It took several minutes to secure the wounded men and leave the warehouse. With Grangeland and Nichole Dalton following in her sedan, Nathan again pulled his phone and dialed the number Cantrell had given him at the hospital.

“Cantrell.”

“It’s echo five.”

“You’re using your cell. Find a payphone and call me back.”

The signal ended. “She wants me to call back on a payphone.”

“Let’s clear this area first,” Harv said. “We’ll find something near the freeway.”

Nathan radioed Grangeland. “We’re stopping at a payphone.”

“Copy.”

“How is Ms. Dalton doing?”

“She’s in a lot of pain. She can’t stop thanking us for saving her, but she’s frantic about her girls.”

“Tell her to hang in there.”

His radio clicked once.

A few blocks from the freeway, Harv pulled into a Circle K convenience store. In the side mirror, Nathan saw Grangeland’s headlights make the turn. She rolled her passenger window down.

“I’ll be right back,” Nathan said. “This shouldn’t take long.” He headed for the payphone and reached into his pocket. No friggin’ quarters. What a pain in the ass. He returned to the sedan.

Harv grabbed a handful of coins from an Altoids tin in the Mercedes’s center console. “This should be enough.”

He kept the filthy handset away from his mouth, dialed the number, and waited for the impersonal electronic voice to indicate the charge. He jammed the quarters in and waited.

“Cantrell.”

“It’s me.”

“What’s your status?”

It took a minute to brief her.

Cantrell’s voice had an edge. “I thought we’d agreed you’d keep me in the loop.”

“You are in the loop, that’s why I’m calling. Three of the four mercenaries are still there. One won’t be answering any questions, the second has a bullet wound to the shoulder, and the third, head trauma. Both will live with proper medical care. We’re taking the fourth with us.”

“That’s highly irregular and unacceptable.”

“It’s not negotiable. He’s ours. If I were you, I’d get my people over to the warehouse a-sap.”

“I’ve had dozens of agents standing by in different areas of the country for just this situation. My people can be there in twenty minutes. I just assumed you’d inform me of any field operations you planned to conduct.”

“You know damned well I didn’t agree to that.”

“Let’s keep things civil. What’s the woman’s condition?”

“Moderate shock. Montez lacerated her torso.”

“Like yours?”

“Not as severely.”

“Is she in any immediate danger?”

“No, but she needs several hundred stitches, antibiotics. The works.”

“Protect the scene until my people arrive.”

“Negative. Harv and I are already on the move. We made sure the prisoners were secure before we left.”

She started to object.

“Again, not negotiable.”

“What about the woman? We need to debrief her.”