Free The Cleric's Vault by Ernest Dempsey Page B

was
shot?   Then the assailant would
surely come out the way he had exited a moment ago.   He noticed a fairly large rock near the front of the car in
the landscaping bed and grabbed it quickly then stepped around the back of the
car and ducked behind the trunk.
    A
few more shots popped then suddenly the door flew open.   Will sprinted from the building as fast
as he could.   He unlocked the doors
with his remote key while slowing to a halt.
    Tommy
stood up, rock still in hand.   “Whew.   I’m glad it was
you.”
    “I
think I may have got him.”   Will
noticed the stone and raised an eyebrow.   “What were you gonna do with that?”  
    The
rock dropped to the ground and Tommy held up his hands to the side.   “Not a clue.”
    “Get
in the car.   We better get out of
here.”   Will jumped in the front
seat and gunned the engine.  
    Tommy
slid into the passenger’s side and looked back up at the building as the
detective jerked the car backwards.   “Here we go again.”

 
 
    Chapter 17
    Washington, DC

 
    There
was a crisp feel in the air that always seemed to come with late autumn.   Eric Jennings took a deep breath of the
fresh early air as he strolled along the downtown sidewalk.  
    It
had been an uneventful morning thus far.   He’d sat through a few meetings and listened to various reports.
    Some
of the other agencies had been inquiring about some funding that seemed to be
missing from his budget, a fact he promised he would look into.   At the same time, Jennings had warned
them to monitor their own agencies.   What he did with his money was not
their concern.   How dare they.
    Fortunately,
the careless agent with the loose lips had been discovered before too much
damage could be done.   Jennings had
questioned using Gary Holstrum from the beginning.   He was ambitious and eager yet lacked discipline, something
that had been apparent.   It seemed,
however, the young, pudgy agent had been a little too mouthy about a few
things.   Thus the ongoing questions
arising from the other bureaus.   A
bump in the road easily fixed.
    Agent
Holstrum been unwittingly lured to Las Vegas, told he was being sent to a tech
conference going on at the Palazzo.   Like pretty much any young go-getter, he didn’t need to be asked twice
about an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas.   He’d arrived a few days before, more than likely excited
about four days of gambling, drinking, and debauchery in “Sin City.”   What he’d not expected was to be pulled
out of his penthouse suite in the middle of the night by two men dressed as
bell hops.   Their tranquilizers
worked quickly.   Jennings had
suggested them personally when the plan had been orchestrated.   After the unconscious Holstrum had been
delivered to The Prophet, Jennings didn’t need to know anything else.   Lindsey would handle it how he deemed
fit.   Though, if Jennings had to
guess, he’d say the man had probably suffered until the moment of his last
breath.
    The
phone in his left jacket pocket startled him, ringing loudly.    He checked the screen then
answered.   “I trust you enjoyed the
package I sent you?” he said into the device.
    “Yes,
Eric.   It won’t be giving us
anymore trouble.”   The voice
paused.   “Is everything going
according to plan?”  
    Jennings
thought for a moment.   Lindsey was
no fool.   By this time, news of the
shootout had been posted all over the news and there was too much carnage to
cover up.   The press had been fed a
story about one man acting alone, firing on federal authorities.   The gullible and always hungry press
seemed to love it and ran the story, almost without question.   Even without all the media attention,
Jennings knew Lindsey was probably fully aware of what had happened before
anyone else.   “We hit a snag,”
Jennings said, carefully.
    “A
snag?” the voice asked.
    “We
lost several assets.   My two points
are handling it.”   He wondered
where