Tenderloin (Abby Kane FBI Thriller) Read Free Page A

working exclusively in Paris. Through my brief interrogation before leaving the Caymans, I learned that both parties downplayed their relationship. It helped with the scam.”
    “Seems like a fashion model would make plenty of money. Why help her boyfriend steal?” I continued.
    “She wanted more.”
    Wow, insightful. Thanks for blowing me away. I strained not to follow up with an eye roll.
    Agent Stone spent the next ten minutes informing the other agents of what he had told me earlier. Once the agents in the room finished cheering Stone for his conquests, he continued with a picture of the Prince.
    “We don’t know why he came back to the States, but we have reason to believe he is staying at the home of a Korean real estate developer in Pacific Heights. As far as we know, they’re friends, and the developer is not involved in the Ponzi scheme.”
    Ten minutes of background later, the tactical part of the briefing commenced. The plan was simple: hit Ballard’s location as soon as possible. He wasn’t a violent individual, but Reilly upped the manpower anyway. I suspect he didn’t want to risk the Prince slipping through the Bureau’s hands again.

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
    The decision to wait for sundown came later from the Special Agent-in-Charge of the tactical aspects of the operation. It would help with the element of surprise, and to be honest, we needed the time to get the plan right. Reilly had long ago sent agents in disguise to keep an eye on the house in case our guy went on the move.
    When we arrived, we parked a block away and waited for the recon team, posing as workers for the electric company, to give the go ahead. When they did, we had fifteen agents in three SUVs pull up outside the residence within seconds of one another. I quickly slipped my FBI jacket over my Kevlar vest and exited the car. I remember facing the three-story structure, thinking it was a lot of square footage to cover. Our intelligence couldn’t confirm whether Ballard was the only person in the house. According to the recon team, the location appeared to be quiet. One might even think he had already flown the coop.
    Team One consisted of five agents. Their objective was to punch through the front door. They were the first ones in—the welcoming party.
    Team Two had four agents, and they moved along the left side of the house. Their objective was to breach from the side. I had embedded myself in Team Three. Our objective was to breach the rear of the house. Two agents remained at command center.
    We stacked up; I positioned myself third in the line of four. We were blind as to what we would find at the back of the house and prepared ourselves for the worst. As we rounded the corner to the rear, we heard Team One enter the property. Seconds later, we heard Team Two enter.
    The rear of the house consisted of a patio and a pair of French doors which we promptly destroyed with a battering ram. We cleared five rooms on that level before heading up the stairs. As we neared the main floor, we heard the continuous shouting of the word “clear.” In my experience, that was a good thing, but in this case, it was a bad sign.
    When we reached the main floor of the house, Team One had already holstered their weapons while Team Two made their way back down the stairs. “Top floor is clear,” said the first agent.
    Apparently Ballard had slipped through our fingers again.
    “Look at this.”
    I turned around and saw Agent House holding a handwritten note she had found. On it I could see a crude drawing of a hand giving the middle finger. It read, “Sincerely, Your Prince.”
    “I’m guessing our guy wrote this,” she said.
    It wasn’t hard to find Stone; I looked for the one person who had his jaw dragging across the floor. “Agent,” I called out.
    “I don’t get it,” he said, his arms out in a shrug. “I was so sure he would be here.”
    “According to this note, you were right.”
    Stone lowered his head and shook it slowly.