They could hear the rattle of the chain being undone, and the door opened an inch. “We didn’t call for anybody,” he said.
Simultaneously, Lance and Stone rushed the door, knocking the man off his feet. They ran into the room, guns at arm’s length, with Holly behind them.
The man on the floor wasn’t Trini, and there were three other men in the room, two of them pointing guns at Lance, Stone, and Holly. Trini was there, but he had no gun.
“Freeze, FBI!” one of the armed men shouted.
“Police!” Holly yelled, showing her badge. “I have a warrant for Rodriguez! Let’s see some ID.”
An agent reached for his ID without disturbing his aim. “Who are these two guys?”
Stone showed them his Orchid Beach badge.
“Fellow traveler,” Lance said. “Can we all stop pointing guns at each other?”
The agents didn’t move, and now the one they had knocked down was on his feet with a gun, too.
Holly got the warrant out of her purse and held it up for them to see. “This is a fugitive warrant from the State of Florida for Trini Rodriguez. I’m taking him back for trial on multiple murder charges.”
“Okay, everybody relax,” the agent said. “Holster your weapons.”
The FBI men did so, and Holly, Stone, and Lance complied.
“All right, lady,” the agent said, “just hang on a minute. Can I see your ID again?”
Holly handed him the wallet with her badge and ID.
“Okay, Chief, I’ve got to make a phone call.” He picked up a phone on the coffee table and dialed a number. “Put me through to Harrison,” he said. He tapped his foot for a moment, then practically came to attention. “Mr. Harrison, this is Carson, at the Eighty-eighth Street apartment. I’ve got a lady cop here who’s shown me a fugitive warrant for our guest.”
Holly turned her attention to Trini, who was staring at her as though he’d like to strangle her. “You’re all done, Trini,” she said. “You’re mine now.”
Trini managed an evil smile. “We’ll see,” he said. “I’m going to kill you, after I’ve fucked you a few times, and I’m going to kill your daddy and your dog, too.”
“I can’t wait for you to try,” Holly said.
“Yes, sir,” the agent was saying. “I’ll convey that to her.” He hung up the phone and turned to Holly. “Your warrant is superceded by an existing federal warrant and national security considerations. I’ll have to ask you and your people to leave.”
“What do you mean, a federal warrant? Let’s see it.”
“It’s on file in our New York office. I can have it faxed to you tomorrow, if you’ll give me a number. In the meantime, my orders are to ask you to leave this apartment, and if you refuse, to arrest you for obstruction of justice.”
“Now you listen to me,” Holly said.
Stone spoke up. “Holly.”
“What?”
“We have to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“We have to leave, or we’re going to end up in the federal detention center downtown.”
“He’s right, Holly,” Lance said, taking her by the elbow and steering her toward the door.
Stone took her other elbow and they got her into the hall. The door was closed firmly behind them, and they heard locks turning.
“Thanks for the support, guys,” Holly said.