by CW Browning
“In case I don’t make it back again, just know that I’m going to make the bastard pay for what he did. I can do now what you didn’t have the means to do twelve years ago. You and John will be avenged. It’s not without risk, though. Quite a lot, actually. So, if you could see your way to put in a good word with the Big Man up there, maybe you can ask Him to look out for us tonight. Lord knows Hawk and I could use the help.”
She exhaled and swallowed again, reaching out to lay a hand on the cold marble. She stared down at the grave, wondering if she would ever see it again, or if she would see Dave in person instead. Lowering her head, she closed her eyes briefly, drawing strength from the memory of Dave’s easy smile and warm brown eyes. She remembered him hugging her tight before he left for that last deployment, almost feeling his arms around her again. He had been so alive! Then Harry took that away from him, took it away from them all.
Fury, swift and strong, flowed through her. Alina drew a deep, ragged breath and opened cold, dark eyes. The memory dissolved and the cold, impersonal marble head marker stared back at her.
Viper slowly stood, looking down for a moment at the grave. She pulled a stainless steel chain out of her jacket pocket, leaning down to hook it over the top corner of the head stone. It was time to leave the past behind.
She turned to walk away, her breathing steady, leaving the chain hanging on Dave’s grave. Two dog tags rested against the marble and the fading evening light caught the stamped name in a streak of light. Alina Maschik, Petty Officer Second Class, had no need of her old identification tags. That woman was part of the past.
Viper would take care of the future.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Stephanie watched in stony silence as Michael carried a large duffel bag out the back door. She still couldn’t believe that Michael was going with Damon, while she and Blake were expected to simply sit this one out and stay put in the house.
“It’s not his fault.”
Blake spoke from the sofa after the door closed behind Michael, his eyes on her face. She glanced at him.
“I know.”
“Then why are you glaring at him every time he goes by?”
“I’m not.”
Blake raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Could have fooled me.”
“You mean to tell me that you aren’t even remotely bothered that we’re being left behind?” Stephanie demanded after a moment of silence.
“Honestly? No, I’m not.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
His eyes met hers steadily.
“Absolutely. You’re in no condition to get involved. The only reason you’re not in a hospital right now is because it was more dangerous for you to stay. Face it, Steph. You’re more of a liability out there than you are a help.”
She glowered at him, but before she could say anything, the door slid open and Michael and Damon came into the house.
“Blake, you want to come over and I’ll give you a crash course on the security system?” Damon asked, moving over to the bar.
Blake nodded and got off the couch, circling around to join him. Michael glanced at Stephanie, then moved into the living room.
“You okay?” he asked, looking down at her.
She shrugged.
“As okay as I can be expected to be,” she replied. “I’m not happy about any of this, but you already know that.”
“I know.” Michael leaned against the empty hearth and crossed his arms over his chest. “The whole situation sucks. I wouldn’t want to be in your position, but to be honest, I’m not sure any of us are in a better one.”
She considered him for a long moment. “Do you really think you can get Angela out?”
Michael raised an eyebrow.
“What makes you think that’s why I’m going?” he asked, startled.
Stephanie rolled her eyes.
“I’m not an idiot, even if I did hit my head a couple of times,” she muttered. “Angela got taken on your watch, and now you’re going with Damon to get involved in something both Lina and Damon made very clear none of us would have anything to do with. It’s not rocket science. If you focus on Angela, they can focus on the colonel.”
Michael smiled ruefully. “Guilty as charged, on all counts.”
Stephanie nodded and sighed, leaning her head back.
“I think what bothers me most is that she didn’t even say good-bye.”
“She left before any of us were up,” he pointed out. “And you need to rest and give your body chance to recuperate. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.”
Stephanie was silent for a minute, then she looked at him.
“You’ll get Angela out safely?”
Michael met her gaze somberly. “Yes.”
She nodded.
“Try to bring yourself back, too. Too many people have died because of this man already.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“We all will,” Damon said from the bar. “Stop worrying.”
Stephanie looked across the living room in surprise to find both Damon and Blake looking at them.
“I thought you were showing him the security system,” she said, flushing.
“He was. We’re done,” Blake said. “It’s not as complicated as it looks.”
“I’m leaving the keys to Alina’s Jeep,” Damon said, holding up a set of keys. “If anything happens and you have to leave the property, take that. I changed the plates, so that should buy you some protection if Harry still has people watching the traffic cams. Don’t risk it, though, if you don’t have to.”
He set the keys on the bar next to the tablet that accessed the security system, then looked at Michael.
“You ready, gunny?”
Michael straightened up, dropping his arms to his side. “Let’s roll.”
He nodded to Stephanie and walked toward the back door. Blake met him halfway there, gripping his hand.
“You take care of yourself,” he said in a low voice, “and watch your six.”
Michael nodded.
“It’ll be a walk in the park,” he said. “You just keep Stephanie safe until this is all over. I don’t want to know what Alina will do if anything happens to her.”
“I’ve got it.”
