In the last four months, the founding partners of K19 had all visited me at the hospital on a semi-regular basis. Like Monk, Doc Butler and his wife, Merrigan, the managing partners, hadn’t pushed. My guess was that Doc wanted to, but Merrigan wouldn’t let him.
Even Gunner Godet, who had less sensitivity than a single-cell organism, skirted around asking me what I remembered and dropped it when I gave him a half-assed answer.
The one other thing no one asked me about, or even brought up, was when I planned to get back to work.
Monk, the only person whose shit I put up with, didn’t give me any the day the team of doctors responsible for overseeing my recovery gave me the worst news of my life.
I didn’t remember most of what they said; only certain words stood out as I listened to them tell me I had better odds of being struck by lightning than being cleared to fly again.
As far as I was concerned, I died the day they told me I’d never get my wings back. Work? Who the fuck cared? The only thing I’d ever wanted to do had been taken away from me by the woman I’d called my heart.
27
Onyx
“Where in the hell am I?” I asked when I came to again and saw Monk sitting at my bedside.
“George Washington University Hospital.”
“What the fuck is going on?” I tried to sit up, but restraints were holding me down. “Get these off me!” I shouted.
“Mister Yáñez, you must calm down,” said a nurse rushing in when my movement set off the bed alarms.
I looked at Monk, whose focus was over my shoulder. I followed his gaze in time to see another nurse inject something into my IV port. “Fuck,” I muttered as I slipped back under.
I raised my head. “Monk?”
“Yeah?”
“Am I dead?”
He looked over his shoulder at the monitor measuring my heartbeat. “Nope.”
“Why am I back here?”
“You were shot.”
Fuck. Again? I closed my eyes and rested my head against the pillow, trying my damnedest to remember what had happened. The last thing I could recall was being in the Adirondacks and finding something Corazón had hidden in Blanca’s music box. Blanca.
I raised my head again. “Monk?”
He leaned forward. “Yeah?”
“Where is Blanca?”
“Onyx, she’s—”
I held up my hand. “Before you say another word, I’m warning you. If you tell me anything other than that she’s fine and safe, I won’t…I won’t…” I couldn’t go on.
“She’s fine and safe.”
“Thank God.” I released my grip on the bed rail, realizing then that I wasn’t tied down. “They took the restraints off?”
“When you came to before, you were less than an hour out of surgery.”
“Surgery?” I looked down at my legs. I couldn’t feel either one of them.
“It’s the epidural. It’ll wear off in a couple of hours once they stop it,” said Monk, following my line of sight.
“What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t feel like sitting through the hotwash. They can brief us together later.”
I’d meant in DC, but whatever. Monk always answered the question he wanted to, even if it wasn’t the one asked.
“What happened to Trap?”
“Dead.”
“Who shot me?”
“Hatchet.”
“Are you going to make me keep asking questions?”
“You’re the one firing them at me.”
“Tell me as much as you know.”
“It isn’t a lot.”
“Monk, I swear to fucking God—”
“If you’d shut up for a minute, I’d tell you.”
I glared at him but didn’t speak.
“According to Ranger, you left Blanca and him outside when you went into the cabin his family owns.”
“I remember that much.”
“He was helping her clean something up when Wasp came out the door you’d gone in and motioned Ranger toward the boathouse, mouthing at him to move out.”
“He must’ve seen someone.”
“Affirmative. Ranger said within minutes, he heard a shot ring out that sounded as though it came from behind the other cabin. Seconds after that, he heard two shots in close succession come from inside his place.”
“Who’d the first shot take down?”
“Hellcat. Swan got her.”
I recognized the name of the woman we’d believed was working with Hatchet and who we’d seen on surveillance casing Ranger’s camp.
“Hatchet dropped you with the second shot right as Wasp fired at him. If Wasp hadn’t, Hatchet’s aim might’ve been better. As it was, he just missed your spine.”
Just missed my spine? Fuck.
“You’re gonna be fine,” said Monk, answering my unasked question.
“What about Trap?”
“With all the commotion, Diesel was easily able to take him out.”
“Back to Blanca. Where is she?”
“That part, I’m not sure about.”
“But you know she’s safe?”
“Yes. She’s safe. She was relocated so she stayed that way.”
The door opened, and Ranger walked in. “You’re awake.”
“Is it over?” Monk asked him before I could respond.
“For the most part. Descanso wasn’t exactly a cipher expert, so it didn’t take the cryptologist long to get in and start assembling the report. We’re reconvening in the morning, though.”
“How long have I been here?” I asked.
“About seven hours,” answered Monk.
“How long have you been here?”
“Five.”
My eyes scrunched, and I looked from him to Ranger.
“Diesel alerted him from the Medevac that you were being transported.”
Adrenaline crash, coming out of anesthesia, physical and emotional exhaustion—I couldn’t say for sure what it was that made me tear up, knowing Monk had gotten on the first flight he could and came straight here. He would’ve had to in order to be here almost as long as I had.
