Jack Frost by Diane Capri

Author:Diane Capri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AugustBooks
Published: 2021-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Saturday, May 14

Bolton, South Dakota

8:15 a.m.

Personnel shuffled through the door, stopped to pick up coffee or a donut, and took their seats. Smithers called the briefing to order precisely on the hour, wasting no time asking for attention. They settled into silent anticipation quickly. There was a job to do. They were here to do it.

The room was small and filled to capacity. Kim and Burke were not officially assigned to the team. They stood together in the back, Burke leaning one shoulder lazily against the wall.

Kim glanced around at the unfamiliar faces. The only agent Kim recognized was Smithers. The rest were highly trained, competent strangers. The kind of people she felt most comfortable with in every situation.

The FBI was here to assist the Bureau of Prisons and the other agencies, local, state, and federal, Smithers reminded them as a brief warm-up.

“We have a list of items they’ve requested our help with. I’ve allocated personnel and posted the list next to the door.” He gestured toward the exit. “Damage to the building out at the FCI has been contained and is being evaluated now. Looks like we may have dodged a big problem here, but we’re still getting our arms around this thing. Personnel is on-site to assess structural issues. A determination will be made on inmate housing and transportation throughout the day.”

One agent near the front asked, “Has a motive been determined?”

Smithers shook his head. “At the moment, we’re assuming terrorism. It’s a precaution until we get more intel. We want all personnel alert at all times. If we find out otherwise, we’ll let you know promptly.”

A low murmur rippled through the seated agents like a wave washing across them. Nothing was off the table yet.

Smithers droned on about administrative issues that had nothing to do with her, and Kim zoned out for a while. When he cleared his throat and changed to a new topic, she tuned in again.

“We have a list of escapees, complete with names and mug shots. According to the headcount, there were forty-four inmates in the exercise yard at the time the fencing came down. Four of the inmates did not run,” Smithers said like a duty sergeant might. “The other forty made a break for it. As of eight o’clock this morning, thirty-two men had been located and recaptured or voluntarily surrendered.”

Agents snickered and laughed. Both Burke and Kim grinned. Voluntary surrender was a term of art. It meant the inmates had been found and, with relatively mild persuasion, turned themselves in. The humor died down, and attention focused on Smithers again.

“Which means we have agreed to assist with the recapture of eight inmates still at large.” Smithers used a remote to turn on a big screen behind him. He started with a collage of mugshots.

Kim recognized the first photo. Petey Burns. The guy Burke had run off the road and she’d chased into the woods last night.

The other seven men were also strangers to her, but she already knew everything Smithers knew about them.

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