“Remember,” Damon said, opening the back door, “no traceable contact and keep the perimeter set twenty-four seven. If you have a breach, shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Trust me, I won’t stop to chat,” Blake assured him. “Good luck.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it, gunny.”
On that cryptic statement, Damon disappeared out the door with Michael close behind. Blake slid the door closed after them and watched as they went across the lawn to the Porsche. Once the sports car had started and was turning around in the driveway, he flipped the lock on the door and turned to go back to the sofa.
“And this is where we wait,” he said, sinking onto the cushions.
“For what? Michael can’t even call us when it’s over. We don’t have phones anymore, thanks to Lina, and there’s no land line here that I can see.” Stephanie exhaled loudly and looked at Blake. “We won’t even know if everything goes to hell and they end up getting their butts kicked.”
“I know.”
They were both silent for a long moment.
“You’re as uncomfortable with this as I am,” Stephanie finally said. “I know you are. You weren’t built to sit by and do nothing either.”
“No,” he agreed unexpectedly, “but I’m not leaving you, and you can’t fight. So here we are.”
Silence fell again as they both stared at the coffee table, lost in thought.
“Who said anything about fighting?” she finally asked slowly.
Blake looked up. “What?”
“I know I’m not a hundred percent,” she began, but Blake snorted and cut her off.
“You’re not even twenty-five percent,” he said ruthlessly.
She made a
face at him and continued.
“So I can’t help them get Angela back or go after the colonel. I get it. But what if Angela needs me when Michael gets her off that boat? We have no idea what’s happened to her. Michael is a great guy and all, but he’s a man. He’s not a woman who’s known her since she was five.”
Blake blinked and she could see that he hadn’t considered the possibility that Angela might need a female available.
“And as for Lina, she and Damon are going into this completely alone,” she continued, pressing her advantage. “Michael will be extracting Angela. Who’s to say that we can’t have some backup waiting? We are the FBI. There’s no reason we can’t arrange to have a contingency plan in place in case things go south.”
He considered her thoughtfully for a long moment.
“What kind of contingency plan?” he finally asked. “The Sea Queen is in international waters. We can’t send in a team.”
“No, but the Coast Guard can,” she pointed out.
“You heard what they said when we suggested that before,” he objected. “If Harry sees a boarding party, or even something that he thinks might be the Coast Guard, he’s more likely to kill Angela, or worse.”
“That’s why it would be a contingency plan. It would only happen if the situation got out of control and things got dire.”
“There’s no way for us to know if the situation is under control or not.”
“Not from here.”
The words fell heavily between them and Blake pressed his lips together.
“Oh no,” he said, shaking his head again. “You’re not leaving this house. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s dangerous for Michael and Lina, too” Stephanie argued, “but they took precautions and they went. We can take precautions as well. Hell, Damon already switched the plates on the Jeep. He did half the work for us. Even if they’re still looking for the Jeep, they’re looking for a single female driving it.”
Blake hesitated, wavering.
“What’s your plan?” He held up a hand and looked across the coffee table sternly. “I’m not agreeing. Tell me your plan and then I’ll decide.”
Stephanie smiled slowly. “We contact the Coast Guard and wait.”
“Wait? For what?”
“For Michael to get Angie off the boat.”
Viper glanced at her watch and lowered the binoculars. The marina was dark and quiet. It was closed for the night, and the only sign of life was the security guard ensconced in his hut at the entrance to the docks. He had relieved the previous guard at nine and a quick check of the previous week’s security logs showed that he would be the only guard on duty until seven in the morning. She wasn’t worried about him. He could be easily taken care of. What did concern her was the lack of anyone else in the marina. It was too quiet. Harry knew she was coming. He would never leave the port unprotected, especially when he’d laid out the breadcrumbs to lead her straight here. So where were they?
The Sea Queen was drifting in international waters about two hundred and ten nautical miles off the coast of Georgia. The only way out to her was by water, and Harry would be expecting her to come alone. Everything else aside, he still believed Hawk was halfway around the world. Viper turned to move silently across the roof of the main building in the marina. In that respect, she still had the element of surprise.
Reaching the edge of the building, Viper stayed in the shadows and raised the binoculars to scan the other side of the marina. Everything was quiet, but she knew that wouldn’t last long. They were out there somewhere.
She lowered the binoculars thoughtfully. They were waiting for orders to emerge, and if she knew Harry at all, he wouldn’t give that order until she was already on the yacht. He wouldn’t risk anything until he knew he had her, then he would cut off the escape routes. If, by some stroke of luck, she managed to get Angela off the yacht, he would have reinforcements waiting.
Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out, glancing at the screen quickly. Hawk was in position at the rendezvous two miles away. It was time to wrap this up.
She made her way through the shadows to the back corner of the building where the nylon rope she had used to come up was still hanging in the darkness. A few minutes later, she was on the ground and moving through the night, away from the docks. She moved swiftly and silently, staying in the shadows until she reached Marina Drive, the road leading from the causeway. The black rental was a few meters up, pulled onto the grass and hidden deep in the shadows of the brush lining the road. Protected from curious eyes traveling the causeway by those shadows, she opened the driver’s door and slid behind the wheel, pulling her phone out again. She tapped the screen and dialed, starting the engine.