28
Blanca
“What is going on?” I cried when I heard a gunshot.
“Just stay down for me, okay, Blanca?”
I covered my ears and closed my eyes tight when I heard two more. “God, please let Montano be safe,” I prayed silently.
Things remained quiet for too long, but soon, I could hear people shouting, just not what they were saying. Seconds later it seemed, there was what sounded like a train roaring in our direction.
“What is that?” I shouted.
Ranger, who had been watching the whole time through a small window with his gun drawn, knelt down beside me. “Medevac helicopter.”
“Who is it for?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s going on?” I asked for the second time.
He stood. “We’re waiting for an all-clear.”
I remained crouched down, eyes shut tight, hands over my ears, silently praying again and again for Montano’s safety.
When the noise from the helicopter faded until I could no longer hear it, Ranger knelt down again. “Let’s go,” he said, helping me to my feet. “Are you okay?” he asked when one of my legs went out from under me.
“It’s asleep.”
“We’ll wait a minute.”
I nodded my head a few seconds later, and he opened the door to the boathouse. The woman I recognized as Swan was walking toward us.
Her eyes met Ranger’s, but neither spoke as they led me to a vehicle I didn’t recognize.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked when Swan opened the back passenger door and I saw Cowboy behind the wheel.
“Somewhere safe,” she said, motioning for me to scoot over and getting in next to me.
Neither she nor Cowboy said another word as we drove away from the lake.
After more than an
hour, we approached an airport. “I’m leaving?” I asked.
“We both are.”
Cowboy pulled up to a curb, Swan got out, and I followed. I watched him get two suitcases out of the trunk. One was mine.
“Wait,” I said when he went to the front of the car. “Where is Montano?” His eyes met Swan’s, and neither spoke.
I wrapped my arms around my waist and raised my chin. “I’m not going anywhere until you answer me.”
“Come with me,” said Swan, gently pulling my arm, but I refused to budge. “Once we’re inside, I’ll tell you what I know.”
I nodded and followed, looking over my shoulder in time to see Cowboy drive away.
Rather than going through the main part of the airport, she led me through back corridors until we came to a secured location. “It’ll just be a minute,” she said, looking at her phone.
“You said you’d tell me what you know about Montano.”
“Onyx was shot and is being transported to a hospital, where he’ll undergo surgery.”
God, no. It couldn’t be. He was shot because of me. Because my sister left something in our camp that I was intended to find. This was all my fault—and Sofia’s. If Montano died…I couldn’t allow myself to think about that possibility. “Do you have any idea of his condition?”
“I do not.”
“I heard more than one gunshot.”
“The others don’t matter.”
“What does that mean?”
“They’re dead.”
29
Onyx
“This is highly unorthodox,” said a nurse I didn’t recognize when Ranger came in, pushing a cart holding a desktop computer and two laptops, and instructed her to leave.
“Not the first time we’ve heard that,” Monk muttered.
“I know you wanted to skip this, but they’re insisting,” Ranger said to him.
“What?” I asked.
“Debrief.”
Ranger fiddled with the computer he’d set in front of me, and Money McTiernan’s image came on the screen.
“Onyx, good to see you,” he said when Ranger activated my audio and video and I watched the screen populate with more images, including those of the two men in the room with me.
“McTiernan,” I responded. “You’re going to change your mind once you hear what I have to say. In fact, I don’t think you belong in this meeting.”
“Onyx, Doc here.” McTiernan’s image minimized, and Doc’s became the largest on the screen. I could see Merrigan seated beside him.
“I can see you.”
“Good,” he said at the same time Merrigan said hello.
“Hey, Fatale,” I answered.
Doc shifted so the screen’s focus was on her. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll be facilitating this meeting.”
“Of course.”
“Very well, let’s get started.”
There was a knock on the door; Ranger stood, unlocked it, and slipped out. He returned and locked it again. “Sorry,” he mumbled, regaining his seat. “There won’t be further interruptions.”
“Thank you, Ranger,” said Merrigan, clearing her throat. “Late last night, Doc and I received the brief outlining what was found on Descanso’s SD card. Between then and now, several security measures have been put in place, including the members of the K19 team, as well as their families, being transported to multiple secure locations.”
“Jesus,” I said under my breath.
“Precisely,” Merrigan responded.
I nodded and she continued.
“First, we have proof that Flannery and Descanso were working for United Russia and have been for quite some time. As we do not yet know the extent of UR’s remaining network of double agents, we will be operating with the highest degree of caution until further notice.”
While Trap hadn’t admitted who his employer was, the news did not surprise me. Merrigan’s next words, though, shocked me to my core.
“Most urgently, we learned there exists a specific list of individuals UR has targeted for assassination, at the top of which are Doc and I.”
