Chapter 9

We were silent on the whole drive back to the hotel. I found it hard to fathom that she was still pissed at me, but then I have never claimed to understand women.

We made a stop half way back at a random gas station that still had a bank of pay phones. I fed quarters I had just gotten from the store and dialed Robles number.

It connected after a moment and I head, "Deputy Robles."

"Robles, it's Taylor."

I heard rustling in the background and his voice sounded shaky when he replied. Most likely he was signaling someone that I was on the phone. I would have to keep this short, since a trace would be starting any time.

"Taylor, damn, I almost thought I had chosen wrong to believe in you. What the hell took so long?"

"We were getting good and lost, making it hard for the Russians to find us, and doing some research."

"On what?"

"We will get to that in a moment. First we need to talk about how I am going to get Renata back to you guys. I will meet you tomorrow at noon at the Hometown Cafe just outside of Moore Haven. Besides you, I would like you to bring at least one person from the FBI, one local cop, and someone from ICE."

"The FBI I can get since the actual case is theirs, but why do you want someone from ICE or one of the locals. We need to keep this as contained as possible. The less people that know where she is, the better, for her safety."

"That is precisely why I want people from those other agencies involved, and what my research was about yesterday. I am nearly positive you have a leak in your office."

"That's absurd," he said dismissively.

"It really isn't. Four dead witnesses in fourteen months, and it would have been five had I not shown up when I did ... and all of them out of your office. You guys have to know there is a problem. No, handing her over to just the Marshals is a death sentence for Renata. I know you guys don't want to do things that go against procedure, but it's the only way we come out of hiding."

"I'm not saying I agree with you, but you know the Feebs will never go along with it. It's their case and they hate sharing anything they don't have to."

"So convince them."

"What, you think I should call them up and tell them we are getting their witnesses killed so they need to be in on the exchange?"

"Well, that would be the most direct option, but I could see how you would not want to go that way. So blame me instead. Say I am being paranoid or something. Just get them there."

"I'll see what I can do."

"I would also like it if I had some kind of assurance I wasn't going to be arrested tomorrow. Not that it's a deal breaker, but I would prefer not to sit in jail while you guys figured out I'm not the bad guy."

"I'll see what I can do about that, too."

"Thanks," I said with a sarcastic chuckle.

Not that I expected any kind of guarantee. It was almost a certainty that they would arrest me when I dropped Renata off, until they could figure out what was going on. They would say I was being held as a material witness, but the end result would be the same for me. As I had told him, however, it wasn't a deal breaker. I would eventually be released. I couldn't be connected to any of the other murders and when Renata and her Marshal had first been chased from the blown safe house I was in a fight outside a bar. I was fairly certain the bartender would back me up on that much.

So it would just be an inconvenience on my part. I wasn't just being all noble and saying that was worth it to get Renata safe, although it was. It would also mean I was off the hook with the Russians, since they were chasing her and not me. So no more Renata meant no more Russians.

Getting back to the room, we remained silent as each of us prepared to go to bed. The silence was finally broken when she noticed me dropping one of the pillows on the floor.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Considering everything, I thought it best if I slept on the floor tonight."

"I will not bite. You were very clear this morning. I promise not to do anything."

"Ha ... that's normally the guy's line. Ok," I said, picking the pillow back up off the floor. "I want you to know I only turned you down because I care."

"Yeah, I know. I understand what you say this morning. I have much time on the drive to see reporter to think about what you say. You may not be wrong."

"See, something else a woman never says to me," I said with a goofy grin, trying to make her feel at ease.

"Well, do not be wanting it to be habit," she said, returning my grin in a subdued way.

With that we both rolled away from each other and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up to find her curled into a ball again, but this time pressed up against my back. I was torn on my reaction. One on side I am a normal, heterosexual man and couldn't help but enjoy the physical contact. But on the other it made me think of Claire more, which was a 'buzz kill' if ever there was one.

With a sigh I pulled myself out of bed. Today was going to end up being a pretty long day, and I needed to get moving. I had set up the meet two and a half hours away in the town of Zephyrhills.

After I took a shower and got dressed I shook Renata awake.

"It is time?" she said sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah. I'll be gone for about six hours, depending on how the meeting with them goes. I will either bring back a whole group of agents, or work out a time and place for you to be handed over to them. I would prefer if they would all just follow me back here, since it makes it harder for the plant inside the Marshal's office to get the information and give the Russians time to set up some kind of ambush; but, we will have to see how things go.

"You stay put. I have the number to the room, and I will call it if I need information from you or for you to do something. So stay put until I get back or call."

"Ok," she said.

As I walked past on the way to the door she grabbed my hand, "John, thank you for helping me. I know I would being dead if you did no help me. So, thank you."

"Sure," I said giving her had a squeeze and holding it a moment longer before letting it go.

The drive to the roadside diner I had picked out, gave me time to work through all the pros and cons of my plan. Every way I could look at it, I couldn't find a better way to get this done. I wasn't happy that my plan had a ton of holes in it, and could very easily end with the Russians getting to Renata. The only thing it had going for it, was that it was better than anything else I could think of.

I arrived early and set up in the parking lot of a car dealership across the street and adjacent to the diner. I wanted to be able to see everyone arrive before I showed up.

Noon came and past, and no one showed. I still held out hope, and sat for thirty more minutes before coming to the conclusion that no one was showing. While there is always a chance the FBI or one of the higher ups at the Marshals service nixed my plans for who was coming to the meeting, it seemed hard to believe they would send no one.

Without a doubt they wanted their witness back.

I didn't really have any choice but to go find a phone and call my contact back. It took some time, but I eventually found a working pay phone. While a cell phone would have been easier they are also a lot easier to track than trying to catch a person using a pay phone before they drive away and disapear. So it was an inconvenience, but I had opted not to walk around with a self-imposed tracking device in my pocket.

When I called the number for Robles, it rang a few times and then went to voicemail. Since I wasn't going to stand around a particular pay phone and wait for a call back, that didn't do me any good. I hung up, waited sixty seconds, and tried again. And got the same result.

Hanging up, I got back in my car and drove away, trying to figure out what had happened. Even less likely than the Marshals not sending anyone to the meet was them sending no one and having my contact unavailable for calls. Something had gone wrong, which meant I needed to get back to Renata.

I turned the car back in the direction of our motel and drove. After a few miles I pulled over and called the Motel room.

"Hello," she said when she picked up the phone.

"Is everything ok, there?" I asked.

"Yes. Nothing has happened since you leave."

"Ok, just stay put. I am on my way back. And, keep an eye out."

"Did something happen?"

"Yes. No one was at the meet, and I can't get a hold of Robles. Something feels very wrong. As soon as I get back, we are going to disappear again, and hole up for a little while."

"Am I in danger," she asked, sounding concerned.

"Maybe," I told her honestly. "I don't know what's going on, but I am worried. I will be back as soon as I can."

"Ok," she said and hung up.

I hopped back into my car and headed back, going as fast as I could while staying inside the speed limit. The last thing I needed right now was to get pulled over.

It was a maddeningly long drive.