“Hey,” Michael picked up on the second ring.
“I’m on my way,” she said, pulling out and turning towards the causeway. “Everything is quiet here. Is the boat ready?”
“Not much to get ready, but it’s fueled and checked out.”
“I’m bringing your gear. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“And Damon?”
“He’s in place.” Despite herself, Alina felt her lips curving in faint amusement. “Is that worry I detect in your tone?”
“Just making sure we’re on schedule,” he retorted. “Timing is everything in this plan you’ve cooked up.”
“This isn’t my first mission, gunny. I’ll see you in a few.”
Viper hung up and pulled onto the causeway, pressing the gas. He was right. Timing was everything. If anything went wrong with the timing, the whole mission would go dangerously sideways. She glanced at the clock on the Nav system in the dash.
She wasn’t about to let that happen.
Hawk watched as the twin-engine plane came in and touched down on the runway, the lights on the wings flashing in the darkness. He stood in the shadows outside the main airport hangar and waited as the aircraft turned and taxied towards him. The flight plan had been logged earlier in the day, and security at the small regional airport was negligible. As far as the airport was concerned, he was a rich playboy catching a late-night flight on his way to more exotic locations.
Glancing at his watch, he waited in the shadows as the King Air 90 came to a stop a few yards away, the engines shutting down. A few minutes later, a man appeared in the door behind the wing, jumping down onto the pavement. After studying him for a minute by the light from the hangar, Damon moved out of the darkness towards him. Seeing him, the man lifted a hand in a wave.
“Miles?” he called.
Damon nodded and held out his hand. “You can call me Damon.”
“Jon Parker.” Jon gripped his hand firmly. “It’s good to meet you. Matt sends his regards. He said to take good care of you.”
Damon smiled easily and turned to walk with Jon towards the hangar.
“I appreciate you coming on such short notice,” he said. “I know you had to move your schedule around. I appreciate the effort.”
Jon shrugged and waved away the thanks.
“It was no trouble. The way I hear it, you’ve helped us out a few times. Matt’s told me stories.”
Damon glanced at him, amused.
“Take everything your brother says with a grain of salt. He likes to exaggerate. Of course, if they made me look good, then he speaks the truth.”
John chuckled.
“It was all good stuff,” he assured him as they entered the hangar. “He speaks very highly of you.”
“He’s a good man.”
“Is it true that you hung onto the side of a chopper with your bare hands as it flew over part of Cartagena?” Jon asked, looking at him.
Damon smiled faintly. “He told you that one, huh?”
“He said you were crazy. You did it for a bet?”
“In my defense, I was very drunk at the time. We were on a forty-eight hour leave.”
“Like I said, crazy!”
“Don’t let Matt fool you. Your brother did his fair share of stupid thing
s. Ask him about the admiral’s daughter.”
Jon’s blue eyes lit up with interest. “Oh, I will.”
“How’s he doing? It sounds like you two have a nice little business set up down in Louisiana,” Damon said, glancing at him. “He’s doing all right?”
Jon shrugged.
“You know Matt,” he said. “He gives his all every second of the day. It’s not easy for him, but he makes it work. The prosthetics these days are amazing. Thanks to them, he can still fly and ride his bike, so he’s content.”
Damon nodded. Jon’s brother had lost his leg when an IED detonated next to him in a marketplace in Uzbekistan. After months of agonizing therapy, Matt had finally admitted to Damon that he struggled daily with depression and PTSD. The last time Damon saw him, he was doing much better, but he knew that the struggle was something Matt would live with for the rest of his life.
“As long as he has his Fat Boy, I’m sure he’s happy,” he said now. “He’ll be all right.”
“The business helps a lot,” Jon told him. “It gives him a purpose. It’s doing well. We’re thinking of getting a fourth plane, maybe in the fall. But enough about us. Let’s get to business. When are we leaving?”
“Forty-five minutes.”
“Perfect.” Jon glanced at him. “Do you have gear?”
“Yes. I’ll load it just before we leave.” Damon looked behind them at the plane. “Mind if I do a pre-flight check myself before you go through yours?”
Jon raised his eyebrows. “Don’t trust me?”
“Nothing personal.”
Jon grinned. “Matt warned me you’d want to check everything. No worries. I’ll let you know when we’re fueled and ready.”
Damon nodded and held out his hand again.
“I’ll see you then,” he said, shaking his hand and turning to leave the hangar. “I’ll check back in thirty.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Charlie stood at the window and looked out over the city. Night had fallen, cloaking DC in shadows while lights flashed and traffic moved through the streets, illuminating sidewalks crowded with people on foot hurrying to their destinations. Like any other city, the nation’s capital seemed to come alive at night, sparkling with a careless excitement that wasn’t present during the daylight hours. This was what Charlie liked to call the twilight period: the few hours between when the sun went down and when the serious night-dwellers stirred and came out from their safe spaces. This was when the city enjoyed itself before settling down to the business conducted in shadows; the business and shadows Charlie lived and thrived off of.