and I are both really proud of you. When you get back to DC, why don't you go back to the house, get a good night's sleep, and then come out here. It's beautiful here right now. We'll just take a few days, we'll turn the clocks off, we'll all be together. How does that sound?"

"It sounds really good."

"I love you so much," she said.

Luke loved Becca too, and he wanted to see her. He wanted to spend a few quiet days at the country house with both her and Gunner. But as much as he wanted it, he didn't see how it could happen.

He couldn't tell her anything. All he told her was that, after the briefing with the President, he had flown back to New York to track down another lead. He didn't tell her about the helicopter attack. He didn't tell her about leaping onto the roof of a moving car at a hundred miles per hour. He didn't tell her about killing two men. He didn't tell her that this case seemed nowhere near over.

A young detective with thinning hair, his tie pulled askew and his sleeves rolled up, came down the hall toward Luke.

"Agent Stone?"

Luke nodded.

"They're about to start the questioning."

Luke signed off with Becca and followed the detective to the observation room. The room was dim, with half a dozen men in it. Luke welcomed the half-darkness after the harsh light of the hallway.

The detective introduced Luke to three men in dark suits and ties.

"You probably want to meet these guys. This is Agent Stone with the FBI, these are Agents Stern, Smith, and Wallace."

"We're with Homeland," one of the men said, while shaking Luke's hand.

"Begley send you here?" Luke said.

The man's smile faltered, just a touch. "Begley?"

"Yeah. Ron Begley." Luke made the shape of a basketball with his hands. "Round guy? He runs a unit over there, don't ask me what. He and I had a little misunderstanding this morning about whether or not Ali Nassar was worth pursuing. I guess he changed his mind."

The three men laughed. "We don't work for Ron Begley."

"Good for you. You're probably happier that way."

On the other side of a large false window, Ali Nassar sat a metal table. He sipped from a white coffee mug. His ankle was cuffed to the table leg, which itself was bolted to the floor. It didn't matter. Ali Nassar didn't look like he was going anywhere.