Blind Justice. Don Pendleton

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      Chapter 7

      Eddie Bishop was not pleased with the way the chain of command had changed. Until Vigo Stone showed up, Bishop had been Kendal’s main man. He had been demoted to second place. He didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He wasn’t about to go whining to the senator, and he was for sure not going to let his feelings show in front of Stone. The man had a reputation no one would stand up and challenge. Anyone and everyone who knew about Stone was aware of his past—what he had done, what he was supposed to have done. There were some stories that edged on the fanciful. Bishop’s contact with the man was minimal, but even that had been enough to convince him of the truth behind the tales. He believed Stone capable of any atrocity. Stone brought something to the party that was less than human. There was an aura following him around. The man had little personality. He silenced a room when he walked in. His manner struck Bishop as creepy. It was the only word to describe the man.

       When Bishop was summoned to Kendal’s office, following Stone’s return from Seattle, it was to be told where to send his team.

       Kendal told the assembly that Stone had been to talk with Marty Keegan, one of Logan’s cop friends, and he had divulged the whereabouts of Logan’s wife and son. The senator was obviously pleased with the results of Stone’s mission. He sat back as Stone gave the orders on what they would do to retrieve Rachel and Tommy Logan.

       “We need them alive,” Stone said. “The woman might know where Logan has hidden the information he collected. Let’s make sure we find her.”

       Kendal tapped his desktop with his knuckles, drawing attention to himself. He leaned forward, stroking one lean hand through his thick mane of silver hair.

       “Vigo has made up for our lack of intel. Let us not screw this up. Take this to heart, gentlemen—Vigo Stone runs the operation as of now. Listen to him. Follow his orders. It’s time we brought this situation back under our control. We need to find Logan. We need to find his wife and son. And most of all we need to get our hands on that damn file of information, because if we let it get into the wrong hands we are all, and I mean all, heading for the dumper.”

       The senator sat back, raising a hand in Stone’s direction so he could carry on with his briefing.

       “Rubin, Madden, Burdett. I want you to make the run to the cabin. Take Lohman as your wheelman. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this will be easy. Logan’s wife used to be a Park Ranger. That means she knows the forest. She was trained to handle a gun. Step out of line and she will shoot you. Most likely in the balls. She has her kid with her and she’ll fight to protect him. A mother protecting her young is a hell of an animal. Make sure you wear comsets so you can stay in contact with each other once you’re in the forest. Try and make a silent approach. Surround the cabin and spot your target before you move in. This might sound like overkill to some of you hotshots. Don’t be fooled—it’s not. Once something starts it can go from zero to shit in a heartbeat. If it does, you can lose the advantage so fast it’ll make your head spin. That’s when you get casualties. We do not want the Logan woman harmed. If she ends up badly hurt or dead, then we are back where we started. And then I am not going to be a happy man.”

       When are you ever a happy man? Bishop thought, but he kept it to himself because he knew Stone meant every word.

       “We will back up the ground team with extra men who will follow from the air. A helicopter is being prepared as we speak. The rest of you cover the city streets—find Logan. Use every source available. Bishop, talk to those Keystone Cops we have on the payroll. Remind them what they’re being paid for. And make it doubly understood they are as deep in this as any of us.”

       Bishop spotted Kendal watching him out of the corner of his eye. Wanting to see how his lieutenant was handling his demotion, he supposed. He maintained a neutral expression, nodding in Stone’s direction.

       “I’m on it,” he said.

       “Don’t be on it,” Stone said. “Be ahead of it.”

       Bastard, Bishop thought. The man couldn’t resist getting in the last word.

       The meeting broke up, everyone filing from the office.

       The last to follow, Bishop closed the door. The group ahead of him were less than enthusiastic about Stone having been placed over Bishop.

       “Eddie, it sucks,” Jack O’Leary said. He turned to look at Bishop. “You been running things around here awhile now. Bringing Stone in like that is a kick in the balls.”

       “Don’t sweat it, Jack,” Bishop said. “The senator is the man. He pays the bills, so he gets to choose.”

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