My eyes opened wide.
“It is not, however, limited to us. In fact, all the partners are on the list as well as many of our contractors.”
I could see Gunner, Razor, and Eighty-eight, the other three founding partners of K19, nodding their heads.
Merrigan’s voice increased in volume, and she leaned closer to the screen. “I can assure you we have already begun formulating a response to this information and will be backed by the full force of the US and UK governments along with several members of NATO and the United Nations. In other words, we are calling UR out on the world stage and intend to make them pay dearly for this.”
My mind reeled with what she was saying, but there was only one question I desperately wanted the answer to, and I was having a damned hard time waiting. I looked over at Ranger and Monk and then back at the screen.
“Fatale? I’m sorry to interrupt—”
“She’s somewhere safe, Onyx. I give you my word. For your safety and hers, we’re keeping that location secret. Our only goal at this time is to make sure everyone associated with K19 remains alive.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head when my eyes filled with tears of relief at her confirmation of what Monk had told me last night.
Merrigan continued the briefing with what she referred to as the highlights of the information Sofia had accumulated during her career as a double agent.
Flannery was not the only name within the report I recognized as still being with the CIA. But with each agent Merrigan named, my anger at Money increased to the point where I was ready to exit the meeting.
“God-fucking-dammit,” I muttered under my breath, looking away.
“Onyx? Do you have something to say?” Merrigan asked.
“It can wait.”
Money’s image became primary on my screen. “I was unaware of Trap’s—”
“Stop right there,” I shouted, sitting up and banging my fist on the cart that held the computer. “You were fucking out of line in sending him in. Because of your interference, my life, as well as those of the other agents on my team, was in danger. I stand by what I said earlier. You don’t belong in this meeting.”
“Money didn’t send Trap in,” I heard Merrigan say. “He was not aware of Trap’s involvement. Given this op was ours, he followed our protocols.”
“Meaning what? Are you calling my actions into question?”
“Onyx, please,” I heard Merrigan say right before Monk pulled the power plug on my computer.
“You, out!” He pointed at an open-mouthed Ranger. “This is the very reason I requested a second-level briefing!” he shouted as loudly as I had at Merrigan.
Ranger looked at me and, when I nodded, left the room.
“You okay, bro?” I asked Monk, who was pacing near the window.
He stopped and glared at me. “No, I’m not okay. Are you okay?”
“I think I’m better than you are.”
“Fucking assholes,” I heard him mutter as he reached into a bag, pulled out a flask, and held it out to me.
“You better go first.”
30
Blanca
“Welcome aboard,” said Wasp when Swan escorted me up the steps and onto a private airplane. Toward the back, I saw Cowboy stand and walk in my direction.
“What’s going on?”
Wasp looked at Swan.
“I was not given the authority to brief her.”
Wasp stepped out of the entry to the cockpit. “Go ahead and get settled,” he said to her while motioning me in the other direction. “Have a seat.”
“No, I will not have a seat. Not until someone tells me what’s going on. Right now, Wasp!”
“I’m sorry. I thought Swan would’ve done that already.”
“She didn’t.”
“I do think this would be easier if you took a seat.”
“Montano?”
My eyes filled with tears, and I covered my mouth with my hand.
“He’s in surgery, but the doctors have said his injuries from the gunshot are not life-threatening.”
Knowing that much, I sat.
“As you know, we recovered the SD card your sister left hidden in your music box. Someone is currently trying to gain access to whatever she put on it. Until we know more, we’re acting on the assumption that you remain in danger. Consequently, we’ve been instructed to transport you to a secure location.”
“Where?”
“California.”
“Where is Montano?”
Wasp looked at Cowboy.
“Not in California,” he answered.
“Why can’t I be with him?” Was the reason I was being taken to the opposite coast because he’d requested it?
“A decision needed to be made quickly regarding your relocation. At the time, we did not know the details of Onyx’s condition.”
“You said his injuries aren’t life-threatening.”
“That’s right.” Wasp rested his hand on my arm. “I know this is difficult, and I know it’s hard to understand. Please trust that we’re doing what we believe is best for everyone, at least for the time being.”
“I have no choice, do I?”
“I’m sorry, Blanca.”
By the time we landed, it was dark and there were no immediate landmarks to identify where we were. All I knew was that we were close to the ocean.
I remained seated until Wasp and Swan came out of the cockpit.
Wasp leaned on the arm of the seat beside me. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I understand you visited Onyx’s family recently, is that right?”
“Yes. On Thanksgiving.”
“If it’s any comfort, where we’re going is very near there. It’s a place owned by the family of one of the founders of the company we work for. By we, I mean, myself, Cowboy, Swan, and Onyx. Ranger works for him too. Our boss’ name is Doc Butler.”
“Okay.”
“It’s called Butler Ranch, and you’ll be safe there.”
Onyx (K19 Security Solutions Book 10) Page 15