Blowout

room, peeling off his blood-covered surgical gloves, and said to Savich, “Agent Talbot is alive. We’re stabilizing her, then getting her to Bethesda. I won’t lie to you, Agent Savich. It’s a large caliber bullet, slowed down some by her vest, but still real close to her heart. She’s actively bleeding and it’s going to be close. It’ll depend on exactly what it hit. So pray. I’ll keep in touch.”
    Pray, Dr. Peterson wanted him to pray. Savich watched two men roll Giffey by on a gurney on a dead run. She as white as the sheet pulled up to her neck, an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, blood running into IVs in her arms. Her own blood was everywhere, surely more blood than a body could lose. If Giffey died, it would be his fault, because he’d been arrogant enough to assume three SWAT teams could control the perimeter, could protect Fleurette—Giffey—from this monster. Dear God, not Giffey. She was a good agent, he’d watched her volunteer for a myriad of assignments, always eager, ready to take on the world.
    Savich stood with his back against a brick wall, aware of all the activity going on around him as the helicopter lifted off the pad right outside the Jefferson Dormitory. He knew that Captain Ramsey was searching methodically, that the captain knew a lot more than he did about how to cover the grounds as quickly and efficiently as possible to find Günter. There was nothing he could do to help out there. All he could do was stand here like a dolt and know that he’d been the one to bring it all about.
    Jimmy Maitland came striding up to him. “I just spoke to Chip Ramsey. Dammit, Luther Lindsay is dead, but thankfully, everyone else is accounted for. Günter penetrated the lines all the way to Luther without being spotted. That means he was in a camouflage uniform, just like the SWAT guys, his face blackened. He obviously knew the terrain well enough to pick a rise he could shoot from.
    “Chip doesn’t know how long he waited there before he took out Luther, but he’s thinking it wasn’t long at all. Someone would have noticed. Günter saw Fleurette flanked by two bodyguards, standing right in front of the Jefferson Dormitory, took Luther out, and took his shot. Dave and Joe heard the struggle and headed to Luther’s location. Günter heard them, and that’s probably what saved Giffey’s life—threw his aim off.
    “The thing is, Savich, why would he think that we’d actually put Fleurette out there in harm’s way? He knew we’d set a trap for him.”
    Savich said, “I saw Fleurette and Giffey standing side-by-side after Fleurette had finished Giffey’s makeup, done her hair this morning, given her one of her dresses and her coat. I swear I couldn’t tell them apart. Could be twins.”
    “Well, Günter must have believed it was her, too. I’m willing to bet he was ready to spend a couple of hours watching, may have been surprised anything could come of it this quickly. The bastard.”
    “How did he get Luther?”
    “Chip says Luther was on his belly, looking toward Giffey sweeping the area, and Günter jumped on his back, looped the wire around his neck, and that was it. Luther probably managed to fight, and that’s what Joe Boyle and Dave Dempsey saw—the bit of noise, the shadow of movement was Luther trying to save himself. But he couldn’t. Then Günter sighted in on Giffey—he actually used Luther’s own rifle—but before he could shoot, he heard Joe and Dave and that, thankfully, pulled his aim off a bit. He fired, saw her fall, saw it was a chest shot, and he was out of there.
    “This is a tough one, Savich. I’ve known Luther for more than a dozen years. Chip and I will speak to his family as soon as I can get away. Amanda Lindsay is a great lady, and their teenage girls are terrific. Dammit, dammit.”
    Savich nodded, swallowed. He’d met Luther about six years before, admired his skill, his humor, his love for his family. But his skills hadn’t saved him. He tried to think of something to say, but couldn’t. All he saw was Giffey on that stretcher, lying in her own blood, and he couldn’t stand it. He said then, “Giffey might die, and I know it’s my fault if she does.”
    “We all knew the risks, Savich, Giffey, too. We all went along with this plan as our best opportunity. It may have been the only way we had to get Günter.”
    It was in that moment Savich realized they still had a chance to pull it off, to protect Fleurette and get Günter.