Rebirth (John Taylor #1)

Chapter 10

I drove out of down as quickly as I could, before the local cops came to investigate the accident. Once I was far out of town, I pulled into a roadside gas station, next to some payphones. He hadn't been there before, but I wanted to try Robles again.

I was at a loss as to how they found us. Even if Robles was the Russian's guy inside the Marshal Service, I hadn't given up enough information to find Renata at the hotel where we were staying. My only guess was either they knew enough to be watching the reporter, which seemed like an extreme long shot, or Renata called someone and said something that lead them back to her. That also didn't seem likely. She clearly understood the danger we were under.

There was also the fact that no one showed up for our meet. It was obvious the Russians had figured out where Renata was, and used the fact that I was off at a meeting with the Feds to go after her. But why would their person inside the Marshal's service shut down my meet? Maybe they didn't want other agencies brought into this. It still seemed like a weird play.

I dialed Robles number and waited. I was surprised when a voice I didn't know answered.

"Taylor," the voice said.

Meaning they were expecting me to call Robles back and had someone waiting to talk to me.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"Chief Deputy Stephen Barrett," he said, sounding rather pompous about it.

"Where's Robles?" I asked

"This case has been prioritized, and I am taking personal command of it. Your game time is up Mr. Taylor. You need to come in now, and bring the girl with you."

Everything about this situation set me on edge. No one showing up for the meet and now Robles being gone just didn't set right. I decided to play this close to the vest.

"I told Robles this and I will say the same to you, you have someone inside your office feeding information to the Russians."

"Yes, I know about your accusations, Mr. Taylor and as far as I am concerned, the only person we are worried about working with the Russians is you."

"That's insane. I've been protecting Renata from them."

"We only have your word on that. All we know for sure is you are holding her and there have been a string of bodies in your wake."

"If you check, I guarantee those bodies had extensive criminal records when they were still people."

"Maybe. If you are innocent and we can verify what you are saying, then you have nothing to worry about from us. But even if you did kill them in self-defense, ignoring my order to bring the girl back to us is in itself a crime."

"I've been trying to get her back to you. It's why I set up that meeting this morning. A meeting you guys didn't show up for."

"I canceled your absurd meeting as soon as I took over this case. We don't need to involve additional agencies in this, and you have no place dictating the conditions of Renata's return to us. She is a material witness to innumerable crimes and needs to be in our custody."

"She is worried about a repeat of the other night and the Russian's inside man handing her back over to them."

"Again, I think you are mistaken about anyone in my organization handing information over to any criminal organization. Regardless of that, we are done with this. Bring her in now or be prepared to do serious time."

This was getting nowhere. I hung up the phone and walked back to my car. This guy could just be a clueless, by the book guy. But the way he was playing it, I couldn't help but put him high on my list of possible Russian plants; since I only knew of two people in the Marshal's office at the moment, who only had my and Robles' names.