Part 24 (1/2)

They took off running up the alley and were out of sight just as the women reached the Jeep. The shortest woman knelt down on the ground beside Rheyna and cradled her head in her lap. She looked up at her girlfriend. ”Call an ambulance!”

She shrugged off her jacket and laid it across Rheyna's chest. She pushed several strands of blood-soaked hair from Rheyna's face.

”Hang in there, sweetie. An ambulance is on the way,” she said soothingly. This isn't good, she thought as she heard gurgling sounds coming from Rheyna's throat. Rheyna turned her head slightly, blood pouring out from the sides of her mouth. The woman silently thanked G.o.d as she heard the wailing of a siren in the distance. She looked down at the badly beaten face cradled in her lap. ”What's your name, hon? Can you tell me what your name is?” she asked.

Rheyna tried to speak. ”Rhey ... Rhey ... Rheyna Sorento.” She struggled to get the words out. ”FBI Agent Kyle-” she gasped and choked. She coughed and spit blood all over the woman's s.h.i.+rt. ”Kyle Edwards,” she whispered. ”270 ... 421 ... 1,” she gasped, took a deep breath and then collapsed in the woman's arms.

”Oh no, oh no, no, no, don't do this to me, please!” the woman screamed as she frantically searched for a pulse. She laid Rheyna's head gently on the ground and started CPR.

Up on the corner, the bar patrons were slowly emptying into the street as the ambulance with siren blaring and lights flas.h.i.+ng followed by police cars turned onto 19th Street. The ambulance driver came to a stop next to Rheyna and the two women.

The medics jumped out and ran over to them. The taller woman grabbed her girlfriend and pulled her out of the way. They watched as the medics took over and then the woman pulled out her cell phone. She dialed the number that Rheyna had given her. It rang several times before it was answered.

”h.e.l.lo, Agent Edwards?” she asked, hoping that she got the number right.

”Yes, this is he.”

”Do you know Rheyna Sorento?”

”How did you get this number? Who are you?” he asked abruptly.

”My name is Molly, Molly Armstrong. Rheyna gave me your number a few minutes ago. She's been hurt really bad outside The Lexington Club on 19th street,” she said as she heard the sound of tires locking up. ”The medics are performing CPR on her now.”

”Oh my G.o.d,” she heard him say before the line went dead. She turned back around and watched the medics lift Rheyna onto the stretcher. One medic had started chest compressions while the other held a bag over Rheyna's mouth and nose, squeezing repeatedly to force air into her lungs.

Molly felt her girlfriend's arm around her waist. She wiped angrily at the tears running down her cheeks.

Laura plugged the charger in her phone. It beeped immediately. She flipped it open and looked at the menu. She had missed a call and had a voice mail waiting. She punched in her pa.s.sword. As she listened, her face drained of all color.

”Oh, s.h.i.+t,” she said as she dialed Edwards' cell and immediately got his voice mail.

Stevens looked up from his newspaper. ”What's wrong?” he asked.

”It's Rheyna, her cover's been blown. I gotta go, keep trying to get a hold of Edwards. Tell him to meet me at 19th and Lexington,” she said and grabbed her keys and jacket off the table. She jerked the door open and ran down the steps, taking them two at a time.

Edwards brought his car to a screeching halt at the corner of Lexington and 19th Street and nearly hit one of the officers cordoning off the area with yellow police tape.

The place was a madhouse. Police cars and people were everywhere. He flashed his badge and ducked under the tape. He saw the medics preparing to lift Rheyna into the ambulance and ran over to her. Taking her hand in his, he leaned over and looked at her badly beaten face. He felt tears sting his eyes.

”I'm here, Rheyna. You hang in there, now. You hear me?” he said as he rubbed his hand gently across her cheek. He felt anger boiling up inside. This is the final straw, he thought to himself. I'm going to kill that son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h myself. He looked at Rheyna and shook his head. ”Don't you die on me, d.a.m.n it, you hear me, Rheyna?” He dropped his head, tears running down his cheeks.

Rheyna struggled to speak. ”Car, Caroline.”

”I'll call her, I promise,” he said, jerking his head up to look at her.

The medic nudged him. ”We really need to get her out of here.”

Edwards took a few steps back so they could get the stretcher into the ambulance.

”Where are you taking her?” he asked the medic climbing into the ambulance.

”San Francisco General,” the medic said, and then hit his hand against the wall to signal the driver to get going. Feeling helpless, he watched the ambulance pull away.

”She one of yours?”

”Yes,” he answered numbly, turning to see a very large man standing in front of him with a notepad and pen in his hand.

The large man held out his hand. ”I'm Detective Robert Sloan, Homicide.”

Edwards shook his outstretched hand. ”I'm a.s.sistant Deputy Director Kyle Edwards, FBI.”

”Pleased to meet you, Director, I only wish it was under better circ.u.mstances.”

”Likewise, Detective. How did you get here so fast?”

Detective Sloan nodded toward one of the officers standing over by Rheyna's Jeep.

”They found this when they lifted up her body and called me first thing,” he said, pulling out a baggie containing a single marble. He handed it to Edwards.

”This look familiar to you?”

Edwards looked at the marble. ”Yes, unfortunately,” he said as he glanced around, looking at the people crowded behind the police tape. He turned to the detective. ”Where's the girl who found her?” he asked.

Detective Sloan pointed at Molly and her girlfriend. They were talking with a uniformed officer on the other side of the street. Edwards crossed the street and walked up to the women.

”Which one of you is Molly?” he asked.

”I'm Molly and this is Tracy,” the shorter of the two answered. He recognized her voice. ”Is she going to be okay?” she asked.

”I don't know, but I sure hope so,” he answered honestly. He looked at the various news crews, now on scene setting up their equipment behind the police tape. So much for containment, he thought wryly. He turned back to the women and placed his hand under Molly's elbow. ”Let's go over here, where we can talk,” he said, leading them over to the edge of the alley where they would be well out of earshot. He looked at Molly. ”Can you tell me what you saw?”

”Tracy and I had just left the bar when we saw a couple of men standing over by the Jeep. They were laughing and to tell you the truth, they looked a little out of place. We figured they might be up to something.”

”How many were there?”

”Two,” she answered without hesitation.

”Did you get a good look at them?” She shook her head. ”Not good enough, I'm afraid. Without the lights, it's pretty dark out here. They took off running toward the alley when we yelled at them.”

”They were wearing suits,” Tracy volunteered.

Castrucci's men, he thought as he took a card out of his pocket and handed it to Molly. ”If you think of anything else, please call me.” He nodded toward the detective. ”I'd appreciate it if you would give Detective Sloan your names and a number where we can reach you.”

He thanked the women and turned to go back to his car. He had no doubt that Castrucci was behind this. He had sent his. .h.i.t man to take care of Rheyna. He opened the car door and heard his cell ringing. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Laura.